Mussoorie/Dehradun, Sept 18 — Torrential rain and cloudbursts in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh left at least 18 people dead, dozens missing, and thousands stranded, as rescue teams on Wednesday scrambled to restore road links and essential services.
In Uttarakhand, about 2,500 tourists remained stuck in Mussoorie for a second consecutive day after the main road from Dehradun was washed away at several points. Police appealed to visitors to stay put in hotels and homestays until the route was restored. A longer, alternative route via Vikasnagar was partially reopened on Wednesday, allowing some tourists to leave.
“The debris has been partially cleared from two points along the route, but installation of an alternative bridge at Kolhukhet may take a little more time,” a police officer in Mussoorie said.
IAS officer Rahul Anand, overseeing restoration work, told PTI that a Bailey bridge at Kolhukhet would become operational within hours. “We will then open the route for light vehicles. It will also help transport heavy machines like JCBs for clearing the rubble accumulated on the road beyond Kolhukhet,” he said.
The distance between Dehradun and Mussoorie is just 35 km by the usual route, but tourists forced to take the Vikasnagar diversion face an 80 km journey. To ease their hardship, the Mussoorie Hotel Owners’ Association offered complimentary overnight stays on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said his government was prioritising repairs of roads and power lines. “Our effort is to restore connectivity at the earliest,” he said, adding that 85 per cent of damaged power lines had been repaired. He noted that nearly 1,000 stranded people had already been rescued. Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said more than 10 roads and bridges were damaged, with five washed out entirely.
Areas suffering the worst damage included Sahastradhara, Premnagar, Mussoorie, Narendra Nagar, Pauri, Pithoragarh and Nainital.
The disaster has its roots in cloudbursts and heavy downpours on Tuesday that killed 15 people in Uttarakhand, left 16 missing, and stranded more than 900 others. Himachal Pradesh was also hit hard, where three members of a family died in landslides and flash floods.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who chaired a high-level meeting in Shimla, said those still staying in unsafe houses would be shifted to safer locations. “People’s safety is our top priority. Under the Special Relief Package, the government is providing Rs 10,000 as rent in urban areas and Rs 5,000 in rural areas for those rendered homeless,” he said.
Sukhu noted that the state has witnessed extreme rainfall. “In September alone, Himachal has recorded 136 per cent excess rainfall. During this monsoon season, the state has received 45 per cent more rain than average,” he said.
Since the monsoon began on June 20, Himachal has suffered 417 deaths, with 45 people still missing. The state has recorded 46 cloudbursts, 98 flash floods and 145 major landslides, causing losses pegged at Rs 4,582 crore. Officials said more than 1,500 families have been displaced.
Meanwhile, Delhi saw cloudy skies with light showers, while the IMD issued a yellow alert for the region. In Rajasthan, the Met office forecast light to moderate rain in some eastern districts over the next three to four days, though most areas are expected to remain dry.
