The Himachal Pradesh government has implemented a new scheme this financial year to provide educational loans to eligible students of the state at an interest rate of one per cent, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Monday.

The government is committed to providing quality education and the ‘Dr YS Parmar Vidyarthi Rin Yojna’ will ensure that no youngster of the state is deprived of higher or professional education due to financial constraints, he said in a statement.

In his Budget speech in March, Sukhu announced that education loans would be provided at the rate of one per cent to students of the state.

Students from families having an annual income of less than Rs 4 lakh are eligible to avail loans under this scheme, he said. The age limit to avail of the loan has been fixed at 28 years as of registration and admission date.

Sukhu said a corpus will be maintained at the level of the deputy commissioner in the districts for cases in which the money is required to be deposited immediately and banks are taking time to release the first instalment.

Students before getting admission to the institutions of their choice would register themselves on the portal of the higher education department and upload the documents required under the scheme, the statement said.

Under the scheme, eligible students will be able to avail education loans of up to Rs 20 lakh from any scheduled bank located in Himachal to meet the expenses of boarding, lodging, tuition fees, books and other allied expenses associated with their education.

Students having 60 per cent marks in the previous class will be eligible to avail the loan at the interest rate of one per cent to pursue diploma or degree courses in professional and technical education such as engineering, medical, management, paramedical, pharmacy, nursing and law, as well as technical Courses from ITIs and PhDs from recognised educational institutions and universities.

The chief minister said a mechanism would be developed to evaluate the outcomes of the scheme in regular intervals to ascertain its effectiveness and track the progress of the students.

The seven-day Monsoon session of the Himachal Pradesh assembly would be held from September 18-25, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Monday.

The Monsoon session was delayed in the wake of the crisis in the state triggered by heavy rainfall and landslides as the restoration and relief work is the top priority of the government, he said.

Sukhu also met Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Monday and appraised him about the loss of life and property due to widespread heavy rains causing floods, cloudbursts and landslides in the state.

He also briefed him about the relief work being carried out by the government in the affected areas and the steps taken for the rehabilitation of the affected families.

The governor has given his valuable suggestions which would be implemented, Sukhu said.

The chief minister had earlier said the state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 12,000 crore during the monsoon season.

So far, 251 persons have died in rain-related incidents since the onset of monsoon on June 24 in Himachal Pradesh, while 38 persons are missing, according to the state emergency operation centre.

The Kullu Police have issued a traffic update in view of frequent landslides owing to heavy rain in the area.

The road from Kullu to Mandi via Pandoh is open one-way, the police statement read adding that from Kullu to Pandoh the traffic will be released from 12 pm to 10 PM and from Pandoh to Kullu, it will be released from 12 am to 10 am.

The road from Kullu to Mandi via Kamand is also open one way only for LMVs (light motor vehicles) as restoration work is going on, the statement read.

The road from Kullu to Pandoh Chailchowk is open one way, only for LMV. The Kullu-Manali road via Right Bank will remain closed during the night from 10 pm to 6 am from Patlikuhal to Manali for road maintenance.
The Bhuntar-Manikaran road will be open only for LMVs. The Kandugad to Khanag section of the Banjar -Anni road will be open only for LMVs as well, the police statement read.

The state has reported a total human loss of 379 people and 352 injured. 2457 houses have been completely damaged in the rains while 10569 houses reported partial damage, according to a statement from the Revenue Department of the Himachal Pradesh government.

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force, which has been fully involved in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in the hill state continued its relief work and distributing relief material in far-flung areas on Sunday.

“IAF continues to provide humanitarian relief to flood-hit regions of Himachal Pradesh. More than 11,000 kg of relief material was air distributed in far-flung areas and 4 patients have been evacuated,” wrote IAF in a statement from the official account of Headquarters, Western Air Command, IAF, on X.

Earlier on Saturday, the Kullu-Mandi National Highway was blocked following a landslide due to heavy rains in the district, an official statement said.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday said the state is grappling with devastation after recent heavy rainfall and landslide, but relentless efforts were being carried out to restore crucial roadways and other basic amenities.

