Page 27 - Himachal Pradesh

Demand for declaring HP crisis as disaster to be raised in Parl: Priyanka

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said that party MP from Mandi, Pratibha Singh, would raise in the special session of Parliament the demand for declaring the recent calamity in Himachal Pradesh a "national disaster". However, Gandhi said she was not sure if the party MP would be allowed to raise the demand during the session. A special session of Parliament will be held from September 18 to 22. We do not know what the session is about and whether she (Pratibha Singh) would be allowed to raise the issue or not but even if this does not happen, we should make a strong representation to the Centre on it and the Congress would fully support it, she told reporters during her visit to the Shiv temple site in Summer Hill here. Gandhi also met the families affected by the landslide. Twenty people were killed in the landslide at the Shiv temple on August 14. Three landslides had claimed 27 lives in Shimla city with Fagli and Krishnanagar slides claiming five and two ...

Experts to be roped in for in-depth study of landslides in Himachal

Experts from the Geological Survey of India, IIT Ropar and Wadia Institute of Seismology will be roped in for an in-depth study of landslides in Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Tuesday. In the ongoing monsoon season, 111 people died in 165 landslides between June 24 and September 11, according to state emergency operation centre data. There are 17,120 landslide-prone sites in the state and 675 of these are near critical infrastructure and habitations, the data showed. Expressing concern over the landslides, the officials said the study would examine the reason behind land subsidence at nearly 200 places where there is no construction. Experts from the Geological Survey of India, Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar and Wadia Institute of Seismology will be roped in for an in-depth study of landslides in the state, Principal Secretary (revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma told PTI. Meanwhile, a committee constituted last month to study the causes of landslides in Shimla city said in it

HP landslide: Apples, peas from Kinnaur being transported through ropeway

Apples and peas are being transported by a ropeway in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnnaur after a major landslide blocked the national highway connecting the district to state capital Shimla. After the successful trial of the ropeway (span) on Monday, apples, peas and other crops would be transported through the ropeway at Negulsari free of cost so that the produce reaches the markets and no loss is caused to farmers, Revenue and Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi said on Tuesday. Negi, who is also the sitting Congress MLA from Kinnaur, said over 20 apple-laden trucks have been diverted from Kaza-Kunzum road. The ropeway has been set up at Krampa in Negulsari to Dhumti on Chaura-Rupi link road. Machinery has been deployed on both sides of the landslide-hit road and majority of the stretch has been cleared but the rocky 70-metre path is creating hindrance as the slide is continuing, he told PTI. The minister also directed officials to arrange for transportation of all essential items s

Priyanka to visit flood-hit areas in Mandi, Kullu to oversee relief work

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will visit the flood-affected areas of Himachal Pradesh's Mandi and Kullu districts on Tuesday and oversee relief and restoration works. She would also interact with the flood victims at the Aloo ground in Manali. Flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains had wreaked havoc in Kullu and Mandi districts on July 14 and 15. Gandhi, who arrived at the Bhuntar airport in Kullu this morning, stopped to receive flowers from local women at the airport and also spoke with Congress workers and local growers about apple production, transportation and rates of boxes. The Congress leader had recently alleged that apple boxes in Himachal Pradesh are being sold at one third rates after the Adani Group released the procurement price, and asked why the prime minister is not doing anything for them. Gandhi was accompanied by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh. The Congress leader would also v

Himachal to provide rented accommodation for families in relief camps

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday said that the state government would provide rented accommodation

Himachal CM requests PM to declare rain-caused havoc as national disaster

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the rain-caused calamity in the hill state as a national disaster. Sukhu was the only chief minister from the Congress-ruled states who attended a dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu for G20 leaders on Saturday. In a post on X on Sunday, he said: "Had the privilege of addressing the grave aftermath of torrential rains in Himachal Pradesh during my conversation with Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji after our G20 Summit dinner. I also requested a special disaster relief package and emphasised the need to designate this calamity as a 'national disaster', highlighting the urgency of the situation." Sukhu, who had earlier said Himachal Pradesh had suffered losses to the tune of Rs 12,000 crore due to rain-related incidents this monsoon, has been demanding that the calamity be declared as a national disaster and a special disaster package be announced on the lines of thos

NH-5 in Himachal blocked due to landslide near Nigulsari in Kinnaur

National Highway 5 was completely blocked near Nigulsari in Kinnaur district. About 380 meters of the National Highway completely caved, which disrupted vehicular movement

Landslips in Himachal Pradesh due to people eating meat: IIT Mandi director

In a video clip, Laxmidhar Behera can be seen talking to students and asking them not to eat meat

Centre sanctions outlay of Rs 1,164 cr for IDS for Himachal, Uttarakhand

These incentives include the Central Capital Investment Incentive for Access to Credit (CCIIAC) at 30 per cent of the investment in Plant and Machinery with an upper limit of Rs 5.00 crore

