Cloudbursts and heavy rains in the Himachal Pradesh have killed at least 26 people in the southwest monsoon. The monsoon which arrived very late, on the 5th of July has started taking its toll on the people now.

The facts were revealed by the revenue minister Gulab Singh on Thursday.

"Heavy rains and cloudbursts in various parts of the state claimed 26 lives during this monsoon," he mentioned in a missive addressed to the state assembly.

He further added that over 1,892 houses were affected by the monsoon in the state. "The loss to public and private property in the state in terms of money has been estimated at Rs.896.02 crore." he said.

Rs 300 Cr of the total estimated loss had hit the horticulture and agriculture crops while Rs 280 Cr had been lost in damages to the infrastructure like roads and bridges.

"The government has released Rs.84.40 crore from the calamity relief fund, while additional funds to the tune of Rs.50 crore is planned be released soon," he added.

Until yesterday, there was a 19 pc deficit of the rains from Monsoon in Himachal Pradesh.

"The state received 533 mm of rain as opposed to the normal average of 655 mm till Aug 29," Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.

Of all the districts in the state, only Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Chama had a deficit rain fall while the rest had normal rains.

(AW- Anil)