Page 29 - Himachal Pradesh

Roads blocked, educational institutions shut amid heavy rains in Himachal

Heavy overnight rains triggered landslides in Himachal Pradesh, blocking over 200 more roads, including the Shimla-Chandigarh highway, and damaging some houses in Solan district, officials said on Wednesday. No loss of life has been reported so far. With 200 more roads blocked, a total of 530 roads in the state are now shut. The Shimla-Kalka National Highway 5 connecting Shimla and Chandigarh was again blocked near Chaki Mor besides NH 21 (Mandi-Kullu road) and NH 154 (Mandi-Pathankot) road, according to the data of the State Emergency Operation Centre. Some houses have been damaged in Shakal village in the outskirts of Solan city as gushing waters entered houses and reports of damage to few houses and vehicles in Sabathu area following the landslide have poured in, Deputy Commissioner, Solan, Manmohan Sharma told PTI. As a safety measure, three houses were vacated in Panthaghati and Sanjauli areas of Shimla city and landslides and uprooting of trees have been reported in some part

'Red' rain alert in HP, schools to be closed in Shimla, Mandi for 2 days

Rains lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday and the meteorological office here issued a red alert predicting "heavy to very heavy" rainfall with isolated spells of "extremely heavy" rains in eight of its 12 districts during the night. In view of the warning, Deputy Commissioners Aditya Negi of Shimla and Arindam Chaudhary of Mandi ordered the closure of all schools and colleges in their jurisdictions on Wednesday and Thursday. Bilaspur Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussian Sadiq said all educational institutions will remain closed on Wednesday. The red alert was issued in the evening for parts of Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur and Una districts as rains on Tuesday triggered some landslides in Mandi and hamirpur districts and uprooted trees in other areas. No casualties were reported in this fresh bout of rains, so far. Earlier this month, about 80 people died in rain-related incidents, including major landslides in Shimla. The Met also issued an orange al

Himachal rains: Thakur asks officials to build houses for those affected

Union minister Anurag Thakur has asked authorities in the district to construct houses for those who have lost their homes due to heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh. Chairing a review meeting on the damage caused by heavy rains in the district on Sunday, the Hamirpur MP said changes will be made in the Relief Manual of the Central and State Governments to provide more relief to the people hit by the calamity. Besides this, a way should be found to make additional provisions in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to provide relief to these people, he added. He directed the administration to provide accommodation facilities to the people living in relief camps and also made an appeal to people having spare accommodation to rent them to the affected people. If needed, the minister said, he would help the people pay rent from his own funds. Bilaspur is part of the Hamirpur parliamentary constituency. The Information and Broadcasting minister asserted that the central government was providing

17 bodies recovered from debris of Shiv Mandir in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla

Chief Secretary of the government of Himachal Pradesh Prabodh Saxena, while speaking to ANI said that two bodies of a family are still to be recovered

10 including 5 forest officials stuck in HP's Mandi, rescue ops underway

As per the Deputy Commissioner of Mandi Arindam Chaudhary, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local administration teams are present on the spot for rescue operations

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Shimla's ex-deputy mayor sits on strike, urges rethink on development model

Former deputy mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation Tikendar Panwar on Sunday sat on a 24-hour hunger strike on Ridge Ground here, and urged introspection on Himachal Pradesh' development model in view of the recent rain-related devastation in the state. Panwar demanded an inquiry commission on the matter to be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court to assess the flood related damages and design a new policy framework to counter it. He said the National Highway Authority of India and companies responsible for the construction of four-lane highways in the state should be prosecuted. The death toll in rain-related incidents in the state has climbed to 78. Of the 78 deaths since August 13, 24 were from the three landslides in Shimla alone -- 17 at the Shiva temple in Summer Hill, five in Fagli, and two in Krishna Nagar. The ex-deputy mayor said that the current disaster should be declared a national calamity. He also called for immediate mapping of the state's vulnerabilities

Met warns of heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh from August 22-24

The Met office here has issued an 'orange alert' for heavy to very heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh from August 22-24 and 'yellow alert' for heavy rain on August 21, even as the monsoon remained subdued in the state. Isolated parts of the state witnessed light rain on Sunday, it said. The Met also warned of moderate risk of flash floods in catchment areas of Chamba and Mandi districts and predicted a wet spell till August 26. Heavy rain can result in landslides, flash floods and increased water levels in rivers and drains, besides causing damage to standing crops, fruit plants and young seedlings, the weather office said.

