Shimla, July 13 -- Mandi to Kullu national highway was blocked following a landslide near 4 mile in Pandoh area near Mandi on Saturday evening. A landslide also occurred at Kainchi Mod near Pandoh Dam in Mandi district on Friday night following heavy rain, blocking the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway for 10 hours till Saturday noon. Mandi superintendent of police (SP) Sakshi Verma said work of removing debris is underway. As the rain halted the traffic was restored on the road after about 10 hours and one lane of the road was opened for vehicles though Volvo buses were not allowed till the filing of this report. The MeT department has predicted light to moderate rain at many places with one or two intense spells accompanied with light thunderstorm/lightning at isolated places in Mandi, Solan, Shimla and Sirmaur district in the next 12 hours along with light to moderate rain at few places in Kullu, Chamba and Kinnaur districts while light rain has been predicted at isolated places in remaining districts of the state. As per state emergency operation centre a total of 252 roads, including two national highways - Mandi to Dharampur via Kotli, and Mandi to Kullu near 4 mile and Bindravan were blocked on Saturday. A groom and family walked to the wedding destination from Dudar village near Mandi to Prem Nagar Jwalapur towards Kullu after their procession was stuck due to landslide. With the cooperation from the Pandon police, the groom was able to reach the destination. Minister of town and country planning Rajesh Dharmani visited the disaster affected areas in Seraj area of Mandi district on Saturday. Dharmani said that due to heavy debris, drains have been blocked and their level has also increased slightly. In such a situation, to channelize these drains, the concerned officials have been asked to conduct surveys etc. and send the DPR to the state disaster management authority. Earlier, the minister inspected the buildings under construction at the Pharmacy College located at Bagsyad and took stock of the damage caused by the disaster. Dharmani directed the concerned officials to evaluate all the damages soon and start the necessary repair and reconstruction work in a timely manner. Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur stressed on the need for rehabilitation of the disaster hit areas in Mandi district. Thakur, who on Saturday, visited Karsog assembly constituency, said, "This tragedy is very big and its effects are also very serious. There are more challenges in the coming time which the administration and the affected people will have to face. Those who want to help, should also help us in rehabilitation." "This time most of the disaster affected areas are at very high altitudes and as soon as the rains end, it starts getting extremely cold there. In such a situation, it is very important to provide them safe shelter at earliest." Thakur has urged the chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to visit the area and provide relief as per assessment. He said that the government is working but we have to do this work on a war footing. "Here also people have not received even immediate relief. Immediate relief not only helps people immediately but also gives them courage." "He said that whatever assistance is being provided to Himachal Pradesh by the central government, the government should also make efforts for this to reach the affected people in real sense." Around 150 drinking water schemes have been partially restored in devastation hit Seraj constituency, said deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri on Saturday. He said that restoration work was being carried out on a war footing. Agnihotri said, "As many as 241 drinking water schemes were damaged due to the disaster, of which 150 have already been partially restored. The remaining schemes are being actively worked upon and the departmental teams are working round the clock to restore normal water supply at the earliest." Public works department (PWD) minister Vikramaditya Singh announced Rs.2 crore each for all the monsoon disaster hit assembly constituencies in the state for restoration of roads and allied works. "We held a meeting on Friday evening and decided to release Rs.2 crore per constituency as interim relief for those areas worst affected by the floods, and Rs.50 lakh for every other assembly constituency," Singh confirmed. He added that a detailed report is being compiled by the department and will be submitted to the Union government. "I will meet Union minister Nitin Gadkari along with other Union ministers. Since PMGSY roads fall under their purview, I will seek their full cooperation. We are requesting maximum support for Himachal and this is not a political issue. We must rise above party lines and act with unity," Singh stated....