Page 6 - Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh witnesses light to moderate snowfall, 278 roads closed

Himachal Pradesh witnessed light to moderate snowfall on Friday while intermittent rains occurred across the state under the influence of western disturbances, leading to the closure of 278 roads

After 6 days in Punjab, Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Himachal

On entering the state, Rahul Gandhi said: "You had asked that yatra should pass through Himachal Pradesh. We changed the entire route"

Himachal CM orders detailed report of landslides, sinking zones in state

The chief minister also issued instructions to identify the major causes of road accidents in the state

Himachal CM Sukhu urges Centre to enhance disaster fund for state

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has urged the Union government to enhance the disaster fund for Himachal Pradesh as the State is prone to various types of natural disasters due to difficult topographical and climatic conditions. He was speaking at the inauguration function after setting up of Doppler Weather Radars at Jot in Chamba district and Murari Devi in Mandi district by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh through virtual mode on Sunday. A Doppler Weather Radar was installed at Kufri near Shimla on January 15, 2021 and with the commissioning of these additional two radars, about 70 per cent area of the State will be covered for weather forecast, a statement released here said. Stating that about 30 per cent area of the tribal Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts will not be covered under these Radars, he urged the Union Minister of State to provide additional Radar for these districts. He said that cloud bursts have

Rahul Gandhi lauds Himachal govt's decision to restore Old Pension Scheme

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hailed the Himachal Pradesh government's decision to restore the Old Pension Scheme in its first cabinet meeting, saying the "Congress means trust". The Himachal Pradesh government on Friday approved the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme in its first cabinet meeting, calling it a "Lohri gift" to 1.36 lakh employees who currently are under the New Pension Scheme. The Congress had promised to take a decision to restore the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) at the first meeting of the government and it stood by the promise. Taking to Twitter, Gandhi said the Congress had brought back the OPS in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and now Himachal Pradesh. A committee was also constituted (in Himachal) to implement 'Har Ghar Lakshmi' - a scheme to provide Rs 1500 per month to women in 30 days. Congress means trust," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Cold wave sweeps North India, dense fog in Delhi-NCR; snowfall in Himachal

The entire North Indian belt continued to be in the grip of an intense cold wave on Saturday, with Mandhol village in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh recording heavy snowfall overnight

2 earthquakes hit Himachal Pradesh's Kangra; 1 of medium intensity

Two earthquakes, one of a medium intensity measuring 3.2 magnitude on the Richter scale, hit Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district on early Saturday, the state disaster response department said

Best of BS Opinion: Beyond Joshimath, ChatGPT vs humans, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Himachal Pradesh restores old pension scheme for 136,000 employees

The just over a month old Congress government in Himachal Pradesh on Friday fulfilled a key poll promise, with the Cabinet, at its first meeting, deciding to provide OPS to all government employees

Himachal Pradesh receives fresh snowfall, more likely in next 48 hours: IMD

In the Kullu district, the sky will partly be cloudy with a relative humidity of around 90 per cent for the next two days, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast

LIVE: Former Union Minister Sharad Yadav passes away, confirms his daughter

Catch all the live updates from across the globe here

Portfolios allotted to newly-inducted ministers in Himachal Pradesh cabinet

The newly-inducted ministers of the Himachal Pradesh cabinet were allotted portfolios on Wednesday and the youngest of them, former chief minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh, was given the charge of the public works, youth and sports departments. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar distributed the portfolios on the advice of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. The eldest member of the cabinet, Dhani Ram Shandil from Solan, was given the charge of the health and family welfare, social justice and empowerment and labour and employment departments. Shandil was the social justice and empowerment minister of the hill state from 2012 to 2017 as well. Chander Kumar, the only minister from Kangra district, has got the agriculture and animal husbandry departments, while Harshwardhan Chauhan from Sirmaur has been given the industries, parliamentary affairs and ayush portfolios. Both Kumar and Chauhan are six-time MLAs. Jagat Singh Negi from the tribal Kinnaur district has b

Delhi colder than hills of Uttarakhand, Himachal for 5th day on trot

Delhi saw cold wave conditions for the fifth consecutive day on Monday as very dense fog reduced visibility to just 25 metres, hitting road, rail and air traffic movement, officials said. The cold wave spell in Delhi has been so intense that the national capital has recorded a minimum temperature lower than that of most places in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for five days on the trot. Meteorologists attribute the long spell of intense cold to a large gap between two western disturbances, which meant frosty winds from the snow-clad mountains blew in for a longer-than-usual period. The visibility levels dropped to 25 metres at the Palam observatory, near the IGI Airport, and the Safdarjung observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Around 29 trains have been delayed by two to five hours due to the foggy weather, a railway official said. Around 15 flights were delayed and one was diverted due to the bad weather, ..

