SHIMLA: Two bike riders from Zirakpur in Punjab and Manimajra in Chandigarh were crushed to death after huge boulders triggered by landslide fell on their bike near Pangi nullah along Kalpa-Pooh road in
Kinnaur district of
Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.
According to police officials, the deceased have been identified as Ishan (26) from Zirakpur in Punjab and Sunil (42) from Manimajra in Chandigarh.
They were riding a bullet motorcycle.
Sources said that while riding their bike along national highway-5 from Kalpa to Kaza, when they reached the spot between Kashang and Pangi nullah, all of a sudden heavy boulders fell on them and they died on the spot.
After receiving the information, police team from district headquarters
Reckong Peo reached at the spot and took the bodies in its possession. The bodies were shifted to Regional Hospital in Reckong Peo, where a postmortem was conducted. Police have informed the family members of the deceased about the accident. A case has been registered and police has started the probe.
Falling boulders along the national highways have become a cause of concern as they are posing threat to the safety of commuters. Earlier, on June 2, a taxi driver was killed while a family of five tourists from Maharashtra had a narrow escape after a boulder crushed a car near Aut in Mandi district along Chandigarh-Manali national highway.
In Himachal Pradesh, 21 landslide-prone points have been identified and it has come to light that most of these points located along the national highways across state are maintained by the government of India. Landslide is the most common hazard in the state and almost every year state gets affected by one or more major landslides causing loss of life and damage to houses, agricultural fields, roads and infrastructure. National Disaster Management Authority, government of India has sought detailed project report for landslide mitigation from the state.