The state government today put in place stringent measures to regulate the influx of people by seeking address proof, place they are coming from and destination.

• Also read: 46 of Baddi firm test +ve

After relaxation in the inter-state movement, almost 1.10 lakh persons have entered the state since July 3. One lakh more people, who have registered themselves on the portal, will arrive over the next few days.

The sudden spike in Covid cases has compelled the government to have a rethink on the issue. Though a person can come to the state through registration on Covid e-pass software, proof of residence and the place of start of journey and destination will have to be uploaded on the portal now.

To ensure their authenticity, the documents will be verified by Deputy Commissioners and if false information is furnished, the person will be booked.

These checks and balances are being put in place after the manner in which people have furnished negative Covid reports, besides citing marriage and deaths in family as reasons.

“There were several instances when people made on-the-spot registration on the inter-state border or furnished false information to enter Himachal, but now they will have to wait for a confirmation on the Covid portal site before being allowed to enter the state as the rise in positive cases is a cause for concern,” said RD Dhiman, Additional Chief Secretary.

When a person wants to enter Himachal as a tourist, for business or for any other purpose, he will have to provide address proof of his house in HP or the hotel, where he will be staying. People have entered Himachal clandestinely through forests, link roads and by furnishing fake documents which have compelled the authorities to initiate more stringent steps.

The Opposition Congress too has come down heavily on the government for opening its doors to everyone. A petition has also been filed in the High Court, challenging the government decision of giving easy access to people, which will come up for hearing on July 20.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has defended the decision by stating that people, who belong to the state, cannot be denied permission.

Relaxations on quarantine norms

• Students, appearing in competitive exams and accompanying parents, have been exempted from quarantine if they exit or re-enter within 72 hours. Similarly, taxi drivers too stand exempted if they return within 24 hours.
• Anyone who has an RT-PCR negative report for Covid, not older than 72 hours, can also enter without quarantine, even if from a high-load Covid city.

Source : The Tribune

With sharp increase in the number of coronavirus cases, the Himachal Government today added 10 more cities to the list of high load infected cities and districts for Covid-19 to prevent spread of coronavirus.

The new areas which have been added are Surat (Gujarat), Palghar, Raigad and Nashik (all Maharashtra), Aurangabad (Bihar), Thiruvallur (Tamil Nadu), Ranga Reddy (Telengana), Madurai (Tamil Nadu) and Faridabad (Haryana) and Bengaluru (Urban). All entrants into Himachal from these 10 new places will have to undergo institutional quarantine or paid quarantine to prevent community transmission.

The earlier list issued on June 12 last month had 13 cities while the new revised list has 20 cities and districts. In the revision, the cities of Jaipur, Jodhpur (Rajasthan) and Indore in Madhya Pradesh have been excluded from the list in view of the reduction in number of Covid cases. There has been a steady increase in the number of cases in Himachal, especially Solan district which houses the industrial hub of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh. Several positive cases have been detected among the industrial workers, a majority of whom belong to places outside Himachal.

Moreover, opening of the borders of the state on July 6 has been a cause of major concern as tourists with scant respect for guidelines have been caught entering the state by submitting fake covid negative reports, hotel bookings and incomplete documents. A petition has been filed in the high court challenging the government’s decision to allow anyone to enter with certain conditions. The matter will come up for hearing on July 20.

Meanwhile, the recovery rate in Himachal has improved to 76.09 per cent as compared to the national rate of 63.01 per cent. Similarly, even with regard to mortality rate there is some solace for Himachal as this figure stands at 0.80 per cent against 2.3 at the national level.

With a relatively smaller population as compared to bigger states like UP or Maharashtra, Himachal has tested 13,610 persons per million. This figure at the national level stands at 8,271.

Source : The Tribune

Here’s some good news for apple growers. A box of spur variety went for Rs 4,000 in the Dhalli Fruit Market today. Even varieties such as tideman and red June, the first to hit the market, have fetched good prices — from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,200.

Pear, too, has not disappointed the growers. A box of the half-red variety has been fetching as high as Rs 3,000. “It’s not every day a box of apple goes for more than Rs 4,000,” said Harish Thakur, president of the Aarthiya Association, Dhalli.

It’s of course the beginning of the season and prices tend to remain high at this time. This year, however, orchardists were apprehensive about the prices of their produce because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

“We were not sure what prices we will get this time. The main concern was whether there will be buyers. Luckily, our fears remained just fears,” said Ram Swaroop Sharma, after each of his 40 boxes went for Rs 4,000.

