TOP STORIES

12 die in Noida slum fire

Noida, April 22 Twelve persons were charred to death and over a thousand jhuggis destroyed in a devastating fire in Sector 40 near Amity School here today.

Policemen supervising relief operations at the site of fire. —Photo by Anil Sharma

PGIMS: General category thrives on SC/ST quota
Rohtak, April 22
It appears that the reservation policy of the State government is being undermined in the government-owned Pt B.D. Sharma Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Science (PGIMS). Although very few candidates are available for faculty posts from the scheduled caste/scheduled tribe category, the rules are bypassed with impunity whenever a faculty post falls vacant on a reservation roster point. The post, thus, is given to some influential candidate from the general category, throwing all norms of reservation to the winds.

Gurgaon closure notices revoked
Gurgaon, April 22
The notices served by the Gurgaon Municipal Council last week on industrial units operating in residential areas, directing them to down shutters within three days, may be treated as null and void.

Doctors take umbrage at ‘harassment’
Pataudi (Gurgaon), April 22
Medical practitioners in the district are up in arms against the alleged harassment of a prominent child specialist, Dr Narender Yadav, who has done his post-graduation from the Rohtak Medical College.

MCF to spend Rs 1 crore on civic amenities
Faridabad, April 22
The Municipal Corporation, Faridabad, is likely to spend Rs. one crore on revamp and repairs of roads, lights and other civic amenities in the industrial sectors here. According to deputy Commissioner, Mr Arun Kumar, the repairs of roads, street lights and sewers in the industrial sectors had been taken up in various meetings, including the District Grievances and Public Relations Committee, chaired by the Chief Minister, here on April 1.

COMMUNITY

Water-harvesting: Time to take a leaf from President’s book

New Delhi, April 22 Delving deep into the well-springs of Indian folklore, President K.R. Narayanan has set an example in water conservation by installing water-harvesting technology in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In two monsoon seasons, the level of groundwater rose by 0.87 cm in 2000 and I cm in 2001, thereby reversing a trend of depletion in which the aquifer shrank by seven metres in a decade.

A watershed: The Rashtrapati Bhavan sets an example in water conservation.

Ban wheat sale by UP farmers: HVP
Sonepat, April 22
The Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) general secretary, Mr Rajiv Jain, today demanded an immediate ban on the sale of wheat in the grain markets of Haryana by the farmers of Uttar Pradesh as it was creating a lot of hardships for the state farmers.

Call to probe HPSC functioning
Faridabad, April 22
The president of the Haryana unit of the Janata Dal (U), Mr Ved Prakash Vidrohi, has demanded a high level probe into the functioning of the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) in order to expose the alleged corruption.

FACE TO FACE
‘School is the place to learn the art of film-making’
Sandeep Marwah is a well-known stage, film and television personality and probably the youngest director of a film school anywhere in the world. Sandeep Marwah had been instrumental in the establishment of the Noida Film City in 1987 He has been supporting the film and television producers in their work in the sprawling Marwah Films and Video Studio complex for the past 11 years.

Airport security forces keep their powder dry
New Delhi, April 22
In order to check the preparedness of the agencies attached with the airport security during emergency situations, a ‘dummy exercise’ was jointly carried out by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), this afternoon at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Roadways employees told not to take part in strike
Panipat, April 22
The Transport Commissioner of Haryana, Mr Rajan Gupta, has directed all the general managers (GMs)of Haryana Roadways in the state to take strict disciplinary action against the employees participating in the token strike on April 24 for which a call has been given by a section of the employees of Haryana Roadways against the supported policy of the state government for privatisation of certain depots of the roadways.

NCR BRIEFS
Citizens appeal to the President on Gujarat violence 
Rohtak, April 22
Several prominent citizens of the town have appealed to the President to issue necessary directions to the centre and the state governments to put an immediate check on the ongoing violence in Gujarat and to protect the constitutional framework of the country.

Stay order Relocation of dairies Youth drowns Rs 90 lakh recovered Three arrested Wheat arrival

Nine injured Anti-encroachment drive Illegal construction Jeweller robbed Sarpanch removed

CRIME

Inter-state criminal arrested
New Delhi, April 22
The Delhi Police special cell has apprehended an inter-state criminal, Rajesh Dahiya, alias Kala (30), who was a sharp shooter in the Kishan-Pahelwan gang and involved in cases of murder, dacoity, extortion, kidnapping for ransom and criminal intimidation.

Gang of thieves busted, 2 women among 4 held
Sonepat, April 22
With the arrest of four persons including two women, the Murthal police have busted an inter-state gang of thieves operating in Delhi and parts of Haryana. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Paramjit Singh Ahlawat told the mediapersons here today that the arrested persons have been identified as Sunil of Sagarpur, Neelam of Janakpuri (Delhi), Suresh of Kerala and Bimla of Nangloi (Delhi).

