TOP STORIES

FATAL HOLI BONFIRE
Nine perish in slum cluster blaze
New Delhi, March 18
Nine people, including five children and a woman, were killed and three others injured in a major fire that devastated a slum cluster near Red Fort on the Yamuna Pushta early this morning. In video: (28k, 56k)

Delhiites happy to paint the town red for
two days
New Delhi, March 18
Life becomes all beer and skittles for Delhiites amidst confusion on the official date for Holi. The festival of riotous colours was celebrated on Tuesday, providing a chance for an extended holiday to many though affecting businesses of some.

SOME DAY IT WILL BE MY TURN. — Photo by Anil Sharma

When a school is blind to the rights of visually impaired
New Delhi, March 18
The Delhi High Court has asked the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union of India to file their replies to a PIL which claims that seven blind students have been denied admission to a branch of Kendriya Vidyalaya on the ground that they had failed to furnish their birth certificates.

SPOTLIGHT
‘Sensitive’ UP has only five bomb disposal squads
Ghaziabad, March 18
Despite the heightened threat perception, Uttar Pradesh is ill-equipped to deal with terrorist strikes. For instance, there are only five bomb disposal squads (BDS), three out of which are regularly stationed at Agra, Ayodhya and Mathura, which leaves just two squads for the rest of the state.

ANTI-DEMOLITION VOICE
Legalise extensions for a fee, as in Delhi, say hapless residents
Faridabad, March 18
While the campaign against encroachments in various residential sectors is likely to continue, the estimated loss to the residents, who had gone in for unauthorised constructions and extensions in their houses, will run into several crores of rupees.

Three traffickers held, heroin worth Rs 3.5 cr seized
New Delhi, March 18
In a major haul, the Delhi Police have seized three-and-a-half kg of heroin worth Rs 3.5 crore in the international market and arrested three suspects from different areas of the Capital.

MC officers blamed for faulty house tax assessment
Sonepat, March 18
House owners in Sonepat town are upset with the municipal council authorities over the way house tax is assessed and charged. They are also piqued by the delay in issuing the house tax bills and the apathy of the officials in redressing the grievances aired through complaints about wrong assessments.

POLITICS

Jhakhar asks secular forces to unite against NDA govt
Sonepat, March 18
Dubbing the recent Union Budget proposals as pro-rich and anti-farmer, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Balram Jhakhar has appealed to all secular forces to unite on a single platform to wage a battle to oust the communal and capitalist forces ruling the nation.

COMMUNITY

SPECIAL FOCUS ON GURGAON
NGO asks Nitish Kumar to start DMU service on 
Delhi-Rewari section
Gurgaon, March 18
A prominent multifarious NGO, Sanyukt Kalyan Parishad, has appealed to the Union Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, to start the already sanctioned DMU train service on the Delhi-Gurgaon-Rewari section.

Rs 4 cr sanctioned to pay dues to farmers
Noida, March 18
UP Minister of State for Irrigation Nawab Singh Naggar said a priority list was being formulated for speedy payment of dues to the farmers for their land acquired by the government.

Colonies, posh and model in name only! 
New Delhi March 18
You should be careful while walking in the posh colonies of Civil Lines area, Derawal Nagar and Model Town, considering the state of the roads there. A number of accidents have taken place in the two colonies. Residents often complained that their vehicles got punctured while negotiating the potholed and slushy roads.

Vidrohi voices concern over rape, murder incidents 
Sonepat, March 18
The Haryana Pradesh Janata Dal (U) president, Mr Ved Parkash Vidrohi, has expressed concern over the increasing incidence of rape, murder, loot and other heinous crimes in the state and said that the police have become just a paper tiger. They have completely failed to check the criminals and other anti-social elements, Mr Vidrohi said.

Chemists to observe strike on March 25
Sonepat, March 18
The Haryana State Chemists and Druggists Association today gave a call to its members to observe a day’s strike on March 25 to register their protest against the introduction of VAT in the state from April 1.

