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Front Page

- Balasore under curfew after clashes; 10 injured, Net off

- Man kills girlfriend with wrench on busy Mumbai road as people shoot clips

- Cattle transport: Lone survivor in lynching case dies in hospital

- BENGAL TRAIN COLLISION TOLL RISES TO 10 AS 6-YEAR-OLD DIES

- Live wire burns to death 3 of family

- 4 sisters aged 7-13 drown in UP river

- Man killed in shooting at Burger King outlet in city

- Retd Pak Brig behind ’18 J&K attack killed

- Alignment on big issues: Trudeau after Modi talks

- Heat claims 5 lives in Delhi; warmest June night in 6 yrs

- Water reservoir storage at 22% of capacity

- Won’t tolerate bid to ‘harm’ our citizens: US AG

- Minutes after wife’s death, Assam home secy shoots himself in ICU

- BCAS moots 5-year flying ban for hoax threats

- 11 of a family across 3 gens get life for murder

- Drunk driver hits 8 people in east Delhi

- JD(U) MP’s voting remark sparks row

- 3rd new bridge over a river in Bihar collapses

- SC: Negligence of even 0.001% in NEET must be examined

- Voters backing NDA govt after 10 yrs a big win: PM

- PM’s Mann ki Baat from June 30

Balasore under curfew after clashes; 10 injured, Net off

Authorities shut down internet services in Balasore town of Odisha and clamped a curfew Tuesday after clashes between two communities left 10 people wounded the day before, reports Ashok Pradhan.

The clash involved two groups that threw stones at each other and damaged property. Some also hurled stones at policemen when they intervened, wounding two officers. Ten motorcycles, two cars, a place of worship, and several shops were allegedly damaged in the violence. Police detained 34 people. The SDM ordered a curfew Tuesday.

P 11

2 injured in clashes in J’khand’s Pakur, P 11

Man kills girlfriend with wrench on busy Mumbai road as people shoot clips

Sandhya.Nair@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: A 29-year-old man killed his 22-year-old girlfriend, who he suspected was cheating on him, with a wrench on a busy road in Vasai on Tuesday morning. As the victim lay still on the road, passersby simply looked on or captured videos of the crime but none stepped in to help her.

In one of the videos, the accused, Rohit Yadav, is seen standing before the victim, Aarti Yadav, lying on the ground, and asking her in Hindi, “Why did you do this to me?”

Rohit told police that they had been in a relationship for over six years and had plans to wed. He said that a month ago, after he helped her get a job, he thought she “had begun to drift away”. He suspected her of being in a relationship with someone else.

After assaulting Aarti (L), Rohit Yadav sat down on a footpath

Killer left spot, P 20

Cattle transport: Lone survivor in lynching case dies in hospital

The lone survivor of the mob attack in Chhattisgarh’s Arang in which two cattle transporters were killed earlier this month, died in a Raipur hospital Tuesday.

Saddam Qureshi, 25, was the only one who could have given a statement to police on what actually happened on the night of June 7 when he and two fellow truckers, Guddu Khan (35) and Chand Miyan Khan (23), were attacked by alleged cow vigilantes on a rumour that they were smuggling cows. Qureshi was found critically injured. Someone took a 57-second video of him giving a chilling account of the attack from his hospital bed. That video has turned out to be his final statement.

P 12

BENGAL TRAIN COLLISION TOLL RISES TO 10 AS 6-YEAR-OLD DIES

A train runs past the remains of the mangled bogies at the accident site, following restoration of services a day after the collision near Rangapani railway station on Tuesday

➤ The goods train that rear-ended Kanchanjungha Express near north Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri station Monday morning was travelling at more than 40kmph, nearly three times the maximum permissible speed of 15kmph on that section of the track due to a failure of the automatic signalling system

➤ Investigation focuses on 4 people: the freight train’s co-pilot, the stationmaster at Rangapani and the railway employees manning two level crossings between Rangapani station and the accident site

➤ The toll in the tragedy has risen to 10, with a six-year-old girl from Malda, heading home after a 10-day vacation at her maternal uncle’s home in Siliguri’s Matigara, succumbing on Tuesday, becoming the youngest victim

➤ Family members of Anil Kumar, the deceased loco pilot who has been blamed for the accident, said they were ‘shocked and speechless’ and planning ‘legal recourse’ upon finding how the railways had ‘laid the blame on a man who is unable to answer for himself’

➤ Residents of Chhota Nirmal Jote village, a majority of them Muslims, who deferred Bakrid celebrations to help rescue the passengers on Monday, finally offered the ‘qurbani’ on Tuesday, but held a muted celebration

P 11, 14

Live wire burns to death 3 of family

Three members of a family were charred to death after coming in contact with an 11KV high tension wire at Hyderabad area of Lakhimpur Kheri district on Monday. UP minister AK Sharma on Tuesday suspended an executive engineer, an SDO and a junior engineer.

P 11

4 sisters aged 7-13 drown in UP river

A heart-wrenching tragedy unfolded in UP’s Balrampur as four sisters, aged from 7 to 13 years, drowned in the Kunaon river. The girls, who were visiting their maternal grandmother’s home on Bakrid, had gone to bathe in the river on Tuesday.

P12

Man killed in shooting at Burger King outlet in city

A man was killed while a few others were injured after armed people fired indiscriminately inside a Burger King outlet in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden on Tuesday night. Initial probe suggests it was a targeted shooting. Sources said over a dozen rounds were fired at the outlet, causing panic and people were seen running for cover. The target was sitting with a girl.

P6

Retd Pak Brig behind ’18 J&K attack killed

Amir Hamza, a retired Pakistan army brigadier and a key ISI man, was killed by unknown gunmen in Pakistan’s Punjab late on Monday, reports Rajshekhar Jha. Hamza was known to counter-terror agencies as someone who was involved in ISI-engineered operations against India and was seen as among the brains behind the 2018 attack on Sunjwan Army camp in J&K. Six soldiers were killed and over a dozen injured in the 2018 attack.

He is the second Pakistani involved in the Sunjwan attack to have been eliminated. In last Nov, LeT commander Khwaja Shahid alias Mia Mujahid, suspected to be another key plotter, was found beheaded near the LoC in POK. Hamza’s wife and daughter, who were with him in the car and who received injuries, told police that shooters did not take any belongings.

 Latest Pakistani, P 20

Alignment on big issues: Trudeau after Modi talks

Days after his first interaction with PM Modi in Italy amid the chill in ties, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has said there is an “alignment” on several “big issues” with India and he sees an “opportunity” to engage with the new Indian govt, including on economic ties and “around national security”. Modi posted an image on social media of the two shaking hands, with a one-liner saying “met Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at the G7 Summit”.

P11

Heat claims 5 lives in Delhi; warmest June night in 6 yrs

Power Demand Peaks At All-Time High Of 8647 MW

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The relentless heatwave in the capital has claimed five lives in the past 72 hours. The victims died of heatstroke at three hospitals.

A 50-year-old man, who was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital on June 17 evening, passed away early morning while a 60-year-old woman, admitted the same day, died on Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, a 40-year-old female labourer and a 60-year-old male security guard died at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. The woman passed away on Monday while the man died on Tuesday evening.

One more death was re- ported from Lok Nayak Hospital. A car mechanic from Janakpuri, aged 39, was admitted to the hospital on June 15 with high fever of 106 degrees Fahrenheit and died the following day.

The torrid conditions have led to the city experiencing its warmest night of the sea- son on Tuesday with the minimum temperature soaring to 33.8 degrees Celsius, making it the warmest June night in six years.

Power consumption has spiralled with the peak power demand reaching an all-time record of 8,647 MW on Tuesday afternoon.

P2

FLAP OPP

Water reservoir storage at 22% of capacity

Delay in arrival of monsoon in large parts of India has brought down the overall water storage in the country’s 150 key reservoirs to 22% of their total capacity, reports Vishwa Mohan. Though reservoirs in south India have shown a slight improvement due to ongoing monsoon rains, the situation in east, west, north and central India remains a worry as the level in reservoirs in these regions continues to go down.

These large reservoirs are critical for drinking water supply as well as irrigation in many states. Twenty out of these 150 water bodies are also used for generation of hydro-power .

