Daijiworld Media Network - Kinnaur
Kinnaur, Aug 6: In a dramatic rescue operation led by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), a total of 413 pilgrims stranded on the Kinnaur Kailash trek route were safely evacuated after torrential rains and cloudbursts washed away two makeshift bridges in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district.
The Kinnaur administration received a distress alert early Wednesday, following which ITBP teams were mobilised to the affected region. Equipped with mountaineering gear, rope rescue equipment, ice axes, harnesses, and glacier traversal tools, the rescue teams reached the stranded pilgrims swiftly despite harsh weather and terrain conditions.
Visuals released by ITBP on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) showed jaw-dropping scenes of pilgrims being pulled across flooded ravines using zipline systems. The Rope Rescue Traverse Crossing technique was used extensively to ferry stranded individuals to safer ground.
The disaster comes amid relentless monsoon rains that have wreaked havoc across Himachal Pradesh since June 20. According to the State Disaster Management Authority’s latest bulletin, the state has recorded 194 deaths this monsoon season, of which 108 were caused by rain-triggered disasters such as landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts.
The financial toll is staggering. The SDMA pegs cumulative losses at over ?1.85 lakh crore, with ?97,129.91 lakh attributed to private property damage and ?63,341.15 lakh to public infrastructure loss.
The state continues to reel under the aftermath, with 446 roads, 257 water supply schemes, and 360 distribution transformers still disrupted. Notably, three major national highways — NH-305, NH-003, and NH-05 — remain blocked, severely affecting mobility and supply chains.
Rescue efforts are still ongoing in some parts, even as authorities warn of continued weather-related risks in higher altitude regions.