PACL India Limited

Posted: 2009-12-10 by Ashutosh Kumar Send email

status of company whether trusted or not

According to the indian consumer complain forum people dealing with PACL(PEARL) ltd are facing many
problems. If interested visit http://www.consumercomplaints.in/complaints/83866/page/1.

However after further research it has been come to be known that, Branch office of fraud company
PACL(PEARL) seized,

The Guntur Police conducted a raid on the branch office of PACL (Pearls) India Limited at Vijayawada
following complaints that the company had cheated them. When there was no response from the officials
concerned at the branch office and the branch manager performed a vanishing trick, the police were
compelled to seize incriminating documents and sealed the office.
What is PACL India Limited and what fraud it has pulled upon the people and what prompted them to file
a criminal complaint against the company are the crucial questions. Let us find answers for them.
PACL India Limited is a Jaipur-based company which earlier started in the name of Pearls Company. It
has collected huge deposits from public in the guise of real estate business. Subsequently, it changed its
name into PACL India Limited. It still has been collecting deposits promising a piece of plot somewhere in
the country. It also promises to return deposits with interest at the rate of 12.5 per cent if it could not
register land in the depositors’ name 270 days after submitting the deposit. It also issues a deposit
certificate to that effect. The certificate is the crucial document where the rules are in small print. It says
the company has the liberty to change the allocation of land anywhere in the country subject to
availability. However, the company failed to return the deposits after the stipulated time of 270 days. And
it evaded the queries of the depositors on the registration of land. It stirred the hornet’s nest. Already
there have been discussions going on about the legality of the deposits. The depositors lodged a
complaint with the police and the branch office was closed. Still, the company has been collecting
deposits all over the country.
HOW IT FALLS UNDER PRIZE CHITS & MONEY CIRCULATION SCHEMES (BANNING) ACT, 1978.
The police stumbled upon the information while conducting the raid that it has been collecting deposits for
which it is not entitled as per Reserve Bank of India guidelines. Secondly, they have been offering
incentives and huge commissions to the members if they enrolled more members. This attracts the
provision of the Money Circulation Schemes Banning Act and that it is the last straw on the back of
company. Though the branch is closed in Vijayawada more than days ago, the company could not reopen
it as the local courts refused to give relief to the company. Now it is the turn of the police to conduct
similar raids in the rest of the country and close the company forever and making it refund the deposits to
the people. If the police at least now take suo motu action, it would save several lakhs of innocent people
from falling prey to the designs of the company.
 What are the symptoms of swine flu (H1N1)?

Symptoms of swine flu are similar to most influenza infections: fever (100F or greater), cough, nasal
secretions, fatigue, and headache, with fatigue being reported in most infected individuals. Some patients
also get nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. In Mexico, many of the patients are young adults, which made
some investigators speculate that a strong immune response may cause some collateral tissue damage.
Some patients develop severe respiratory symptoms and need respiratory support (such as a ventilator to
breathe for the patient). Patients can get pneumonia (bacterial secondary infection) if the viral infection
persists, and some can develop seizures. Death often occurs from secondary bacterial infection of the lungs;
appropriate antibiotics need to be used in these patients. The usual mortality (death) rate for typical
influenza A is about 0.1%, while the 1918 "Spanish flu" epidemic had an estimated mortality rate ranging
from 2%-20%. Swine flu in Mexico (as of April 2009) has had about 160 deaths and about 2,500 confirmed
cases, which would correspond to a mortality rate of about 6%, but these initial data have been revised and
the mortality rate currently in Mexico is estimated to be much lower. By June 2009, the virus had reached 74
different countries on every continent except Antarctica, and by September 2009, the virus had been
reported in most countries in the world. Fortunately, the mortality rate as of October 2009 has been low but
higher than for the conventional flu (average conventional flu mortality rate is about 36,000 per year;
projected novel H1N1 flu mortality rate is 90,000 per year in the U.S. as determined by the president's
advisory committee).

How is swine flu (H1N1) diagnosed?

