TOP STORIES

Double trouble for farmers
Failure to hike MSP for kharif crops irks drought-hit farmers
Faridabad, September 30
While the farmers are still reeling from the drought effect, the decision of the Union Government not to enhance the minimum support price (MSP) of kharif crops (paddy) has added insult to injury, feels the farming community in the district.

Farmers’ body urges govt to buy paddy
Sonepat, September 30
The district unit of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti has demanded that the state-owned procurement agencies should come into the market immediately to purchase paddy, which had already arrived in the foodgrain markets of the district.

Sikh farmers during a protest march at Jantar Mantar, in support of their demand for immediate announcement of MSP for paddy. — Tribune Photo Mukesh Aggarwal

Traffic goes for a toss on Rohtak line Jhajjar, September 30 The rail traffic on the Delhi-Rohtak section, which remained suspended for nearly 18 hours after the derailment of a goods train just ahead of Bahadurgarh railway station here on Sunday night, was partially restored this afternoon. A major tragedy was averted as a passenger train had passed just 15 minutes before the accident. All the passenger and express trains were cancelled after the derailment. The work of lifting the wreckage of the derailed train and laying new tracks is going on a war-footing. A senior railway official claimed that the rail traffic would be restored by 8 pm tonight. A crane lifts the damaged wagon. — Tribune Photo.

Nod to changes in Gurgaon stretch 
Gurgaon, September 30
The district administration has been successful in prevailing over the National Highway Authority of Indian (NHAI), making it agree to the amendments in their blue print for widening the Delhi-Jaipur highway stretch falling in Gurgaon city.

HC dismisses plea for quashing of DJS rules
New Delhi, September 30
The Delhi High Court today dismissed a petition seeking quashing of the Delhi Judicial Services (DJS) Rules on the ground that they were violative of the provisions of the Constitution.

Counting sheep no longer helps put one to sleep
New Delhi, September 30
Early to bed and early to rise may no longer be the panacea for being healthy, wealthy and wise. A lot more needs to be done in these days of perennial stress of urban living if one has to achieve the three. A study conducted by the National Sleep Survey Organisation in the United States indicates that one third of the urban adult population is suffering from sleep related disorders.

NCERT releases embargoed books
New Delhi, September 30
After getting the go-ahead from the Supreme Court last week, the controversial social sciences text book for class IX and the Hindi text books were released by the NCERT here today. Now, thousands of students and teachers, who were managing thus far without books, can heave a sigh of relief.

COMMUNITY

Bhajan Lal’s show-cause politics angers leaders
Rewari, September 30
Many senior leaders of the Congress Party in Haryana have been unhappy with the functioning of the HPCC president, Mr Bhajan Lal. The ‘anti Bhajan Lal faction’ in Haryana, including senior leaders like Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, leader of the Haryana Congress Legislature Party (HCLP), Mr Birender Singh, member of the election committee, Miss Shailja, former Union Minister and Rao Inderjit Singh, MLA and member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), have been unhappy with the affairs of the Congress Party in Haryana.

JD(U) blames state for failure of welfare schemes 
Faridabad, September 30
The Union Minister for Food Distribution and Civil Supplies, Mr Sharad Yadav, has said that ‘corruption and inefficiency' at the level of the state government was the main hurdle for the ration not effectively reaching the poor. 

Faridabad, not Gurgaon, launch pad for CM
Faridabad, September 30
The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will launch the state-wide cleanliness drive from here on October 2. Earlier, it was announced that the CM would preside over such a function at Gurgaon to start off the campaign. According to the district authorities, Mr Chautala would launch the drive from the MCF auditorium here at 6.45 am and would flag off rallies by children to create mass awareness on the issue.

BJP to enrol 10 lakh members
New Delhi, September 30
The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fixed a target of enrolling 10 lakh men and women as registered members. The campaign will be launched on Wednesday and continue through December 2.

Lottery trade: One man’s meat, another man’s poison Sonepat, September 30 Lottery business, which is becoming brisker by the day, may be a gravy train for those in the trade but to the discomfiture of the police, the practice threatens to wreak havoc on the lives of youngsters who are out to make a fast buck.

‘Clean Up the World Campaign’ takes off 
New Delhi, September 30
In an ambitious attempt to clean up the environment through community-based programmes, the Australian High Commission, along with Delhi schools, today launched the India chapter of the ''2002 Clean Up the World Campaign'' at Gandhi Smriti here.

Cops must be exposed to literature: IG
Faridabad, September 30
“Policemen must be exposed to literature, if we want to bring an attitudinal change in their style of functioning”. This observation was made by Mr V. N. Rai, IG, an IPS officer of Haryana cadre posted in Delhi at present, while talking to some newspersons here recently.

FACE TO FACE
‘There should be one doctor for six hundred people’
Dr Sushil Kumar (MBBS, MS, MCH), Dean, Maulana Azad Medical College, took the reins of the college in 2001. Dr Kumar, who gives more credit to his faculty, started his career in medicine in 1966. Since then he has worked with various hospitals including Safdarjung and GB Pant Hospital.  Maulana Azad Medical College Dean Dr Sushil Kumar

DELHI DIGEST
MCD directed to take action against illegal constructions
New Delhi, September 30
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to take action against illegal constructions in Karol Bagh area of the Capital and file a report within six weeks.

