TOP STORIES

Soldier flees with SLRs and heart on his sleeve
Meerut, August 8
A soldier has fled from his unit, which was deployed on the Jaisalmer border, with two lethal state-of-the-art self-loading rifles in his possession. The guns are reportedly loaded; he had also stashed away two additional magazines in the Army jeep in which he had fled.

DSGMC order on sackings quashed
New Delhi, August 8
The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee today asserted that it would now adopt the “laid down” procedure to retrench excess staff. 

Plan panel blames DDA for encouraging land mafia
New Delhi, August 8
The committee constituted by Planning Commission to deal with the problems of slums in Delhi has in its report pulled up the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for encouraging the “land mafia” to build jhuggi jhopri (JJ) clusters by encroaching on government land. 

Marketing gurus latch on to rakhis
New Delhi, August 8
Marketing whiz kids have latched onto Raksha Bandhan, the festival of love and bonding. In Rakhi 2002, the bond will be reinforced with the help of silver memorabilia. Of course, without diluting the sanctity of the festival, we have improvised the rakhi, as we know it, from time to time, but the variations have been mostly in the size and shape.

Phew! The Lakme Fashion Week is over 

New Delhi, August 8 The flurry of activity, almost like a whirlwind, sweeping with it everything and everyone who cared to take notice, is finally going to cease, with the Lakme India Fashion Week drawing to a close today, much to the relief of all those involved in it. The mood at the Taj Palace was sombre today and most of the fashion frat, who were kept on their toes last week, were busy winding up and bidding goodbye: The models who had to do as many as three shows everyday; the designers, apprehensive and always on the job; and the beauty experts, who had by now lost count of the models they had worked on. “It’s been a great experience, worth the hard work I have had to put in. For the last seven days it’s been work and work and work, but the spirits have been high.

Woman gets life term for son’s murder
Jhajjar: The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Diwan Chand, sentenced a woman to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 for killing her eight-year-old son in February.

COMMUNITY

DPCC demands Naik’s resignation 
New Delhi, August 8
Reiterating his demand for the resignation of the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Mr Ram Naik, on moral grounds and institution of a judicial inquiry into the petrol pump scam, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president, Mr Subhash Chopra, on Thursday said his party would otherwise launch protest meetings from August 16 in all the 70 Assembly constituencies of Delhi.

BJP for cancellation of all dealerships since 1983
Rohtak, August 8
The Haryana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has urged the Centre to cancel the allotment of all petrol pumps and LPG agencies made since 1983 and make public the names of all those Congressmen who have benefited by the largesse.

IN PARLIAMENT
115 slum dwellers evicted from MoD land
New Delhi, August 8
As many as 115 slum dwellers were evicted from Defence Ministry owned land in the Delhi cantonment area during 1993-95 and a sum of Rs 33.35 lakh was paid to the MCD as an assistance towards the rehabilitation of these evicted people, said the Minister of Defence, Mr George Fernandes, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today.

Modern parking methods, self-discipline needed to solve traffic problems: Sheila

New Delhi, August 8 The Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Shiela Dikshit, called for the development of modern parking methods like automated multi-level car parking systems to solve the growing problem of parking in the national Capital. However, she also emphasised the need to take hard steps to bring in self-discipline among vehicle owners in order to solve Delhi’s parking problems. Parking worries: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit during a seminar on ‘Solution to Delhi’s Parking Problems’ held in the Capital on Thursday. — Tribune Photo Mukesh Aggarwal

PANIPAT
Power men in deep slumber as residents spend sleepless nights
Panipat, August 8
The claims of the INLD government led by Mr Om Prakash Chautala notwithstanding, residents of the “textile town” of the country are spending sleepless nights these days. This is not because of the mosquito menace but on account of the Electricity Department’s unscheduled and long power cuts.

FARIDABAD
Fight against pollution lacks tempo
Faridabad, August 8
The fight against pollution in this prime industrial town of Haryana lacks pace. This is perhaps one of the main reason behind Faridabad being branded as the 12th most polluted city of the country. Although the district has two regional offices of the Pollution Control Board (PCB), the efforts and measures seem to be far from inadequate in containing air and noise pollution, resulting in respiratory suspended particle matter (RSPM) level being too high.

Cede data on field trials on cotton: Gene Campaign
New Delhi, August 8
Gene Campaign today appealed to the President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India’s premier agricultural body, to release to the public the data collected on the field trials conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on Mahyco-Monsanto’s Bt cotton varieties.

Need to register births and deaths stressed 
Rohtak, August 8
Stressing the need for registration of births and deaths, the Directorate of Census Operations has called upon the people to help meet the target of cent per cent registration of births and deaths before 2005.

