126 roads shut in Himachal amid rains, Met sounds 'yellow' alert for next 2 days

Rains lashed several parts of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, blocking vehicular movement on 85 more roads across the state and uprooting trees in the state capital. The local meteorological office has issued a 'yellow' alert, forecasting heavy rains accompanied with thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places in the state for the next two days.

As many as 41 roads were closed on Monday morning and the number increased to 126 on Tuesday as rains led to landslides and the uprooting of trees, according to the state emergency operation center. In Shimla city, school, and office goers had to face inconvenience in the morning hours due to the uprooting of trees near Toyland following heavy rains.

A total of 41 roads here are closed for vehicular movement in Shimla district. Of the total 126 blocked roads, the highest is shut in Mandi at 50, followed by 12 in Solan, 10 in Kangra, 6 in Kullu, 4 in Sirmaur, and one each in Una, Kinnaur and Lahaul, and Spiti districts. Additionally, 1,191 power and 27 water supply schemes across the state are also disrupted, the emergency operation center said.

Moderate rains were witnessed in several parts of the state since Monday 5 pm with Kaho recording the highest rainfall of 84 mm until 8 am, the weather data showed. Kaho was followed by Jubberhatti recording 83 mm rains, Kufri 73 mm, Shimla 62.8 mm, Pachhad 59 mm, Chopal 42.6 mm, Nagrota Suriyan 42.2 mm, Solan 42.4 mm, Sundernagar 39.8 mm, Narkanda 36 mm, Nahan 27.4 mm and Bilaspur 22.5 mm. Himachal Pradesh's rainfall deficit so far since the onset of monsoon on June 27 stands at 23 percent with the state receiving 453.4 mm rainfall against an average of 591.8 mm. From the monsoon onset till Monday, 144 people have died in rain-related incidents and the state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1,217 crore, officials said.