Shimla : Upper Shimla and parts of Kinnaur continued to reel under darkness for the third consecutive day even as the ill-equipped PWD, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), field staff of the HPSEBL and the IPH struggled to restore roads, power and water supply.

The supply of essential commodities too remained hit, with residents of Rohru, Chopal, Jubbal, Kotkhai and Nerwa finding it difficult to go about their daily chores.

As many as 835 roads, including five national highways, remained blocked. The Shimla-Narkanda-Rampur, Shimla-Theog-Rohru and Theog-Chopal roads are yet to be opened.

“Out of these 835 roads, 642 are in the Shimla zone, 139 in Mandi and 46 in Chamba district,” stated a PWD report submitted to the government.

Lunar eclipses occur when Earth’s shadow blocks the sun’s light, which otherwise reflects off the moon. There are three types — total, partial and penumbral — with the most dramatic being a total lunar eclipse, in which Earth’s shadow completely covers the moon. The next lunar eclipse will be a penumbral lunar eclipse on Jan. 10, 2020 and will be visible from Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. 

Throughout history, eclipses have inspired awe and even fear, especially when total lunar eclipses turned the moon blood-red, an effect that terrified people who had no understanding of what causes an eclipse and therefore blamed the events on this god or that. Below, you’ll find the science and history of lunar eclipses, learn how they work, and see a list of the next ones on tap.

The last lunar eclipse was on July 16, 2019. It was a partial lunar eclipse. Here is a schedule of lunar eclipse coming in 2020:

• Jan. 10: Penumbral eclipse. Visible from parts of North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
• June 5: Penumbral eclipse. Visible from parts of South America, Europe, Africa, most of Asia and Australia.
• July 5: Penumbral eclipse. Visible from most of North America, South America, western Europe and Africa.
• Nov. 30: Penumbral eclipse. Visible from North America, South America, northern Europe, eastern Asia and Australia.

• The first of four penumbral lunar eclipses of 2020 arrives on Jan. 10, and it will be visible throughout most of the world, with the exception of the United States, central Canada, and a majority of South America. This will be the first of four penumbral lunar eclipses in 2020. The moon will take on a tea-stained appearance during this eclipse, which begins at 12:07 p.m. EST (1707 GMT) and ends at 4:12 p.m. EST (2112 GMT), peaking at 7:11 p.m. EST (1911 GMT).

  

  Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of June 5, 2020

  The moon will again take on a slight saturation during the penumbral lunar eclipse of June, 5 2020. The coloring will occur across half of the lunar face. Central and western Africa, southeast Asia and most of Australia will view the entire penumbral lunar eclipse, which begins at 1:45 p.m. EDT (1745 GMT), peaks at 3:25 EDT (1925 GMT) and ends at 5:04 p.m. EDT (2104 GMT).

  

  Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of July 5, 2020

  The third penumbral lunar eclipse of 2020 will be visible from all of South America and most of North America. The slight shading will appear over less than half of the lunar face, peaking at 12:31 a.m. EDT (0431 GMT). This eclipse will begin at 11:07 p.m. EDT on July 4 (0307 GMT on July 5) and end at 1:52 a.m. EDT (0552 GMT).

  

  Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of Nov. 30, 2020

  The moon will have a tea-stained appearance across most of its face during the final penumbral lunar eclipse of 2020. It will be visible from most places on the Earth except the African continent, the majority of Europe and central Eurasia. It will begin at 2:32 a.m. EST (0732 GMT), peak at 4:44 a.m. EST (0944 GMT) and end at 6:53 a.m. EDT (1153 GMT).

  The next total lunar eclipse, or “blood moon,” won’t occur until May 26, 2021, and it will be visible from eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean and much of the Americas. A partial lunar eclipse will follow on Nov. 19, 2021, and it will be visible from North and South America, Australia, and parts of Europe and Asia. Those will be the only two lunar eclipses in 2021.

  NASA keeps a list predicting lunar eclipses until 2100. They also keep data about past lunar eclipses. During the 21st century, Earth will experience a total of 228 lunar eclipses, according to the space agency.

Himachal reeled under cold wave conditions and Shimla experienced the coldest night in eleven years with the mercury dipping to minus 3.7 degrees on Wednesday. Manali was the coldest in nine years with the minimum temperature sinking to minus 7.8 degrees.

Earlier, Shimla had experienced the coldest night on January 24, 2008, with a low of minus 4.4 degrees while Manali recorded the lowest temperature at minus 8.0 degree on January 17, 2011

The minimum temperatures stayed four to seven degree below normal and high altitude tribal areas froze under arctic conditions with mercury staying between minus 18 and minus 26 degrees.

Bright sunshine greeted the people after six days and rescue and restoration operations continued in full swing. Police worked overtime to rescue about 1000 motorists, stuck in heavy snow in 300 vehicles between Shoghi and ISBT, last night.

Waterpipes froze and burst at several places in Shimla and adjoining areas and people melted snow to meet the water requirements. Thick ground frost made the roads slippery and frozen roads made pedestrian movement risky.

While upper Shimla region and Kinnaur remained cut off for the fifth day, Shimla- Kalka National highway was opened to traffic but slippery road conditions and skidding of vehicles hinder smooth traffic and the town remained without newspapers and other essential items like milk, bread and vegetables etc.

The vehicles coming from Mandi and Kangra areas are coming up to Hira Nagar, about 12 Km from here and the road connecting the state capital with lower areas are likely to be opened by this afternoon, said SP, Shimla Omapati Jamwal adding that the vehicles coming from Chandigarh side are stuck near Kachi Ghati.

Some areas in Shimla remained without electricity for several powers as uprooted trees damaged the transmission lines but electricity was fully restored in the morning.

The HRTC has started the trial run to Chandigarh and the first bus left ISBT at 12:30 pm. Thousands of tourists who have thronged Shimla, enjoyed the “sun and snow” while youth and children were seen playing with snowballs and making a snowman.

Shimla : Popular tourist destinations Shimla and Manali on Tuesday received more snowfall, while the lower hills across Himachal Pradesh were lashed by rain, bringing the temperature down by several notches.

Hoteliers have cheered up with the snowfall in the hope that tourists will come in large numbers in the coming days.

Tourist spots near Shimla, such as honeymooners’ paradise Kufri, Fagu and Narkanda experienced plentiful snowfall, making the hill stations even more picturesque.

However, in the state capital, which had 14 cm snow and saw foggy weather, the snow largely melted with the accompanying rain. It could be seen in certain areas of Shimla like the Jakhu hills.

The Rohtang Pass, 52 km from Manali, has been experiencing heavy snowfall.

Meteorological office director Manmohan Singh told IANS that snowfall might occur in Shimla, Kullu, Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba districts till Wednesday.

“The higher reaches have been experiencing moderate to heavy snowfall since early Monday, while mid and lower hills were lashed with rain,” he said.

The minimum temperature in Shimla was recorded at minus 0.1 degrees Celsius, while Kufri recorded minus 3.4 degrees C.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest place in the state at minus 7 degrees Celsius. It saw 15.3 cm of snow.

Intermittent rain followed by mild snowfall lashed state capital Shimla today while the key tourist resort of Kufri witnessed another spell of snowfall, bringing cheer to tourists.

The higher reaches and tribal areas reeled under biting cold conditions following snowfall. Bharmaur received 5 cm of snow, followed by Kalpa, Gondola, Kufri and Keylong 3 cm each, Shimla 2.5 cm and Udaipur 1 cm.

As many as 75 roads, including 15 in Shimla zone, 45 in Mandi zone and 10 in Kangra zone, are closed due to the prevailing bad weather conditions. While 25 roads are expected to be opened tonight, 32 roads will be opened tomorrow. In total, 72 machines (JCB, dozer and tippers) have been pressed into service to open the roads.

The HRTC bus services have been affected on 78 routes in Shimla, six buses are stuck on the roads and the corporation has stopped night services for the time being.

However, all roads in the Shimla urban area were open for vehicular traffic and sand had been thrown on roads to avoid any untoward incident, said Amit Kashyap, Deputy Commissioner.

He said that snow-clearing operations were going on a war footing on Dhalli-Kufri, Kufri-Chail, Mashobra-Bhekalti, Shimla-Theog roads, which are blocked due to snowfall. An adequate number of JCB machines had been deployed to resume traffic as soon as possible.