Centre approves release of Rs 200 cr to rain-battered Himachal Pradesh

The Centre on Sunday approved the release of Rs 200 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund as advance assistance to Himachal Pradesh to help the rain-battered state undertake relief measures for affected people. A spokesperson of the Union Home Ministry said the Centre had earlier approved the advance release of Rs 360.80 crore from the central share of the State Disaster Response Fund in two instalments on July 10 and 17. The Central government also released Rs 189.27 crore of the state's past dues from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) on August 7, the spokesperson said. The home ministry has approved the release of Rs 200 crore, as an advance from the National Disaster Response Fund to the government of Himachal Pradesh to help them undertake relief measures for affected people during the ongoing monsoon season, a spokesperson said. The central government is monitoring the situation in Himachal Pradesh round the clock and providing necessary logistics and financ

Himachal suffered huge losses, will make all efforts to rehabilitate: Nadda

The Centre is concerned over the grave situation in rain-battered Himachal Pradesh and all efforts would be made to rehabilitate displaced persons, BJP president J P Nadda said on Sunday. Nadda along with Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur and state BJP president Rajiv Bindal is on a tour of the state to take stock of the situation. I am pained to see the devastation and loss of human lives and assure all help for rehabilitation of displaced persons, the BJP president, who started his visit of flood and rain-hit areas of the state from Paonta Sahib in Sirmaur, said after meeting a famiiy which lost five members in flash floods on August 10. Himachal has suffered huge losses and the union government is seriously concerned about the situation. Efforts are afoot by the administration to provide relief and take up restoration and rehabilitation works. Central help would continue to pour in and all the displaced persons would b

BJP president Nadda to visit Himachal today, take stock of flood situation

According to the statement, Nadda on his visit to the flood-hit state will meet the affected family members of those who lost their lives due to the calamity

3,529 arbitration cases pending in Himachal, HC says 'extremely serious'

The Court observed that the issue is indeed extremely serious and, therefore, required to be deliberated upon by all the stakeholders, more particularly, NHAI and Central Government

Himachal Police gets Rs 7 cr to strengthen road safety to reduce accidents

The Himachal Pradesh government has released Rs 7.34 crore for the police to procure equipment and implement measures to reduce road accidents and deaths. Released by the transport department, the road safety fund will be utilised to procure traffic equipment and go a long way in meeting the target set by the United Nations to reduce accident deaths to 50 per cent by 2030, Director-General of Police Sanjay Kundu said on Saturday. The police will procure traffic lights for installation in Bijiri and Hamirpur and rescue equipment for the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane highway, he said. On an average, 1,180 people die each year in 3,090 accidents while 5,480 people suffer injuries, according to police records. Procurement of modern equipment for traffic regulation by the police is an ongoing process. Forty-nine Intelligent Traffic Management System have been installed at various places on national and state highways and 28,223 challans issued for traffic rules violation this year. Another

HP rain fury: Death toll over past week climbs to 78; more rains forecast

The death toll in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh over the past week rose to 78 on Saturday with the recovery of one more body from the debris of a collapsed Shiv temple here, officials said. Out of the 78 deaths since Sunday night, 24 were in the three major landslides in Shimla alone -- 17 at the Shiv temple in Summer Hill, 5 in Fagli, and 2 in Krishnanagar, Superintendent, Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told PTI on Saturday. Joint operations of Army, National and State Disaster Response Force, Police and Home Guards are underway to retrieve the bodies from the landslide rubble and at least three persons are still feared buried under the temple debris, the SP said. Drones are being used for identification of high risk zones and monitoring of sliding sites in the state capital, he added. On Friday, the Himachal Pradesh government declared the state as a "Natural Calamity Affected Area" in view of the damage caused by heavy rains leading to loss of human life and extensive

