Video: In 'Pushpa'-Esque Scene, Lakhs Of Logs Float Downstream In Himachal Pradesh

In a scene that could have been straight out of the blockbuster 'Pushpa: The Rise', wooden logs worth crores were spotted floating down a river in Himachal Pradesh.

A viral video taken from atop a bridge shows lakhs of wooden logs floating near the Pandoh Dam in Mandi after floating downstream from Kullu.

In the movie 'Pushpa: The Rise' the protagonist played by Allu Arjun is involved in the trade of red sandalwood and, to avoid getting caught at police checkpoints, he dumps the logs in a stream and retrieves them at a dam downstream. 

The Himachal video was from June 24 and the opposition said it could point to illegal timber cutting in forests in the state, with the smugglers employing a similar modus operandi. The state government, while pointing out that the logs could be a result of trees getting uprooted because of flash floods, has ordered a Crime Investigation Department (CID) inquiry.

After a meeting of the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Monday, his principal adviser Naresh Chauhan said in Hindi, "We took action immediately and asked officials from the forest department to find out what happened. People are saying there could be illegal tree felling, but the floating logs could be a result of cloudbursts. Trees get uprooted and other logs that lie on the forest floor for years are also swept away."

"We have taken this very seriously, however, and Chief Minister Sukhu has ordered an inquiry to find out if there is any illegal felling. We are also helping everyone affected by the cloudbursts in the state," he added.

Himachal Pradesh has seen at least 23 flash floods, 19 cloudbursts and 16 landslides since the onset of the monsoon on June 20. At least 78 people have died and over 30 are missing.