Temporary roads are swiftly being constructed to facilitate the transportation of agricultural and horticultural produce, minimizing financial losses for farmers, the CM added.

As many as 281 roads, including National Highway 305, were blocked in Himachal Pradesh due to rainfall, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre on Sunday.

Besides this, 177 water supply schemes have also been disrupted.

Incessant rainfall in Himachal Pradesh has triggered many landslides and cloudbursts in many places. At least 367 people have died in Himachal Pradesh in rain-related incidents this year since the onset of monsoon, the State Disaster Management Authority said on Friday.

Temporary roads are swiftly being constructed to facilitate the transportation of agricultural and horticultural produce, minimizing financial losses for farmers, CM Sukhu added. CM Sukhu was speaking at a two-day event as a chief guest on Saturday late evening.

Sukhu expressed confidence in overcoming the state’s financial challenges with policy changes and new laws. “We are focusing on resource mobilization and with the cooperation of everyone, the state government aims to make Himachal Pradesh self-sufficient in the coming 4 years and the most prosperous state in ten years,” he said.
“The state is grappling with devastation, but brave and relentless efforts were being dedicated day and night to restore crucial roadways and other basic amenities,” CM Sukhu said.

Highlighting the spirit of governance, the Chief Minister recounted an extraordinary rescue mission led by Revenue Minister, Jagat Singh Negi and Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Sanjay Awasthy.

He said, “The duo displayed exceptional resolve by leading the rescue operation of 300 individuals stranded at the treacherous height of 14,000 feet and in minus four-degree temperature at Chandratal Lake.”

The CM said that the government was dedicated to promoting education, improving healthcare services and enhancing employment prospects for the state’s youth.

“He said that the state government has unwavering commitment to delivering quality education and integrating advanced technology into the state’s healthcare sector”.

Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, Shimla Mayor Surender Chauhan, senior officers and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

The high court of Himachal Pradesh said on Saturday that the state must act like a model employer, irrespective of persons or parties in power.

The court held that the extension of service benefits to one kind of temporary appointment is applicable to similar temporary appointments with different nomenclature.

A division bench comprising justice Vivek Singh Thakur and justice Bipin Chander Negi passed the order on a petition seeking directions on the extent of benefits of contract service.

One of the petitioners had served as junior basic training (JBT) teacher on contract and was later appointed on regular basis as “Shastri”.

The second petitioner was appointed as a shastri after serving as a contractual JBT teacher, albeit without a break in service.

The court held that where an employee has served contractually on a different post and has been regularised on some other post, his ad-hoc tenure should be counted for pension.

Whereas, the service of a contractual employee appointed on regular basis on the same post without interruption has to be counted for annual increments and pension.

The bench observed that despite directions of the courts in multiple cases, the state continues to formulate, adopt and practise exploitative policies to avoid extension of legitimate benefits to the employee.

The state tries to deprive employees of benefits by changing nomenclatures of posts and schemes, the court observed.

The high court ordered extension of actual consequential financial benefits to the petitioner three years prior to filing of petition and the benefits beyond three years will be provided on notional basis.

Authorities in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday started diverting hundreds of stranded vehicles to Kullu and Mandi via an alternative road opened from Pandoh, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sunder Singh Thakur said.

Hundreds of people were stuck near Pandoh in Mandi district after landslides triggered by heavy rain on August 23 blocked the Mandi-Kullu Highway and the Kandi-Katola Road. The administration had arranged for the stranded people to stay in relief camps set up at hotels, rest houses and other places.

Some vehicles were diverted towards Anni and Mandi late on Friday, Singh said.

“We requested additional police force in Mandi and Kullu and Director-General of Police Sanjay Kundu has said that 50 personnel each would be deployed in the two districts,” he added.
According to the state’s Emergency Operation Centre, 347 roads — 182 in Mandi, 39 in Shimla and 32 in Kullu— are blocked.

Till August 25, 246 people have died in rain-related incidents since the onset of the monsoon on June 24. The Public Works Department alone has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 2,829 crore.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu earlier said that the state has so far suffered losses of Rs 12,000 crore due to the destruction caused by the monsoon rain.

