Shimla, June 19
Power generation resumed after eight days at the 1,500-MW Nathpa-Jhakri project this afternoon. Engineers of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) decided to start the project after the discharge in the Sutlej started declining after attaining the peak of 1,550 cumecs last evening. The first unit of 250 MW started functioning at noon and four units out of total six had been made operational by the evening.

The project was shut down on June 11 after the level of silt suddenly shot up to 10,500 ppm in the Spiti river due to melting of accumulated snow. In all, the closure has caused a loss of about 300 million units (worth about Rs 72 crore) to the SJVN.

Meanwhile, its huge hydel potential of 20,000 MW notwithstanding, the hill state will have to bank on thermal power to meet the peak demand during the winter. With most of the projects already allotted or earmarked for the private sector and central agencies, the state will require at least 1000 MW of power even after exploitation of the entire hydel potential.

The peak requirement has almost doubled from 550 MW to over 1050 MW over the past four years. As hydel generation declines to about 20 per cent during the lean winter months the state will require five-times the installed capacity. Engineers of the Himachal Power Corporation (HPC) anticipate a demand for 5000 MW over the next 15 years which makes it evident that the state will have to set up thermal power projects to meet the winter shortfall.

The corporation has drawn up a long-term plan to generate 5,000 MW by 2022. In the first phase, 3010 MW of installed capacity will be created by 2017. The corporation will generate hydel power to the tune of 1500 MW on its own and execute projects with an aggregate generation capacity of 500 MW in public-private-partnership. Besides, it also plans to generate 10 MW of solar power.

All this will not be enough to meet the peak winter requirement and to bridge the peak demand and supply gap, the corporation proposes to set up thermal plants to generate 1000 MW of power.

Out of the total 20,564 MW of identified hydel potential 6393 MW has already been harnessed and projects with an aggregate capacity of 6120 MW were under various stages of implementation.

Shimla, June 19
The Kinnaur and Shimla police has detained nearly 50 Tibetans for trying to illegally cross over into Tibet from the border areas of Kinnaur in a bid to disrupt the carrying of the Olympics torch.

The police detained about 12 Tibetans at Jangi without valid documents for entering the inner circle. The Tibetan are learnt to have confessed to the police that they wanted to enter Tibet so as to cause disruption in the carrying of the Olympic torch into China.

The police has also arrested Tibetans from Rampur, Rekong Peo and Shiplkia, who too were ultimately heading for Tibet. The police said the Tibetans had also admitted that they had earlier visited the entire area to have an idea about the route to be taken.

The police officials said in case the detained Tibetans are unable to produce valid documents a case would be registered against them for trying to illegally enter into the prohibited inner circle, where permission had to be sought, especially for foreigners.

Nahan: The Uttarakhand police released 50 Tibetan protesters at Kullhal on Yamuna Bridge, near Paonta, late last night. They were brought in police vehicles after they were arrested at Dhar Chulla in the Pithoragarh area when they were trying to cross over to China via Nepal on Tuesday night.

The protesters include a large number of monks and women from various Tibetan settlements in the country. It is the second such incident after June 7 when 264 Tibetan protesters were released by the Utttarakhand police on the Paonta border. All 314 Tibetan protesters were camping at Bhooppur Tibetan settlement near Paonta. Tenjin and Happa Thering Tibetan, NGO leaders, who were among the 50 protesters released last night told The Tribune that 50 Tibetans was trying to sneak into the ‘China occupied Tibet’ via Nepal to extend their helping hand to their brothers and sisters being tortured by the Chinese army in their homeland.

Shimla, June 19
Even though there is no immediate threat of flash floods, the fact that there is lake formation at Parechu has put the district authorities in the five districts of Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur, Shimla, Mandi and Bilaspur on the alert.

Deputy commissioner of Kinnaur P.S. Drake confirmed that a lake had been formed at Parechu but there was no immediate threat of floods as the water was overflowing smoothly. “The water level in Parechu is being monitored through a satellite and it is only in case the lake bursts that there could be trouble for those residing along the banks of the Sutlej,” he said.

