Himachal Pradesh rains: 35 IIT students rescued in Lahaul-Spiti

Himahal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will visit Lahaul-Spiti district later in the day to take stock of the situation arisen out of recent snowfall, he said.

The Lahaul-Spiti district witnessed about 4-feet snowfall till Monday, as a result of which the Rohtang Pass and several inner roads got blocked, Negi told PTI.

The border road organisation (BRO) has already cleared about six-km-long Keylong-Stingri road and is working on to clear other blocked inner roads.  Apart from tourists, General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) personnel have also been stranded at various areas in the district, the SDM said. However, the exact number of stranded people was yet not clear, he added while talking to PTI.

Meanwhile, eight travellers who had gone missing from Lahaul-Spiti on Monday night were rescued this morning and are safe at Koksar camp in Lahaul-Spiti, Keylong Negi told ANI. The group comprised a woman from Brunei, Sanjida Tuba, a man from the Netherlands, Abby Lim, and six Indians — Priyanka Vora, Payal Desai, Dipika, Divya Aggarwal, Abhinav Chandel and Ashok.

Follow LIVE UPDATES on the rains in north India

At least 22 people were killed in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir as the northern states in the country were hit by incessant rainfall since Sunday. A red alert was issued in both Punjab and Himachal Pradesh on Monday. Schools in most districts were closed on Monday as a precautionary measure. A number of houses in low-lying areas, especially in Kangra, Chamba and Mandi districts, were evacuated to prevent casualties, PTI had quoted officials as saying.

A Truck swept away in Beas river which was in spate at Kullu on Monday (Photo: Pradeep Kumar)

In Chamba, the Ravi river has been flowing at a dangerous level. Gates of Chamera dam in Himachal were opened to release excess water.

On Sunday, as many as 19 people stranded at Dobi in Kullu district after flash floods and heavy rains were rescued by deploying an Indian Air Force chopper.

In Punjab too, the water flow at Sutlej Pull border between Khanna and Nawanshahr was strong, with the Bhakra-Beas Management Board in Hoshiarpur warning about floods in the downstream areas. All three gates were opened to release water from Sukhna lake.

Alert was issued in a dozen villages in Mukerian, Hoshiarpur district in Punjab after the reservoir level of maximum reservoir level of Ranjit Sagar Dam neared its maximum.

In view of the looming flood threat, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had announced closure of schools and colleges on Tuesday.