Shimla April 6, One person was killed and several others injured when high-velocity winds accompanied by a hailstorm and heavy rain lashed Palampur and its adjoining areas last night. Reports reaching here said Arjun Singh of Banoru, seven km from here, died when a big tree fell on the shed where he was running a dhaba.
The high-velocity wind and rain continued for more than two hours. The roofs of several houses were blown away. Vehicular traffic on the Pathankot-Mandi highway remained suspended for hours following felling of trees on the road at different points. Over 200 villages in the Palampur region have been without power for the last 20 hours.A Tribune team visited several parts of rain-hit areas. It was seen that hundreds of trees were uprooted at several places in and around Palampur, damaging electricity poles, causing a complete blackout.
The power supply could not be restored till the filing of this story.Ghuggar, Aima, Suggar, Lower Palampur, Kalu Di Hatti, agriculture university, Rajpur and Tanda Bundla areas were the worst affected where transmission lines had suffered damage. In the rural areas of Palampur like Paror, Kharot, Mehanja, Bhawarna, the power supply could not be restored till evening.SDM, Palampur, Ajit Bhardwaj told The Tribune that heavy losses had been reported to property in the region.The revenue officer had been directed to submit a detailed report of the losses caused to public and private property.
He said initial reports said over 100 houses had suffered extensive damage. He gave a relief of Rs 25,000 to the family of the victim.Vidya Sagar, Executive Engineer, HPSEBL, said the board had suffered heavy damage. Engineers and field staff had been working round the clock and all efforts were being made to restore the power supply in the town.However, in rural areas, it could take two to three days to repair the damaged transmission lines.
