Page 15 - Himachal Pradesh

Footbridge washed away in flash flood triggered by cloudburst in Kullu

A footbridge and three makeshift sheds, including a liquor shop, were washed away following a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst in Tosh Nallah in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, officials said on Tuesday. The incident took place in the Tosh area of Manikaran early in the morning and no loss of life was reported, Deputy Commissioner Kullu Torul S Raveesh said, adding that a team has been sent to the spot to assess the situation. "Our appeal to the people is to stay away from rivers and rivulets and do not make temporary structures near nallahs," she said. The deputy commissioner said that construction activity is prohibited during the monsoon and strict action would be taken against anyone defying the norms. The local meteorological office has issued an 'orange' alert for heavy to very heavy rain accompanied with thunderstorms and lightning in seven districts of the state on Wednesday and Thursday. The Met has also sounded a 'yellow' alert for heavy rain at isolated places o

56 killed in rain-related incidents since monsoon began in Himachal Pradesh

Fifty-six people have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh and the state has suffered losses of Rs 410 crore since the onset of monsoon on June 27, the emergency operation centre said. According to the data from the state centre, 21 died after falling from heights, 18 due to accidental drowning, eight each due to snake bites and electrocution while one died in a flash flood. No deaths were reported due to landslides or cloudburst, it said. About 100 houses were damaged, with the Public Works Department suffering the maximum loss of Rs 172 crore, followed by the Horticulture Department with Rs Rs 139 crores, the centre added. The Shimla meteorological office issued a yellow' alert, warning for heavy rainfall at isolated places in eight districts of the state till July 31 and predicted a wet spell till August 2. The MeT cautioned about damage to plantations, standing crops, vulnerable structures and kutcha' houses due to strong winds, and waterlogging in low-lying ...

Rs 10,351.82 cr to Himachal in Budget will immensely help state: Malhotra

Himachal Pradesh will benefit a lot from the Union Budget 2024-25 and receive Rs 10,351.82 crore from the central funds which will give a boost to developmental activities in the state, said Union Minister of State for Transport and Highways and Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra here on Saturday. Addressing a press conference to explain the provisions of the Union Budget, he said they will give impetus to horticulture, construction of roads and tunnels besides increasing the Mudra loan from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. Asserting that enormous funds are being spent on construction of highways, tunnels and expansion of railway network, the minister said a sum of Rs 1,681 crore will be spent on the 4.1-km Shinkula Tunnel connecting Lahaul in Himachal and Zanskar in Ladakh located at an altitude of 15,800 feet. Its foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 26. He said the road will be constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). He also informed that a su

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Part of NH-3 in Himachal closed after cloudburst causes flash flood

A stretch of the National Highway-3 was closed for vehicular traffic following a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst in Himachal's Kullu district, police said on Thursday. No casualty has so far been reported in the incident that occurred late Wednesday, they said. According to officials, the stretch between Dhundi and Palchan Bridge on NH-3, also known as Leh-Manali Road, was affected due to the cloudburst at Anjani Mahadev nullah in the Manali area. Vehicles headed to Manali from Lahaul and Spiti via the north portal of the Atal Tunnel have been diverted towards Rohtang, the Lahaul and Spiti police said in an advisory on Thursday. It also asked the commuters to travel only if necessary, drive cautiously, and stay aware of the possible danger en route. A total of 15 roads, including 12 in Mandi, two in Kinnaur and one in Kangra district were closed for vehicular traffic while 62 transformers were disrupted in the state on Wednesday night, the state emergency operation centre ..

Himachal HC issues notice to Kangana Ranaut over Mandi election challenge

Kinnaur resident Layak Ram Negi filed a petition in the Himachal Pradesh High Court asking the court to annul Kangana Ranaut's election

Budget 2024: HP to get aid to overcome losses due to last year's floods

Himachal Pradesh, which suffered major losses due to floods last year, would be provided aid through multilateral development assistance, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said during her budget speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Heavy rains triggered floods and landslides in the hill state last year and about 550 people died during the monsoon season. The Himachal Pradesh government has requested the Centre to release Rs 9,042 crore as financial assistance following a post-disaster assessment carried out by a central team. "Himachal Pradesh suffered extensive losses due to floods last year and our government would provide assistance to the state for reconstruction and rehabilitation through multilateral development assistance," Sitharaman said. The state received three spells of very heavy rains last year. It received 223.9 mm of rain from July 8 to July 12 against the normal of 42.2 mm, 111.2 mm from August 11 to August 14 against the normal of 41.7 mm, an excess of 167 per cen

