SHIMLA -6^th September, 2025

CM expresses grief over loss of lives in Una road accident

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has expressed grief over the death of three persons in a road mishap when an ambulance rolled down in a deep gauge near Gagret in Una district. Two persons also sustained injuries in this accident.

The Chief Minister said that the state government stands firmly with the affected families during this difficult time. He said that the government would provide all possible assistance to them.

He prayed to the Almighty to give peace to departed souls and strength to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss.

=====================================

Rescue operation concludes in Bharmour with airlifting of 64 individuals

With improvement of weather conditions, the Chamba district administration has successfully completed the rescue operation of the people stranded in Bharmour who were on Manimahesh Yatra. As many as 64 persons were airlifted on Saturday through four sorties with the help of Indian Air Force helicopter MI-17 from Bharmour to Chamba. All the rescued pilgrims have been sent to their respective destinations through HRTC buses free of cost. Besides, two mortal remains were also brought from Bharmour to Chamba. In all 588 individuals were airlifted from Bharmour to Chamba during the last two days.

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has lauded the efforts of the district administration, NDRF, SDRF, Chamba Police, Home Guards, NGOs and individuals who worked relentlessly round the clock to accomplish this massive rescue operation. He said that the people of Chamba have demonstrated the true spirit of 'Atithi Devo Bhava' who organized langars for the stranded people in Bharmour and en-route to Chamba.

He also praised the Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi for leading the operation on the ground who camped at Bharmour. He said that the Minister reached Bharmour on foot from Chamba and ensured the safety of each stranded person. This gesture highlights the present state government's sensitivity by adopting humanitarian approach and commitment towards the safety of the people.

===================================

Timely preventive measures saves Larji power project from flood threats

Learning a lesson from the disaster of 2023, the state government successfully protected the Larji hydropower project this year from the challenges of heavy rains and floods. Under the directions of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and with the preparedness of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited (HPSEBL), the 126 MW project continued to operate smoothly and the power house remained completely safe.

Keeping in view the future challenges the Board worked on a comprehensive safety plan and preventive measures were adopted well in time, the most important being the installation of flood gates. The project site and the main entry point remained secure even during the floods in the Beas river due to installation of gates moreover, the water seeping into the powerhouse was drained out immediately.

The Board management had already created field and technical posts under the rationalization of the Generation Wing in February 2025, which further strengthened the security arrangements of the Larji project. The project team effectively implemented the safety plan on site and succeeded in keeping the project safe even when silt deposits were formed during the flood on 26 August, 2025.

In 2023, the devastation had forced the complete shutdown of the Larji project for almost six months, causing a loss of nearly Rs.95 crore. An additional Rs. 185 crore had to be spent to make the project operational.

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has expressed satisfaction over the protective measures taken to safeguard the Larji project from floods. He directed that the special safety plan for the project should continue to be implemented effectively. He also congratulated the management, engineers and the entire team of employees who contributed to ensuring the safety of the project.

==========================================

Deputy CM expresses grief over tragic road mishap in Una

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri has expressed deep sorrow over the death of three persons in a road accident at Gagret in Una district, in which two others sustained serious injuries.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that the incident is very unfortunate. He expressed deep sympathy with the bereaved families and wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the mishap.

He prayed to the Almighty to grant eternal peace to the departed souls and courage to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss.

============================================

Himachal to be developed as a tourism hub on lines of Switzerland: Deputy CM

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said that large-scale ropeway projects were being set up in the state to promote tourism and connectivity. These projects would not only strengthen religious tourism but also provide an alternative means of transport. Further, it would also boost the state economy besides generating employment opportunities for the youth.

He said that final approval has been granted for a 13.79 km ropeway project in Shimla. The project, costing about Rs. 1,734.70 crore, would be completed within the next four years. It would include three lines, 14 sections and 13 stations, linking the State Secretariat, hospitals, schools, railway station and the bus stand.

He said that under the Smart City Project, 19 infrastructure projects worth Rs. 50 crore and three more projects worth Rs. 25 crore would be completed in Shimla by December, 2026.

Mukesh Agnihotri said that three major ropeway projects were under construction to promote religious tourism in the state. These include the Baba Balaknath temple ropeway at a cost of Rs. 65 crore, the Bijli Mahadev ropeway costing Rs. 278.62 crore and the Mata Chintpurni Temple ropeway worth Rs. 76.50 crore. All of these projects were targeted to be completed by June 2027.

He said that realizing the dream of promoting rural connectivity, country’s first rural ropeway (Baglamukhi ropeway) was inaugurated in December, 2024. The project built at a cost of Rs. 53.89 crore has already benefitted around 69,000 passengers. During natural disasters this ropeway also serves as a lifeline for locals and relief operations.

Taking a major step towards tourism connectivity, the work on the 1.20 km Dhalpur to Peej ropeway in Kullu was on war-footing. This project would be completed at a cost of Rs. 80 crore and was expected to be completed by June, 2027.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that the state government had planned to connect Shimla to Parwanoo through a 38 km long ropeway project, with an estimated cost of Rs. 5,602.56 crore. This project would be completed on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode and it would set a milestone in establishing ropeways as an alternative mode of transport across the country.

He said that these rope-way projects would help in reducing traffic congestion, cut greenhouse gas emissions and provide a modern, eco-friendly mode of transport. He expressed confidence that these projects would transform Himachal into a tourism hub on the lines of Switzerland and create thousands of employment opportunities for the youth.

=============================================

150 posts of Shramik Mitra to be filled up in HPBOCW: Nardev Singh Kanwar

Labour Chowks to be set up in Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur and Solan to facilitate workers

In order to strengthen and ensure smooth functioning of the Himachal Pradesh Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (BOCWWB), 150 posts of Shramik Mitra equivalent to Motivators will be created and filled on the outsource basis. This was stated by the Chairman of the Board Nardev Singh Kanwar while presiding over the 51^st meeting of the Board of Directors of the Board, here today.

He directed officers to identify suitable land for the BOCW State Headquarter in Hamirpur. Approval to open a new Sub-office of the Board at Bhoranj in District Hamirpur was also given in the meeting. It was also decided to set up labour chowks at Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur and Solan for facilitating labour class as per the guidelines of the Model Welfare Scheme. He also directed to take up the matter with HIMUDA related to permanent premises for the Labour Welfare office Shimla.

To further sharpen the skills of workers and their dependents, it was decided to impart skill development training to registered workers and their dependents.

The Chairman directed officers to speed-up the eKYC process and identify a suitable agency for this work. and emphasized on speeding -up the integration of data of the Board workers on the e-Shram portal\ and digitization of the data related to claims.

It was also decided to install hoardings at fair price shops on pilot basis in district Hamirpur to publicize the welfare schemes of the Board.

It was decided that the disaster affected registered workers of the Board will be given financial assistance as per guidelines of the government on co-terminus basis, i.e enhanced 10 percent margin of the government schemes. The Board decided to amend the timeline related to submission of claims from the current six months to one year.

It was also decided in the meeting to hike the salaries of outsourced staff of the Board.

Non-official members of the Board Ravinder Singh Ravi, Bhupender Singh, J.C. Chauhan, Pradeep Kumar, Special Secretary Finance Vijay Wardhan, Secretary-cum-CEO Rajiv Kumar and Additional Secretary Law R S Tomar were present in the meeting.