Six washed away, 17 hurt in Kulu dist
SHIMLA, Aug 18 — Six persons were washed away and 17 injured in the village Chatti of Kulu district when the Sutlej jumped its banks and destroyed about 14 residential houses and some shops last night.

STD links still erratic
French experts fail to detect snag
Chandigarh, Aug 18 — Frantic e-mails by the local Telecom Department to Alcatel Telecom Headquarters in France — suppliers of the digital trunk exchange (D-TAX) which has developed a major snag in Chandigarh — to seek help have not yielded much of a result. It is just like failed attempts by local residents to dial outstation numbers in the past one week.

DoT may fine Alcatel
CHANDIGARH: The local telecom department may be imposing some kind of a fine on Alcatel, the equipment supplier, for the losses it has incurred.

• PCOs, ISPs, banks  worst hit (Chandigarh page)

Punjab not to hike college fee
600 ad hoc lecturers to be recruited
PATIALA, Aug 18 — In a major policy decision, the Punjab Government has dropped the proposal to hike fees in colleges and universities besides deciding to recruit 600 ad hoc lecturers to fill all vacant posts in rural colleges of the state. Sources said the state Cabinet did not approve the fee hike proposal, feeling it would have an adverse political fallout.

Another finance panel for Punjab
CHANDIGARH, Aug 18 — Punjab has set up the Second Finance Commission. It has fulfilled a constitutional obligation. This commission should have been set up in 1999. But despite reminders by the minister concerned, Mr Balramji Das Tandon, the government dithered and delayed transgressing the period by one year.

Alarming rise in fatalities CHANDIGARH, Aug 18 — As many as 17 people die in road accidents in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh every day. These deaths on roads are far more than total unnatural deaths covered under the Indian Penal Code in the region.