Tourists assaulted

At least six tourists were assaulted by policemen, who were allegedly in an inebriated condition, in Mussoorie, sparking protests in the hill resort following which four personnel were today transferred. The four policemen allegedly entered into scuffle a with a group of tourists at Mall Road in Mussoorie, 32 kms from here, last night. Later, they beat up the tourists with batons. The policemen also hurled abuses at local people, who today held protests here demanding action against them. All the injured tourists were taken to local hospital and were discharged after treatment. Police did not disclose the identity of the tourists.

CM asks bankers to raise CD ratio

Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank has told government officials and bankers to make sincere efforts for raising the credit deposit (CD) ratio to the national average of 60 percent. Chairing a meeting of the State-Level Bankers Committee (SLBC), Nishank said that there is huge growth potential in various sectors related to horticulture, medicinal herbs and tourism. He said that officials must expedite the implementation of welfare schemes launched by the government and coordinate with bankers, so that residents of the state can get loans easily -- making the CD ratio of the state meet with the national average. The state currently has a CD ratio of 49.78 per cent, against the national average of 60 percent. The chief minister also asked bankers to open more branches across the state.

Mild quake in state

An earthquake of moderate intensity hit Uttarakhand early Wednesday morning, the meteorological office in Pune said. The quake, measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale and recorded at 4.47 am, had its epicentre in Pithoragarh district of the hill state, it said.

Power crisis as hydropower project shuts

Power supply to states of north India including Delhi was affected as the 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri hydel power project in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district was temporarily shut down by the authorities on Thursday after the level of silt rose in the Sutlej river. "The silt content in the river suddenly rose more than the permissible limit of 7,500 ppm (parts per million). We have no other option but to suspend power generation," Vijay Verma, deputy general manager of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL), told.

He said the sudden inflow of the silt was due to heavy rainfall in the catchment of the river on which the project is based. "We are constantly monitoring the silt level. The project is likely to resume generation after midnight (Friday)," he said. This was the first time the plant had to be shut down this season. SJVNL, a joint venture between the central government and the Himachal government, daily generates about 38 million units, which are supplied to Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Lawyers call off strike

Lawyers of Uttarakhand have called off their strike and returned on Thursday to courts after the arrest one more policeman allegedly involved in misbehaviour with advocates in Nainital district on Monday night. "Bar Council of Uttarakhand as well as Uttarakhand High Court Bar Association have called off their strike following the arrest of all the accused in the case," said Razia Beg, Chairperson of Bar council of Uttarakhand. One more constable allegedly involved in the case was arrested last evening, said Mohan Singh Bangyal, Senior Superintendent of Police, Nainital. With this arrest, the number of police personnel taken into custody in connection with the incident at Jyotikote area has gone up to six. Four advocates-- Ravi Babulkar, Sushil Vashishtha, Yogesh Pachoulia and Anil Bist-- were returning after attending a wedding when they were stopped by police at Jyolikot. The men in uniform allegedly misbehaved with the advocates and beat them up when they resisted. Agitated over the incident, the advocates across the state had held protest demonstration, following which police arrested four constables and one Sub-Inspector, the incharge of Jyolikot police post, on Tuesday. However, the action failed to pacify the advocates who yesterday went on strike to press for the arrest of all the accused.