At least seven people were killed and 11 injured on Tuesday when boulders, rocks and mud rolled down a mountain and crashed into the famous Sikh shrine at Manikaran Sahib in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. While some of the rooms of the eight floor residential complex were damaged by the landslide, officials said the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine and a Hindu temple located in its vicinity were safe.
Rocks started falling around 12.30 pm from the mountain near the complex that is prone to landslides and has been made more vulnerable by the heavy rain that has been continuing for over a week in the entire Beas Valley from Manali to Pathankot.
A boulder hit the building, badly damaging three to four rooms on four floors, however, a majority of the debris fell into the Parvati River that flows near the building. The river is also in spate these days due to the heavy rain.
The entire area was evacuated after the mishap as there were chances of more landslides. Personnel from the Sashastra Seema Bal, police and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police reached the spot and began the relief and rescue operation. District officials from Kullu, including Deputy Commissioner, Kanwar Rakesh and SP, Padam Chand immediately rushed to the spot to supervise relief and rehabilitation work.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh expressed grief over the incident. A rescue worker Pankaj Goswami said there was a stampede-like situation at the time of the incident. He said there were no details regarding the number of people staying in the residential complex at the time of the landslide. “At present, a search is on to locate the people, if any, buried under the mound of debris,” he added.
This is the second major tragedy in the vicinity of the Manikaran shrine. An overcrowded tourist bus from Punjab bound for the shrine with 69 passengers onboard skidded off the road and fell into the swollen Parvati River on July 23. So far 18 bodies have been found, while 23 people were rescued. Remaining 28 people and the bus are still missing.
The Manikaran shrine, located in Parvati Valley along the banks of the Parvati River, is around 45 km from Kullu district headquarters. The shrine is situated at 1760 metres above sea level and is visited by thousands of Sikhs and Hindus round the year. The area is also known for its hot springs with high sulphur concentration.