Shimla, Traffic on the Chandigarh-Manali highway was blocked on Friday following massive landslides along the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh, police said. However, no casualties were reported.

The highway was badly damaged owing to landslides near Hanogi Devi temple at several places. Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the affected area.

Shimla, An earthquake measuring 4 on the Richter scale hit Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district early on Thursday, the weather bureau here said.

The mild earthquake was felt in Chamba at 12.47 a.m., officials said. No casualties have been reported so far.

Chamba, one of state's remote districts, is located adjoining Jammu and Kashmir.

Shimla, Himachal's picturesque Kinnaur district has been cut off due to massive landslides triggered by heavy rainfall in the region in the past few days have blocked the highway, an official said here on Monday.

Hundreds of vehicles, carrying tourists and locals, have been stranded on the national highway as boulders and debris have blocked it near Bhawanagar, some 200 km from Shimla, a government spokesperson told .

Shimla, With the southwest monsoon in Himachal Pradesh being delayed by at least 10 days, the pre-monsoon rains also remained 46 per cent deficient in June, the weather bureau said on Monday.

This has severely affected the sowing of the kharif crop mainly paddy, maize and oil seeds.

"The deficiency in districts ranges from 15 to 79 per cent," Indian Meteorological Department Director Manmohan Singh told .

Shimla, With showers almost on every alternate day and unlike no major water blues in the Himachal hills this time, the destinations in the state are teeming with tourists. Better facilities and a range of option from nature park to nature walk besides adventure sports is drawing a huge crowd up the slopes.

Shimla, Horticulture is a major contributor to the economy of Himachal Pradesh, which can cultivate a wide varieties of fruits and vegetables due to its diverse climate and topography, and measures to expand the sector are on, an official statement said on Sunday.

More than 35 species of fruits could be successfully grown in the state, said Horticulture Minister Mahender Singh Thakur.

Solan Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday again raked up Congress leader Sam Pitroda's controversial remark in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, as he picked holes in the 10-year rule of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the the Centre.

Without naming Pitroda or talking about the anti-Sikh riots, Modi, in his 30-minute speech here, time and again took jibes at the UPA government by saying that its attitude towards policies such as defence matters were "hua toh hua" (it just happened).

Shimla, Temperatures across Himachal Pradesh fell on Thursday due to widespread rain with Dalhousie town recording the highest amount -- 53 mm, the met office said. Weather will be clear from Friday.

"Moderate to heavy rainfall occurred at some places. The rain lowered the minimum temperatures by five to six notches in the past 24 hours (since Wednesday)," an official of the local meteorological office told IANS.

While picturesque tourist resort Manali saw 18 mm of rainfall, it was 40.4 mm in Dharamsala and 36 mm in Palampur.

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh's popular tourist destination Manali and its nearby hill destinations received more snowfall in the past 24 hours, officials said on Thursday.

As news of the snowfall flashed across the plains, tourists started arriving at Manali and its nearby hills to celebrate the Holi festival.

Shimla and its surrounding areas like Kufri, Mashobra and Narkanda experienced rains, according to a Met official here.

Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Saturday laid the foundation stone of a building that would provide free accommodation daily to 4,000 pilgrims visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.

To add additional facilities for meeting the accommodation needs of the pilgrims who visit the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, the Governor laid the foundation stone for construction of a new Durga Bhavan in the Bhavan area, a