Monsoon Havoc in Himachal: 342 Lives Lost, Thousands Displaced, Rivers in Spate, Breaching Roads and Bridges.
Shimla, Sept 3 – Himachal Pradesh is reeling under one of its deadliest monsoon seasons in recent memory. Relentless rains since June have triggered landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts across the state, leaving a trail of death and destruction.
In Sundarnagar’s Jangambagh, a massive landslide swallowed homes and vehicles on Tuesday night. Six bodies have been pulled out so far, while rescue workers continue their grim overnight search.
A Tata Sumo is feared trapped under the debris. Among those killed in the vehicle buried under the massive landslide was young Congress worker Rahul Mandyal.
Rescue teams have so far recovered six bodies from the debris, while among those buried alive was Sheetla bus driver Sonu, along with his entire family, plunging the local community into mourning.
The tragedy doesn’t stop here. In Jogindernagar’s Nar Gharwasda, villagers have been forced to vacate their homes after a fresh landslide. In Kullu’s Akhara Bazaar, the landslide inundated the bazaar.
Similar devastation has been reported from Antrauli and Kaloon in Chopal, and Kotgarh in Shimla district where hundreds of apple trees were washed away.
“Mera makan khatre ki nishan per hai, prashasan kuch kare,” a villager from Neether Jhalli pleaded as cracks widened around his house.
Adding to the chaos, Kinnaur’s Wangtu stretch is blocked after boulders smashed parked vehicles.
Authorities have urged people not to leave their vehicles at risky points along vulnerable stretches.
According to the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), 341 people have lost their lives since June 20, while 389 animals have perished.
As many as 1,364 houses have been completely destroyed, and over 27,000 homes partially damaged.
The loss to public property alone has crossed ₹3,525 crore, with damages to crops, roads, schools, and water supply systems adding to the crisis.
District-wise, Mandi has suffered the heaviest toll with 51 human deaths and massive property loss worth over ₹1,231 crore.
Kangra (50 deaths), Chamba (42), Shimla (36), and Kullu (29) follow closely in the grim tally.
Road accidents triggered by heavy rains have claimed another 159 lives statewide.
Apart from those in Jammu the rivers Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, and Giri are swollen above danger marks that have inundated hundreds of villages in Punjab affecting over 1.5 lakh people.
Flash floods have turned mountain streams into raging torrents, washing away bridges, roads, and fertile orchards.
Ironically, even as there is “water, water everywhere,” several towns are struggling without safe drinking water due to broken pipelines and contaminated sources.
Despite heavy machinery working round-the-clock, hundreds of roads remain blocked.
The apple belt has been particularly hard-hit, with many orchards destroyed just as the harvest season began. Fruit has either dropped or rotting in packaged cartons.
Authorities have put emergency helpline 1070 on 24x7 alert.
But for the families like Sonu’s in Sundarnagar, these statistics are a reminder of the unbearable human cost behind the monsoon numbers.
Himachal is under siege by its own mountains and rivers – and the rains show no sign of stopping.
Disaster Management of state is no match to mitigate the scale of destruction to life, limb and property in the state
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