Himachal Pradesh Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur narrowly escaped a landslide on Sunday while visiting Lambathach in Mandi district, one of the areas worst affected by the ongoing monsoon devastation in the state.
A dramatic video shared by PTI captured the moment when Thakur, accompanied by officials, was seen sprinting across a narrow, mud-covered road in Mandi as large rocks rolled down the hillside behind him. The trail appeared freshly soaked, indicating recent rain activity in the region.
The incident occurred amid relentless monsoon-related destruction across Himachal Pradesh, with heavy rains triggering landslides, flash floods, and widespread damage to infrastructure.
Earlier in the week, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Jairam Thakur had jointly visited the Thunag market in Seraj assembly constituency—also in Mandi—to assess flood damage caused by recent cloudbursts.
According to the Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), 95 people have died in rain-related incidents between June 20 and July 12. Of these, 56 fatalities were caused directly by natural disasters such as landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts.
Mandi has reported the highest number of such deaths at 17, followed by Kangra with 12 and Kullu with 3. Another 39 people died in road accidents either caused or worsened by poor weather and road conditions. Solan, Chamba, and Kullu have each reported multiple fatalities from such incidents.
The SDMA estimates total losses at over ₹751.95 crore, including damage to public infrastructure, private property, crops, and livestock. More than 22,453 animals, including 21,500 poultry birds, have perished in the ongoing calamity.
The human toll has been severe as well. As of July 12, 1,026 people have been injured, while 371 houses have been completely destroyed and another 1,093 partially damaged.