Swine flu is presumptively diagnosed clinically by the patient's history of association with people known to
have the disease and their symptoms listed above. Usually, a quick test (for example, nasopharyngeal swab
sample) is done to see if the patient is infected with influenza A or B virus. Most of the tests can distinguish
between A and B types. The test can be negative (no flu infection) or positive for type A and B. If the test is
positive for type B, the flu is not likely to be swine flu (H1N1). If it is positive for type A, the person could
have a conventional flu strain or swine flu (H1N1). However, the accuracy of these tests has been
challenged, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not completed their
comparative studies of these tests. However, a new test developed by the CDC and a commercial company
reportedly can detect H1N1 reliably in about one hour; as of October 2009, the test is only available to the
military.

Swine flu (H1N1) is definitively diagnosed by identifying the particular antigens associated with the virus
type. In general, this test is done in a specialized laboratory and is not done by many doctors' offices or
hospital laboratories. However, doctors' offices are able to send specimens to specialized laboratories if
necessary. Because of the large number of novel H1N1 swine flu cases (as of October 2009, the vast
majority of flu cases [about 99%] are due to novel H1N1 flu viruses), the CDC recommends only hospitalized
patients' flu virus strains be sent to reference labs to be identified.

What treatment is available for swine flu (H1N1)?

The best treatment for influenza infections in humans is prevention by vaccination. Work by several
laboratories has recently produced vaccines. The first vaccine released in early October 2009 was a nasal
spray vaccine. It is approved for use in healthy individuals ages 2 through 49. This vaccine consists of a live
attenuated H1N1 virus and should not be used in anyone who is pregnant or immunocompromised. The
injectable vaccine, made from killed H1N1, became available in the second week of October. This vaccine is
approved for use in ages 6 months to the elderly, including pregnant females. Both of these vaccines have
been approved by the CDC only after they had conducted clinical trials to prove that the vaccines were safe
and effective. However, caregivers should be aware of the vaccine guidelines that come with the vaccines,
as occasionally, the guidelines change. Please see the sections below titled "Can novel H1N1 swine flu be
prevented with a vaccine?" and the timeline update for the current information on the vaccines.

Two antiviral agents have been reported to help prevent or reduce the effects of swine flu. They are
zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu), both of which are also used to prevent or reduce influenza A
and B symptoms. These drugs should not be used indiscriminately, because viral resistance to them can
and has occurred. Also, they are not recommended if the flu symptoms already have been present for 48
hours or more, although hospitalized patients may still be treated past the 48-hour guideline. Severe
infections in some patients may require additional supportive measures such as ventilation support and
treatment of other infections like pneumonia that can occur in patients with a severe flu infection. The CDC
has suggested in their interim guidelines that pregnant females can be treated with the two antiviral agents.

What are the symptoms of swine flu (H1N1)?

Symptoms of swine flu are similar to most influenza infections: fever (100F or greater), cough, nasal
secretions, fatigue, and headache, with fatigue being reported in most infected individuals. Some patients
also get nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. In Mexico, many of the patients are young adults, which made
some investigators speculate that a strong immune response may cause some collateral tissue damage.
Some patients develop severe respiratory symptoms and need respiratory support (such as a ventilator to
breathe for the patient). Patients can get pneumonia (bacterial secondary infection) if the viral infection
persists, and some can develop seizures. Death often occurs from secondary bacterial infection of the lungs;
appropriate antibiotics need to be used in these patients. The usual mortality (death) rate for typical
influenza A is about 0.1%, while the 1918 "Spanish flu" epidemic had an estimated mortality rate ranging
from 2%-20%. Swine flu in Mexico (as of April 2009) has had about 160 deaths and about 2,500 confirmed
cases, which would correspond to a mortality rate of about 6%, but these initial data have been revised and
the mortality rate currently in Mexico is estimated to be much lower. By June 2009, the virus had reached 74
different countries on every continent except Antarctica, and by September 2009, the virus had been
reported in most countries in the world. Fortunately, the mortality rate as of October 2009 has been low but
higher than for the conventional flu (average conventional flu mortality rate is about 36,000 per year;
projected novel H1N1 flu mortality rate is 90,000 per year in the U.S. as determined by the president's
advisory committee).

How is swine flu (H1N1) diagnosed?