FLAP OPP

Won’t tolerate bid to ‘harm’ our citizens: US AG

Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national accused of being involved in a murder-for-hire plot against a Sikh extremist in New York, will now face justice in an American courtroom, US attorney general Merrick Garland said, asserting his country will not tolerate attempts to “silence” or “harm” its citizens. Deputy AG Lisa Monaco said the plot, allegedly orchestrated by an Indian govt employee to kill a US citizen, was a brazen attempt to silence a political activist for exercising a quintessential American right — his freedom of speech.

P 11

Minutes after wife’s death, Assam home secy shoots himself in ICU

Prabin.Kalita@timesgroup.com

Guwahati: Assam home and political secretary Shiladitya Chetia, a 44-year-old IPS officer with a President's gallantry medal to his name, fatally shot himself in the head with his service weapon in the ICU of a private hospital in Guwahati Tuesday, minutes after his wife died there of cancer.

Chetia’s wife Agamoni Borbaruah, 40, died at Nemcare Hospital at 4.25pm and the senior bureaucrat walked into her ICU cabin barely 10 minutes later, requesting the medical staff to allow him so- me privacy for praying next to his wife’s body.

A gunshot rang out soon after the staff exited the ca- bin, the hospital said.

“We rushed in and found him lying beside his wife’s body. We tried to save him but couldn’t. He had shot himself,” Nemcare’s managing director Hitesh Baruah said.

Baruah said Agamoni was being treated at the hospital for about two months. “Three days ago, her condition deteriorated. We explained her condition to Chetia and he understood.”

The couple, who had an arranged marriage on May 12, 2013, didn’t have a child.

‘Full of problems’, P 20

BCAS moots 5-year flying ban for hoax threats

New Delhi: Issuing hoax threats to flights, airports or any aviation-sector related facility could soon land pranksters on the no-fly list for five years.

Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) DG Zulfiquar Hasan Tuesday said the rising number of such incidents had prompted the agency to propose the action against those fo- und guilty on this count. On Tuesday, too, a large number of airports got threat messages about explosives being hidden. However, the messages turned out to be hoax as thorough checks at these airports yielded nothing. “Six people have already been arrested from across India so far for issuing these hoax threats. Investigations are on and we expect more arrests soon,” Hasan said. Hoax messages cause major disruptions in flight schedules as aircraft, flyers & baggage have to be checked thoroughly.

TNN

40 airports across India get bomb hoax mail

Directors of 40 airports received a bomb threat mail. “…there are explosives hidden in the airport. The bombs will soon explode...,” mails said. After checks, they were declared hoax. An unidentified person sent a threat email to a Mumbai hospital, saying explosives were planted at 60 hospitals. Nothing suspicious was found.

TNN

11 of a family across 3 gens get life for murder

A court in UP’s Hathras sentenced 11 members of a family — across three generations — to life imprisonment for killing two brothers, Pratap Singh and Netrapal Singh, in 2018. Eighty-year-old Yashodan Singh, his son Gajendra Singh (54), grandson Sandeep Singh (28) and eight other members of the family were found guilty and convicted, said ADGC Shivendra Chauhan on Tuesday.

P 11

Drunk driver hits 8 people in east Delhi

A car with a drunk man at the wheel went berserk and hit eight people in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri before the driver was apprehended by angry locals and handed over to the police. The 43-year-old suspect, who works for a tour and travel company, was medically examined and found heavily intoxicated.

P9

JD(U) MP’s voting remark sparks row

A day after JD(U) Sitamarhi MP DC Thakur’s comment against “Yadavs, Muslims and Kushwahas” for not voting in his favour in the election, the party on Tuesday distanced itself from the statement, saying it believes in equal treatment to all, even as villagers in Vaishali put up posters warning the MP not to travel this route.

P 12

3rd new bridge over a river in Bihar collapses

A portion of a newly constructed road bridge over the Bakra river collapsed near Pararia Ghat in Bihar’s Araria district on Tuesday, resulting in the suspension of two engineers. No casualty was reported. The bridge had not been opened to the public. Tuesday’s was the third collapse of a bridge over the same river.

P 12

SC: Negligence of even 0.001% in NEET must be examined

Admit If There’s A Mistake, Court Tells Centre, NTA

New Delhi: Observing that even 0.001% negligence in conducting NEET-UG must be examined thoroughly, Supreme Court on Tuesday said Centre and National Testing Agency (NTA) should admit if there had been any mistake in organising the test and rectify it, instead of denying it, reports Amit Anand Choudhary.

As allegations of mismanagement and question paper leak marred the medical entrance examination taken by over 24 lakh candidates and against which students in different parts of the country are holding protests, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti expres- sed concern over students indulging in illegal and corrupt means to get admission in MBBS courses and said this was “deleterious to society”.

 ‘If there’s a mistake...’, P 18

IN THE COURTS

➤ Bombay HC says nothing objectionable in film Hamare Baarah, or against Quran & Muslim community

P 11

➤ Specify when Engineer Rashid has to take oath, Delhi court tells NIA, adjourns matter to June 22

P 11

➤ Court allows provision of cooler to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar in jail on medical grounds

P 9

➤ Guj HC extends interim stay by a day on ‘Maharaj’, debut film of star Aamir Khan’s son Junaid, which was slated for release on Netflix

P 11

Voters backing NDA govt after 10 yrs a big win: PM

PM Modi performs Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat

Varanasi: BJP-led NDA being voted to office for a third consecutive term in a country with millions of aspirational youth and other people chasing their dreams is no small feat and reflects a mandate earned through 10 years of go- vernance, PM Modi said Tuesday at his first rally since the poll verdict, reports Rajeev Dikshit. Modi transferred Rs 20,000 crore to the accounts of 9.3 crore farmers under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.

 NDA meet at Rajnath’s house on Speaker post, P16

 Farmers, youth..., P 20

PM’s Mann ki Baat from June 30

PM Modi is set to resume broadcast of his radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ from June 30, which he stopped after poll code came into effect.

P 16

Times Nation

- Heatwave likely to abate from today

- A temple in UP that farmers believe offers rain forecast

- An ‘electronic island’: How Indian EVMs are different

- Angry flyer bites ground staff

- Out of coma, teen crashes bike, dies

- 3 of family on bike electrocuted in UP

- 11 of family get life terms for ’18 double murder

- From 5,696 to 18,799: Rlys raises asst loco pilot hirings post crash

- 60-yr-old in Mumbai loses `2.6cr to online share-trading fraud

- Alignment on big issues, says Trudeau after meeting Modi

- Curfew, internet ban in Odisha town day after communal clash

- HC: ‘Hamare Baarah’ is fine, it sends out social message

- Bihar bridge collapses before inauguration

- JD(U) MP: Muslims, Yadavs didn’t vote for me, won’t work for them

- YSRCP MP’s daughter runs over man in Chennai:

- 4 minors on visit to grandma’s house drown

- Mamata calls on BJP RS MP at his Cooch Behar home

- At `1.8L cr, spend on rail safety in 2014-24 up 2.5 times over 2004-14: Govt

- Body found in Imphal West

- Lone survivor of attack by C’garh vigilantes dies in Raipur hospital

- Ahead of Hry polls, Kiran Choudhry, daughter quit Cong, to join BJP today

- Villagers postpone Eid-ul-Zuha celebration, jump into rescue op

- 900 men defy rain, toil 22 hrs to restore tracks

- Freight train was racing at 3 times its sanctioned speed

- 6 trains had passed that stretch before accident

- Family questions hasty blame on dead loco pilot

- PM seeks ideas for Mann ki Baat, broadcast to resume from June 30

- Armed forces formulate new joint doctrine for cyberspace operations

- BJP takes a jibe at Priyanka entry: ‘Vadra could be next’

- Vadra claims credit for Priyanka move

- NDA meet held at Rajnath’s residence to discuss House strategy, Speaker election

- HP CM’s wife Cong pick for Dehra bypoll

- Aviation museum on cards?

