More than 24 laborers engaged in the installation of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) towers and construction of an Army post near Lal Dhak on Thursday became trapped due to snowfall and rocks in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district. Construction of BSNL towers was underway in Nagdoom and Dharnithal, while an army post was being constructed in Nagdoom.
Workers were returning due to heavy snowfall and growing cold in the area. However, at Dumati, about 25 km from Chitkul, a massive rock slide blocked the road, leaving them stranded.
Flood warning
The district administration said that government machinery has been dispatched to the spot after receiving information that the workers were trapped and the road will be reopened after the snowfall stops. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department on Thursday issued a flash flood warning for parts of Shimla, Kinnaur and Sirmaur districts till Friday (today). Along with this, yellow alert has also been issued for heavy rain, storm and lightning at various places in 5 out of 12 districts of the state on Friday i.e. today.
Heavy rain warning
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), parts of Kinnaur, Mandi, Sirmaur, Solan and Shimla districts are likely to receive heavy rainfall. It also warned of possible damage to gardens, crops, weak structures and houses in Kutch.
Light rain continued in some parts of the state on Thursday as well. During this period, Dhaula Kuan in Sirmaur district recorded the highest rainfall of 26 mm since Wednesday evening, followed by 7.6 mm in Jot, 6.8 mm in Kahu, 6.2 mm in Chaupal, 5 mm each in Manali, Dalhousie and Wangtu.
37 roads closed in the state
According to the latest information from the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), a total of 37 roads remain closed and 106 power schemes disrupted in the state till Wednesday. Since the arrival of monsoon on June 27 in Himachal Pradesh, rainfall has been 21 per cent below normal so far with the state receiving 539.1 mm against an average of 678.4 mm. According to officials, a total of 158 people have died in rain-related incidents during monsoon from June 27 to September 7, while 30 people are still missing. 1,305 crore loss to the state.