Swine flu is presumptively diagnosed clinically by the patient's history of association with people known to
have the disease and their symptoms listed above. Usually, a quick test (for example, nasopharyngeal swab
sample) is done to see if the patient is infected with influenza A or B virus. Most of the tests can distinguish
between A and B types. The test can be negative (no flu infection) or positive for type A and B. If the test is
positive for type B, the flu is not likely to be swine flu (H1N1). If it is positive for type A, the person could
have a conventional flu strain or swine flu (H1N1). However, the accuracy of these tests has been
challenged, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not completed their
comparative studies of these tests. However, a new test developed by the CDC and a commercial company
reportedly can detect H1N1 reliably in about one hour; as of October 2009, the test is only available to the
military.

Swine flu (H1N1) is definitively diagnosed by identifying the particular antigens associated with the virus
type. In general, this test is done in a specialized laboratory and is not done by many doctors' offices or
hospital laboratories. However, doctors' offices are able to send specimens to specialized laboratories if
necessary. Because of the large number of novel H1N1 swine flu cases (as of October 2009, the vast
majority of flu cases [about 99%] are due to novel H1N1 flu viruses), the CDC recommends only hospitalized
patients' flu virus strains be sent to reference labs to be identified

What is the history of swine flu (H1N1) in humans?

In 1976, there was an outbreak of swine flu at Fort Dix. This virus is not the same as the 2009 outbreak, but
it was similar insofar as it was an influenza A virus that had similarities to the swine flu virus. There was one
death at Fort Dix. The government decided to produce a vaccine against this virus, but the vaccine was
associated with neurological complications (Guillain-Barré syndrome) and was discontinued. Some
individuals speculate that formalin, used to inactivate the virus, may have played a role in the development
of this complication in 1976. There is no evidence that anyone who obtained this vaccine would be protected
against the 2009 swine flu. One of the reasons it takes a few months to develop a new vaccine is to test the
vaccine for safety to avoid the complications seen in the 1976 vaccine. New vaccines against any flu virus
type are usually made by growing virus particles in eggs. A serious side effect (allergic reaction such as
swelling of the airway) to vaccines can occur in people who are allergic to eggs; these people should not get
flu vaccines. Individuals with active infections or diseases of the nervous system are also not recommended
to get flu vaccines.

Can novel H1N1 swine flu be prevented with a vaccine?

The best way to prevent novel H1N1 swine flu would be the same best way to prevent other influenza
infections, and that is vaccination. The CDC has multiple recommendations for vaccination based on who
should obtain the first doses when the vaccine becomes available (to protect the most susceptible
populations) and according to age groups. The CDC based the recommendations on data obtained from
vaccine trials and infection reports gathered over the last few months. The current (October 2009) vaccine
recommendations from the CDC say the following groups should get the vaccine as soon as it is available:

• pregnant women,

• people who live with or provide care for children younger than 6 months of age,

• health-care and emergency medical services personnel,

• people between 6 months and 24 years of age, and

• people from the ages of 25 through 64 who are at higher risk because of chronic health disorders
such as asthma, diabetes, or a weakened immune system.

Currently, the CDC is stating that people ages 10 and above are likely to need only one vaccine shot to
provide protection against novel H1N1 swine flu and further suggest that these shots will be effective in
about 76% of people who obtain the vaccine. New vaccine trial data showed that healthy adults produce
protective antibodies in about 98% of people in 21 days. Unfortunately, the vaccine shot in children ages 6
months to 9 years of age is not as effective as it is in older children and adults. Consequently, the CDC
currently recommends that for ages 6 months up to and including 9 years of age, the children obtain two
shots of the novel H1N1 vaccine, the second shot 21 days after the first shot.

Pregnant women are strongly suggested to get vaccinated as stated above. Although some vaccine
preparations (multidose vials) contain low levels of thimerosal preservative (a mercury-containing
preservative), the CDC still considers the vaccine safe for the fetus and mother. However, some vaccine
preparations that are in single-dose vials will not have thimerosal preservative, so those pregnant individuals
who are concerned about thimerosal can get this vaccine preparation when it is available.

