In view of the incessant rains, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to close all educational institutions including schools, colleges, and Anganwadis in Shimla district on August 23 and 24. Earlier, the schools in shimla district were closed on August 17.
The India Meterological Department has issued a ‘Red Alert’ predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated spells of ”extremely heavy” rains in eight of its 12 districts during the night. The warning was issued issued for Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur and Una districts on Tuesday triggered some landslides in Mandi and uprooted tree areas. The effect of monsoon will remain till August 27 in Himachal Pradesh. After that, the weather is expected to be normal, said officials.
No casualties were reported in this fresh bout of rains, so far. Earlier this month, about 80 people died in rain-related incidents, including major landslides in Shimla, reported PTI.
The state government has taken this decision in view of safety of the students due to heavy rains. On the orders of the Deputy commissioner, shimla has issued a notification to keep all government, private institutions and colleges closed till August 24. All the heads have been instructed to follow the orders in the matter of public safety.
According to the officials, the state has received 36 percent more rainfall than normal in the monsoon. All the districts of Himachal Pradesh have received above normal rain this year. This kind of rain has been seen after a decades during monsoon season in the state. It is expected that the intensity of the rain likely to be increased in next three days which may cause damage.