Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on the Kasol rescue. "Successful rescue operation in Kasol! Grateful to our dedicated team for safely evacuating all stranded tourists to secure locations. Ensuring their well-being was our top priority. Thanks to everyone involved in this swift and efficient operation," he tweeted with this picture alongside.
With 60,000 tourists being evacuated so far, police teams in Himachal Pradesh are now focusing on inaccessible areas with tough topography and low mobile connectivity to trace stranded persons.
Heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides in many parts of the state, blocking roads and damaging property.
Rescue operations are going on and the police teams are now moving to tough and interior areas where roads have been blocked due to floods and landslides to search for stranded people officiating DGP Satwant Atwal told PTI on Friday.
"A number of tourists stuck in Kasol, Manikaran and other adjoining areas have refused to move out without their vehicles and have decided to stay back on their own for a few more days till the situation normalises and all roads are opened," she said.
The tourists said they would prefer to take their vehicles along and would wait till the roads are opened. Some said they would travel when things get better and traffic congestion is over. Due to a heavy landslide near Dunkhara on the Kasol-Bhuntar road, the vehicles could not be moved and the tourists had to trek to reach the other side.