“The snow-clearing operations are also going on at Narkanda, Khadapathar, Tikkar, Khadrala, Sungri and Chopal areas and heavy machinery has been deployed there,” he said. HRTC buses were not plying in snowbound Upper Shimla areas but were running to Rampur via Basantpur.

The local MeT office has warned of thunderstorms accompanied by hail and lightning at isolated places in lower hills and heavy rainfall and snowfall at isolated places in mid and high hills tomorrow. It has also forecast a wet spell in mid and high hills till January 12, barring January 10.

Manali received 8 mm of rainfall, followed by Shimla 6.6 mm, Dharamsala 6 mm, Bhuntar 5.4 mm, Kangra, Srahan, Thanaplan and Mandi 4 mm each, Sundernagar and Jawali 3 mm, and Una and Dalhousie 2 mm each.

There was no significant change in the minimum temperatures and Keylong in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district recorded a low of minus 9°C, followed by Kalpa minus 2.2°C, Manali -0.4°C, Shimla 0.8°C and Dharamsala 3.8°C.

Mandi : One engineering student from West Bengal died and six other students were critically injured as the SUV they were travelling in met with a road accident near the Aut tunnel on the Chandigarh-Manali highway on Sunday night.

The Innova taxi was driven by Rahul, a native of Una in Himachal, who was also injured.

The SUV was on its way from Kullu to Mandi.

Sandipta Kundu died on the spot.

The injured students were identified as Shahid Alam Aamir, 24; Kartik, 22; Ashok, 20; Kaloyan, 21; Saurabh, 23; and Bapa Mondal, 25.

Mandi SP Gurdev Chand Sharma said that as vehicle crossed the tunnel, it overturned and fell down. The cause of the accident is said to be rash driving.

A case has been registered under Sections 304-A and 279 of the IPC.

He said the students after visiting Manali were returning to New Delhi.

Shimla : Hundreds of vehicles, including state transport buses, remained stranded between Fagu and Kufri today following a fresh spell of snowfall today.

Shimla, Kufri and Mashobra received the first snowfall of the year, bringing cheer to tourists.

The district administration and the police managed to clear the Fagu-Kufri road for traffic after machinery was pressed into service to clear the snow. Traffic remained suspended in the state capital for more than an hour.

Snowfall in Kinnaur, Chamba, Lahaul and Spiti and Shimla district resulted in four national highways and 53 roads getting blocked for vehicular movement. Thirtyeight roads were blocked in Dalhousie, seven in Shimla, three in Kangra and two in Mandi.

in Shimla, tourists could be seen dancing and singing on The Mall and The Ridge. The city received 6.4 cm of snow, followed by Sarahan (6 cm) and Kothi and Bijai (2 cm). The maximum and minimum temperatures in the state capital was 5 degree Celsius and 0.7 degrees Celsius.

The state is in the grip of a severe cold wave, with Keylong recording a minimum temperature of -10.5, Kalpa -3, Manali -1.2, Dalhousie -0.6, Solan -2, Dharamsala -2.8. Palampur -4, Una and Bhuntar -4.6, Mandi -6.0, and Hamirpur -6.5. The local meteorological centre has issued a warning of thunderstorm accompanied by hail and lightening at isolated places in the low and middle hills on January 6 and 7.

Tourists rejoice

Mandi: Manali received year’s first snowfall on Sunday, bringing joy to visitors and hoteliers. Tourists were seen capturing photos on the Mall Road. A large number of tourists are already camping in Manali for the five-day Manali Winter Carnival, which kicked off on January 2. Many of them rushed to the Solang valley to enjoy snow activities. Rakesh Gupta, a tourist hailing from Delhi, said he was delighted to see snowfall in Manali. The Jalori pass, which connects Ani and Nirmand with the main Kullu district headquarters, on NH-305 has been blocked for traffic due to snow. Few routes were blocked in the Lag valley, Banjar and Sainj. Similarly, higher reaches of Mandi district received considerable snowfall.

