All water consumers in rural areas of Himachal Pradesh will no longer enjoy the facility of free water supply as the domestic consumers with annual income above Rs 50,000 will have to pay Rs 100 per month. Besides, the commercial establishments will be billed according to kilolitre. The State cabinet which took the decision to increase the revenue and curtail the subsidies on Thursday also decided to provide metered water supply to commercial establishments like hotels and home-stays and bill them on commercial rates. "Domestic consumers with annual income above Rs 50,000 will have to pay Rs 100 per month as water bill while the business establishments like hotels would be charged as per kilolitre and the money collected will be utilised in improving the quality of drinking water," said Sukhu. However, certain underprivileged sections including widows, destitute, 'ekal nari' (single woman), handicapped and other weaker sections will continue to get water free of cost. During the p
Himachal Pradesh cloudburst: A cloudburst near the Samej and Bagi bridges on Wednesday night swept away 45 people, with 13 bodies recovered so far. Rescue operations are currently underway
Earlier, on August 7, the IMD reported significant rainfall across the state
The Centre granted the highest allocation to Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Assam under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) in the last two years, 2022-2024, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The funds were given for relief and rehabilitation of people affected in natural disasters. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said while Rs 941 crore was approved by the Centre's high-level committee for Karnataka, Rs 873 crore and Rs 594 crore were approved for Himachal Pradesh and Assam for floods and landslides in 2022-24. In a written reply, he said Rs 939 crore was released to Karnataka from the NDRF, Rs 812 crore to Himachal Pradesh and Rs 160 crore to Assam in the last two years. Rai said Tamil Nadu has been given Rs 276 crore for flood and cyclone, Sikkim Rs 267 crore for flood and landslides, Nagaland Rs 68 crore in the last two years. The minister said during 2024-25 (as on July 31, 2024), Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) have been constit
IMD weather update: IMD issued an 'orange' alert for today, for heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya
A total of 116 electricity supply schemes and 65 water supply schemes have also been disrupted in the state
Himachal Pradesh cloudburst: Kullu-Manali Highway, which was washed away in the cloudburst on August 1, has been partially reopened for one-way traffic
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Teams of the Indian Army, NDRF, SDRF, Home Guard, and CISF have been deployed to carry out the restoration operation
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Rescuers are attempting to blast a boulder after they spotted a victim trapped under it in Rajban village in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district on Saturday where five people are still missing. Meanwhile, the hunt for about 45 people who went missing after cloudbursts in three districts -- Shimla, Kullu and Mandi -- resumed this morning. According to officials, 410 rescuers from teams of the Army, NDRF, SDRF, ITBP, CISF, Himachal Pradesh Police and home guards are involved in the hunt with the help of drones. On Friday, the death toll rose to eight in the flash floods triggered by a series of cloudbursts in Kullu's Nirmand, Sainj and Malana; Mandi's Padhar and Shimla's Rampur subdivision on the night of July 31. "A combined rescue operation is underway and efforts are afoot to search for the missing people. We are using various equipment and sensors to detect victims buried or trapped under the debris," said NDRF Commanding Officer Karam Singh whose team along with others is engaged
Flash floods and landslides due to cloudbursts and heavy rains have led to the closure of 114 roads in Himachal Pradesh, while the weather department on Saturday warned that heavy showers would continue in the state till August 7. Of the roads closed for vehicular traffic, 36 are in Mandi, 34 in Kullu, 27 in Shimla, eight in Lahaul and Spiti, seven in Kangra, and two in Kinnaur district, according to the state emergency operation centre. The Himachal Roads Transport Corporation has suspended its bus services on 82 routes, an official said. Moderate to heavy showers continued to lash parts of the state, with Jogindernagar receiving the highest rainfall of 85 mm since Friday evening, followed by Gohar 80 mm, Shilaroo 76.4 mm, Poanta Sahib 67.2 mm, Palampur 57.2 mm, Dharamshala 56.2 mm and Chopal 52 mm. The local weather office has issued a "yellow" alert for heavy rains till August 7. Rain-related incidents have claimed 77 lives between June 27 and August 1 and caused losses amounti
