Shimla, Aug. 8 -- Many remote areas of Himachal Pradesh are reeling from the devastating impact of monsoon's unrelenting fury with villagers in Chamba's remote Grounda panchayat, home to about 500 people, being forced to climb or descend a near-vertical slope with the help of ropes.
The mule track that the villagers once relied was swept away by torrential rains and road construction, severing their only link to the holy town, 6 km away. Even children and the elderly are being pulled along these ropes, while rations in many homes have already run out.
Electricity has been missing for four months, ever since poles were uprooted during roadwork. Mobile phones lie discharged, radios silent, and TV screens blank.
Government and private const...