Chandigarh, June 26 - The Meteorological Department has warned of light to moderate flooding in rivers and drains of Shimla, Mandi, Kangra, Sirmaur and Chamba districts and nearby areas in the next 24 hours amid the possibility of heavy to very heavy rains in various parts of Himachal Pradesh. Officials said on Thursday that search operations have been intensified to trace 10 people who went missing after flash floods caused by cloudburst in Kangra and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh, while some have been rescued. Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh government has issued an advisory to tourists against going near rivers and drains and low-lying areas during the monsoon season. The government said that safety should be the first priority during the monsoon.
Heavy rains on Wednesday evening killed two people and nearly 20 others are feared to have been swept away. However, some of the missing people have been rescued. Workers working on the Indira Priyadarshini Hydropower Project near Khanyara village were swept away in flash floods caused by cloudbursts in Kangra on Wednesday evening. Eight workers are missing and two bodies have been recovered.
The local administration has safely evacuated over 170 workers and arranged for their overnight shelters. Rescue operations with the help of drones continued on Thursday. One worker is still missing in the nearby forests. While officials termed it a natural disaster, some workers blamed illegal mining and unsafe overnight shelters near a drain for the tragedy.
Three people who were swept away in the flood while trying to carry valuables from their homes are still missing in Rehla Behal in Kullu district. Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa, after visiting the spot, has deployed two teams of the State Disaster Response Force and a team of Home Guards at the spot. The National Disaster Response Force has also been called in for rescue operations.
Six people are feared to have been swept away by the flood at the hydroelectric project site while one person was seen running towards a nearby hill to save himself. The DC said his whereabouts are not yet known. He said the rest have been rescued safely while search and rescue operations are the first priority. Some of the missing people are from Nurpur and Chamba areas of Himachal Pradesh and some are from Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, BJP national president J.P. Nadda has expressed his condolences to the bereaved families of the labourers who were swept away due to the sudden increase in water flow in the Manuni gorge. “In this hour of crisis, every BJP worker is dedicated to providing all possible help to the citizens of Devbhoomi. I pray to God to grant peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families,” Nadda said in a statement.
BJP MLA Sudhir Sharma from Dharamshala, who reached the spot on Thursday, said the project site is one kilometre away from his village. He said he received a call on Wednesday that the water level had risen and 15-20 people had been swept away. Sharma said that building sheds for labourers near the drain, and not shifting them from there when the weather became unsafe, was a big negligence and an inquiry should be initiated into it. The MLA also demanded adequate compensation to the families of the deceased.
According to officials, the project work was suspended due to rain, and the labourers were resting in a makeshift rain shelter near the site when floodwaters from the Manuni Khad and nearby drains rushed towards the labour colony, sweeping away many. A search is underway in Kullu district for three people who were swept away while trying to carry their valuables from their homes in the Rehla Bihal area of ??Sainj. Three incidents of cloudbursts have been reported in Jiwa Nallah and Rehla Bihal in Sainj and Shilagarh in Garhsa area of ??Kullu district. Flash floods have also been reported from Manali and Banjar in the district, and search operations are underway.