मनाली : मालरोड़ पर शुक्रवार को घाटी की एक हजार महिलाओं ने एक साथ कुल्लवी नाटी डाली। कार्निवाल कमेटी द्वारा आयोजित महानाटी प्रतियोगिता में जहां मालरोड की तस्वीर ही बदल डाली, वहीं नारी शक्ति को देख कर हर कोई दंग रह गया। पांच दिवसीय विंटर कार्निवाल में जहां विभिन्न प्रतियोगिताओं का दौर चल रहा है, वहीं शुक्रवार को मालरोड पर आयोजित महानाटी ने माहौल को और भी रंगीन बना दिया।

वन मंत्री ने किया शुभारम्भ

वन मंत्री गोविंद ठाकुर ने इस प्रतियोगिता का शुभारंभ किया। करीब एक घंटा तक चली माहानाटी को देखने के लिए जहां भारी संख्या में जनसमूह उमड़ा हुआ था, वहीं मालरोड पर तिल धरने की जगह भी नहीं बची थी। इस दौरान देश-विदेश के सैलानियों ने भी कुल्लवी परंपरा को नजदीक से देखा। विंटर कार्निवाल में आयोजित की जा रही महानाटी प्रतियोगिता का दूसरा राउंड जहां रविवार को अयोजित किया जाएगा, वहीं प्रतियोगिता के विजेता को आयोजन समिति के तरफ से एक लाख रुपए का इनाम दिया जाएगा।

60 से ज्यादा महिला मंडल हुए शामिल

उल्लेखनीय है कि पांच दिवसीय राष्ट्र स्तरीय शरदोत्सव के दूसरे दिन आयोजित इस महानाटी में मनाली विधानसभा क्षेत्र के लेफ्ट बैंक क्षेत्र के 60 से अधिक महिला मंडलों की एक हजार से ज्यादा सदस्यों ने भाग लिया। कुल्लवी सफेद पट्टू, लाल ढाठू और आभूषणों से सजी इन महिलाओं ने पारंपरिक वाद्य यंत्रों की धुनों पर नाटी डालकर विभिन्न प्रदेशों के लोक कलाकारों तथा देश-विदेश के पर्यटकों को अपनी समृद्ध लोक संस्कृति से रू-ब-रू करवाया। इस सांस्कृतिक आयोजन का शुभारंभ वन मंत्री गोविंद सिंह ठाकुर ने किया। कार्निवाल के दूसरे दिन नाटी प्रतियोगिता का पहला राउंड आयोजित किया गया, जबकि पांच जनवरी को दूसरा राउंड आयोजित किया जाएगा, जिसमें नगर खंड के राइट बैंक के महिला मंडल भाग लेंगे।

वन मंत्री भी थिरके

कार्यक्रम के दौरान स्थानीय विधायक एवं वनमंत्री गोविंद ठाकुर ने शुक्रवार को जहां महानाटी प्रतियोगिता का शुभारंभ किया, वहीं इस दौरान उन्होंने ने भी मालरोड पर नाटी डाल रही महिलाओं के कदमों के साथ कदम मिलाए। उनकी धर्मपत्नी व प्रशासनिक अधिकारियों ने भी कुल्लवी नाटी में शिरकत की।

Manali : Tourist town Manali received the year’s first snow on Saturday, which elated tourists and hoteliers.

A large number of tourists are camping in Manali for the five-day winter carnival. Tourists are thronging the Solang valley to enjoy snow.

Mild snow was seen in Manali town, while the higher reaches received heavy snow.

Rakesh Gupta, a tourist from Delhi who is here with his family, said the snow had delighted him. “Now I am planning to visit the Solang valley to enjoy snow there.”

Higher reaches of Mandi district like Shikari Devi, Kamrunag and Parashar Lake area received heavy snow.

Meanwhile, Jalori Pass on NH 305 has been blocked for traffic.

Shimla : If one goes by the Shimla Smart City Mission plan, the 1,500-m Sanjauli-Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) road is set to become the first “smart” pedestrian path.

“It will have the lighting facility and also the public address system,” said Shimla Smart City Mission project engineers.

The pedestrian path aims at easing traffic chaos at the IGMC gate, which remains choked due to heavy rush of patients and their attendants.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today laid the foundation stone of the Rs 17.36-crore pedestrian path from Sanjauli to the IGMC, which can be considered a New Year gift.

