J P Nadda in Himachal on Sunday to take stock after rain havoc

New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) BJP president J P Nadda will be visiting his home state Himachal Pradesh on Sunday to take stock of the heavy damage inflicted by the recent floods and landslides, which have left at least 77 people dead.

The BJP said Nadda will meet the families of some of those who lost their lives, visit an ancient Shiva temple destroyed by heavy rains and landslides in Shimla.

He will meet the local administration in Shimla and Bilaspur, and discuss relief and rehabilitation work.

At least 16 people died in the temple collapse, the party noted.

Nadda will also be visiting villages in Sirmaur district where five persons lose lives due to cloudburst.

Shimla SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi had said on Friday that the death toll in the rain-battered state stood at 77 and 23 of these deaths were in the three major landslides in Shimla alone — at the Shiva temple in Summer Hill and in Fagli and Krishnanagar.

The state government has declared the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity.