Rain wreaks havoc in Dharamsala, Kangra

Tribune Reporters

Dharamsala, July 18

Heavy rain triggered landslides at various places in Kangra and Chamba district last night. A major landslide occurred on the Dharamsala-McLeodganj road near Forsythganj. The landslide blocked traffic on the road for some time and also raised fears of damage to road.

The area was an active sliding zone. Even the residents of Forsythganj have been complaining that their houses have been developing cracks. Geologists have been suggesting that proper drainage system should be developed in McLeodganj to prevent landslides.

Heavy rain also led to inundation in some areas of Kangra town. The residents blamed the chocked drains for inundation of the town. Ashok, a resident of the town, said drains in the town had either being encroached upon or narrowed to such extent that they could not carry the increased flow of water in monsoon. The problem was likely to increase in the coming months, he said.

On the Kangra-Ranital road, a retaining wall along the road collapsed. Debris of the retaining wall fell on the road causing a bottleneck for traffic. Landslides also occurred at other places on the road, causing huge boulders to roll on the road that had spread scare for commuters.

Roads, houses damaged by heavy rain

KANGRA: The Kangra valley was drenched by an unprecedented rain, leaving life out of gear and rivers and roads flooded. Water entered shops and houses in the town, causing a loss of more than 25 lakh here.

The rain provided relief to people from humid summer but the life was crippled due to waterlogged roads. The vehicles were forced to move with headlights on due to dark clouds.

The town experienced 235 mm rain during the last 24 hours, sources here said.

The roads in the Vivekananda Vihar locality, Kangra-Matour state highway at the Balaji Vihar junction and Zamanadab road were flooded. The situation was the worst at the Gupt Ganga road where vehicles were stuck and water entered the shops.

SDM, Kangra, Dharmesh Ramotra said the situation aggravated at Gupt Ganga road because the nullah was blocked. He said with the help of JCBs, the nullah was opened

He said property worth more than Rs 25 lakh was damaged due to heavy rain. He said two cattle perished in the floods, four houses and eight shops were damaged and 75 houses were partially damaged. He said 83 cowsheds were partially damaged.

The gushing water entered Polytechnic College, Kangra, too. The water also entered the Hanuman temple on the bypass road.

The Metrological Department has predicted rain and thundershowers till July 24.

Traffic disrupted in Chamba

Chamba: The cloudburst in Tissa area and heavy rain in various parts of Chamba district have triggered landslides which blocked interior roads, an official report said today.

It had disrupted the traffic at several points which paralysed the normal life in the far-flung areas. However, the work to clear the debris from the roads had been undertaken on a war footing, the report stated.

The report said the workforce of the PWD, along with heavy machinery, had been pressed into service to restore the roads so that the vehicular traffic could be resumed.

The floods in the nullahs of the district had also caused damage to the agriculture fields, the report said.

The DC of Chamba said officials of all revenue sub-divisions of the district had been directed to compile the reports about the damages.