Another type of vaccine (currently named Influenza A [H1N1] 2009 Monovalent Vaccine Live, Intranasal) has
been made available during the first week in October 2009. It is a live attenuated novel H1N1 flu vaccine
that contains no thimerosal, is produced by MedImmune, LLC, and is sprayed into the nostrils. This vaccine
is only for healthy people 2-49 years of age, and some data suggest that it is less effective in generating an
immune response in adults than the vaccine injection. The dosing schedule is as follows:

• Children 2-9 years of age should receive two doses (0.1 ml in each nostril; total equals 0.2 ml per
dose) -- the second dose should be given the same way about one month after the first dose
 • Children, adolescents and adults, 10-49 years of age should receive one dose -- (0.1 ml in each
nostril; total equals 0.2 ml per dose)

The CDC occasionally makes changes and updates its information on vaccines and other recommendations
about the current flu pandemic. The CDC states, "for the most accurate health information, visit
http://www.cdc.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO, 24/7." Caregivers should check the vaccine package inserts for
more detailed information on the vaccines when they become available. This article has an updated timeline
for novel H1N1 swine flu attached (see below) and provides the reader with current details about the
pandemic. The following is a list of the CDC-approved H1N1 vaccines and the companies that name and
manufacture them as of 10/29/09:

• Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine by Sanofi Pasteur

• Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine by Novartis

• Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine Live, Intranasal by MedImmune, LLC

• Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine by CSL Limited

The CDC says that a good way to prevent any flu disease is to avoid exposure to the virus; this is done by
frequent hand washing, not touching your hands to your face (especially the nose and mouth), and avoiding
any close proximity to or touching any person who may have flu symptoms. Since the virus can remain
viable and infectious for about 48 hours on many surfaces, good hygiene and cleaning with soap and water
or alcohol-based hand disinfectants are also recommended. Some physicians say face masks may help
prevent getting airborne flu viruses (for example, from a cough or sneeze), but others think the better use for
masks would be on those people who have symptoms and sneeze or cough. The use of Tamiflu or Relenza
may help prevent the flu if taken before symptoms develop or reduce symptoms if taken within about 48
hours after symptoms develop. Some investigators say that administration of these drugs is still useful after
48 hours, especially in high-risk patient populations .However, taking these drugs is not routinely
recommended for prevention for the healthy population because investigators suggest that as occurs with
most drugs, flu strains will develop resistance to these medications. Recently, the CDC made further
suggestions about the use of these antiviral medications. Dr. Schuchat, a CDC official, indicated that three
modifications were being suggested (Sept. 8, 2009) to the interim guidelines for use of Tamiflu and Relenza:

1. Patients with high-risk factors should discuss flu symptoms and when to use antiviral
medications; doctors should provide a prescription for the antiviral drug for the patient to use if the
patient is exposed to flu or develops flu-like symptoms without having to go in to see the doctor.

2. "Watchful waiting" was added as a response to taking antiviral medications, with the emphasis
on the fact that those people who develop fever and have a preexisting health condition should
then begin the antiviral medication.

3. The antiviral medications are the first-line medicines for treatment of novel H1N1 swine flu, and
most current cases of flu are novel H1N1 and are, to date, susceptible to Tamiflu and Relenza.

Your doctor should be consulted before these drugs are prescribed.

In general, preventive measures to prevent the spread of flu are often undertaken by those people who have
symptoms. Symptomatic people should stay at home, avoid crowds, and take off from work or school until
the disease is no longer transmittable (about two to three weeks) or until medical help and advice is sought.
Sneezing, coughing, and nasal secretions need to be kept away from other people; simply using tissues and
disposing of them will help others. Quarantining patients is usually not warranted, but such measures
depend on the severity of the disease. The CDC recommends that people who appear to have an influenza-
like illness upon arrival at work or school or become ill during the day be promptly separated from other
people and be advised to go home until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100 F [37.8 C] or
greater), or signs of a fever, without the use of fever-reducing medications. The novel H1N1 swine flu
disease takes about seven to 10 days before fevers stop, but new research data (Sept. 14, 2009) suggests
waiting until the cough is gone since many people are still infectious about one week after fever is gone. The
CDC has not yet extended their recommendations to stay home for that extra week.
Prevention and Precautions for Swine Flu
Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through droplets created while coughing or
sneezing by a person infected with swine flu. Infected person may be able to infect others
beginning one day before symptoms develop and up to seven or more days after becoming sick.

