Khushi Maheshwari, Pune
At least 9 people succumbed to death and 20 others were assumed to be trapped after a temple collapsed in Shimla on Monday. Areas like The Summer Hill and Fagli have been hit by landslides, taking the lives of many. The death toll is continuously rising with 33 confirmed deaths by now after people died in separate instances of landslides and cloudbursts.
Earlier that day, a downpour in the Jadon village of Solan district killed around 7 people. The victims have been identified by the Superintendent of Police as follows: Harnam Kamal Kishore (38), Hemlata (35), Rahul (34), Neha (14), Golu(12), and Raksha(8). Post tragedy, the Chief Minister of the state expressed his condolences in a tweet.
The rains have been wreaking havoc in parts of Uttarakhand as well, where a college building collapsed on Monday, due to another landslide in Dehradun. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has been on a visit to these affected spots. Sukhu urged the locals to stay indoors and avoid landslide-prone areas. He has also requested the tourists not to visit during such times.
As per the officials, more than 700 roads have been closed for landslides and rain adding that a stretch of National Highway connecting Shimla and Chandigarh has been affected by the situation causing the vehicles to be stranded in that area.
The weather Department of Uttarakhand has announced a red alert. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the situation might get triggered because of the Western disturbance. The weather office has predicted heavy rainfall for 9 out of 12 districts of the state and has issued a yellow alert for Tuesday.
Western Disturbance is type of a storm that emerges from the Mediterranean and brings extreme rainfall in the hilly and terrains regions of the Indian subcontinent. Besides, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, rainburst has also been predicted for parts of Punjab, West Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. About 15-20 are still feared to be trapped under the debris at the calamity-inflicted sites of Summer Hill as per the Deputy Commissioner of Shimla.
The state has been witnessing fatalities since the beginning of the monsoon on June 24, leaving more than 260 people dead. So far, by the estimation of the state administration, more than 9000 housing properties have faced damages due to downpours.