Shimla: With the southwest monsoon intensifying across the state, the Himachal Pradesh government has stepped up its disaster preparedness by cancelling the leave of all field-deployed Public Works Department (PWD) staff until further orders. Officials have been directed to remain in the field to ensure immediate response to road blockages, landslides and other emergencies, with the government aiming to minimise disruption during the rainy season.
The decision comes as several parts of the state have already witnessed heavy rainfall, cloudbursts and flash floods during the first spell of the monsoon, resulting in road closures, damaged infrastructure and loss of life. The government is keen to avoid a repeat of last year’s widespread destruction, when torrential rain, landslides and cloudbursts caused extensive damage to roads, bridges and public utilities across Himachal Pradesh.
Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh said the government is maintaining constant contact with the Chief Engineers of all four PWD zones and is holding regular review meetings to assess preparedness. The discussions are focused on keeping roads open, ensuring rapid response in landslide-prone areas, deploying machinery, and strengthening disaster management arrangements. Reports on preparedness at the district and divisional levels are also being reviewed regularly.
As part of the preparedness plan, the PWD will hire heavy machinery, including JCBs, Poclains and dozers, from private agencies. The equipment is being stationed at identified landslide-prone and vulnerable locations so that debris can be cleared immediately and traffic restored quickly whenever roads are blocked.
The minister said all field officers and employees have been instructed to remain in constant contact with the department headquarters and rush to affected locations immediately after receiving information about any emergency. The department has also developed a coordinated response mechanism with the district administration, police, the National Highways Authority and other concerned departments to ensure faster relief, rescue and restoration work.
The urgency of these measures has increased after three cloudbursts and multiple flash floods struck parts of Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba during the first major spell of the monsoon. Cloudbursts in Padak village and Jispa in Lahaul, and Kidi Gram Panchayat in Chamba, triggered sudden flash floods that damaged apple orchards and agricultural land, washed away roads and footbridges, and blocked key routes, including the Manali-Leh National Highway. Cloudbursts occur when an extremely intense spell of rainfall falls over a small area within a short time, causing mountain streams and nullahs to swell rapidly and resulting in destructive flash floods, landslides and large-scale damage in vulnerable Himalayan regions.
Vikramaditya Singh said the government’s objective is to minimise the impact of heavy rainfall on daily life and ensure that relief and restoration work begins without delay whenever disaster strikes. He added that lessons learnt from last year’s monsoon have helped the department strengthen its preparedness so that emergency response can be faster and more effective this season.