Stay away from people who display signs of swine flu. DO NOT TOUCH YOUR MOUTH
AND NOSE WITH YOUR HANDS. YOU MAY TOUCH SURFACES ON WHICH A PERSON
MAY HAVE EARLIER SNEEZED OR COUGHED. WASH & SANITIZE YOUR HANDS
FREQUENTLY

Information on the effectiveness of facemasks and respirators for decreasing the risk of swine
fluis extremely limited. Thus, it is difficult to assess their potential effectiveness in decreasing the
risk of swine flu (H1N1) virus transmission. In the absence of clear scientific data, the interim
recommendations below have been developed on the basis of public health judgment, the
historical use of facemasks and respirators in other settings for preventing transmission of
influenza and other respiratory viruses.

• You can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza
by covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the
tissue in the trash after you use it.

• Washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.
You can also use alcohol-based hand cleaners.

• Avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

• Trying to avoid close contact with sick people.

• Staying home from work or school if you are sick.

The impact of swine flu is becoming more severe everyday. If you suspect you have caught it, it
recommended that you stay at home to avoid infecting others. The virus typically spreads from
coughs and sneezes or by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the nose or mouth.
Symptoms are similar to those of seasonal flu, and may include fever, sneezes, sore throat,
coughs, headache, and muscle or joint pains

Because swine flu is a new virus, most people have no natural immunity. People older than age
50 are getting swine flu at far lower rates than younger people, which may be an evidence older
people may have some immunity from prior exposures to a similar virus
The process of precipitating snow is called snowfall. Snowfall tends to form within regions of upward motion
of air around a type of low-pressure system known as an extratropical cyclone. Snow can fall poleward of
their associated warm fronts and within their comma head precipitation patterns, which is called such due to
its comma-like shape of the cloud and precipitation pattern around the poleward and west sides of
extratropical cyclones. Where relatively warm water bodies are present, for example due to water
evaporation from lakes, lake-effect snowfall becomes a concern downwind of the warm lakes within the cold
cyclonic flow around the backside of extratropical cyclones. Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy.
Thundersnow is possible within a cyclone's comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands. In
mountainous areas, heavy snow is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the
terrain at elevation, if the atmosphere is cold enough.

Once on the ground, snow can be categorized as powdery when fluffy, granular when it begins the cycle of
melting and refreezing, and eventually ice once it packs down, after multiple melting and refreezing cycles,
into a dense mass called snow pack. When powdery, snow moves with the wind from the location where it
originally landed, forming deposits called snowdrifts which may have a depth of several meters. After
attaching to hillsides, blown snow can evolve into a snow slab, which is an avalanche hazard on steep
slopes. The existence of a snowpack keeps temperatures colder than they would be otherwise, as the
whiteness of the snow reflects most sunlight, and the absorbed heat goes into melting the snow rather than
increasing its temperature. The water equivalent of snowfall is measured to monitor how much liquid is
available to flood rivers from meltwater which will occur during the upcoming spring. Snow cover can protect
crops from extreme cold. If snowfall stays on the ground for a series of years uninterrupted, the snowpack
develops into a mass of ice called glacier. Fresh snow absorbs sound, lowering ambient noise over a
landscape due to the trapped air between snowflakes acting to minimize vibration. These acoustic qualities
quickly minimize, and reverse once a layer of freezing rain falls on top of snow cover. Walking across
snowfall produces a squeaking sound at low temperatures. For motion pictures, the sound of people walking
across snow is duplicated through the use cornstarch, salt, and cat litter.

