Monsoon disrupts life in Himachal Pradesh; 153 roads blocked, 191 power transformers down
Shimla, August 5
Heavy monsoon rainfall continued to disrupt normal life across Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, with 153 roads remaining blocked, 191 power distribution transformers out of service and 58 water supply schemes affected, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre.
The latest SEOC report issued on Tuesday evening said restoration work was underway in the affected districts, with teams deployed to clear roads, restore electricity supply and repair damaged water infrastructure.
Of the 153 blocked roads, Mandi district accounted for the highest number with 51, followed by Sirmaur (39), Kullu (36) and Shimla (15).
The number of blocked roads showed a marginal improvement from 157 reported earlier in the day, but remained significantly higher than Monday evening's figure of 109.
The report said no National Highway was blocked as of Tuesday evening.
The power sector also suffered extensive damage, with 191 distribution transformers disrupted across the state. Sirmaur district was the worst affected, accounting for 143 disrupted transformers, followed by Mandi with 35 and Shimla with 12.
Drinking water supply was also hit, with 58 water supply schemes reported non-functional, more than double the 28 schemes affected earlier in the day. Sirmaur reported the highest number of disrupted schemes at 28, followed by Shimla with 19, affecting water supply in several areas.
The adverse weather impacted multiple districts, including Mandi, Sirmaur, Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Kangra, Hamirpur and Una.
Authorities said restoration work was continuing on a war footing, with road-clearing machinery, electricity department staff and water supply teams working to restore essential services in the rain-affected areas.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast continued rainfall over the coming days, prompting authorities to advise residents and travellers to remain cautious, particularly in landslide- and flood-prone areas.
Speaking to ANI on Monday in Shimla, Sandeep Kumar Sharma, Senior Scientist, IMD Himachal Pradesh, said the state is expected to remain under the influence of an active monsoon during the next four to five days.
"Rainfall activity is likely to continue across Himachal Pradesh from August 3 to 7 under active monsoon conditions. Heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places during this period, but as of now no flash flood warning has been issued for the state," Sharma said.
— ANI
Reader Comments
As an expat living in India, I've seen how resilient the people here are. But this kind of recurring disaster shows we all need to do more — climate change is real and hill states like HP are on the front lines. Hope the restoration teams get all the support they need.
The situation is bad but let's also appreciate the ground staff working 24x7 in this rain to clear roads and restore power. My uncle lives near Mandi and he says electricity is back in most areas now. God bless those workers 🙏
We need to rethink development in these fragile mountain regions. Cutting trees and building unscientifically is making landslides worse. It's time for strict environmental regulations and sustainable tourism practices. Otherwise this will be a yearly tragedy.
Planned to go to Manali next week, now reconsidering. The IMD forecast of 4-5 more days of rain is scary. But more importantly, thinking of the locals who face this every year — tourists just cancel their trips, locals lose their livelihoods. We need better disaster management and compensation for affected families.
Best wishes to all the teams working on restoration. It's good to see no national highway is blocked, that's critical for supplies. The state government should declare this a natural calamity and get central funds released quickly for relief work.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.