Shimla: The first rains of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh caused havoc in capital Shimla with landslides burying at least three vehicles leading to temporary closure of the Chamiyana Shurala road.
The monsoon rains which started on 27 June in the hill state caused extensive damage in Shimla. Due to heavy rain, a scene of devastation was seen on Chamiyana Shurala road in Shimla where the flashfloods pushed a huge amount of debris on the road, in which three vehicles got buried and the road was shut. Two of these vehicles were completely buried under the debris. The debris led to the closure of Chamiyana Shurala road for traffic. On Friday morning people were seen traveling on the road on foot.
Local residents said that they informed the Public Works Department and the district administration about the road closure on Friday morning, but no worker reached there forcing them to start the restoration work on voluntary basis. Locals said that the closure of the road due to the landslides triggered by the monsoon rains have caused hardships to them with students most affected as they had to travel on foot for miles due to the road closure. Besides Shimla, roads in Kullu and Kinnaur too were blocked due to the landslides from the upper hills caused by the heavy rains in the state since Thursday. The Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for heavy rain accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms in most parts of Himachal Pradesh for the next days.
