Manali:

Three days after an American citizen went missing, his body was recovered in a ravine between Kee and Tashigang in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti district on Sunday, police said.

Trevor Bokstaahlar (31) went missing on Thursday during his visit to the Spiti Valley, following which a search team was constituted, they said.

According to the police, the team conducted searches at various areas of Kaza and recovered a motorcycle rented by the american citizen near a deserted area close to Tashigang, but no further clues were found.

A day later, with the assistance of the Dogra Regiment of the Army, a drone on Friday identified a parachute stuck in a deep ravine between Kee and Tashigang, they said.

The police suspected the parachute belonged to Trevor, who was a base jumper, Superintendent of Police (SP) Lahaul and Spiti, Mayank Chaudhary said. Consequently, teams from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), trained in such rescue operations and adverse conditions, were deployed and Trevor’s body was brought down, SP Chaudhary said.

Prima facie, it appears to be an accident, the police said.

The information has been shared with the American Embassy and we are in constant contact with them, the SP said, adding that the body would be handed over to them after the formalities are completed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Shimla:

In a crackdown against timber and fuel wood smuggling in the state, the Himachal Pradesh government Tuesday banned the felling of mango and five other tree species with immediate effect.

A ban has been imposed on the felling of Mango, Triyambal (Ficus species), Toon (Toona ciliata), Padam or Pajja (Prunus cerasus), Ritha (Sapindus mukorossi) and Baan (Quercus leucotrichophora), a statement issued here said.

Announcing the ban, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said there would be a total ban on the export of timber and fuel wood of these six species out of the state.

The move is aimed at curbing illegal trade and preserving the region’s valuable resources, he said.

Chief Minister Sukhu added that under the new regulations, all these six species have been brought under the ten-year felling programme, which mandates that these trees need to survive for at least ten years before they are axed.

Any tree belonging to one of these species can be axed only after permission from the forest department, Mr Sukhu said.

The felling of a maximum of five trees in a year will be allowed for domestic purposes, the statement said.

A revised list of permissible tree species has been notified, allowing only thirteen species to be felled with prior intimation to the Range officer, while felling of other species will also require forest clearances, the statement said.

This step will not only safeguard indigenous species but also play a pivotal role in wildlife preservation, the chief minister said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)