Rain-battered Manali suffers widespread damage; no power, water supply

The rain and subsequent flash floods wreaked havoc on the hill town of Manali in Himachal Pradesh for the last few days as residents and stranded tourists struggled with power failure, disruption of water supply and no internet. 

Aerial visuals from the region show dilapidated roads and remains of bridges washed away, resulting in villages being cut off and the supply of essential items being disrupted.

According to Himachal Pradesh Minister Jagat Singh Negi, flash floods have damaged the national highway and disrupted water and electricity supply. "The Manali Vidhansabha constituency has suffered significant damage due to flash floods. Houses, land, and gardens have been destroyed, and the national highway is damaged due to flash floods. The link road adjacent to the bridge is also badly damaged. There is no net connectivity, electricity and water. We have made arrangements to provide food to the stranded tourists," Negi told ANI.

A popular tourist spot, Manali in the Kullu district saw hundreds stranded over the last few days. However, the evacuation process started after partially restoring the Kullu-Manali road.

According to chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu as many as 2,000 tourists stranded in the Kasol area of Kullu district have been evacuated safely. "The Kullu Manali road was opened Tuesday evening and about 2,200 vehicles crossed Kullu. There was no mobile signal in several areas in Manali and its suburbs for the past two days and the tourists were unable to contact their families," officials told PTI.

The Kullu-Manali road was opened on the left bank of Manali, while the road on its south was washed away. "Over 2,000 stranded individuals in Kasol have been successfully evacuated as of now. Our teams are working tirelessly to clear the Dunkhara landslide on the Kasol-Bhuntar road. The district administration is on-site coordinating relief efforts. 2200+ vehicles have safely passed through Kullu, receiving food support at Ramshilla Chowk. I personally oversee the situation and remain committed to overcoming these challenges. Stay strong, Himachal Pradesh!," Sukhu said in a tweet.

"The tourist vehicles that were stranded in Lahaul were also evacuated at night. Over 300 tourist vehicles left for their respective destinations," he added.

Himachal authorities have also started posting details of stranded people on Facebook as many of them have not been able to contact their families. Relief materials are also being provided to them, and food and drinking water is being made available at Ramshilla Chowk. Several hotels and tourism units offered free stay and food to stranded tourists.

"We had limited cash, the mobile connectivity and electricity were snapped, ATMs were not working and hoteliers were adamant on payment. We told them that our relatives would pay online, but they said it cannot be done as there is no mobile connectivity," said a tourist from Baroda.

The government has also estimated that the monsoon mayhem claimed over 20 lives in the past two days while the damage to infrastructure is estimated at between ₹3,000 crore and ₹4,000 crore.