Monsoon: Himachal faces Rs 329 cr loss, 40 killed in rain-related incidents

As many as 40 persons died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh since the onset of monsoon on June 27 till July 20 and the state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 329 crore, according to the state emergency operation centre. One person was washed away as a cloudburst incident took place in Raitua village in Anj Bhoj area under Paonta subdivision in Sirmaur district late Friday night. Confirming the incident, Paonta Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Gunjeet Cheema said that immediately after getting the information of a cloudburst in Raitua village, a team of Puruwala police station with the help of local residents launched a search operation in the five km long area where the Raitua Nullah flows to join the Tons River. After a night long rescue and search operation, the dead body of a 48-year-old person identified as Aman Singh, a resident of Danda Anj village, was recovered from the Tons river on Saturday morning. The SDM said that as per the information Singh along wit

Victory of Himachal CM's wife in Assembly bypolls creates new record

The victory of Kamlesh Thakur, the wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in the assembly by-election from Dehra seat has scripted history as for the first time both husband and wife are members of the house. No independent was elected in the by-election and it was also for the first time that the house was without any independent member. The strength of Congress, which had won 40 seats in the 2022 assembly polls, has increased to 40 again and the government which had become stable with 38 seats in the 68 member Vidhan Sabha after winning four by-elections in June this year has become stronger. In the 2017 assembly elections, a record was set as former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and his son Vikramaditya Singh were elected and incidentally the duo were oldest and youngest members of the house. Veteran Congress leader Sarla Sharma and her husband Parasram (CPIM) also remained members of the Vidhan Sabha but they were never members of the same house. Parasram was elected i

Assembly bypolls: INDIA bloc wins 3 seats, leading in 8; BJP leading in 1

INDIA bloc parties won three assembly seats and were leading on eight, while the BJP and an Independent were ahead on one each as votes were counted on Saturday for the by-elections held earlier this week, according to the trends on the EC website. AAP's Mohinder Bhagat won the Jalandhar West seat in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's wife and Congress candidate Kamlesh Thakur won in Dehra and TMC's Krishna Kalyani in West Bengal's Raiganj. The Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), AAP and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) are the INDIA bloc parties that fielded candidates in the bypolls held on Wednesday in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. In Punjab, Bhagat won the Jalandhar West seat by defeating his nearest rival and BJP nominee Sheetal Angural by a margin of 37,325 votes, the Election Commission (EC) said. The seat fell vacant after Angural resigned as the AAP legislator and joined the BJP in

Himachal Pradesh bypolls: Cong leading in all three assembly by-polls

Congress' candidates, including Himachal Pradesh Chief Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's wife, are in the lead in all three assembly constituencies in the state where bypolls were held earlier this week, officials said on Saturday. The counting of votes for the by-elections in Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh, held on Wednesday, began at 8 am. Sukhu's wife Kamlesh Thakur was leading by 636 votes against her nearest rival and BJP candidate Hoshiyar Singh after the fifth round of counting, the officials said. In the Hamirpur assembly seat, Congress' Pushpinder Verma was ahead by 1,704 votes against BJP candidate Ashish Sharma after the second round of counting, they said. Congress candidate Hardeep Singh Baba was leading by 646 votes in the first round against BJP candidate K L Thakur in the Nalagarh assembly seat, the officials. Thirteen candidates were in the fray from the three seats. The Nalagarh assembly constituency had recorded the highest polling at 79.04 per cent, followed by Hamirpur

Snow cover in Himachal river basins declined by 12.72% in 2023-24

The seasonal snow cover in Chenab, Beas, Ravi and Sutlej river basins in Himachal Pradesh decreased by 12.72 per cent in 2023-24 compared to 14.25 per cent in 2022-23, a statement issued here on Friday said. During the early winter months of 2023-24 (October to November), the Chenab, Beas and Sutlej basins showed negative trends in snow cover, whereas the Ravi basin showed a marginal increase, reflecting a positive trend, the statement quoting a study said. However, results for the peak winter months indicated significant declines in all the basins -- 67 per cent in Sutlej, 44 per cent in Ravi, 43 per cent in Beas and 42 per cent in Chenab in January 2024, according to the study conducted by the State Centre on Climate Change, under the aegis of the HP Council for Science, Technology, and Environment (HIMCOSTE). In February, a positive trend was observed in all basins, with an increase in snow cover, continuing into March 2024. Based on the analysis, it was observed that the declin

