Himachal Pradesh elections: 30 per cent voting till noon

November 4, 2012

Shimla, November 4: A moderate 30 per cent polling was recorded till noon today in the election to the 68-member Assembly in hill state of Himachal Pradesh.

Polling had begun on a dull note apparently due to cold weather conditions. The minimum temperature was hovering around freezing point in Chopal in Shimla district and in Kaza area.

"At least seven EVMs were replaced due to malfunctioning, four of them in Kullu and one each on Shimla and Bilaspur," Himachal's Chief Electoral Officer Narinder Chauhan said.

Polling has been peaceful and no untoward incident has been reported, election officials said.

They said that average voting was below eight per cent in the first hour but it crossed 18 per cent by 10.00am. The poll percentage in the last election was 71.61 per cent.

While a turn out 25 to 30 per cent turn out was reported from lower areas of Kangra, Hamirpur, Una and Bilaspur till noon, some polling booths in Palampur, Nagrota and Hamirpur recorded 45 to 50 per cent voting.

In Shimla district, 30 per cent polling was reported in Rampur, 28 per cent in Rohroo, 33 per cent in Theog and 22 per cent in Jubbal while it as 22 per cent in Shimla town.

Long queues of voters which included a large number of women were seen at the polling booths in the lower areas. In Sirmaur district 13 per cent polling was recorded by 10.00am but it picked up later and touched 30 per cents by noon.

Union Commerce and Industries minister, Anand Sharma, who cast his vote a Kelston polling booth in Shimla, claimed that the Congress would win and form the government.

Chief minister P K Dhumal, who exercised his franchise in Samirpur, which in now a part of his Hamirpur constituency, claimed that BJP would repeat its poll performance and win 45 seats against 41 seats it won in 2007 Assembly polls.

HPCC president and former chief minister V B Singh cast his ballot at Rampur. Many voters complained that delimitation of constituencies had become a hurdle for them in exercising their franchise.

There are 459 candidates in the fray including the Chief Minister, the HPCC chief, all ten Cabinet ministers, leader of the opposition Vidya Stokes, 63 sitting MLAs and a large number of former ministers and MLAs.

The electorate comprises 46.08 lakh voters, including 22.31 lakh women. Counting of votes will take place on December 20.

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Indian Air Force’s Tejas fighter jet crashes during Dubai air show

News Network

November 21,2025

An Indian Air Force (IAF) Tejas fighter jet crashed on Friday, November 21, afternoon during its aerial demonstration at the Dubai Air Show, plunging to the ground at around 2:10 pm local time while performing a manoeuvre before thousands of spectators.

The IAF confirmed the incident, stating that a Tejas aircraft participating in the show had crashed and that further details were being gathered. An Air Force spokesperson said more information would be shared after initial assessments.

The crash sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky near the airport, causing panic among visitors, including families and children who had gathered to watch the display. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the pilot managed to eject before the aircraft went down. Emergency response teams rushed to the scene, and officials have not released information on casualties or damage so far.

The Tejas is a 4.5-generation, multi-role fighter aircraft developed indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Designed for versatility, it is capable of offensive air support, close combat, ground attack missions and maritime operations. The aircraft family includes single-seat fighters and twin-seat trainers for both the Air Force and Navy.

HAL describes the latest version, the LCA Mk1A, as the most advanced in the series, featuring an AESA radar, an upgraded electronic warfare suite with radar-warning and self-protection jamming, smart multifunction displays, a digital map generator, a combined interrogator–transponder system and a modern radio altimeter. These enhancements significantly improve the aircraft’s combat capability and survivability.

Further updates from IAF and UAE authorities are awaited.

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Chaos continues as IndiGo cancels more flights including 73 from Bengaluru airport

News Network

December 4,2025

Domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights from three major airports — Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru — on Thursday, December 4, as the airline struggles to secure the required crew to operate its flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots.

While the number of cancellations at Mumbai airport stands at 86 (41 arrivals and 45 departures) for the day, at Bengaluru, 73 flights have been cancelled, including 41 arrivals, according to a PTI report that quoted sources.

"IndiGo cancelled over 180 flights on Thursday at three airports-Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru," the source told the news agency.

Besides, it had cancelled as many as 33 flights at Delhi airport for Thursday, the source said, adding, "The number of cancellations is expected to be higher by the end of the day."

The Gurugram-based airline's On-Time Performance (OTP) nosedived to 19.7 per cent at six key airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — on December 3, as it struggled to get the required crew to operate its services, down from almost half of December 2, when it was 35 per cent.

"IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, leading to cancellations and huge delays in its operations across the airports," a source had told PTI on Wednesday.

Chaos continued at several major airports for the third day on Thursday because of the cancellations.

A spokesperson for the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru said that 73 IndiGo flights had been cancelled on Thursday.

At least 150 flights were cancelled and dozens of others delayed on Wednesday, airport sources said, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, according to news agency Reuters.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation, as well as its plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

It may be mentioned here that the pilots' body, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze".

The FIP said it has urged the safety regulator, the DGCA, not to approve airlines' seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services "safely and reliably" in accordance with the New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

In a letter to the DGCA late on Wednesday, the FIP urged the DGCA to consider re-evaluating and reallocating slots to other airlines, which have the capacity to operate them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if IndiGo continues to "fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages."

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