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Hail Storms Smash Several Orchards in Shimla Apple belts and Destroy TomatoCrop in Solan, Widespread Rains Bring Relief from Drough in Himachal Pradesh

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Heavy Hailstorm Wreaks Havoc in Himachal: Tomato & Apple Farmers Count Losses, Forest Fires Doused

SHIMLA; Heavy hailstorm in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh destroyed the standing tomato crop. Who will compensate the farmer?

Thousands of tomato plants were battered by hailstones today, leaving farmers heartbroken. No help. No compensation. Just shattered hopes.

In Shimla district, widespread rains and hailstorms lashed the apple belt. While orchards in Nerwa Tehsil and Dhanat Panchayat took a beating, the rains brought much-needed relief to areas reeling under drought.

The showers have also put an end to the rising menace of forest fires and brought respite from heatwaves in lower regions, besides recharging water sources.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Shimla, the unseasonal weather is due to a Western Disturbance active over South Punjab, North Rajasthan, and West Haryana, likely to continue till May 3rd. Thunderstorms and hailstorms may persist, the IMD has warned.

Solan (39 mm), Bilaspur (38 mm), and Kufri (17 mm) recorded significant rainfall.

The showers have lowered the minimum temperature by an average of 2.4°C, but for fruit and vegetable growers, it’s a nightmare.

While apple growers seek compensation for the losses at the fruit-setting stage, tomato farmers in Solan say they have been left in the lurch with no official visit or assurance of relief. “Is anyone even listening?” asks a farmer from Kandaghat.

#⃣HimachalHailstorm #TomatoCropDamage #AppleOrchards #SolanFarmers #ShimlaRains #ForestFiresDoused #IMDAlert #NoCompensation #WesternDisturbance #HimachalAgriCrisis

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Health and Education

How Private Medical Colleges Cheat NMC AEBAS By Their Ghost Faculty in India

Only One Caught, Many Slipping Through: UDF Slams NMC for Weak AEBAS Monitoring in Medical Colleges..

New Delhi/Shimla, May 16: In a strong-worded statement, the United Doctors Front (UDF) has slammed the National Medical Commission (NMC) for what it calls a "glaring failure in monitoring and auditing" biometric attendance fraud in medical colleges.

This comes after a recent RTI revealed that only one institute—Rawatpura Sarkar Institute in Chhattisgarh—has been held accountable for manipulating the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) using fake fingerprints.

UDF President Dr. Lakshya Mittal minced no words, calling it “alarming and disappointing” that only one institution was named despite widespread concerns in the medical fraternity about proxy attendance, fingerprint cloning, and biometric misuse.

"It is just one, but what about those private medical colleges in Himachal, Punjab, and Haryana? Are we to believe the rest are clean, or has the system simply failed to catch them?” questioned Dr. Mittal.

The UDF is now calling for a wider net and tighter scanning mechanism by the NMC. According to the doctors' body, the fact that no full list of defaulters has been released points to serious gaps in the regulatory and surveillance systems meant to uphold transparency in faculty attendance.

"The AEBAS was introduced to ensure accountability and honesty in medical education.

But if institutions can game the system using proxy biometrics and still go unchecked, it raises serious doubts about the intent and effectiveness of NMC’s monitoring," said Dr. Mittal.

While the NMC has begun rolling out a face-based AEBAS system—deemed harder to manipulate—UDF has expressed only “cautious optimism.” Full implementation is expected from May 1, 2025.

"Face recognition may reduce fraud, but without regular audits and transparent reporting, even this system can be misused. There needs to be a robust public mechanism to expose defaulters," UDF added.

The doctors’ body has urged both the NMC and the Union Ministry of Health to make audit reports public and hold institutions accountable.

It wants regular third-party checks, detailed RTI disclosures, and exemplary action against repeat offenders.

"It’s about safeguarding the future of healthcare in India. We can’t afford to let students train under systems soaked in unethical practices. This isn’t just academic fraud—it’s a national health risk," Dr. Mittal concluded.

As whispers grow louder about multiple private colleges across northern India indulging in similar practices, UDF’s demand for a full-scale crackdown may be the wake-up call the NMC cannot ignore any longer.

News

Vijay Pal Singh Takes Charge as Member of Himachal Pradesh Private Education Institutes Regulatory Commission, Faces Task of Reining in Coaching Shops

Shimla, May 16:

Newly appointed member of the Himachal Pradesh Private Education Institutions Regulatory Commission, Vijay Pal Singh, has officially assumed charge.

Supporters and well-wishers believe Singh, known for his clear vision and fiery commitment, will bring a new momentum to the commission's functioning.

