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			Wednesday, March 10, 1999
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Madras varsity VC quits
CHENNAI, March 9 (PTI) — The Vice-Chancellor of the Madras University, P.T. Manoharan, has resigned, nearly two years ahead of the end of his three-year tenure. A Raj Bhavan communiqué said here that the Governor and university Chancellor, Justice M. Fathima Beevi, accepted his resignation today. It did not say when he had tendered his resignation or cite any reason. Mr Manoharan, who assumed office in mid-1998, could not be contacted for his comment. However, university sources said the Vice-Chancellor had decided to quit some time ago in the wake of the Chancellor allegedly withholding her approval to the Syndicate’s decision to establish a new department for contemporary Tamil literature.

Ex gratia
NEW DELHI, March 9 (PTI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has sanctioned Rs 50,000 each as ex gratia payment from the PM’s national relief fund to next of kin of those killed by militants near Jammu last month. Twentytwo persons were massacred at Rajouri and Udhampur districts of Jammu and Kashmir on February 20.

Not guilty: Hazare
MUMBAI, March 9 (PTI) — Social activist Anna Hazare today pleaded a sessions court to quash the lower court's order convicting him in a defamation case filed by Maharashtra Social Welfare Minister Babanrao Gholap. The Additional Sessions Judge Abhay Thipsay was hearing a revision application filed by Hazare challenging the verdict of Additional Metropolitan Magistrate K.H. Holambe Patil, who sentenced the social activist on September 9 last to jail for three months or execute a bond of good conduct for two years.
Anticipatory bail
NEW DELHI, March 9 (PTI) — A city court today granted anticipatory bail to an MLA, accused of assaulting a DDA official in his office on March 5. Additional Sessions Judge Sharda Aggarwal granted anticipatory bail to MLA Ashok Singh, who apprehended arrest by the police, on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and surety of the like amount.
GSI staff
CALCUTTA, March 9 (PTI) — More than 6,000 employees of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) across the country are on a two-day cease work since Monday protesting, among other things, non-upgradation of pay scales recommended by the Fifth Pay Commission. The GSI Employees Association sought implementation of the second phase of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations and upgradation of the field establishment allowance for non-gazetted employees.
Injured
NASIK, March 9 (PTI) — A returning officer was injured in a melee as elections to the Chairman's post of the Nasik Municipal Corporation's (NMC) standing committee witnessed ugly scenes with Shiv Sena and Congress corporators trading charges against each other here today. The incident occurred following a difference of opinion between Shiv Sena and BJP corporators during a meeting on NMC members of elect the Chairman for the NMC standing committee this morning, Congress standing committee Chairman Shahu Khaire told PTI.
US jets bomb Iraq
ANKARA, March 9 (Reuters) — US warplanes today bombed Iraqi air defence sites in the northern no-fly zone after being tracked by Iraqi radar, officials at the jets' base in southern Turkey said. The spokesman told Reuters that US F-15E warplanes acting in self-defence had hit several artillery sites around the Iraqi city of Mosul. Such strikes have become regular since Iraq decided to actively oppose US and British jets patrolling no-fly zones in the north and south of the country.
Benazir's plea
ISLAMABAD, March 9 (ANI) — The Supreme Court has allowed the judicial commission to examine documents against former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Switzerland. Justice Saiduzzaman Siddiqui in his order on Monday rejected the petitioner's plea to extend the stay it had earlier granted.
Shivappa communiqué
CHENNAI, March 9 (PTI) — The controversy surrounding the retirement of Justice C. Shivappa of the Madras High Court appears to have been set at rest with the Union Law Ministry sending him an official communication about the President deciding that his date of birth was December 11, 1936.
Meanwhile, in Delhi the issue of the removal of Justice C. Shivappa from the Madras High Court sparked off heated exchanges in the Lok Sabha between the Treasury benches and Opposition members who smelt a rat in the case.
Adjournment
NEW DELHI, March 9 (PTI) — The absence of a Cabinet minister in the House forced the Chair to adjourn proceedings for 15 minutes in the Rajya Sabha today. The abrupt adjournment of the House came when Mr Nilotpal Basu (CPI-M) pointed out the absence of the cabinet minister when a discussion on the motion of thanks to the President's Address was in progress.
Gastroenteritis
CHITRADURGA, March 9 (PTI) — About 306 cases of gastroenteritis were reported in Chitradurga since January. According to district health office sources, 106 cases were reported in January, 143 cases in February and 55 cases in the first week of March.
IOC disinvestment
NEW DELHI, March 9 (PTI) — The government today deferred the proposed disinvestment of 5 per cent of its equity in the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) till next financial year due to depressed prices of IOC scrip. The decision, taken at the meeting of the Cabinet committee on disinvestment headed by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, "will make a minor dent on disinvestment target (for 1998-99)," Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said.