Shimla, Aug 13 (PTI) A total of 328 roads, including two national highways, have been closed in Himachal Pradesh amid rains.
The Aut-Sainj road, which is part of NH-305, and the road from Khab to Gramphoo
(NH-505) were among the roads closed for vehicular traffic on Wednesday morning. Of these, 180 roads were in Mandi district and 74 in the adjoining Kullu district, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).
School-going children and office goers who travel by bus faced inconvenience and had the walk their way to respective destinations as a tree fell on the Circular (cart road) near Tolland on Wednesday early morning.
Buses affiliated with schools and other government institutions, along with private buses, were delayed until the tree was removed from the road. However, small vehicles continued functioning.
The local MeT office has issued an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rain likely at isolated places in the three districts of Chamba, Kangra, and Mandi on Thursday, and a yellow alert of heavy rain in isolated areas of four to six districts from Friday to Sunday.
Monsoon activity remained weak over the state as light rains lashed a few parts of the state since Tuesday evening. Additionally, 37 transformers and 181 water supply schemes have been affected, the SEOC said. The state received 536.7 mm of rain against a normal rainfall of 486.2 mm from June 1 to August 10, an excess of 13 per cent, the local weather office said.
So far, since the onset of the monsoon on June 20, the state has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 2018 crore, officials said on Wednesday.
As many as 125 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state this monsoon season, while 36 are missing. The state has witnessed 58 flash floods, 30 cloudbursts, and 54 major landslides so far. PTI BPL MPL MPL
