Shimla, July 5 - More than 260 roads, including 176 in Mandi district, are closed due to heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh for the last few days. The local Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for very heavy rains at various places in Kangra, Sirmaur and Mandi districts on July 6.
Orange alert has been issued at isolated places for Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Chamba, Solan, Shimla and Kullu districts. It is worth mentioning that Himachal had heavy rains during the monsoon last year due to which more than 550 people were killed due to waterlogging and landslides in many places in the state.
The Meteorological Department has now issued a warning of landslides, flash floods, waterlogging and damage to essential services. People have been advised to stay away from water bodies. According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, the estimated loss so far is around Rs 541 crore. However, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said that the loss is around Rs 700 crore as the details of the damage are still being worked out.
S5O3 said that around 300 transformers and 281 water supply schemes have also been affected due to heavy rains and landslides.