Samej, Himachal Pradesh:

A catastrophic cloudburst occurred near the Samej and Bagi bridges on Wednesday night washing away 45 people near Shrikhand in Himachal Pradesh.

Rescue operations in the disaster-affected area are underway.

Baljinder Singh, 14th Battalion Commandant, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said that the NDRF teams were sent well-prepared to Himachal Pradesh this year to ensure no delay in the rescue operations.

Speaking to ANI, Singh said “This year, the NDRF teams were sent to remote locations in Himachal Pradesh to ensure there is no delay in the rescue operations. The Samej cloudburst that has taken place is a huge disaster.”

Further, he added that 13 bodies were recovered by Thursday morning.

“We have recovered 13 dead bodies as of now. Four dead bodies were recovered earlier. Ten more people were missing, and we have found nine bodies as of now. One person has still not been found. We will make sure the rescue operations are carried out properly,” he said.

Earlier, on August 7, the IMD reported significant rainfall across the state, with Joginder Nagar in Mandi district experiencing the highest at 110 MM in 24 hours

Kuldeep Srivastava, head of IMD Himachal Pradesh, said that alerts were issued for various regions on Wednesday.

“We have recorded the highest rainfall at Joginder Nagar in Mandi district at 110 mm during the past 24 hours. It is heavy rainfall, and in Sirmaur district, we have received heavy rainfall,” Dr. Srivastava stated.

“In other parts of the state, there has been moderate rainfall. Nearly 75 per cent of areas have received between 30 mm to 50 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours,” Srivastava told ANI. The IMD has issued an orange alert for the lower Himalayan districts of Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Chamba, and Mandi.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shimla/Manali:

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 said.

There have been reports of damage to a power project and a few houses but these are yet to be confirmed by officials who are assessing the damage.

The local Met office on Wednesday issued a ‘yellow’ alert of heavy rain at isolated places in Himachal Pradesh for the next four days till July 28. It cautioned about damage to plantations and standing crops, vulnerable structures and ‘kutcha’ houses in the state due to strong winds and waterlogging in low-lying areas.

A total of 49 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state, which has suffered losses of approximately Rs 389 crore, since the onset of monsoon on June 27, the emergency operation centre said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh:

Himachal Pradesh will build its first road using Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) technology in Ghumarwin subdivision of this district, minister in the state government Rajesh Dharmani said here on Thursday.

The 7-kilometre Gahar-Naswal road will be constructed at a cost of Rs 5.50 crore and benefit 5,000 people in the area, officials said adding that the FDR technology would reduce the cost by almost 80 per cent.

Roads constructed by using FDR technology are more durable and better for vehicles.

Dharmani, who holds the portfolio of Technical Education Minister, said that in the initial phase, as many as 113 roads of the state will be built using FDR technology.

FDR is a pavement rehabilitation technique in which the full flexible pavement section and a predetermined portion of the underlying materials are uniformly pulverized and blended together to produce a homogeneous stabilized base course.

FDR uses materials from the deteriorated asphalt pavement and with the addition of cement, creates a new stabilized base.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had in October last year instructed the Public Works Department to use FDR technology for construction of 666 km of roads in all the districts under Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

The BJP’s allegation that the Congress government of Himachal Pradesh is “Mitron ki Sarkaar (A government of cohorts)” has drawn a sharp rejoinder from one of the people targetted. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s principal media advisor Naresh Chauhan has questioned what is wrong in helping friends who stand by you in times of crisis.

“The BJP is repeatedly talking about ‘Mitron ki Sarkar’. Should enemies be given place in the government?” he has told journalists in Hamirpur.

The BJP jibe is directed at Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, who has given cabinet-rank posts to several allies who are not even MLAs.

Besides Mr Chauhan, the list includes Gokul Butail, Principal Adviser to the Chief Minster for IT and Innovation, Political Adviser Sunil Kumar Bittu, and Vice-Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh State Forest Department Development Kehar Singh Khasi.

Party insiders say Mr Chauhan is an old associate of Mr Sukhu, Gokul Butel has been a long-time Congressman and is considered close to Rahul Gandhi, while Mr Khasi is considered close to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Four MLAs have also been given cabinet rank by Mr Sukhu — Nagrota MLA RS Bali, the chairman of HPTDC, Rampur MLA Nand Lal, Chairman of the 7th State Finance Commission, Fatehpur MLA Bhawani Singh Pathania, Vice-Chairman of the State Planning Commission and Chief Whip Shahpur MLA Kewal Singh Pathania.

The non-MLAs who have not been given cabinet rank but receive the facilities include Ram Subhag Singh (Mr Sukhu’s chief advisor) and Anil Kapil (advisor, infrastructure).

Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur claimed the state is under a Rs 80,000 crore debt.

“In this situation, is it good that a Chief Minister increases the financial burden by distributing Cabinet ranks among his friends? The mining policy in the state was amended so that Mr Sukhu’s allies benefitted,” he alleged.