- Terrorists shoot at J&K police in Poonch

- Alive to problem, hence ordered re-test: Govt to SC

- 3 detained for not informing cops about terrorists in Doda

- CUET-UG & PG scores will be valid for both sessions: UGC

- DMK has no moral right to criticise PM, says Tamilisai

- WHEELS Of CHANGE

- Hamza latest Pakistani linked with terror hits to be killed

- IMD ‘red alert’ in 3 NE states as rain, flood wreak havoc

- Roads ministry eyes Cabinet nod to free up 700ha surplus land

- Assam home secy’s life was full of problems: DGP Mahanta

- Alka Yagnik’s ‘hearing loss’ a disorder hard to reverse: Docs

- Farmers, youth, women & underprivileged 4 pillars of my growth agenda: PM in Varanasi

- Killer left spot, then returned to talk to motionless victim

- Kerala mantri signs off by ending ‘colony-ial legacy’

Heatwave likely to abate from today

Plains Sizzle, Alwar Posts 37°C Min Temp

SEEKING RELIEF

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

The relentless heatwave across much of north India since midMay has worsened over the past few days, with night temperatures rising sharply at many places and the mercury shooting up to uncomfortable levels even in the ‘salubrious’ hill towns of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

At least four cities reported their warmest night ever on Tuesday, with the minimum temperature at Alwar (Rajasthan) recorded at a scorching 37°C while Varanasi reported 33.6°C, and Lakhimpur Kheri as well as Shahjahanpur (both in UP) logging 33°C.

Over the past few weeks, temperatures in Mussoorie have ranged between 30 and 35°C compared to a normal for this time of the year of 25 to 30°C. In Pithoragarh, the mercury reached around 36-37°C. Munsyari recorded a maximum of 29°C, six notches above normal. Kalamuni, located at around 10,000 feet, hit 26°C, causing the water level of the Gori river, originating from the Milam glacier, to rise substantially.

At a Uttarkashi hotel, a tourist was privy to an argument between a group from Gujarat and the hotelier. The group offered extra money for AC rooms, only to be told, “This is a hill station; we don’t have AC rooms.” The group sarcastically responded, “Which hill station gets so hot?” and shortened their holiday by a few days.

Dehradun, located in the foothills and generally known for its mild weather, has been witnessing an unprecedented spell of heat since summer set in around midApril. Temperatures have consistently breached the 40°C mark, including three occasions when they exceed- ed 43°C. The extreme heat has left residents struggling to cope with the drastic change.

In the sizzling plains, the mercury touched 47.6°C at Prayagraj on Sunday and Monday, making it the hottest place in India so far this week. This was 8.7°C higher than normal.

UP remained the country’s hottest region on Tuesday, with heatwave to severe heatwave conditions observed in many parts of the state and in some parts of south Uttarakhand and Himachal, IMD said. Heatwave conditions persisted over many parts of Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi and Punjab and in isolated pockets over north MP, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar & Jammu division.

However, the met department held out hope of some relief, with the heatwave expected to gradually abate from Wednesday, at least for the next few days.

(With inputs from Kautilya Singh, Anmol Jain, Sonali Mishra & Prem Punetha)

150 key reservoirs at 22% capacity

New Delhi: Delay in arrival of monsoon in large parts of India has brought down the overall water storage in 150 key reservoirs to 22% of their total capacity, reports Vishwa Mohan. These reservoirs are critical for drinking water supply as well as irrigation. Twenty of them are also used for hydel power generation. CWC said that live storage as on June 13 was 38.5 billion cubic metre (BCM), against a total live storage capacity of 178.8 BCM.

The storage now is 10 BCM less than what was reported at the corresponding period last year.

North scales a new power demand peak

The heatwave sweeping the northwest pushed up peak power demand in northern region to a record 89GW, 25-30% of which was met by importing electricity from other regions, thanks to integration of regional grids achieved in 2013, reports Sanjay Dutta. The demand spike did not stretch the national grid since the overall peak demand hovered around 240GW, a level seen first on May 26 and twice thereafter, sources said. The power system handled a record peak demand of 250 GW on May 30 without overheating and is now geared up for 260GW.

A temple in UP that farmers believe offers rain forecast

Faiz.Siddiqui@timesgroup.com

Kanpur: Relief for parched north lurks not only in the weatherman’s charts but also in Kanpur’s ancient Jagannath temple, where its priest points to a stone that began dripping water weeks ago, indicating it will pour this monsoon. A team from the meteorological department of Kanpur’s Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology visited the temple on Sunday and backed the prognosis.

At the Kanpur temple known for predicting the arrival and intensity of monsoon with surprising exactitude, it’s been an annual tradition. The shrine mirrors its more famous namesake in Puri and follows most of its traditions.

Situated in Behta Bujurg village, the 11th century temple is steeped in mystique and has baffled scholars over centuries.

According to priest KP Shukla, a stone slab in the ceiling of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum starts dripping days before the onset of monsoon. “This year, big drops are falling from the temple’s ceiling frequently. Hence, it is believed the rain will be good,” said agri weather scientist SN Sunil Pandey.

Pandey said that this time, the temple’s ceiling began to drip when the monsoon entered Kerala a few weeks ago.

Farmers living in the temple’s vicinity depend heavily on its predictions. “They have started flocking the temple to check the year’s rainfall and make crop preparations. As the droplets have started accumulating on the ceiling, they have been organising special prayers for good yields,” said Prakash Singh, a local villager.

Archaeologists and scientists have visited the temple to understand the phenomenon, but so far, the exact reason remains a mystery. According to villagers, once the monsoon sets in, the water droplets vanish, and the ceiling of the temple becomes dry.

An ‘electronic island’: How Indian EVMs are different

Tech Billionaire Elon Musk Has His Doubts, But Experts Say The Device In India Is Custom-Made For Voting And Is Not Connected To Anything That Can Aid Hacking

SOME STEPS IN POLL JOURNEY: (Clockwise from top left) Before the EVM is sent to a polling station it is checked by polling officials; after voting is completed, the machine is sealed; it is then moved to a strongroom and kept under lock and key; and only brought out on counting day

Hemali.Chhapia@timesgroup.com

TOI Explains

Indian EVMs are complex machines that are built to be tamper-proof, say engineers and domain experts. In fact, they pointed to added features in the M3 (model 3) EVM — more than 600 million people cast their votes on it in the recent Lok Sabha polls — that double down on its security aspects.

Rajat Moona, director, IIT Gandhinagar and a member of the technical panel responsible for designing EVMs, likened the device to a simple calculator and maintained that “no EVM can be hacked into or tampered with”. While the debate is political in nature, he said, technically, the “Indian EVMs cannot be hacked”.

Built On Best Practices

The M3 model is smarter than its predecessor and has several functions that are automated, including a first-level check like what computers carry out before they boot up. “The EVMs, if tampered with, also have a technology to return to factory setting and stop responding completely,” explained experts. These machines are not connected to the internet nor do they have an RF (radio frequency) to respond to Bluetooth. In fact, they are not even connected to a power socket.

Introduced in 2019, M3 machines will be used for several state polls and have a lifetime of 15 years before they are phased out and an updated version is launched. “We are already exploring all the new technology that can be brought in for the M4 machines,” said a member of the expert panel.

So, Why The Doubts?

Weeks after the 2024 LS polls, tech billionaire Elon Musk called for the junking of EVMs, saying “the risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high”. Musk’s post on X -which former Union MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar described as a “huge sweeping generalisation” — was in response to a post on EVMs in Puerto Rico.

But Moona sees the current conversation around ways to gain illegal access to EVMs as being political in nature and said he’d therefore like to steer clear of it. Interestingly, to “remain completely independent”, none of the EVM technical panel members either charge fees or accept any honorarium for designing the architecture or technology of the voting machines.

According to Dinesh Sharma, emeritus professor and expert in microelectronics and solid-state electronics at the department of electrical engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, “that was the only way we knew we could remain totally and completely independent”.

‘Can’t Do Anything Else’

After every election, there are “canards” made against Indian EVMs and how they can be hacked. To clear the air and bust the myths, Sharma has put up a two-hour-long talk in the public domain. He also plans to release an updated video in about a month on the new machines and the security features in them to allay the fears of the general public.

In his video, Sharma distinguishes between voting machines in other parts of the world and the ones used in India. “Indian EVMs are different from other EVMs in the world. The M3 EVMs have no connection to any other device, not even main power supply. EVMs do not talk to any other device.

They are only designed for voting and are not a general-purpose computing device with a loaded programme for electronic voting. So, our EVM can do nothing else. No other programme or software can be loaded on to them.”

Sharma adds that in case of any issue with an EVM, the machine has to be discarded altogether. “Each EVM is a unique electronic island in itself, and this makes them super secure,” he says.