22 dead, Rs 172 cr loss incurred in Himachal Pradesh since monsoon onset

Twenty-two lives have been lost in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh and the state has suffered a loss of Rs 172 crore in the two weeks since the monsoon onset on June 27, officials said on Wednesday. They said eight of them drowned, six fell from height, four were electrocuted and three died of snakebite, while two people were still missing. According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, five roads were closed in Mandi, four in Shimla and three in Kangra. Residents of Lindoor village of the tribal Lahaul and Spiti district where cracks appeared during the last monsoon season said they were apprehensive as 14 houses and 200 bigha land could cave in during heavy downpours. A cow was killed as a wall of a cowshed collapsed following a landslip in the Gheva panchayat of Chail, in Solan district. According to the weather office, Baijnath received 32 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, followed by Poanta Sahib with 18.4 mm, Dhaulakuan with 17.5 mm, Dharamshala with 11 mm, Dalhousi

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Heavy downpour in Himachal, roads closed; Dharamshala records 214.6 mm rain

Heavy rain lashed parts of Himachal, including Kangra's Dharamshala and Palampur where rainfall levels exceeded the 200-mm mark. According to the emergency operation centre, 150 roads, including 111 in Mandi, 13 in Sirmaur, nine in Shimla, eight each in Chamba and Kullu, and one in Kangra district, are closed for traffic following torrential rains The centre also said that 334 transformers are disrupted and 55 water supply schemes have been affected in the state. Kangra's Dharamshala recorded the highest rainfall of 214.6 mm, followed by Palampur 212.4 mm, Jogindernagar 169 mm, Kangra city 157.6 mm, Baijnath 142 mm, Jot 95.2 mm, Nagrota Suriyan 90.2 mm, Sujanpur Tira 72 mm, Dhaulakuan 70 mm, Ghamroor 68.2 mm, Nadaun 63 mm and Berthin 58.8 mm. The Shimla meteorological office has issued a yellow alert, warning for thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places till July 12. Other tourist destinations of Dalhousie received 31 mm of rain, Manali received 30 mm, Kasauli 24 mm, Narkand

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

BJP MLA Jamwal targets Himachal CM, calls him biggest contractor of lies

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is the biggest contractor of lies but his actions would not help the Congress to win the bypoll, Bilaspur (Sadar) MLA and BJP co-incharge of the Hamirpur assembly bypoll Trilok Jamwal said on Wednesday. "Sensing his party's defeat in all the three seats, including Hamirpur, the home district of the chief minister, Sukhu is making false allegations and accusations against BJP candidates," the MLA said in a statement issued here. Bypolls will be conducted for three assembly seats -- Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagargh -- on July 10. The seats fell vacant after three Independent legislators, who voted in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajya Sabha elections, resigned and later joined the saffron party. The BJP has fielded all the three former MLAs from their respective seats. "If (Sukhvinder Singh) Sukhu says that during the Congress tenure, Ashish Sharma took contracts worth crore from him, then should it be understood that contracts are

Delhi Cabinet to begin drafting note for Rs 1,000 monthly aid for women

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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

'Finance Commission to tackle issues of freebies, green cover compensation'

The 16th Finance Commission would address the issues pertaining to the distribution of freebies and compensation for providing green cover, Chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Monday. Speaking with reporters here after deliberations with the Himachal Pradesh government, Panagariya said that expectations and needs of the state have been discussed and a 90-slide presentation was given by the officials which emphasized that the cost of everything is much higher in the state due to its difficult terrain. Replying to a question, the chairman said, "The issue of freebies would also be addressed by the commission as we are aware that freebies have proliferated and there is a competition among the states and the political parties to give freebies.. It is pertinent to mention that the Congress government in the state had promised to give Rs 1,500 per month to women in the age bracket of 18 to 59 years in its poll manifesto released on the eve of the last assembly polls held in 2022. He said