Sahib against liquor vends in his constituency

New Delhi, August 8 The Union Labour Minister and Member of Parliament representing Outer Delhi, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, is against having liquor vends in his constituency. Mr Verma’s aides say he has written to the Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, asking her to close down the liquor vend near Rajendra Park in Nangloi. Activists of the BJP holding a dharna in front of the liquor vend near Rajendra Park in Nangloi in the Capital on Thursday.

SSP flags off 6 bikes for Noida cops
Noida, August 8
The Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Rajiv Kishen, flagged off six White Leopard motor cycles to augment security and law and order in Noida. Trained policemen astride these motor cycles would operate with the help of wireless sets, which would give them the advantage of mobility and communication, the SSP said.

NCR BRIEFS
Harassment drives woman to suicide
Rohtak, August 8
Reluctant to develop illicit relationship with her brother-in-law, a married woman was forced to commit suicide allegedly by her in-laws at Mokhra village on Monday. Sri Om, a resident of Ismaila village stated in the FIR that his younger sister, Santosh was married to Ramesh at Mokhra village nearly 12 years ago.

Man killed Teacher awarded

Ayurvedic centre Suicide committed

Second phase of Metro gets Cabinet nod New Delhi, August 8 The Cabinet on Thursday cleared the second phase of the Metro Rail Transport System Project to improve the transport situation in the capital. The financial implications and other modalities of this decision, which entails a clearance of the second phase in principle, would be put before the Cabinet in near future.

• YMAI gives call to stamp out militancy

CRIME

Two militant conduits arrested in Capital 
New Delhi, August 8
The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police have arrested two persons from Jammu and Kashmir who were acting as conduits for the militant activities in the valley. The accused identified as Gulam Qadir Bhatt, resident of Dooru Mir Maidan and Gulam Mohammad Darr, resident of Burzulla in Srinagar, were instrumental in transferring hawala money from Pakistan to the valley for distribution among the militants based in the valley.

EDUCATION

MDU bans entry of errant ex-staffer
Rohtak, August 8
The Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) has banned the entry of a former clerk Deepak Rathee on the campus with immediate effect. Deepak had misbehaved with a university official. The university has issued a notification in this regard.

CULTURE

ARTSCAPE
An exhibition that redefines the role of history
It is like walking through time and feeling the aura and enigma of that era. It is a walk through yesteryears, living up the glorious position our country enjoyed at that time. It is an opportunity to feel the presence of some great leaders like Jhansi ki Rani Lakshmibai, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and so on.

Danseuse Madhumati For story lovers

Place of ghazal

MUSIC ZONE T-Series launches new albums

HEALTH

Lab at Lok Nayak Hospital to determine Thalassaemia 
New Delhi, August 8
A genetic laboratory would be set up at the Lok Nayak Hospital for determining the Thalassaemia Major status of foetus. This facility is currently available only at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS.) The Health Minister, Mr AK Walia, on Wednesday said the Government of NCT of Delhi has already set up a Thalassaemia Cell in the Directorate of Health Services.

SPORTS

DTC drive past Bank of India, earn full points
New Delhi, August 8
Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) rode to a facile 4-0 victory against Bank of India in a Group B round-robin league match of the Delhi Soccer Association Annual Institutional Football League Championship at the Ambedkar Stadium in the Capital.

Sachin Dhakka shines with bat
New Delhi, August 8
A dashing batting display by Sachin Dhakka, who scored 81 runs studded with ten fours and three sixes, and deadly bowling by Kapil Rana (4 for 11) and Harpreet Singh (3 for 14), enabled Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji Cricket Academy beat Apeejay College, Dwarka by 111 runs and collected two points in the SG Cup Cricket Tournament, played at the Guru Harkishan Public School ground, Vasant Vihar in the Capital. Kapil Rana was adjudged the Man of the Match.

Home town awaits hockey’s golden girl
Rohtak, August 8
The arrival of Mamta Kharab - a key member of the Indian Women Hockey team, which won the gold medal at the recently concluded 17th Commonwealth Games, held in Manchester, is being eagerly awaited in the city where she learnt the basics of the game and pursued her studies.

Yusuf Ali shares  top spot
New Delhi, August 8
Yusuf Ali set the course ablaze despite the afternoon drizzle with a five-under 67 to join Jyoti Randhawa and Gaurav Ghei at the top of the leader board on the second day of the Rs 10 lakh South Zone Golf Championship, the second stop of the Indian PGA Golf Tour, at Bangalore, according to information available in Delhi.

Top women golfers participate in trials

New Delhi, August 8 Eight top women golfers participated in the first two rounds of the National Ladies Golf Team Selection trials for participation in the Esperito Santo Trophy World Amateurs Championships in Malaysia this year. The trials were held at the Jaypee Greens Golf Course in Greater Noida, which is Asia’s third longest golf course at 7343 yards from the black tee, and 5949 yards from the ladies’ tee. Irina Brar in action at the Jaypee Greens Golf Course in Greater Noida during the two-day selection trials.

• Swim Meet