Multiple Checks And Constant Vigil

At every step, EVMs undergo third-party review of software while mock polling is done multiple times in the presence of candidates’ representatives. After these checks, the machines are sealed with “rare” paper from the Nashik security printing press, the same paper used to print Indian currency notes. Each time the machines are sealed or opened, it is done in the presence of election candidates or their representatives.

Also, when EVMs are transported and stored before polling day, the storage room has to meet strict criteria, like having only one door. “There is also a provision to allow candidates or their representatives to camp outside 24/7 till the polling day,” explains Sharma.

Mismatch Due To ‘Human Error’

Following a Supreme Court order, tallying of ballot-slip counts of 20,625 randomly chosen VVPATs is carried out with the electronic counts of their control units for the general elections.

If no mismatch between EVM and VVPAT counts is found in such a sample, then it can be said with near certainty that the sanctity of the election process is not disturbed by the use of EVMs, experts said. Till date, ballot slips of 41,629 randomly selected VVPATs have been tallied with the electronic counts of their control units and not a single case of transfer of vote meant for candidate ’A’ to candidate ‘B’ has been detected.

Differences in count, if any, have always been traceable to human error, like non-deletion of mock poll votes from the control unit or non-removal of mock poll slips from the VVPAT.

Angry flyer bites ground staff

A woman flyer bit on the wrist of a ground staffer while being deboarded from a Mumbai-bound flight for unruly behaviour with fellow passengers at Lucknow airport on Tuesday evening. “She quarreled with fellow passengers. When the flight crew failed to calm her down, ground staff were called in. While being deboarded, she attacked a male ground crew member. She has been booked,” said Sarojini Nagar SHO Shailendra Giri. The victim crew member said, “I went to assist her in deboarding, but she bit me on my wrist after coming out of the aircraft.” The Agra native residing in Mumbai had come to Lucknow to meet her sister, police said. TNN

Out of coma, teen crashes bike, dies

A 19-year-old youth, who had recently recovered from injuries he sustained in a bike accident that left him in coma for six months, was killed after he crashed his new bike into a lamp post near Ennore expressway in Chennai. Cops said Abdul Sajith of Thyagarayapuram pestered his parents into getting him a new bike weeks ago. On Monday, he took it out for a spin without wearing a helmet. While riding along service road of Ennore Expressway, he attempted to turn on to the e-way but lost control of the bike and rammed into a lamp post. He fell and suffered head injuries. Sajith died in a hospital on Tuesday. Police said the bike had not yet been registered. TNN

3 of family on bike electrocuted in UP

Three members of a family were charred to death after coming in contact with an 11KV high tension wire at Haiderabad area of Lakhimpur Kheri district on Monday, reports Kanwardeep Singh. A day after the shocking deaths, UP urban development minister AK Sharma suspended an executive engineer, a sub-divisional officer and a junior engineer — all from Kheri — with “immediate effect”. The minister took to ‘X’ and said: “As soon as news of this incident was received, UPPCL chairman and MVVNL MD were directed to send the power department team along with police and district administration to the site to provide help and treat the injured.” He added: “Action has also been initiated against other employees, and specific instructions given to prevent a repeat of such incidents. An ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh is being given to the family of each of the victims and Rs 50,000 to the injured.” CM Yogi Adityanath had ordered strict action against those found guilty in this incident. In view of this, after preliminary probe, executive engineer Raj Narayan, SDO Vineet Kumar and JE Amrit Lal were suspended, said an official privy to investigation details.

11 of family get life terms for ’18 double murder

Agra: A court in Hathras sentenced 11 members of a family —across three generations — to life imprisonment for killing two men in 2018, reports Mohammad Dilshad. Eightyyear-old Yashodan Singh, his son Gajendra Singh (54), grandson Sandeep Singh (28) and eight other members of the family were found guilty and convicted, said ADGC Shivendra Chauhan on Tuesday.

Police said the crime took place on June 9, 2018, when brothers Pratap Singh and Netrapal Singh (in their 50s) were shot dead by “miscreants” of the same village. The victims’ third brother, Rajkumar Singh, sustained a bullet injury in the attack and was a key witness in the case.

Following a complaint by the victims’ kin, a case of murder was filed against several members of a single family. Besides Yashodan, Gajendra and Sandeep, the others identified by police in the FIR were Rajan Singh, Rajendra Singh, Harendra Singh, Pushpendra Singh, Shailendra Singh, Ajay Singh, Sarvendra Singh and Ashok Singh. All accused were subsequently arrested and jailed.

From 5,696 to 18,799: Rlys raises asst loco pilot hirings post crash

Pilots’ Bodies Say It Will Help Reduce Stress

The accident site of Kanchanjungha Express in Bengal’s Rangapani Tuesday

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: A day after the fatal rail accident involving an express and a cargo train in Bengal, railways announced on Tuesday that it would hire three times more assistant loco pilots (ALPs) than planned as part of efforts to bolster safety. In a circular to general managers, the Railway Board said 18,799 ALPs should be hired across zones, instead of the 5,696 planned earlier.

While the zones have been asked to process the decision immediately, filling up the vacancies is expected to take at least six months as posts have to be notified and candidates need to pass written, aptitude and medical tests. The ALPs will have to undergo training before being deployed.

“This decision aims to meet the growing demand for skilled personnel in the railway sector and underscores the government’s commitment to enhancing employment opportunities across the country,” an official said.

The board directed zones to take “immediate action” to fill “enhanced vacancies” of ALPs in consultation with Rail Recruitment Board. It said the decision was taken after receiving additional demand for ALPs from zonal railways.

Welcoming the decision, V Balachandran, central organising secretary of All India Loco Running Staff Association, said they had earlier sought an increase in ALP va- cancies. “Railway Board has now approved it. This will reduce burden on the system to a certain extent. There is a need to review the present norm of manpower requirement considering the present rest demands and inter-railway transfer requests,” he added.

Loco pilots’ organisations have also been demanding a reduction in the long working hours of the drivers.

Earlier in the day, Congress had alleged that 21% posts of loco pilots and 8% of assistant loco pilots in the railways were lying vacant.

Related stories, P12 & 14

3.1L vacancies, staffers under stress: Cong

New Delhi: Continuing with its attack on BJP govt for railway accidents, Congress Tuesday said there are 3.1 lakh vacancies in railways, and loco pilots and their assistants are overworked & stressed, which is increasing human errors. It said out of the earmarked Rs 20,000 crore for railway safety, only Rs 4,225 crore were given in last four years, which too were spent on foot massagers, crockery and jackets.

AICC spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said Ashwini Vaishnaw is “not rail minister but reel minister”, who presided over the destruction of the public carrier but the PM promoted him in his new ministry, as further deterioration in railways can be used to push for privatisation. She demanded Vaishnaw resign immediately.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge asked “why was not even a single kilometre of the much-hyped ‘Kavach’ antitrain collision system added after the Balasore accident?” TNN

60-yr-old in Mumbai loses `2.6cr to online share-trading fraud

Mumbai: A 60-year-old retiree lost Rs 2.6 crore to an online share-trading fraud after being added to a WhatsApp group that offered tips and avenues for investment, reports Mateen Hafeez.

The man said he was added to a WhatsApp group in Dec 2023, where one of the admins told him that they invested in the share market through an American company and lured him to invest.

In Feb, the retiree sent Rs 50,000 and his virtual account initially showed him profits, lulling him into complacency. He kept sending more investments, totalling Rs 2.6 crore, in the hope of seeing higher returns. Later, a group member told him that the company had suffered losses. The man later found that he couldn’t withdraw money from his account, was removed from the WhatsApp group and the link to the virtual account was deleted. He then approached police. An FIR has been filed for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy under IPC and identity theft under IT Act.

Alignment on big issues, says Trudeau after meeting Modi

Modi with Trudeau at the G7 meet

Ottawa: Days after his first interaction with PM Modi in Italy amidst the chill in bilateral ties, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said there is an “alignment” on several “big issues” with India and he sees an “opportunity” to engage with the new Indian government, including on economic ties and “around national security”.

PM Modi posted an image on social media of the two shaking hands Friday, with a one-liner saying “met Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at the G7 Summit”.

The meeting, which took place on sidelines of G7 Summit in southern Italy, was the first amid strained diplomatic relations over pro-Khalistani extremism after Trudeau alleged in Sept last year of “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated Sikh terrorist.

