45 Kerala doctors are safe in rain-hit Himachal Pradesh, says minister

Minister for Health Veena George told media persons on Monday that all 45 doctors stranded in rain-hit Himachal Pradesh state are safe.

"I have spoken to the female house surgeons from the Ernakulam Government Medical College and also to the Himachal Pradesh DGP. There are 27 house surgeons from Ernakulam Medical College and 18 from Thrissur Medical College among the tourists. "All of them are safe as I was informed,” the minister said.

Ernakulam district Collector NSK Umesh also informed reporters that the medicos stranded in Himachal Pradesh are safe. The house surgeons have shared their location with us and we have forwarded it to Manali district Collector.

"At present they are in a safe zone. They are staying at Nasogi Woods and HPWD Guest House near Hadimba Temple,” Umesh told media persons on Monday.

The travel agency which arranged the vehicle for the house surgeons from Thrissur reported that all are safe in Manali.

KV Thomas, representative of the Kerala government in New Delhi, told reporters that all tourists from Kochi have been moved to safety.

Heavy to extremely heavy rains battered Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, triggering landslides and flash floods, inundating many areas, washing away roads, vehicles and houses alongside leaving several persons dead.

Cloudbursts triggered flash floods, latest reports said. State authorities have ordered the closure of schools and colleges for two days. As many as 765 roads including the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway were closed following the torrential rains.

Hundreds of people were stranded in different parts of the state, including in Chandrataal in Lahaul and Spiti and near Sadhupul in Solan district.

Twenty major landslides and 17 flash floods have been reported in the past 48 hours and over 30 houses have been completely and partially damaged.
All major rivers including Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Swan and Chenab are in spate, officials said.

Over hundreds of people including 45 medical college students from Kerala are stranded in Manali in Himachal Pradesh as flash floods hit the state amid the widespread heavy rain, which claimed 11 lives so far.

House surgeons from government medical colleges in Kalamassery Ernakulam and Thrissur are stuck in the hill state.

Also on Monday reports are pouring in saying that there is no information available on Yakoob from Varkala and Syed Ali from Kollam who are reportedly marooned at Tosh village in Himachal’s remote Parvati valley.

In Himachal Pradesh, there were also reports of shops being swept away in Manali, and vehicles being washed away in flash floods at Nullah in Kullu, Kinnaur and Chamba.