A burst of late monsoon rain in Himachal Pradesh has left a trail of destruction, killing 46 people in the past two days, besides adversely affecting hydro-power generation, the apple harvest, and tourist arrivals in the hill state.
The state government has put the administration on alert and urged the Centre to release Rs 1,000 crore immediately to provide relief to the affected areas.
Roads, bridges, houses and huge tracts of farmland have been destroyed by the heavy rain in the past 48 hours.
The closure of most of the roads, including Hindustan-Tibet Road and the Bilaspur-Manali National Highways, due to landslides and uprooting of trees is affecting relief operations.
Hundreds of apple-laden trucks heading towards markets in northern India are stuck in many rural roads of the state, leaving farmers worried that their produce will rot if the roads are not cleared soon. Harvesting apples has come to a halt.
Eight hydro power projects – Bhabha, Giri, Andhra, Larji, Chabha, Dehar, Nogli and Ghanvi – have remained closed since Friday. Power generation is at its lowest in the 1,500 Mw Nathpa Jhakri project, the country's largest hydro project.
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Himachal is a major supplier of power to the power hungry northern grid.
Hoteliers and travel agents are reporting mass cancellations of booking by tourists over the past few days.
Rainfall on Friday in Shimla broke a 46-year record, with 177 mm of precipitation.
Six people died in Shimla, including two Tibetan shopkeepers, when a colony of 20 stalls owned by Tibetan refugees in downtown Shimla was washed away by a landslide.
"Over 150 tourists and locals were safely evacuated today from the 13,050-foot-high Rohtang Pass, which saw unseasonal heavy snowfall, surprising commuters on Friday," said Sudha Devi, district magistrate, Kullu.
The closing of the Rohtang Pass will affect potato movement from the landlocked mountainous Lahaul Valley, besides delaying storing supplies for the tribal folk and also the army settlements in the valley.
"Food, medicine and blankets were air dropped by an Air Force helicopter to 45 trekkers, including 25 foreigners, in the snow-covered Lahaul Valley's Sarchu area," Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said.
Around 400 people continue to be stranded near the Baralacha Pass.
"The Karmapa Lama and his team have been safely evacuated from the Lahaul valley and taken to Leh," said Dhumal.
The Karmapa heads one the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and fled Tibet to India in early 2000.