TOP STORIES

UP'S WILD WEST
Livid farmers ransack DM’s office
Meerut, January 25
The restive farmer community in Western Uttar Pradesh has begun to vent its ire. Faced with non-payment of dues by sugar mill owners for the past several months, they, led by the Bharatiya Kisan Union, ransacked the District Magistrate’s office at Muzaffarnagar yesterday resulting in a lathi charge in which at least 24 policemen and scores of activists, including BKU president Mahendra Singh Tikait, were injured.

3-tier security for R-Day
New Delhi, January 25
A multi-tiered security blanket was thrown over the Capital tonight to ensure an incident-free Republic Day parade in view of the threat perception.

A BSF jawan at Vijay Chowk. — Tribune Photo Mukesh Aggarwal

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit taking guard of honour on the eve of the Republic Day celebrations in the Capital on Saturday. — Tribune Photo Mukesh Aggarwal Schoolchildren performing on the eve of Republic Day in the Capital on Saturday. — Tribune Photo

Clean air our gift: Sheila 
New Delhi, January 25
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit says clean air is her Cabinet’s gift to the people of NCT of Delhi. Generations to come, Mrs Dikshit told the city on the eve of Republic Day, will benefit from the considerable reduction in pollution. And that, she explains, owes in no small measure to the introduction of environment-friendly Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel for buses, autorickshaws and taxis and electricity-propelled Delhi Metro.

CRIME SPIRAL
Criminal shot dead, relatives scoot with body
Sonepat, January 25
A most wanted and dreaded criminal, Krishan Mehndipuria, was shot dead and his relative, Anand, sustained bullet injuries when three unidentified youths fired at them near Nahri village, about 25 km from here, last evening while they were going in a car.

HOW BRAZEN CAN BRAZEN BE
‘Demolition’ over, the land mafia is back for good
Noida, January 25
The Noida Administration, which had claimed to have freed government land worth crores of rupees from encroachers in Daulat Ram Colony, Dadri, has not been able to remove even the ‘kharanja’ (parapet) from the premises.

Hawkers, jhuggi dwellers bear the brunt
Faridabad, January 25
Jhuggi-dwellers as well as hawkers and vendors are a worried lot here, following a drive launched by the district administration against encroachments in the town. Ever since Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala set a deadline (March 31) for removal of encroachments on government land, the local authorities have gone into a frenzy.

Gurgaon gets an interceptor for rash drivers
Gurgaon, January 25
Motorists in Gurgaon or whosoever happens to enter the city, beware. For, the administration has girded up its loins to nab those who do not conform to traffic rules.

THE ACHIEVERS
A 13-yr-old brave heart from Noida
New Delhi, January 25
She is among 21 brave children from all over the country and the only recipient from the NCR region of this year’s coveted Bravery Award. It was the usual evening on July 29, 2001, for Noidites, but for 13-year-old Shambavi Ray, Class 8 student of Apeejay School, Noida , it was a day to remember.

COMMUNITY

Mayawati govt not responsive, say BJP men
Noida, January 25
BJP general secretary and former UP Chief Minister Raj Nath Singh was at his evasive best while answering some uncomfortable questions during his visit to Noida in connection with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary programme.

Tourist resort earns administration’s ire
Sonepat, January 25
The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Balwan Singh, is reported to have taken serious note of the misconduct and maltreatment charges against the in-charge and staff of Ethnic India, a tourist resort run by the Haryana Tourism Corporation, on the GT Road near Rai village, about 13 km from here, and ordered an inquiry on the issue.

SPECIAL FOCUS ON REWARI
Haryana Governor petitioned  on violence against Dalits

Rewari, January 25 Prominent Dalit leaders of Rewari region have voiced their concern over the increasing atrocities on Dalits and members of the other Backward Classes in south Haryana. A portrait of Sant Durbal Nath being presented to Haryana Governor Babu Parmanand.

DC briefed on inadequate power supply
Rewari, January 25
Farmers of Khandora and other villages of the Bawal Tehsil of the district have been facing considerable hardship due to the reported inadequate power supply and low voltage. 

Now, submit power bills in post office
Sonepat, January 25
The Haryana Power Regulatory Corporation has decided to introduce a system for depositing electricity bills in the post office from February 1 next. According to official sources, this system would be introduced in Ambala, Sonepat and Hisar districts at the initial stage. If this system proved a success, it would be introduced in other districts later on.

SEARCH WITHIN
God doesn’t live in temples or edifices alone
The World Conference on Spiritual Regeneration and Human Values, organised by the Art of Living Foundation of Sri Ravi Shankar at Bangalore, recently was a big draw according to reports received here in New Delhi. The six-day spirituality meet was attended by half-a-dozen chief ministers, a few governors and scores of Central and state ministers besides the Vice-President of India and the Deputy Prime Minister.

