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All educational institutions in Kangra, Mandi and Sirmaur districts will be shut on July 21 in view of a red alert issued by the weather department, officials said on Monday.

The Met office has issued a red warning for heavy rain in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Sirmaur districts on Tuesday.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), 36 roads, including 11 in Mandi and 10 in Chamba district, are closed, and 43 water supply schemes and five transformers were disrupted in the state following rain on Monday.

Locals rescued three labourers who were stranded following a flash flood in Udeen and Hillu Nallahs (drains) in the Pangi area of Chamba district.

A temporary bridge over the Jahalma Nallah in the Lahaul and Spiti district was washed away following a flash flood triggered by rain. Tandi-Tindi-Udaipur road was rendered inaccessible for vehicular traffic.

The water level of the Chandrabhaga River has risen.

Chairperson of the District Disaster Management Authority, Lahaul-Spiti, Kiran Bhadana, said that due to rain, a temporary route constructed over the stream has been washed away.

Bhadana, who is also the deputy commissioner, said the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officials have been asked to restore the temporary road route on a war footing as soon as the water level of Jahalma Nallah returns to normal.

Kangra District Magistrate Hem Raj Bairwa ordered the closure of all government and private educational institutions in the district on July 20 and 21.

Similar orders were also issued by Mandi Deputy Commissioners Apoorv Devgan and Sirmaur DC Priyanka Verma.

The closure will apply to all schools, colleges, vocational and technical training institutes, anganwadi centres, creches, the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, and the Sanskrit University at Balyahar in Kangra district.

Bairwa also instructed that the exams scheduled on July 21 be postponed.

In Mandi, all government schools, private educational institutions, ITIS, DIET, vocational training institutes, anganwadis and private day cares will be closed.

The order does not apply to residential educational institutions, including IIT Mandi, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College and Hospital, Nerchowk.

Light to moderate rain has been lashing parts of Himachal Pradesh since Sunday evening.

Nahan in Sirmaur district received 59.4 mm of rainfall, the highest, followed by Meher 40 mm, Manali 35 mm, Sundernagar 32.6 mm, Brahmani 29.2 mm, Dharamshala 25.4 mm, Una 21.6 mm, Raipur Maidan 12.8 mm, Palampur 11 mm, and Sarahan 10.7 mm.

About 39 cumecs of water from Pulga Dam of Parbati-2 would be diverted into the Parbati River, officials said.

A very heavy rain implies rainfall between 115.6 and 204.5 mm, while extremely heavy rain indicates rainfall over 204.5 mm in a day.

Earlier, Chief Secretary Kamlesh Kumar Pant directed all deputy commissioners to activate district emergency operation centres on a round-the-clock basis, identify locations prone to landslides, flash floods and cloudbursts.

The public has been asked to avoid unnecessary travel, stay away from rivers, streams, nallahs and landslide-prone slopes, and desist from attempting to cross overflowing bridges or flooded roads.

Authorities have asked people to follow official advisories and contact the state emergency helpline, 1070, or the district emergency helpline, 1077, in case of any emergency.

An appreciable fall was witnessed in the maximum temperatures.

Tabo was the hottest during the day, recording a high of 30.4 degrees Celsius, while Kukumseri was the coldest at night at 9.3 degrees Celsius.

Both these stations are in the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)