Himachal on red alert amid heavy rain: Schools shut, flash flood cuts border route
Authorities in Himachal Pradesh are on high alert after the meteorological office issued a red alert for very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in several
Authorities in Himachal Pradesh are on high alert after the meteorological office issued a red alert for very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in several districts. In Kangra district, all government and private educational institutions will remain closed on July 20 and 21, officials said on Sunday. At the same time, a sudden high-intensity flash flood in the Tubar Nallah near Rani Kanda on the Sangla-Chitkul route in Kinnaur district caused major damage. A key road and a bridge were affected, disrupting connectivity to forward posts of the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police near the Tibet border. Read Full Story The weather office issued a red warning for Chamba, Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur districts for Monday, and for Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Sirmaur districts for Tuesday.
Kangra District Magistrate and Deputy Commissioner Hem Raj Bairwa ordered the closure of all government and private educational institutions in the district on July 20 and 21. The order applies to all schools, colleges, vocational and technical training institutes, Anganwadi centres, creches, the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, and the Sanskrit University at Balyahar. Bairwa also directed that examinations scheduled for July 20 and 21 be postponed. Teaching and non-teaching staff will remain off duty, though their services may be requisitioned by the district administration if needed for emergency or disaster management work. Officials said the flash flood in Tubar Nallah caused massive destruction. The road connecting the Tibet border area with Uttarakhand via Chitkul has been completely blocked. A bridge over the Tubar Nallah was also damaged by the strong flow of water, cutting off road access to forward posts of the Army and the ITBP.
Officials said the route is strategically important as it is used for the movement of troops and supplies to the forward posts near the Tibet border. The Shimla meteorological office has predicted very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in four to five districts. Very heavy rain means rainfall between 115.6 mm and 204.5 mm, while extremely heavy rain means more than 204.5 mm in a day. Earlier, Chief Secretary Kamlesh Kumar Pant directed all deputy commissioners to keep district emergency operation centres active round the clock, identify locations vulnerable to landslides, flash floods and cloudbursts, and take preventive steps. They were also told to keep Quick Response Teams, SDRF, NDRF, Home Guards, fire services, police and ambulances in full readiness.
The BriefWire