Dharamshala, Aug. 8 -- The Mandi-Kullu stretch of the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway (NH-21), which was blocked due to landslides near Dwada and Jhalogi, was restored for one-way traffic movement on Thursday afternoon, said officials. The stretch remained blocked on Wednesday following a landslide near Jogni Mata Temple and Dwada. Prior to that, the road was blocked on Tuesday morning due to landslides at multiple locations, but was restored for only a few hours before being blocked again on Tuesday evening. Due to the road closure, hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides. Trucks and other vehicles carrying fruits and vegetables were also stuck, causing the produce to rot and resulting in losses. As many as 454 roads, including two national highways, remained blocked in the state on Thursday, with 245 of them in Mandi district alone and 117 in Kullu district. The NH-305 continues to remain blocked at Jhed (Khanag) and at Ghiyagi near Banjar. An alternate route via Kandugad, however, was open for Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs). In Kinnaur district, NH-05 remained blocked on Thursday as well near Ribba Nala due to a flash flood. Moreover, 244 water supply schemes and 861 power distribution transformers are non-functional in the state. Since the onset of the monsoon in Himachal on June 20, as many as 202 people have lost their lives so far. This includes 108 deaths due to rain-related incidents such as landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, and drowning, while 94 people have died in road accidents. More than 1,700 houses have been either partially or completely damaged. The cumulative losses in the state during the monsoon season have so far amounted to around Rs.1,950 crore. The IMD Shimla office has predicted heavy rainfall spells to continue in parts of Himachal till August 13, and has issued an orange alert on August 10 and 11. According to MeT department officials, light to moderate rainfall is very likely at many places on August 8 and 9, and at most places on August 10 to 13. One or two spells of heavy rain are also expected at isolated places till August 13 and very heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places from August 10 to 13. The weather office sounded a yellow alert of heavy rainfall in Una, Bilaspur, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts on August 8, followed by a yellow alert on August 9 in seven districts: Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Solan and Sirmaur. Notably, an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rainfall has been sounded in Una, Kangra, Mandi, Solan and Sirmaur districts on August 10 with a yellow alert in Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Chamba, Kullu and Shimla districts. On August 11, an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rainfall was sounded in Una, Bilaspur, Kangra, Kullu and Mandi districts. During the last 24 hours, the monsoon activity was normal over the state. Light to moderate rain was observed at most places, while heavy rainfall was observed at a few places and heavy to very heavy rain was observed at isolated places during this period. Meanwhile, the body of the missing Kinnaur-Kailash pilgrim was retrieved on Thursday. Rampur in Shimla witnessed a cloudburst that triggered flash floods in the area. The cloudburst at Darshal in Rampur area of Shimla district late on Wednesday night led to a flash flood in the Teklech market, but no casualty was reported as the nearby houses were evacuated in view of the threat, officials said. This morning, a huge deodar tree fell on the building of the environment science and technology department near the US Club in Shimla and damaged the roof of the building. Senior scientist on climate change at the state science and technology and environment directorate, Dr Suresh Kumar Atri, said, "This tree had been leaning dangerously for the last few days, especially after continuous rains. We had already written to the municipal corporation, alerting them. Today, at around 5.30 am, the tree broke and fell. It caused significant damage to the building."...