 "Himachal Pradesh: 2,000 stranded tourists evacuated from Kasol")
As many as 2,000 people stranded in Himachal Pradesh’s popular tourist destination Kasol have been evacuated after rains battered the area, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday. The Kullu-Manali road was reopened on Tuesday following which about 2,200 tourists crossed the region. “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. 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. To facilitate easy evacuation, a check post has been installed in the region to collect the details on the stranded tourists. ASP (Kullu) Ashish Sharma said that the state is also providing food and drinking water to the people. A large number of tourists were struck in various parts of Kullu and Lahaul following landslides and flash floods leading to the blocking of roads. They were being lodged in hotels, rest houses, homestays and other holiday destinations.
Owing to the crisis that ensued after several regions across north India witnessed heavy rains, hotels and tourism units offered free stays and food to stranded tourists and shared the addresses and contact numbers of their hotels on social networking sites. Meanwhile, road rescue teams are clearing the snow en route to Chandertal. About 300 tourists were stranded at Chandratal since Saturday, out of which seven unwell tourists, including two elderly and a girl, were airlifted to Bhuntar from Chandertal Tuesday evening. Currently, a total number of 873 roads are blocked for vehicular traffic in Himachal Pradesh while 1,369 water supply services have also been disrupted in the hilly state. As many as 80 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents since the onset of the monsoon on June 24. With inputs from PTI