Watch: Chopper Rescues Stranded Residents In Rain-Battered Himachal Pradesh

Over 800 people have been rescued from low-lying areas of Himachal Pradesh' Kangra, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said today as heavy rains continue to batter the hill state.

The chief minister also shared a video showing rescued citizens being helped out of a helicopter after they were evacuated. “More than 800 people were evacuated from the low-lying areas of Kangra near the Pong Dam, as their villages became inaccessible due to the elevated water level in the dam reservoir. Evacuation operation is still on as more people are being evacuated,” he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Over the last week, the state has witnessed cloudbursts and incessant rains that have triggered landslides leading to at least 55 deaths. Yesterday, a horrific landslide washed away four houses on a Shimla hillside. So far, 12 bodies have been recovered from the debris as rescue operations continue with several others feared trapped, news agency ANI reported.

The hill state is set to receive more heavy rainfall today and tomorrow, the Indian Meteorological Department has predicted. The heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring Uttarakhand is the result of a fresh spell of western disturbance, it said in a forecast.

Chief Minister Sukhwinder Sukhu said Solan, Shimla, Mandi, and Hamirpur are among the worst-affected districts in the state.

PM Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation on Independence Day, also expressed grief over "unimaginable troubles" caused by the recent natural disasters. "I express my sympathies towards all of them and I assure them that state and central governments will work together," he said.

Officials have said the state has suffered losses of over Rs 7,000 crore due to the floods and landslides this monsoon season.