Hindustan-Tibet road reopened after rain-triggered blockage in Kinnaur; 60 roads remain closed in HP

The Hindustan-Tibet Road (National Highway-5), which was blocked near Choling in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur after heavy rain triggered a massive debris flow early on Friday, has been reopened for all types of vehicles, officials said.
A huge amount of debris came down from the steep hills near Merut Nallah around 6 am, trapping two vehicles in the muck. The Ribba-Kanda link road was also blocked after flooding in the Ribba drain. However, no loss of life was reported, Deputy Commissioner Amit Sharma told PTI.
A JCB machine was immediately deployed at Choling for restoration work, and the highway was reopened for vehicular traffic around 10 am, he said.
According to State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), 60 roads were closed across state due to rain as of Friday morning, while 48 electricity transformers and 27 water supply schemes were disrupted.
24 pilgrims stranded near a temple in the Bharmour subdivision of the Chamba district have also been rescued. Flash floods triggered by heavy rain had washed away a temporary wooden bridge, cutting off access to the temple.
A joint rescue operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), local administration, the mountaineering institute and the Public Works Department (PWD) rescued the devotees on Thursday. They had been stranded since Wednesday.
The rescued pilgrims urged the Chamba district administration to develop a proper track to facilitate access to the temple.
Moderate rain lashed parts of the state since Thursday evening, with Baldwara in Mandi district recording 32 mm of rainfall, followed by Sarahan (27 mm), Bilaspur (25.8 mm), Shimla (19.5 mm), Berthin (18.6 mm), Slapper (18 mm) and Murari Devi (16 mm).
Shimla and Sundernagar also witnessed thunderstorms and lightning.
The Shimla Met office had issued an orange alert, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places on July 4 and 5. (PTI)