Indian Army undertaking relief operations in flood-affected areas of Himachal Pradesh

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], August 1 : The Indian Army has mobilised its resources in response to recent natural disasters in Himachal Pradesh.
Following cloudbursts and small-scale landslides in various locations, the districts of Shimla and Mandi have been significantly affected.
The Indian Army has promptly mobilised its assets for rescue operations and the Indian Army's three columns, with a total strength of 125 personnel, one Engineer Task Force and one Medical Team consisting of 20 personnel, have been deployed at the cloudburst site of Shimla district in Himachal Pradesh.
This assistance comes in the wake of recent cloudburst in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh.
The Deputy Commissioner of Shimla had requisitioned the assistance of the Indian Army at around 9 am on Thursday.
A cloudburst occurred at approximately 2 am on Thursday in Samej village, leading to the unfortunate loss of three lives and about 40 people were reported missing. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and Home Guards had arrived on the scene early this morning.
Meanwhile, another cloudburst occurred this morning in Barot village, situated 70 kilometers northwest of Mandi, resulting in 10 persons reported missing. The SDRF team is already on the ground to manage the situation.
Although no formal requisition has been received for additional assistance, a column is on standby at Mamun and is ready to be deployed upon requirement.
Meanwhile, Himachal CM Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu convened an emergency meeting of senior officers of the state government to review the situation that had arisen due to five cloud bursts and heavy rains in different parts of the state.
According to reports reaching the state headquarters, three cloud bursts struck the Kullu district and one each in Mandi and Shimla districts. The CM said that two bodies had been retrieved, while more than 50 people were still missing. He said that five roads and one national highway had also been blocked and three bridges had been damaged during the last 12 hours due to a cloudburst and heavy rains.
The Chief Minister said that the most affected site was the Samej area of Jhakri in Shimla district, where a residential area had also been affected due to a cloudburst and around 36 people were missing, whereas one road had also been blocked. In Mandi district, the cloudburst occurred near Tikkan Thalukot village in Padhar tehsil, where about seven people were reported missing and two bodies had been retrieved, while three houses were also damaged.