“Last year, I had got Rs 3,500 per box for my early variety apple; this time I have earned even more. I was certainly not expecting this,” he said.

If orchardists were, and many still are, fearful, it wasn’t without a reason. Earlier, when the country went through successive lockdowns, vegetable growers, especially who grew cauliflower and exotic vegetables such as broccoli, coloured capsicum, etc, suffered massive losses. Due to low prices, many either distributed their produce or destroyed in the fields rather than sending it to the market.

For apple, despite the bright start, it’s still early days. The season will begin well and truly in another two weeks, and the prices could be a lot different that time.

“It’s just the beginning and the real price will play out once the season picks up pace,” said a loader from Varanasi. “If there are restrictions such as quarantine for loaders, many may not come and that may affect the prices,” he said. But for now, orchardists will not mind a promising start to the season.

Source : The Tribune

The tourists have started arriving at the borders of Kullu district since the borders of the state have been thrown open with certain conditions since July 4.

Woman treks to Shrikhand, booked

A case under Section 188 of the IPC and Section 51 of the National Disaster Management Act was registered against Lila Devi of Banigran village as she embarked on the Shrikhand trek route from Nirmand on June 29 and 30 without prior permission of the administration.

Kullu SP Gaurav Singh said 70 tourists, who had come from other states within the past three days, were sent back from the barriers at borders of the district. He said that they did not have the requisite documents. He said that the visitors had come mostly from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

A case was registered against five persons of UP who tried to enter by misinforming about purpose of their visit. He said no tourists had been allowed to enter the district so far.

Tourists having a hotel booking of not less than five days and having a Covid-negative report from the ICMR-approved lab, not older than 72 hours, were allowed to enter the state. However, some tourists tried to enter the state without the documents.

The hotels in the district remained shut from March 24. The Kullu-Manali Hoteliers’ Association had decided not to resume hotel operations till September. The administration had not yet permitted the public to visit various tourist spots of the district. Some of the beneficiaries of tourism industry said tourists having the requisite documents should be allowed to enter.

Source : The Tribune

Nine more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Monday, pushing the state’s infection tally to 1,073.

So far, 10 people have died from the infection in the state.

Four of the fresh cases were reported from Chamba, two each from Hamirpur and Kangra and one from Mandi district, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) R D Dhiman said.

In Kangra’s Nurpur tehsil, a 50-year-old man who had recently returned from Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar and was in home quarantine tested positive for the infection, Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Prajapati said.

He said a 27-year-old Mumbai-returned woman of Lahar village in Jaisinghpur tehsil was also detected with the infection.

In Hamirpur, two men who recently returned from the Delhi-NCR were found infected with the virus. They were institutionally quarantined till now, a district official said.

According to the Hamirpur official, one of them was a 29-year-old man who recently returned from Greater Noida to Batarli village. The other was a 53-year-old man who returned from Delhi to Jhiralri village, he added.

In Mandi’s Sundernagar, a 25-year-old Abu Dhabi-returned man tested positive for the infection, a district official said.

Twenty-two more patients — 11 from Kangra, nine from Hamirpur and one each from Chamba and Una—recovered from the infection, Dhiman said.

The number of active cases stands at 302 now.

As many as 746 people have recovered from the infection so far, while 13 have migrated out of the state, Dhiman said.

At 75, Kangra has the highest number of active cases in the state, followed by 69 in Hamirpur; 38 in Solan; 31 in Kinnaur; 29 in Una; 15 in Bilaspur; 12 in Shimla; 10 each in Mandi and Chamba; seven in Sirmaur; four in Lahaul-Spiti; and two in Kullu. — PTI

Source : The Tribune

The religiously significant yatra to the 18,000 feet high Shrikhand Mahadev peak in Nirmand area of this district will not be held this year in the wake of stipulations due to Covid-19.

32-km-long tough trek, which takes them three to five days to complete the pilgrimage. Some adventure seekers move for the yatra in the first week of July even before adequate arrangements are made to facilitate yatris. The administration, police and the health department used to make appropriate arrangements of security and medical facilities for the pilgrims and the trekkers.

Anni SDM Chet Singh said it would not be possible to conduct the yatra this year as the norms of social distancing would be hard to maintain, especially during rescue work, if need arose. Many trekkers suffer sickness due to high altitude and cold weather. Many pilgrims have also lost their lives in the past while undertaking the strenuous trek.

