Shimla

Cold wave to hit Delhi, North India this week; IMD forecasts fog & rain

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

NDB gives nod to float tenders for Rs 1,734 cr Shimla ropeway projects

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.

Mosque row: Muslim panel asks municipal corporation to seal illegal portion

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 .

Shimla mosque controversy: Protestors break barricades, clash with police

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 ..

State govt to bear only 28% of Shimla's Ropeway project: Himachal CM Sukhu

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 ...

Multiple landslides hit Shimla, 20 bodies recovered, rescue ops underway

Residents expressed concern over the damaged roads and blamed local authorities for negligence leading to the landslides

Himachal cloudburst: 13 dead near Samej bridge, rescue operations on

Earlier, on August 7, the IMD reported significant rainfall across the state

Himachal cloudbursts: Relief, rescue operations continue in Samej village

A total of 116 electricity supply schemes and 65 water supply schemes have also been disrupted in the state

Rescue ops underway in flood-affected Samej village after Shimla cloudburst

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

Updates: 9 children dead in wall collapse in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district, several injured

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Himachal cloudburst: Army builds temporary bridges for restoration work

Teams of the Indian Army, NDRF, SDRF, Home Guard, and CISF have been deployed to carry out the restoration operation

Himachal cloudbursts: 5 dead, over 50 missing; IMD issues flash flood alert

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 monitors situation in Himachal in wake of heavy rains, cloudbursts

PM Modi asked top officials to ensure all possible assistance is provided to the affected

2 dead, 50 missing after cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh. Top updates

Himachal Pradesh rains: Over 50 missing after cloudburst in Rampur, Shimla district; rescue operation on as NDRF, SDRF teams reach on spot

Heavy rains lash several parts of Himachal, 115 roads closed for traffic

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

Delayed by 5 days, southwest monsoon hits several parts of Himachal Pradesh

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

Four killed after Himachal roadways bus falls into gorge in Shimla's Jubbal

The mishap took place in Kenchi area of Jubbal when the bus which was enroute to Kuddu-Diltari in Rohru area of the Shimla district fell off the mountain road into the gorge below

7.4 mn tourists visit HP till May, hike by 3.5%; Solan surpasses Shimla

With over 74 lakh tourists visiting Himachal Pradesh till May this year, the tourist footfall has increased marginally by 3.5 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year. A total of 74,64,184 tourists including 32,415 foreign tourists visited the state till May end as compared to 72,02,956 tourists including 23,174 foreign tourists in the same period last year, an increase of 3.5 per cent, said Tourism and Civil Aviation Director Manasi Sahay Thakur. "Efforts are afoot to improve inter and intra state connectivity through construction of heliports. Major focus is on infrastructure development like creating wayside amenities besides opening wellness centres, construction of ice skating rinks, promoting eco and adventure tourism with the funding of Asian development Bank (ADB)," she told the PTI. Private players are also engaged in advance to ensure sustainability of tourism projects and the results will be visible in the next three years, she added. Surprisingly, ...

SKM bandh call: Farmers, labourers block Shimla-Kinnaur road in HP

Demanding an adequate compensation for the land acquired for hydro power projects and employment for youths, farmers and labourers of 16 affected panchayats here on Friday blocked the Shimla-Kinnaur road for about two-and-a-half hours. Protestors took out a rally in Nirath Bazaar and later blocked the road, about 110 km from the state capital Shimla. Former CPI(M) MLA Rakesh Singha said that besides addressing the locals' issues, the protest was held to express solidarity with the farmers "facing injustice" at the national level. Now, farmers and labourers are going to organise protests and move forward to fight for their rights until their demands are fulfilled. The main objective was to protest against the project builder allegedly not fulfilling the demands, including adequate compensation and jobs to locals in projects in the area, the protestors said. Long queues of vehicles were seen on both sides of the road blocked by the protestors. People from 16 panchayats have reached h

Eying more tourists, CM Sukhu sanctions Rs 100 crore for Shimla infra

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday sanctioned Rs 100 crore for enhancing and strengthening the infrastructure of Shimla town with an aim to increase tourist footfall and facilitate the local people. "Rs 55 crore would be spent on underground power cables in Shimla which would ensure proper ducts facilities," the chief minister said in a press note issued here. He noted that the move will help provide uninterrupted power supply to the consumers even during heavy snowfall and adverse weather in the town. Sukhu said the Himachal Pradesh government would also spend Rs 45 crore for improvement and widening of Circular Road in the state capital. He said the decongestion of the road would go a long way in facilitating the local public and tourists and ensuring smooth flow of vehicular movement. He directed the Public Works Department (PWD) to remove all the bottlenecks on this road for the convenience of the commuters. "The present state government had .