Clouds of fear loom over Shimla as met predicts more rain

The monsoon battering has left the capital city with debris of landslide-hit houses, uprooted trees and blocked roads. An unrest looms large over the hill town after another spell of heavy rainfall. Met has predicted more showers for the rain-battered Shimla town. (Deepak Sansta/HT) A thunderstorm hit the town, which received 200 mm of rainfall over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. It is in this backdrop that the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast more rain until August 29. A red alert has been sounded in six dricts including Shimla, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Solan and Sirmaur. There is an orange alert for Hamirpur and Bilaspur, IMD’s Shimla centre director Surender Paul said. A new normal With road connectivity snapped at multiple locations, normalcy is yet to return to Shimla. Roads were closed at 24 sites due to landslides. As many as 25 trees were also left uprooted. Deputy commissioner Aditya Negi said, “Many roads in the town were still closed. We are hopeful that all the roads will be open afternoon.” “Rains and resultant devastation have traumatised people who are visiting the hospital for psychological disorders, especially those families who have lost their property and near and dear ones,” head of psychiatry department at the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital Dr Dinesh Dutt Sharma said. Notably, as many as 24 people had lost their lives after the landslide in Summerhill, Phagli and Krishanagar on August 14-15. Keeping the forecast in view, the adminration has already declared holidays for schools. “The rain for the last two days was quite scary and we could not get enough sleep due to fear of landslides and floods,” Ruchi Bhogal, a school teacher, said. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Gaurav Bisht heads Hindustan Times’ Himachal bureau. He covers politics in the hill state and other issues concerning the masses. …view detail