Road to Himachal's Chandratal cleared after 5 days, 256 tourists evacuated

Rescue workers on Thursday shifted to safety all 256 tourists stranded for five days at Chandratal in Lahaul and Spiti and mounted a helicopter operation to evacuate over 100 people stuck at places around Sangla in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district.

The state government claims to have moved 60,000 tourists to safer areas over the past four days. But 10,000 tourists stuck at different spots in Kasol, Kheerganga and adjoining areas are refusing to trek to safety as they do not want to leave their cars behind, officials said.

Authorities have told them they would be given “receipts” they can produce to claim the vehicles later.

The hill state has been lashed by heavy rains that triggered landslides and flash floods, blocking roads and washing away bridges.

With the recovery of three more bodies, the Himachal death toll rose Wednesday to 42. Fourteen people are missing, according to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

According to the State Emergency Response Centre, 636 houses are totally wrecked and another 1,128 partially damaged. Altogether 1,110 roads still remain blocked.

The emergency centre says the state has suffered a loss of Rs 2,108 crore due to the rains. But the chief minister has pegged the losses at about Rs 4,000 crore.

Expert drivers were arranged to drive the tourist vehicles in the snowbound area. Food and medical supplies are provided to the tourists at Losar before taking them to Kaza and the superintendent of police is supervising the rescue operation, Lahaul and Spiti deputy commissioner Rahul Kumar told PTI.

The distance between Chnadertal and Losar is about 32 km.

Chandertal Lake in Spiti valley is a much sought after tourist destination where visitors stay in camps. The site has been used for shooting of several movies.

Terming the evacuation from Chandertal a "challenging task", Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who did an aerial survey of Losar, Chandertal, Sirru and Manali on Wednesday, had tasked Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi to assist the rescue efforts in Chandertal.

Negi hails from the tribal Kinnaur district and is acquainted with the harsh topography.

The evacuation started after the revenue minister reached Chandertal early this morning. More than 250 people, mostly tourists, were stranded in Chandertal, while seven sick people, including two elderly and a girl, were airlifted to Bhunter on Tuesday.

Due to a heavy landslide near Dunkhara on Kasol-Bhuntar road, the vehicles could not be moved and the tourists climbed the slide for evacuation, the officials said.

Sukhu on Thursday said the police will provide the tourists with a slip (receipt) and they can take their vehicles when roads are clear.

The CM visited the flood-hit Thunag sub-division in Mandi and announced to provide Rs 1 lakh each to the affected families and to provide land for the construction of the house which was swept away. He also directed to channelize the Thunag rivulet so as to avoid flooding.

Some videos of tourists, including foreigners, have gone viral, thanking locals and the state government for their evacuation.

With recovery of three more bodies, the death toll following recent heavy rains in the state has reached 42.

The total death toll due to rain-related incidents and road accidents has risen to 91 so far since the onset of monsoon on June 24, said education minister Rohit Thakur on Thursday.

As many as 14 persons are missing and the state has suffered losses to the tune of about Rs 4,000 crore, he added.

As per the state emergency operation centre, the total deaths were 88 till Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, 113 persons stranded ahead of Karcham near Sangla and other areas have been evacuated through six sorties, CM Sukhu said in a tweet.

"Ninety-five people, including foreigners, were brought to safe places at Sangla, Chitkul and Raksham in Kinnaur district, and those affected by floods in Sangla have been temporarily sheltered in schools, guest houses and hotels," officiating DGP Satwant Atwal had tweeted Wednesday night.

"Six Israelis have been brought to Manikaran and 37 Israelis are at Barshaini, and all of them are safe," she added. Tourists from America, Russia, Israel, Germany, Spain, Australia and Romania are also stuck in Himachal besides domestic tourists.

Meanwhile, Israel deputy chief of mission Ohad Nakash Kaynar tweeted on Thursday, “Going to Himachal Pradesh on the Director General and Ambassador's directive to try and reconnect with Israeli tourists who are in flooded areas like Kasol, Kalga and Pulga."

"A total of 1,020 roads were still blocked in the state, while 2,498 transformers and 1,244 water supply schemes have been disrupted," an official of the state emergency operation centre said on Thursday.

The state has suffered a cumulative loss of Rs 1,312 crore till July 12, and loss estimates are still pouring in as per the emergency centre.

However, the chief minister has maintained that the state's losses are about Rs 4,000 crore.

The officials said bus services are suspended on 1,061 Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation routes and 344 buses are held enroute.

Light to heavy rains continued to lash several parts of the state on Thursday, with Dhaulakaun in Sirmaur being the wettest at 106 mm, followed by Solan (38 mm), Palampur (28 mm), Jubbarhatti (25 mm), Narkanada (24.5 mm) and Shimla (21 mm).

The MeT office has issued a 'yellow' alert for heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightning from July 13 to 17 and predicted a wet spell till July 19.