Heavy rain disrupts Himachal Pradesh; 153 roads shut, water supply hit

Shimla: Heavy monsoon rainfall continued to disrupt normal life across Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, with 153 roads remaining blocked, 191 power distribution transformers (DTRs) out of service, and 58 drinking water supply schemes affected, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

The latest SEOC report said restoration work is underway across affected districts, with authorities deploying road-clearing machinery, electricity department teams and water supply personnel to restore essential services.

Among the blocked roads, Mandi district accounted for 51, followed by Sirmaur (39), Kullu (36) and Shimla (15). While the number of blocked roads showed a slight improvement from 157 reported earlier in the day, it remained significantly higher than the 109 roads blocked on Monday evening.

Officials said no National Highway was blocked as of Tuesday evening.

The power sector also remained severely affected, with 191 distribution transformers disrupted across the state. Sirmaur was the worst-hit district with 143 transformers out of service, followed by Mandi (35) and Shimla (12).

Water supply infrastructure suffered fresh damage as well. The number of non-functional drinking water schemes rose to 58, more than doubling from 28 reported earlier in the day. Sirmaur recorded 28 affected schemes, while Shimla reported 19, disrupting water supply in several areas.

The adverse weather impacted several districts, including Mandi, Sirmaur, Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Kangra, Hamirpur and Una.

Authorities said restoration efforts are continuing on a war footing to reopen roads, restore electricity and repair damaged water supply infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast continued rainfall over the coming days and advised residents and travellers to exercise caution, particularly in landslide- and flood-prone areas.

Speaking to ANI in Shimla on Monday, Sandeep Kumar Sharma, Senior Scientist, IMD Himachal Pradesh, said the active monsoon conditions are expected to persist.

"Rainfall activity is likely to continue across Himachal Pradesh from August 3 to 7 under active monsoon conditions. Heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places during this period, but as of now no flash flood warning has been issued for the state," Sharma said.