Heavy Rains Hinder Rescue Efforts in Samej Village, Claiming At Least Six Lives

A Relief and Rescue team operating in Rampur’s Samej village, after the recent incident of cloudburst that claimed at least six lives, has been facing difficulties in moving forward as heavy rains continue in the region on Wednesday.

According to Indo-Tibetan Border Police ITBP Inspector Nanak Chad Sharma, the road caved in due to heavy rain, blocking the rescue team from reaching their destination.

“The point where we have to go is 1-2 km away but since it is raining heavily due to heavy rain, the road has caved in, and it is very difficult for the vehicles to move,” Inspector Nanak Chand Sharma said.

Rescue and relief operations have been going on in flood-affected Samej village near Rampur since the catastrophic cloudburst that took the lives of at least six people on August 1.

According to Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh, the government announced Rs 50,000 as an immediate relief to the affected families.

Speaking about the incident, Vikramaditya Singh said, “A cloudburst occurred 2-3 days back over the Shrikhand mountaintop. Due to this, areas in Rampur and Kullu have faced massive destruction.”

CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also visited the area. He took stock of the situation and briefed the officials. We have started setting up Bailey bridges at various locations.

Earlier, the Indian Army launched extensive Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations to aid the affected communities in Himachal Pradesh’s Samej village.

According to the Indian Army, the road to the incident site was blocked due to a land shift approximately 2.5 kilometers from the site, after which troops moved on foot beyond the blockade.