Cloudburst in Kullu: Cloudburst hits Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu; 4 missing as houses, tourist camps washed away | Shimla News

MANALI: At least five people were reported missing after a major cloudburst hit Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district on Wednesday morning.
A large number of tourist camps and some houses were also swept away.

The cloudburst hit the Choj nullah at Choj village in the early morning.
Kullu senior superintendent of police Gurdev Sharma said four people were missing after the cloudburst.
He said the bridge on the Parvati river, which provides access to the village, had also been washed away.
Rohit Kumar from Sundernager in Mandi district, Kapil from Pushkar in Rajasthan, Rahul Chaudhary from Dharamshala and Arjun from Banjar in Kullu district are missing.
Three camping sites have been washed away. A guesthouse has been damaged partially while the house, fish farm and cowshed of Khem Raj have been washed away. His four cows have also drowned in the flood.
Dhabas of Hira Lal, Lata Devi, Pane Ram and Panna Lal, and houses of Duni Chand, Nanak Chand and Pane Ram got damaged. Officials said the damages are being assessed.
It’s been raining heavily in many parts of Himachal since late Tuesday night. Rivers and nullahs in many areas are in spate after a heavy downpour.
The upper parts of Parvati valley also witnessed heavy downpour while the catchment area of Choj nullah was hit by a cloudburst.
The heavy flow of water, in the form of flash floods, washed away some camps and houses. Many cattle also washed away besides some dhabas. A bridge on the Parvati river connecting the village with the road has also been swept away.
Some houses in Choj village are submerged in flood water while camps are not visible. Sources said a few new tourist camps were pitched here and the campsites had become popular among tourists due to the scenic location. A cafe was also damaged in the incident.
Police and officials were rushed to the spot to carry out rescue and relief operations. However, blocked roads were making it difficult to reach the spot.
Officials said they didn’t have clear information about total loss and casualties but relief works are under way.
The water level in Parvati and Beas rivers is extremely high. Ajay Thakur, executive engineer at Larji hydel project said, they have sounded alert after the water level in a reservoir built on Beas had gone up and the project was discharging 500 cumecs of water through its spillway.
Meanwhile, another cloudburst near Malana village blocked the road to the village and washed away some sheds, an ambulance and other belongings of the hydel project below Malana village.
No casualties were reported from the project site.
Parvati valley in Kullu district is very prone to cloudbursts and flash floods. Four people were washed away in a cloudburst in Brahmaganga rivulet of Parvati valley last year.