Shimla, Aug. 20 -- Heavy overnight rain triggered a landslide in Shimla's Benmore locality, forcing the evacuation of 30 families, while the road to Jakhu was also blocked after a mudslide, while a cloudburst in Kullu's Lug valley swept away three shops early on Tuesday, officials said. Though there was no casualty as the families were shifted to safer places from the Ramchandra Chowk area in the state capital, the landslides disrupted power and water supply. Benmore is one of the VIP areas of Shimla and houses official residences, including that of leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur as well as other ministers and MLAs. The Town and Country Planning and Technical Education Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Rajesh Dharmani, along with two Congress MLAs MLAs Ramkumar Chaudhary and Ashish Butail, as well as the Chief Minister's IT advisor Gokul Patel, had to vacate their official residences in Shimla on Monday night after heavy rain triggered a landslide and uprooted trees in Benmore and Ramchandra Chowk areas of the state capital. They have been shifted temporarily to government guest houses. Meanwhile, all SDMs are directed to ensure removal of dangerous trees in their respective areas . "It was around 11:30 pm when a loud explosion was heard in Ramchandra Chowk. Power supply snapped, and behind my residence an old building housing around 40 people had to be evacuated. Families and children rushed out in panic. I immediately dialed emergency numbers. Police, rescue teams and local councillors reached the spot, and later, we were advised by the PWD to vacate the residences as water pipelines and trees had collapsed, causing further risk," Dharmani said. Criticising the state government's lack of preparedness, Thakur, who is the Seraj BJP MLA, said: "Earlier, we saw damage in Mandi district, but now Shimla, Kullu and Chamba are also facing similar disasters. The retaining wall built near Ramchandra Chowk last year at a cost of Rs 70 lakh could not even last one year. Houses have been vacated and both upper and lower stretches of the settlement are under serious threat. Even ambulances cannot pass as the road has been completely blocked." The mudslide on the road leading towards Jakhu led to tree collapses, blocking access and stranding residents. According to local residents, cracks had been visible on the stretch for the past two weeks, but the situation worsened on Monday night and the slide occurred from 10.30pm till midnight. The Kinnaur district administration on Tuesday ordered the closure of the Kinnaur Kailash Yatra-2025 with immediate effect in view of continuous heavy rainfall, shooting stones, and dense fog continued to pose a grave risk to pilgrims. A devotee who had gone for Kinnar Kailash Yatra in Kinnaur died after being hit by a stone. The deceased devotee has been identified as Gaurav Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The Kinnar Kailash Yatra has been suspended 11 days in advance. Issuing an official order on Tuesday, DC Kinnaur, Amit Kumar Sharma, said that given the persistent bad weather and forecasts of further rain and cloudy conditions in the coming five to seven days, immediate precautionary measures were essential for public safety. Exercising powers under section 34 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the DC announced that the yatra would remain closed for the rest of the year unless modified by further orders. As per the DC's orders, any pilgrim attempting the yatra route will be escorted back to the base camp, and violators will face action under the Disaster Management Act. The SP, Kinnaur, has been instructed to ensure adequate deployment of forces in coordination with Home Guards and DCF Kinnaur to facilitate safe return of pilgrims. After a cloudburst in Kullu's Lug Valley at 1am, the Sarvari river, which was in spate, washed away a bridge at Kaniyan and three shops. Large cracks appeared on the road connecting the Bhutnath Temple with the bus stand. Kullu deputy commissioner Torul S Raveesh declared a holiday in all schools, colleges, and anganwadis in Kullu and Banjar sub divisions on Tuesday.The Dunga river was also in spate and the pedestrian bridge connecting Hanuman Bagh is on the verge of collapse, sources said. All educational institutions were closed on Tuesday following heavy rain at Padhar in Mandi. The Kiratpur Sahib-Manali highway was blocked due to a landslide at Dwada in Mandi district. Traffic to Kullu has come to a halt with the alternative route via Kataula rendered unusable by landslides.Over 200 roads have been blocked in Mandi for the past three days, paralysing transportation....