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Justice Jhanji sworn
in
Mr Justice Vijay Kumar Jhanji (left) being administered oath by Chief Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta at the HP High Court, Shimla, on Wednesday. — A Tribune photograph
MC wakes up to census ‘aberration’
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Power PSUs, companies to combat problems jointly
Snow in higher reaches of HP
Fellow passenger’s biscuit proves costly for man
DA instalment before Divali, says CM
Inter-state council to
meet on Oct 25
India, Pak students to raise funds
Tremors in Kangra valley
Birla workers flee for fear of backlash
House gutted
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Justice Jhanji sworn
in
Shimla, October 19 Mr V.K. Gupta, Chief Justice, administered the oath of office and secrecy to him at a simple ceremony. Born on March 22, 1944, Mr Vijay Kumar Jhanji, was enrolled an advocate with the Bar Council of Haryana and Punjab in 1971 and practised in civil constitutional and taxation matters at the High Court in Chandigarh. He was appointed Additional Judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court in March 1991 and became permanent judge in July 1992. Later he was shifted the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and had been serving there till his present posting. Mr Justice L.S. Panta, V.M. Jain, K.C. Sood, Deepak Gupta, Surjeet Singh, all judges of the High Court, Mr A.K. Goel, President, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mr T.N. Vaidya, District and Sessions Judge, Shimla, senior advocates and government officers were present on the occasion. |
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MC wakes up to census ‘aberration’
Dharamsala, October 19 The council has also sent a representation to the district administration, demanding that since the 2001 census figures were faulty, the reservation of wards should be done on the basis of the previous census. Concerned over the census figures, the prospective candidates for the elections due in December now want that the criteria for elections, like reservation of wards, should be fixed at least on the basis of the fresh electoral rolls if not the 1991 census report as they believe the latest census is highly misleading. If the figures of the census in 2001 are compared with the voter list for the urban local bodies’ elections prepared in 2000, there are only 13 minors in ward No. 10. A total of 961 voters figured on the electoral list for the municipal elections and the total population of the ward is only 974. Talking to The Tribune, Mr Rajiv Pintoo, who won from ward No. 10 in the last elections, said grants from various Central Government agencies were also sanctioned on the basis of the population figures given in the census report. “It is hard to believe that the population in most wards has declined as compared to the 1991 census. Besides the effect of such wrong data on the municipal elections, we are concerned that it may affect the pace of development in Dharamsala as the amount of grants may be reduced,” he said. In ward No. 1, the population has declined from 2,233 in 1991 to 1,078 in 2001. Similarly, in ward No. 7, it has taken a dip from 1,486 in 1991 to 1,221 in 2000 and in case of ward No. 10, it has reduced to 974 in 2001 from 1,773 in 1991. Another councillor said it appeared that the census had been prepared without any field work and the elections should not be conducted by taking it as the basis. “How can a ward be reserved for a SC candidate when the total figure of the SC population in the census is doubtful?” he questioned. Mr Anurag Khanna, vice-president of the Municipal Council, said the census figures had suddenly come under the scanner in view of the elections. “We have sent a representation to the district administration, demanding that either the data be modified or elections be held on the basis of the previous census,” he said. The district administration, however, maintains that since the census had been already notified, no changes could now be made in its data. |
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Power PSUs, companies to combat problems jointly Shimla, October 19 The initiative to form the Sutlej Basin Hydro Power Producers Forum has been taken by the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), which owns the country’s largest Nathpa Jhakri project. Besides the SJVN , the BBMB, the NTPC, the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Board (all public sector undertakings), private companies like J.P. Industries, Sorang Valley Power Company and Nezivedu Power Company which have been assigned projects in the basin, will be the members of the forum. The first meeting of the forum will be held on November 5. The Sutlej basin has the highest hydroelectric potential of about 9,000 MW which is being exploited through private, public and joint sector companies. Since the projects will be located one after other along the 250 km stretch of the river from Khab to Kol Dam, they have to operate in tandem. Hence the need for close coordination among the agencies involved in generation, says Mr Tarun Kapoor, Director of the SJVN. The operation of all projects, particularly the maintenance and desilting, would have to be synchronised to ensure smooth functioning. The measures required for checking the silt like treatment of vast catchment area and construction of storage structures require a joint effort. The forum will also take up common issues like the decision of the government to make release of “environmental discharge”, not less than 15 percent of the total discharge in the river, mandatory for hydroelectric projects. Further, experts have advised that keeping in view the ever increasing levels of silt in the river, storage projects should be preferred to run-of-the-river projects. The problem of excessive silt hampering the smooth operation of the Nathpa Jhakri project will also be faced by the 1,000 MW Karcham Wangtu project being set up upstream. However, it could be solved to a great extent if a 280 metre dam is constructed at Khab where the first project after the river enters the country from China is planned. Since such a high dam will more than double the cost of the Khab project, a cost sharing mechanism to distribute the cost among the beneficiary projects downstream will have to be worked out. All these issues could be dealt with effectively and efficiently if the agencies engaged in execution of projects come under a common platform.
