CHANDIGARH: After heavy rainfall on Friday night, sections of the 600-year-old Nalagarh Fort in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh have collapsed. Reports said that four rooms within the fort, which houses a luxury resort, have suffered structural damage.
Originally constructed in 1421 during the rule of Raja Bikram Chand from the Chand dynasty, the fort sits atop a hill. The resort has been operational within the fort premises since 1995.
It’s worth noting that the resort also serves as the residence of Vijender Singh, former Himachal health minister who is from the Chand dynasty. Meanwhile, the Chandigarh-Manali national highway has remained inaccessible since Friday evening due to landslides.
Road links to Manali and Kullu have been cut off from the rest of the state. Alternative routes via Mandi towards Kullu have also been blocked due to landslides at many places.
Road blockades have been experienced at the 6-mile and 9-mile points between Mandi and Pandoh on the Chandigarh- Manali highway due to landslides. Even the alternative route via Kataula between Mandi and Kullu has been obstructed because of landslides. Heavy rainfall has forced the closure of the Chandigarh- Shimla national highway.
A Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus carrying 13 passengers encountered a road collapse at Saros on the Kangu- Dehar highway in Mandi. As a result, the bus plummeted 100 feet. The bus was en route from Sundernagar to Shimla.