Himachal rivers, streams in spate in Himachal's Sirmaur; Met predicts more rainfall

Nahan (HP), Jul 10 (PTI) Heavy monsoon rains over the past 36 hours wreaked havoc in many parts of Sirmaur district, including the Kala Amb industrial area, where waterlogging has caused massive disruption for people and closure of schools, officials said on Friday. Pachhad in Sirmaur district received the highest rainfall in the state at 207 mm, followed by Nahan at 158.5 mm. Dhaulakuan received 70 mm of rain, while Poanta Sahib recorded 62.8 mm of rain, the local Met office said. The weather office has predicted a light to moderate spell of rain in Sirmaur district for the next 3-4 hours. Officials said landslides hit several places in the rural areas of Nahan district, but no loss of life has been reported so far. The main rivers of Sirmaur district -- Tons, Yamuna, Bata, Giri and Markanda and dozens of streams are in spate, with the administration advising people to stay away. The rain also affected the district's road network. According to the Public Works Department, a total of 34 roads remained closed, including 21 in the Shillai sub-division, eight in Sangrah, four in Nahan, and one in Rajgarh. Earlier in the day, Paonta Sub-Divisional Officer Dwij Goyal had declared a holiday on Friday for all government and private educational institutions in the Paonta sub-division of Himachal's Sirmaur district in view of an alert issued by the Meteorological Department for heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. This decision was taken in exercise of the powers granted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in view of the students’ safety. However, officials have ordered that the heads of educational institutions and staff would be available for administrative and emergency work. PTI COR BPL KSI KSI