Also, while the government took action against many stone crushers after the 2023 flash floods, those owned by Congress leaders were left untouched, he alleged.

The BJP, he also said, has filed a petition against the appointments of six chief parliamentary secretaries.

New Delhi:

Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced on Friday that schemes worth Rs 154.25 crore had been approved for the Una and Kangra region of Himachal Pradesh under the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CIRF).

The Minister said with this approval, two bridges will be constructed on the Swan River at a cost of Rs 50.60 crore and Pong Dam on the Beas River at a cost of Rs 103.65 crore.

Mr Gadkari said Himachal has been affected by natural disasters recently and there was a detailed discussion in this regard with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nadda and Minister Anurag Thakur on the need for approving new infrastructure projects in the state.

Incessant rains in Himachal Pradesh have led to multiple landslides and cloudbursts in several places. The monsoon fury has also damaged several roads and bridges in the state.

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly, earlier in September passed a resolution demanding the Union government to declare destruction caused by recent heavy rains in the state as a “national disaster”.

Earlier on September 18, the Himachal Pradesh government moved a resolution in the state assembly recommending the central government to declare the destructions caused by heavy rains in the state during the monsoon season this year a “national disaster.”

According to state officials, Himachal Pradesh has incurred a loss of Rs 12000 crores in the rain-induced calamities during the monsoon this year so far.

Mr Gadkari, after his visit to disaster-hit Himachal, had assured that the Central Government will extend all possible help to the affected.

“There has been unprecedented damage to the roads, bridges and private property due to flash floods, landslides and cloudbursts triggered by heavy rains,” he had said, adding that Rs 400 crore will be released by the Union Government under Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF), so that repair and restoration works can be undertaken on war footing.

The NHAI will also bear the cost of repairing the link roads up to one kilometer along the National Highways in apple belts, he had added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dharamshala:

Police went on alert Wednesday after a pro-Khalisan slogan was found scrawled on the wall of a government building in Dharamshala and a video surfaced online, threatening to target the Cricket World Cup and “avenge” terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing in Canada.

The slogan was spray-painted in black on the wall of the Jal Shakti department building in the city, which is set to host five of the matches. The World Cup begins Thursday.

Police said two suspects have been identified on the basis of CCTV footage from the area. An eight-member special investigation team (SIT) headed by a deputy superintendent of police was formed.

In a statement, the state police said the video on social media refers to the graffiti in Dharamshala and carries a voice message reportedly from Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is based abroad and runs an organisation called Sikhs for Justice.

The video threatened that the World Cup final, scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad, would be targeted.

Police said there are references in the clip to “avenging” Nijjar’s killing, and pro-Khalistan graffiti and flags in Dharamshala. 

Nijjar’s murder in June set off a major diplomatic row between India and Canada after Ottawa suggested that Delhi was behind the killing. India rejected Canada’s allegation that it played a role in the killing of a Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar describing it as “absurd” and “motivated”.

Kangra Superintendent of Police Shalini Agnihotri said authorities were informed about the Khalistan graffiti on Tuesday night. A police team reached the spot and got the wall repainted, she said.

CCTV footage showed the suspects taking pictures after writing the slogan, police said.

Police said a meeting with officials from the Intelligence Bureau, Military Intelligence and Criminal Investigation Department was then held.

Five additional patrol teams and local intelligence units were deployed in Dharamshala and Mcleodganj areas, they added.

Kangra Police registered a case of disfigurement and damage to public property.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dharamsala:

A 69-year-old man and his grandson were killed after being struck by lightning in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, officials said on Friday.

Thakur Das and his grandson Ankit (19) were grazing goats along with others in Rakh village near Palampur when the incident happened, they said.

Das’ relative Sanjay Kumar, who was with them, survived and reported the incident, they said, adding authorities have dispatched a team to retrieve the bodies and rescue any remaining individuals.

In a separate incident, over 60 sheep were reported to have died due to a lightning strike in Mahal Chakban Dhar, a part of the Dharamsala sub-division.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Dharamshala Dharmesh Ramotra sent a team from the Animal Department to assess and address the situation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shimla:

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has demanded the Union government to declare the disaster in Himachal as a national disaster. Chief Minister Sukhu said that he had put forth this demand with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 dinner. He also demanded a special package for the state.

“The state government is continuously demanding the central government that the disaster here should be declared a national disaster. Also, the Central Government should give a special relief package to Himachal, but till now both demands have been ignored,” Chief Minister Sukhu said.

The Chief Minister said that he will give appropriate answers to every question of the opposition in the monsoon session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly.

Chief Minister Sukhu expressed his gratitude to Priyanka Gandhi for her visit to the state. He said that Priyanka Gandhi took time out from her busy schedule to come to Himachal and meet the disaster-affected people.

The Chief Minister said that Priyanka Gandhi’s “eyes were filled with tears” after meeting the disaster-affected people at many places.