Thakur said the path would have “smart” poles with speakers, CCTV cameras and the Wi-Fi facility to ensure safety of pedestrians. It would be an added attraction. “The path will have a digital signage and monkey repellent devices,” he added.

In winter, the movement of ambulances on the Sanjauli-IGMC road remains affected. For pedestrians too, it is unsafe as it turns slippery. “We are exploring the possibility of running a golf cart on the road. Since the entire path will be covered, pedestrians can take a stroll,” said Pankaj Rai, Municipal Commissioner.

The project aims at widening the existing Sanjauli-IGMC road. “We will set up plazas, parks and curves,” said Nitin Garg, project director, Shimla Smart City Mission. Garg said vehicles would not be allowed on the pedestrian path, which would have a direct entry to the IGMC. The area around the IGMC gate and dental college would be widened, he added. “Though the SMC has not set any deadline for the project, the tendering process is under way,” Garg said. He said they had got the funds for the project. “We will fix the deadline once the tender is awarded. The DPR is ready,” he added.

Shimla: Thousands of tourists who gathered here to ring in the New Year were in for disappointment as their dream to witness “White New Year” remained unfulfilled.

The region had a dry but windy day today and sky remained clear, dampening the hopes of snowfall as predicted earlier and tourists may have to wait for a day or two to experience snowfall.

The MeT office has predicted rain and snow at many places in middle and higher hills on January 2 and 3, coupled with significant fall in day temperature, further intensifying the cold wave conditions.

There is no likelihood of respite from biting cold wave conditions as the MeT office has predicted further fall in day temperature on January 2 and 3 and minimum temperature on January 4 and 5. Rain or thundershowers in lower hills and rains and snow in middle and higher hills is likely from January 1 to January 5 and weather will remain dry on January 5, the MeT office said.

The high altitude tribal area froze with night temperatures staying between minus 16 and minus 22, while Keylong and Kalpa in tribal Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts recorded a low of minus 8.2 degree and minus 3 degree.

Kufri, Manali and Solan shivered at minus 1.8 degree, minus 1.4 degree and minus 0.6 degree, respectively, followed by Sundernagar 0.7 degree, Bhuntar 1 degree, Shimla 1.2 degree, Palampur and Una 2 degree and Dharamsala 2.4 degree.

The MeT office advisory said: “Moderate snowfall is very likely to occur at scattered places in the districts of Kullu, Chamba, Lahaul and Spiti, Shimla, Kangra and Kinnaur on January 2 and 3, disrupting traffic at some places in Chamba, Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, Shimla and Kinnaur districts .Another western disturbance would affect the state from January 6 to 8, while the minimum temperatures would drop further on January 4 and 5.”

The hotels and other high-end properties are packed to capacity in Shimla and adjoining resorts and hoteliers are upbeat as snowfall on January 2 and 3 would extend the peak season by few days as tourists even rush to Kufri and Narkanda to enjoy the snow.

Mandi: With a huge tourist influx, hotel occupancy in Kullu-Manali has gone up to 80 per cent. Hopeful of a “white New Year”, people from far-off places, even abroad, are making a beeline for the picturesque hills.

Revellers are all excited to ring in New Year amid snowfall. On Christmas, the weather remained dry, which affected the business of hoteliers. But with the Met office predicting snow and rain, their hopes have rekindled.

Vijay Thakur, a hotelier in Manali, said: “Snow is a major attraction for tourists here. We hope it snows tomorrow and if it doesn’t, there are places like Solang and Gulaba, which are still covered under a thick layer of snow. So, the visitors won’t be disappointed.” Kullu SP Gaurav Singh said: “To avoid chaos, police personnel have been deployed to regulate traffic at key locations and to keep a tab on anti-social elements, vigil has been stepped up.”

Kullu-Manali is abuzz with activity these days. A large number of tourists are thronging the Solang valley to enjoy snow, horse-riding and paragliding.

The Mall Road in Manali too remains crowded. The Hidimba Devi temple is also a major attraction in Manali, where one can see long queues of devotees in the morning and evening. Anup Thakur, president, Hoteliers Association, Kullu-Manali, said: “Hoteliers are making the most of the snow season. Heavy rush has been witnessed in the past three days. We are expecting room occupancy to go up to 90 per cent in hotels on New Year’s Eve.” He said the winter carnival would start on January 2 and end on January 6. “The tourists can enjoy cultural events and the flavour of local dishes if they extend their stay,” Anup said.

