TOP STORIES

NCR SPECIAL
Panipat’s handloom units are furnaces in the making
Panipat, January 16
A major fire in any of the hundreds of commercial and residential buildings dotting the district is sure to result in a tragedy of gargantuan proportions as the Fire Department is ill-equipped to deal with such a crisis. 

St Columba’s boy whisked away from school driveway
New Delhi, January 16
The Mandir Marg Police has launched a hunt to ferret out the six-year-old boy who was reportedly kidnapped by an unidentified person from outside St. Columba’s School in broad day light yesterday.

The finalists from Delhi of Sunsilk Femina Miss India 2003 in the Capital on Thursday. — Tribune Photo Mukesh Aggarwal

Arrest warrant against Modi Tyres MD
Ghaziabad, January 16
The warrant issued for the arrest of the Managing Director of Modi Tyres for non-payment of arrears of the workers has created panic in the top management echelons in Modi Nagar.

Commuters bicycle through thick fog in a park in New Delhi on Thursday. — Reuters

Longest cold spell in Jan after 40 yrs
New Delhi, January 16
Dense fog and almost zero visibility greeted the National Capital on Thursday morning as the city continued to shiver for the 16th day today.

Haryana seeks time to reply on Yamuna water demand
New Delhi, January 16
The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned by three weeks the hearing on release of adequate Yamuna waters from Haryana to NCT of Delhi and improving quality of the water that is a major source of potable water for NCT of Delhi. 

SCHOOLBAG FARCE
MCD made to stick to its promise
New Delhi, January 16
It is a classic case of how the Municipal Corporation of Delhi reportedly tried to extract political mileage out of a populist scheme three years ago but was forced to deliver, owing to media and peer pressure. In the process, the MCD became poorer by several lakhs of rupees.

COMMUNITY

CM asks panchayat leaders to accelerate development
Narnaul, January 16
The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today urged the members of the Village Development Committee and sarpanches to work for the progress of their respective areas.

‘Chautala’s land in Punjab being irrigated by SYL canal’
Sonepat, January 16
Mr Karan Singh Dalal, an independent MLA from Palwal (Haryana), has denied that he was joining any political party in the near future but declared that he would continue his fight against the anti-people policies of the Indian National Lok Dal government at every stage and would not take rest till it is dislodged from power.

HIDDEN TREASURE
Fuel of the future is his research goal
Rohtak, January 16
Dr K C Singh of the Department of Chemistry at Maharshi Dayanand University is making significant contribution in the areas of solution thermodynamics, thin oxide films on metals and development of water electrolysis technology by solid polymer electrolytes. Interestingly, he is one of the first scholars to complete his Ph.D. from this university.

Sonia asked to sort out factionalism
Rohtak, January 16
Several leaders of the Haryana unit of the Congress Party have decided to seek the intervention of the Congress president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, after the infighting in the party was clearly exposed when a faction of the state party leadership ‘boycotted’ the party rally in Delhi on Wednesday.

Brig Nambiar gets VSM for exemplary service
Meerut, January 16
The Vishisht Seva Medal was awarded to the Sub-Area Commander, Brig K. T. G. Nambiar, for his distinguished services by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command, Lt-Gen D. S. Chauhan, at an investiture ceremony held at the EME Centre, Baira Garh (Bhopal) on the Army Day.

HVP leader flays govt on drought relief
Rewari, January 16
Mr Anil Rao, state general secretary of the Haryana Vikas Party, has flayed the Chautala government for the alleged injustice meted out to the farmers of Rewari district in the matter of drought relief.

Employers of illegal migrants to be targeted
New Delhi, January 16
Delhi, Haryana and Punjab will jointly work in weeding out Bangladeshi nationals involved in criminal activities in their respective states. 

NCR BRIEFS
Residents begin battle against tipplers
Panipat, January 16
Residents of Vikas Nagar, long at the receiving end of tipplers, started a battle against them by demanding the closure of liquor shop in the area. Irate residents, including a large number of women, who held a dharna outside the DC Office here on Wednesday, alleged that the shop had become a favourite haunt for anti-social elements.

• AIATF to honour Sunita

• Woman shot

• Youths hurt in clash

Greater Noida farmers bracing for another agitation
Noida, January 16
The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority and farmers are once again on a collision course on the issue of land compensation. The GNIDA’s failure to take any realistic action on the farmers’ demands on the compensation rate has forced the farmers to brace for another bout of agitation. 

Workers demand law against exploitation
Rewari, January 16
Workers engaged in the construction work of houses, buildings etc in the private sector have demanded formation of a law for prevention of their exploitation by unscrupulous house owners and private contractors. 

Four of family killed in road mishap
Sonepat
Four members of a family were killed on the spot and six others injured seriously when a truck collided with a jeep on the GT Road near Murthal, 8 km from here, this evening.

Two killed, four injured in road accident
Faridabad, January 16
Two women were killed and four others were injured in an accident involving an autorickshaw and a bus here yesterday. The victim, identified as Ms Soni Rawat and Seema Khatre, were residents of SGM Nagar here and were on their way to their office in an autorickshaw. 

COURTS

Animal challans: HC for speedier disposal
New Delhi, January 16
The Delhi High Court today directed the Delhi Government to ensure that challan cases booked under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act should be disposed of expeditiously. A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising justices Usha Mehra and Pradeep Mandrajog observed that such cases should be decided on the same day, if possible, so that impounded animals underwent minimum stress.