Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu yesterday said that the state government would soon announce a special relief package for the disaster-affected families after discussions in the Cabinet.

Sukhu, while talking to mediapersons here, said that the state government had limited resources and it was not possible to compensate the flood-affected people for the losses and damage suffered without liberal help from the Union Government.

Therefore, the state had sought a special relief package from the Union Government to support efforts to rehabilitate the families, which had lost their homes, agricultural land and livelihoods.

He said, “The monsoon has just begun and has a long way to go in the season. So, we must remain vigilant throughout its course.”

He added that discussions were also held with Union Health Minister JP Nadda, who had assured to consider all demands of the state sympathetically.

Sukhu said, “We do not want credit and the state government is ready to meet with anyone for the welfare of disaster-hit people.”

He added that he had also urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to visit the disaster-affected areas to personally assess the situation. “The Union Home Minister has assured me that he will visit the affected areas shortly,” he claimed.

The Chief Minister said that during his New Delhi visit, he had taken up several key issues with the Union ministers, including a request to allow the allotment of five bighas under the Forest Rights Act to rehabilitate the affected families suitably.

Sukhu said that he had also met with Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and urged him to expedite critical infrastructure projects, including the Bhubhu Jot tunnel project, to benefit the people of the state.

He added, “I also discussed with Nitin Gadkari the issue of a collapsed building at Dhalli in Shimla and he promised to compensate the affected family suitably.”

He said that the state government had urged the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to focus on tunnelling for the construction of the Shimla-Shalaghat package of the Shimla-Mataur four-lane highway for the fast implementation of the Nalagarh-Pinjore and Nalagarh-Gara Maur road projects.

“I have also asked Nitin Gadkari for the extension of the Dhalli-Sainj four-lane road up to Rampur,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that he had also met with the Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, Dr Arvind Panagariya, and urged him to support the state in its recommendations keeping in view the prevalent conditions here.

The total losses caused by the rain disaster triggered by continuing heavy rain during the ongoing monsoon season in Himachal Pradesh has now reached Rs 883.15 crore.

As per the records of the Revenue Department, as many as 64 persons have lost their lives during the ongoing monsoon season as a result of various natural disasters such as cloudbursts, landslides, flash floods, etc.

Till now, the state has recorded at least 32 flash floods, 22 cloudbursts and 18 landslides.

Also, as many as 202 roads, including 140 in Mandi district, 28 in Sirmaur, 21 in Kullu, 10 in Kullu and three in Una district, remain closed for traffic movement while as many as 47 distribution transformers, including 41 in Mandi, four in Chamba and two in Kullu districts, as well as 137 water supply schemes, including 119 in Mandi and 18 in Kangra districts, remain disrupted.

Meanwhile, heavy rain is very likely to continue across the state till July 22 as the state’s Meteorological Department has issued a yellow weather warning for various districts till July 20 and an orange weather warning for July 21 and 22.

As per the department’s forecast, the state will experience light to moderate rain at many places till July 20 with few spells of heavy to very heavy rain on July 21 and 22.

During this period, maximum temperatures are likely to fall by 2°C to 3°C while the minimum temperatures are expected to remain normal in the state.

Former Union Minister and Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur visited flood-affected areas in his parliamentary constituency at Dharampur in Mandi district today.

He was accompanied by state BJP media co-incharge Rajat Thakur. Touring Sed, Bhadarana, Tanhed, Dharampur Bazaar, Vanal and Syathi villages and Padchu bridge area, Thakur met disaster-hit families, listened to their concerns and assured swift action for relief and rehabilitation.

Thakur emphasised the Modi government’s continued commitment to supporting Himachal Pradesh during natural disasters.

“This calamity has inflicted deep wounds on the people. Losing one’s home or a loved one is extremely painful.

In this hour of distress, the BJP stands with the people, delivering ration, medicines and utensils and ensuring medical treatment,” he said.

He added that both Central and state governments were working in coordination. “The Centre has never fallen short in providing help and it never will. Whether it’s the Army, NDRF or financial aid, full support is being extended to the people in distress.

During previous disasters, the Centre provided over Rs 1,300 crore and built more than 1.05 lakh houses,” Thakur noted.

Highlighting the ongoing efforts, Thakur praised the Sansad Mobile Health Service, which has been operating tirelessly in Mandi’s Siraj constituency.

“Every day, around 350-400 patients are treated free of cost. Branded medicines, sanitary pads, pressure cookers, 200 mattresses and ration kits have been distributed.

We are also distributing 1,000 school bags, 5,000 biscuit packets and over 2,000 stationery items to children, along with protein kits,” he said.

