TOP STORIES

PM will look into circulars: Sheila
New Delhi, October 4
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her Cabinet colleagues on Friday evening called on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and reiterated their demand for the withdrawal of the controversial circulars issued on July 25 and August 29 by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

• ‘Otherwise, be ready for an agitation’

Gangrape victim’s family gagged by panchayats
Jhajjar, October 4
It is a horrendous tale of a Dalit gangrape victim; of a callous panchayat, which was unmoved by the trauma of a newly married woman; and of corrupt policemen who effected a compromise without even bothering to consult the victim. The woman is crying for justice and trying hard to come to terms with the harrowing events of last Friday night, when she was gang raped by eight men.

Russian Revolution was a coup …. Bless NCERT!
New Delhi, October 4
The row over NCERT’s new History texts refuses to die down. First, the printing of the books was stayed by the Supreme Court.

Admn to get rid of bio-medical waste
Gurgaon, October 4
The health department is bracing itself for removing bio-medical wastes from all the Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and the government hospitals at Haily Mandi, Sohna and Mandi Khera in the district on the pattern of the General Hospital here.

SC evacuated after hoax bomb call 
New Delhi, October 4
For the second consecutive day security personnel today went into a tizzy after an anonymous caller told the Police Control Room that a bomb had been planted in the Supreme Court. Bomb disposal squads, Delhi Fire Service tenders and sniffer dogs were rushed to the apex court even as the premises were evacuated and the area cordoned off.  In Video (28k, 56k)

15,000 baptisms

New Delhi, October 4 The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee today announced that it would bear the cost of 15,000 persons baptised to Sikhism on Tuesday to visit one of the five Takhts in the country. “The DSGMC would bear Rs 60 lakh, to be incurred on taking the 15,000 persons to one of the holy places of the religion,” said the DSGMC president, Mr Paramjit Singh Sarna. Among those who were given the ‘Amrit’ included about 1,000 children.

Passengers go through hell in DPM train
Sonepat, October 4
A sharp rise in the number of passengers and the changing of racks have made travelling a nightmarish experience in DPM (EMU) train, running between Delhi and Panipat.

COMMUNITY

Delhi metro stations are being equipped with heavy-duty escalators being supplied by M/s Schindler from their Vienna factory.

CM urged to solve MSP-linked problems 
Sonepat, October 4
The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala visited the foodgrain market at Ganaur, a sub-divisional town in this district, about 16 km from here last evening. Mr Chautala heard the grievances of the farmers and the traders in regard to the problems faced by them regarding the procurement of paddy.

City roads turn unsafe as civic agencies pass the buck
Sonepat, October 4
The recent monsoon rains have left Sonepat roads in a pitiable condition. In many places, the road surfaces have been washed away notwithstanding the tall claims of the official agencies of maintaining motorable roads in this city. According to a report, in several parts of the city and residential colonies, the roads have developed cracks, potholes and uneven surfaces. Even the roads, which had acquired carpeting last year, have now become the bane of motorists.

Travelling world over, she transforms lives
New Delhi, October 4
“The source of peace and happiness lies within and we are not separate from it,” are the prophetic words that echo around the world in surreal consonance. The words, perpetually resounding in the subconscious of Siddha Yoga devotees, have transcended domestic boundaries through the inspiring endeavours of Gurumayi Chidvilasananda.

Six Sonepat villages engulfed in darkness
Sonepat, October 4
At least six villages remained in darkness throughout last night following a major fault in the Palra feeder of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) near the village, about 15 km from here, yesterday.

Speaking out

Day-by-day, the Sahibabad railway Station is becoming more and more crowded. Over 20,000 commuters, including students, factory workers, teachers and office-goers, residing in Sahibabad and work at Ghaziabad, Shahdara and New Delhi etc come to the station everyday. As many as 89 trains have stoppages at Sahibabad. However, the facilities provided by the Northern Railway here are far from sufficient.

