By IANS
Shimla : At least 30 people have died due to heavy rains that continued in Himachal Pradesh for the third day Monday triggering mudslides at various places, officials said.
Even though some parts of the hill state had some respite from the rain Monday, many places were lashed by intermittent rain.
At least four Nepali labourers were buried alive in a landslide near Matiana on the ‘Hindustan Tibet road’, some 50 km from here, early Monday. Six people died in Solan district while two were swept away in Hamirpur district, officials said here. Four people were killed in Kangra and three in Mandi district.
Nadaun in Kangra has received the highest rainfall of 511 mm in the 48 hours to Monday evening while Shimla and Mandi received 212 mm and 361 mm of rainfall respectively. Dharampur in Solan district received 313 mm during 12 hours to Monday evening alone, causing widespread damage in the region.
Estimates of property losses were still being made.
Life in the state was paralysed as several roads were blocked due to mudslides. The Kalka-Shimla and Chandigarh-Manali national highways remained blocked due to heavy landslides at various places.
Heavy fog covered Shimla and other resorts due to which vehicles moved at snail’s pace. Shimla and Solan went without newspapers and milk Monday.
The Kalka-Shimla ‘toy train’ service was also disrupted for the second day due to landslides and boulders coming on the winding track at various spots. The Koti railway station, some 75 km from here, suffered heavy damage.
Power generation has come to a standstill at the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri, the country’s largest hydel project, and also at the 300 MW Baspa hydel power project in Kinnaur district due to the heavy silt content in the flooded Sutlej and Baspa rivers, severely affecting power supply to the northern grid.