Thakur also announced financial assistance from his MP fund as well as efforts under MGNREGA to build water diversion systems and prevent further damage to homes.

“We have asked local panchayats to take responsibility for these preventive measures. We are also conducting surveys to identify spots for retaining walls,” he added.

Slamming the delay by the state government in utilising already sanctioned central funds, Thakur urged that “this is not the time for politics but for ensuring that people receive the basic necessities.”

“We will continue to raise our voice for the rights and interests of Himachal and ensure every required step is taken to protect lives and property,” he concluded

Traffic movement on the busy Chandigarh-Manali highway came to a grinding halt this afternoon after a massive landslide struck near Four Miles in Mandi district around 3:30 pm.

The incident has led to long queues of stranded vehicles on both sides of the road between Mandi and Kullu, leaving hundreds of commuters stuck for hours.

The landslide, triggered by recent heavy rainfall in the region, brought down a huge amount of debris onto the highway, completely blocking vehicular movement.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has deployed its workforce and heavy machinery to clear the debris. However, officials have indicated that it will take considerable time to fully restore the highway and resume traffic.

This is the second such incident on the same stretch of the highway today. In the morning, another landslide occurred at Diyod, also between Mandi and Kullu.

That blockage caused a major disruption in traffic flow for few hours. Fortunately, the NHAI was able to clear the earlier debris and reopen the road temporarily before the second landslide struck in the afternoon.

Authorities have advised commuters to avoid the route until further notice.

The frequent landslides during the monsoon season continue to pose serious challenges to highway connectivity in Himachal Pradesh.

The authorities are urging drivers to exercise extreme caution and stay updated through official channels for road status.

Further updates will be provided as restoration work progresses.

Devastation and despair are clearly visible as one sets foot in the Seraj Assembly constituency in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh that was ravaged by flashfloods recently.

The flashfloods and landslides have destroyed what was once a happy and scenic countryside. The sight of people mourning the loss of their loved ones, some sitting by the side of their damaged or destroyed houses, and washed-away orchards and fields is painful.

Almost everyone you run into has lost someone or something in the disaster. The once-peaceful Daizy village now stands as a haunting symbol of tragedy.

A devastating cloudburst and flashfloods tore through the village on the midnight of June 30, sweeping away homes, hopes and hearts. Among the worst-hit were the families of Inder Singh and Mukesh, who lost 11 members in the disaster.

For Inder Singh, a humble tailor, the pain is unbearable. The floodwaters stole his entire world — his wife and three daughters, all gone without a trace. What remains is a pile of debris where his home once stood.

Inder cannot bear to return to that place, where every stone whispers memories of his children’s laughter and his wife’s voice calling them in. “I have lost everything,” he murmurs, eyes vacant, voice hollow. “There’s no reason left to live.”

On that fateful day, he was away from his home.

Just a few houses away, Mukesh sits in silence, grappling with a heartbreak no father should endure.

Days before the disaster, his son had pleaded with him not to travel to Thunag. His daughter Urvashi (3) and son Suryansh (9), wife Bhuwaneshwari and parents were all gone in the deluge. The silence in his home is deafening.

“I heard their voices for the last time on a call,” Mukesh says, unable to hold back tears. “Now, there’s nothing but silence.”

Villagers recall the horror of that night — the roar of water, the screams, the darkness. Entire homes were swallowed by the earth, fields turned into sludge and dreams drowned in the current. What remains are fractured families and a village weighed down by sorrow.

The authorities have launched rescue and relief operations, but for these families, no aid can replace what was lost. Trauma lingers like fog in Daizy, where smiles have vanished and conversations begin and end in tears.

As many as 34 houses were damaged in Daizy village, which is inaccessible due to road disconnection.

Similarly, in Bada panchayat, Kamal Dev lost two members of his family in the disaster. “I lost two members of my family and the house is completely damaged. Now, we are taking refuge in a relief camp,” he said.

Meanwhile, 30 families of Sharan village are also going through an emotional turmoil. The once-gentle stream turned into a raging flashflood, swallowing homes, fields, cattle and, with it, the dreams of an entire village. Though no lives were lost, the emotional and material devastation is overwhelming.

“It was a dreadful night,” recalls Bharat Raj Thakur, eyes heavy with trauma, voice trembling. “My house was reduced to rubble.

My wife, parents and three children were trapped in the debris. Somehow, I pulled five of them out, but my daughter Tunuja was nowhere to be found.”

Miraculously, 16-year-old Tuneja clawed her way out of the debris and ran barefoot into the forest in search of safety.

