Delhiites go without power

It was a powerless Sunday for Delhiites as the capital faced a massive shortage of 400 MW due to shut down of the Naptha Jhakri power plant and low frequency in the northern grid due to overdrawing by neighbouring states, PTI reports from New Delhi.

Naptha Jhakri, which supplies roughly 350 MW to the capital, was shut down due to landslides and heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh, sources said. There was a shortage of 270 MW.

Air India aims for 200-strong fleet

Air India is aiming for a fleet strength of 200 aircraft in order to match its peers such as Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Emirates, PTI reports from Mumbai.

The merged Air India-Indian is presently in the process of acquiring 111 Boeing and Airbus aircraft which will take its fleet to 140 after phasing out some of its old aircraft by 2011.

The airline is also mulling an acquisition of 60 more aircraft from Boeing and Airbus to support its  plan to create a European hub.

11 passengers electrocuted

At least 11 people were killed and about 40 seriously injured on Sunday after a high tension electricity wire fell on a passenger bus near Deoband in Saharanpur district, PTI reports from Lucknow.

The Uttarakhand roadways bus was on way to Roorkee from Deoband when the mishap occurred, police said. 
The injured were admitted to the district hospital in Saharanpur where several of the passengers were stated to be critical. Officials said it was a clear case of negligence by the power officials.

Journalist dies in landslide

A television reporter was killed on Sunday while a cameraman and driver were injured in a landslide near Chattru in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahual and Spiti district, PTI reports from Shimla.

Lahual and Spiti Deputy Commissioner S Rathore said over phone that a vehicle of Zee TV was going for news coverage to Chandratal pond when it got stuck in the mud on the road near Chattru. The trio was then hit by a landslide. While the cameraman and the driver managed to flee, the TV reporter was crushed.

Channel charged for insulting flag

A school boy filed a police complaint against a private television channel for allegedly “insulting” the national flag during a music programme aired last night, reports PTI from Surat on Sunday.

 Saurabh Vinod Ramchandani — a 10th Std student — has alleged that in an Independence day-related programme on television, the national tricolour shown in the background of the programme was not positioned correctly.  Several luminaries including Kapil Dev, singer Bappi Lahri, Himesh Reshammiya and others present on the show did not notice the aberration, he alleged.

While noting that depicting national flag incorrectly is “insulting”, the complainant asked police to take strict action against those responsible for degrading the national flag.