Chandigarh-Manali highway reopens after nearly 24 hours
Shimla: The Chandigarh-Manali national highway was restored for traffic on Monday night after remaining closed for almost 24 hours owing to landslides and flash floods, officials said. Hundreds of commuters, including tourists, were stranded in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district as the highway was blocked since Sunday evening. The 70-km Mandi-Pandoh-Kullu stretch of the highway was blocked at Khotinallah near Aut, about 40 km from Mandi town, following flash floods while the Mandi-Pandoh stretch was blocked near 6 Miles after a landslide.
AAP must restrain itself from meddling in Sikh affairs: Bajwa
Chandigarh: Expressing grave concern over the recent developments relating to the telecast of gurbani from Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) Amritsar, the Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party-led State Government must restrain itself from meddling in the Sikh affairs. He said that he was also of the opinion that no channel should be given exclusive rights to telecast the gurbani from Darbar Sahib. “We all know, who controls the PTC channel, the only channel responsible for the telecast of gurbani. Therefore, sole rights shouldn't be given to this channel. Instead, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) should either launch its own platform to broadcast gurbani or it should be open to every channel for broadcast,” he added. Bajwa said that the way AAP Government had attempted to amend the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, in the House would set a wrong precedent, and it must reconsider the decision and stop pursuing the matter further.
CM Khattar asks Zilla Parishad to monitor Vyayamashalas in Hry
Chandigarh: To connect the rural youths with traditional sports, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday directed the officers to increase the activity of youth clubs in running Yogashalas/Vyayamashalas in rural areas. For this, the Rural Development Department should immediately map villages having registered youth clubs. The Chief Minister was presiding over a review meeting of various departments regarding the construction, transfer and maintenance of Yogashalas/Vyayamashalas. In the meeting, the Chief Minister was informed that in the first phase, 1000 Yogashalas/Vyayamashalas are to be constructed, out of which the construction work of 729 has been completed. 648 Yoga Assistants have been appointed who are imparting Yoga training to the people. The Chief Minister directed the officers to make a category of Yogashalas/Vyayamashala so that they can be evaluated and the concept of Adarsh Vyayamashala can be realised. He said that the objective of this scheme is to connect the rural youth with traditional sports.
Himachal signs MoU for curbing drug menace
Shimla: The Art of Living (AoL) is to join hands with the State Government to run anti-drug campaigns in the State. An MoU in this regard was signed between the Himachal Pradesh Government and Art of Living in the presence of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu at Shimla on Tuesday. Secretary, Administrative Reforms, C. Palrasu and Air Marshal (Retd) V.P.S. Rana signed the agreement on behalf of GoHP and AoL respectively. Sukhu said that this initiative will certainly help in creating mass awareness to fight the drug menace. He emphasized the significance of this collaboration, stating that AoL will wholeheartedly assist the State Government in eradicating the drug menace, together bearing the associated expenses. He said that the NGO will not only support the State Government's resolve of eradicating drug nuisance but also collaborate in various other areas essential to the State's development. These include sustainable environmental protection, community livelihood models, community-based tourism, herbal wellness, community forest management, modern education, skill development, and youth empowerment.