“I thought I was going to die,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “I was trapped under wood and stones. I could not breathe. But I did not give up. I just kept trying until God showed me a way out.”

She rejoined her family at sunrise, bruised but alive — a rare glimmer of hope amidst the wreckage.

The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) has urged the state government to reconsider its Cabinet decision to outsource operations and management of 14 loss-making hotels, saying a thorough viability study is essential before taking such a step.

Speaking to the media in Shimla on Thursday, HPTDC Chairman RS Bali, who is also the Chairman of the state’s Tourism Development Board, said, “The Cabinet took this decision using its discretion.

But our Board of Directors had earlier resolved that HPTDC will conduct a feasibility and visibility study to assess why losses are occurring. We believe that, if renovated and supported, these properties can be successfully run by HPTDC itself.”

Bali emphasized that the hotels were already categorised into three classes profitable, moderate, and loss-making and that the most crucial requirement across all was renovation.

“If our hotels are renovated, their profitability can increase manifold. In our Board meeting, we decided to conduct a viability test for our loss-making properties. We want to study what minimal investment can improve them and how we can bring in revenue. Only then should any outsourcing decision be considered,” he said.

“HPTDC can run on its own without government grants” Bali stated.

He asserted that HPTDC has, over the last two and a half years, operated without any grants from the state government, solely on its own revenue.

“Every month, all departments receive government grants, but HPTDC has run without any. Despite this, we’ve increased our turnover from Rs 78 crore to Rs 109 crore,” he said, adding, “We’ve paid salaries, allowances, and cleared Rs 40 crore of past dues without financial help.

This is the result of our employees’ hard work. I treat our staff as family. They have kept this organisation going.” Bali said he had also written to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu seeking funds specifically for renovation, and the Chief Minister had given in-principle approval.

“The CM assured us that our renovation project would be included in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funding plan,” Bali said.

“If we are given financial backing, we can renovate our hotels and I can officially commit that we will cross Rs 200 crore turnover. That’s not difficult,” he added.

“Outsourcing decision must be based on facts and study” Bali said referring to the Cabinet’s recent decision to outsource 14 Category-C hotels.

He further said, “We respect the government’s authority. Under Article 79 of the Articles of Association, HPTDC is bound to follow government directives.

But we also request that the government reviews its decision after allowing us to complete a proper visibility and viability study.”

The HPTDC chairman claimed the Cabinet may not have had full information before taking the call. “Some of these properties were constructed with ADB support but are lying closed. Some are functional and can be run efficiently with renovation. We believe we can manage them internally,” he said.

“Since 1972, HPTDC has been the pride of the state. Thousands of employees serve thousands of rooms across Himachal, and lakhs of tourists feel the warmth of our hospitality. When VIPs like the President or Prime Minister visit, it’s our staff that provides their catering.” He said.

He revealed that HPTDC even received an appreciation letter from the President of India for services during a visit to Himachal Pradesh.

“Our hotels are our flagship assets. We don’t just serve food, we spread joy. Our staff are trained to greet every guest with a smile. HPTDC means happiness,” he said.

When asked about the planned relocation of HPTDC’s head office to

Kangra, Bali clarified that the decision was taken in the Board of Directors meeting before it went to the Cabinet.”The government is the owner of HPTDC, and we follow their directives.

There was no communication gap, the proposal was passed in the Board and then sent to the Cabinet.” Bali said.

Bali also addressed a past issue where an HPTDC employee approached the court seeking revival of the old pension scheme.

He said, “We told the court we are still clearing old dues and need time. We’ve made sincere efforts and already cleared Rs 40 crore in liabilities.”

Responding to a recent report that the Chief Secretary did not pay for a private party hosted at an HPTDC hotel, Bali downplayed the controversy.

“The Chief Secretary is a high-ranking official. I believe that episode is over and should not be discussed here,” he said.

“We urge the government to allow us time to conduct feasibility studies of these 14 hotels. Based on that, the Board will take a decision.

If after that the government still wants to proceed with outsourcing, we will fully comply. But let the decision be made on the basis of facts, not just assumptions” he added.

Taking a stern view of the postponement of the declaration of the reservation roster by the Urban Development (UD) Department for the urban local bodies (ULBs), the State Election Commission (SEC), today stated that UD Dept had no legal mandate to postpone the schedule issued by a constitutional authority. It further directed the UD Dept to withdraw the said directions issued earlier.

The SEC had notified July 11 as the date of declaration of the reservation roster in all 74 urban local bodies comprising municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats of the state as their elections are slated to take place by the year end.

