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Snag in flange damaged Jhakri powerhouse: probe
HP has snow, widespread rain
CM seeks liberal financial assistance
CBI probe sought into ayurvedic course in |
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HPTDC to focus on marketing
Ministry tells CRI to increase JE vaccine production
Consumer forum gives relief to student
HC stays govt order
Body of another jawan recovered
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Snag in flange damaged Jhakri powerhouse: probe
Shimla, September 22 The five-member inquiry committee, headed by Mr R.K. Jain, chairperson of the Central Electricity Authority, during the inspection of the damaged powerhouse at Jhakri found that the flange at the joint combining the two inlets and an outlet of the labyrinth system had come off, as a result of which water from the penstock as well as the tailpool entered the powerhouse. There were no signs of strain on the flange and it was very much intact which indicated that it got detached due to the failure of welding. The committee questioned staff of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam and also interacted with the management before returning to New Delhi yesterday. The committee is likely to submit its report to the Union Ministry of Power within a week. During inspection of the powerhouse, it pointed out several defects. It was also revealed that the draft tube gate could not be closed because of a protruding iron rod, which blocked its way. Had the gate been closed, there would have been no backflow of water from the tail pool into the powerhouse. Further, the pumping machinery at the powerhouse was also inadequate. There were four pumps but only one of them was a submersible pump. Its capacity was only about 300 litre per second which was far from adequate for a such a situation. Even this pump could not be operated as power supply had to be cut off once water started entering the powerhouse. The committee asked the management to shift all equipment like the battery unit, control panels and other systems installed on the lower floors, which were submerged, to the more secure upper floors so that they were not damaged in such an eventuality. Engineers of Sultlej Jal Vidyut Nigam heaved a sigh of relief as not much damage has been caused to the machinery. Experts guiding the restoration and repair works have indicated that there will be no need to replace the battery unit which could be made functional after replacing the chemicals and recharging. But the life of the unit will be decreased. While the electro-mechanical parts of the six generating units, each of 250 MW, have not suffered any damage, some parts will have to be replaced. Engineers of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), which supplied the units, are already on the job. |
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HP has snow, widespread rain
Shimla, September 22 Reports said Baralacha Pass, Lady of Keylong, Suraj Tal, Chander Tal and Petsio in Lahaul and Spiti district had snow, while rain lashed other areas of the district. Snow was also reported in Kibber village, the highest village in the world at an altitude of 16,000 feet, of the district. Higher reaches of Kinnaur also received a fresh spell of snowfall today, plummeting night and day temperatures in the region. The other areas of the district had been experiencing rainfall since morning. The 13,050-foot high Rohtang Pass, which is called the gateway to Lahaul and Spiti, was open to vehicular traffic and sources said it had received intermittent snowfall since last night. Mountain peaks of Hanuman Tibba, Devi Tibba, Manali and Ladakh peaks and Seven Sisters peak in Kulu district had light snow, while other areas of the district were lashed by rain in the last 24 hrs. The Dhauladhar mountain ranges in Kangra district and the14,500-foot high Sach Pass and Mahalwar Dhar in Chamba district also experienced snowfall, bringing a drop in the day and night temperatures in the region. Torrential rains lashed Shimla and its surrounding areas for the second day today, forcing people to take out woollens. The town was engulfed by dense fog in the morning, reducing visibility to a few metres only. Widespread rains were also reported from Kangra, Solan, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi, Una and Sirmour districts of the state, plummeting day and night temperatures there. Beas river was in spate following heavy rain today and several link roads in Sarkaghat sub-division in Mandi district were damaged and many villagers cut off from the rest of the country.
— UNI |
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CM seeks liberal financial assistance
Shimla, September 22 Discussing problems of the state with the visiting members of the Planning Commission, Dr Sayeeda
Hafeez, here today he said that Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, while announcing a financial package of Rs 4000 crore for the state had assured inclusion of the proposed 94 km long
Bhanupalli-Bilaspur broad guage Railway line in the national project to break the myth that the hill areas were not fit for construction of broad guage Railway. He said that the line had further been proposed to be extended from Bilaspur to Rampur and on one side and to Mandi on the other to connect the narrow guage Railway line at Jogindernagar. He also urged the member to provide funds for expediting work on the Nangal Talwara railway which was moving at a slow pace. The Chief Minister informed that the state would be achieving two major milestones in connecting the land-locked Pangi Valley in Chamba district and Dodra-Kwar in Shimla district by motorable roads very shortly. He said that the government was committed to connect other land-locked areas like Bara Bhangal in Kangra district and the Pandrah Beesh area of Kinnaur. Dr Sayeeda Hafeez lauded the state for leading the nation in primary education sector and inspire other states in the promotion of women’s education. She expressed concern over the declining sex ratio of women in some of the districts of the state and urged the Chief Minister to take notice of the development. She assured that the Planning Commission would be liberal in providing funds for promotion of traditional art and craft activities besides assisting in finding markets for the same so that rural artisans get employment. She said that the rural employment guarantee scheme had been formulated to provide minimum of 100 days employment to the rural people which required implementation with zeal for positive outcome. Later Dr Syeeda Hameed , accompanied by Mr Meenakshi Datta Ghosh, Principal Adviser, Planning Commission, held a meeting with the state government officers to review the performance of annual plan 2004-05 and quarterly performance review for June ending for the year 2005-06. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretaries, Heads of Departments and other senior officers of the state government. Dr Syeeda lauded the performance of the state in plan implementation which had been 103 per cent in last three years of the 10th five-year plan. She called for new initiatives on reforms front and stressed that schemes under Bharat Nirman Yojna should also get priority and special attention of the state. She appreciated the implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and said the state deserved a pat for literacy rate of 77 per cent. Mr S.S. Parmar, Chief Secretary, earlier said that Himachal Pradesh was laying emphasis on optimum utilization of the plan funds and it was one of the first state to transfer committed liabilities from plan to non plan so that funds meant for development were utilised for that purpose only. |
