TOP STORIES

SPOTLIGHT
Most NCR projects mired in delays
New Delhi, December 16
The National Capital Region Planning Board, constituted by an Act of Parliament to prevent haphazard development in the region, appears to have failed in its basic objective, if one goes by the number of projects pending and the views expressed by the leaders of National Capital Territory.

EYEWITNESS
‘I slammed Parliament door just in time’
Sonepat, December 16
ASI Nanak Chand, who was the victim of the terrorist strike in Parliament house, is not the only one hailing from Sonepat district. Two more security personnel, namely, Mr Jeet Ram, ASI, and Mr Suresh Kumar, a constable, also belonged to this district. Mr Jeet Ram, who sustained bullet injuries in the attack, is undergoing treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi while Mr Suresh Kumar, who escaped unhurt, visited his native place yesterday.

• Crackdown on unauthorised beacon lights

• Demonstration against attack on Parliament

Chautala bid to mollify industrialists fails
Gurgaon, December 16
The industrialists here are not satisfied with the decision of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, to form a committee, to look into the controversial issue of external development charges, imposed on the industrialists in the district. The committee was formed under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr S Y Quraishi.

When the Railways did not have the foggiest... New Delhi, December 16 Thousands of passengers and their relatives were put to hours of inconvenience on Sunday as most of the trains arrived several hours late. The culprit, of course, was the weather with the northern region enveloped in a thick fog for almost the entire day, reducing the visibility to almost zero. The flight schedules at the Delhi airport were also thrown out of gear, resulting in delays of two to three hours.

Unmindful of the low visibility owing to fog, youngsters enjoy a game of cricket in the Capital on Sunday. — Tribune Photo

COMMUNITY

Nandita Das interacting with children during the India Autism Week at India Gate on Sunday. — Tribune Photo Mukesh Aggarwal

Flyover delay angers residents
New Delhi, December 16
The residents of south Delhi’s Anand Lok and adjoining colonies are getting only angrier with each passing day because of the slow work on the Andrews Ganj flyover. The construction has been under way for the past 4 years. The end is still nowhere in sight.

NCR BRIEFS
Student knocked down on inter-state road
Sonepat, December 16
Devinder, a 9-year-old student was hit and injured by a speedy Tata 407 on the inter-
state Sonepat-Meerut road near Khewra village about 13 km from here Saturday evening.

MOVING FINGER
The path to nuptial altar begins and ends with liquor here
IT has been weddings all the way. There are traffic jams, power breakdowns, inadequacy of parking places, shortage of mares and a roaring business for caterers, flower decorators, band-wallas, drum-beaters and even priests. All this because the auspicious time for the marriage is flying and there would be a period of “no marriages”. Obviously, the brides-to-be or the grooms-to-be or their parents do not want to wait for a month of Sundays.

FARIDABAD
Sangh to hold rally against Govt’s inaction
THE Sarva Karamchari Sangh will hold a district level rally here on December 20, in protest against the `failure' of the government to meet its pending demands. According to Mr Subhash Lamba, District President of the SKS, the state government instead of fulfilling its election promises regarding employees had been following `anti-staff' policies.

• Driver killed

Fate of Mandawali bridge hangs in the balance
New Delhi, December 16
When will Mandawali railway bridge be completed? Ask me another! Nobody has the answer, in fact. Construction work on the bridge over Mandwali Railway Crossing was initiated way back in 1992. The area MLA, Ms Meera Bhardwaj, says that below the construction site there is a gas pipeline of Bhagirithi and 33 KV electricity line.

MCD fiddles while Police Colony stinks
New Delhi, December 16
The agitated residents of Police Colony, Preet Vihar in East District, claimed that despite repeated complaints, the MCD officials did not take any action to clear the stagnant water, collected inside the colony, causing diarrhoea and other dangerous diseases.

CRIME

Criminal stabs wife, daughter to death
New Delhi, December 16
A registered bad character from Uttar Pradesh, Manoj, carrying a cash award on his head reportedly disappeared after stabbing his 25-year-old wife, Seema and their one-and-half-year old daughter, Anita in South-West Delhi this afternoon.

BUSINESS

Banks milked while the needy look on
Sonepat, December 16
A substantial amount of money, advanced by some of the nationalised and cooperative banks to a number of small-scale industries of this region, has gone down the drain, putting the bank authorities in a quandary.

SHOWCASE An ideal roofing material in bright colours to protect your house
OVER the years, the traditional corrugated roofing dominated the industrial as well as domestic segment in India even though this roofing material was plagued with a host of problems such as it was brittle, unsafe and susceptible to fungus and algae, making the roof black in a few year.
Cyberline monitor Allen Cooper New audio system Italian flavour	Barista House Blend Dry cell batteries Head and Shoulder Corn kernels

SPORTS

Leander on a talent scouting mission New Delhi, December 16 Indian Davis Cup star Leander Paes was the cynosure of all eyes at the DSCL National Open Tennis Championships at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association tennis complex in the Capital on Sunday. He came on a specific mission—to scout talent to give back something to the game which has given him everything in life.
Leander Paes, selection committee chairman Shyam Minotra and AITA secretary Anil Khanna keenly watching the men’s singles final of the DSCL Open.

Mukesh annexes Servo Masters
New Delhi, December 16
Mukesh Kumar overcame a triple bogey start to his round to return his third win of the season at the Rs 8.5 lakh Servo Masters Golf 2001. Mukesh, who played to one-over 73 today, tallied nine-under 279 for the tournament. The 13th leg of the 2001-2002 Hero Honda Golf Tour, the tournament was played at the par-72 Digboi Club Golf Links.

Delhi under-16 emerge North Zone champions
New Delhi, December 16
The Delhi under-16 team emerged the North Zone champions in the Vijay Merchant Trophy Championship by collecting 26 points in their four league matches. Haryana took the second position with 22 points to qualify for the all-India knockout round to be held in Vadodra in January 2002. 

• Castrol award for Ratra