Back in Ottawa, Trudeau told CBC News that one of the good things about the Summit is that “you get an opportunity to engage directly with a huge range of different leaders with whom there are various issues and certainly with India, there are massive people to people ties, they’re really important economic ties.”

“There’s alignment on a number of big issues that we need to work on as, as democracies as a global community. But now that he (Modi) is through his election, there is an opportunity for us to engage, including on some very serious issues around national security and keeping Canadians safe and the rule of law that we will be engaging.”

When asked if he has seen improvement in cooperation from India on Canadian probe into the murder of Nijjar in British Columbia, Trudeau added, “There is work ongoing very much.” PTI

Won’t tolerate bid to harm our citizens: US attorney general

Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national accused of being involved in a murder-for-hire plot against Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York on directions of an Indian govt employee, will now face justice in an American courtroom, US attorney general Merrick Garland said.

Gupta, 53, was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, 2023 at the request of US govt and extradited on June 14.

“This extradition makes it clear that justice dept will not tolerate attempts to silence or harm American citizens,” Garland said Monday.

Gupta has been charged with murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, both of which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.

FBI director Christopher Wray said the agency will not tolerate attempts to repress constitutionally-protected freedoms in the US by foreign nationals or anyone else.

DEA administrator Anne Milgram described Gupta as an international narcotics trafficker who is alleged to have orchestrated a plot to kill a US citizen on US soil. PTI

Curfew, internet ban in Odisha town day after communal clash

Ashok.Pradhan@timesgroup.com

Bhubaneswar: Authorities shut down internet services in Balasore town of Odisha and clamped a curfew Tuesday after clashes between two communities left 10 people wounded the day before.

The clash involved two groups that threw stones at each other and damaged property. Some also hurled stones at cops when they intervened, wounding two officers. Ten motorcycles, two cars, a place of worship, and several shops were allegedly damaged in the violence. Police have detained 34 people.

The SDM, who issued Monday prohibitory orders under Sec 144 of CrPC, ordered a curfew Tuesday, restricting people’s movement except for emergency aid in the northern Odisha town. All entry, exit points of the town, with a population of two lakh, have been sealed. Business and commercial establishments, as well as educational institutions, were closed. Cops conducted a flag march to ensure law & order.

Citing ongoing tension, Odisha home secretary Deoranjan Kumar Singh issued a notification prohibiting the use of social media platforms for 48 hours until 10am on June 20. Internet and data services, including mobile internet, were suspended.

Violence erupts in J’khand town over animal sacrifice

A villager and a constable were injured in two days of clashes in Gopinathpur town in Jharkhand’s Pakur, bordering Bengal, over the alleged slaughter of a prohibited animal in public during Eid-ul-Zuha on Monday, reports Rajesh Kumar Pandey.

Sources put the number of injured people at six in the flare-up, which was ignited in Gopinathpur after some from another community objected to the alleged slaughter.

Soon, hundreds from Kristonagar, a village across a canal in Bengal, stormed into Gopinathpur to target those who had protested the slaughter. This set off an chain of stone-pelting between the two sides, police said. Later, local sources said crew bombs were hurled, shots fired and houses torched in a spiral that continued on Tuesday.

Security forces faced challenges in driving the hundreds of attackers back into Bengal. “A mob of around 500 from Kristonagar in Bengal’s Dhulian came to Gopinathpur and torched one house. They continued hurling bombs and firing from across the canal. A constable suffered minor injuries in their attack,” the Pakur SP said.

HC: ‘Hamare Baarah’ is fine, it sends out social message

‘A Thinking Film About Women Empowerment’

Rosy.Sequeira@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: Bombay HC on Tuesday said the movie ‘Hamare Baarah’ sends out a social message for empowerment of women and is not offensive to religious sentiments of Muslims.

“This movie is about upliftment (sic) and the voice of women. The trailer is misleading… has caused problems,” said Justices Burgess Colabawalla and Justice Firdosh Pooniwalla. After an initial injunction on June 7, HC allowed the movie’s release. On June 13, SC had stayed the release till HC disposed of the petition.

The judges said they saw the movie and were “surprised” that petitioners were making statements based on the trailer. Also, parts of the movie CBFC ob- jected to are deleted. The judges said the movie is about “one man and one family”. It is about a man’s daughter from first marriage seeking medical termination of the pregnancy for her step-mother due to danger to her life. He refuses as abortion is contrary to their religion. After his wife’s post-delivery death, he realises his “huge mistake” and reforms. The judges said they “didn’t see anything in the movie that will incite violence” and the trailer “unnecessarily sen- sationalises everything”.

When advocates argued the movie misinterprets religious verses, the judges said the film is not on religious texts. They said the theme of the movie is the man misinterpreting provisions of Quran to do a social wrong. “That is the long and short of the movie,” said Justice Colabawalla. He said the public “is not so gullible” and “neither so silly”. “It is, in fact, a thinking movie. Not one where you leave your brains at home and want to enjoy absolute nonsense,” he added.

‘Maharaj’ awaits nod for OTT release

Gujarat HC Tuesday extended the interim stay by a day on “Maharaj,” the debut film of Bollywood star Aamir Khan’s son Junaid, which was slated for release on Netflix last week.

The judge heard the arguments from respondents, Netflix and Yash Raj Films, and the petitioners and posted the matter for further hearing on Wednesday. It said that the interim stay on the release of the movie will continue till Wednesday.

Eight members of the Pushtimarg sect have filed a petition against the release after they came across articles about the film, based on a libel case of 1862 heard and decided by British judges.

The petitioners have pointed out that the British-era court, which had decided the libel case, “castigates the Hindu religion and makes seriously blasphemous comments against Lord Krishna as well as the devotional songs and hymns”. PTI

Bihar bridge collapses before inauguration

Tuesday’s collapse was the third time a road bridge over the same river has fallen down

Patna:A portion of a newly constructed road bridge over the Bakra river collapsed near Pararia Ghat, under Sikti block in Bihar’s Araria district, on Tuesday, resulting in the suspension of two engineers. The bridge had not been opened to the public as its approach roads were yet to be constructed, reports Madan Kumar.

Tuesday’s collapse was the third time a road bridge over the same river has fallen down.

The bridge, constructed at a cost of Rs 10 crore by the rural works department, was meant to connect the villages of Sikti block to Kursa Kanta block. Sources said heavy rain in the upper catchment area in Nepal may have led to the collapse.

JD(U) MP: Muslims, Yadavs didn’t vote for me, won’t work for them

Party Distances Itself From Statement, Villagers Stage Protests

People carry a banner against Sitamarhi MP Devesh Chandra Thakur at a village in Bihar’s Vaishali district on Tuesday

Manoj.Chaurasia@timesgroup.com

Patna: A day after JD(U) Sitamarhi MP Devesh Chandra Thakur’s comment against “Yadavs, Muslims and Kushwahas” for not voting in his favour in the election, the party on Tuesday distanced itself from the statement, saying it believes in equal treatment to all, even as villagers in Vaishali district put up posters warning the MP not to travel this route. The villagers also decided to observe a protest fast on Wednesday to seek suitable action against the JD(U) MP.

“Yah Yadav, Kushwaha aur Musalman ka gaon hai. Kripya is gaon ke sadak se sansad mahoday Devesh Chandra Thakur na jayen (This is a village of Yadavs, Kushwahas and Muslims. MP Devesh Chandra Thakur is advised not to pass through the village),” read messages on posters hung from walls and trees.

Angry villagers also took out a protest march demanding the MP’s resignation and the registration of case against him for publicly targeting the communities.

Describing Thakur’s com- ment that he wouldn’t do “any work for Yadavs, Muslims and Kushwahas” as they didn’t vote for him, JDU) national spokesperson Rajib Ranjan said, “This is Thakur’s personal statement. JD (U) has nothing to do with that.”

Ranjan, however, added that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has been working for all castes and communities without bias. “We give equal treatment to all castes,” he said.

Thakur, who served as Bihar Legislative Council chairman before being elected to the Lok Sabha, finds himself isolated following his comment. BJP OBC Morcha general secretary Nikhil Anand strongly criticised the statement. “The expression of MP Devesh Chandra Thakur is inflicted with caste-based vendetta, frustration and ill-will, which is shameful and must be condemned,” Anand said.