Following heavy rain, the road approaching the temporary Maranwala bridge has been washed away.

On Friday morning, the Baddi police issued a major traffic update for the bridge.

some days to restore it.

People travelling from Pinjore may use the Kalka-Kalujhanda-Barotiwala route for entry into the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial belt.

The police has advised motorists to stay in one lane and maintain discipline.

In a major achievement, rescue teams have recovered all 20 bodies from the landslide-hit site at Summer Hill. The search and rescue teams, comprising the Army, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Home Guards, and local volunteers dug out the last three bodies today afternoon, the eleventh day of the long and challenging operation. The bodies dug out today were of Pawan Sharma, his granddaughter, and Neeraj Thakur.

The landslide had demolished the temple on August 14, leaving 20 people buried under the massive mounds of rubble spread over at least 2km.

“Normally, the recovery rate of the bodies in such operations is around 70 per cent. We are glad that we have been able to recover all the bodies.

Getting the bodies for last rites will offer some consolation to the bereaved families,” said an official who was part of the rescue operation from the very first day.

For 11 days, the rescue teams would show up at the site at 6 am and leave around 9pm after moving tons of earth, big deodar trees and rocks while looking for the survivors or bodies.

As the sludge had gone down around 2km from the temple, the teams had to scan a very large area for the missing persons, making the task even more arduous.

“It was a tough operation as too much muck had filled up the nullah. Big machineries couldn’t enter the nullah, so much of the work had to be carried out manually.

Also, we could not use the victim locating cameras and life detectors because of the mud,” said Inspector Nafees Khan, the NDFR officer. “Having said that, it’s our job to work in challenging conditions,” said Khan.

Meanwhile, the SDRF also chipped in with their best to locate the missing bodies, even though they are not as well equipped as their NDRF counterparts.

“We do not have as good personal gear like gloves, rain coats as the NDRF. However, it’s all right as we are a comparatively new organisation.

We are sure that we will also have quality equipment in times to come,” said an SDRF jawan. The local volunteers too deserve a pat on the back as they, too, soldiered on for eleven days with the rescue teams.

The families and relatives of the deceased are also grateful to the rescue teams for digging out all the bodies. “We are grateful to the rescue teams and local volunteers for digging out all the bodies.

It was tough to keep the operation going for 11 days and dig out all the bodies,” said Mohit Sharma, a relative of the deceased Pawan Sharma.

A massive landslide was on Thursday reported in Himachal Pradesh Kullu’s Ani in which at least eight residential buildings were destroyed. No loss of life was reported in the incident.

Disturbing visuals showed massive commercial building collapsing amidst the terrifying landslide.

Videos showed several buildings on a hillside come crashing down, along with trees and rubble.

The LIVE videos of collapsing of these buildings have gone viral on social media within a few minutes, in which screams of local residents could be heard, who were running away from the area to save their lives.

Deputy Commissioner Kullu Ashutosh Garg said these buildings were prone to collapse, so the administration had got them vacated a week ago.

Due to incessant rain, the strata has become loosned in the region, which resulted in the collapse of these buildings.

The DC the administration is keeping a close vigil on the situation.

The Chief Minister said the administration had identified the risk and evacuated a commercial building two days earlier.

The meteorological office on Wednesday issued a ‘red alert’ predicting “heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated spells of extremely heavy rains” in six of the state’s 12 districts for the next 24 hours.

As many as 120 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state this month while a total of 238 people have died and 40 are still missing since the onset of monsoon in Himachal Pradesh on June 24.

The ‘red alert’ warning was issued in the afternoon for parts of Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur districts.

The MeT Department also issued an orange warning of heavy to very heavy rains on Thursday. Himachal saw three major spells of heavy rains this Monsoon.

The first on July 9 and 10 led to large-scale destruction in Mandi and Kullu districts. Shimla and Solan districts were hit during the second spell on August 14 and 15 and Shimla city suffered heavy damage in the third spell on Tuesday night.

Over 12,100 houses have been completely or partially damaged, according to the state emergency operation centre. The state has suffered losses of Rs 10,000 crore so far due to the heavy rains. — with inputs from Kullu