Dissolve threat to civic body

B>New Delhi, March 23 (PTI): Delhi High Court today threatened to dissolve the Municipal Corporation of Delhi if it cannot check unauthorised constructions in the capital.

The court said it would set up an independent body if the MCD fails to take action against corrupt officials.

Noting that the status report submitted by the MCD was prepared in the “most cavalier manner,” the court appointed four advocates as “commissioners” for as many municipal zones to ensure strict enforcement of its directives for demolishing illegal structures.

The “advocate commissioners” have been granted full powers to inspect all unauthorised structures in the city and receive public complaints on such constructions.

Literary prize

B>New Delhi: Marathi dramatist Vijay Tendulkar, Malayalam author Kamla Das and poet Shamsur Rahman from Bangladesh were announced winners of the inaugural South Asian Literary Award for the Masters on Thursday. The award has been instituted by The Little Magazine.

Hostages free

B>Baghdad (AP): A Canadian of Indian origin, Harmeet Singh Sooden, was among three aid workers rescued by US and Iraqi forces in a military operation on Thursday. Sooden, another Canadian and a Briton were missing since November 26, 2005.

Labour law

B>Dubai (PTI): Saudi Arabia is set to implement a new labour law next month that would cancel employment contracts for men at the age of 60 and women at 55, Arab News said on Thursday. The law, to be implemented on April 13, could adversely affect many Indian workers.

Immigrants

Athens (AP): Coast guards off southern Greece detained 126 illegal immigrants, including Indians, from a North Korean trawler early on Thursday and arrested the ship’s crew of four, officials said.

Fatal fire

B>Jammu (PTI): A personal security officer of a National Conference MLA was burnt alive on Wednesday in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said. The officer, on leave, was sleeping in his village home when the fire broke out.