Stating that BJP respects all communities and believes in tak- ing everyone along, Anand said any political party or the state cannot benefit by ignoring the Yadav community, which constitutes 14% of Bihar’s population.

“We will oppose tooth and nail any attempt to marginalise and victimise the Yadavs or any OBC community. Today, there are 27 ministers from the OBC community in the central government, while there are four ministers from the Yadav community, which proves PM Narendra Modiji’s resolve and commitment towards the politics of social harmony and social justice,” Anand added.

HAM(S), headed by Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, also differed with Thakur’s comment. “If we target particular castes, communities and religions, then this is not good for a healthy democracy,” HAM(S) national spokesperson Nandlal Manjhi said.

“Once elected, they represent the entire constituency, and it hardly matters who voted for him/her or not. They should forget poll bitterness and work for all communities,” senior LJP(RV) official Sanjay Paswan said.

YSRCP MP’s daughter runs over man in Chennai:

A man sleeping on the pavement in Chennai was fatally run over by Beeda Madhuri, daughter of YSR Congress RS MP Beeda Masthan Rao, early Tuesday. Madhuri was arrested and booked.

TNN

4 minors on visit to grandma’s house drown

Lucknow:A heart-wrenching tragedy unfolded in UP’s Balrampur as four minor sisters, the youngest aged just seven, drowned in Kunaon river. The incident occurred when the girls, on a visit to their maternal grandmother’s home on Bakrid, went for a bath in the river Tuesday evening.

Balrampur SP Keshav Kumar said, “They slipped into deep waters. Despite efforts by locals who rushed to rescue them, they couldn’t be saved. The bodies were recovered late in the night with the assistance of divers, police personnel, and local residents.”

The girls were identified as Reshma (13), Afsana (11), Guddi (9), and Lalli (7). Their parents Raju and Reshma were in a state of shock.

TNN

Mamata calls on BJP RS MP at his Cooch Behar home

Kolkata: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee called on BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Ananta Maharaj at his Cooch Behar home on Tuesday, fuelling speculation of a changing chemistry after Trinamool made a breakthrough in the district in the Lok Sabha polls by defeating former Union minister Nisith Pramanik, reports Dwaipayan Ghosh.

The Rajbanshi neta welcomed Banerjee with a traditional scarf and “gua paan” (betel leaf and nut, a part of social greeting) and the meeting between the two lasted around 35 minutes. Maharaj described the meeting as “apolitical”. “It was a pleasure to host the CM. There were no political discussions. It was a courtesy visit,” he said.

Asked if the meeting indicated his growing distance with BJP and a connection with TMC, Maharaj said: “I have not contacted anyone from Trinamool Congress, nor did I invite the CM to my home. I don’t know what others are saying but I am very happy that she visited my home.”

At `1.8L cr, spend on rail safety in 2014-24 up 2.5 times over 2004-14: Govt

The overall expenditure on track renewal has more than doubled in 10 years

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Human error remains one of the challenges for railways in safe operation of trains despite several steps taken in the past 10 years to augment infrastructure, eliminate unmanned level crossings, build safer coaches, install smoke and fire detection system and improve the signalling system, officials said.

Govt data showed that expenditure on safety related works increased 2.5 times, from Rs 70,273 crore in 2004-14 to Rs 1.8 lakh crore in the past 10 years. The overall expenditure on track renewal has more than doubled to Rs 1.1 lakh crore during 2014-24 compared to Rs 47,018 crore the previous decade.

“For track safety, maintenance has been revolutionised by introducing advanced track recording cars, which are faster and more reliable. Complete track circuiting has been provided at 6,609 stations by May 31, 2023. To verify track safety, ultrasonic testing of rails is conducted to detect flaws,” a railway official said.

Giving details of the steps taken for safety and their result, officials said weld failures had reduced by 87%, from 3,699 in 2013-14 to 481 in 2023-24. Similarly, rail fractures reduced by 85%, from 2,548 to 383. “One of the focus areas has been elimination of level crossings to prevent accidents. The expenditure on this has increased from Rs 5,726 crore in 2004-14 to Rs 36,699 crore in the last 10 years. We have been able to eliminate unmanned level crossing gates from 8,948 places in less than five years,” the official said.

As per railway ministry data, the national transporter has taken the number of electronic interlocking (stations) to 2,964 from 837 in 2004-14. Similarly, automatic block signalling has been increased from 1,486 km during 2004-14 to 2,497 km during the past 10 years. Officials said to deal with fire incidents, the provision of fire and smoke detection systems in AC coaches has increased from zero in 2014 to 19,271 in 2024. The provision of fire extinguishers in non-AC coaches has been increased from zero in 2014 to 66,840.

Body found in Imphal West

Guwahati:The body of an unidentified man with bullet wounds and eyes blindfolded was found in Manipur’s Imphal West district on Tuesday morning, reports Prabin Kalita.

Locals found the body at Irom Meijrao Mamang Leikai during morning walk and informed the police. Even as the identity of the deceased remains unknown, spent bullet shells have been recovered and two syringes containing a liquid substance found near the body.

On Monday evening, shortly after a high-level security meeting chaired by Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, a mob set fire to a bus used for transporting security personnel in Kangpokpi district. The incident occurred around 8.30pm at Kangpokpi Bazar while the bus was on its way to Kangpokpi police station. The mob stopped the bus and prevented a police team, which had rushed to the spot, from reaching the scene by blocking the road.

Lone survivor of attack by C’garh vigilantes dies in Raipur hospital

Raipur: The lone survivor of a mob attack in Chhattisgarh’s Arang in which two cattle transporters were killed earlier this month, died in a Raipur hospital Tuesday.

Saddam Qureshi, 25, was the only one who could have given a statement to police on what actually happened on the night of June 7 when he and two fellow truckers, Guddu Khan (35) and Chand Miyan Khan (23), were attacked by alleged cow vigilantes on a rumour that they were smuggling cows.

Qureshi was found critically injured and taken to hospital. Someone took a 57-second video of him giving a chilling account of the attack from his hospital bed. That video has turned out to be his final statement as police couldn’t officially take down his account of events.

Twelve days on, no arrests have been made. Police picked up a few suspicious people for questioning but have made no headway yet.

Police said Qureshi sustained internal injuries and went into coma during treatment. He was on life support system, they said.

All the victims were from Uttar Pradesh. Their families back home are still waiting for answers.

Raipur additional SP Kirtan Rathore confirmed to reporters that Qureshi died of injuries and no arrests have been made so far. Police had formed a 14-member special investigation team to probe the matter but say it isn’t clear if it was murder or the victims “jumped off the 50-ft-high bridge in fear upon seeing the crowd”.

The victims were headed to Arang when they were allegedly chased by a group of people who intercepted them, hurled abuses and thrashed them.

Police have not revealed details of what was captured from nearby CCTV recordings.

TNN

Ahead of Hry polls, Kiran Choudhry, daughter quit Cong, to join BJP today

Chandigarh: Senior Congress MLA Kiran Choudhry and her daughter Shruti Choudhry, a former Lok Sabha MP from Haryana, resigned from the membership of the party on Tuesday, just a few months before the assembly elections in the state, reports Manvir Saini. “Shruti and I will be joining BJP in Delhi on Wednesday,” Kiran, daughter-in-law of the late Bansi Lal, former Haryana CM, told PTI.

The four-time MLA belongs to the camp opposed to former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Haryana Congress. Having distanced herself from party activities after the Lok Sabha election results, Kiran, 69, in a hard-hitting resignation letter addressed to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, targeted Hooda without naming him.

“It is most unfortunate that Congress in Haryana is being run as the personal fiefdom leaving no space for sincere voices like mine, who have been stifled, humiliated and conspired against in a most well-orchestrated and systematic manner, thus, significantly hampering my diligent efforts to represent our people and uphold the values I have always stood for,” Kiran wrote in the letter that she made public on Tuesday evening.

Villagers postpone Eid-ul-Zuha celebration, jump into rescue op

Roshan Gupta TNN

Phasidewa: ‘Qurbani’ has assumed a new meaning for residents of Chhota Nirmal Jote village.

The hamlet of 88 families, majority of them Muslims, had deferred Eid-ul-Zuha celebrations on Monday and joined hands to rescue passengers of the ill-fated Kanchanjungha Express.