The term snow storm can describe a heavy snowfall while a blizzard involves snow and wind, obscuring
visibility. Snow shower is a term for an intermittent snowfall, while flurry is used for very light, brief snowfalls.
Snow can fall more than a meter at a time during a single storm in flat areas, and meters at a time in rugged
terrain, such as mountains. When snow falls in significant quantities, travel by foot, car, airplane and other
means becomes highly restricted, but other methods of mobility become possible: the use of snowmobiles,
snowshoes and skis. When heavy snow occurs early in the fall, significant damage occurs to trees still in
leaf. Areas with significant snow each year can store the winter snow within an ice house, which can be
used to cool structures during the following summer. A variation on snow has been observed on Venus,
though composed of metallic compounds and occurring at a substantially higher temperature.
Extratropical cyclones can bring cold and dangerous conditions with heavy rain and snow with winds
exceeding 119 km/h (74 mph),[1] (sometimes referred to as windstorms in Europe). The band of precipitation
that is associated with their warm front is often extensive, forced by weak upward vertical motion of air over
the frontal boundary which condenses as it cools and produces precipitation within an elongated band,[2]
which is wide and stratiform, meaning falling out of nimbostratus clouds.[3] When moist air tries to dislodge
an arctic air mass, overrunning snow can result within the poleward side of the elongated precipitation band.
In the Northern Hemisphere, poleward is towards the North Pole, or north. Within the Southern Hemisphere,
poleward is towards the South Pole, or south.

Within the cold sector, poleward and west of the cyclone center, small scale or mesoscale bands of heavy
snow can occur within a cyclone's comma head pattern. The cyclone's comma head pattern is a comma-
shaped area of clouds and precipitation found around mature extratropical cyclones. These snow bands
typically have a width of 20 miles (32 km) to 50 miles (80 km).[4] These bands in the comma head are
associated with areas of frontogenesis, or zones of strengthening temperature contrast.[5]

Southwest of extratropical cyclones, curved cyclonic flow bringing cold air across the relatively warm water
bodies can lead to narrow lake-effect snow bands. Those bands bring strong localized snowfall which can
be understood as follows: Large water bodies such as lakes efficiently store heat that results in significant
temperature differences (larger than 13 °C or 23 °F) between the water surface and the air above.[6]
Because of this temperature difference, warmth and moisture are transported upward, condensing into
vertically oriented clouds (see satellite picture) which produce snow showers. The temperature decrease
with height and cloud depth are directly affected by both the water temperature and the large-scale
environment. The stronger the temperature decrease with height, the deeper the clouds get, and the greater
the precipitation rate becomes.[7]

In mountainous areas, heavy snowfall accumulates when air is forced to ascend the mountains and squeeze
out precipitation along their windward slopes, which in cold conditions, falls in the form of snow. Because of
the ruggedness of terrain, forecasting the location of heavy snowfall remains a significant challenge.[8]

Snow crystals form when tiny supercooled cloud droplets (about 10 μm in diameter) freeze. These droplets
are able to remain liquid at temperatures lower than −18 °C (0 °F), because to freeze, a few molecules in the
droplet need to get together by chance to form an arrangement similar to that in an ice lattice; then the
droplet freezes around this "nucleus." Experiments show that this "homogeneous" nucleation of cloud
droplets only occurs at temperatures lower than −35 °C (−31 °F).[9] In warmer clouds an aerosol particle or
"ice nucleus" must be present in (or in contact with) the droplet to act as a nucleus. Ice nuclei are very rare
compared to that cloud condensation nuclei on which liquid droplets form. Clays, desert dust and biological
particles may be effective,[10] although to what extent is unclear. Artificial nuclei include particles of silver
iodide and dry ice, and these are used to stimulate precipitation in cloud seeding.[11]

Once a droplet has frozen, it grows in the supersaturated environment, which is one where air is saturated
with respect to ice when the temperature is below the freezing point. The droplet then grows by diffusion of
water molecules in the air (vapor) onto the ice crystal surface where they are collected. Because water
droplets are so much more numerous than the ice crystals due to their sheer abundance, the crystals are
able to grow to hundreds of micrometers or millimeters in size at the expense of the water droplets by a
process known as the Wegner-Bergeron-Findeison process. The corresponding depletion of water vapor
causes the ice crystals grow at the droplets' expense. These large crystals are an efficient source of
precipitation, since they fall through the atmosphere due to their mass, and may collide and stick together in
clusters, or aggregates. These aggregates are snowflakes, and are usually the type of ice particle that falls
to the ground.[12] Guinness World Records list the world’s largest snowflakes as those of January 1887 at
Fort Keogh, Montana; allegedly one measured 38 cm (15 in) wide.[13] Although the ice is clear, scattering of
light by the crystal facets and hollows/imperfections mean that the crystals often appear white in color due to
diffuse reflection of the whole spectrum of light by the small ice particles.[14]

