TOP STORIES

ENVIRONMENT DAY
Delhi cracks down on vehicle pollution
New Delhi, June 5
The Government of NCT of Delhi celebrated the World Environment Day by declaring a war on polluting vehicles. Accordingly, all vehicle owners have been advised to obtain Pollution Under Control Certificate by June 30. The Department of Transport and Delhi Traffic Police will launch a drive in July to check emission by private vehicles and by school buses in August.

• Half-yearly certificate

ENVIRONMENT DAY
Slum-dwellers chief pollutants of Yamuna: Bandhu
New Delhi, June 5
Slum-dwellers are the largest contributors of pollutants to the Yamuna, the Minister for Environment, Mr Deep Chand Bandhu, said here today. Describing the slum-dwellers as the “chief pollutants”, the minister, who was speaking at a workshop on the ‘Exchange of Information on the Facilities Created Under Yamuna Action Plan’ organised to mark the ‘World Environment Day’, said that the river would never be clean until they were removed from the riverbed.

New Delhi June 5 More than four lakh application forms were sold by Delhi University on the first day of the admission process for the academic year 2002-3 today. The campus came alive with thousands of students thronging it. Though the exact figures were not available, official sources in DU estimated that close to four lakh application forms were sold, pointing to the fact that there was a stiff competition among students.

Mukhi questions govt’s commitment
New Delhi, June 5
Not showing any let-up in the ongoing verbal duel with the Congress-administered Government of NCT of Delhi, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Jagdish Mukhi on Wednesday claimed Transport Minister Ajay Maken had done precious little to stem the rot in the Department of Transport.

Decks cleared for BKU leaders’ release, talks
Rohtak, June 5
The decks have been cleared for a negotiated settlement of the ongoing farmers agitation with the government today paving the way for the release of arrested BKU leaders on bail.

BJP leader defends Chautala, attacks BKU
Sonepat, June 5
The supremo of the Indian National Lok Dal and the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, got a shot in the arm today when a former Jan Sangh MP and senior BJP leader, Mr Mukhtiar Singh Malik, deplored the ongoing violent agitation launched by the Haryana unit of the Bharatiya Kisan Union led by the Ghasi Ram Nain faction in the state on the issue of payment of arrears of power bills.

Wheat purchase: Sonepat farmers getting raw deal?
Sonepat, June 5
Mr Jaipal Singh Machhriwala, former president of the District Bar Association and a senior Congress leader, today demanded a high-level probe into the alleged bungling in the purchase of wheat by various government agencies in this district this year.

Cyber narcotics gang busted   
New Delhi, June 5
The Delhi zonal unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau today claimed to have unearthed the first-ever case involving online trading and unauthorised export of controlled psychotropic substances to the countries, including the US and the UK.

Panipat bags big unit with green belt
Bal Jattan (Panipat), June 5
The residents of this sleepy village today got a perfect World Environment Day gift from the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). The IOC not only announced the setting up of the world’s largest petrochemicals project here, but also showed its concern for the region’s ecological balance by offering to develop a 75-acre green belt around the project.

Carcasses of 11 peacocks seized
Alwar, June 5
The district forest officials today claimed to have nabbed three alleged poachers from the Pratap Bandh Reserve Forest area here and seized carcasses of 11 peacocks, the national bird, and a packet of poisoned feed from them. According to officials, the suspects, described as professional hunters, were arrested in the wee hours of this morning. They had reportedly killed the birds by feeding them poisoned feed and then hitting them with stones.

COMMUNITY

BJP’s next card: Urban development
New Delhi, June 5
Finding their feet and voice after floundering in the wake of the reverses in the civic polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s leaders today went into a huddle in the North Block office of Union Home Minister L. K. Advani and emerged convinced of upping the ante and taking the battle to the Congress camp. With the belief that “an issue a day keeps the Congress at bay”, they raised matters relating to urban development even while harping on the power and transport situation that they had raked up in the past couple of days.

NCR BRIEFS
Student’s foot crushed under jeep
Narnaul, June 5
The foot of a student, Pradeep Kumar, son of Magha Ram of Lujota village in Mahendragarh tehsil, was crushed by a jeep (HR 52-A-0017) today. The jeep was going towards Bansihal and a tempo was parked on the opposite side of the road for passengers to alight.

Found dead Birth anniversary Impure water DC inspects works

Snake bite Youth burnt Fields inundated

BRIEFLY
National Stadium beat Malviya Club
New Delhi, June 5
National Stadium Coaching Centre beat Malviya Club by 66 runs in a Super A Division match of the DDCA League at the National Stadium ground.

• SAARC Cycling

Dalits to embrace Buddhism at Kurukshetra
Rewari, June 5
Close on the heels of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, thousands of Dalits of Haryana are expected to embrace Buddhism at a state-level Buddhism Initiation Convention at Kurukshetra, the holy land of the Gita, on June 9. The nationwide movement for Dalits to embrace Buddhism, launched by Mr Udit Raj, national chairman of the Lord Buddha Club and also of the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations, has started picking up momentum in Haryana too.

