TOP STORIES

Noida Board okays 12 pc hike in land rates
Noida, August 5
The 117th Board meeting of Noida has approved the proposal to hike the rates of residential and industrial plots. This time, the hike is an across the board 12 per cent for all categories. It may be recalled that the authority had hiked the rates up to 25 per cent at the board meeting in July but had to beat a hasty retreat following a public outcry.

Lid off land grab and the huge compensation
Noida, August 5
Over 140 bighas of village samaj land of Gojha in Sector 93 here was illegally allotted to certain persons who were later paid compensation worth crores of rupees when the Noida administration acquired the same. All the beneficiaries are residents of New Delhi.

Milind Soman and others at the AXN Hot N Wild Contest audition in the Capital on Tuesday. — Photo by Kamal Singh

Man ostracised in rape case found dead with noose around neck
Bhiwani: A member of a family, ostracised by villagers following a rape-cum-murder case two years ago, was found dead in mysterious circumstances at his house in Charkhi village yesterday.

Sarna faction keeping its support to BJP under wraps
New Delhi, August 5
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, may have extended “unconditional support” to the Delhi unit of the BJP in the forthcoming Assembly poll but the pro-Sarna members of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) seems to think otherwise.

Kidnapped boy rescued after 4 hours
New Delhi, August 5
Four hours after Deepak, a five-year-old boy, was kidnapped by his cousins in the Sarai Rohilla area, the North district police today claimed to have rescued the child safely from the clutches of his kidnappers from Khadkat in Haryana on August 4.

Deepak in the safe hands of his mother in the Capital on Tuesday. 
— Tribune photo Mukesh Aggarwal

Helmet & end up with mussy hair? No, sir!
Sonepat, August 5
If any girl riding a two-wheeler in the town is asked why she does not wear a helmet, the query is likely to elicit a rather bewildering response: “Oh! Outlook kharab ho jayega”(Personal appearance will suffer).

ROAD GRABBERS
NHAI gives 24-hr notice to NH 2 encroachers 
Faridabad, August 5
The National Highway Authority of India has served notices on persons occupying up to 90 metres of land on both sides of the National Highway 2 passing through the district, asking them to raze the constructions within 24 hours.

FALSE ALARM
Couple with AK ammo had pinched bag from Armymen
New Delhi, August 5
The arrest of a couple by the Central district police who were found in possession of 480 cartridges of an automatic weapon and turned out to be petty bag lifters gave much relief to the police and other security agencies.

COMMUNITY

Govt sanctions Rs 15 cr to restore capacity of lift irrigation system
Narnaul, August 5
With a view to restoring the capacity of the lift irrigation system, the Haryana Government has sanctioned Rs 15 crore for implementation of various schemes. This was announced by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala while addressing a public meeting after inaugurating a channel constructed to fill Hamidpur dam in Mahendragarh district today.

Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala addressing a public meeting at Hamidpur village in Mahendragarh district on Tuesday. — Photo by Shiv Sharma

SONEPAT
Employees’ association threatens agitation
Sonepat, August 5
The Haryana Karamchari Maha Sangh today threatened to launch an agitation if the police failed to arrest the culprits allegedly involved in the attack on Mr Rajinder, an ALM of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), within 24 hours.

Poor PDS adds to woes of BPL families
Sonepat, August 5
The state government’s failure to ensure a foolproof Public Distribution System (PDS) has added to the woes of families living Below Poverty Line (BPL).

Green light to planning at grassroots level in Haryana
Rohtak, August 5
The concept of planning at the grassroots level appears to have been given a go-ahead at least in Haryana. A beginning has been made today from the Meham Assembly segment to achieve this cherished goal.

SPECIAL FOCUS ON GURGAON
No toll tax on vehicles of companies
Gurgaon, August 5
The Delhi Government has directed the road toll tax agency not to charge toll tax from the vehicles registered in the name of companies. The agency had started considering such vehicles as commercial vehicles.

NCR BRIEFS
Scooterist crushed in Bahadurgarh
Jhajjar, August 5
A scooterist was crushed to death by a truck near Sabzi Mandi in Bahadurgarh last night. According to information, the deceased, identified as Shrawan Kumar, resident of Rani Khera village in Delhi, was on his way to meet his relatives in Majra village.