Knowledge workers key to rural development
Noida, March 18
Addressing the first seminar on Development of Mofussil and Rural Areas under the aegis of the Society for Advancement of Networking and Communication for Human and Allied Resources (Sanchar), Dr Shamel Gosh said that communication is the key to development as it leads to knowledge and knowledge, in turn, to wisdom.

NCR BRIEFS
Cong to launch ‘Jal Yudh’ for SYL canal
Sonepat, March 18
Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Leader of the Opposition in Haryana, has declared that his party would launch ‘Jal Yudh’ and block Delhi from three sides to get the SYL canal completed in the Punjab territory.

• Diocese of Haryana

DELHI DIGEST
RBI offer on torn notes
New Delhi, March 18
During a week-long special driver, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has offered to exchange soiled and torn currency notes from the public through their special counters in various commercial banks.

Revellers throw stones at passengers
Sonepat, March 18
Four passengers including two women were seriously injured when a group of miscreants pelted them with stones and filth while they were travelling on a passenger train bound for Delhi yesterday.

CRIME

Chain-snatching incidents on the increase
Faridabad, March 18
Wearing jewellery and going out in the open has become a risky affair here. At least two incidents of chain-snatching were reported in the last four days. In the recent incident, a married woman of Sector-16 here was on the way to a temple yesterday when two motorcycle-borne youths came from behind and snatched the gold necklace and a chain worn by the woman. Identified as Neelam Goel, the woman raised the alarm but the culprits had taken to their heels by then.

COURTS

KILLERS ROADS
HC dismisses PIL on accidental deaths due to lack of 
first-aid facilities
New Delhi, March 18
The Delhi High Court today dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) for the lack of independent investigation content and having failed to bring proper instances before the court about the high accident deaths on the Capital’s roads.

CULTURE

GLITZ&GLAMOUR
Making Holi more than just a colourful occasion

The consequence of Holi is not just spoilt clothes and floors, but thanks to the chemicals that are so lavishly mixed with the colours, the skin and hair are traumatised. With health and beauty experts recommending natural colours and herbal dyes, Holi may after all turn out to be less grisly. To make your Holi truly colourful, try the tips generously handed to us by skin care experts. Use natural colours or the ones made by reputed companies using natural products. They are safe and promise colour not scars. To make your own colours, all you need is a few plants and little bit of ingenuity. For the colour green, take plants like Henna, dry and powder it. Natural colours will not only keep Holi clean but make your skin glow.

Fashion Festival Festive collection Wooing India

Hindi cinema encapsulated Showcasing Indian dances

‘Putul Yatra’ to showcase traditional and modern puppetry New Delhi, March 18 Thirty-two puppet theatre groups from across the country will join the Sangeet Natak Academy’s golden jubilee celebrations. As part of the celebrations, the Sangeet Natak Academy is organising the ‘Putul Yatra’, a national festival of puppet theatre.

SPORTS

Karni Shooting Range  sports a new look

New Delhi, March 18 The Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, once a run-down ‘showpiece’ of the Sports Authority of India, now sports a spick and span look with the excellent facilities at the range in top gear. Poornima Advani, Chairperson, National Commission for Women, presents the Ryan Foundation award to Arjuna Award-winning athlete and shooter Rachana Govil, watched by Jaya Jaitley at a function at the India International Centre in New Delhi.

Mool Chand Chowhan gets Olympic Order
New Delhi, March 18
Long-serving secretary-general of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) Mool Chand Chowhan has been conferred the Olympic Order by the Council of the Olympic Order of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Rachana Govil felicitated
New Delhi, March 18
The Ryan Foundation honoured Arjuna Award-winning sports administrator Rachana Govil and five others by conferring them the “Women of Substance Award” at a function held at the India International Centre.

Sahara cheer squad leave for SA
New Delhi, March 18
A 19-member celebrity Sahara cheer squad, led by Subrata Roy, has left for South Africa, aboard a chartered flight, to cheer the Indian team, as they take on Kenya in the ICC World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

Virender helps HDFC Bank win
New Delhi, March 18
Virender Bhoj hit an unbeaten 55 to guide HDFC Bank to a seven-wicket victory against National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and entered the semi-final of the tenth Teri Cup Cricket Tournament at the Teri Oval.