TOP STORIES

NCR SPECIAL
DDA sets eyes on Narela green cover
Freight complex proposed on prime farm land
New Delhi, October 23
The Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) move to acquire more than 100 hectares of prime agriculture land in Narela area of north-west Delhi, to build a freight complex, is threatening to escalate into a major battle between the authority, on one hand, and the landowners and ecologists, on the other.

Tips from Tokyo on managing disasters
New Delhi, October 23
A team of Delhi Government bureaucrats has returned from Tokyo, armed with information on the latest practices in disaster management. “Knowledge-sharing” is how a top-ranking official chose to describe the visit that was aimed essentially at building linkages with Asian cities.

A VIP TREE: NDMC employees reacted with unusual briskness when this towering tree came crashing down on Pandit Pant Marg, which happened to be the sanitised route of Home Minister L. K. Advani. The debris was removed and ferried away in a matter of hours. — Tribune photo Mukesh Aggarwal

Delhi Police vetting US laws to tackle hoax callers
New Delhi, October 23
Concerned over the increasing number of hoax calls and the absence of a strict law to tackle the calls, the Delhi Police is understood to have sought details of the laws recently enacted by the United States and Britain to deal with the menace, which had caused considerable panic after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.

Badal sounds poll bugle
New Delhi, October 23
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today virtually launched his election campaign by calling for Panthic unity to fight divergent forces for the sake of the community and the nation.

Graft cases against five MTNL officials
New Delhi, October 23
The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) today registered corruption and cheating cases against Mafatlal Industries Limited, Sandhya Textiles, five MTNL officials and a ‘middleman’ for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 3.5 crore to MTNL in supply of uniforms to its employees.

In the service of the ailing
Gurdwara Bala Sahib: Situated at Bhagwan Nagar near Ashram (Outer Ring Road). In 1664, most of the people who suffered from cholera and small pox were shifted to camps on the banks of the Yamuna.

Lad from Bhangra land excels in Bharatanatyam
New Delhi, October 23
Lada Guruden Singh to perform Bharatanatyam. That’s what the invitation said. But nothing could be more enigmatic, for a Sikh boy’s name is seldom heard in esoteric classical dance circles. The mention is more likely to evoke images of virile and robust Bhangra rather than the rasas and bhavas one associates with an exquisite form of South Indian classical dance.

COMMUNITY

A slum in residential complex!
New Delhi, October 23
In 1982, when residents first set foot on Lodhi Road Complex (LRC) in the heart of south Delhi, they thought it was almost paradise.

NGOs win local hearts at Millennium Mela
Gurgaon, October 23
Local citizens have had their best chance to know the leading non-government organisations (NGOs) and their activities in the area during the three-day `Millennium Mela 2001’ and they responded with full support.

DMS declared a public utility for six months
New Delhi, October 23
Apprehending labour unrest, the Centre today extended the term of its earlier notification of bringing Delhi Milk Supply under public utility service for another six months which makes six weeks’ notice for a strike by the employees mandatory.

Does ICT bridge digital divide?
New Delhi, October 23
Does Information and Communication Technology (ICT) bridge the digital divide and the gender gap or does it widen it? Is ICT an answer to India’s problems? If so, then how?

INTERVIEW
‘Our role is of a watchdog’
Meera Bhardwaj, the MLA of Mandawali has recently been nominated as the Chairman of District Development Committee of East District by the Delhi Government. Her association with politics (Congress) dated back to 1969 when Indira Gandhi was the Information and Broadcasting Minister.

Woman commits suicide in Trilokpuri
A 32-year-old woman, mother of three children, committed suicide by hanging from the roof of her house in Trilokpuri yesterday. Kaushalya Devi, alias Baby, wife of Beer Singh, reportedly hanged herself from the roof when her husband and children went out to witness Ram Leela around midnight.

Couple killed in mishap
New Delhi, October 23
A man and his wife, Bateshwer Nath (40) and Surja Devi (35) of HimmatPuri in Trilokpuri, were killed when their two-wheeler and a private bus collided on the Nizammudin flyover today morning.

CRIME

Land mafia ‘kills’ man to get land
Noida, October 23
A conspiracy hatched by the land mafia recently has come to light. A living person was shown as dead in the tehsil records so that his land worth crores of rupees could be usurped.