He said as per directions, religious congregations and functions would not be held. He added that a team was generally sent to conduct recce of the area and trekking route in the last week of June. He said the team used to carry out repair of the trek route and install drinking water pipes, but this year no such exercise had been conducted.

The journey starts from Baghipul village in Nirmand, and rescue teams and medical camps used to be established at Singhgad, Thachru and Bheemdwari. Only medically fit persons were allowed to embark on the yatra.

Hundreds of revelers and pilgrims take this tough challenge to pay obeisance to 72-foot-high lingam of Lord Shiva and witness the majestic and enchanting landscapes. The tradition of religious procession of hermits, saints and pilgrims carrying out “Charri yatra” of Goddess Ambika to the top of the peak will also not be held this year.

Source : The Tribune

Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti district reported its first COVID-19 case on Monday after a 25-year-old labourer from Bihar tested positive for the disease, officials said.

All 12 districts of the state have reported fresh cases. With this, the total number of cases in Himachal Pradesh has risen to 940.

On Monday, 13 fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported — 10 in Solan, six in Kangra, five in Hamirpur and one each in Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba districts, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) RD Dhiman said.

The patient from Lahaul-Spiti is a labourer who was working on the construction of a bridge on the Manali-Leh highway and was engaged by Border Roads Organisation.

According to official sources, the patient is native of Bihar, who recently arrived in Lahaul Spiti from Delhi.

The patient is being shifted in 108 Ambulance service from Lahaul to a COVID care centre Kullu for further treatment.

The district health authority in Lahaul Spiti is trying to trace the contacts of the patient to take further precautions to check the spread of the virus.

Six more people, who had returned to Kangra from Delhi and the National Capital Region, on Monday, tested positive for coronavirus infection, taking the total number of cases in the district to 268.

Those who tested positive today include 34-year-old male resident of Majhera village in Jaisinghpur area, 37-year-old male resident of Kairi village from Shahpur area, 36-year-old woman and her 8-year-old son, resident of Nagan village from Baijnath area, 50-year-old woman resident of Kotlu village from Jaisinghpur area and 69-year-old woman, resident of Chattru village from Jaisinghpur area.

All those who tested positive have been shifted to COVID Containment Zone in Dadh.

Besides, eight infected people tested negative today and were allowed to go home from COVID Containment Units.

Hamirpur Deputy Commissioner Harikesh Meena said of the five cases from his district, three — a man and his two sisters, returned from Chandigarh while two — including a 70-year-old man, had come from Delhi recently.

The cases from Solan reported in Baddi has taken the tally to 108 in the district.

The cases include seven people who were under quarantine at Baddi —18-year old migrant, 24-year old migrant and 22-year old woman, all of whom had come on June 23 from Uttar Pradesh; 48-year old man, 49-year old man and 22-year old youth, who had also come from UP.

Besides, a father-daughter duo at ESI’s Katha colony also tested positive. The father is a 55-year-old employee of the ESI COVID hospital at Barotiwala and hails from Kangra. His daughter is 26-years old.

Apart from them, a 19-year old migrant from Bihar, who was residing at Vardhman Chowk at Baddi also tested positive. He was the close contact of a migrant woman who had tested positive on June 15.

All 10 patients were shifted to ESI COVID Hospital at Katha.

There were 53 active cases in the district while 51 had been cured and 4 had migrated out.

Two patients were cured today.

With these cases, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Himachal Pradesh has risen to 940.

The officials said as many as 29 patients — 19 in Hamirpur, eight in Kangra and two in Solan — recovered from the infection on Monday.

The state has 362 active cases and so far, 547 people have recovered, 11 have migrated out of the state and eight have died, according to the officials.

Kangra has the highest number of active cases in the state at 113, followed by 103 in Hamirpur, 43 in Solan, 31 in Una, 20 in Shimla, 16 in Bilaspur, 14 in Sirmaur, 10 in Chamba, five each in Mandi and Kinnaur, and one each in Lahaul and Spiti and Kullu. — With inputs from PTI

Source : The Tribune

Former Chief Parliamentary Secretary and Congress leader Neeraj Bharti, who was slapped with sedition charges, was sent to four days of police remand by a local court on Saturday.

A day earlier he was arrested for allegedly posting “anti-national and objectionable” content on social networking site Facebook after violent face-off between India and China.