Every citizen should plant a tree: Mayor
New Delhi, September 30
Mayor Jaishree Panwar attended a tree plantation function organised by Kadam, an NGO, at Sagarpur. Besides her, Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress President of the area, Mr Rajesh Lolithia, Vice-Chairman, Najafgarh Zone, corporator Kanta Rani also attended the function.

CRIME

Dowry menace claims two more lives 
Sonepat, September 30
The Kharkhauda police has registered a dowry death case against members of the in-laws’ family of Sharmeela, a young housewife, whose body was found hanging in her house at Kharkhauda town, 19 km from here, yesterday.

Youth gunned down over garbage site
Noida, September 30
In a dispute over a small piece of land in Khurshedpur village in Jarcha police station, a youth was killed in a hail of bullets in broad daylight. Now police and PAC jawans are keeping vigil on the village. But even 12 hours after the murder, police have not been able to arrest any of the four accused.

Youths arrested for stabbing shopkeeper 
New Delhi, September 30
Two youths were arrested by the Saraswati Vihar police for killing a shopkeeper last night. The arrested persons were identified as Manoj and Rajesh and their third accomplice was identified as Ratan. Reportedly, an altercation turned into physical fight while they were purchasing namkeen from Raj Kumar, the victim, in Shiva market in Saraswati Vihar.

HEALTH

‘Positive attitude must for healthy body’
Rewari, September 30
At least 250 doctors from Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kolkata, Mumbai and various other parts of the country participated in an all-India seminar on mind, body, medicine and meditation, which concluded at the Om Shanti Retreat Centre at Bhora Kalan, 30 km from here, yesterday.

2 lakh kids get polio drops in Noida
Noida, September 30
Pulse polio drops were given to 1,82,294 children in the district which fell short of the target of 2,81,903 kids fixed for the campaign this time. District Magistrate K Ram Mohan Rao had inaugurated the programme at Government Hospital in Sector 30 here by giving polio drops to eight kids at 8 am on Sunday.

SPORTS

Timarpur toy with New Friends in DSA League
New Delhi, September 30
Timarpur Club trounced New Friends 3-1 to collect full points in the Delhi Soccer Association (DSA)-SAIL Open Clubs Football League Championship at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium East ground.

Dahiya named Delhi Ranji captain
New Delhi, September 30
India discard Vijay Dahiya has been named the captain of the Delhi Ranji Trophy team for the season 2002-2003 with Mithun Minhas as his deputy. The senior selection committee of the Delhi and District Cricket Association, which met under the chairmanship of Chetan Chauhan, also announced the names of 41 probables, who have been called for trials on October 4 at 2.30 pm at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground.

Sachin Rana stars for R P Academy
New Delhi, September 30
A fine all-round performance by Sachin Rana, who slammed a blistering 122, studded with eight fours and seven sixes off 85 balls, and then claimed six wickets for 30 runs, helped R P Academy beat Lal Bahadur Shastri Club by 103 runs in a Group D League match of the second Shaheed Smriti Under-19 Cricket Tournament for the Rameshwar Trophy, organised by the North Delhi Cricketers’ Association, at the Bharat Nagar Sports Complex ground. The winners got four points.

Airlines win golf title
New Delhi, September 30
Indian Airlines beat Sri Lankan Airways on a back-nine count-back to annex the 1st India Tourism Global Interline Golf Championship, which was played at the par-72, Classic Golf Resort.

Honda-Siel golf moves to DLF 
New Delhi, September 30
The Honda-Siel PGA Championship of India, the most prestigious event on the PGA Indian Tour, enters its ninth year with a shift in venue to the DLF Golf & Country Club.

Mayank shines for Modern
New Delhi, September 30
A spitfire unbeaten knock of 82 by Mayank Sidana and an unbeaten 54 by Deepak Rajput helped Modern School, Barakhamba Road beat Guru Harikrishan Public School, India Gate, by ten wickets in the third Parle Cup Inter-School Under-17 Cricket Tournament at the Modern School ground. Modern School have qualified for the league round.

61 teams for CBSE schools soccer
New Delhi, September 30
Sixty-one teams will participate in the CBSE Cluster X Football Tournament to be held from October 1 to 10 at the Ganga International School ground, Hiran Kudna (Rohtak Road).

IA enter final
New Delhi, September 30
Indian Airlines beat Delhi Police by 13 runs and entered the final of the Turf Sports Management Six-a-Side Cricket Tournament at the Palam ground. Lal Bahadur Shastri Club beat Malviya Club by three wickets to set up a title clash against Indian Airlines.

DPS annex basketball title New Delhi, September 30 Delhi Public School (DPS), R K Puram lifted the All-India Public School Conference Basketball Tournament for boys beating Welham School, Dehra Dun 54-52 in the final at the Mayo College court, Ajmer. The DPS team, which won the All-India Public School Conference Basketball Tournament at Mayo College in Ajmer, with principal Shyama Chona, vice-principal D R Saini and coach K S Kohli.

Gaurav hits ton for Cambridge
New Delhi, September 30
Gaurav Mathur smashed an unbeaten 140 as Cambridge Foundation School, Rajouri Garden beat Sardar Patel Vidyalaya by 87 runs in the sixth Inter-School Under-17 Cricket Tournament at the Gyan Bharti School ground, Saket.

• Dhillon joins Indian squad

• R R Gym in semis

• City Cable win