Shimla, Aug. 30 -- A woman was killed while another is feared missing after a landslide buried two residential houses in the remote village of Patarna in Karad panchayat under the Anni subdivision of Kullu district, on Friday morning. The landslide, triggered by heavy rainfall, engulfed the houses in a massive heap of debris. According to initial reports, two women were feared trapped or swept away by the landslide. One body has been recovered from the spot, while a search is underway to trace the victim. Anni sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Laxman Kanet confirmed the incident and reported that search operations are underway to locate the second woman. Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Anni, Lokinder Kumar, speaking to media persons in Shimla on Friday, said relentless rainfall since last night has wreaked havoc in his constituency. "Since last night, there has been heavy rainfall in my constituency, both in the construction belt and in the Anni region. Rivers and streams are overflowing, and the situation is serious. In our Karad panchayat's lower Patarna village, a major landslide occurred in which two women went missing. I have been told that one body has been recovered, while the other is still buried," Kumar said before leaving the assembly session to reach the affected area. He added, "The local road linking the villages has been closed due to the landslide." Heavy rain triggered flash floods in Lipa village of Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh on Friday morning. The swollen Bhogti drain razed two houses and two people were buried, who were safely taken out by the villagers. Meanwhile, in Khadvi village of Kullu, three houses were also hit by a landslide. Chief secretary Prabodh Saxena on Friday said that the road from Chamba to Salooni up till Koti bridge has been opened for small vehicles and will likely be opened till Saturday for heavy ones. The work of opening a road from Sanghani to Khundimaral, bordering Jammu and Kashmir is in progress. The Saxena stated that at present there were around 1,500 people stationed at Chamba Chowgan and were being taken care of by the district administration and the local people have also come forward to extend help. It was also informed that the district administration Chamba has made arrangements of buses and taxi's from Nurpur, Kangra and Pathankot depot to evacuate around 5,000 pilgrims who have left on foot from Bharmour to Chamba. As many as five sorties were made by helicopters and 25 people have been brought back to Chamba from Bharmour. Adequate food grains have been airlifted to Bharmour. It was also informed by disaster managementdirector-cum-special secretary DC Rana that the communication services havebeen restored in Chowari, Chamba, Salooni, Tissa and Dalhousie and efforts were afoot to restore the same in Bharmour. Fuel has been sent to restore the network through generators at Jispa, Dracha and Miyar in Lahaul and Spiti. Even as the administration has intensified efforts to evacuate stranded Manimahesh pilgrims, with most roads washed away in floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in the area pilgrims will have to walk for 15 to 20 kilometers till they reach the point from where they can be ferried in vehicles. Meanwhile, Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) has deployed buses to ferry pilgrims from Kalsooni which is the point till where road connectivity exists. "As many as 21 buses have been deployed to evacuate pilgrims. More buses are likely to be added. As roads have been washed away people have set on foot to return home," Chamba additional district magistrate (ADM) Amit Mehra. Officials said the number of buses would be increased further depending on the inflow of pilgrims. Authorities have deployed manpower as well as machinery to restore access to Bharmour, which remains completely cut off. So far, 10 pilgrims have died during the yatra this year since August 24. The district administration has also released lists of stranded individuals who have been accounted for and are safe. However, the absence of many names from these lists has caused panic among relatives desperately seeking information. District police have created an emergency WhatsApp group through which information related to the affected individuals is being shared. There is still no news from the remote villages in the tribal region, further deepening concerns about the extent of damage and hardship. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhuon Friday issued directions to airlift the ill and elderlydirecting officers of district administration of Chamba and Bharmour to accord utmost priority to evacuate the Manimahesh pilgrims, especially women and children. He directed to press air force helicopters in service and to assign responsibility to officers to ensure patch-wise restoration of roads, which were either washed away or blocked due to landslides. In Stingri village, locals led by women came out to provide help to stranded people - mostly truckers and tourists on the Leh-Manali road by providing them meals. Even the members of the Lebhe Jogni Temple Committee set up a community kitchen and distributed meals among those stranded. Even in Chamba the locals provided shelter as well as food to the stranded pilgrims. Even on the Chandigarh-Manali highway locals pitched in to supply food. According to the meteorological department, there will be no respite from rain in the state for the next six days. The met department in a statement said that heavy rainfall is likely over parts of Himachal Pradesh from August 29 to September 2 with very heavy rain likely from August 29 evening to August 31. Industries minister Harshwardhan Chauhan on Friday said thatHimachal Pradesh has suffered losses ofRs.3,000 crore and more than 250 lives have been lost,adding that restoration work is underway in several districts. The state has witnessed 87 landslides, 90 flash floods and 42 cloudbursts since June 22 as per the state emergency operation centre (SEOC). According to the SEOC, the state has recorded 317 deaths since June 20, including 164 fatalities from rain-related incidents such as landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, drowning, electrocution, and other weather-triggered mishaps, and 153 deaths in road accidents on rain-affected routes. As of Friday evening, 914 roads - including National Highways 3 and 305 - remain blocked, 925 distribution transformers are out of service, and 266 water supply schemes are disrupted across the state. Taking strict notice of 2020 batch IPS officer Shivani Mehla for not joining her posting as SP Lahaul Spiti, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday directed the chief secretary to seek an explanation from her. On August 13, Mehla was posted as superintendent of police (SP) Lahaul Spiti. However she had failed to join her duty even when the district was facing a lot of damages owing to heavy rains. During a meeting held virtually on Friday CM Sukhu directed chief secretary Prabodh Saxena to seek an explanation from Shivani Mehla immediately. There has been no reaction from Mehla so far. SDM Aanksha Sharma in Lahaul Spiti is also on maternity leave. Orders for a new SDM in her place have also not been issued yet....