River Beas Tragedy

The Himachal Pradesh High Court today directed payment of compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the parents of each of the 24 engineering students of a Hyderabad college who were washed away in river Beas in near Thalot in Kullu district of the state on June 8,2014.

Six officials of the Larji Dam Project and three faculty members of an engineering college have been named in a charge-sheet over the Beas river tragedy in Himachal Pradesh which had claimed 25 lives.

Less than a month after 24 students of an engineering college from Hyderabad were swept away in Himachal Pradesh's Beas river, a US daily on Wednesday blamed the "sand mafia" for the tragedy.

Rescuers today recovered the bodies of two more students of a Hyderabad-based engineering college who, along with their 22 other friends and a co-tour operator, were swept away in the Beas river on June 8, taking the number of bodies traced so far to 19.

Almost two weeks after 24 visiting students from an engineering college in Hyderabad and a tour operator were washed away in the Beas river, three more bodies were recovered on Sunday, taking the total number of bodies retrieved to 16, officials said.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said the inquiry report submitted by the Mandi Divisional Commissioner on the Beas tragedy has been forwarded to the Chief Secretary for necessary follow-up action.

An inquiry report on the death of 24 students and a tour guide near Mandi on June 8, who were washed away when water was released into the river without warning from the nearby Larji Hydropower project, has blamed the dam authorities for the tragedy.

Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar today said the tragedy at the Beas river in Mandi, in which 24 youngsters were swept away, was not an accident but a "murder" and the culprits must be punished.

Rescuers failed to recover the body of any of the 17 missing persons, swept away in the Beas River on June 8, with pre-monsoon rains posing hurdles before them.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court today said it was not satisfied with the status-report filed by the state government on the June 8 tragedy in which 24 students from a Hyderabad engineering college were killed in the Beas river

After the Beas tragedy brought to the fore the rampant illegal sand mining in interiors of Himachal Pradesh, the government has directed authorities to take firm steps to curb the practise and close all "illegal" approach roads to river banks.

A massive search operation resumed on Sunday by using a high-tech device that can scan the riverbed full of silt and boulders to locate bodies of 16 engineering students and a tour operator from Hyderabad who were washed away in the Beas river near this town last week.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh has said the drowning of 24 students in Beas River was not caused by negligence on the part of authorities.

The water level in the Beas river was lowered Saturday morning for the first time to find the remaining 16 missing students and one tour operator who was washed away in a strong current in Mandi last week, rescue officials said. So far eight bodies have been recovered.

The search operation to trace the 17 persons still missing following the tragedy in the Beas river involving a group of engineering students from Hyderabad resumed on its fifth day today with more personnel set to join the efforts.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court today directed payment of compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the parents of each of the 24 engineering students of a Hyderabad college who were washed away in river Beas in near Thalot in Kullu district of the state on June 8,2014.

Six officials of the Larji Dam Project and three faculty members of an engineering college have been named in a charge-sheet over the Beas river tragedy in Himachal Pradesh which had claimed 25 lives.

Less than a month after 24 students of an engineering college from Hyderabad were swept away in Himachal Pradesh's Beas river, a US daily on Wednesday blamed the "sand mafia" for the tragedy.

Rescuers today recovered the bodies of two more students of a Hyderabad-based engineering college who, along with their 22 other friends and a co-tour operator, were swept away in the Beas river on June 8, taking the number of bodies traced so far to 19.

Almost two weeks after 24 visiting students from an engineering college in Hyderabad and a tour operator were washed away in the Beas river, three more bodies were recovered on Sunday, taking the total number of bodies retrieved to 16, officials said.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said the inquiry report submitted by the Mandi Divisional Commissioner on the Beas tragedy has been forwarded to the Chief Secretary for necessary follow-up action.

An inquiry report on the death of 24 students and a tour guide near Mandi on June 8, who were washed away when water was released into the river without warning from the nearby Larji Hydropower project, has blamed the dam authorities for the tragedy.

Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar today said the tragedy at the Beas river in Mandi, in which 24 youngsters were swept away, was not an accident but a "murder" and the culprits must be punished.

Rescuers failed to recover the body of any of the 17 missing persons, swept away in the Beas River on June 8, with pre-monsoon rains posing hurdles before them.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court today said it was not satisfied with the status-report filed by the state government on the June 8 tragedy in which 24 students from a Hyderabad engineering college were killed in the Beas river

After the Beas tragedy brought to the fore the rampant illegal sand mining in interiors of Himachal Pradesh, the government has directed authorities to take firm steps to curb the practise and close all "illegal" approach roads to river banks.

A massive search operation resumed on Sunday by using a high-tech device that can scan the riverbed full of silt and boulders to locate bodies of 16 engineering students and a tour operator from Hyderabad who were washed away in the Beas river near this town last week.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh has said the drowning of 24 students in Beas River was not caused by negligence on the part of authorities.

The water level in the Beas river was lowered Saturday morning for the first time to find the remaining 16 missing students and one tour operator who was washed away in a strong current in Mandi last week, rescue officials said. So far eight bodies have been recovered.

The search operation to trace the 17 persons still missing following the tragedy in the Beas river involving a group of engineering students from Hyderabad resumed on its fifth day today with more personnel set to join the efforts.