IIT-Mandi director Behera not fit to hold the position: Jairam Ramesh

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said IIT-Mandi Director Laxmidhar Behera is not fit to hold the position after he purportedly claimed that cloudbursts and landslides in Himachal Pradesh are happening because people eat meat. Sharing a news report on the statement made by Behera, Ramesh said on X that the longer he stays in office "more the damage he will do to the spirit of scientific temper". "The PM spoke of plastic surgery being known to our ancestors. He also told children climate has not changed, while we have. A senior Minister confused Newton and Einstein while another justified excluding Darwin from textbooks. "Now, this simply flabbergasting statement from the Director of a prestigious institution!!! He actually has shown he is not fit to hold the position. The longer he stays, more the damage he will do to the spirit of scientific temper," Ramesh posted. Science and spirituality is one thing, but science and crackpot theories that are put out by people in positi

Cloudbursts in Himachal happening because people eat meat: IIT Director

IIT Mandi Director Laxmidhar Behera has stirred a controversy after he asked students to take a pledge not to eat meat while claiming that landslides and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh are happening because of cruelty on animals. "Himachal Pradesh will have a significant downfall...if we do. Not stop butchering animals. You are butchering animals there... the innocent animals. It has a symbiotic relationship with the degradation of the environment as well... which you cannot see right now but is there... "It is having landslides, cloudbursts and many other things again and again, these are all effects of cruelty on animals...people eat meat," Behra said while addressing the students, a video of which is doing the rounds on social media. "To become good human beings, what you have to do? No to meat eating," he further said and then went on to ask the students to vow not to eat meat. There was no response from Behera on the controversy. His comments attracted criticism from ...

After floods, plastic garbage becoming a threat in Himachal: Scientists

Environmentalists, farmers and locals are worried as the tourists visiting the hills end up discarding plastic garbage in the hills of the Himalayan region

Himachal Transport Corporation suffers loss of over Rs 50 cr: Deputy CM

The Deputy Chief Minister was addressing the media in Shimla where he said that these losses also include the Rs 30 crore operational loss to the state

Cabinet approves Rs 1,100 cr for industrial dev scheme for HP, Uttarakhand

The cabinet on Wednesday approved additional allocation of over Rs 1,100 crore for the industrial development scheme, 2017 for Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, sources said. The additional fund was required to meet the liabilities under the scheme up to 2028-29. Under this scheme, the total financial outlay was Rs 131.90 crore. A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they said. The government provides different incentives under the scheme to companies for investment in these two states, they added. The incentives include access to credit and insurance.

Odisha donates Rs 5 cr to rain-battered HP, CM Sukhu expresses gratitude

Extending support to rain-hit Himachal Pradesh, the Odisha government on Wednesday donated Rs 5 crore for undertaking relief and rehabilitation of the affected population in the hill state. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed his gratitude to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and said liberal donation in the hour of distress will help in aiding the disaster-affected people of the state, an official statement issued here said. The states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have also provided help to the tune of Rs 51 crore to the northern state. Sukhu also appealed to the general public to contribute generously towards the disaster relief fund. He said collective efforts and contributions from across the nation will certainly ensure comprehensive support and assistance to the people affected by the natural disaster. With this, an amount of over Rs 168 crore has been received in the Aapada Raahat Kosh (state disaster relief fund) set u

Himachal open for tourists, Dharamshala air services restored: Officials

Himachal Pradesh is now open for tourists with hoteliers in prominent travel destinations of the state offering lucrative discounts, officials said on Tuesday. Flight services of Alliance Air from Delhi to Shimla and further from Shimla to Dharamshala have been resumed, they added. Tourist resorts of Kasauli, Shimla, Chail, Narkanda, Kinnaur, Dharamshala, Mcleodganj, Palampur, Dalhousie and Khajjiar have been reopened and roads to these destinations are safe to travel, Amit Kashyap, Director of Tourism and Civil Aviation Department informed in a statement issued here. Kashyap said tourists can avail of discounts in the current season in most of the hotels in the hill state. The recent spell of heavy rains during monsoon caused disruptions in travel in some road stretches, however, with efforts of the state government to restore the same on a war footing, tourists can now travel to Chamba, Kangra, Shimla and other districts, he added. The monsoon fury in the hill state during July

Govt working on war footing to open roads in disaster-hit Himachal: Sukhu

He said that he would talk to the Prime Minister and home minister if needed

Himachal's PWD minister directs dept to open all blocked roads by Sept 15

He also said that barring any unusual situation in the disaster-hit parts of the state if the roads are not opened by then the officers concerned will have to face the action

Rs 2,000 cr loss to HP's tourism in July-Aug; hotels offer discounts

The tourism sector in Himachal Pradesh suffered losses of about Rs 2,000 crore in July and August, owing to which hoteliers in the state have started offering attractive packages to get back on track. The tourism industry in the hill state, which was in the revival process after Covid-19, received another blow as the monsoon wreaked havoc, leading to low tourist footfall. This sector, which contributes over Rs 14,000 crore annually to Himachal Pradesh's GDP, lost around Rs 2,000 crore during July and August as heavy rains damaged road infrastructure -- the lifeline of the hill state -- and also cast a shadow on the already restricted air and rail connectivity, officials of the tourism department said. The tourism industry has suffered heavy losses and the only silver lining was an influx of devotees in six Shakti Peeths in Una, Bilaspur and Kangra districts of the state," Amit Kashyap, managing director of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC), told PTI on ...

112 roads including National Highway blocked due to rainfall in Himachal

Besides this, 12 water supply schemes have also been disrupted. One fire incident has been reported in the past 24 hours, according to government data