TOP STORIES

Noida shudders at its new status 
Noida, January 14
There has been a sharp reaction to the state government’s decision to abolish nine districts created by Ms Mayawati in May 1997.

Chopper on R-Day duty from today
New Delhi, January 14
To counter the growing threats from various terrorist outfits, the Delhi Police, for the first time, would deploy a helicopter to carry out surveillance over the national Capital from tomorrow, ahead of Republic Day celebrations on January 26.

Fog is back with a vengeance The fog was no deterrent for this Navy contingent rehearsing for the Republic Day parade at Rajpath in the Capital on Wednesday. — Photo by Kamal Singh

4-year-old rescued from kidnapper

New Delhi, January 14 With the arrest of a labourer, the South district police claim to have rescued a four-year- old child of a builder, who was kidnapped for a ransom of Rs 10 lakh from the Shahin Bagh area of Abul Fazal Encalve of Sarita Vihar. Umar, a 4-year-old who was rescued by the Delhi Police, with his mother Gulshera at a press conference in the Capital on Wednesday. — Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal

Passengers cool their heels on platforms 
Sonepat, January 14
Sonepat experienced yet another cold day today on account of dense fog in the morning. According to a report, a thick blanket of fog engulfed the entire city and its surrounding areas, affecting the movement of all long-distance and suburban trains running on the Delhi-Ambala-Kalka (DUK) section of the Northern Railway and the vehicular traffic on National Highway No. 1 and other state highways.

Sonepat turning into lottery hub
Sonepat: Sonepat, a district headquarter of Haryana, has turned into a gambling and betting hub, resulting in thousands of persons, mostly from the lower classes, becoming paupers.

POLITICS

HVP to showcase its strength on Jan 18
Sonepat, January 14
The Haryana Vikas Party will be organising a rally at the Subhash Stadium in this city on January 18 in a bid to showcase its strength in the region. The general-secretary of the HVP, Mr Mr Rajiv Jain, told mediapersons here today that people from the villages of the Sonepat Assembly constituency and other parts of the district will take part in this rally.

COMMUNITY

MCD proposal for new taxes comes in for flak
New Delhi, January 14
The Deputy Chairman of the all powerful Standing Committee, Mr Ashok Jain, and Chairman of Appointment, Promotions and Disciplinary Action Committee in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Mr Brij Mohan Sharma, strongly criticised the administration for laying new taxes for enhancing income of the MCD.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit flanked by NDMC chairman Ramesh Narayanaswami and Rajya Sabha member Dr Karan Singh at a function in the Capital on Wednesday. — Photo by Kamal Singh

Station supervisor row
blows over
Sonepat, January 14
The controversy over the reported attempted of suicide by the station supervisor of the local depot of the Haryana Roadways after some altercations with the general manager of the depot, Mr Harish Chander Jain, which has been raging for the last one week, came to end on Tuesday. The roadways staff, which has been agitating against the GM, garlanded him on his arrival in the office and raised slogans in his favour.

Widow of Sirsa scribe to get Rs 5 lakh
Sonepat, January 14
On behalf of the Haryana Patarkar Sangh, Haryana Governor Babu Parmanand will present a cheque of Rs 5 lakh to the widow of Sirsa journalist Ram Chander Chhattarpati at a function in Raj Bhawan on January 19. Ram Chander Chhattarpati had allegedly been shot dead by the persons of ‘dera’ community.

Series of rallies planned by Power Corporation Workers
Faridabad, January 14
The All Haryana Power Corporation Workers Union will organise a series of demonstrations from February 4 to March 30 to protest against the policies of the government regarding transfers, privatisation and employing contractors for various works in the Power Department.

ncr briefs
Elderly man shot dead by assailants
Jhajjar, January 14
An elderly man was shot dead by five assailants in Issar Heri village of the district yesterday when he was travelling to his village in a three-wheeler. According to information, the victim, identified as Barkhe (65), son of Ram Swaroop, was stopped by five assailants while he was travelling in a three-wheeler to his village.

Youths suffer burn injuries Labourer stabbed to death after altercation

Makkar Sankranti celebrated

delhi digest Centre opened for imparting training to accountants New Delhi, January 14 Institute of Computer Accountants (ICA), a body set-up by a group of chartered accountants to provide computerised training to accountants based on the lines of European and American accounting standards, has set up its 10th centre in Dwarka.