Shimla: The tourism industry is buoyant as tourists are making a beeline to key tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh to ring in the New Year and all hotels in the state capital are packed to capacity.

There is a surge in tourist arrivals with record footfall expected following a prediction of snowfall on New Year Eve and extreme cold and foggy conditions in the adjoining plains.

Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association president Sanjay Sood said high-end tourist properties were already booked up to January 4.

He said occupancy was nearly 100 per cent in local hotels this weekend and tourists were likely to extend their stay in case of snowfall here or foggy conditions with low temperatures in the plains.

Weather in the state capital was better than in many other places with minimum temperature marginally higher and bright sunshine prompting tourists to enjoy outdoors.

The historic Ridge became the most happening place as people descended on it during the day to bask in the sun and assemble in the evening for entertainment.

The district administration made elaborate arrangements to cope with the tourist rush, regulate traffic and put in place a plan for parking of vehicles for New Year festivities.

The area from Kennedy House to the Indian Institute of Study had been opened for parking, said Deputy Commissioner Amit Kashyap.

Places had been identified for parking on the roadside and shuttle service would be provided to tourists parking their vehicles at the ISBT on the outskirts, he said.

Traffic would be regulated and vehicles not allowed to stop in front of eating joints while parking on one side would be allowed on the Kufri road, a major traffic bottleneck, he stated.

The police would be deployed in strength to maintain law and order and security men in mufti would be on their toes to keep a strict vigil on anti-social elements and drunkards creating nuisance, he added.

Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association president MK Seth said bookings for New Year were already between 70 per cent and 80 per cent.

He said the administration should regulate traffic, provide parking facility for tourists and keep roads open in case of snowfall.

Solan: Kasauli tehsil continues to be the favourite destination of the realty sector, as 15 new tourism projects are slated to come up in the area. Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed with the state government in this regard at the investors’ meet at Dharamsala recently.

As the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has restricted the number of storeys to two-and-a-half, the new entrepreneurs have carefully chosen areas in villages such as Gulhadi, Chamian, Banani, etc, outside the precincts of the Kasauli Planning Area where even luxury cottages and villas are also proposed.

Some tourism projects that had been granted permission under Section 118 in 2016-17 but could not take off were also in the process of initiating construction work now. Innovative projects such as a resort-cum-mud house and nature care centres are also proposed in the area, which will fetch investment of several crore of rupees and provide employment to the youth.

While 30 entrepreneurs have evinced interest in setting up resorts in other parts of the district such as Kandaghat, Chail, Waknaghat, Solan, etc, Kasauli was still the top priority of the investors in the district.

The process to obtain permission under Section 118 of the HP Tenancy and Land Reforms Act 1972, was underway in most of these projects after securing the mandatory certificate, though some were yet to identity adequate land.

A five-star property has also been proposed in the Kasauli area where Rs530 crore will be invested and 500 people will be employed. The investor is yet to apply for the certificate to the Tourism Department.

“New projects will boost tourism but the government should ensure that roads in the area are given due attention and repaired regularly. Though the work to connect Kimmughat-Chakki-ka Mor, which is a key upcoming road, was supposed to be completed within three months, it has been suspended now,” said Rocky Chimney, vice-president, Kasauli Hoteliers’ Association.

Even neighbouring Sirmaur district has caught the attention of the realtors where about 18 tourism projects have been proposed. A health resort is slated to come up in the Dadahu area of Sirmaur where a local entrepreneur is investing Rs7.47 crore and it will generate employment for 36 persons. Another realtor is investing Rs10 crore at Didag to set up another resort. In Paonta Sahib, a water and amusement park for Rs16.53 crore has been proposed, which will employ 85 persons. A five-star eco-friendly wellness resort has also been proposed at Naina Tikker in the district.

