All stories by Ashwani Sharma
Himachal's hills come alive with labourers from Nepal
Rediff.com23 May 2020Nepali labourers are not only the backbone of the state's apple economy but also part of the highly grounded manpower in the orchards, setting an example for other states struggling with the migrant labour question, reports Ashwani Sharma.
With lockdown easing, monkeys are back to trouble Shimla
Rediff.com15 May 2020Having developed a taste for what humans eat, the monkeys are wreaking havoc in Shimla, reports Ashwani Sharma.
As natives return, Himachal's coronavirus woes may just begin
Rediff.com7 May 2020More than 1.20 lakh Himachalis have already returned home in less than a week's time. There is a list of 21,000 others approved for return, and at least two lakh more are still awaiting official nod for their return. Will this influx see a spike in coronavirus numbers? That is the administration's main worry, reports Ashwani Sharma.
How Himachal contained Covid-19 and earned Modi's praise
Rediff.com5 May 2020Behind the state's success in containing coronavirus positive cases is one novel initiative -- Active Case Finding or ACF, which even Prime Minister Narendra Modi endorsed for the bigger states to follow. The ACF campaign began in April with 16,000 basic health personnel, ASHA, anganwadi workers and auxiliary nurse midwives (ANM) out on foot trekking to most mountain valleys, snow-bound districts and remote passes of the state, reports Ashwani Sharma.
Post-coronavirus, Himachal Pradesh stares at tourism whitewash
Rediff.com21 Apr 2020Its 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.
24 arrested for branding woman a witch, assaulting her
Rediff.com13 Nov 2019Outrage in Himachal Pradesh over widow of ex-Army man being dragged out and assaulted in public after being accused of practising witchcraft.
Himachal's valleys becoming dens of drug abuse
Rediff.com4 Oct 2019What has really alarmed the police, and also the families of young drug abusers, is the entry of "chitta" -- a highly refined white powdery semi-synthetic substance (mainly heroine) -- into the drug scene and has spread like wildfire among the state's youth. Ashwani Sharma reports.