835 roads closed in Himachal, Met predicts more heavy snowfall on Monday
Shimla (PTI): As many as 835 roads, including three national highways, remained closed for traffic movement in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, as a result of heavy snowfall.
Meanwhile, the meteorological department has predicted that a fresh western disturbance is likely to cause heavy snowfall in the higher reaches of the state from Monday.
According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, about 282 roads, including NH 3 (Leh-Manali) and NH 505 (Kaza-Gramphu), are blocked in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti.
As many as 234 roads are closed in Shimla; 110 in Mandi; 78 in Chamba; 65, including NH 305 (Sainj-Luhri-Aut) in Kullu; 41 in Sirmour; 18 in Kinnaur; four in Kangra, and three in Una.
Additionally, around 1,942 transformers were disrupted across the state, which include 789 in Shimla district, 354 in Sirmour, 284 in Mandi, 277 in Chamba, 174 in Kullu, 27 in Lahaul and Spiti, and 23 in Solan, leaving thousands of households without electricity.
Light snowfall and rain were observed at isolated places in the higher reaches on Sunday, while weather in most parts of the state was dry.
Cold wave conditions were observed in Manali, Una, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi and Bilaspur. The lowest temperature, 10 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Tabo village in the Lahaul and Spiti district.
Meanwhile, the Met Office has predicted another spell of heavy snowfall in the higher reaches from Monday onwards, due to a fresh western disturbance.
It has issued a yellow warning for the entire state for Monday, predicting thunderstorms and lightning, along with gusty winds, at isolated places.
The weather department has issued an orange alert for Kullu, Kinnaur, Chamba and Lahaul and Spiti districts on Tuesday, forecasting heavy snowfall and rains. For the remaining nine districts, it has issued a yellow alert, predicting a cold day with thunderstorms and lightning.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
