Stationery shops opened in Mandi

Mandi: A heavy rush of people was seen in the market here in front of stationery shops. The shops which shut on March 25 opened on Monday. A long queue was seen in front of shops to purchase books, notebooks and other material for children. SP Gurdev Chand Sharma, along with his team, visited the market to enforce social distancing. The SP asked police personnel on duty to challan those vehicles, who were misusing curfew passes. An ambulance of Harihar hospital was impounded and an FIR was registered because the movement of the ambulance was found in the town without any valid reason. TNS

792 held for curfew violation in state

Shimla: As many as 792 persons have been arrested in 764 cases of curfew violation in the state. Till now, 110 persons of Tablighi Jamaat have been booked for curfew violations and non-disclosure of travel history while 915, including 383 persons associated with Tablighi Jamaat and 532 of their primary contacts, have been quarantined. The police have seized 558 vehicles and imposed a fine of Rs 6,55,4000 on violators. DGP SR Mardi said on Monday that the movement of people in home quarantine is not allowed. TNS

Rs 5.10 cr donated from temple trusts

Hamirpur: The Deputy Commissioner on Monday donated Rs 5.10 crore from two temples trusts in the district, the Baba Balak Nath Temple Trust Deotsidh and Shanidev Temple Trust, Lambloo, to the Chief Minister Covid-19 relief fund on Monday. A sum of Rs 5 crore was donated from the Baba Balak Nath Temple Trust while Rs 10 lakh from the Shanidev Temple Trust, Lambloo, in the district. OC

Mandi schools to give books at home

Mandi: To continue education at home during the lockdown period, the district administration has directed private schools to provide notebooks and books to students at their homes. Additional Deputy Commissioner Ashutosh Garg said the effort would ensure that students and parents do not have to go to markets to buy books. To execute the plan, this arrangement had been made in collaboration with private schools and book retailers in the district. Schools would not have any role in the purchase of books, they would only provide free bus services to booksellers of the area as per the prescribed route to deliver books at home to students.TNS

Call to start academic session from June

Palampur: A number of people have appealed to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to start the academic session in private schools from June 1 so that education of children is not affected. A group of parents talking to reporters here said due to the lockdown, all schools were offering online classes with an intention to adjust fees charged from students. However, most of the parents are not in a position to provide their children facilities to attend online classes, they said. OC

Video on tree felling in Manali goes viral

Mandi: A video went viral on social media in which a large number of forest trees were shown axed in Manali near Jogni waterfalls of Kullu district. However, the Forest Department refuted the claim made in the video, saying a person had cut the stumps of snow-damaged trees without the permission. Divisional Forest Officer, Kullu, Aishwarya said it was found that a person, Mohini Kumar of Vashishth village, had cut the stumps of snow-damaged forest trees for firewood. TNS

Wild animals roaming on deserted roads

Palampur: With people confined to their homes, wild animals have been spotted in the deserted streets of Palampur, Baijnath and Bir. Residents said they spotted leopards, sambhars and wild foxes moving around freely in the thickly populated areas, including the area around Gurdwara road, Ghuggar, Bindravan and Bundla. Sources said critically endangered white fox, which had not been seen in the past 20 years, was also spotted in upper areas of Palampur. On the Palampur–Mandi national highway near Baijnath, leopards were spotted.OC