Besides regular monitoring of the situation, the Central Water Commission was also sending regular reports so that in case of any threat timely action can be taken. The DC added that undertaking precautionary measures during the monsoon was a routine affair and there was no reason for people to panic.

Drake admitted that the water level in the three rivers of Parechu, Spiti and Sutlej was rising in view of heavy rain. “Six control rooms have been opened to ensure that precautionary steps cane be taken the minute there is any indication of the water level going above the danger mark,” he said.

The district authorities in the other districts like Shimla, Bilaspur and Mandi too have sounded an alert and asked people to be vigilant and move to safer areas in case there is any information of floods.

He said there were heavy flash floods in 2000 and 2005 but during the past two years floods had been on a subdued scale. Shimla SDM (Urban) G.C. Negi also held a meeting with revenue officials and directed them to undertake assessment of any damage to life or property so that relief can be given to the affected people.

The government has divided the entire stretch of the Sutlej into 11 sectors, seven of which are in Kinnaur and five in the Rampur area of Shimla district.

Solan, June 19
With the Labour and Employment Department failing to upgrade its official website ever since it was launched a year back its utility has been severely reduced. Though in a bid to make it more effective the department has introduced a job portal where a job seeker can fill his educational profile and get interview calls from various industrial units, a comparison of results of gainful employment show its little utility.

The site continues to display the figures recorded on March 31, 2007, where the total number of unemployed youth registered in the state are 7,56,980. As per this website, as many as 25,856 candidates were registered for various jobs in the industries while 2,892 vacancies were notified. As many as 23,516 submissions were made against 2,892 vacancies comprising technical and highly skilled categories while merely 616 candidates could procure jobs. The wide gap between the vacancies notified and the jobs procured itself point towards how useful this online job website has proved.

In a bid to make it more popular the Industries Department had now issued instructions to its field-level officials to encourage investors to make use of this job portal. While facilitating the industry and job seekers it invites online registrations from job seekers as well as the investors. The website also provides career counselling though it is another matter that few are aware of it.

According to information procured from the department, as against the employee strength of about 425 nearly 145 posts are lying vacant, which include workforce at all levels.

According to information available, out of 105 employment exchanges and sub-exchanges almost 55 of them are being run by the senior assistants or clerks and in case they proceed on leave the office had to be shut down. The seriousness of successive governments in employing adequate staff is clear from the fact that even crucial field officers, which are the lifeline of the department, are in short strength. While there is a shortage of eight labour inspectors posts of as many as three labour officers posts are vacant. Out of 83 clerical posts 45 are vacant similarly vacancies exist from top to bottom confided an official who added that it was hence difficult to provide upgraded information.

Though the industrial units are seen advertising for various posts from time to time but they plead that the response was not very good.

Solan, June 19
In a surprise raid on the commercial power consumers of the Baddi-Barotiwala industrial area the executive engineer, A.S. Dhillon, today detected a number of unauthorised connections.

A team of power officials led by Dhillon ordered immediate disconnection of such unauthorised connections and further slapped penalty worth lakhs on them.

Giving details Dhillon said an agricultural consumer, Hukum Chand, was indulging in gross irregularities. He had given unauthorised power connections to a colony of jhuggis as well as to a brick kiln. The power connection had been given in the most non-technical manner, which could have endangered the lives of the jhuggi dwellers. As against a sanctioned load of 7.6 KW an excess load of nearly 9.3 KW was being withdrawn by him.

An FIR would be lodged against him for this gross power theft, besides slapping a penalty of Rs 1.50 lakh in lieu of compounding and another penalty of Rs 3.28 lakh in lieu of this unauthorised power use, confided Dhillon.

In another raid at Modern Complex, located on the Sai Road, the team found another unauthorised connection in use. The department immediately disconnected it.

Dhillon said there were some more reports of such unauthorised power connections and raids would be conducted to ascertain the facts. He said while discipline had been restored among the industrial consumers after they checked such misuse, the commercial consumers were found indulging in such mischief.