Four minors held for alleged gang rape
New Delhi, April 22
The North-West district police have identified six minor persons for their alleged involvement in a gang rape in Ashok Vihar area. Police have arrested four minors, all residents of Chandrashekar Azad juhggi in Wazirpur. The other two were at large, and the police have launched a major hunt to trace the remaining accused.

Woman seeks arrest of husband’s killers
Rewari, April 22
Mrs Saroj Devi, wife of Jitender Kumar, whose body was recovered by the Government Railway Police (GRP), Rewari, from a spot some distance away from the Bawal Railway Station on November 15, 2001, has made a written complaint to the Chief Minister and the DGP of Haryana as well as the Chairman of the Human Rights Commission, seeking an immediate arrest of the killers of her husband.

Crime branch nails fake company, owner held 
New Delhi, April 22
The economic offences wing of the crime branch has unearthed a racket of a fake company Adsum Capital Inc near Mahipal Pur Extension for cheating many innocent people on the pretext of providing them loans on reasonable interest rates.

EDUCATION

CM opens deaf and dumb care home
Sonepat, April 22
The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, inaugurated a newly built eight-room hostel on the premises of the Deaf and Dumb Children Care Home here today. The hostel has been constructed at a cost of Rs 35 lakh, which was raised through public contributions, with the concerted efforts made by Mr S N Roy, Deputy Commissioner and his wife Mrs Sangeeta Roy, who is the chairperson of the District Red Cross Society.

HEALTH

Injured driver writhes in pain, awaits hospital's attention 
Faridabad, April 22
Although Dharamvir, a truck driver who had been seriously injured in an accident, was admitted to the Badshah Khan Civil Hospital today, his condition remained almost the same. The hospital staff have allegedly neglected him.

SPORTS

Ashish races to victory in night car rally

New Delhi, April 22 Ashish Ahuja won the first prize in the “Delhi by Night Car Rally” organised by Excel Motors and Delhi Achievers Round Table (DART) in association with Hindustan Motors. The Delhi by Night Car Rally was a navigational rally run on international TSD pattern. The rally was flagged off from the Claridges Hotel by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit flagging off the ‘Delhi by Night Car Rally’ from the Claridges Hotel in the Capital.

Team MRF for Canberra Rally
New Delhi, April 22
Team MRF is all set to create history with their debut in the challenging APRC (Asian Pacific Rally Championship). Reigning Asia Zone champions V.Naren Kumar and co-driver D. Ramkumar, along with Arjun Balu and co-driver R. Kumar, will match their driving skills against some of the best rallyists in the world.

FICCI to hold open house on sports
New Delhi, April 22
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, will organise an open house on “Public Partnership: Road Map to Excellence in Sports in India” at the FICCI auditorium, Tansen Marg, New Delhi on Wednesday (April 24) at 11 am.

Damandeep Singh slams century
New Delhi, April 22
A dashing century by Damandeep Singh (107, 12x4, 2x6, 96b) and deadly bowling by Rajeev Yadav (5 for 11) and Tapeshver Tyagi (5 for 18) powered Rajdhani Club to a crushing 204 runs victory against Rising Star, Green Park, in the Rajdhani Cup Cricket Tournament at Najafgarh Sports Complex.

Bhupinder Rana wins Mr Delhi crown
New Delhi, April 22
Bhupinder Rana of Muscle Gymnasium emerged the champion in the 85-90kg category in the Mr Delhi Open Body Building Championship held under the aegis of the Amateur Body Building Association at the Badarpur Border in Delhi.Bhupinder Rana captivated the audience with his well-sculpted, muscled body to walk away with the crown. Mr Amit Sharma, managing director of Muscle Gym, honoured Bhupinder Rana with a trophy.

Namrata and Atul steal putting show
New Delhi, April 22
Namrata and Atul Dhir stole the show with a brilliant performance to tally 41 points and win the title in the Tee 2 Putting for Couples competition held at the Taj Palace Kafe Fontana putting greens in the Capital.

Bisth, Ankur Garg star for RR Gym
New Delhi, April 22
A fine knock of 58 runs by Delhi Under-16 player Robin Bisth and all-round performance by Ankur Garg (3 for 35 and 21 n.o) helped Rohtak Road Gymkhana beat Dronacharya Cricket Academy by three wickets in the first Gyan Prakash Memorial Under-17 Cricket Tournament at the Mohan Meakin ground. Robin Bisth was in his elements as he executed a range of strokes all round the field.

Malviya down Youngsters in DDCA League
New Delhi, April 22
Malviya Club beat Youngsters by 58 runs in a Super A Division match of the DDCA League at the DAV College ground in the Capital.

ADMINISTRATION

Chautala  suspends food & civil supplies inspector
Panipat, April 22
The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, has reportedly ordered for the suspension of an Inspector of Food and Civil Supplies Department following complaints of unsatisfactory lifting of purchased wheat from number of shops in Panipat grain market during his unscheduled visit in different grain markets at Israna, Panipat and Babarpur mandi today.