Four killed as heavy rains lash Himachal

Shimla, Sep 1 (IANS) Four people were killed in landslides in two different parts of Himachal Pradesh on Friday as the state experienced moderate to heavy rains, officials said.

Hundreds were stranded after incessant rainfall triggered landslides and snapped road links across the state.

"Three people were killed when boulders smashed their vehicle near Gambrola (in Bilaspur district)," a police official told IANS.

He said two travellers got grievous injuries and they were admitted to the Government Regional Hospital in Bilaspur, some 90 km from the state capital.

A child was killed when boulders rolled down on to his house in Rohru town in Solan district, police said.

He was sleeping alone in the house when the incident occurred.

In Mandi district, there was heavy damage to three shops in Baghinala village owing to heavy showers on Thursday night, but no loss to life.

While Arki town in Solan district recorded the highest rainfall in the state at 67 mm till 8.30 a.m., it was 64 mm in Paonta Sahib, 58 mm in Dharamsala, 53 mm in Palampur and 29 mm in Shimla.

"Precipitation occurred at most places in the state with very heavy rainfall in Kangra and Sirmaur districts in the past 24 hours," said an official of the meteorological office.

There were reports of link road closure in interiors of Shimla, Sirmaur, Mandi, Kangra and Kullu districts, hampering movement of traffic.

There was heavy landslide in Kotkhai town, around 54 km from the state capital, hampering the movements of vehicles on the Theog-Hatkoti highway.

A government spokesperson said the Satluj, Beas and Yamuna rivers and their tributaries were in spate in Kinnaur, Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur and Sirmaur districts.

These rivers enter Punjab and Haryana.

According to the Met office here, heavy rainfall is likely at some places in the state till Saturday.