NEW DELHI, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Around 20 people have been killed in India's northern state of Himachal Pradesh over the past 24 hours, following landslides triggered by heavy rains over the past couple of days.
As a precautionary measure, all schools, educational institutions and main roads in the hilly state have been reportedly shut on Tuesday.
Hundreds of people, including some tourists, have been stranded in different parts of the state. Heavy rains have been forecast for the next few days as well.
Four members of a family were killed in a landslide in Kandaghat subdivision in Solan district, the New Delhi Television (NDTV) quoted state officials as saying.
A boy was washed away in the swollen Kaushalya river near Parwanoo in the district as eight persons died in rain-related incidents in the district.
Landslides killed three people in Mandi district while road traffic was disrupted for several hours on the Chandigarh-Shimla, Shimla-Nahan, Chamba-Pathankot and Mandi-Pathankot highways.
A senior official said 923 roads were closed due to landslides, including six national highways and they were attempting to open the roads for traffic as soon as possible.
The Baijnath town in state's Kangra district recorded a record 235 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours, while Palampur town recorded 212 mm, the report added.??????
