Mercury plunges in north, 11 die

New Delhi (PTI): Cold wave conditions have intensified across northern India, killing 11 people in Uttar Pradesh since Thursday.

The mercury plunged, freezing lakes and rivers in the higher ranges of Himachal Pradesh and triggering icy winds in other parts of the region.

Dense fog continued to envelop large areas of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, disrupting vehicular traffic, movement of trains and flights and throwing normal life out of gear.

Three persons each died in Ballia and Mau while one each died in Jaunpur, Basti, Bhadohi, Azamgarh and Kushinagar because of cold, official sources said.

Bareily, recording 7 degrees celsius, was the coldest place in Uttar Pradesh while Lucknow shivered at 8 degrees, the Met office said. The snow and rain forecast in the hills of adjacent Uttaranchal could aggravate the cold conditions.

A cold wave swept most parts of Himachal Pradesh as the higher hills and high mountain passes had intermittent snow and night temperatures hovered around the freezing point in the mid- and high hills.

594 doctors? jobs scrapped

Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Thursday quashed the selection of 594 assistant surgeons by the state public service commission and also directed the commission to conduct fresh interviews of the candidates.

The judge further directed the commission to issue a notification inviting applications against 164 vacancies referred to the commission by the health and medical education department.

The appointments were challenged by nearly 200 candidates who failed to clear the selection process on the ground that the criteria adopted by the government for the selection was arbitrary. The petitioners had submitted that only 40 marks were reserved for academic qualifications whereas 100 marks were set for the viva voce.

The judge observed that the commission was aware that the criteria envisaged was not in accordance with the law and reservation of 100 marks for viva voce against 40 for other criteria was in violation of Supreme Court judgments.

Javelin throw kills student

Alibag (PTI): A student of KMC College died on Thursday after receiving injuries during a javelin throw competition in the college.

Avinash Jagan More, 17, died on the college grounds during the event being held as part of the annual sports day. Three employees of the college, responsible for ensuring students? safety, have been arrested.

Bride rebels

Muzaffarnagar (PTI): A bride-to-be in Purqazi town of the district on Thursday refused to marry an ?overaged? groom and instead tied the knot with a man who had come to attend the wedding. When Shabana, 20, refused to marry the 30-year-old-groom from Deoband, a hurriedly called panchayat decided in her favour and let her marry another man, police said.

Anara case

Jammu (PTI): Three officials, including the Jammu city superintendent of police, were suspended on Friday for allowing the electronic media to interview former Miss Jammu Anara Gupta, in police custody regarding a pornography case. The state home department ordered suspension of superintendent of police (operations) Gulzar Singh Salathia and subdivisional police officer Tanveer Jeelani on the recommendation of director-general of police Gopal Sharma.

Woman released

Dubai (PTI): An Indian woman, who was admitted to the psychiatric ward of a hospital allegedly at the insistence of her husband, has been released, the Indian consulate said. Vivette Marie Lokre was admitted to the hospital after a scuffle with her mother-in-law.

Surgery on twins

Guntur (PTI): The first phase of a rare surgery to separate a pair of Siamese twins joined at the heads was successfully performed at the government general hospital on Friday. Imported skin expanders were inserted in the heads of the 14-month-old twins, Veena and Vani, in a four-hour surgery by a team of six doctors.

India?s first monetary museum, showcasing the evolution of the country?s currency, will open in Mumbai on January 1. Exhibits ranging from the smallest coins to stored-value cards will be on display in three galleries.