Sirmaur, too, catches realtors’ fancy

• In Sirmaur, 18 tourism projects have been proposed. A health resort is slated to come up at Dadahu where a local entrepreneur is investing Rs 7.47 crore, to generate employment for 36 persons
• A realtor is investing Rs10 crore at Didag to set up another resort
• In Paonta Sahib, a water and amusement park for Rs16.53 crore has been proposed, which will employ 85 persons
• A five-star eco-friendly wellness resort has also been proposed at Naina Tikker in the district

The Cabinet today decided to constitute the state disaster response force (SDRF) consisting of three companies. This will facilitate the government to pre-position its resources and mobilise these within the shortest possible time in case of natural calamities.

The decision was taken keeping in view the vulnerability of the state to natural disasters. Moreover, the SDRF can also be utilised for organising events like Manimahesh, Shrikhand and Kinnar Kailash yatra and other events where preventive measures are required.

It was also decided at the Cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, that free text books would be provided to all students of Class IX and X studying in government schools. The Cabinet gave its consent to enhance the financial assistance being given to the eligible families under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, Gramin and Mukhya Mantri Awas Yojna by Rs 20,000 which implies that now the beneficiaries will get Rs 1.50 lakh instead of Rs 1.30 lakh.

Similarly, it also decided to increase the amount under the Mukhya Mantri Awas Yojna from the existing Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000.

Girl candidates appearing in competitive examinations, being held by the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission, Shimla, and Himachal Pradesh Staff Selection Commission, Hamirpur, would be exempted from entrance fee.

It gave its approval to link 10 market yards with e-NAM (Electronic National Agriculture Market) to ensure the remunerative prices to farmers of their produce. With this, 29 market yards (Subzi Mandi) have been linked with this facility. This will provide farmers a common online market platform for sale of their produce, besides providing them better price through transparent auction process along with timely online payment.

To promote safe adventure sports and make aero sports activities more professional, the Cabinet gave its approval to the Himachal Pradesh Aero Sports Rules, 2019. This will cover various activities such as paragliding, handgliding and paramotor.

The Cabinet also gave its nod to fill 10 posts in Himachal Pradesh Administrative Services through direct recruitment from the Himachal Pradesh Public Services Commission in the Personnel Department. The Cabinet gave its approval to fill 174 posts in the Police Department.

To ensure smooth functioning of the Excise and Taxation Department and provide adequate staff for e-way bills verification, recovery of registration verification and distillery duties and excise duty and others related works, the Cabinet decided to fill 50 posts of Excise and Taxation Inspector.

SHIMLA: A cold wave continued to sweep Himachal Pradesh on Saturday despite dry weather, with its higher reaches shivering under sub-zero temperatures.

The minimum temperature in Shimla was 4 degrees Celsius, a slight from Friday’s 3.8 degrees, an official at the meteorological office here told IANS.

Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district and Kalpa in Kinnaur district saw a low of minus 11.5 and minus 1.8 degrees respectively.

Dalhousie in Chamba district recorded a low of 5.1 degrees, while it was 2.6 degrees in Manali.

The night temperature at Dharamsala stood at 2.2 degrees.

The biting cold wave sweeping most parts of Himachal further aggravated today as the mercury dropped sharply and hovered around the freezing point while Keylong in tribal Lahaul valley experienced the coldest day of the season with the mercury staying at minus 14.7 degree.

The region had a dry day but icy winds swept the mid and higher hills. The MeT office has predicted rain or snow in mid and higher hills on December 31 and January 1, raising hopes of “White New Year”.

Thick fog disrupted normal life and vehicular traffic at many places as visibility was reduced to a few metres in the morning hours while ground frost caused freezing and bursting of water pipes. The MeT office has also warned of dense fog and cold wave conditions in lower hills tomorrow.

Kalpa and Manali recorded the minimum temperatures at minus 4.3 degree and minus 3 degree while Seobag, Kufri, Sundernagar, Bhuntar and Solan groaned under piercing cold wave with the mercury dipping to minus 1.5 degree, minus 1.2 degree, minus 0.6 degree, minus 0.5 degree and minus 0.4 degree, three to seven degree below normal.

The minimum temperatures stayed 15 to 22 degree below freezing point in the high-altitude tribal areas while Chamba recoded a low of 0.9 degree, followed by Shimla and Palampur 1 degree each, Dalhousie 1.7 degree, Dharamsala 3.2 degree and Una 4.7 degree.