Alternative road opened in Himachal’s Pandoh to divert vehicular traffic

Shimla, Aug 26 (PTI) The authorities in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday started diverting hundreds of stranded vehicles to Kullu and Mandi via an alternative road opened from Pandoh, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sunder Singh Thakur said.

Hundreds of people were stuck near Pandoh in Mandi district after landslides triggered by heavy rain on August 23 blocked the Mandi-Kullu Highway and the Kandi Katola Road. The administration had arranged for the stranded people to stay in relief camps set up in hotels, rest houses and other places.

Some vehicles were diverted towards Anni and Mandi late on Friday, Singh said.

“We requested additional police force in Mandi and Kullu and Director-General of Police Sanjay Kundu has said that 50 personnel each would be deployed in the two districts,” he added.

According to the state’s Emergency Operation Centre, 347 roads — 182 in Mandi, 39 in Shimla and 32 in Kullu — are blocked.

Till August 25, 246 people have died in rain-related incidents since the onset of the monsoon on June 24. The Public Works Department alone has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 2,829 crore.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu earlier said that the state has so far suffered losses of Rs 12,000 crore due to the destruction caused by the monsoon rain.