In brief

Dogs strut gracefully in showThe Bombay Veterinary College, which hosted the Indian National Kennel Club's two-day dog show, had dogs of var...

Dogs strut gracefully in show
The Bombay Veterinary College, which hosted the Indian National Kennel Club8217;s two-day dog show, had dogs of various colours stomping and strutting on its grounds in full splendour. There were 187 participants in all 8212; some cool and composed, others jittery and agitated, and there was a beauty contest for the canines as well.

The Club8217;s joint honorary secretary, Ratty P Javeri said: 8220;We have been hosting the competition since 1959. Today there has been a marked increase in awareness among people for better upkeep of their dogs. The number of competitors over the years have increased.8221;

The competition takes into account the quality of the breed, the upkeep of the dog and its discipline. The show had working dogs like Dobermann Pinscher police dog for the layman, German Shepherd Alsatian, the collie of which the rough variety was made famous by Lassie, the old-time cine-star. Some other rare dogs like Bulldog, Bull Terrier, Rottweiler and Whippet made theirappearance as well. As for the fashion show, it was a Boxer who won hands down posing as Ms Universe, and a Dalmatian came a close runner-up posing as Ms Dalmatia.

AIR, DD employees to launch stir
Over 12,000 technical and engineering staff of Doordarshan and All India Radio AIR will refuse to accept their salaries on Monday, November 30, to protest against administration8217;s failure to revise their pay scales. This will be followed by a 48-hour strike beginning December 12.

Though the strike is likely to cripple production work, a DD official said that the Class-1 officers would work overtime on December 12 and 13 to keep things going. Talking to Newsline on Sunday, the Vice-President of the Sangharsh Samiti Technical Employees Association Western Region R C Gupta said: 8220;The 48-hour strike will certainly cripple the day-to-day working of DD and AIR since all the low-power transmitters will be down in our absence. And we shall also not accept our salaries tomorrow because our increments havenot been paid for over a year.8221;

Gupta said on December 15 last year, the Prasar Bharati Board met the Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti comprising AIR and DD employees who were assured of a pay revision in the categories ranging from the Helpers to the Assistant Engineers. 8220;On November 11 a gate meetings will be held at all centres to finalise a nationwide strike,8221; Gupta said.