The villagers finally offered ‘qurbani’ on Tuesday, a day after Bakrid, but held a muted celebration.

The villagers rushed to the rescue of passengers moments after finishing their namaz, and were busy throughout the day dragging the injured out of the mangled coaches and transporting them to hospital. Leading the group was a team of 12 friends, all in their early twenties.

On Tuesday, dressed in white kurta-pajamas, they celebrated Eid with their families before heading tothe hospital to check on the passengers.

“Some of us received cuts and bruises while breaking open the windows and pulling out the injured as we did not have proper tools. We managed with whatever we could take from the village,” said Md Hassan, a local.

Their efforts were acknowledged by Bengal CM Mamata Banerjeewhen she visited the hospital on Monday.

“We pulled out at least 10 people and transported over 40 passengers from the train to the ambulance and other vehicles, on which they were taken to the hospital,” said Md Shamim Akthar, another local.

900 men defy rain, toil 22 hrs to restore tracks

However, Railways Still Had To Cancel 6 Trains, Divert 22 Others

A train passing through the accident area following restoration of services near Rangapani railway station on Tuesday

Tamaghna Banerjee & Roshan Gupta TNN

Siliguri: Nine hundred men and multiple machines worked non-stop for 22 hours amid heavy rain to restore by Tuesday morning 300 metres of tracks damaged when a goods train rear-ended the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjungha Express on Monday.

Avadh Assam Express was the first to roll at 10.42am on Tuesday past the spot where three of Kanchanjungha bogies had derailed and a fourth was tossed atop the goods train’s engine. Curious Avadh Assam passengers had their windows rolled up. Many gathered near train doors with cellphones stretched out, filming the mangled coaches and toppled containers from the freight train.

The first train run followed a series of trials. “We had restored the Guwahatibound line by 5.40pm on Mon- day and the Sealdah-bound line by 7.30 am on Tuesday,” said NF Railway spokesperson Sabyasachi Dey. “Trains have for now been told to run at a restricted speed limit of 10kmph on the stretch.”

Trains were running with manual clearance till automatic signalling was restored on the Sealdah-bound tracks by 3.45pm on Tuesday. A railway official explained that ballasts under the tracks normally take 24 hours to stabilise, only after which trains can run at normal speed.

Despite restoration, six trains were cancelled and 22 diverted to reduce pressure on the affected stretch and clear accident-caused backlogs. Among those diverted were the New Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express and the Silchar-Sealdah Kanchanjungha Express. Both covered 26km more than normal.

Freight train was racing at 3 times its sanctioned speed

Tamaghna Banerjee & Ajanta Chakraborty TNN

Siliguri/Kolkata: The goods train that rear-ended Kanchanjungha Express near north Bengal’s New Jalpaiguri station Monday was traveling at more than 40kmph, nearly three times the maximum permissible speed of 15kmph on that section of the track due to a failure of the automatic signalling system, railway officials said on Tuesday. Adhering to the speed limit might have prevented the accident that resulted in the deaths of 10 people and injuries to 41 others.

Another official said the automatic system’s failure necessitated a manual procedure, but the paper line clear ticket (PLCT) issued to the freight train’s pilot, who died in the collision, did not explicitly mention the speed restrictions. The investigation focuses on four people — the freight train’s co-pilot, stationmaster at Rangapani who issued the PLCTs, and railway employees manning two level crossings between Rangapani station and the accident site, 11km from the New Jalpaiguri station.

Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) will question the quartet, with co-pilot Manu Kumar, who survived the crash, being a crucial witness. Kumar is currently being treated for blunt trauma injuries in a Siliguri nursing home and remains under restricted access.

When a PLCT is issued, according to railway rules, a train driver should proceed with “great caution” for the next 14km, limiting speed to 15kmph in good visibility and 10kmph otherwise. Kanchanjungha Express, which received its PLCT at 8.20am, adhered to these restrictions.

Despite starting at least 15 minutes after the express, the goods train collided with it just 2.5 km from Rangapani, passing 2 level crossings. Officials said the freight train’s driver may have been unaware of the need to proceed with caution, a point now central to the investigation. The accident calls attention to the need to address systemic issues, including expanding the railway network, standardising maintenance protocols.

One primary issue is congestion on tracks. Despite a network of 88,000km, only around 16,000km were added after Independence, while the number of trains introduced outpaced the addition of new tracks. This has led to a situation where trains operate on the same tracks every 4km. Tracks should ideally operate at 70% capacity, but many are running at 125%.

6 trains had passed that stretch before accident

Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim receives passengers of Kanchanjungha Express, which met with an accident, at Sealdah station on Tuesday

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:Amid debate over whether loco pilot was at fault or signalling system was behind the fatal accident in West Bengal, officials said seven trains, including the Kanchanjungha Express and the goods train which rammed it, were issued authority letters to pass the defective automatic signalling system. Barring the goods train, the other six had passed with the paper authority or T/A-912 following the speed restriction.

Officials said the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot of the goods train had joined duty after more than 30 hours rest.

Giving details of procedure followed in such cases where automatic signal fails and paper pass is issued, an official said a train is made to stop at the foot of each signal for 1 minute in the day and 2 minutes at night.

“Thereafter, the train can proceed towards the next stop signal exercising great caution so as to stop short of any obstruction with a speed not exceeding 15 kmph in case of good visibility and 10 kmph when the visibility is not good,” he added. Though a detailed inquiry will establish the exact cause of the accident, railway officials said it seemed the loco pilot of the goods train did not observe the condition of stopping for 2 minutes before the red signal and did not follow the 15 kmph speed restriction.

An official said Kanchanjungha Express had stopped before red signal when the goods train rammed it. Officials said automatic signalling is installed on double or multiple line sections having high traffic density to be able to carry more trains with minimum detention.

Signal failure occurred between Rangapani and Chetterhat stations at 5.50am on Monday and this was communicated to the signal department. The signal department did not declare the failure as “prolonged failure” and hence automatic block system continued to be in force.

Family questions hasty blame on dead loco pilot

Tamaghna Banerjee & Roshan Gupta TNN

Siliguri:Family of Anil Kumar, deceased loco pilot who has been blamed for the Kanchanjungha Express accident, said they are “shocked and speechless” & planning “legal recourse” upon finding how the railways laid blame on a man who is unable to answer for himself as he is dead.

“It is shocking. How can they do it knowing he is not there to defend himself? How can his wife and children live with this allegation,” Amit Kumar, Anil’s brother-in-law, told TOI in Patna on Tuesday. Amit said once they complete all rituals related to cremation, they will consider legal option. “We are not in the right frame of mind to decide the next course of action. The fact that my brother-in-law died such a horrific death is yet to settle in,” Amit said. Kumar (46) is survived by his wife Roshni and sons Ujjwal (15) and Aarush (9).

“He always seemed to be a responsible person and had a clean track record, with no complaints of negligence in his 20-year career. It’s unlikely a man like him would make such a mistake,” said Pradip Das, who also works in North East Frontier Railways.

PM seeks ideas for Mann ki Baat, broadcast to resume from June 30

New Delhi: After taking over as the country’s PM for the third time in a row, Narendra Modi is set to resume Mann Ki Baat, as he had promised when taking a break from the monthly radio broadcast due to the poll code coming into effect.

Modi Tuesday urged people to share their ideas and inputs for the monthly radio broadcast, set to restart from June 30, which he started back in 2014. “Delighted to share that after a gap of some months due to the elections, #MannKiBaat is

back,” he said on X.“I call upon all of you to share your ideas and inputs for the same. Write on the MyGov Open Forum, NaMo App or record your message on 1800 11 7800,” Modi added.

TNN

Armed forces formulate new joint doctrine for cyberspace operations

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The armed forces have formulated a new joint doctrine for cyberspace operations, which have become critical in modern-day warfare especially in the backdrop of China developing potent cyber-warfare and cyberespionage capabilities.

The doctrine, which was released by chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan in the presence of the three Service chiefs on Tuesday, is a “keystone publication” that will guide commanders in planning and conducting cyberspace operations in the current complex military operating environment, an officer said.

China has built major capabilities in the cyberwarfare domain, including cyberweapons to degrade or destroy an adversary’s military assets and strategic networks as well as energy, banking, transport and communication grids even before the actual kinetic war kicks off, as reported by TOI earlier.

