Landslides, cloudbursts kill 48 as rain batters Himachal Pradesh

At least nine people died when a temple in the Summer Hill area of Shimla came crumbling down around 7.15 am Monday. The incident took place when an aarti was going on and, according to locals, more than 30 people were inside.

Nestled in a deep gorge between two hills, the Prachin Shiv Mandir collapsed following a cloudburst, burying a host of devotees.

Before and after photos of the collapse of a temple in Shimla’s Summer Hill area (Express Photo)

The tragedy sent ripples in the Himachal Pradesh University, which has staff quarters located nearby. The dead include Kiran Chaudhary, a lab technician at the university. Her relatives were inconsolable as they made their way back from the site.

Raghubir, who lost two of his friends in the incident, recounted, “Local youth had gathered there to make preparations for the traditional langar (community meal) to be served on Tuesday. This practice during the month of sawan has deep-rooted historical significance.”

Kamal Ram, a guard at the university, said a much larger crowd was expected to gather there later in the day.

The management committee responsible for upkeep of the temple has also been overseeing the recently initiated construction of another temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman. The new structure, situated at a corner, sustained relatively less damage.

Several locals rushed to the site after hearing about the collapse. Among them was Navneet Deewan, 59. “Having been born and raised in Shimla, I have seen this shrine since my youth. My parents, too, have memories of the temple from their childhood.”

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited the area during the day to inspect rescue operations. The shrine can be accessed from two routes, but roads were broken due to the cloudburst, and the CM had to walk to the site. “The local administration is diligently working to clear the debris in order to rescue individuals who may still be trapped,” he said.

“The damage is colossal and NDRF teams are removing the debris despite the bad weather,” said Sanjeev Gandhi, superintendent of police, Shimla.

A cloud burst reported at Jadon village of Kandaghat sub division in Solan. (Twitter/ANI. Photo: District Disaster Management Authority, Solan)

The Himachal Pradesh meteorological department had already issued a yellow alert in the state for Sunday and Monday and predicted rain until August 19.

The heavy downpour led to closure of 1,200 district roads. Officials also said 4,697 distribution transformers were damaged, while 902 water supply routes were affected. Landslides took place at more than 25 different locations while cloudbursts were witnessed at six.

The CM appealed to residents and tourists to avoid areas prone to landslides. He also held a virtual meeting with all district commissioners, following which he declared a holiday for all schools, colleges, industrial training institutes, engineering, polytechnic, and pharmacy colleges on Monday. Postgraduate and B.Ed examinations were cancelled.

Dozens of vehicles were damaged across the state, and many homes saw electricity and water outages.

In Solan, at least seven people were killed and three were missing in a cloudburst in Jadon village, said officials. “Rati Ram, a retired PWD beldar, lost seven members of his family, including three grandchildren,” said Nand Lal, a resident who reached the spot before the police. “He is in shock; this is a colossal loss.”

In another incident in Shimla, five houses collapsed, killing at least five people. In Mandi, 19 deaths were reported in the past 12 hours.