Congress-led Himachal govt hikes VAT on diesel by Rs 3.01, BJP slams move

With this, the diesel is now costs Rs 86 per litre in the state

LIVE: Delhi pvt schools to remain closed till January 15 due to cold wave

Catch all the latest news and updates from around the world here

Leaders from Shimla district, Rajput community lead in HP cabinet extension

Leaders from the Shimla district and Rajput community dominated the extended state cabinet, with three out of seven newly inducted ministers, coming from Shimla district alone. Kangra, Solan, Kinnaur, and Sirmaur contributed a minister each. Four of the seven ministers hail from the Rajput community, while one each is from Schedule Tribe (ST), Other Backward Caste (OBC), and Schedule Caste (SC). The profile of the new minister is as follows: Vikramaditya Singh: Son of former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, Vikramaditya Singh, is a two-time MLA and holds a Post Graduate (History) degree from St Stephen's College, Delhi. He was earlier nominated as member, public undertakings and e-Governance-cum-general purposes committees. Singh has been quite active in the party and had campaigned in over 15 assembly segments in the recently held assembly elections. Earlier, he was also a president of Himachal Pradesh Youth Congress. He has represented H

Imbalanced regional representation in new Himachal cabinet: Jai Ram Thakur

The Congress government has failed to give adequate representation to various regions in the cabinet expansion on Sunday, Leader of Opposition in Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jai Ram Thakur alleged here. The BJP leader and former chief minister also criticised the government over the appointment of six chief parliamentary secretaries, saying it would put a burden of crores of rupees on the state exchequer. Out of the 13 appointments made by the Congress government, eight MLAs have been appointed from Shimla parliamentary constituency while the rest of the three parliamentary constituencies have not been given adequate share, Thakur said in a statement here. Taking a dig at the Congress government, he said during the three days of assembly session that concluded recently, the Congress leaders talked about reducing the expenditure in Himachal but now they have appointed six CPS and put additional burden on the state exchequer. He said that as of now Himachal is under a debt of Rs 74,622

7 ministers inducted into Himachal Pradesh Cabinet; total strength at 9 now

The Himachal Pradesh cabinet headed by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was expanded on Sunday with the induction of seven ministers, taking the total strength to nine. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath to the newly inducted ministers at a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan. The newly inducted ministers include eldest MLA Dhani Ram Shandil from Solan, Chander Kumar from Jawali in Kangra district, Harshwardhan Chauhan from Shillai in Sirmaur district and Jagat Singh Negi from tribal Kinnaur district. Rohit Thakur, Anirudh Singh and Vikramaditya Singh from Jubbal-Kotkhai, Kasumpti and Shimla (Rural) in Shimla district respectively were also among those inducted. Besides the post of deputy speaker, three berths are still vacant as maximum number of ministers, including the chief minister, cannot exceed 12. Chief Minister Sukhu and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri were sworn in on December 11.

New members of Himachal Pradesh cabinet led by Sukhu to swear in today

The swearing-in ceremony of the new members of the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet will take place today

Himachal Pradesh Cabinet to be expanded on January 8: Raj Bhavan

The much-awaited expansion of the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet will take place on Sunday, according to Raj Bhavan sources. The swearing-in ceremony of the new ministers would take place at the Raj Bhavan here on January 8 at 10 am, the sources said on Saturday. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu earlier in the day said he has handed over the list of probables for induction in his ministry to the Congress high command for approval. Cabinet expansion is possible on Sunday or later, he had told reporters here after returning from Delhi where he held deliberations with top party leaders on the issue. There has been much speculation over the names of new ministers since Sukhu and his deputy Mukesh Agnihotri took oath nearly a month ago following the Congress' win in the assembly election. The list has been handed over to the high command and expansion would be done only after it is cleared by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sukhu said. There are 10 vacancies in