Heavy rain lashes Himachal Pradesh; tourists, locals face difficulties

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], August 20 (ANI): As heavy rainfalls continue to hit parts of Himachal Pradesh, the tourists and local citizens of the state continue to face difficulties and bear damage to public properties.
"5 deaths have been reported in the State during the last 24 hours and about 15 people reported to have been missing. District administrations directed to ensure relief, rescue and rehabilitation works in the rain-affected areas," Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur told ANI.
According to the Superintendent of Police of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the teams of both the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are deployed to rescue the people stuck in the region and continue with the relief work for missing peoples and the ones buried under the debris in different parts of the state.
"The parts of the state including Mandi, Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Hamirpur and Shimla were badly affected during the past 24 hours," said Kumari Ilma Ifroz, SP SDRF.
She also advised all the stranded people and other commuters should follow the advisory of the SDRF and follow its social media handles to stay updated.

Meanwhile, the roads in the Mandi region of Himachal Pradesh were blocked after heavy rainfall lashed it, resulting in several tourists being stuck, here, due to the roadblocks.

In view of incessant rains in Mandi for the past two days and the weather forecast of heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours, it has been decided that all the government and private educational institutions except colleges and ITI in Mandi district shall remain closed on August 20, district deputy commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said in an order issued on Friday evening.
The Kullu-Sainj road was also closed due to the landslides that occurred because of the flash floods reported in the state's Pagal Nala.

Earlier in the day, the Northern Railways informed that the railway bridge on Chakki river in the state's Kangra district was damaged due to flash flood, as a result of which it collapsed in the morning. The water in the river is yet to recede.

The National Highway 5 was also closed at the Kandaghat in Solan district due to landslide that took place earlier in the day.
Later, the Indian Army informed that the combined troops of Indian Army and the US Army were practicing the aerial insertion and combat freefall including the precision dropping of loads using GPADS during the ongoing Joint Exercise 'Vajra Prahar'.

The Vajra Prahar series of joint exercises aims to share best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics as also to improve inter-operability between the Special Forces of both nations.
Meanwhile, on Friday a cloudburst and a landslide were reported in the Mandi area of the state.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall in isolated places today in Himachal Pradesh in the districts of Kangra, Chamba, Bilaspur, Sirmaur, and Mandi districts.
Locals and tourists have been advised to avoid going near the rivers and streams in bad weather.
The Himachal Pradesh's disaster management department has issued a warning for landslide due to heavy rains predicted in the state till August 25. (ANI)