Tuesday, August 6, 2002, Chandigarh, India
 Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

PM cancels petrol station allotments
Kin of Kargil martyrs remain unaffected
New Delhi, August 5
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today cancelled allotments of more than 3,000 petrol stations, cooking gas and kerosene agencies made after January 2000 to pre-empt the Opposition from cornering the government over the issue in Parliament.
In video: Opposition lawmakers force adjournment of Parliament, demanding resignation of the Central Petroleum Minister. (28k, 56k)

    PM puts Oppn on backfoot
    Naik must quit, says Congress
    Opposition forces adjournment
    Mamata’s plea to PM
    Cancellations on moral ground: BJP

Shivani murder case
IGP Sharma seeks bail
Remains in hiding, alleges conspiracy
Chandigarh, August 5
The Haryana IGP, Mr Ravi Kant Sharma, today applied for anticipatory bail in a Panchkula court even as the Delhi Police sought the help of the State Government to persuade the IPS officer of the 1976 batch to give up.

Sikh bodies for ban on Ashutosh, Bhaniara outfits
15-day ultimatum to govt
Amritsar, August 5
By a ‘Gurmata’ (agreed religious decision among Sikhs), passed under the aegis of Akal Takht, the Sikh bodies today sought a ban on the congregations of Mahant Ashutosh and Baba Bhaniara and their immediate arrest to avoid direct confrontation.

Sikh high priests and representatives of various Sikh bodies pass a ‘gurmata’ against the activities of Ashutosh, head of a religious sect, at Teja Singh Samundari Hall in Amritsar on Monday. — Photo Rajiv Sharma

Cancel teachers’ selection: Lokpal
Tota Singh found guilty of misconduct
Chandigarh, August 5
Disposing of the complaint filed by Ms Baljit Kaur and six others, the Punjab Lokpal, Justice D.V. Sehgal, has recommended the cancellation of the selection of science mistresses (Medical group) made against quota posts by a committee headed by Mr Raj Singh Deol in December last year.

TRIBUNE SPECIAL
Troops on offensive again
New Delhi, August 5
With the USA and the UK refusing to recognise India’s security concerns and the schedule for Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir having been announced, the Indian forces stationed along the Indo-Pakistan border have been asked to get back into the offensive mode.

Heavy rain in HP hits life
Property worth Rs 20 lakh destroyed
Shimla, August 5
Heavy rains destroyed property worth Rs 20 lakh in Chamba district as monsoon remained active in Himachal Pradesh today affecting normal life. A cloudburst in Jaddu village in Chamba district last evening destroyed property worth Rs 20 lakh but there was no loss of life.

    Declare drought national calamity: Sonia
    Graphic: Drought faced by major parts
    Editorial: Drought politics
    In video: With monsoon nowhere in sight, the drought situation worsens in Rajasthan. (28k, 56k)

Relief a cruel joke, say farmers Dhipali (Bathinda), August 5 “We have spent about Rs 600 per acre on transplanting paddy. Thousands have been spent on fertilisers, insecticides and running tubewells. Similarly, thousands have been spent on the cotton crop. The Punjab Government has announced a relief of only Rs 700 per acre where both these crops have been damaged. Is it a joke or is the state government serious about our woes?” said a group of hard-pressed farmers at this village when this reporter talked to them today.