‘Ravan’ abducted, attacked
Faridabad, October 23
A person portraying the role of `Ravana' in the `Ramlila' here was attacked and injured by some antisocial elements here last night. The victim has been admitted in a civil hospital.

3 held for Railway helper’s death
Ghaziabad, October. 23
The police have registered an FIR against three railway engineers in connection with the suicide of a Railway employee Brij Behari Lal Gupta, 40, on October 20.

Driver shot by helpers near Hodal
Faridabad, October 23
With the intention of looting a tanker two cleaners allegedly murdered a driver at a place near Hodal town in the district last night.

BUSINESS

Jewellery for the wardrobe, not the vault
Fascination for jewellery dates back to the stone ages. Designs, which attract the human eye enough to send one digging deep into the pockets is what manufactures and marketers of jewellery, are looking for.

A futuristic trinket 

EDUCATION

Jewellery institute
A jewellery showcase `Kaleidoscope’ was presented by the first graduating batch of Jewellery Design and Technology Institute, Noida. Wide range of themes like Jaipur, kamasutra, nightlife, occasions, Valentine’s Day, nature, Greek, civilization and Japan were some of the themes on which the students displayed their creative talents.

CULTURE

GLITZ & GLAMOUR
‘Kudi kurmuri’ munda back with peppy ‘Kudiyan’
New Delhi, October 23
“Kudi kurmuri” munda is back with a bang with his latest album Kudiyan, which has foot-tapping music and songs with Sufi influence. Shankar Sawhney, the shy Hoshiarpur boy, is today the heartthrob of many young girls.

Fiery outfits inspired by ancient fire ceremony
New Delhi, October 23
India’s leading designer has unveiled his latest collection in ‘Yagna’, which is inspired from the ancient Hindu fire ceremony performed for the benefit of mankind.

HEALTH

AIIMS to have 40-bed trauma centre soon
New Delhi , October 23
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has approved construction of a 140-bed trauma centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

SPORTS

SAI scheme bears rich fruit for Indian hockey
New Delhi, October 23
The much-maligned Sports Authority of India (SAI) has played a vital role in the revival of Indian hockey as eight of the players who helped India lift the Junior World Cup hockey title at Hobart, Australia are the products of its ‘Centre of Excellence’ scheme. The SAI started the ‘Centre of Excellence’ scheme in Bangalore in 1995 on an experimental basis. But soon, it took such firm roots that the Centre started churning out hockey players of excellence year after year.

The members of the victorious junior hockey team, on arrival in New Delhi on Tuesday. — Tribune photo Mukesh Aggarwal

DAV students win skating trophy
Faridabad, October 23
Students of DAV School, Sector-7, Chandigarh and Centre Point School, Nagpur have been declared as joint winner of the team trophy of the first CBSE National Skating (Speed) Championship concluded at the skating rink of local DAV Public School (Sector-14) here last evening.

ESPN sports quiz book released
New Delhi, October 23
Former Indian Test player Abbas Ali Baig launched the ESPN Sports Quiz Book here today. ESPN Software India and Penguin have jointly published the book.

Mukesh faces stiff challenge at Noida Open
New Delhi, October 23
Mukesh Kumar’s title defence faces a stiff challenge from a young bunch of golfers, including rookies Rahil Gangjee, Zia Kipgen and Jaiveer Virk as the Rs 7 lakh Noida Open Golf Championship commences here on Thursday. The main tournament, sponsored by the Noida Authority, will be preceded by the pro-am, to be played tomorrow.

Nehru Hockey to start from November 10
New Delhi, October 23
Deviating from the normal practice, the 38th edition of the Nehru-ONGC Hockey Tournament will be played at the Shivaji Stadium from November 10 to 21, instead of November 14 to 25. This change has been made to avoid clash of dates with the National Games scheduled to be held in Punjab from November 19 to December 1.

Cosmos drub Rohini
New Delhi, October 23
Cosmos defeated Rohini 2-0 in a Super League match of the Delhi Soccer Association (DSA)-SAIL ‘B’ Division Football League Championship to top the group, at the Delhi University ground here today.

ADMINISTRATION

CM reviews govt report card as MCD poll nears
New Delhi, October 23
Taking a reality check on her government’s performance ahead of the impending Municipal Corporation of Delhi poll, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today summoned her ministers and reviewed the development projects undertaken by them in their respective constituencies and elsewhere.