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CBI probe sought into ayurvedic course in 70 centres
Hamirpur, September 22 Addressing a press conference, Mr Rajinder Rana, joint in charge of the BJP’s media cell, said that permission was given to 70 institutions to start the course with 40 seats each even though the government did not seek approval from the Central Council of Indian Medicine. “Now there is a question mark on the validity of the courses run by these institutions. Moreover, out of the 40 seats, there were six seats reserved for the management and an amount of Rs 2 lakh was taken from each candidate admitted. We want an inquiry into all this,” he said. He further alleged that a majority of the 120 institutions given permission to start courses under the State Council of Vocational Training (SCVT) had deposited Rs 20,000 as inspection fee. But despite this no inspection was done and permission was given to these institutions. “The future of these students hangs in the balance and people want to know who all were involved in this,” he said. |
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HPTDC to focus on marketing
Shimla, September 22 As compared to last year, the occupancy at most of the hotels of the HPTDC has shown considerable improvement during the monsoon period, which is basically a lean period for the tourism industry. As a result of the special monsoon Devidarshan package, covering the famous shrines of Chamunda, Chintpurni and Jawalamukhi , occupancy at its hotels in these temple towns has gone up by almost 20 per cent. “Since our hotels have shown far better occupancy during the monsoons as a result of the special packages we are shortly going to announce and vigorously publicise the winter discounts,” said a senior HPTDC functionary. The discounts varying from 25 to 50 per cent were offered during the monsoon season from July 5 to September 14. He said that the staff at the marketing offices at Chennai, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Mumbai was personally getting in touch with schools and corporate houses to boost the tourist inflow to the state. The website of the HPTDC also gives complete details of these special offers. Though the HPTDC had been offering discounts at its hotels during the off season but with hardly any publicity and special packages, there were few takers. |
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Ministry tells CRI to increase JE vaccine production
Kasauli, September 22 The CRI is the only institute in the country manufacturing JE vaccine. Nearly 10 lakh doses are produced annually and it caters to the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, etc., where the disease has been striking frequently. The fact that more than 1,360 deaths have been reported due to lack of vaccination in Gorakhpur till early September the government had to import vaccine at an exorbitant price. Director of the CRI Dr Sehgal said the institute was trying to increase the JE vaccine production to 20 lakh doses per year. He said large-scale production required breeding of mice to a proportionate level as the vaccine was manufactured from mice’s brain. Further the institute was also trying to graduate to tissue culture technique which entailed large investment. Officials of the institute said that they would require trained staff of 300 to increase production to 50 lakh doses per year. Also separate animal houses for breeding mice would be required. This would take a year and production of 40-45 lakh doses could be expected by the end of fourth year, they added. The institute had been earlier grappling with the problem of outstanding dues which ran into crores. A number of states like Assam, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, etc., had outstanding payments of crores which had not been paid since the early nineties. This was streamlined later and it was decided to take 90 per cent payments in advance. Sources also opined that states preferred to import the vaccine rather than buying it from CRI as the deals could fetch them other benefits. Recent decision of the ministry to manufacture the required quantity here would now help the government in economising their expenditure in controlling this disease in the future. |
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Consumer forum gives relief to student
Sundernagar, September 22 The complainant had filed a complaint before the forum that Gian Chand had given advertisement in a newspaper on August 22, 2003 that candidates should contact him for admission to B.Ed. course. The complainant contacted him and he told that he would charge Rs 76000 and agreed that he be given Rs 49500 as advance and he would take the rest of amount after the admission. The complainant paid Rs 49500 and was told that she would be admitted B.Ed classes but she did not get the call even after the expiry of session. At this she issued a legal notice to Gian Chand but he did not pay the amount. She later filed a complaint with the forum for the return of money and claimed compensation. The forum, in its order held Gian Chand guilty and directed him to pay Rs 49500 along with a interest of 6 per annum. The forum also directed him to pay Rs 2000 as cost of the complaint. |
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HC stays govt order
Shimla, September 22 |
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Body of another jawan recovered
Shimla, September 22 Arvind Sharda, Superintendent of Police, Kinnaur, said the body was sighted at Kasang, 5 km downstream the Sutlej from Kharo, last night and retrieved today. The body was on the opposite bank of the river. Efforts were being made to bring the body to the other bank so that it could be handed over to the Army authority. The body was badly mutilated and it was not possible to recognise it. — PTI |
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