Haryana Speaker rules out raw deal to Cong MLAs
Panipat, April 7
Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Satbir Singh Kadian today refuted the allegations of the Opposition leader in Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Mr Bhupender Singh Hooda, who had often said that the Opposition MLAs were not being given sufficient time during the Assembly session.

COMMUNITY

BRASS TACKS
Economy must be restructured to make it mesh with ecosystem
As the probability of a long drawn out war in Iraq recedes, economists the world over and particularly in India would have heaved a sigh of relief. Otherwise the impact on our economy may have been disastrous. This also takes us to the need for shifting the base of our economy from oil, bulk of which is imported, to alternate sources, which are sustainable and eco-friendly.

New rail reservation centres sanctioned
Sonepat, April 7
The Railway Ministry has approved the opening of computerised railway reservation centres at Gohana, Kaithal and Jhajjar this year. The Railways has sanctioned Rs 12 lakh for each of the centre.

FACE TO FACE ‘Company secretary acts as an in-house legal counsel’ An enthusiastic contributor to the corporate life of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Mr Pavan Kumar Vijay, is currently Managing Director of BLB Limited, a financial services company based in Delhi. Thirty-nine-year-old Pavan Kumar Vijay is MCom, LLB and FCS. Apart from being an eloquent speaker, he has been associated with a number of prestigious institutions, including the Investor India Foundation, JIMS, ILI, DU, ICAI etc.

DELHI DIGEST
Teachers protest against US war
New Delhi, April 7
Expressing concern over the war in Iraq, teachers from various universities held a protest march from Mandi House to the American Center here today. The teachers representing the Delhi University, Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Hamdard, IGNOU, Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University, and united under the banner of Federation of Central Universities Teacher’s Associations, handed a letter to the US embassy.

SPECIAL FOCUS ON FARIDABAD
No plans yet to widen Mathura Road as commuters fret and fume
Faridabad, April 7
Travelling on National Highway 2, also known as Mathura Road, passing through the town is quite arduous and risky. While the accident rate on the 50-km stretch of this road in the district is alarming, commuters are faced with traffic jams and unusual congestion at several points.

NCR BRIEFS
Workers rally against Electricity Bill
Faridabad, April 7
Nearly all the employees of the electricity (power) department took part in the demonstrations against the Union government’s decision to introduce Electricity Bill-2001 in Parliament to effect reforms in the power sector. The employees owing allegiance to the All Haryana Power Corporation Workers Union and the Haryana State Electricity Board Employees (workers) Union suspended their work and staged the protest between 9 am and 12 noon.

Chautala favours medicinal plants
Gurgaon, April 7
The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today directed the officials to undertake plantation of medicinal plants on the land of the Forest Department during the coming ‘afforestation’ season.

Dowry case registered after court intervention
Noida, April 7
The police finally swung into action and registered a dowry case against the in-laws of Hemlata, daughter of Prem Prakash Nagar of Moharsa. The case was registered 20 days after the incident when the court demanded a compliance report from the police.

CRIME SPIRAL
Septuagenarian NRI shot dead
Meerut, April 7
A 72-year-old NRI was shot dead by three unidentified assailants here late last night, creating panic in the city. The police said Mr Gurbachan Singh (72) was returning to his residence in Devpuri after dropping his daughter and son-in-law at the railway station late last night when three assailants opened fire indiscriminately, using a 9mm pistol. 

Finance company driver robbed of car
Sonepat, April 7
Three unidentified motorcycle-borne armed miscreants robbed a driver of Indica car about 8 km from here last night while he was returning to the village. According to a report, the incident occurred around 9 pm when the driver of Messrs Mangla Finance Company was going towards Murthal village on the car.

Gang of auto thieves smashed; vehicles seized
Dadri (Noida), April 7
The Dadri police have busted an inter-state gang of auto thieves and recovered three vehicles, including one Santro car, from them. Three gangsters were held while the ring leader Jatinder gave the slip to the police.

BUSINESS

Up in arms, traders say saree is a fabric not a garment
New Delhi, April 7
Saree traders are upset with the Delhi government’s decision to impose sales tax on the trade of sarees for the first time. Calling it “arbitrary and unjustified”, the traders are demanding its withdrawal.

50 per cent of Sonepat’s small scale units are defunct: Survey
Sonepat, April 7
More than 50 per cent of the registered industrial units here have shut down or have been not functioning for the past many a year for one reason or the other. Most of these sick units are small-scale industries and are situated mostly in rural and suburban areas.

Kapil Modi, astride stallion 'Domino', rides to glory.

Kapil Modi emerges dressage champion                                           
New Delhi, April 7
Kapil Modi, astride his Russian stallion ‘Domino’, has won the National Dressage Championship for the fourth consecutive time. The Kapil-Domino duo are the only pair in India to have won the championship four times consecutively.

OCA to fund Olympic Bhavan
New Delhi, April 7
The Indian Olympic Association has signed an agreement with the Olympic Council of Asia and Daimler Chrysler for providing financial assistance to the tune of $ 100,000 under the “Olympasia Project” for the construction of the Olympic Bhavan at the Qutab Institutional Area in New Delhi.

Sonnet annex Devender Cricket Trophy
New Delhi, April 7
A dashing unbeaten 89 by Mayank Sidana and a deadly spell of 3 for 29 by Chetanya Nanda enabled Sonnet Club defeat Lal Bahadur Shastri Club by six wickets to annex the 12th Devender Singh Memorial Cricket Tournament for the Tara Devi Mathur Trophy, at the Harbaksh Singh Stadium on Monday.

Vikas bests Vijay in one-sided bout
New Delhi, April 7
Vikas of Bakner Akhara fought well to score a one-sided points verdict in his favour against team-mate Vijay in a 42kg Greco-Roman bout of the Delhi State Amateur Wrestling Championship at the Border Security Force campus at Chhawla in New Delhi on Monday.

Anurag Tyagi stars for GMCA
New Delhi, April 7
An all-round performance by Anurag Tyagi (3 for 34 and 46) and deadly bowling of 3 for 7 by Sidhant Kaushik and 3 for 37 by Tarun Chauhan helped Ghaziabad Mahanagar Cricket Academy defeat Delhi Public School, Ghaziabad by 28 runs in the All-India GMCA Under-14 Cricket Tournament at the Nehru Stadium in Ghaziabad. Anurag received the man of the match award.

Jatin spins Rajdhani to victory
New Delhi, April 7
A crafty 4 for 3 bowling feat by left-arm spinner Jatin Khanna and a quickfire 40, studded with six fours, off 35 balls by Padamjeet Sehrawat helped Rajdhani Sports beat Central Warehousing Corporation by two wickets to enter the pre-quarter-final of the 13th Om Nath Sood Memorial Cricket Tournament at the Harchand Singh Longowal Sports Complex, Khalsa College ground. Electing to bat, Rajdhani Sports made 188 for 8 in 38.5 overs.