CHANDIAGARH: Nearly 368 people stranded in snow-hit Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh were rescued on Wednesday, but nearly 200 people are still stranded.
State’s additional chief secretary (revenue and disaster management), Manisha Nanda, said the administration had launched a rescue operation at 7 am in Zingzing Bar and Baralacha. While 356 people were safely brought back via Rohtang tunnel, 12 foreign tourists were airlifted. She said a total 898 people have been rescued to safe places so far.
A loss of public property worth Rs 202.29 crore had been reported due to recent heavy rains, Nanda said, adding that many departments were still assessing the damage. Ration to 250 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) personnel had been sent and packets of eatables had been air-dropped at Kunzam Pass, she added.
Due to heavy rains, 373 roads were blocked in the state, of which 200 were expected to be opened by Wednesday evening and the remaining roads in the next two-three days.
The weather conditions have improved and BRO personnel are on the job to clear the roads.
Last year, 1.91 crore tourists visited the state. While 37.32 lakh tourist visited Kullu and Manali, 33.18 lakh visited Shimla. A travel agent said 500 -600 phone calls were coming daily as tourist are getting their bookings cancelled.