Mandi, June 19
Seventeen persons, including nine women, were arrested in connection with the case of alleged torture of Vimla, a resident of Haran. Vimla was allegedly assaulted and paraded in the village with her face blackened and shoes hung around her neck.

Human right activists have demanded a strict action against the main accused, including a ward member, a teacher and the up-pradhan of the local panchayat, who allegedly conspired to torture Vimla publicly on Sunday. They have termed these arrests as an “arrest-and-bail-out eyewash” to escape the public ire as the main accused enjoyed political protection.

Those arrested were: Nand Lal, a ward member who allegedly incited others to torture Vimla, Mast Ram, Duni Chand, Prita Devi, Lila Devi, Nrimla Devi. All of them were arrested yesterday and then bailed out late in the evening.

A police team lead by Sarkaghat DSP H.S. Thakur and SHO Sarkaghat Bhupinder Negi arrested 10 persons from Haran village today. These persons were named by Vimla and her family in the FIR. They included Shila Devi, Dinesh Kumar, Ram Lal, Vina Devi, Nirmla Devi, Roshna Devi, Chand, Sarla and Meher Chand. They were arrested under various bailable sections and hence released on bail later.

Solan, June 19
Not caring two hoots for the provisions laid down in the HP Police Act the transfer of Dharampur SHO Brajesh Sood within seven months of his joining has put a question mark over the working of the department. Though the Act clearly stipulates that no officer can be transferred within two years as it disturbs the crucial crime detection work, no norm appears to be followed in this case. The officer was transferred to Dharampur police station on November 12, 2007. This short-term posting had also defied the directions of the Apex Court, which had laid these norms so as to avoid transfers on political and manipulative grounds.

Similar transfer orders was also issued in April by the SP, which was reversed later. Interestingly, a report was sought from all districts SPs by the police headquarters (PHQ) sometime back where they had been directed to furnish information about transfer of police officers along with their time span. The district police that had executed such short-tenured postings in the past had received a firm rebuff for having defied the HP Police Act norms. Despite a stern direction on this issue from the PHQ such postings have again been made.

Sood had now been transferred as the district inspector on June 16 at Solan. Interestingly, Dhanveer Singh, who had been posted in his place from IRB, Junga, had been temporarily attached with the district and as per norms no officer on temporary charge can be made an SHO. Another such change was executed at Nalagarh where SHO K.D. Khan was transferred within four months from Nalagarh to IRB, Bangarh, in Una district. These orders were, however, issued by the PHQ.

Senior officials said all officers are directed time and again not to execute any short-time transfers and care is taken even during Police Establishment Committees to avoid such transfers.

Kullu, June 19
A public hearing was conducted today at Sainj about 50 km from here in the presence of project, revenue, forest, environment authorities and local people to invite and discuss objections of the villagers, NGOs and the right holders of the area in view of the proposed 100 MW Sainj Hydroelectricity Project to be constructed by Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL).

About 500 persons from various villages attended the public hearing, besides the district administration, forest officials and the Great Himalayan National Park authorities.

General manager, Sainj Hydroelectric Project, Sarabai said the doubts of the people relating to the project area have been clarified and expressed his satisfaction over the response of the people.

He said the Sainj project had been contemplated as run off the river scheme, which envisages construction of a barrage across Sainj river, near Niharani village. The powerhouse is proposed with two units of 50 MW each to be located near confluence of Jiwa Nullah and Sainj river, which is about 300 metre upstream of the proposed power house of the Parbati Stage-II Hydro-electric Project.

The GM further said the construction of the project would involve various activities, which would likely to have an impact on the life of people living in the area. HPPCL would like to improve the life of the people living in the area, besides mitigating any hardship that may arise due to the construction of the project he added.

The preliminary objective of the rehabilitation and resettlement plan to be implemented by HPPCL will be to compensate the families affected adversely by construction of the project. In this regard a scheme for resettlement and rehabilitation of person affected will be implemented in light of the notification of state government under the national rehabilitation and resettlement policy 2007 and national hydro policy 2008.