Shimla: Heavy rainfall continued to wreak havoc in several parts of Himachal Pradesh on Friday. At least 45 people went missing after cloudbursts in three districts of Himachal Pradesh. Three more bodies were recovered on Friday, raising the death toll due to flash floods to eight.
Twenty five houses were submerged following flash floods that hit Samej village in Shimla’s Rampur on Thursday. Among the missing people are eight children, students of a school in Samej village. Rescue operations are underway to trace them.
School submerged in Shimla, eight students missing
According to reports, only debris is found inside the school that got submerged in Samej village. The materials lying inside the school premises got damaged. Many classrooms situated on the ground floor of the school building got filled with debris. Moreover, cracks appeared on the first floor of the school.
The school staff said that eight children from their institute went missing following a cloudburst. The trophies, books, tables, chairs all got scattered inside the school due to the impact of the cloudburst.
According to villagers, a family was washed away along with the house in the floods. Subhash and his wife Kulwinder, who reside in the village, said, “We were sleeping at night. We woke up when we felt something was happening to the house. We rushed outside the house. We shouted and informed people about the cloudburst. Four people living in our house came out. However, the remaining people were trapped inside. Then debris fell and our house was damaged.”
What Himachal Pradesh CM and Shimla DC said
Shimla DC Anupam Kashyap said, “The way the situation is, it is a bit difficult to carry out the rescue operation. We have deployed different teams. Teams of NDRF, SDRF, local police, ITBP, police and home guards are engaged in the rescue operation.”
The DC said that there is a possibility of people getting swept away far from Samej village. “Clouds have burst in Shimla, Kullu and Mandi,” said the DC.
Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said, “We will provide all possible help and relief to victims of the disaster. Restoration work is underway.”
What Jairam Thakur said
Himachal Pradesh Assembly Leader of Opposition, Jairam Thakur, met PM Narendra Modi, in Delhi on Friday. He said “We gave complete information to the PM about the tragedy that occurred in Himachal Pradesh. PM Modi assured full cooperation to Himachal Pradesh in dealing with this tragedy and said that other central forces including NDRF have been immediately deployed for relief and rescue work. Whatever resources will be required in future to deal with the tragedy will also be made available immediately by the Central Government. The PM also called upon the BJP workers and public representatives to join in the relief and rescue work and provide all possible help to the affected people.”
भारत के यशस्वी प्रधानमंत्री आदरणीय नरेन्द्र मोदी जी से मिलकर तीसरी बार देश का नेतृत्व करने पर प्रदेश की ओर से बधाई दी।
हमने प्रधानमंत्री जी को हिमाचल प्रदेश में आई त्रासदी की पूरी जानकारी दी।
प्रधानमंत्री मोदी जी ने इस त्रासदी से निपटने में हिमाचल प्रदेश का सहयोग करने का पूरा… pic.twitter.com/m7jX3TwhHT
— Jairam Thakur (@jairamthakurbjp) August 2, 2024