He has sacrificed a lucrative  corporate career and instead embraced politics, a legacy left behind by his father Prof Vir Singh Chauhan, a veteran of Mandi district to serve the people of Seraj, hos home Constituency. 

But he also walks into a minefield of unresolved challenges—most notably, the unchecked growth of private coaching centres operating outside the commission’s purview.

According to education activists and concerned citizens, these coaching shops—especially in urban hubs like Shimla, Solan, and Kangra—have become parallel education empires, minting crores by luring students with guaranteed success in competitive exams like NEET, IIT-JEE, and NITs.

Many of these shops work in tandem with private schools that offer 'dummy admissions'—enrolling students only on paper while they attend full-time coaching elsewhere.

“The Regulatory Commission’s role is being crippled as these institutions don’t fall under its jurisdiction. This is not just a revenue loss for the state; it's a direct hit on the school education system,” said a former education officer who wished not to be named.

Sources within the education department say that bringing these coaching centres under regulatory control would require legislative amendments.

“There is an urgent need to expand the Regulatory Commission's mandate to include these commercial coaching setups. They are reshaping the academic landscape of Himachal, often at the cost of formal schooling,” an official said.

Vijay Pal Singh’s appointment has sparked hope among many education reformers who see in him a potential game-changer.

“He has the fire. He knows the ground reality. If anyone can take the bull by the horns, it’s Vijay Pal,” said a former principal and close aide.

Singh, in his brief interaction with the press, did not comment directly on the issue of coaching shops but assured that “strengthening transparency and accountability in private education will be his top priority.”

As the state grapples with a growing disconnect between formal education and commercial coaching, all eyes are now on the commission—and on Vijay Pal Singh—to restore balance in Himachal's education ecosystem.

News

Turkish Firm Railway Survey Sparks National Security, Ecological and Livelihood Uproar in Himachal Pradesh

By Kuldeep Chauhan, Editor-in-chief www.himbumail.com

SHIMLA/KULLU, May 16:

A full-blown people’s revolt has  brewn  across Himachal’s apple belt and tourism corridor in Devbhoomi —from Kullu to Lahaul-Spiti.

At the heart of the storm? A controversial railway survey by Turkish firm Yüksel Proje for the Bhanupalli–Bilaspur–Manali–Leh strategic rail line—a project now being called a “national blunder in the making” by locals.

Panchayats,  Farmers, hoteliers, tribals, and civil society members have come together cutting across political lines to demand that the entire project be scrapped in its current form.

Their concern isn’t just emotional—it’s deeply strategic, economic, and environmental.

"This is not a railway, it's a ticking time bomb for Devbhoomi," thundered Ved Ram Thakur, Chief Advisor, Hotel Association Manali, and former head of the Pradhans’ Association.

“A Turkish firm, known for its proximity to Pakistan, is surveying one of India’s most sensitive Himalayan corridors. What are we thinking?”

The Turkish company, Yüksel Proje, in its own public documents, boasts of having designed over 120 river bridges, viaducts, and flyovers in the Himalayan stretch from Bilaspur to Leh—a terrain marked by steep slopes, seismic fragility, river scouring, and extreme weather.

“Seventy-meter-high piers, riverbed excavation, steel trusses launched with cantilever methods—do they even understand the soul of the Himalayas?” asked orchardist Lalit Singh Thakur, warning of mass deforestation, landslides, and the destruction of lakhs of apple trees.

“This is not Switzerland where you plug a viaduct and move on. One mistake and entire valleys vanish.”

And that’s not all. Advocate Rewat Rana cited national security threats: “The Turkish company has reportedly supported Pakistan’s terror proxies.

The recent exposure in Operation Sindoor and past attacks in Chamba’s Satrundi by infiltrators from Kishtwar show how porous and vulnerable this terrain is. We’re handing them a Google map of our borders!”

The fears are rooted in historical pain. Locals still remember how decades ago, terrorists infiltrated from Kishtwar into Chamba and massacred dozens of innocent villagers in Satrundi.

And today after  Pahalgam Terror attack and what followed, that trauma echoes in Chamba, Lahaul’s frozen silence and Kullu’s rising rage.

“The line will gut our orchards, rip open sacred Devbhoomi lands and expose Devbhoomi, Ladakh, Lahaul and Chamba to new-age warfare—drone surveillance, cyber sabotage, and eco-terrorism,” warned Gyan Chand Thakur, a small apple farmer from Kullu.

“And all this while we are already gasping from loss of land to highways and crop failures.”

The project is already listed on the Turkish firm’s international website, showing advanced design techniques including top-down construction at riverbeds and foundations built deep into scouring-prone rivers—a direct hit on Himachal’s fragile hydrology and glacial systems.

