Stampede kills 63 in UP
Jostling to partake of bhandara at ashram triggers panic
Lucknow, March 4
Sixtythree persons, all of them women and children, were killed and 100 others injured in a stampede at Mangadh ashram in Kunda, about 80 km from Pratapgarh district headquarters, in Uttar Pradesh this afternoon.

Locals gather near the stampede site at an ashram in Kunda, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday. — PTI

Gratuity for pvt sector staff up
New Delhi, March 4
Bringing cheers for thousands of private sector employees, the government today approved raising the ceiling for payment of gratuity to them from Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Cabinet nod to 269 nursing colleges
Nation page: Andamans a major port now

Abolish sahayak system: House panel to Army
New Delhi, March 4
A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence today asked the Indian Army to abolish the “colonial” practice of employing jawans as sahayaks of officers. It also expressed "strong displeasure" over the Defence Ministry's procedure to assess the exact level of indigenisation achieved by its production agencies to manufacture equipment.

Major Generals to draw more pension
Chandigarh, March 4
In a significant decision that will affect scores of retired Major Generals, the Armed Forces Tribunal today directed the Ministry of Defence to resolve anomalies in their pension fixation. The Generals were drawing emoluments lower than subordinate rank officers.

Didi embarrasses Pranab in LS
New Delhi, March 4
Trust Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee to say anything at any time! Today, she stopped short of accusing the government of not lending her ministry enough financial muscle in the recent Budget announcements.

Nation page: Sonia backs Pranab on fuel price hike

Time to redefine relations with Centre, says Punjab
Guv seeks transfer of Chandigarh, Punjabi-speaking areas
Chandigarh, March 4
The Budget Session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha started today with Governor Shivraj Patil setting an agenda for restructuring the Centre-state relationship where the states have a greater share in resources in terms of allocation of funds.

Punjab Governor Shivraj V Patil and Vidhan Sabha Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon on their way to attend a session of the Assembly in Chandigarh on Thursday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Capt killed in Pulwama encounter
Srinagar, March 4
An Army Captain and four Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militants were killed in a 30-hour-long encounter in Dadsar in the Tral area of Pulwama district today. While one militant was shot dead yesterday, three others were killed this morning.

Dossiers no basis to arrest Saeed: Pak Islamabad, March 4 Pakistani authorities have decided not to arrest Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed on the basis of new dossiers from India claiming that they do not contain actionable intelligence, according to a media report here today.