The reservation of wards in the ULBs was supposed to be undertaken after delimitation of wards where as per the norms at least 50 per cent wards would be reserved for women besides those for the reserved categories on a rotation basis.

Since it would hit the poll prospects of the existing councillors as their wards could be reserved, a section of councillors and politicians from several places like Solan had taken up the issue with the Chief Minister.

In a bid to delay the publication of reservation roster, the special secretary UD today issued directions to the deputy commissioners (DCs) across the state to postpone the reservation roster by taking the pretext of non-availability of latest data about the number of electors of reserved categories like scheduled caste(SC), scheduled tribe(ST) and other backward classes(OBC) .

The UD also directed the DCs to desist from issuing or implementing the reservation of seats till the updated census data is released much to the relief of the councillors.

Since the census is slated to take place next year, these directions, if implemented, would have either postponed the civic body polls till the new census data was released or would have ensured that no new reservation roster was issued for the ensuing polls.

Taking an exception to these directions, the SEC citing clause (g) of the Article 243P of the Constitution of India read with Section 2(31) of the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Act, 1994, which unambiguously provides that the population of the last census shall be used for reservation, directed the UD to utilize the 2011 census for reservation of seats for the civic body polls.

The SEC secretary Surjeet Singh Rathore also clarified in its notification issued after the UD directions that the direction and control of delimitation of wards, reservation and allotment of sets by rotation vests with the SEC under section 281 of the HPMC, 1994 and section 9 of the said Act while also sending the compliance.

Quick action by the SEC has not only thwarted the state government’s ploy to put on hold the reservation of wards which could have given the ruling Congress an unfair advantage but it has left the government embarrassed for trying to hinder a constitutional body’s electoral work.

Heavy rain in the past few days has led to the closure of 245 roads, including the Mandi-Dharampur stretch of the National Highway-3 that connects Attari in Punjab with Leh in Ladakh, officials said on Thursday.

Mandi, which was ravaged by 10 cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides, leading to the death of 15 people on the intervening night of June 30 and July 1, saw 138 roads closed while 124 transformers and 137 water supply schemes were affected.

According to the State Emergency Operations Centre, a total of 192 transformers and 740 water supply schemes were disrupted in the state on Thursday morning.

Isolated places in Sirmaur and Bilaspur districts were lashed by heavy rain. Dhaulakuan was the wettest in the state, recording 168.5 mm of rain since Wednesday evening, followed by Bilaspur, 120.4 mm.

Low to moderate rains occurred in several parts of the state. Manali received 46 mm of rain, Jubbarhatti 44.2 mm, Nagrota Surian 42.4 mm, Poanta Sahib 38.4 mm, Sujanpur Tihra 37.5 mm, Jatton Barrage 34.6 mm, Nahan 34.1 mm and Guler 32.8 mm.

The local weather office has issued a yellow alert of heavy rainfall at isolated places in the state from Sunday to Wednesday. It also warned of low to moderate flash-flood risk in parts of Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla and Sirmaur districts.

Since the onset of monsoon on June 20, Himachal Pradesh has received 30 per cent excess rain, and the state suffered losses of Rs 740 crore as 31 flash floods, 22 cloudbursts, and 17 landslides, along with heavy rains, claimed several lives and damaged buildings, agriculture and forest lands.

A total of 85 people died, 54 of them in rain-related incidents, 31 in road accidents and 129 sustained injuries, while 34 people are still missing, officials added.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu yesterday visited disaster-hit areas of the Seraj and Thunag Assembly constituencies in Mandi district and assured the affected families of all possible help from the state government.

He also inspected relief camp set up at Bagsiad for those displaced by the rain calamity.

Sukhu reviewed the relief measures and facilities at the Bagsiad camp and interacted with the people affected by cloudbursts and flashfloods there to have firsthand feedback.

While moist of the people at the camp acknowledged the prompt and effective arrangements made by the Mandi district administration, many of them expressed deep concern over severe damage caused to their homes by torrential heavy rain and cloudbursts.

Several families expressed wish to return home but their houses had either been completely destroyed or rendered uninhabitable due to the rain disaster. They urged the Chief Minister to expedite their rehabilitation.

Sukhu assured the affected people that the government was standing firmly with them in this hour of distress and would ensure their timely rehabilitation.

He said that the state would provide land to those who had lost their properties, wherever feasible.

However, he noted that the allocation of forestland required clearance from the Union Government and the state would soon forward a proposal for necessary approval.

He appealed to all MPs from Himachal Pradesh to actively support the request for forestland allotment to expedite the rehabilitation process.

