The Himachal Pradesh cabinet on Thursday approved inclusion of families with no adult members between 18 and 59 years, headed by women or whose head has a disability of 50 per cent or more under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list. Families that worked for at least 100 days under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in the previous financial year and families whose earning members are suffering from chronic diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, muscular dystrophy, thalassemia or any other condition resulting in permanent disability are also included in the BPL list, a statement issued here said. The state cabinet, in its meeting presided by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, approved the establishment of a special task force (STF) to combat drug abuse and dismantle drug trafficking and organised crime networks in the state through a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach. Besides, the cabinet has decided to promulgate an ordinance amending
A total of 226 roads, including three national highways, were closed in Himachal Pradesh following snowfall in several districts, officials said on Wednesday. People shivered under piercing cold wave conditions as minimum temperatures dropped by a few notches in Jot, which received 10 cm of snow in the past 24 hours, followed by Khadrala (5 cm), Pooh (2 cm), Sangla (1.2 cm) and Keylong (1 cm). Tabo in the Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in Himachal Pradesh, recording a night temperature of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius. A total of 226 roads, including three national highways including Attari and Leh, Sanj to Aut in Kullu district, Khab Sangam in Kinnaur district, and Gramphoo in Lahaul and Spiti district were closed for traffic, officials said. According to the state emergency operation center, a maximum of 123 roads were closed in Shimla district, 36 in Lahaul and Spiti and 25 in Kullu. Additionally, 173 transformers were disrupted, affecting power supply across the
The recent snowfall in Himachal Pradesh has led to the closure of more than 200 roads, including key national highways
At least 177 roads, including three national highways, were closed in Himachal Pradesh following snowfall in several districts, officials said on Tuesday. Snowfall was recorded in the Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti and the higher reaches of Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Chamba and Sirmaur districts. A second consecutive day of snowfall has led to an increase in tourist inflow amid hope on a white Christmas. Shimla Hotel and Tourism Stakeholders' Association president MK Seth told PTI that hotel occupancy in Shimla was at more than 70 per cent. The snowfall led to a 30-percentage point increase in room bookings, he added. About 174 roads and three national highways are closed and tourists in about 500 vehicles stranded near the Atal Tunnel were safely rescued till late on Monday, Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue and Disaster) Onkar Sharma told PTI Videos. According to reports, four people died in accidents during the past 24 hours and several suffered injuries due to vehicles skidding at so
Delhi is set to experience cold wave this week, with temperatures dropping to 6 degrees Celsius by Dec 10. The Meteorological Dept forecasts fog, light rain, and cold conditions across NCR till Dec 14
The New Development Bank (NDB) has given a go-ahead to the Himachal Pradesh Ropeways Corporation to float advance tenders for the construction of Rs 1,734-crore Shimla ropeway project. Once complete, the project is expected to decongest the state capital. The tender process is expected to start soon and 50 per cent of the 13.79-km ropeway will be completed in two years, officials said here on Tuesday. "A big success for state capital Shimla, NDB has given permission for floating advance tenders for the project, paving way for construction of the ropeway. The 13.79-km ropeway would be the longest ropeway in the country and second longest in the world," Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who also holds the portfolio of transport and ropeways, said in a post on his social media account. The contribution of the Himachal Pradesh government will be 20 per cent while NDB will fund the remaining 80 per cent, of which 90 per cent will be subsidy and 10 per cent loan.
Amid escalating tensions over the Sinjauli mosque in Shimla, a Muslim welfare committee on Thursday urged the municipal commissioner to seal the unauthorised portion and also offered to demolish it in accordance with a court order. The panel comprises the Imam of the mosque and members of the Waqf board and the mosque management committee. A delegation of the committee made the request in a representation to Municipal Commissioner Bhupendra Attri and said Muslims living in the locality are permanent residents of Himachal Pradesh and it was taking the step to preserve harmony and brotherhood. "We have sought permission from the Shimla municipal commissioner to demolish the unauthorised part of the mosque situated in Sanjauli," member of the welfare committee Mufti Mohammad Shafi Kasmi said. The Imam of the Sanjauli mosque said, "There is no pressure on us, we have been living here for decades and this decision has been taken as a Himachali. We want to stay in peace and brotherhood .