JP Nadda to visit Himachal on Aug 20, take stock of flood situation

Incessant rain has led to landslides, cloudbust and flash floods, causing significant damage in the State

Yellow warning for heavy rains in 10 Himachal districts on Aug 21, 22

The local meteorological station on Friday issued a yellow warning for heavy rains, thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places in 10 districts of Himachal Pradesh on August 21 and 22 even as the monsoon activity remained subdued in the state. Light to moderate precipitation is likely to continue at a few places in lower and mid hills during the next 48 hours. The rainfall activity is likely to increase in distribution and intensity from August 21 with precipitation in many parts of the state till August 24, the MeT office said in a release. There is a possibility of spells of heavy rainfall at isolated places in the non-tribal districts from August 21 to 23 while thunderstorm/lightning may occur at few places resulting in disruption of traffic and other essential services. "Flash Floods along watershed and other channels in district of Kangra, Chamba, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Sirmaur, Solan, and tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti besides localised flooding of roads, ...

Gehlot announces aid of Rs 15 cr for rain-ravaged Himachal Pradesh

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday announced a financial assistance of Rs 15 crore to Himachal Pradesh where heavy rains and landslides have wreaked havoc. An assistance of Rs 15 crore will be given by the Rajasthan government to help the people suffering from the difficult situation created by heavy rains and landslides in Himachal Pradesh, Gehlot said in a post on X, formerly called Twitter. Gehlot said the people of Rajasthan are standing with the people of Himachal Pradesh in these difficult circumstances. This comes after Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced a financial assistance of Rs 11 crore to the flood-hit state earlier in the day. Officials in Himachal Pradesh have said the total number of deaths in rain-related incidents in the state since Sunday night has increased to 75 with Shimla alone accounting for 22 fatalities. Heavy rains have lashed the hill state since Sunday, triggering landslides in Shimla and several other districts. Since t

Himachal govt declares whole state as 'natural calamity affected area'

The Himachal Pradesh government Friday declared the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity. The entire hill state has been declared as a "natural calamity affected area" in view of the damage caused to human life and property due to heavy rains, a notification issued here on Friday said. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had told PTI that the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to declare the massive damage caused by heavy rains as a state calamity. The state is also awaiting a response from the Centre to declare the disaster in Himachal Pradesh as a national calamity, Sukhu said. Speaking to PTI, Principal Secretary (Revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma said that after the weather becomes normal and accessibility is improved, a complete assessment of the losses incurred by the hill state would be conducted and the report will be submitted to the Centre for recovery and reconstruction efforts. Meanwhile, with the recovery of three more bodies f

Will take action on officials for non-compliance of water release rules: HP

With heavy rains and flash floods devastating Himachal Pradesh, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena on Friday pitched for stringent action against dam authorities not following water release guidelines, saying "it is time to send notices and not letters or reminders". Chairing a meeting on safety issues regarding the discharge of water from dams, Saxena said that though a part of the devastation was natural but responsibility must also be fixed for the failure of the dam authorities in complying with relevant provisions of the Dam Safety Act (DSA) and the Central Water Commission (CWC) guidelines of 2015. Strengthening of early warning system was stressed after 24 students from Andhra Pradesh were washed away as water from the Larji Dam was discharged without prior warning in 2014, he said, adding that the Act provides for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of all specified reservoirs. However, many dam authorities have failed in fulfilling their duties, resulting in the

After bananas, now apples get costlier due to torrential rains in Himachal

During the last week, apple prices have increased from Rs 120 per kg to Rs 200 per kg