Himachal Pradesh: Incessant rains drive school closure in Mandi

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Shimla,
Aug
20:
Schools
in
Himachal
Pradesh’s
Mandi
district
will
remain
closed
on
Saturday
due
to
ongoing
incessant
rains,
a
senior
administration
official
said.

In
view
of
incessant
rains
in
Mandi
for
the
past
two
days
and
the
weather
forecast
of
heavy
rainfall
in
the
next
24
hours,
it
has
been
decided
that
all
the
government
and
private
educational
institutions
except
colleges
and
ITI
in
Mandi
district
shall
remain
closed
on
August
20,
district
deputy
commissioner
cum
district
magistrate
Arindam
Chaudhary
said
in
an
order
issued
on
Friday
evening.

All
the
Aganwaris
will
also
remain
closed,
the
order
said.

The
official
said
that
the
heads
of
closed
educational
institutions
shall
strictly
comply
with
the
order
issued
as
a
matter
of
public
safety.

Himachal
flash
flood:
2
bodies
recovered
from
Kullu’s
Solang
Nala;
rescue
ops
underway

Mandi
DC
Arindam
Chaudhary
said,”Many
areas
of
Mandi
received
rain
overnight;
we
started
receiving
calls
of
roads
getting
blocked
&
other
related
concerns
since
1:30am.
Many
individual
incidents
resolved.
Police
on
the
job,
NDRF
was
contacted
at
around
2:30am;
their
mobilisation
done:
Mandi
DC
A
Chaudhary.”

”All
our
teams
are
mobilised,
SDMs
are
on
the
field.
Our
primary
efforts
will
be
to
take
care
of
individual
incidents
where
people’s
lives
are
at
stake.
Second
priority
will
be
to
open
up
all
the
blocked
National
Highways
&
later
to
mobilise
all
other
roads,” he
said.

”A
cloudburst
situation
was
informed
to
us
from
Segli
in
Mandi
last
night.
By
the
time
we
reached,
a
huge
landslide
also
occurred.
PWD
is
helping
with
opening
up
of
the
road,
NDRF
has
been
coordinated;
they’re
moving
to
the
spot,” Mandi
DC
further
said.

Meanwhile,
Kullu-Sainj
road
closed
due
to
landslides;
flash
floods
reported
in
Pagal
Nala.