Vikramaditya said that the topmost priority of the state government is to retrieve the bodies and restore connectivity
Special Secretary DC Rana of the DDMA said that over sixty houses were washed away and several villages have been severely affected by the floods
The meteorological office here on Friday issued a 'yellow' alert for heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightning in isolated places in ten out districts of Himachal Pradesh till August 6. A total of 115 roads -- 46 in Mandi, 38 in Kullu, 15 in Shimla, six each in kangra and Sirmaur, three in Kinnaur and one in Lahaul and Spiti -- are closed for vehicular traffic following heavy rains in the state. According the state emergency operation centre, 225 transformers and 111 water supply schemes have been affected. Rain-related incidents have claimed 77 lives since the onset of monsoon on June 27 till August 1 and the state has also suffered losses to the tune of Rs 655 crore, according to the centre. The Himachal Roads Transport Corporation (HRTC) has suspended bus services on 82 out of the total 3,612 routes, Managing Director Rohan Chand Thakur said. The MeT office also cautioned of the possibility of landslides and flash floods in vulnerable areas and damage to plantations and standing c
Rescue operations are underway on Friday to trace about 45 people missing following flash floods triggered by cloudbursts in three districts of Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Friday. With recovery of three more bodies, the death toll due to the flash floods in Nirmand, Sainj and Malana areas in Kullu, Mandi's Padhar and Shimla's Rampur subdivision has increased to eight. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu along with Education Minister Rohit Thakur visited Samej on the border of Shimla and Kullu district to take stock of the situation and talk to the victims. Over 30 people were missing after a cloudburst near Shrikhand Mahadev route on Wednesday night triggered flash floods in Sarpara, Ganvi and Kurban nallahs. Talking to reporters, Sukhu said 17-18 women and 8-9 children are among those missing. The rescue of people is our first priority. The chief minister announced an immediate relief of Rs 50,000 for the victims and also said that they would be given Rs 5,000 a month
IMD weather update: The IMD said heavy rainfall is expected in Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Konkan, Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Assam, and Meghalaya
Himachal Pradesh cloudbursts update: The India Meteorological Department has issued a 'red' alert for Kangra, Kullu, and Mandi, as more rainfall is expected on Friday
Central government should in bipartisan manner provide financial assistance to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand where cloudbursts and accompanying landslides and floods have claimed nearly two dozen lives and several are still missing, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari demanded in Rajya Sabha on Friday. Raising the issue through a zero hour mention, he said six people have died and 50 are missing following cloudbursts in Shimla, Mandi and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh. Three national highways as well as dozens of other roads have shut due to flooding, stranding tourists and other commuters. In neighbouring Uttarakhand, 16 people have died and many are missing following heavy rains. "Due to cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, 22 people have died and 60 are missing," he said. He demanded that the central government should provide adequate financial assistance. "Last time, Himachal Pradesh was not given financial assistance," he said. Tiruchi Siva of DMK raised the we
Rescue operations were underway on Friday to trace over 45 people missing following flash floods triggered by cloudbursts in three districts of Himachal Pradesh, while 29 people stranded at the site of a power project in the state were brought to safety overnight, officials said. Cloudbursts in Nirmand, Sainj and Malana areas in Kullu, Padhar in Mandi and Rampur in Shimla districts on Wednesday had left five people dead and over 45 missing. Thirty-three people were also stuck in Malana II power project in Manikaran area of Kullu district. Deputy Commissioner Kullu, Torul S Raveesh, said 29 out of the 33 have been rescued. A wall and way to a tunnel was damaged due to rains and water entered the barrage but the teams of the NDRF and home guard managed to rescue 29 people, while four persons are still in the power house. The relatives of the missing people are campaigning at the spot and the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police, State Disaster ..