The death toll in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh rose to 74 as anoth༺er body was pulled out of the rubble of a Shiva temple here and two more people killed in Chamba district, officials said on Thursday.
Twenty-one of t꧃hese de🌳aths were in the three major landslides in Shimla alone --at the Shiva temple in Summer Hill and in Fagli and Krishnanagar.
Eight persons are still feared bu💙ried in the temple debris.
On Wednesday, workers at the Summer Hill landslide site retrieved the body of P L Sharma, head of the Mathematics department at♔ Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told PTI.
Two rain-related deaths were reported in Chamba district where a person fell from a height and another drowned, taking the death count over the past four days tꦿ🌸o 74, according to the state emergency operation centre.
The state recorded heavy rains for three days, beginning Sunday. After Tuesday, 𒀰there has been less rain. There were light showers at some places on Thur🔯sday.
Since the onset of the monsoon on June 24, 217 persons have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pra﷽desh.
Operations are on at the landslide sites in Shimla. So far, 14 bodies have been recovered from Summer Hill, five from Fagli and two 🌞from Krishnanagar, SP Gandhi said.
The Indian Army, Air Force and other rescue personne🐓l evacuated 309 people from the flood-affected area i🌱n Kangra district's Fatehpur and Pong Dam in Indora.
Over the las𒁃t three d🍨ays, 2074 people have been evacuated from these areas.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday visited the rain and flood-affected areas of Matehdi, Baldwaraꦅ, Maseran and Jukain of Sarkaghat assembly segment of Mandi district and met peop💟le there.
He assured them all possi🌟ble support from🐼 the government.
Princ🐲ipal Secretary (Revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma said the losses in the monsoon season have touched🎐 7,500 crore.
Schools were closed in Shimla city on Thursday.
Officials said 8ꦅ75 roads remain blocked in the state, and 1,135 transformers and 285 water supply schemes disrupted.
In an interview with PTI, Sukhu has said the state will take a year to rebuild the infrastructure damaged by the heavy rains this monsoon. Hꦕe estimated that the loss in the two devastating📖 spells of heavy rains - this week and in July - is about Rs 10,000 crore.
The chief minister said it takes time to rebui☂ld roads and water projects. But the government is speeding up the process. “We have to get the infrastructure fully restored within a year. I am working with this in mind”.
The state government on Thursday relaxed conditions for spending the MLA local area developmen😼♑t fund.
The 𒀰MLAs would now be able to use their fund of Rs 2.10 crore per year for projects like the construction of retaining walls and channelisation of ♚nullahs.
Meanwhile, the Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh said the central government h♐as approved Rs 2,643 crore for upgrading 254 roads in rural areas during the current financial year under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
-With PTI Input