The shape of the snowflake is determined broadly by the temperature and humidity at which it is formed.[12]
The most common snow particles are visibly irregular. Planar crystals (thin and flat) grow in air between 0 °C
(32 °F) and −3 °C (27 °F). Between −3 °C (27 °F) and −8 °C (18 °F), the crystals will form needles or hollow
columns or prisms (long thin pencil-like shapes). From −8 °C (18 °F) to −22 °C (−8 °F) the shape reverts
back to plate-like, often with branched or dendritic features. At temperatures below −22 °C (−8 °F), the
crystal development becomes column-like, although many more complex growth patterns also form such as
side-planes, bullet-rosettes and also planar types depending on the conditions and ice nuclei.[15][16][17] If a
crystal has started forming in a column growth regime, at around −5 °C (23 °F), and then falls into the
warmer plate-like regime, then plate or dendritic crystals sprout at the end of the column, producing so
called "capped columns."[12]

A snowflake consists of roughly 1018 water molecules, which are added to its core at different rates and in
different patterns, depending on the changing temperature and humidity within the atmosphere that the
snowflake falls through on its way to the ground. As a result, it is extremely difficult to encounter two
identical snowflakes.[18][19] Initial attempts to find identical snowflakes by photographing thousands their
images under a microscope from 1885 onward by Wilson Alwyn Bentley found the wide variety of
snowflakes we know about today.[20] It is more likely that two snowflakes could become virtually identical if
their environments were similar enough. Matching snow crystals were discovered in Wisconsin in 1988. The
crystals were not flakes in the usual sense but rather hollow hexagonal prisms.[21]

Types of snow can be designated by the shape of the flakes, the rate of accumulation, and the way the
snow collects on the ground. Types which fall in the form of a ball due to melting and refreezing cycles,
rather than a flake, are known as graupel, with ice pellets and snow pellets as types of graupel associated
with wintry precipitation.[22][23] Once on the ground, snow can be categorized as powdery when fluffy,
granular when it begins the cycle of melting and refreezing, and eventually ice once it packs down into a
dense drift after multiple melting and refreezing cycles. When powdery, snow drifts with the wind from the
location where it originally fell,[24] forming deposits with a depth of several meters in isolated locations.[25]
Snow fences are constructed in order to help control snow drifting in the vicinity of roads, to improve
highway safety.[26] After attaching to hillsides, blown snow can evolve into a snow slab, which is an
avalanche hazard on steep slopes. A frozen equivalent of dew known as hoar frost forms on a snow pack
when winds are light and there is ample low-level moisture over the snow pack.[27]

Snowfall's intensity is determined by visibility. When the visibility is over 1 kilometer (0.62 mi), snow is
considered light. Moderate snow describes snowfall with visibility restrictions between 0.5 and 1 km. Heavy
snowfall describes conditions when visibility is less than 0.5 km.[28] Steady snows of significant intensity are
often referred to as "snowstorms".[29] When snow is of variable intensity and short duration, it is described as
a "snow shower".[30] The term snow flurry is used to describe the lightest form of a snow shower.[31]

A blizzard is a weather condition involving snow which has varying definitions in different parts of the world.
In the United States, a blizzard is occurring when two conditions are met for a period of three hours or more:
A sustained wind or frequent gusts to 35 miles per hour (56 km/h), and sufficient snow in the air to reduce
visibility to less than 0.4 kilometers (0.25 mi).[32] In Canada and the United Kingdom, the criteria are similar.
[33][34]
While heavy snowfall often occurs during blizzard conditions, falling snow is not a requirement, as
blowing snow can create a ground blizzard.[35]