In a series of posts, he made offensive comments against the Prime Minister and the RSS after the face-off between India and China in the Galwan valley of Ladakh.

Bharti was summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) here for questioning.

After questioning for three days, he was arrested on Friday evening.

Former legislator from Jawali in Kangra district was arrested under Sections 124-A (sedition), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.

His father Chander Kumar, a former Member of Parliament, is a prominent OBC leader from the state.

“The state government is trying to silence the opposition leaders. The case against my son is politically motivated,” Kumar told the media.

Several Congress activists in the state capital staged a protest on Saturday, demanding dropping of charges against him. — IANS

Source : The Tribune

Work on 1,704 projects, including 1,208 roads, 398 buildings and 98 bridges, had been started on June 1 but the progress is tardy as only 10 per cent of migrant labourers have returned. The metalling and tarring of roads, which is done by labourers from Rajasthan and Bihar, have been badly hit as labourers are unwilling to return due to various reasons. The onset of monsoons would further hit the pace of the road projects, said Engineer-in-chief, B K Sharma.

The summer from April to June is the main working season but works were suspended due to curfew imposed after Covid outbreak and when the works resumed, the migrant labourers had already left for their home states and were not keen on returning.

A budget of Rs 3,986 crores has been earmarked and it would be a daunting task to meet the physical and financial target as migrant labourers are backbone of construction works both in government and private sector. Due to curfew and no work even the local labourers had gone home. The Kashmiri labourers were first to go back with no indications of their early return.

Most of the labourers and petty contractors engaged in construction activity from far off states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have left for their home states and reluctant to come back. “We have started work with our regular labour which was retained here but are facing shortage of workforce as the migrant labour has not returned”, said a government contractor.

Most of the petty contractors did not have regular work force. They engage skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers on a daily basis on demand. These workers were left in the lurch as they had neither work nor money, leaving them with no other option but to go back. “We are in a dilemma weather to stay or go back to our native places because uncertainty loomed about return of normalcy as peak of Covid 19 is predicted in July” said a labourer from Bihar Jangi Ram.

Source : The Tribune

A 57-year-old man of Bhawarna village in Palampur area, who had travelled from Delhi on June 29 died at Ner Chowk Hospital, Mandi, today. He was initially under institutional quarantine at Parour, Kangra. However, he turned symptomatic on the night of June 22 and was shifted to the COVID Containment Centre Dharamsala Zonal Hospital. He tested positive for the virus on June 23.

During the course of the treatment, he was also found to be suffering from diabetes and chronic renal disease. Since the patient required dialysis, he was shifted to Medical College, Ner Chowk Mandi, on June 23.

With one, the number of deaths reported in Himachal due to the virus has gone up to seven, including two from Kangra district.

Source : The Tribune

The state witnessed an all-time high of 54 new Covid-19 cases today, taking the tally to 727. The highest number of 16 cases were reported from Hamirpur — the total number of cases in the district stands at 182. As many as 13 cases were reported in Una, 10 in Kangra and five in Bilaspur and two each in Solan and Sirmaur. Almost all Covid-positive persons are returnees from Delhi, Noida or Gurugram.

In Shimla, a 37-year-old CISF jawan, his wife and a seven-year-old son tested positive for coronavirus. The family had returned from Sonepat on June 12 and were staying at the quarantine centre at Duttnagar, near Rampur. They will be shifted to the Covid care centre at Mashobra. With the three new cases, the total count in Shimla district has risen to 33.

16 catch virus in Hamirpur

As many as 16 persons have tested positive for coronavirus in the district. They included 35-year-old man and his son (4) from Badsar, 56-year-old man, his wife and son from Sai village in Nadaun, four men from Tauni Devi. Of these, 13 persons had reportedly returned from Delhi while one each from Indore, Jhansi and Faridabad.

10 test positive in Kangra

Ten more persons have tested positive for corona infection in Kangra since last night, taking the number of cases in the district to 191, including 70 active cases. Most patients are related to those who had returned from the Delhi NCR and Mumbai.

Those who tested positive include 41-year man, his wife and daughter, 38-year man in institutional quarantine at Talwar and 15-year youth of Rakh village near Nagri. The patients had come back from Delhi. The patients have been shifted to Covid containment centres in Dadh and Baijnath.

Two cases in Solan

With two new cases being detected in Nalagarh today, the tally of Covid-19 cases rose to 79 in Solan district.