CRIME

Death of two sisters shrouded in mystery
Ghaziabad, January 14
Two sisters, Anju and Manju, whose bodies had been recovered from a railway track recently, were known to be confident girls and full of life. But their death has left many questions unanswered, like why did they choose to commit suicide by jumping before a train? And even if they had made up their mind for this mode to end their life? Why the police dismissed the possibility of their murder when post-mortem could not be performed on them?

Gang of robbers busted 
New Delhi, January 14
With the arrest of two suspects, the East district police today claimed to have busted a gang of robbers. The suspects were identified as Parmod alias Sonu and Javed Akhtar alias Shoib Akhtar. They were arrested from Mustafabad area in East district.

Women harassed for dowry by in-laws
Faridabad, January 14
Two cases of dowry harassment were reported in the district in the past 24 hours. In one of the cases, the police have booked four members of a family under the Dowry Prevention Act. The accused belonged to Karawal Nagar in Delhi.

BUSINESS

Bank takes over defaulter film studio
Noida, January 14
In default of payment of Rs15 crore bank loan, the Syndicate Bank has taken possession of Srishti Video Corporation Ltd in Sector-16 Film City Noida. Three guards have been posted there for security of the premises by the bank, which had taken possession of the premises on the orders passed by the District Magistrate.

Telecom giant first to set up shop in Cyber City 
Gurgaon, January 14
The much-hyped Cyber City, a joint venture between the Haryana government and DLF Universal Ltd, is ready to welcome Ericsson India Pvt Ltd in its fold. Ericsson, a Swedish multinational company, has set up its national (India) headquarters in the building. It is considered to be the world leader in telecommunications. The building was inaugurated here by the Swedish Prime Minister.

DEA seeks subsidy for traders
New Delhi, January 14
Hit hard by appreciating rupee, Delhi Exporters Association (DEA) today asked the Government to provide a cushion of 10 per cent subsidy to compensate traders doing business in dollars in forthcoming Exim Policy.

EDUCATION

campus
Bid to privatise education raises hackles

As “if the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) proposed Model Act was not enough, the decision to withdraw the Extended College Scheme has further compounded the ire of the academic lot. They contend that the UGC, instead of encouraging higher education, is scuttling its development and expansion. A student sitting on a dharna during the protest against fee hike, commercialisation and communalisation of education organised by All India Democratic Student's organisation at Jantar Mantar in the Capital. (File Photo) VC’s decision  opposed Marketing Congress Fashion lessons for journalists Diploma in insurance Aptech ties up With AIESEC

SPORTS

12 school teams for Kangaroo Cup Soccer
New Delhi, January 14
Twelve prominent school teams will participate in the Kangaroo Cup Under-14 and Under-17 Football Tournament to be held at the Ambedkar Stadium from Thursday. St. Columba’s School will take on Father Agnel School, Noida in the opening match of the under-14 group at 12 noon. The matches will be played on a league-cum-knockout basis.

Jeev Milkha, Jyoti Randhawa for Pro-Am Golf

New Delhi, January 14 Top professionals like Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa are among the 16 professionals who have been listed to participate in the ninth Business Today Pro-Am Golf Championship to be held at the Classic Golf Resort in Gurgaon on January 17 and 18. Former Asian Games medallist Rishi Narain (from left), Ashish Bagga and AKMA Shamsuddin at the launch of the Business Today Pro-Am Golf Tournament.

Ram Babu Gupta named manager of U-19 World Cup squad
New Delhi, January 14
Former Test umpire and present treasurer of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) Ram Babu Gupta has been appointed manager of the forthcoming Under-19 World Cup ICC Trophy Championship to be held in Dhaka (Bangladesh) in February. DDCA vice-president C K Khanna, who is also the vice-chairman of the Communication and Co-Ordination Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said Ram Babu’s appointment was made by the Board.

Gajender, Soni star in LIC’s victory
New Delhi, January 14
A fine knock of 75 by Gajender Singh and deadly bowling of 4 for 44 by P K Soni helped Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) beat Pioneer Club by 51 runs in an A-II Division match of the DDCA League at the Yamuna Sports Complex ground.