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Snow in higher reaches of HP
Shimla, October 19 Baralacha Pass, Lady of Keylong, Suraj Tal, Chander Tal and Petsio in Lahaul and Spiti district were receiving light to moderate snowfall in the evenings almost daily, bringing a sharp drop in the day and night temperatures. Snowfall was also reported from Kibbar village of the district, the highest village in the world situated at an altitude of 16,000 ft. The 13,050 feet-high Rohtang Pass, which is also called the gateway to the Lahaul valley, was open for vehicular traffic, reports said, adding that the region received intermittent snowfall in the last 24 hours. Reports said Kinner Kailash, the Thulla peak and the Sangla-Kanda peak in Kinnaur district also received a fresh spell of snow last evening. Light rain and hailstorm lashed Shimla and the surrounding areas early today, bringing a sharp drop in the day temperatures.
— UNI |
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Fellow passenger’s biscuit proves costly for man Solan, October 19 He kept lying on the old bus stand the whole day unconscious yesterday. The onlookers who mistook him to be an alcoholic threw stones at him but none dared to bother about him. Even a traffic policeman on duty a few steps away did not bother about the incident. Desh Raj could not regain consciousness till late in the evening. The wife of a CRI employee saw him lying in that state on the road. The couple had come to Solan for some work. They informed senior officials at the CRI, Kasauli. It was at 5.15 p.m. on Monday that he was shifted to the regional hospital here by CRI officials. The police was informed and at 11 p.m. treatment could be started. On regaining consciousness, Desh Raj narrated his tale of woes. He recalled that a fellow sitting next to him had offered him biscuits after Pipli and since he too ate the same biscuits Desh Raj had no doubt of any kind. He said all he remembered was that within minutes of having consumed them he felt sleepy. His wife who lives in Delhi with their daughter arrived here this morning. She was shocked to see her husband’s plight. Blaming the police for inaction, she said it was impossible to believe that they had not seen him in that busy public place. The Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr P.D. Sharma, expressed shock at the attitude of the police. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Gianeshwar Singh, said he was unaware of the matter but would look into it.
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DA instalment before Divali, says CM
Shimla, October 19 “Last two DA arrears had already been paid to the employees, while another installment will be released soon,” he said while addressing the NGO federation of Kulu district. The Chief Minister said his government had provided benefits totalling around Rs 840 crore to the employees by implementing the recommendations of the fifth pay commission. The merger of 50 per cent DA into the basic salary had cost the state exchequer Rs 310 crore, he said. The Chief Minister said the state government would have a sympathetic view of the other demands of the employees.
— UNI |
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Inter-state council to
meet on Oct 25
Shimla, October 19 The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Delhi were expected to participate at the meeting which will discuss several inter-state issues. These included rationalisation of tax structure, power sharing in Thein Dam, Sutlej-Yamuna link and expeditious construction of some crucial inter-state roads, an official spokesman here said.
— PTI |
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India, Pak students to raise funds
Shimla, October 19 Funds will be raised by organising a concert at Aitchison College, Lahore, Asia’s leading educational intitution, in which cultural troupes from Meo College, Ajmer, and Modern School, Delhi, will participate. Mr Shamim Khan, Principal, Aitchison College, who is in the town along with a group of 42 students to play goodwill matches with the local Bishop Cotton School, said the event would be held in March, 2006, during the foundation day celebrations of the college. The money raised from the concert would be utilised in providing relief to the quake victims of the two countries. He said the concert had been planned in March as it took sometime to get the visas. Mr Shamim has been impressed with institutions like Meo School, Ajmer, Modern School, Delhi and YPS School, Patiala, which they visited over the past 20 days. |
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Tremors in Kangra valley
Kangra, October 19 Mr R.S. Negi, in charge of the Seismology Metro Laboratory at Naddi, told The Tribune that the earthquake measured 5 on the Richter scale and was experienced at 8.04 a.m. today. It lasted 20 seconds. Mr Negi said it was an aftershock of the October 8 earthquake. He said aftershocks might continue for some days more. Mr P.D. Chaudhary, ADM, Kangra, said no loss of life or property was reported from any part of the Kangra valley. |
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Birla workers flee for fear of backlash Baddi, October 19 With cases of rioting and voluntarily causing hurt being registered against at least 18 of them, around 80 workers have proceeded on leave. According to the management, while a few had sought leave, majority of them have left without intimation. Police inquires revealed many of them had left for their homes in Orissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The Deputy Commissioner has also instituted a magisterial inquiry into the incident after the receipt of a report from the SDM, Ms Rupali Thakur. The police had to fire six rounds in the air to disperse the rampaging mob. A protest march was also taken out by CITU activists in Shimla to press for a magisterial probe. Succumbing to pressure from trade unions, the DC had ordered a time-bound inquiry. Police officials maintained they had to fire in self-defence. Had they not taken that step, the agitating workers would have attacked them with bricks, rods and sticks, they added.
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House gutted
Kulu, October 19 Three fire engines were pressed into service to battle the flames. Mr Anand Pratap Singh, Superintendent of Police, said no loss of life was reported. The house belonged to Mr Sher Singh. The Additional District Magistrate, the Subdivisional Magistrate and the Additional Superintendent of Police, reached the spot to supervise the fire-fighting operation. A short circuit might have caused the fire, sources said.
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Holiday for women staff Shimla, October 19
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Undertrial escapes from police custody Nahan, October 19 As per the sources, it was for the third time that Kalyan Singh had escaped from the custody of the Sirmour police. Kalyan Singh was taken to Dehra Dun from Nahan Model Central Jail yesterday.
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Mr Justice Vijay Kumar Jhanji, was sworn in as judge of the Himachal High Court here today.
Mr V.K. Gupta, Chief Justice, administered the oath of office and
secrecy to him at a simple ceremony.
