Nearly 200 roads closed in Himachal, weather department predicts more rain

A major landslide near Shillai in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district on Wednesday blocked National Highway 707, connecting Hatkoti to Paonta, after a large portion of the mountain collapsed, completely halting vehicular movement.

Restoration efforts are underway, but continuous debris fall is hampering progress, officials said. This has resulted in long traffic jams on both sides of the highway. In a related development, fallen trees were reported to be obstructing traffic in parts of Shimla as well.

As of Wednesday evening, nearly 200 roads across the state remained closed, including NH-707. The worst-hit is Mandi district with 140 road closures, followed by 27 in Sirmaur and 21 in Kullu.

Additionally, 137 water supply schemes and 47 power distribution transformers have been affected, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre.

The local Meteorological Department has issued an 'orange' alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated parts of the state on July 21 and 22 (Monday and Tuesday), and a 'yellow' warning for heavy rain in various districts through July 20.

In the meantime, light to moderate rainfall continued in parts of the state. Nahan recorded 44.2 mm of rain since Tuesday evening, followed by 40 mm each in Kothi, Jatton Barraga, and Sarahan. Dhaulakuan received 35.5 mm, Dadahu 30 mm, and Dharamshala 17.1 mm, while Manali and Narkanda recorded 17 mm and 15 mm, respectively.

Since the monsoon began on June 20, the State Emergency Operation Centre reported 109 fatalities: 64 due to rain-related incidents and 45 from road accidents. Additionally, 199 people have been injured and 35 remain missing.

The state has incurred losses exceeding Rs 883 crore so far this monsoon, witnessing 31 flash floods, 22 cloudbursts and 18 landslides, according to official data.

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