Himachal Flash Floods: Chandigarh-Manali Highway Reopens After Nearly 24 Hours

TIL Desk/National/Chandigarh/ The Chandigarh-Manali national highway was restored for traffic on Monday night after remaining closed for almost 24 hours owing to landslides and flash floods, officials said. Hundreds of commuters, including tourists, were stranded in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district as the highway was blocked since Sunday evening.   

The 70-km Mandi-Pandoh-Kullu stretch of the highway was blocked at Khotinallah near Aut, about 40 km from Mandi town, following flash floods while the Mandi-Pandoh stretch was blocked nearly 6 Miles after a landslide. Light to moderate rains continued to lash several parts of Himachal Pradesh and the  MeT office has issued a warning of heavy rainfall, thunderstorm, and lightning at isolated places on June 28 and 29 and thunderstorms and lightning on June 30 and July 1.     

A total of 301 roads were closed in the state following heavy rains, while 140 power transformers were disrupted. Flash floods were witnessed in Khotinallah near Aut, about 40 km from Mandi town, on the Pandoh-Kullu stretch due to a heavy downpour. Nine people have been killed in rain-related incidents, including landslides, and drowning, in the state so far, according to the data shared by the state emergency operation centre.