The disaster which hit Mandi also affected Thunag town badly as the only Himachal Co-operative Bank demolished. People used to deposit lakh of rupees in this bank every day and the lockers contained costly jewellery of people.
The state of Himachal Pradesh has been witnessing enormous destruction in the last couple of days owing to cloudbursts and excess rain. Mandi has been the worst hit zone. Unfortunately, there are 78 human lives lost because of the destruction that has been caused by the rain and 37 are yet to be found. Moreover, 115 individuals have also sustained some injuries.
NDRF rescue teams are also on a hunt to find the missing people. In the meantime, Meteorological Department has once again issued the red code alert on rainfall in Sirmaur, Kangra and Mandi districts.
The damage covered Mandi and Thunag too, which had their sole Himachal Co-operative Bank ravaged to the core. It was a two-storey bank where people used to deposit lakhs of money every day and store their jewellery in lockers of this bank. The building has their first floor completely destroyed.
Crores of rupees as well as other valuables that are present inside the building are also trapped amidst hundreds of tonnes of debris and the fate of the same is now unclear. One of the employees in the bank said on condition of anonymity that it is hard to determine how much cash was inside and the extent of damage to the lockers will only be determined after the debris has been removed.
Locals who had their savings deposited in the lockers are now on guards as the natural disaster even brought about thieves which may want to help themselves by looting items of value which the water carried along.
There is also because the first floor of the bank is flooded with water and the debris. The water stood so heavy, that one shutter was ripped away, two were bent. I have been talking to the bank manager who is outside working to see the extent of the damages.
The bank was in the middle of the Thunag market whereby it accommodated a population of regional traders (approximately 150) who had bank accounts and were making transactions at the bank.
Local trader Hari Mohan answered that it was the sole bank within the 8,000 people town. It was an aging company that transacted huge amounts. Currently, everything is now lying in ruins all the cash, documents as well as lockers.
