Reckong Peo, December 1
North Indian states, including the National Capital Region, is likely to face a major power crisis in the days to come as three units of the 1,500 MW Nathpa-Jhakri hydro-power plant have been shut down due to shortage of water in the Sutlej.

The shortfall of water in the river is due to freezing of most of the natural water sources following cold weather conditions in the upper areas of Kinnaur district and Tibet.

The water discharge in the Sutlej at Nathpa came down to an average of below 100 cumecs this week, which has forced the authorities of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) to shut down three power-producing units.

There are six units in the project which, if run to full capacity, produce 1,500 MW of power. The allocation of power through the northern grid to Punjab is 114 MW, Chandigarh 8 MW, Haryana 64 MW, Rajasthan 112 MW, Delhi 142 MW, Himachal Pradesh 547 MW, Uttaranchal 38 MW, Uttar Pradesh 221 MW and Jammu and Kashmir 105 MW.

Sources in the SJVN revealed that only one unit was running properly, generating power to its capacity of 250 MW. The remaining two units are made to generate power by storing extra water in the dam during the morning and evening hours. On an average, 8 million units of power are being produced from the units.

The authorities say shutting down of power units during the winter season was a normal exercise. However, every possible effort was made to meet the demand of the northern grid by running at least two units with stored water.

Meanwhile, the water discharge in the Sutlej is further likely to decline by the end of December for at least two months when the upper areas of Kinnaur and Tibet have heavy snowfall. Power generation is also likely to decline further, resulting in a power crisis. 

Solan, December 1
In a case of utter negligence of the government departments, as many as seven cases of unauthorized constructions have come to the fore on the NH-21-A where various commercial establishments have been operating illegally. These establishments, including guest houses and industrial units, have procured water and power connections despite having no NOC.

The cases came to the fore during zila parishad meeting where its chairman Mr Ramkumar questioned the authorities how they had been running illegally. The Town and Country Planning (TCP), in its reply, clarified that they had not issued any NOC to these establishments. Town Planner Sandeep Sharma said these buildings were illegal and no NOC had been issued to these seven buildings. No construction work is permissible within a radius of 2250 metres from the median of the NH-21-A.

A perusal of the proceedings of the zila parishad showed that these buildings have been established by Sitaar Mohammad near Baddi Petrol Pump, Mr Raj Singh village Malpur, Mr Such Singh village Makhnumajra, Darshan Singh Saini, M/s Neelan House Baddi and Mr Madan Lal at Baddi. Then there is a pharmaceutical unit M/s Health-Biotech.

When contacted, officials of the electricity department said they would inquire as to how they had been granted power connections despite having no NOC from the TCP Department. Ruing the lackadaisical attitude of the officials to check such illegal connections, Mr Ramkumar said the departments merely shrugged their onus by fulfilling paper formalities while no efforts were made to disconnect them.

He said he had directed the officials to take stern action against such offenders. He added that a common man suffered while the rich got away by such illegal acts. He pointed out as many as eight to 10 cases of tubewells were pending with the IPH which had not been granted for years but these illegal connections were issued without even ascertaining the mandatory NOC.

Kangra, December 1
Mr Rajesh Kumar (45) of Backloo of Chamba district has been fruitlessly searching for his son Sonu who was taken by a Swami for imparting him good education and later communicated to Sonu’s parents through a letter that he (Sonu) had been missing from his Ashram.

On August 23, 2000, Rajesh Kumar, balloon seller, was at Manimahesh Pilgrimage to earn livelihood and Swami Hari Harnand Puri of Adayot Saniyas Ashram of Pathankot took 1990 born Sonu from his mother Prakashu Devi with a promise to provide him with good education. That was the last day when the mother saw his son as after a few months Rajesh Kumar received a letter from the Swami that his son had gone missing from the ashram.

“My trauma started and I approached all to get my son traced”, says Rajesh Kumar. Meanwhile the Swami got an anticipatory bail from the Sessions court on January 21, 2002 when Rajesh Kumar moved court. Rajesh Kumar said here today he was poor and without influence. He said, “No one feels my pain and agony for the past six years. There is none to help me”.

He said a missing report with the Dalhousie police station was lodged by him but Sonu could not be traced. He said he had approached the Deputy Commissioner and the S.P.Chamba, Director General of Police Himachal and even the state Human Rights Commission but Sonu could not be traced.

A hope kindled in Rajesh Kumar a few days back when he read a report in a vernacular paper that a boy who tells his name as Sonu was brought up by one Jamunadas of Sainik Colony Sanjay Nagar, Bareilly Uttar Pradesh since March 2002. The newspaper carried a photograph of the child of 2002 and a recent one. The report added child could not give details of his whereabouts when he was found near Roadways Workshop at Bareilly so he was brought up by Jamunadas.

Rajesh Kumar carrying press clippings with him asks the authorities to help him in getting the child identified after a DNA test so that he gets his Sonu back. He said he did not dare to go on his own to Bareilly with the claim that Sonu was his son if authorities did not help him in the identification of his son. He said no government official or agency was coming forward to help unite the father and the son after six years.

Shimla, December 1
Mr Des Raj Sharma, President, Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC), has sought the disqualification of Mr Sukh Ram, a senior leader, from the Vidhan Sabha under the Anti-Defection Law on the ground that the merger of the HVC with the ruling Congress was illegal.

In a petition filed before the Speaker, Mr Gangu Ram Musafir, today, Mr Sharma alleged that resolution on the basis of which the Election Commission had upheld the merger of the HVC with the Congress was a document in which signatures of members were forged. He said the order of the commission had been challenged before the Delhi High Court and pending adjudication.

Mr Sharma said Mr Bhagat Ram, former MLA, and Mr Dharma Dass, member of the executive council of the party, had field an affidavit in the high court. Mr Sukh Ram had misled the elections commission by presenting documents which carried the forged signatures of members. Thus, Mr Sukh Ram was liable for disqualification under the Anti-Defection Law.

Shimla, December 1
The magnificent town hall building, housing the local municipal corporation office, will be the second heritage structure to be taken up for the restoration work in the capital city. This was stated by the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, while taking stock of the progress in the restoration work being carried out in the historical Gaiety Theatre Complex.

The complex will be the first heritage building to be restored to its original shape by requisitioning the services of experts from this field. He said after the completion of the restoration work the complex would become a top class cultural centre equipped with all modern facilities. It would go a long way in promoting cultural activities in the state. The Chief Minister directed the authorities to speed up the restoration work while ensuring that top quality material was being used. 

Palampur, December 1
Mr B.B.L. Butail, local MLA and Chief Political Adviser to Chief Minister, today called upon the officials to complete all on-going development projects in the Palampur region in the next six months so that the same could be opened to the public. He said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had already directed all the heads of departments to personally monitor all the development projects and make efforts to complete the same in time.

Addressing government officials here today, Mr Butail said there was no shortage of funds as the Chief Minister had sanctioned adequate funds for the projects. He regretted that most of the projects were running behind the schedule and government would not tolerate more delay in their completion.

Mr Butail said the construction of the Civil Hospital, mini-secretariat and Government Degree College complexes was behind schedule. He said the dispute over the construction of local municipal complex had been settled and its construction would be resumed by the end of this month.