Kalka-Shimla highway blocked for traffic due to landslide at Koti

The Kalka-Shimla highway was blocked for traffic on Wednesday morning after a stretch of it was swept away in a massive landslide near Sanwara in Solan district.

State disaster management authority director DC Rana said the landslide occurred at Koti, leaving commuters stranded and supply of daily essential items such as milk, eggs and newspapers affected.

Authorities have advised motorists to avoid National Highway-5 until further notice due to the ongoing clearance operations. Traffic has been diverted through Jangeshu and Dharampur. Men and machinery have been pressed into service to restore the road.

Orange alert sounded in Himachal

After a brief lull, monsoon is set to return in the state with the MeT department issuing two-days of orange alert for heavy rains.

India Meteorological Department’s Shimla director Surender Paul said the western end of the monsoon trough at mean sea level runs close to foothills of Himalayas and the eastern end is passing through Gorakhpur, Patna, Sriniketan, Canning and thence east-south-eastwards to the centre of deep depression over northeast Bay of Bengal off Bangladesh coast. Apart from this, a Western Disturbance is also active over the region which would bring more rains to Himachal Pradesh.

An orange alert has been issued for heavy rainfall and thunderstorm in the state on August 3 and 4 which may lead to flooding and landslide. People have been advised to stay away from rivers and avoid unnecessary travel.

Since, the onset of monsoon on June 24, a total of 194 people died in various rain-related incidents while monetary losses have mounted to ₹5,722 crore. Over 76 landslides and 53 flash floods have been reported in the state.

As many as 728 houses have been fully damaged and 7,234 partially besides 246 shops and 2,257 cowsheds.

Public works department has suffered losses worth 1,987 crore, Jal Shakti Vibhag 1,543 crore and state electricity board ₹1,506 crore.