Video: 50 Metres Road On Chandigarh-Manali Highway Damaged After Landslide

A massive landslide struck the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway near Pandoh Dam in the Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh, completely blocking traffic and causing a major disruption in the region.

According to the reports, over 50 meters of the highway have caved in. The landslide is believed to have been triggered by continuous rainfall. A portion of Chandigarh-Manali National Highway between Pandoh Dam and the Baglamukhi ropeway on Mandi-Kullu stretch has collapsed due to a major road cave-in.

Sakshi Verma, Superintendent of Police, Mandi, said, "Chandigarh-Manali National Highway blocked in Mandi following a landslide near the Pandoh Dam. Continuous rainfall since last night is believed to have triggered the slide."

The National Highway is currently closed, with long queues of vehicles stranded on both sides. 

Notably, Himachal Pradesh has reported a total of 95 rain-related deaths and 78 fatalities due to road accidents during the ongoing monsoon season, according to a cumulative loss report released by the State Disaster Management Authority of the state.

The report covers the period from June 20 to July 31.

The State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) under the Department of Revenue-DM Cell, Government of Himachal Pradesh, confirmed that the 95 deaths were attributed to various disasters during the monsoon season.

Landslides have resulted in five fatalities, while flash floods have taken eight lives. Cloudbursts have been particularly deadly, causing 17 deaths. Drowning incidents and falls from trees or steep rocks have each led to 18 fatalities. Additionally, snake bites have claimed nine lives, electrocution has caused six deaths, and a fire incident has resulted in one fatality.

In addition to these disaster-related fatalities, the state has recorded 78 deaths resulting from road accidents across various districts during the same monsoon period. The highest number of road accident deaths was reported in Mandi (14), Shimla (10), and Solan (10).

(With inputs from ANI)