TOP STORIES

Nine killed in factory fire
New Delhi, December 28
At least nine persons, including a woman, were charred to death and eight injured in a fire which broke out after a furnace exploded in a plastic factory in Samaipur Badli area of North-West Delhi this morning. A portion of the factory collapsed in the fire.

A plastic glass sheet factory was gutted at Samaipur Badli in North-West Delhi on Saturday after a smelter on the premises blew up, spewing molten plastic at the workers employed in the unit. 
— Tribune Photo Mukesh Aggarwal

• Another blaze

Curbs on autos extended in Faridabad
Faridabad, December 28
The district authorities have extended the restrictions on the plying of three-wheeler autorickshaws on all days and decided to regulate their movement on the basis of registration numbers.

Khanak mining work being restored
Bhiwani, December 28
The mining operations in Khanak quarry have been restored. Though an order had been received on December 21, work could be started only two days back. However, there was no official announcement in this regard.

PANIPAT
Hundreds of phones ‘dead’ for three days
Panipat, December 28
With a major telephone exchange in the district—Naultha—developing a technical snag, thousands of residents of several villages have been cut off from the outside world since Thursday night.

A model after the total makeover at Spykar Style Lab in the Capital on Saturday.
— A Tribune photograph

	No electronic meter, no hike: Maken December 28, 2002
	Floating migrants blamed December 27, 2002
	First day sell-out at Metro December 26, 2002
	Sheila in full cry at BJP’s Metro ‘rally’ December 25, 2002
	Sheila gripes at BJP scramble to take credit for Metro December 24, 2002
	Haryana orders reopening of mill December 23, 2002
	CM says ‘no’ to Ahulana panel December 22, 2002
	SC allows govt to register 5,000 autos December 21, 2002
	Delhi Govt plans integrated transport authority December 20, 2002
	Govt seeks SC nod for new autos December 19, 2002

COMMUNITY

Tehbazari comes to an end by Jan 1
Bhiwani, December 28
The local municipal council may face a financial squeeze with the New Year. The Urban Development Department, Haryana has directed the municipal council to stop recovering tehbazari from the next year. The department has written a letter to the council to comply with its orders without fail.

NGO’s project to green slums
New Delhi, December 28
Greenline, an NGO working for the improvement of the environment, has initiated a project, ‘Grassroots’, to help improve the environs in and around the slums. The NGO has roped in children and unemployed youth living in slum clusters to plant saplings of fruit trees.

DPCC celebrates INC foundation day
New Delhi, December 28
The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) today celebrated the 117th foundation day of the Indian National Congress.

SEARCH WITHIN
New beginnings for the year ahead
As we enter 2003, we are bound to have our sweet dreams, our fears, apprehensions and uncertainties. How are we going to face the future? Where will help come from? Many trust God and that has been one of the factors, which had helped millions in the past to face an uncertain future.

GURGAON
Crime under control, claims I-G
Gurgaon, December 28
The police authorities of Gurgaon range, covering Gurgaon, Faridabad, Rewari and Mahendragarh districts, are patting themselves on their own back for, as per their claim, keeping crimes under control this year as compared to the number of incidents last year.

Cong leaders flayed for ‘double standards’ on SYL issue
Rewari, December 28
Mr Vijay Somany, convenor of the Rashtriya Navchetna, a voluntary organisation of south Haryana, has flayed the top brass of the state unit of the Congress for what he described as their double standards in the SYL canal issue.

GHAZIABAD
A dark welcome to this new GDA colony
Ghaziabad, December 28
Who says development is not taking place in Ghaziabad. Lots of development meet the eye as one goes around the area. New colonies and multi-storeyed housing complexes are coming up and new roads are being laid.

SPECIAL FOCUS ON REWARI
The saint who braved British cannons to save Bawani Khera
Rewari, December 28
Baba Ram Roopji Maharaj, an illustrious saint of the nineteenth century, still holds sway over the people of Bawani Khera, which is now in Bhiwani district. The flow of devotees at his holy shrine, which lies in the heart of the town, continues throughout the year.

SONEPAT
Lifer dies in mysterious circumstances
Sonepat, December 28
Ram Singh, a prisoner undergoing life imprisonment in a murder case died in mysterious circumstances in the district jail here yesterday.

• Fatal fall
• 5 farmers held
• Depot holders protest
• Shop theft

Shepherds victim of forest dept trickery
Sonepat, December 28
The officials of the Forest Department are stated to be duping the innocent and illiterate people at the cost of the state exchequer in the district.

Bodies found
Ghaziabad
Two bodies were recovered in the city on December 27. The body of a rickshaw-puller was found near the new bus stop with the throat slit. He was suspected to be an informer of the revenue department.

• Headless youth

GETTING AWAY
Time flies when you are in Mahendragarh
Located in the northern part of Haryana, Mahendragarh with its headquarters at Narnaul comprises two subdivisions, two tehsils and five blocks. Known as Kanaud, which took its name from the Kanaudia Group of Brahmins, it was founded by Malik Mahmud Khan, a servant of Babur.

Jal Mahal: Reminiscent of the Mughal art

NCR BRIEFS
Man killed in a hail of bullets
Rohtak, December 28
As many as five armed miscreants shot dead a middle aged man at Ismaila village in Sampla town on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Mahender who was allegedly involved in smuggling liquor, according to police sources.

• Man drowns in Agra Canal
• Environment award

NDPL launches five vans to rectify faults
New Delhi, December 28
North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL) today introduced five breakdown vans to augment its fault management system. Power Minister Ajay Maken flagged off the vans from Basai Darapur.

Delhi Minister of Power, Transport and Tourism Ajay Maken flagging off the breakdown vans of NDPL in the Capital on Saturday. — Tribune Photo Mukesh Aggarwal

HEALTH

All ready for polio drive
Rewari
The district administration and the Health Department authorities have geared up to meet the target of 100 per cent coverage under the pulse polio immunisation programme, which is going to be launched in the district from January 5 to January 7, according to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Vineet Garg.

BODY & MIND
Good news for would-be mothers
The Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research in Mehrauli Institutional Area here claims to have taken the lead in setting up India’s first single room maternity care unit.

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Sushma Swaraj inaugurating the single room maternity care unit at the Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research.

• Symposium on knee replacement
• Zonal advisory committees
• Low-fat salad dressings