• Sadhu murder case solved
• Cash, jewellery stolen from house of health dept official
• Question paper leakage

IN PARLIAMENT
Hundred police officials tainted by corruption
New Delhi, August 5
A total of 100 Delhi Police personnel were alleged to have been involved in corrupt practices during the past three years till July 15 this year, Parliament was informed today. Of these, seven were placed under suspension and 82 transferred.

• Massage parlours
• Graft cases in NDMC
• Illegal firearms
• Bribe cases
• Criminal cases against cops
• 42 unsafe buildings

CRIME

Kidnapped man rescued from Agra; two held
New Delhi, August 5
With the arrest of two persons, the North-East district police today claimed to have rescued a 25-year-old man from Agra last evening. Efforts were being made to ferret out two other accomplices. The police also recovered a rifle from their possession.

• Criminal nabbed

• Gangster held from East Patel Nagar

Accrual accounting should be tool of management: L-G
New Delhi, August 5
The Lt-Governor, Mr Vijay Kapoor, today directed the Municipal Commissioner of the MCD, Mr Rakesh Mehta, that the Accrual System of Accounting (double-entry system) report prepared by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) should be a tool of management in the corporation. This report presents a clear picture of corporation’s accounts and its liabilities.

25th branch of J&K Bank in Delhi 
New Delhi, August 5
The Jammu and Kashmir Bank today opened its 25th branch in New Delhi which is its 459th branch in the country. The branch was inaugurated by the Finance Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Muzzaffar Husain Beig.

EDUCATION

No fee hike in PG courses: MDU
Rohtak, August 5
The Maharshi Dayanand University clarified that no fee hike had been made in its various postgraduate (MA/M.Sc/M.Com) courses. It also clarified that no hike was made in the fee for the undergraduate courses in the various colleges of the university as well.

CULTURE

GLITZ & GLAMOUR
Porcelain art: The sensual touch of colour
Having mastered the art of porcelain, Amita Sachdeva wants to promote the art and have more people learning it. “It is a painstaking, but beautiful process and I really want people to learn it and appreciate it,” she adds.

Melange of styles for men
Taking the spotlight from the bride’s trousseau to the wardrobe for the groom, Manoj Mehra has come up with a special line, the Vivah Collection for this wedding season.

Six yards of joy from Pitambari
Pitambari has unveiled their new collection of saris and lehngas. The theme for the season is semi-formal and has more colours and less work. The colours for the bridal lehngas are a mix of bright and medium shades again with less work.

A model in Pitambari’s new line of sari.

K stars in Capital
The star cast of Kasauti Zindagi Ki, including the lead star Shweta Tiwari, were in the Capital recently to participate in the ‘Teejmahotsav Mela’ organised by the Citizen’s Forum.

ZAK Jewels
August will keep the Diliwallas busy, flitting from one exhibition to another. Apart from the Vivah exhibition, people can look forward to the glitter of precious stones.

SPORTS

Inter-school tennis tourney
Mother’s International, Amity record easy wins
New Delhi, August 5
Mother’s International School, Aurobindo Marg and Amity School, Saket recorded facile victories in the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) Inter-School Tennis Tournament for Boys Under-14 at the DLTA deco-turf courts.

Seema, Shrishti win gold medals in RSA Roller Skating Race
New Delhi, August 5
Seema Dahiya, a class XI student, and Shrishti Chaudhary, a student of class V, both from Sachdeva Public School, Rohini won gold medals in the sixth RSA Roller Skating Race held at the DDA Sports Complex in Paschim Vihar.

• Jatin, Manas enter last eight

• Cricket trials

Golf Tour moves on a Southern Swing
New Delhi, August 5
The Southern Swing of the Hero Honda Golf Tour will commence in the second week of August in Coimbatore.

Lillee to be ‘unplugged’
New Delhi, August 5
Legendary Australian pace bowler Dennis Lillee will be ‘unplugged’ on Star Sports on Wednesday at 9 p m.

Karun Chandhok scores seventh win
New Delhi, August 5
Karun Chandhok took his seventh win of the British Formula 3 Championship (Scholarship Class) at the Rockingham Motor Speedway. This win makes him India’s most successful international Formula 3 driver (in terms of career wins) and also takes him back to the top of the championship points standings.

ADMINISTRATION

Two SDEs found absent during SDM’s visit
Sonepat, August 5
The Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Mr Suraj Bhan Jangra, carried out a surprise inspection visit at the office of the Executive Engineer, Gohana Water Service Division last evening.