A 48-year-old Mumbai returnee man, who was in institutional quarantine, tested positive. The other case pertains to a woman who was running a readymade garments shop in Nalagarh. Her sample was taken randomly by the health staff on June 20, said medical officer Dr NK Gupta. The area around the shop has been sealed.

The DM has revised the containment zone in Nalagarh. It will now include ward number 1 of Gullerwala village and ward number 7 of Karuana village, houses of Covid patients at ward number 9 of Baddi, ward number five of Sandholi and Landewal village, Jasmine Tower of Amravati Society, Baddi, and Dhiman Clinic on the Gullerwala-Sai Road.

Containment zone in Sirmaur

The District Magistrate (DM), Sirmaur, has notified Kharana village in Sarahan as a containment zone and villages lying on its precincts – Mandi, Navgarh, Navan Jagoti and Kehnal Sadhana of gram panchayat Banah Dhinni — as buffer zones. The step follows detection of a Covid patient at Kharana village on June 20.

Mandi man infected

A 52-year-old person of Sarkaghat was found Covid-19 positive in Mandi district today. He had a travel history from Delhi. He was kept in institutional quarantine at Bhanvla. According to the district health authorities, the medical report of the person was found positive.

Six of a family +ve in Una

Six members of a family are among the 13 persons who had tested positive to coronavirus as per report received from Tanda medical college late last night. The family had returned from Sonipat. The family members include 54-year-old woman, a 33-year-old son and his 30-year-old wife, besides three children aged 4, 2 and 1 year.

Source : The Tribune

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur paid tribute to martyr Ankush Thakur at his native Karohta village in Bhoranj subdivision, near here, today. The brave soldier made the supreme sacrifice during a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese Army soldiers in the Galwan valley of Ladakh a few days ago.

The Chief Minister met Ankush’s father Anil Thakur, mother Usha Thakur and other family members and expressed his heartfelt condolences to them. He announced an ex-gratia grant of Rs 20 lakh to the bereaved family. He also announced a memorial gate to be set up at Karohta in the honour of the martyr. He said that the government was with them in this hour of distress.

The Chief Minister said that the primary health centre at Karohta would be strengthened to provide better health care facilities to the people of the area. He added that the road leading to the village would also be improved.

Thakur said that the sacrifice of martyr Ankush would not go in vain and the country would give a befitting reply to the nefarious enemy.

Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Virender Kanwar, Forest Minister Govind Thakur, Member of Parliament Ramswaroop Sharma, MLAs Kamlesh Kumari, Col Inder Singh, Narinder Thakur, Rakesh Jamwal and Rajinder Garg, BJP organisation secretary Pawan Rana, vice-chairman of Himachal Road Transport Corporation Vijay Agnihotri, and Deputy Commissioner Harikesh Meena were also present.

Source : The Tribune

Uncertainty looms large over the commencement of 2020 academic session even as the Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) has chalked out a tentative programme to conduct under graduate and post graduate examinations in phases, starting from mid-July.

The exams of second, fourth and sixth semester of under graduate courses in colleges affiliated to the university would start in mid-July, provided the Covid situation remains under control.

A committee, set up for to chalk out a tentative schedule for holding the examinations, recommended starting with examination of three semesters of UG courses. About 42,000 to 45,000 students would appear in these examinations, which would be held in strict adherence to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), University Grants Commission (UGC) and the state government, said Vice-Chancellor Prof Sikender Kumar.

About 150 examination centres are proposed to be set up and evaluation of answersheets would be done internally in the same college. The students would be given a choice to appear at the examination centres nearest to their homes. Principals have been issued instructions to observe social distancing norms, proper sanitisation of premises and mask availability. They have also been asked to arrange accommodation in nearby schools in case additional space is required, he added.

Tentatively, the department-wise post graduate examinations would be held in the month of August and the new academic session would start in September while under the annual system, exams were conducted only after regular classes were resumed.

The HPU had earlier planned to hold the examinations in month of June so that admissions for 2020 session could start in July and regular class from September but extension of lockdown up to May 30 forced the government and the university to defer the examinations.

Semester, annual system going parellel

HPU, the first university in the country to introduce RUSA and semester system in 2014, had rolled back to the annual system of examination in 2018. At present, both annual and semester systems are in vogue, burdening the university with holding multiple examinations. Holding the sixth semester examinations on time is crucial as students have to apply for admissions in PG courses in other states on the basics of result and entrance tests.