Protestors demanding the demolition of an illegal structure in a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area were lathi-charged by security forces on Wednesday after they broke police barricades during a demonstration. Raising slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" and "Hindu Ekta Zindabad", hundreds of protestors gathered at the Sabzi Mandi Dhalli and marched towards Sanjauli to lodge their protest and broke the barricades erected near the Dhalli tunnel. As the protestors, who had gathered on the call of Hindu groups, broke the second barricade near the mosque, police resorted to lathi-charge and used water cannons to disperse them. Amid escalating tensions over the unauthorised construction in the Sanjauli area mosque and a bandh call sounded by Hindu outfits to press for the demolition of the disputed structure, Sanjauli and adjoining areas have been converted into a fortress with heavy police deployment. The Shimla district administration issued prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bharatiya ..
Himachal Pradesh government would bear only 28 per cent cost of Rs 1,734.70 crore Shimla Innovative Urban Transportation Ropeway Network Project, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said in the state assembly on Thursday. The 13.65 km long Ropeway from Tara Devi to Shimla would be executed on EPS (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) mode, he said in a written response to a question by BJP's Sudhir Sharma. The rate of interest would be finalised after a tripartite agreement between the state government, Finance Ministry and Department of Economic Affairs and Government of India, he said. The fare for commuters has not been decided yet, Sukhu said. Tenders for advance purchases would be invited only after approval from National Development Bank. The contribution of the state government would be 20 per cent while NDB funding would be 80 per cent of which 90 per cent would be subsidy and 10 per cent would be loans. Adding the loan component, the contribution of the state ...
Residents expressed concern over the damaged roads and blamed local authorities for negligence leading to the landslides
Earlier, on August 7, the IMD reported significant rainfall across the state
A total of 116 electricity supply schemes and 65 water supply schemes have also been disrupted in the state
According to Indian Army, the road to the incident site was blocked due to a land shift approximately 2.5 kilometres short of the incident site, after which troops moved on foot beyond the blockade
Catch all the latest news updates from around the world here
Teams of the Indian Army, NDRF, SDRF, Home Guard, and CISF have been deployed to carry out the restoration operation
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
PM Modi asked top officials to ensure all possible assistance is provided to the affected
Himachal Pradesh rains: Over 50 missing after cloudburst in Rampur, Shimla district; rescue operation on as NDRF, SDRF teams reach on spot
Heavy rains lashed several parts of Himachal Pradesh, leading to the closure of 115 roads for vehicular traffic. The Shimla meteorological office Thursday issued an orange alert, warning of heavy to very heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places till Friday. As many as 115 roads including 107 in Mandi, four in Chamba, three in Solan and one in Kangra district are closed for vehicular traffic following rains and 212 transformers are disrupted in the state as per the state emergency operation centre. Meanwhile, cracks have developed at a stretch between Mandi to Pandoh of the Chandigarh-Manali four-lane road and it has started sinking, forcing officials to allow only one-way traffic since Wednesday, officials said. Locals say a retaining wall was constructed by spending lakhs of rupees but it has started sinking and has gone down by about two feet and questions are being raised on the quality of construction. The tarring work is going at the spot at wa
The Southwest monsoon advanced and covered several parts of Himachal Pradesh on Thursday after being delayed by five days, the meteorological office here said. According to the MeT department data, the monsoon was scheduled to arrive in the state by June 22. The earliest onset of monsoon arrival in the state was recorded in 2000 on June 9 and July 5 in 2010. The monsoon arrived in the state on June 24 in 2023, June 29 in 2022, June 13 in 2021, June 24 in 2020 and July 2 in 2019. Himachal Pradesh received 39.5mm against the normal 84.3 mm of rain, a deficit of 53 per cent from June 1 to June 26. So far, all the 12 districts in the state have received deficient rains. The MeT on Thursday issued a yellow warning of heavy rain, and thunderstorm with lightning for the next four days from June 28 to July 1 in 10 out of 12 districts of the state, barring the tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti. "Isolated spells of heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm, lightning and gus