The campaign for elections to 51 urban local bodies, including four municipal corporations in Himachal Pradesh, concluded on Friday, with key issues including infrastructure, tourism, and fuel prices taking centre stage.
Its economy dependent on tourist arrivals, the hill state is looking at a summer of discontent. Not that the rest of the year promises to be any different. Ashwani Sharma reports from Shimla.
A video depicting a foreign woman tourist being harassed in Manali has gone viral, leading to police action and an official inquiry. The incident, captured on CCTV, has raised concerns among locals and tourism stakeholders about Himachal Pradesh's image as a safe destination.
The BJP launched an all-out and aggressive personalised campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, but voters went by local rather than national issues.
A parliamentary committee is actively working to establish a mechanism for implementing the 'One Nation, One Election' reform, with its chairperson, PP Chaudhary, indicating that it could be fully operational by the 2029 general elections. Chaudhary highlighted that nearly 99 per cent of civil society stakeholders consulted have supported the proposal, which aims to mitigate an estimated Rs 7 lakh crore economic loss due to frequent polls.
The wife and daughter of Wing Commander Namansh Syal, who died in the Tejas crash at the Dubai Air Show, bid him a tearful farewell as he was cremated in his native village.
'Travellers are considering safer and more stable destinations.'
Northern states in India are experiencing severe heatwave conditions, with temperatures reaching up to 46.6 degrees Celsius. The heatwave has impacted daily life, leading to a decline in tourism and increased power demand. Authorities have issued advisories and implemented measures to mitigate the effects of the extreme heat.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced the establishment of a National Centre of Excellence to promote winter sports in Jammu and Kashmir and the expansion of the Khelo India Winter Games into a 15-day event.
Some Indian museum collections go far beyond the expected, unlocking quirky facts you never knew about. Or displaying the most intriguing items.
Winter Olympian Arif Mohammad Khan is advocating for improved skiing infrastructure in Gulmarg to enable Indian athletes to train effectively and compete for medals at the Asian level.
Travel firms expect package prices to rise by 5 to 10 per cent, depending on destination and inclusions.
The tragedy struck the 39th Surajkund International Crafts Mela on Saturday evening, when about 19 people were riding the swing before it suddenly tilted and then crashed onto the ground.
Tourism is badly affected. Entire apple orchards have been washed away. 2 million people are threatened with loss of livelihood.
Activists from Himalayan states condemn the arrest of Sonam Wangchuk, demanding his release and supporting the call for statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. They also warn of a larger crisis unfolding across the Himalayan region due to climate change and poor governance.
This is the first Budget in my memory of Budgets over the last half a century which has embraced upfront, enthusiastically and emphatically, technology, modernity and fiscal sobriety, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
At a rally held in Bilaspur Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur presented the PM with a 'Ransingha', a trumpet-like traditional instrument.
Strong demand for cultural and spiritual hubs is expected for destinations like Varanasi, Kolkata during Durga Puja, and Pushkar for the camel fair, besides leisure destinations like Goa, Udaipur, Jaipur and Coorg.
Modi said at a time when people are about to vote for the future of the state, "I want to offer you gratitude for your blessings and affections."
Tourism to Corbett and Almora could be particularly hit as a result of the fire, which has destroyed 2,200 hectares of forest.
Many travellers are now opting for domestic destinations like Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan, Lakshadweep, Himachal Pradesh, and the North East.
The case was registered following a complaint filed by KP Sumesh, a local Communist Party of India leader, seeking legal action against Gopi for allegedly misusing an ambulance to reach the Pooram venue flouting police restrictions.
As many as 720 roads, including four national highways, in Himachal Pradesh are blocked following snow while 2,243 transformers are disrupted.
The higher reaches of Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti districts in Himachal Pradesh received intermittent snowfall on Saturday, breaking eight weeks of a dry spell and intensifying the cold wave conditions in the adjoining areas.
The paraglider was immediately rushed to a hospital in Manali, where she was declared dead, officials added.
Allocation of portfolios would be the immediate vexatious issue for the party, with supporters of Virbhadra Singh already feeling sidelined after the elevation of the late chief minister's professed rival Sukhu.
The veteran leader breathed his last at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla at 3.40 am, senior medical superintendent Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) Dr. Janak Raj said.
During this summer, Indian travel buffs are opting for destinations that provide an escape from the ominous heat, along with coastal regions within the country and countries offering visa-free travel.
Disaster in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh can be blamed on myopic industrialisation, urbanisation and tourism policies.
On August 5, 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru sent a strange note to the foreign secretary. It is worth mentioning because it was symptomatic of the lack of knowledge about Western Tibet in India and in South Block in particular, notes Claude Arpi.
As many as 2,000 tourists stranded in Kasol area of Kullu district owing to incessant rainfall have been evacuated safely, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday.
Modi accused previous governments of not providing people with facilities that were available to people elsewhere in the world even in the 20th century and in Gujarat a few years back.
State Tourism Minister G S Bali said Himachal Pradesh has also announced a ten-year tax holiday to attract NRI investment into the state.
'...they always address problems superficially, never tackling root causes.' 'Currently, the policy response will focus on immediate relief -- getting people to safety, providing facilities, clearing debris.' 'This is necessary, but once immediate relief operations end, everything returns to 'normal' without addressing underlying vulnerabilities.'
The television expose purportedly showed Bali dancing with some women. He and his friends, a few industrialists and bureaucrats reportedly joined him in the party that continued till late in the night on July 26.
The demolition started with the removal of the roof amid tight police security, Latif told the PTI on Monday evening.