Source : The Tribune

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Himachal Pradesh is popularising the solar eclipse by arranging its viewing in the state capital on June 21, an official said on Friday.

It will be 95 per cent around noon.

The Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment (HIMCOSTE) is arranging the viewing of solar eclipse for limited viewers near the state Secretariat and at the Ridge.

The aim is to popularise and promote the science of eclipses and remove the misconceptions and superstitions associated with such kind of celestial events, an official told IANS.

HIMCOSTE has asked all Deputy Directors of Elementary Education to arrange solar filters and make them available to the public to witness the unique event in their respective districts.

IANS

Source : The Tribune

Girls have outshone boys in the 10+2 board examinations the result of which was declared by the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education here on Thursday.

Of the 83 students who bagged the first 10 positions in arts, science and commerce streams, 65 were girls. The overall pass percentage remained at 76.07 percent, 14 per cent higher than that of last year.

In pass percentage also, girls did better. The pass percentage among girls was 79.75% while among boys it was 72.42%.

In arts stream, Shruti Kashyap from Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Rampur Bushahar in Shimla district, topped with 98.2% marks. The second position was bagged by Sushant Chauhan from Government Senior Secondary School, Nahan, with 97.8% marks while the third position was jointly bagged by Aanchal from Government Senior Secondary School, Paje Ki Dhal village in Pachhad area of Sirmour district, and Amrit Anshu from Modern Public School Fagu in Shimla district.

Also read: Auto-rickshaw driver’s son tops Himachal Class 12 board exam, wants to be IAS officer

In commerce stream, Megha Gupta from Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Nahan, in Sirmour district topped by getting 97.6 per cent marks and Ambika Vikram from SD Senior Secondary School Jhagriani from Hamirpur district was second with 96.8% marks. The third position was bagged jointly by five students — Kanika Sharma from Government Senior Secondary School, Jhagriani in Hamirpur district, Kritika from Saint DR Public Senior Secondary School Gagret in Una district, Saloni Joshi from Career Academy Senior Secondary School, Nahan, Anamika from ST DR Public Senior Secondary School, Gagret in Una district, and Simran from Government Senior Secondary School, Cheog in Shimla district with 96.6% marks.

In science stream, Prakash Kumar from Kullu Science School of Education, Dhalpur in Kullu district, topped securing 99.4% marks, Shubham Jaswal from Mount View Public School, Bhanjal in Una district, was second securing 99.2% marks and Tanisha from Government Senior Secondary School Pragpur in Kangra district stood third with 99% marks.

Source : The Tribune

A meeting of senior military officials of India and China at Galwan valley along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh ended in a stalemate on Wednesday.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has not pulled back all its troops from the Galwan valley, nor has it removed all the military-grade arctic tents which house its troops.

The two sides have disengaged from the spot of the clash, however, it is not as if the Galwan valley or the ridgelines around the valley are free of troops. More than 1,000 troops of each side are still in the valley and ridges that is some 6 km long.

The Indian side is seeking that all personnel of the PLA withdraw or disengage from the wider area of the Galwan valley. Expecting that PLA has dug in its heels, the Indian military is keeping its options open.

The clash occurred at south bank of Galwan river, which flows in an east-west direction before it’s confluence with Shayok river.

Read also: Chinese foreign minister calls Jaishankar; both leaders agree to ‘cool down’ tensions

The officials, India represented by a Major General, are slated to meet again tomorrow, sources said.

The meeting was conducted at ‘patrolling point 14’ along the Galwan valley. Major General Abhijit Bapat, the Commander of the 3 Division of the Indian Army, raised several points with the Chinese with regards to the incident on the night intervening June 15 and 16 when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in action. There have been casualties on the Chinese side; those numbers are not verified.

The meeting today was ‘tense’, sources said, adding that PLA was being ‘obstructionist’ since Tuesday morning – hours after the clash. They did not allow Indians to rescue their men at the south bank of the Galwan. The Major General had to intervene.

Source : The Tribune

Fragile peace along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China was shattered last night. As many as 20 Indian Army soldiers, including, an officer, have been killed in action while battling the Chinese at Galwan valley in Ladakh.

However, the count of those injured or missing in action is still not known.

Till 10 pm on Tuesday the Indian Army had confirmed three dead, Col Subhash Babu, the Commanding officer of the 16th battalion of the Bihar regiment, Havildar K Palani and Sepoy Ojha.

Also read: Face-off result of Chinese unilateral attempts to change status quo at LAC: MEA

Authoritative sources told the Tribune the count is 20 dead.

