146 roads blocked in Himachal amid heavy rains, Met sounds yellow alert

Heavy rains continued to lash several parts of the Himachal Pradesh on Monday, shutting 146 roads for vehicular movement and disrupting 310 power schemes, officials said.

The Shimla Meteorological Department has sounded a 'yellow' alert for heavy rain in isolated parts of the state till Wednesday and cautioned of the possibility of damage to plantations, crops, vulnerable structures and kutcha houses.

The state emergency operation centre said 48 roads were blocked in Shimla, 43 in Mandi, 33 in Kullu, 10 in Kangra, five in Solan, three in Sirmaur, two in Kinnaur, one each in Una and Bilaspur district, on Monday morning following heavy rainfall.

The rains also disrupted 301 power and 20 water supply schemes in the state, the centre said.

According to the rainfall data from Sunday evening till Monday 9 am, Naina Devi was the wettest in the state with 142.6 mm rainfall, followed by 120 mm in Baijnath, 78.4 mm in Guler, 60.4 mm in Ghaghas, 60.2 mm in Bilaspur, 57 mm in Jogindernagar, 50.4 mm in Bharari, 47 mm in Palampur, 44 mm in Kangra and 42.6 mm in Dharamshala.

Officials said 122 people were killed in rain-related incidents and the state suffered losses of about Rs 1,140 crore between June 27 and August 17.