He said that there has been huge devastation in the state due to heavy rain and flood. He said that the government is making changes in the manual to provide relief to the disaster affected.

Recently, the state government has asked to pay the house rent to the people who lost their houses. In this, every month Rs 5,000 in rural areas and Rs 10,000 in urban areas will be provided by the government till 31 March 2024, he said.

He said that many people lost their land in the disaster. Now such people have land in the revenue records, but the place at ground zero is not suitable for living. The government will also make changes in such rules and will work to provide relief to the disaster-affected, he added.

The Chief Minister said that he has instructed all the District Deputy Commissioners to ensure that relief is provided to the disaster-affected people and no one is left wanting.

He said that recently the matter of reducing import duty on Washington Apple has come to light. This will have a negative impact on all the gardeners of Himachal Pradesh, he said.

He said that the state government would also provide land and change the rules to provide disaster manual help to the affected people.

“The farmers who have lost cattle herds and crops will also be helped and all deputy Commissioners have also been directed to announce the disaster affected areas,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhubaneswar:

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced an assistance of Rs 5 crore for rain-ravaged Himachal Pradesh.

The state has recently been hit by incessant rains, causing massive loss of life and property. The assistance will be given from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, a statement issued by the CMO said.

Writing a letter to his Himachal Pradesh counterpart Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Naveen Patnaik expressed concern over the distress of people and loss of property.

“My government and the people of Odisha stand firmly by the people of Himachal at this hour of crisis,” Naveen Patnaik said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

An apple orchard at Fagu village in Shimla.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The apple season has started in Himachal Pradesh. This year is especially significant as a new practice has come into force: the State’s key horticulture crop is being sold by weight instead of the established practice of being sold per box. While this decision has been widely hailed by apple growers, it has been reluctantly accepted by commission agents and middlemen.

For a long time, the apple growers of Himachal Pradesh had been demanding that apples be procured in markets (mandis) on the basis of kilogrammes and not per box. This is because they would invariably sell their produce according to the defined weight of the box and not the real weight of the produce, which is usually above the defined weight. This resulted in losses for apple growers. The key problem was that there were no standard cartons in which the apples were packed.

The woes of apple growers began when wooden apple boxes were replaced in the late 1990s with cardboard-based telescopic boxes. The wooden boxes were not flexible, which meant that the quantity of apples in every box would remain the same (around 20 kg). However, with the advent of flexible telescopic cartons, boxes with a capacity of 20-24 kg each would end up in mandis with the produce weighing 30-35 kg at times. The apple growers complained that commission agents would arm-twist them into “over-weighing” the box. The commission agents, they said, would threaten not to buy the produce saying the apples were “loose or low grade” (small/poor quality) unless the grower compensated them by stuffing the box with extra apples. This would help the agents get more produce and make an additional profit after selling it to traders. The growers were left with no choice given the perishable nature of apples and the absence of an adequate number of controlled atmosphere chambers to store apples.

The commission agents assert that they are not against the government’s decision and that in the “interest of growers,” they are ready to procure apples by weight. But the problem, they say, is that in markets outside the State, apples are being procured per box. As a result, they assert that they are suffering huge losses. The State Arhtiya (commission agents) Association has made it clear that after the ongoing marketing season is over, they will clearly spell out their concerns.

After coming to power last December, the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government held several rounds of talks with all the stakeholders. On April 6, 2023, the government issued a notification under the Himachal Pradesh Agricultural and Horticultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2005, which stated that apples brought in boxes to all the fruit markets of the State would be sold on the basis of weight, which would also include the weight of the packing material. The maximum limit of the weight of the box has been set at 24 kg. Influential commission agents resisted this and went on a symbolic strike for a day. This led to a tussle between apple growers and commission agents. The State government eventually prevailed by putting its foot down and saying that apples would be sold by weight instead of by box in the ongoing season.

Apple is the most important fruit crop of Himachal Pradesh. It constitutes about 49% of the total area under fruit crops and about 85% of the total fruit production. The apple economy of the State is an estimated ₹5,500 crore-6,000 crore. This is why the government’s decision is being seen as an attempt to woo voters in the apple belt, which is a politically significant area of the State, ahead of the 2024 general elections. The Lok Sabha polls will be a key test for the first-time Chief Minister, who recently led rescue operations from the front when floods wreaked havoc in the State. There are four parliamentary seats in the State: Mandi, Shimla, Kangra, and Hamirpur. Of the four, Shimla and Mandi seats have a substantial number of apple growers who will benefit from the government’s decision. Politically, the State is divided into upper and lower Himachal. Most of the apple growers belong to the upper Himachal region. They are the beneficiaries of Mr. Sukhu’s decision. The Chief Minister’s home town, Nadaun, is a part of lower Himachal. Therefore, Mr. Sukhu has signified that he is above regional politics and is taking decisions that are in the best interests of apple growers.