More than 900 troops on each side were involved in a physical clash, which started Monday night, lasted several hours—in three phases—and ended on early hours of Tuesday.  Most of the deaths have occurred as soldiers fell-off cliffs during a physical fight in the narrow Galwan valley into the river at an altitude of 15,000 feet. Some died due to hypothermia and other due to injuries.

Stones, Steel poles, bamboo poles with nails embed on them, were used by the Chinese, to attack the Indian troops. The Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) of China, have also suffered fatal casualties. There is no number to their casualties. Indian Army categorically said “no bullets were fired in clash”. The casualty would have been manifold had bullets been fired

Also read: Galwan valley clash: Suryapet cries for its martyred son

Detailing the incident, sources said it occurred as an altitude of almost 15,000 feet. The Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) of China, which was in talks with Indian Army for both sides to withdraw from the forty—day long stand-off, had build a fresh post and set up arctic tents at vantage position on the south bank of the Galwan river. The post gave a clear view to Chinese of the vital 255 kms Darbuk Shayok Daulat Baig Oldie (DSDBO), India’s only link to Depsang, Murgo ad Karokaram pass. This was unacceptable to India. The post was some 5 km from the DSDBO road, the Galwan river flows  in an east-to-west direction and joins the river Shyok.

Troops of the 16th battalion of the Bihar Regiment noticed this fresh military post near patrol point 14 and asked the Chinese to vacate. The number of Indian Troops was greater than the Chinese on the spot, a clash ensued. The PLA sent in reinforcements another clash ensued.

The disengagement plan decided on June 6 at the meeting of Corps Commander-level was to ask both sides to withdraw from Galwan valley.

However, on Tuesday PLA’s Western Theatre Command spokesperson Colonel Zhang Shuili made a fresh claim on Tuesday saying “China always owns sovereignty over the Galwan Valley region, and the Indian border defence troops are inconsistent with their words and seriously violated the agreements both countries have reached”.

Until now the Indian side had maintained that there was no dispute at Galwan and the LAC, which is not demarcated on ground, matched the Chinese claim line (CCL) proposed in 1956.

Source : The Tribune

Boosted by two low-pressure systems—one over southeast Arabian which later turned into ‘severe cyclone’ Nisarga and another over the Bay of Bengal—the Southwest Monsoon has arrived in Gujarat and East Uttar Pradesh, the IMD said on Monday.

With conditions becoming favourable for its further advance into UP and Madhya Pradesh over the next 48 hours, meteorologists are predicting an early arrival of monsoon in the Northwest—including Delhi, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the IMD said another low-pressure area is likely to form over North Bay of Bengal and its surrounding areas around June 19.

As per forecaster Skymet, until now, the 2020 Monsoon has progressed almost in the “copybook style”.

“It kept its date with the normal onset over Kerala. We think it can arrive over Delhi by June 25-26. Pre-monsoon rains will pick pace from June 20,” says Mahesh Palawat of Skymet.

“The onset over Gujarat is well ahead of time. Usually, monsoon reaches parts of Kutch around June 25, this time it is almost 10 days early. Likewise in the Central and Eastern parts of the country, either it is on time or slightly ahead by a day or two,” says Palawat.

While the initial push to monsoon over west coast came via Nisarga, in the second week of June, the low-pressure area over Bengal became instrumental in boosting its progress in Eastern and Central India.

“We expect rain to continue with moderate-to-heavy intensity over Eastern and Central parts of the country, including Gujarat. The weather of hills, as well as Northwest India, will remain almost dry and hot for at least the next 3 to 4 days.”

“Isolated pockets of Rajasthan can also experience heatwave conditions. The rains are expected to reach Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab and parts of Jammu and Kashmir by around June 25/26 with an error margin of three days,” says Palawat.

The normal arrival date in the region has been revised up to June 27.

Himachal Pradesh on Sunday reported a new case of coronavirus, taking the state’s case tally to 503.

Solan reported the new case of the deadly disease, taking the total in the district to 40.

A man, who had returned from Noida and was under institutional quarantine, tested COVID-positive at Barotiwala on Sunday.

Medical Officer, Health, Dr NK Gupta, said the man had come back on June 8 and his sample was drawn on June 12. He was shifted to ESIC, Katha for treatment.

There are 11 active cases in the district while 25 have been cured and four have migrated to Gurgaon.

Source : The Tribune