Mining ban forces owners to change tack
Faridabad, June 5
The Supreme Court’s order to ban mining within 5 km of the Delhi-Haryana border has led to several changes in the field of mining and related activity here. As the source of mining and construction material has reduced considerably, the leaseholders of the remaining mines, which are functional at present, have started adopting some new techniques, which were earlier non-existent.

• DMRC unveils policy on greening

CRIME

District panchayat president held for cheating
Noida, June 5
The police arrested president of the Gautam Budh Nagar District Panchayat Naresh Bhatti for alleged cheating. He was presented in a local court which sent him to the Dasna jail. He was arrested from near Nagla Charna Das village when he was returning after a meeting with the Chief District Development Officer.

Liquor seized at two places
Gurgaon, June 5
In different raids here, the district police seized two countrymade revolvers, 130 pouches and 42 quarter bottles of liquor during the past 24 hours. According to police sources, Assistant Sub-Inspector Om Prakash frisked Ajmad, a resident of Salaka village, at a police barrier under the Taeru police station after receiving a tip-off. The police officer found an illegal countrymade revolver on his person.

Police clueless about theft at Sahara Airlines office
New Delhi, June 5
The Indira Gandhi International Airport police are trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a huge amount of cash from the Sahara Airlines office at the airport about one-and-a-half months ago.

Rs 6 crore trade tax evasion by leather unit
Noida, June 5
The trade tax department has unearthed tax evasion of Rs 6 crore by a leather unit in Greater Noida.

Three criminals arrested
Ghaziabad, June 5
The Dholana police today claimed to have nabbed a criminal who carried an award on his head, Jagat, while the Kavi Nagar police arrested two dreaded criminals after an encounter on Monday night.

EDUCATION

CAMPUS
Students set to begin the chapter of their college life
THE transition from school to college has begun. Thousands of students are thronging the campus as admission forms were made available from today. Braving sizzling temperatures and energy-sapping humidity, students from all parts of the country converged onto the campus to collect and submit forms with the hope of securing admission to one of the preferred colleges.

• NIIT’s new centre

• ITDC- Amity MoU

• IAS fever in JNU

YOUNG VOICE
Looking for a better infrastructure
New Delhi, June 5
An ardent Boyzone fan, Neha Sharma, the president of Bharti College is not satisfied with the infrastructure provided at the Delhi University. The kind of exposure the Delhi University provides to its students is remarkable, even though there are a few problems that need to be addressed immediately.

Girls outshine boys in MDU graduate exams
Rohtak, June 5
Girls outshone boys in the BA/BSc/BCom (part- II) examinations conducted by Maharshi Dayanand University, the results of which were declared this evening. Sushila of Adarsh Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Bhiwani, Savita of Gita Vidya Mandir Girls College, Sonepat, and Nidhi Jindal of Vaish Mahila Mahavidyala, Rohtak, secured first positions in BA, BSc and BCom examinations, respectively.

HEALTH

Medical Officer seeks stay on arrest
Rohtak, June 5
Apprehending his arrest by the officials of the Rohtak branch of the State Vigilance Bureau, Dr Om Parkash Yadav, Medical Officer posted at Civil Hospital, Bhiwani, filed a petition in a special court here on Tuesday seeking a stay on his arrest till the disposal of the case pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard.

SPORTS

Chand Khanna sail into final
New Delhi, June 5
Chand Khanna stunned last year’s champions Oil and Natural Gas Commission by four wickets to sail into the final of the sixth Lala Raghubir Singh Hot Weather Cricket Tournament at the Modern School ground, Barakhamba Road.

16 top teams for Hari Ram cricket
New Delhi
The sixth edition of the Lala Hari Ram Aggarwal Memorial Day-Night Prize Money Cricket Carnival will be held from June 8 to 23 at the Karnail Singh Stadium (Railway Stadium). The participating teams include Indian Airlines, Oil and Natural Gas Commission, Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association, Chand Khanna Club, Collage Group, Steel Authority of India Ltd., Sonnet and Food Corporation of India.

ADMINISTRATION

3 MCD to set up 952 community toilets by June-end
New Delhi, June 5
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi today announced that 952 new pay-for-use Community Toilet Complexes would be made functional in the walled city, unauthorised colonies and JJ clusters by the end of this month.

Delhi cops to step up drive against fake drugs
New Delhi, June 5
The sale of fake medicines is a “crime against humanity” as it concerns the lives of the masses, the Commissioner of Delhi Police, Mr Ajai Raj Sharma, said at a function to honour police personnel who recently unearthed a spurious drug racket worth Rs 2.2 crore in East Delhi.

Administrative row over ‘catch the corrupt’ drive
Faridabad, June 5
The tussle between the civil and the police administration over ‘catch the corrupt’ drive seems to be getting sharper. While the Deputy Commissioner has announced the stoppage of incentive scheme of Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 to those helping the administration catch the corrupt officials, the police have started a parallel drive on their own.