Impose a natural calamity cess Stop train at  Vivek Vihar Modi, terrorism and inaction Stop Hindi  promotion

A nation without borders Teaching is  worship Teach for two more hours

Hooda loyalists’ meeting postponed Faridabad, October 4 A meeting of the Congress party leaders and activists, owing allegiance to Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, leader of the Congress legislature party, proposed to be held here on October 6, has been postponed indefinitely. Symposium on lubricants Scheme for tubewell users World teachers’ body

• Minor fire at Shram Shakti Bhawan

CRIME

Sixteen-member auto thieves’ gang busted

New Delhi, October 4 With the arrest of 16-member auto thieves’ gang, who were involved in vehicle thefts, circulation of fake currency notes, export of manpower on forged documents and snatching, the East district police today claimed to have solved as many as 43 cases. Stolen vehicles, which were recovered from a gang in the Capital on Friday. — Tribune Photo Mukesh Aggarwal

Wanted man shot dead in encounter
Noida, October 4
The Sector 58 police shot dead a dreaded criminal, who was carrying a reward of Rs 10,000 on his head, in an encounter last night. His other companion, however, gave the police the slip.

Stolen two-wheelers worth Rs 3 lakh recovered
New Delhi, October 4
The South district police today claimed to have nabbed four persons and recovered nine stolen two-wheelers worth Rs 3 lakh from them. The police, on receiving information that an auto thief was moving around in a stolen two-wheeler in Badarpur, nabbed the accused. Later, he was identified as Mukesh Kumar Sharma (22), resident of Badarpur. 

Train robbers’ gang cracked
Rewari, October 4
With the arrest of three armed gangsters, Dharmendra Kumar of Rewari district, Manoj of Saharsa district of Bihar and Deapak of Etawa district of UP, who attempted to loot vehicles on the Rewari-Dharuhera road near here on Wednesday night, the Rewari city police claim to have busted a notorious gang of robbers who were involved in train robberies.

Youths  posing as  SDM, staff held
Rohtak, October 4
The Sampla police arrested four youths who were allegedly posing as the SDM and his official staff and charging money from the vehicle owners in the name of various lapses near Sampla town on National Highway 10 on Thursday evening.

CULTURE

Works of installation artists on display in the Capital 

New Delhi, October 4 It is an exhibition with a difference. Apeejay Media Gallery showcases, ‘Life in the Time of Cholera’, an exhibition with four well-know installation artists who have used video, Internet and performance elements in their work. The artists make strong comments on the growing commercialisation of urban lifestyle and its serious socio-economic consequences. Apeejay Media Gallery.

HEALTH

MTNL health mela to showcase ‘Dadima ke Nuske’
New Delhi, October 4
Every Indian kitchen is a pharmacy. Rather than running to a doctor with a minor ailment, look for the remedy in your own kitchen. Whether it is the fibrous material like ajwain (once grandma’s trusted recipe for stomach disorders), isabgol, bran, oat, soya, methi, amla, garlic, onion, ginger, these are all preventive and curative for a number of diseases. 

SPORTS

Bangadarshan rout Columba’s Club
New Delhi, October 4
Bangadarshan scored an emphatic 5-0 victory against Columba’s Club in the Delhi Soccer Association (DSA)-SAIL Open Clubs Football League Championship at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium East ground.

Test series: Ram Babu made co-ordinator
New Delhi, October 4
Former international umpire Ram Babu Sharma has been appointed co-ordinator with the Indian cricket team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the three-Test series between India and West Indies starting in Mumbai on October 9, according to senior vice-president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) C. K. Khanna.

Saumik Chatterji hits ton for Shastri Club
New Delhi, October 4
A blistering century knock of 104, studded with 12 boundaries and off 92 balls, by Saumik Chatterji helped Lal Bahadur Shastri Club beat Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan by eight wickets in the second Shaheed Smriti Under-19 Cricket Tournament for the Rameshwar Trophy, organised by the North Delhi Cricketers’ Association, at the Bharat Nagar Sports Complex ground.

Mohan Meakins beat  G G Dutt Club
New Delhi, October 4
Hosts Mohan Meakins beat Goswami Ganesh Dutt Cricket Club by six wickets in the N N Mohan Memorial Cricket Tournament at the Mohan Meakins ground, Ghaziabad. Anshul Lamba, who cracked an unbeaten century and was involved in an unbroken 102-run fifth-wicket partnership with Randeep Singh, was named the man of the match.

Kuldeep Rawat to lead Under-19 team
New Delhi, October 4
India junior player Kuldeep Rawat has been named the captain of the Delhi Under-19 Cricket team for the first two matches of the season 2002-2003. The Junior Selection Committee met today under the chairmanship of convenor Sunil Dev, who is also the sports secretary of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). 

ADMINISTRATION

MCD to hand over collection of ‘tehbazari’ to NGO 
New Delhi, October 4
The Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Mr Ashok Jain, said today that an NGO would be given the responsibility for fee collection of ‘tehbazari’.