An animation (satellite images) showing seasonal snow changes

Snow remains on the ground until it melts or sublimates. Sublimation of snow directly into water vapor is
most likely to occur on a dry and windy day such as when a strong downslope wind, such as a Chinook
wind, exists.[36] The water equivalent of a given amount of snow is the depth of a layer of water having the
same mass and upper area. For example, if the snow covering a given area has a water equivalent of
50 centimeters (20 in), then it will melt into a pool of water 50 centimeters (20 in) deep covering the same
area.[37] This is a much more useful measurement to hydrologists than snow depth, as the density of cool
freshly fallen snow widely varies. New snow commonly has a density of around 8% of water. This means
that 33 centimeters (13 in) of snow melts down to 2.5 centimeters (1 in) of water.[38] Cloud temperatures and
physical processes in the cloud affect the shape of individual snow crystals. Highly branched or dendritic
crystals tend to have more space between the arms of ice that form the snowflake and this snow will
therefore have a lower density, often referred to as "dry" snow. Conditions that create columnar or plate-like
crystals will have much less air space within the crystal and will therefore be denser and feel "wetter".[39]
Once the snow is on the ground, it will settle under its own weight (largely due to differential evaporation)
until its density is approximately 30% of water. Increases in density above this initial compression occur
primarily by melting and refreezing, caused by temperatures above freezing or by direct solar radiation. In
colder climates, snow lies on the ground all winter. By late spring, snow densities typically reach a maximum
of 50% of water.[40] When the snow does not all melt in the summer it evolves into firn, where individual
granules become more spherical in nature,[41] evolving into a glacier as the ice flows downhill.[42]

Snowfall measurement

Standard rain gauge

See also: Rain gauge, Disdrometer, and Snow gauge

Snowfall is usually evaluated with standard rain gauges having diameters of 100 mm (4 in; plastic) or
200 mm (8 in; metal).[51] These gauges are adjusted to winter by removing the funnel and inner cylinder and
allowing the snow/freezing rain to collect inside the outer cylinder. Antifreeze liquid may be added to melt the
snow or ice that falls into the guage.[52] Once the snowfall/ice is finished accumulating, or as its height in the
guage approaches 300 mm (12 in), the snow is melted and the water amount recorded.[53]

Another type of gauge used to measure snowfall is the weighing rain guage.[54] The wedge and tipping
bucket guages will have problems with snow measurement. Attempts to compensate for snow/ice by
warming the tipping bucket meet with limited success, since snow may sublimate if the guage is kept much
above the freezing temperature. Weighing guages with antifreeze should do fine with snow, but again, the
funnel needs to be removed before the event begins.[55]

Spring snow melt is a major source of water supply to areas in temperate zones near mountains that catch
and hold winter snow, especially those with a prolonged dry summer. In such places, water equivalent is of
great interest to water managers wishing to predict spring runoff and the water supply of cities downstream.
Measurements are made manually at marked locations known as snow courses, and remotely using special
scales called snow pillows.[56] Snow stakes and simple rulers can be used to determine the depth of the
snow pack,[57] though they will not evaluate either its density or liquid equivalent.[58]

When a snow measurement is made, various networks exist across the United States and elsewhere where
rainfall measurements can be submitted through the Internet, such as CoCoRAHS or GLOBE.[59][60] If a
network is not available in the area where one lives, the nearest local weather office will likely be interested
in the measurement.[61]
The world record for the highest seasonal total snowfall was measured in the United States at Mount Baker
Ski Area, outside of the town Bellingham, Washington during the 1998–1999 season. Mount Baker received
2,896 cm (1,140 in) of snow,[62] thus surpassing the previous record holder, Mount Rainier, Washington,
which during the 1971–1972 season received 2,850 cm (1,120 in) of snow.[63]
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

23.12.2009

Present: Mr. Navin Chawla, Amicus Curiae (Advocate)

for the Appellant.
Mr. Sunil Sharma, Advocate for the Respondent/State.

Crl. A. No.165/1997

The latest status report has been perused which encloses Standing Order
No.161-A to take care of the problem of appropriate verification and records
being kept in respect of persons required to report to the police station as a
condition of bail.

Learned APP submits that one of the problems which arises is that often
the sureties are found to be bogus. In this behalf we accept the suggestion
that on the surety being accepted copy of the bail bond and surety be supplied
to the counsel to be transmitted to the SHO concerned for verification so that
in case any surety is found to be bogus it can be immediately brought to the
notice of the concerned court.
A copy of the Standing Order No.161-A along with a copy of the present
order be sent to the District and Sessions Judge for circulation of the same to
all criminal courts.
The appeal is already listed on the Regular Board.

SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.

DECEMBER 23, 2009 AJIT BHARIHOKE, J.

b'nesh