Shimla: Many remote areas of Himachal Pradesh are reeling from the devastating impact of monsoon's unrelenting fury with villagers in Chamba’s remote Grounda panchayat, home to about 500 people, being forced to climb or descend a near-vertical slope with the help of ropes.
The mule track that the villagers once relied was swept away by torrential rains and road construction, severing their only link to the holy town, 6 km away. Even children and the elderly are being pulled along these ropes, while rations in many homes have already run out.
Electricity has been missing for four months, ever since poles were uprooted during roadwork. Mobile phones lie discharged, radios silent, and TV screens blank.
Government and private construction projects have been halted as cement, iron, and sand can no longer be transported.
Water supply schemes, too, have taken a hit, as of August 7, 244 schemes and 452 roads across the state remain disrupted, while power outages have crippled 861 distribution transformers.
The local crisis plays out against the backdrop of the monsoon’s broader toll. Between June 20 and August 7, Himachal has recorded 202 deaths from cloudbursts, flash floods, and landslides, with 808 houses, 37 shops, 589 cow sheds being damaged. Public property losses have exceeded Rs 1,95,000 lakh.
In Chamba alone, landslides and cloudbursts have washed away bridges, blocked roads, killed livestock, and rendered homes unsafe.
For the people of Grounda, survival now means hauling supplies on mules, sharing dwindling food, and trusting a single rope as their only connection to the world outside.