SHIMLA-5^th September, 2025

CM urges BJP MPs to seek Centre’s support for forest land and special relief package for disaster-affected families

Conducts aerial survey of disaster affected areas of Kullu and Manali

• Assures support from state’s own resources

During his visit to disaster-affected areas of Kullu district today, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu enquired about the loss caused by the flash floods and cloudbursts in different regions of the district and interacted with affected families assuring them of all possible assistance from the State Government. The Chief Minister departed for Kullu from Jubbarhatti Airport, Shimla in an Air Force helicopter, carrying rations and other essential supplies.

The Chief Minister also inspected the damaged roads, bridges and private properties of local residents at Vashisth Chowk, Manali, Bahang and Old Manali. Also visited the devastation sites at Akhara Bazaar in Kullu where heavy landsides buried few houses causing deaths. He expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, and instructed the administration to accelerate relief and rescue operations. He also directed BRO officials to restore the damaged road at the earliest. He also inspected damaged Bhootnath and Bhuntar bridge during the visit.

While interacting with the media in Kullu, the Chief Minister said that this year’s monsoon season had caused widespread devastation across the state which led to heavy loss of life and property. He said that during the past four days, rainfall had caused further damage in various parts of the state. The state government was extending every possible support to those affected and directed district administrations across the state to provide maximum assistance to affected families, he stated.

He further said that the administration had engaged the services of Army Chinook and MI-17 helicopters to rescue devotees stranded during the Manimahesh Yatra in Chamba district and have airlifted them safely from Bharmour to Chamba. From there, the devotees were sent to their homes. He said that 605 devotees were safely evacuated from Bharmour and transported free of cost to their destinations in HRTC buses on Thursday. He said that keeping in view the adverse weather and road conditions the government had decided to cancel all type of examination in state.

The Chief Minister said that the government was also making every effort to transport the produce of farmers and orchardists from disaster-affected regions to the markets. At present, the top priority of the government was to restore roads and ensure essential services such as electricity and water supply at the earliest. He said that families, whose houses were completely destroyed were being provided with financial assistance of Rs. 7.70 lakh by the state government. Compensation would also be given for the loss of livestock.

Sh. Sukhu said that the state government was extending assistance to affected families from its own limited resources, as no support had so far been received from the Central Government. He said that the state government stood firmly with disaster-hit families in this difficult hour. He said that the government had requested the Centre to provide one bigha of forest land to each affected family to help them resettle in safer locations. As 68 percent of the state’s land was categorized as forest land and the state government cannot provide such land without Central approval. He urged the BJP and its MPs to seek support of the Central Government to approve the allotment of one bigha of forest land per family, along with a special relief package.

He said that the BJP leaders were active only on social media and they have done nothing on the ground for the disaster-hit people. On the other hand, Congress leaders were reaching out to the people and working to alleviate the hardships caused by the disaster. He said that the state government had also prepared a project worth Rs. 3,000 crore to obtain assistance from the World Bank for disaster management to help rebuild and rehabilitate the affected families.

Earlier, the Chief Minister also conducted an aerial survey of disaster-affected areas of Mandi and Kullu districts.

MLAs Sunder Singh Thakur and Bhuvneshwar Gaur, APMC Kullu Chairman Mian Ram Singh, Deputy Commissioner Torul S. Ravish and other senior officers were present during the visit.

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CM greets teachers on Teachers’ Day

• Congratulates National and State awardees teachers

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu extended his warm greetings to the entire teaching fraternity on the occasion of Teachers’ Day. He also congratulated the awardees for their commendable contribution in the field of education and for taking special interest in teaching and nurturing students. The Teachers’ Day function held at Peterhoff today.

The Chief Minister further lauded Shashi Paul, a JBT teacher from Solan district, who was conferred with the prestigious National Award in New Delhi, while 19 other teachers received State Awards at Shimla.

Sh Sukhu in his message said that the state government was according top priority to further strengthen education sector in the State and has launched various ambitious schemes to ensure quality education to students near to their homes. He said that the tireless efforts of teachers have enabled Himachal Pradesh to secure 5^th position in the National Achievement Survey in terms of quality education, a remarkable improvement from 21st ranking in the 2021 survey.

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PWD has introduced its Annual Training Calendar for officers and officials

• Need to equip officers with modern engineering techniques: Abhishek Jain

To meet the challenges posed by rapidly evolving technologies, continuous skill up-gradation, and the need for enhanced financial and technical knowledge, the Public Works Department (PWD) has introduced its Annual Training Calendar for officers and officials. The calendar was formally launched today in Shimla by Secretary PWD, Abhishek Jain.

The Secretary informed that, as per the schedule, every year, officers from the level of Sub-Divisional Officers (SDO's) and above will undergo necessary training. The training calendar not only focuses on in-service skill enhancement but also emphasizes capacity building for future responsibilities.

He stated that in view of the growing challenges in infrastructure development, officers will also be provided specialized technical training through reputed institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), NIT, Indian Academy of Highway Engineers, Noida, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) Delhi, HIPA and other nationally recognized engineering and management institutes. This initiative is expected to sharpen their professional expertise in areas such as road safety, sustainable infrastructure, green building technologies, e-governance, project management, and use of new-age construction materials.

As approved by the Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, the calendar also introduces mandatory training for promotional posts — from Junior Engineers to SDOs and from SDOs to Executive Engineers. Further, training programmes will be conducted at the Zonal Offices, covering officers of all wings of the PWD, including Electrical, Mechanical, and Architectural divisions.

Highlighting the rationale, Jain said that with fast-paced technological advancements, there was a growing need to equip officers with modern engineering inputs for designing and constructing roads, tunnels, bridges, and buildings. Training will also focus on geotechnical studies, environmental assessments, use of digital tools like BIM (Building Information Modelling), GIS-based planning, and modern survey techniques using drones etc.

In addition to external collaborations, in-house training modules will also be organized in partnership with reputed technical institutes. The programme aims to cover around 400 senior officers in the first phase, ensuring that leadership positions in the department remain in tune with the latest technological and financial best practices.

Jain added that this comprehensive training initiative has been made possible due to the visionary approach and farsightedness of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who has consistently emphasized capacity building, innovation, and adoption of modern practices in governance. He said the new training framework would greatly improve the efficiency, accountability, and service delivery of the PWD, ultimately benefiting the people of Himachal Pradesh through better quality infrastructure.

Engineer-in-Chief N.P. Singh, Engineer-in-Chief Projects Capt. S.P. Jagota, Special Secretary PWD Harbans Singh Brascon, Additional Secretary Surjit Rathore and all senior officers of the department were present on the occasion.