Chamba Flash Flood: Heavy rain and flash flood wreaked havoc in Chamba. Many houses here were flooded. Many roads are closed due to landslides. 5 people of the same family died after their car fell into a ditch.
Chamba Flash Flood: Torrential rains and a horrific road accident shocked people in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. Due to torrential rain overnight in the district, flash flood like situations were created at many places. Water and debris entered homes and shops, roads were closed and many vehicles were damaged. Meanwhile, a car fell into a deep ditch on the Pathankot-Chamba National Highway, killing five people of the same family. A 3-month-old child is also included among the dead.
On Monday night, many vehicles got trapped due to sudden heavy water in the drain at a place called Parel on the Chamba-Pathankot National Highway. Some vehicles were damaged, although no injuries were reported. The national highway was closed due to heavy debris and water. The administration has sent machines to the spot to open the road and restoration work is going on.
havoc of heavy rain
The maximum impact of heavy rain was seen in Sultanpur locality of Chamba city. Water and debris entered many houses and shops, causing huge losses to people. The situation worsened so much at night that many families left their homes and ran to safe places to save their lives. Many people spent the whole night awake. Big stones fell on some houses and many vehicles parked on the roadside were also damaged.
Due to rain, Danga (retaining wall) collapsed on Pakkatala-Chamba link road. Due to this, concerns regarding the security of the nearby school have also increased. The administration is taking stock of the affected areas.
Car fell into ditch, 5 died
On the other hand, an Alto car fell into a 400 meter deep gorge on Tuesday morning on the Chamba-Pathankot National Highway in Lahar area of Dalhousie sub-division. Five people in the car died in the accident. SP Vijay Saklani has confirmed the accident. The police took the bodies out of the ditch and took them into custody and started investigating the cause of the accident.
According to the police, the deceased have been identified as driver Bachan Singh (60), son of Narayan Singh, his son Ripon Kumar (30), Ripon’s wife Rimpi (26), Kirti (23), son of Kesar Singh and a 3-month-old child. All were residents of Gram Panchayat Gahira of Bharmour assembly constituency of Chamba district and were returning home from Chandigarh.
Expressing grief over the accident, Bharmour MLA Dr. Janak Raj said that the news of death of five people of Gahira is very sad. He prayed for peace of the souls of the deceased and strength to the family members to bear this loss.
weather alert
According to the Meteorological Department, in the last 24 hours, the highest rainfall of 137.8 mm was recorded in Chamba district. Apart from this, 118.0 mm in Naina Devi of Bilaspur, 83.0 mm in Murari Devi of Mandi, 58.2-58.2 mm in Ghamrur and Shimla of Kangra, 54.6 mm in Brahmani of Bilaspur, 52.0 mm in Jogindernagar of Mandi, 47.0 mm in Malraon of Bilaspur, 44.0 mm in Olinda, 44.0 mm in Hamirpur. 43.0 mm rainfall, 42.4 mm rainfall was recorded at RL BBMB in Bilaspur and 42.2 mm rainfall was recorded at Nagrota Suriyan in Kangra.
The Meteorological Department has predicted heavy to very heavy rain at different places in the state on July 28 to 30 and August 3. Heavy rain is also expected at many places from July 31 to August 2. The department has advised people not to go near rivers and streams and avoid unnecessary travel during bad weather.
Report: UK Sharma