“No compensation can truly make up for the loss of life but the state government is committed to providing relief for the damage caused to homes, shops, livestock shelters, and animals,” he added.

He announced a compensation of Rs 7 lakh to each family for rebuilding damaged homes.

The Chief Minister toured several affected areas, including Bagsiad, Thunag, Thunadi, Lambathach, Jarol, Pandavshila, Kuthah and Janjheli, and interacted with the disaster-hit villagers and listened to their concerns.

Sukhu, while speaking with mediapersons, said relief and rescue operations in Seraj were being carried out on a war footing.

He said that the restoration of blocked roads was a priority and around 50 JCB and other heavy machines of the Public Works Department (PWD) had been deployed to clear debris. “Delivering relief materials remains a challenge until road connectivity is restored,” he added.

Meanwhile, Union Health Minister JP Nadda was addressing journalists at Thunag just when the Chief Minister’s convoy passed by.

The premises of District Court in Shimla were vacated and security was beefed up after a bomb threat email, threatening to blow up the premises of the court was received here today, triggering panic in the court premises.

According to reports, in the email, it was mentioned that explosives have been placed in the court premises and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) as well as suicide RDX blasts will soon occur in the court complex.

Acting upon the email, a bomb disposal squad along with sniffer dogs and police personnel reached the court complex and conducted a thorough search operation and sanitisation of the entire premises. However, no such explosives were found.

Similarly, an email threatening to blow up the Court complex with explosives was also received by the District and Sessions Court, Rampur in Shimla district after which the entire court building was evacuated and search and sanitisation operation was conducted.

Similar threat emails were also received at the District and Sessions Court complex in Kullu, Nahan and Chamba after which a prompt action was taken by the police. However, no such explosive material was found from the court premises.

Police officials confirmed the report and said that the situation was under control and efforts are underway to find out the origins of the threat emails.

Over the past few months, Himachal Pradesh has been receiving bomb threat emails. Earlier, similar, threat emails were received by the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat, Chief Secretary’s office, Himachal Pradesh High Court and Deputy Commissioner’s office in Mandi, Chamba and Hamirpur districts, that turned out to be hoaxes.

Heavy rain over the past 10 days has led to severe fungal infection in apple plants in the apple belts.

A delegation of apple growers met Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu here today and apprised him of this fast-spreading disease.

The Chief Minister directed the Vice-Chancellor of Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, to dispatch teams of expert to the affected areas immediately.

He said that the disease should be scientifically investigated and the orchardists should be educated on preventive and control measures on the ground.

Sukhu asked the Vice-Chancellor to submit a detailed report to the state government within seven days so that appropriate measures could be taken at the earliest.

He assured the delegation that the state government was committed to resolving the issues of farmers and fruit growers on priority and would provide all necessary assistance.

Meanwhile, Dr Usha Sharma, a senior scientist of the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Shimla, said that alternaria and other leaf-spot diseases had attacked several orchards in the main apple belt of Kotkhai, Jubbal and Rohru.

“At some places, leaf diseases have become quite severe. However, it can be controlled with the application of recommended fungicides,” she added.

The scientist said that the disease was more severe in orchards where the leaves of the plants had become vulnerable due to mite infestation or other factors such as canker, root disease or unbalanced use of fertilizers.

She advised the growers to avoid the mixing of nutrients, insecticides and fungicides in a single spray and spray according to the problems in their orchards.

Heavy rainfall is very likely to continue in the state. The Hydromet Division of the state’s Meteorological Department has issued a warning of flashfloods in 10 districts of the state for the next 24 hours.

As per the department, there will be a low to moderate risk of flashfloods in Shimla, Kangra, Solan, Kullu, Mandi, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Sirmaur, Chamba and Una districts, resulting in surface runoff and inundation at some fully saturated soils and low-lying areas of these districts.

Also, a yellow warning of heavy rain in isolated places of the state till July 10 has been issued. The maximum and minimum temperatures will remain normal. There will be no large change in the maximum and minimum temperatures in the next five days.

Meanwhile, the state witnessed light to moderate rainfall at a few places of the state in the past 24 hours, while the weather in most part of the state remained clear.

Shimla, the state’s capital, recorded the maximum temperature of 26.4°C, Dharamsala (30.1°C), Manali (28°C), Solan (31.5°C), Kangra (32.6°C), Mandi (33.4°C), Bhuntar (34.7°C), Sundernagar (33.9°C),Bilaspur (34.9°C), Nahan (29.3°C), Narkanda (24°C), Reckong Peo (31.3°C) and Kufri (22.3°C).

At 35.6°C, Una was the hottest place in the state while Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti was the coldest at 13.4°C.