Environment minister Prakash Javadekar said analyses of particles deposited on marble surfaces show that a large area of its exterior are covered by particles that contain substances that could potentially discolour it. The government has taken several measures to preserve the monument.

Abuse stick

Bangalore (PTI): A traffic sub-inspector has been suspended for abusing an ex-serviceman who removed a rope at a crowded junction, thereby breaking a cordon to make way for an ambulance that was carrying blood for an emergency operation at a hospital.

Firing check

New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has observed that there is a need to tighten the procedure for granting firearm licence since celebratory firing during marriage processions is proving to be a killer. The court handed down a 25-month jail term to Jasbir Chauhan whose firing during a wedding led to the death of the groom's uncle.

Girl scheme

Jaipur (PTI): Rajasthan's Nagaur district administration will under the "Lado Rani" initiative distribute on the birth of a girl child in government hospitals special kits and booklets detailing all the schemes and programmes for them.

Flight cancel

New Delhi (PTI): Over 3,400 flights of different airlines, including 2,808 of SpiceJet , were cancelled in December 2014 alone, civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju informed the Rajya Sabha. The government attributed this to "indiscipline" among airline staff and crew shortage.

PIA dispute

New Delhi (PTI): Pakistan's national carrier PIA has purchased immovable property in the capital without obtaining prior approval from the Reserve bank, Parliament has been informed. PIA has acquired six flats and a car parking space, according to the Enforcement Directorate.

Rs 1cr penalty

Rajkot, March 3 (PTI): Rajkot Municipal Corporation has slapped a Rs 1-crore ad hoc penalty on Reliance Geo Infocom for misusing its permission for laying cables in the city.

The RMC commissioner issued a notice to the company and asked it to pay the penalty before March 15 failing which legal action would be initiated, an official release said. The company’s contractor allegedly laid parallel cables of a local Internet provider though it had been given permission to lay only its cables, the notice said.

Plane death

Dubai (PTI): A one-year-old Indian girl died mid-air on board a Gulf Air flight from Kochi to Bahrain’s capital Manama, forcing the flight to make an emergency landing at Abu Dhabi airport.

Child rescue

Indore (PTI): The marriage of a 13-year-old girl was stopped in an Indore village by the district administration on Tuesday. The girl’s family tried to mislead the women and child development department officials and police by presenting another adult girl as the bride. Later, they found that the actual bride was a minor.

Espionage

New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Tuesday remanded three accused, arrested in the corporate espionage case, to judicial custody till March 17, after Delhi police said their custodial interrogation is not required.

AI offices

New Delhi (PTI): Air India is in the process of closing down its offices in Cairo and Tehran, minister of state for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma told the Rajya Sabha. It has already shut down booking offices in Zurich, Chittagong and Vienna. Air India has been incurring losses in the past few years because of various reasons, Sharma said.

Nepal bus

Kathmandu (PTI): India and Nepal are launching a direct bus service between Varanasi and Kathmandu from Thursday, linking the two cities. This will be the second direct bus service between Nepal and India after the Kathmandu-Delhi bus service launched last year.