GETTING AWAY
Palaces, temples, power project & industries – Kota has it all 
In the 12th century AD along the banks of the Chambal came up the city of Kota, which, among other things, is now famous for its Kota-Doria sarees. The city came up when Rajput conquests began and Rao Deva founded Bundi as the capital of Kota.

Irate residents block traffic 
Sonepat, January 25
Irate resident of Sisana village held up traffic on the Sonepat-Rohtak road near their village, about 25 km from here, last evening in protest against the failure of the officials of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) to replace the damaged electricity transformer for the past 26 days.

DELHI DIGEST
Dr Mashelkar to deliver Zuckerman Lecture
New Delhi, January 25
Dr R. A. Mashelkar, Director-General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has been invited by the UK Government to deliver the prestigious 2003 Zuckerman Lecture in Royal Society, London, on June 11, 2003.

Thirteen from Delhi awarded Police Medals
New Delhi, January 25
Thirteen officers of the Delhi Police have been awarded the Police Medal for distinguished and meritorious services on the eve of the Republic Day. Joint Commissioner (Vigilance), Mrs Kanwaljit Deol and Joint Commissioner (Crime Against Women Cell), Mrs Vimla Mehra have been awarded the President’s Police Medal for distinguished services.

Four NTPC employees get Shram  awards
New Delhi, January 25
Four employees of the National Thermal Power Corporation have bagged Prime Minister’s Shram awards, announced on the eve of the Republic Day. Two employees from Dadri power station of NTPC have been selected for this year’s highest award, ‘Shram Bhushan.’

MC gets relief

CRIME

Two girls get life term for murder
Bhiwani, January 25
A local court sentenced two girls to life imprisonment and fined them Rs 2,000 each on the charge of murdering a youth of Dadhi Bana village two years back. According to the prosecution, Neelam and Shakuntala had brutally murdered Sunil (24) of the same village on the night of December 14, 2000.

BUSINESS

NHPC gives Rs 50 crore dividend to govt
Faridabad, January 25
The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (NHPC), a schedule ‘A’ enterprise of the Union Government, has paid a dividend of Rs 50 crore to the government for the financial year of 2001-2002.

COURTS

HC issues show cause notice on Disabilities Act
New Delhi, January 25
The Delhi High Court has issued show cause notices to the Centre, the Delhi Government and Delhi University on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking the early implementation of the Disabilities Act. The PIL sought the intervention of the court in directing the authorities to identify three per cent posts in various departments for disables people and the allotment of such posts within two years.

Mahant sentenced to RI for rape 
Rewari, January 25
Mr V.P.Gupta, Sessions Judge, Rewari has sentenced Harnam Das, the mahant of Ravi Das Temple of Karoli village of the district, to rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years and a fine of Rs 500 for raping a married woman of the village.

HEALTH

BODY & MIND
25 pc disabled persons unemployed
About 25 per cent disabled persons in the country are unemployed despite the fact they have necessary education and training. This hard reality was presented by none other than Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr Satyanarayan Jatiya, while addressing a conference of the state channelising agencies of the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) on Friday.

Padma Bhushan for Dr Purshotam Lal
New Delhi, January 25
Eminent cardiologist Dr Purshotam Lal, founder of the Metro Hospitals and Heart Institute, Noida, has been awarded Padma Bhushan. A former NRI, he returned from the US to serve his countrymen in 1996. Dr Lal has introduced several new procedures as an alternative to open heart surgery and trained many cardiologists across the country.

SPORTS

Malviya Club win tourney

New Delhi, January 25 A devastating 4 for 20 bowling feat, off just 7.3 overs, by medium-pacer Rodney Charles and a 99-run second-wicket partnership between skipper Sachin Khurana (47 n o) and Kshitij Rohtagi (50 n o), enabled Malviya Club defeat Rohtak Road Gymkhana by nine wickets in the title clash of the seventh Sahibzada Ajit Singh Cricket Tournament, organised by the Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, at their ground in Pitampura.

Cine star Raj Babbar and Kirti Azad with the Malviya Club team, which annexed the Sahibzada Ajit Singh Cricket Tournament at the Guru Gobind Singh College ground at Pitampura.

Western Rly in semis
New Delhi, January 25
Western Railway crushed North-Eastern Railway 33-0 in a women’s match of the PNB-All India Railway Hockey Tournament at the Shivaji Stadium on Saturday. In a Group B match, Surajlatha, the India star, opened the account in the 14th minute when she converted a penalty corner.

Delhi Police whip Goans
New Delhi, January 25
Delhi Police whipped Goans 5-0 to record the biggest victory in a Pool B match of the Delhi Soccer Association (DSA)-SAIL Super League at the Ambedkar Stadium on Saturday.

Gyan Bharti beat Madan Lal