Himalayan Times (1954)

November 28. 1954

HEIGHT OF MOUNT
EVEREST 29,028 FEET,

New Delhi, Nov. 24
hf. new value of the
height of Mount Everest
fixed by the Survey of
India is 29,028 feet, 26
feet above the previous
figure 29,002 feet. The
new figure is considered to
be correct within 10 feet
either way and any pro-
bable deviation is not in -
portant because the season
rial fluctuation of snow on
the summit can well be of
this order of magnitude.

The Survey of India
undertook detailed woik for
fixing ihe height during the
years 1052, 1953 an(^ '954«
I he work was carried out
under the direction of Sri
B. L. Gulatee, Director of
th* G odetic and Research
Branch of the Survey.
Foreign experts, including
Brig. G. Bomford of the
Oxford University, who was
formerly associated with the
Survey of India, were also
consulted before the final
value was arrived at.

Located on the Nepal-
Tibet border. Mount Everest
is the pride of the great
I imalayan range. It is
abou< 10,000 feet higher
than Kilimanjaro, Africa's
highest mountain, whose
height has. just been tede-
termined precisely and even
the highest peaks of tht:
United States of America
\yquld rank, as its minor
s.att-lli'es.

Simnlagau ($tine»

,• The towering height
of this peak has always
been a challenge to Survey
workers. In 184c;, th- then
Surveyor General Sir And-
rew Waugh wrote: "The
lofty snow peaks situated
north of Nepal are the
most stupendous oinnacles
of the globe. Their heights
and relative positions should
form permanent objects In
geodeiical operations". And
his instructions to his offi
e~ers in 1849 were: " ou
should be in the observa-
tory before sun rise and
all prepared to commence
horizontal angles as soon
as it is light. The vertical
angles mav be taken f om
8 to 10 a. m."

The till recently accep-
ted he:ght, 29,002 feet,
has endured for over a
century, but >II along there
were doubts about i;s accu-
racy. Several other values
such as 29,050. 29 141 and

29.149 Ieet nHve Deen I110"
ted from time to time. It
.vas because of this that
the Survey undertook, this
work over two years ago.

The work involved the
measurements by vertical
angles with a theodolite of
the height of Everest from
a number of hill statio s
all between 20 and 4 '
miles away and the men-
suremen. of gravity an!
deflection at a series of
stations leadirg up to within
about 20 miles of the moun-
tain. Great care was taken
to ensure that the heights

Three

MAHA BISHNU YAGNA
AT KALIMPONG

Kalimpong,.Nov. 2.7
The Maha Bishnu Yag-'.
na iu going to be • held
at Kalimpong from 2!)th
inst to 9th December .'54.
under the auspices of Yag- .
na Karjakarini Sobha.

It is learnt that learned
Pandits from all over
India are taking part in
the Yagna. A huge Yag--
n&. mandap has been'
•ioiittruct^d neat Bagdhma;
ior the purpose. Sri
Oudhadhariji Barfftnifrom.,
Kashmir had taken this
initiative.

SRI KHAN IN KALIMPONG

Kalimpong, Nov. 27
Sri A. I). Khan, Secre-
tary, Co-operative Dept.,
Govt, of West Bengal,
accompanied by Sri S. C.
Majumdar, Banking Expert
of the Co-operative Direc-
torate, Govt, of West Ben-
gal, visited Kalimpong and
inspected the Kalimpong
Industrial Co-operative o-
ciety Ltd. on the 24th
November, 1954.

Sri Khan left Kalimpong
t he same evening. . Sri
Mvjumdar attended the
Board meeting of th e
Kalimpong Central Co.
operative Bank and the
Kalimpong Industrial E*o-
cwty Ltd. on the 25th
and left for Silrguri. .011
the next d^y.

of these take-off stations
were fixed accurately. . '