New Delhi/ Thiruvananthapuram: Several tourists from Kerala who were stranded after flood and landslides struck Himachal Pradesh are reportedly safe, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) said in Thiruvananthapuram. Meanwhile, the death toll in three days of torrential rain, flooding and landslide in northern India has surpassed 25.
Of the 54 Keralites stuck in three locations, 24 had returned to Delhi earlier. Thirty others marooned near the Raison Bridge town, some 15 km from Kulu, are on their way to Delhi. They left Kulu on Tuesday night with the help of Himachal authortites. Four of them were earlier reported to be sick.
Stuck in traffic block
A 30-member group from the Merchants Association in Kollengode, Palakkad, got stuck in a traffic jam near Raison Bridge for nearly five hours as they travelled in four vehicles to Kulu on Tuesday afternoon. They complained that the local police were not helpful.
Meanwhile, a 23-member group from Anjoor in Thrissur left Manali for Delhi on Tuesday evening. As bridges on the way were wrecked, vehicles were held up in a long queue, said Mojo Johnson, one from the group.
A team of eight bikers from Kozhikode had to discontinue their journey in Manali. They are from Kakkodi and Balusseri areas. Another group from Kozhikode were caught in a landslide in Udhampur, Jammu-Kashmir. Those in the car were guide Shaji of Vivekananda Travels, Kozhikode, and two chefs from Delhi. They later reached Delhi safely.
A 25-member group from Ramanattukara, Kozhikode, were reported safe. M. Siddique, his wife and two children from Kollam were stranded after a landslip as they travelled from Manali to Solang Valley. They spent two days in a hotel and returned to Delhi on Tuesday.
Low pressure brings rain
A low pressure that formed in the Bay of Bengal had brought incessant rain to the northern states from Tuesday. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday that the rain has eased after three days. The weather is expected to be clear from Wednesday.
The death toll has been put at eight in Himachal Pradesh, seven in Jammu and six in Punjab. Three of a family died in flash floods in Kulu valley on Tuesday morning. Forty-five students of IIT Rourkee, who had gone for a trekking in Spiti Valley, have been rescued. All valleys in Himachall were flooded as the Jhelum river breached its banks. Punjab, Himachal and Uttarakhand are under red alert.
Heavy snowing has been reported from several locations including Rohtang and Spiti. Snow piled up to some 55 cm in Keylong, where temperature dipped to two degrees on Tuesday.
The release of water from the Pong Dam on Beas river has been temporarily suspended.
Actor Karthi returns
Young Tamil film star Karthi Sivakumar was briefly stranded in Manali. “The landslide happened all of a sudden,” he recalled. “Huge boulders crashed.”
The actor was shooting for his project 'Dev'. Karthi got held up on the road, but returned safely to Chennai later. The production team had reached Manali six days back and Karthi had joined them three days back.
The sudden rain and landslide upset the production plans. The crew decided to return home, but the roads were blocked after landslide and they were held up on the road for well over five hours.
Karthi wrote: “We wanted to shoot against the background of the rain and snowing. It was all calm when we reached there. Suddenly the weather changed. Boulders were rolling down the hills. We moved to a nearby village which looked safer.”
