Shimla, Sep 12 (PTI) Light to moderate rain lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh, with the weather office issuing a yellow warning of heavy rain in isolated areas in four districts of the state in the coming
two days, officials said on Friday.
Since Thursday evening, Mandi recorded 61.8 mm of rain, followed by 53.7 mm in Kangra, 52.6 mm in Sundernagar, 25.8 mm in Dharamshala, 17.2 mm in Kasauli and 10.8 mm in Bilaspur, the meteorological office said.
A total of 503 roads, including Attari-Leh road (National Highway 3), Aut-Sainj road (National Highway 305) and Amritsar-Bhota road (National Highway 503A), were closed for traffic in the state. Restoration work is underway, the officials said.
Out of 503 roads, the maximum number of 206 roads are blocked in Kullu, while 156 were closed in Mandi district.
The situation is improving and the number of closed roads in the state has come down to about 500 from over 1,000 last week, said Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi.
He also said that the immediate relief of Rs 1,500 crore announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to the disaster-hit state on Tuesday is too little.
The topography of hill states is tough and different from the plains. Restoring roads in Himachal Pradesh requires more funds but the parameter for giving disaster relief is the same for the whole country, he said.
Over 953 power transformers and 336 water supply schemes have been disrupted in the state due to the recent floods and landslides, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).
A total of 386 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents since the onset of the monsoon over the state on June 20. Out of the 386 people, 218 died in rain-related incidents while 168 were killed in road accidents. The state has suffered a loss of Rs 4,465 crore so far, the officials said.
Himachal Pradesh received an average rainfall of 967.2 mm from June 1 to September 12 against the normal of 678.4 mm, an excess of 43 per cent, according to the meteorological data. PTI BPL DIV
DIV
