TOP STORIES

Gurgaon land-grab bid shocks Sikhs
Gurgaon, October 26
The forceful entry by two persons into a commercial building owned by Mr Santokh Singh Sahni --a prominent and well-known Sikh of the city -- in the Jacampura area of old Gurgaon is viewed by businessmen and the Sikh community here as the latest attempt by organised gangs to grab commercial sites.

Criminal wanted in 14 cases shot dead
Ghaziabad, October 26
The Modinagar police today claimed to have shot dead early yesterday morning a notorious criminal, wanted in 14 cases, in an encounter while his three companions escaped. The suspects were fleeing after stealing a Maruti car and cash.

Waning faith bothers theologian
New Delhi, October 26
Sikhism, one of the youngest religions in the world, can lose its popular following if adequate measures are not taken to spread its tenets, according to a member of the Dharam Parchar Committee of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.

Dasehra goes without hiccups
New Delhi, October 26
Even as the world wages its first war of the millennium against terrorism, Delhi today celebrated Dasehra, a symbol of victory of good over evil, with customary fervour. Sky-high effigies of Ravana, his son Meghnath and brother Kumbhakaran fell to the fiery arrows of Lord Ram and Lakshman on the historic Ram Leela Ground in the Capital.

Ravan goes up in flames. — Tribune photo Mukesh Aggarwal

60 cases of dengue so far in Ghaziabad
New Delhi, October 26
More than 60 cases of dengue fever have been reported so far in and around Ghaziabad, with the number threatening to climb still higher. The disease is spreading to parts of east Delhi as well. The Directorate of Health Services will review the situation on Saturday.

X-ray device that can detect anthrax rusts at post office
New Delhi, October 26
At a time when the mention of anthrax makes anyone sit up, a sophisticated X-ray machine, which can detect even pulverised powder, is gathering dust at the foreign post office at ITO, thanks to the war of attrition between the Customs Department and the Postal Department.

The X-ray machine which is gathering dust at the foreign post office at ITO in New Delhi.

• Anthrax fear stalks Ghaziabad

Beacon of hope Mata Sundari Gurdwara: It is situated on the Mata Sundari Lane. After the ascension of Guru Gobind Singh on October 7, 1708, Mata Sundari and Mata Sahib Devi guided the Sikhs for nearly three decades. From 1727 onwards, they stayed in a building called Mata Sundari Haveli, which later became Mata Sundari’s Gurdwara. They preserved some of the most precious relics of Guru Gobind Singh.

Wattal’s odyssey: From Daler Mehndi to Ramayana
New Delhi, October 26
The man who is credited with catapulting several Punjabi singers like Daler Mehndi, Malkat Singh and Baba Seghal to fame is now on the threshold of launching a six-part musical on the epic Tulsi Ramayana.

COMMUNITY

Garbage in your backyard: courtesy MCD
New Delhi, October 26
How would you define a posh area? Big luxurious houses, greenery all around, a five-star hotel, a multiplex theatre, a hospital! Everyone sees all this, but who sees the big open garbage dumps right outside the hospital? No one except those affected!

SPEAKING OUT
Coping with red light blues, demolition-happy DDA & spitters
If there is any award for the most dusty and bumpy red light crossing in Delhi, I am sure the Ghazipur crossing will bag the first prize.

Operation clean-up launched in Faridabad
Faridabad, October 26
The Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) seems to be coming out of `slumber’ at last after reports of malaria and dengue in this industrial town, the civic authorities have decided to launch a campaign involving the residents in its drive to clean up the `stinking’ areas.

THE ACHIEVERS
This Home overflows with the milk of human kindness
New Delhi, 26 October
Praveen Kumar, 23, a physically handicapped man had lost all hopes of surviving when his parents, unable to cope with his disability, left him at Delhi Cheshire Home three years ago. But Kumar says it was only for the best.

FACE TO FACE
IIC-like destination soon in East Delhi: Gulati
A. S. Gulati, has been the Vice-Chairman of Trans-Yamuna Development Board, since its inception about 5 years back when Mr Sahib Singh Verma was the Chief Minister of Delhi. Since then, he has come a long way as far as developmental works related to this body is concerned.

Boy burnt by power line in Faridabad
Faridabad, October 26
A 16-year-old boy of Old Press Colony of NIT area here got severely burnt when he accidentally touched a high tension line passing over a house today.

Rain harvesting measures stressed
Faridabad, October 26
While the underground water table in the district has gone down steeply in the past couple of decades, it seems the `corrective measures’ to tackle the problem have not got the attention of the residents so far.

MCD sets up grievance committee
New Delhi, October 26
To bring greater transparency and accountability in administration of the MCD, a seven-member grievance committee has been set up. The Mayor of the MCD, Mr Shanti Desai, has been nominated as Chairman of the committee.

INLD leaders, Dy Mayor cross swords
Faridabad, October 26
A piece of development work at one of the wards here by the Municipal Corporation, Faridabad (MCF) has put a senior Deputy Mayor and some local Indian National Lok Dal (INLD)leaders at loggerheads.

Suicide by woman

CRIME

Stabbed to death by friend
New Delhi, October 26
A 45-year- old man, Mr Misri Lal, was reportedly stabbed to death at his residence in Gautampuri in North East district last night by his friend, Raghubir Singh, following an altercation between them.

EDUCATION

Harkrishan school losing sheen, thanks to interference
New Delhi, October 26
The early ’70s gave birth to an institution which has now been recognised as the leading school in the Capital for Sikh students. Under the patronage of Jathedar Santok Singh, the first Guru Harkrishan Public School (GHPS) began its first classes in a rented kothi belonging to a rani (queen) from the land of five rivers, Punjab. The school was named after the eighth Guru.

HEALTH

Mobile health services in Nuh
Nuh (Gurgaon), October 26
Mohammad Himmat(80) of village Muradwas of Nuh Block, whose family falls in ‘below the poverty’ line benchmark of economic status, is a happy person.

SPORTS

Top players for Northern India Table Tennis
New Delhi, October 26
Top national-ranked players will be seen in action in the Rs 1.50 lakh prize money Northern India National Ranking Table Tennis Championship to be held at Talkatora Indoor Stadium here from October 29 to November 2. However, Chetan Baboor in the men’s section and M. S. Mythili in the women’s section will be skipping the championship.

Bhandari leads in golf