What makes this more controversial is the lack of public consultation, as multiple Gram Panchayats across Kullu, Lahaul and Mandi have now passed resolutions opposing the project.

They’ve accused the Centre of ignoring local voices and treating strategic infrastructure like a construction contract.

“This isn’t just a protest—it’s a revolt,” said Ved Ram.

“If this survey isn't scrapped, and if Indian firms with Army backing don’t take over the design, the Centre will have Himachal’s wrath to answer for.”

The clincher? People now see this as a holy war to protect their deities, orchards, mountains, and borders. “Yeh Devbhoomi hai, deal ka playground nahi,” said Lalit Singh.

The Centre must now decide: Will it stand with Devbhoomi or with a foreign firm’s blueprint that might already be sitting in Beijing or Islamabad?

If one goes by the national sentiments and stance adopted by our strategists and strong political posturing by the Modi government at the centre, the hammer is already in its position only it is a matter of time. 

#SaveDevbhoomi #RailwayOnEdge #AppleFarmersRise #HimalayasNotForSale #NationalSecurityFirst

News

SJVN’s Bikaner Solar Project Adds 78.33 MW to Grid

SJVN hits new milestone at Bikaner Solar Project, adds 78.23 MW to grid

Shimla | 15 May 2025

SJVN’s green energy arm, SGEL, has achieved commercial operations for an additional 78.23 MW capacity under the ambitious 1000 MW Bikaner Solar Power Project in Rajasthan. With this, the total operational capacity at the site has reached 320 MW, after the earlier commissioning of 241.77 MW on April 2.

Set to be fully operational by Q3 of 2025, the mega solar project will supply clean energy to Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttarakhand.

“This project is a shining example of our commitment to India’s green energy goals and the Make in India initiative. We are proud to be contributing to the national mission of 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030,” said an SJVN spokesperson.

Being developed under MNRE’s CPSU Scheme Phase II (Tranche III), the project is being implemented under the Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) category—giving a major push to indigenous solar manufacturing.

Once fully commissioned, this project will significantly boost India’s clean energy portfolio and aligns with SJVN’s vision of becoming a 25,000 MW company by 2030 and 50,000 MW by 2040.

Bar and Bench

High Court Pulls Up Himachal Govt Over Drug Menace, Seeks Time-Bound Action Plan and Rehab Policy

Wants Rehab Policy Status, NDPS Trends, Panchayat Accountability
Shimla | May 14, 2025: 

The Himachal Pradesh High Court today has come down hard on the state government, demanding concrete and time-bound measures to curb the spiraling drug menace.

Acting on a petition filed in CWP No. 83 (D. Khanna vs. State of Himachal Pradesh), the Chief Justice G S Sandhawalia has issued a slew of tough directives, highlighting institutional gaps and calling for a coordinated crackdown.

The Court's directions follow a detailed status report submitted by the Director General of Police on July 26, 2024.

The figures reveal a disturbing trend: up to June 2024 alone, the state registered 878 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, with 1,212 arrests made.

In addition, 77 cases of illegal opium cultivation and one of illegal cannabis cultivation were reported, while wild cannabis spread over 27.05 bighas was destroyed.

To tackle cross-border trafficking, the Court noted the deployment of Himachal Police at a new Inter-State Coordination Centre set up in Panchkula.

It also appreciated the use of technology, including the state’s “Drug Free Himachal” mobile app, which has received 172 citizen tips since its launch.

The CID provided another 147 intelligence inputs in the same period. Specialized training for drug crime investigation is reportedly underway at the Police Training College in Daroh.

But the Court isn’t just stopping at enforcement. It has asked the state to present a district-wise chart of NDPS cases over the past five years (January–December), so the judiciary can assess whether the situation is worsening or improving.

The Court also took note of suggestions filed by the Amicus Curiae, calling for active participation of grassroots officials—Revenue, Forest, and Panchayat authorities—in flagging illegal cannabis cultivation.

The High Court has now asked the government to consider penalizing panchayats that fail to report such activity and rewarding those that proactively curb it.

On the rehabilitation front, the Court pulled up the state for dragging its feet on the “State Policy on Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts”, which, according to an older affidavit, has been under review since 2019.

The government must now file an affidavit clarifying whether the policy has finally been notified.

Additionally, the state must submit full details of all district-level de-addiction centers—including available infrastructure, number of doctors, and supporting staff—to evaluate the reach and readiness of the rehab system.

Seen as a judicial wake-up call, the order is expected to push systemic reforms across the state’s anti-drug machinery.

The matter will now be heard next on May 27, 2025, with the Court expected to closely review the government's compliance and proposed roadmap.

#DrugFreeHimachal #HighCourtAction #RehabReform #AccountabilityNow

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