23 roads remain closed in HP despite dry weather

Shimla: Even though the weather remained mainly dry in Himachal Pradesh during the past three days, 23 roads are still closed for vehicular traffic in the state, officials said on Tuesday.

A maximum of ten roads are closed in Kangra, six in Mandi, four in Kullu, two in Shimla and one in Sirmaur district while nine power supply schemes have been affected, as per the state emergency operation centre.

The rain deficit in the current monsoon season from June 1 till September 24 was 21 per cent with Himachal Pradesh receiving 573.7 mm rainfall against a normal of 723.1 mm, the local Met office said on Tuesday.

The weather stayed mainly dry in the past two days but the local met office on Tuesday warned of heavy rains in the Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts on Wednesday. It also issued a ‘yellow’ warning for thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places in six out of 12 districts of the state on Wednesday and Thursday.

As per the last update, officials said 177 people died in rain-related incidents since the onset of monsoon till Friday, while 31 were missing. The state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1,331 crore, they said.