Shimla: Five persons were on Thursday killed and
three injured when an avalanche hit Jungra panchayat of Tissa
Sub division of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh.
The area was covered under five to six feet of snow and
the bodies of the victims were yet to be recovered.
The injured persons, including Haneef and Musa, were
being brought to Chamba for treatment.
All the persons were local Gujjars, reports reaching
here said.
Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal directed the district
administration to provide immediate relief to the next of kin
of those who lost their lives in the incident and provide best
treatment to the injured.
The district administration had already warned the
people in high altitude tribal areas of Chamba, Pangi and
Lahaul against avalanche threat and urged them not to venture
out.
Meanwhile, the sprawling Dhauladhar ranges in Kangra,
Mcleod Ganj and Salooni and Tissa areas of Chamba are
experiencing heavy snowfall.
The fresh snowfall in these areas closed the
Chamba-Pathankot Highway while road connectivity to interior
areas was snapped.
However, roads in Shimla district have been thrown open
for vehicular traffic and national highways 88 and 22 had been
cleared and traffic on Shimla- Kufri- Narkanda,
Theog-Kotkhai-Chopal and Chopal to Kupvi via Sainj Khad had
been restored, Onkar Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Shimla,
said.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 19, 2012, 22:41