SHIMLA:
Several houses collapsed after a massive landslide struck Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district on Thursday. The video clip of the landslide and the mayhem it unleashed went viral on social media. The authenticity of the viral clip was confirmed by the police.
In the clip, several houses are seen collapsing like a deck of cards in the Anni town of Kullu district. According to officials, there were no immediate reports of any casualties or injuries in the incident so far. “Several houses collapsed due to a landslide in the Anni town of Kullu district,” a police officer said.
Further details are awaited. The Himalayan state has reported widespread destruction and deaths in the rain fury and the landslides and cloudbursts it triggered. Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Kullu-Mandi Highway was damaged following heavy rainfall in the district, an official said on Thursday.
Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on the route. “There is a traffic jam stretching to nearly 5-10 kilometres. We have nothing to eat or drink. People are starving here. The snarl should be cleared soon,” a commuter said.
An official said the Public Works Department was trying to restore the normal flow of traffic at the earliest. “The road connecting Kullu and Mandi has been damaged. An alternative route via Pandoh has also been damaged. Hence, the movement of traffic is suspended for now,” Sakshi Verma, Superintendent of Police, Kullu, said.
Earlier, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert, predicting heavy to very rainfall in Himachal Pradesh over two days starting Thursday. The state has reported 113 landslides this monsoon season. A total of 224 lives have been lost in the monsoon fury in Himachal while another 117 died in rain-related accidents so far, stated a government bulletin earlier. According to the latest data shared by the state government, the total loss to the coffers from the ongoing rain fury has reached Rs 8014.61 crore since June 24, when monsoon arrived in the state.
