Water from Pong Dam floods low-lying areas in Himachal

Shimla: Several villages in low-lying areas along banks of Beas river in Nurpur area of Kangra district were flooded as 60,000 cusecs of water was released from Pong Dam after heavy rains in catchment areas filled the dam to the brim.About 100 families in Kandrori area were evacuated and provided temporary shelter and food as gushing flood waters ravaged the villages.Mand, Miyani, Gandrah, Bhograma, Parag, Reyali and Rey villages were worst hit and crops on several acres of lands were destroyed, sources said.[caption id="attachment_1024499" align="alignleft" width="380"] Representational image. Reuters[/caption]The telecommunication services and vehicular traffic was also disrupted as roads in the interiors were blocked due to landslides and soil erosion, they added.Moderate rains lashed some parts of the state as monsoon remained weak and Chamba was wettest in the region with 62 mm of rains while Dalhousie received 41 mm of rains, followed by Renuka 23 mm, Saloni 20 mm, Mashobra 19 mm, Pandoh and Sundernagar 14 mm, Theog, Sujanpur Tira 8 mm.The maximum temperatures rose marginally and Una was hottest in the region with a high of 33.2 deg while Sundernagar and Bhuntar recorded maximum temperature at 32.4 deg and 31.0 deg, followed by Kangra 29.0 deg, Solan 28.0 deg, Dharamsala 27.2 deg, Kalpa 24.2 deg and Shimla 21.9 deg C.The local MeT office has predicted rains and thundershowers at many places over the next four days.PTI