India has been lagging far behind in this arena, with the govt in 2019 only approving the creation of only a small tri-service Defence Cyber Agency instead of the full-fledged Cyber Command that the armed forces wanted.

The officer said the new joint doctrine is “a significant step” to give impetus to the ongoing process of integration being actively pursued by the Army, IAF and Navy. “In addition to the traditional domains of land, sea and air, cyberspace has emerged as a crucial and challenging domain in modern warfare. Hostile actions in cyberspace can impact the nation’s economy, cohesion, political decision-making, and the country’s ability to defend itself,” he said.

“Operations in cyberspace need to be dovetailed into the national security fabric, to evolve the ‘Ends,’ ‘Ways’ and ‘Means’ to create advantage and influence events in all other operational environments and across all instruments of power,” he added.

BJP takes a jibe at Priyanka entry: ‘Vadra could be next’

‘Rahul Will Field Him For Bypoll At Palakkad’

Cong Monday announced the poll debut of Priyanka Gandhi from Wayanad

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Taking a jibe at Congress’s decision to field Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, BJP on Tuesday said the opposition party may now consider her husband Robert Vadra for the upcoming Palakkad assembly bypoll.

In a post on X, BJP’s Kerala unit chief K Surendran said, “Rahul Gandhi claimed that Wayanad is his family. Now, he has decided the candidature of his own sister Priyanka Gandhi to the upcoming byelection in Wayanad. Hope Rahul will field his brotherin-law Robert Vadra in the Palakkad byelection. Now, the Rahul’s family sentiments. It’s once again proven beyond doubt that Congress is a tool for the so-called NehruGandhi family to serve their family’s interest. Pathetic.”

Vadra said he was happy that Priyanka was going to contest from Wayanad.

Asked about him being in Parliament, Vadra said he could follow Priyanka at the right time. “They’re (BJP) worried, troubled. They’re huddling together to understand what next to do. Priyanka will be raising issues. She gave the slogan — ‘ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon’. She has been fighting for women for long. Voices of women will be raised. BJP should look at its history. They can’t talk about parivarvaad. People don’t want to hear them any more. We will fight them and ensure asecular govt,” Vadra said.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, “It proves that Congress is not a party but a family company.”

CPI to field candidate against Priyanka

CPI will soon select a candidate to take on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Wayanad, party’s Kerala state secretary Binoy Viswam said Tuesday amid speculations over LDF’s pick in the constituency. “CPI is contesting to ensure that non-Congress votes do not go to BJP. If Left does not contest against Congress, these votes will go to BJP and this should be avoided,’’ he said.

TNN

Vadra claims credit for Priyanka move

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Robert Vadra said he persuaded his wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to contest for Lok Sabha, as she would be in a better position to fight by being in Parliament. He spoke to the media a day after it was announced that Priyanka will contest from Wayanad, which was being vacated by Rahul Gandhi.

Vadra said, “When the decision was being taken this time, I pushed hard. I refused to listen to a ‘no’. I said that campaigning was not enough and it was time for Priyanka to be in the Parliament. When she works so hard, I felt she would be able to serve the people better by being in Parliament.”

NDA meet held at Rajnath’s residence to discuss House strategy, Speaker election

Union ministers S Jaishankar, Piyush Goyal, Manohar Lal and Virendra Kumar were among those present at the meeting

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: NDA constituents, led by senior BJP functionaries, held a strategy meeting at the residence of defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday, ahead of the first session of 18th Lok Sabha beginning on June 24.

The meeting, sources said, was called to evolve consensus over the post of Lok Sabha speaker, which BJP is expected to retain. The deputy speaker’s post is likely to go to one of NDA partners.

Before the meet, home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda called on incumbent speaker Om Birla amid indications that the latter may continue. The meet- ing at Rajnath’s residence was attended by ministers S Jaishankar, Manohar Lal, Bhupender Yadav, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Kiren Rijiju, Annapurna Devi, Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ and Chirag Paswan, sources said.

A discussion on ensuring better floor coordination among NDA partners also took place.

The speaker’s election is scheduled for June 26, two days after the Parliament session begins. Notices for motions supporting candidates can be submitted by members by 12 noon on June 25, the Lok Sabha secretariat said.

HP CM’s wife Cong pick for Dehra bypoll

Shimla: Congress on Tuesday named Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur as its choice for Dehra assembly bypoll against BJP’s Hoshyar Singh. A notification issued by AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said party chief Mallikarjun Kharge had approved candidature of Kamlesh from Dehra after she reportedly emerged as the top contender in two surveys by the party.

BJP had bagged the seat in 2012, but independent Hoshyar emerged victorious in 2017 & 2022 assembly polls. This time, he is contesting on a BJP ticket.

If Kamlesh wins the byelection, it will be the first time in state that a husband and wife will be members of the assembly.

Earlier, ex-CM Virbhadra Singh and Vikramaditya Singh formed a fatherson team in assembly.

Bypolls were necessitated after Hoshyar, along with two other Independent MLAs, resigned in March and joined BJP.

TNN

Aviation museum on cards?

New Delhi: Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is in talks with aviation ministry to set up a unique museum to display, besides air travel journey, how the aviation sector has learnt from past mistakes to make flying safer, reports Saurabh Sinha.

“AAIB proposes to set up its investigation facility at a wide body hangar by leasing the same at an airport, like upcoming Gr Noida’s Jewar. The plan is to use half of the hangar as an investigation lab and the other half as a unique museum,” said a source.

The bureau, which investigates aircraft accidents, plans to use the facility — which will be open to both passengers and the general public — to train the crew.

“Learnings from 5-6 accidents using VR and having some vintage aircraft can be useful in training. There is a saying that an accident is not new, only the person is new,” added the source.

Terrorists shoot at J&K police in Poonch

Suspected terrorists engaged a team of J&K police special operations group (SOG) in a brief gunfight before escaping at Behramgala in Poonch district of Jammu division on Tuesday, reports Sanjay Khajuria. This occurred amid heightened security and search operations following four attacks on June 9, 11 and 12 that left nine pilgrims and one CRPF constable dead.

Alive to problem, hence ordered re-test: Govt to SC

Top Court To Hear ‘All Aspects’ Of NEET Case On July 8

Continued from P1

The bench said timely action should be taken by authorities in such cases as children put a lot of hard work for the exam and their interests should be protected. “Even if there is 0.001% negligence on the part of anyone, it should be thoroughly dealt with. All these matters ought not to be treated as adversarial litigation,” the bench said.

“You must stand firm. If there is a mistake then admit there is a mistake and say this is the action we will take. At least that inspires confidence in your performance. One can easily find out what has gone wrong,” it added.

Advocate Kanu Aggarwal, appearing for the Centre, said govt was alive to the problem and that was why the decision to award grace marks to 1,563 students was withdrawn and aretest was ordered. He further said the Centre was not taking the litigation initiated by students as adversarial but cautioned against drawing any conclusion until govt and NTA had filed their response.

Appearing for a group of 32 medical aspirants from different parts of the country who took the test on May 5, advocate Kunal Cheema urged the bench to seek a status re- port from Bihar police which is investigating the paper leak case. He said the report would be very helpful in deciding the case. However, the bench said all aspects of the case would be heard along with a batch of other petitions on July 8, including on seeking a status report. The court issued fresh notices to the Centre and NTA asking them to file their response within two weeks.

Praying for re-examination, the petition said, “The petitioners and their family members have put in years of preparation for the examination, with the hopes that they would get into a good govt college on a free seat. However, the leak as report- ed in the media and upon perusal of the contents of the press release, it has become amply clear that the leak has spread its tentacles all over the country and has resulted in grave injustice being caused to the petitioners.”

Earlier, the Centre and NTA admitted before SC that it was a mistake to award grace marks to students. They reversed the decision and decided to conduct a fresh test for 1,563 students.

The aggrieved students did not get the full 3 hours and 20 minutes time and NTA had awarded them compensatory marks based on the recommendations of the grievance redressal committee.

3 detained for not informing cops about terrorists in Doda

Policeon Tuesday detained three shepherds, including a juvenile, for not informing police after terrorists — who later attacked 4 places in Jammu division last week — forced them at gunpoint to give them food and a pair of sheep in Doda district, reports Sanjay Khajuria.

“The incident took place 5-6 days before the attacks. The trio from Darman village in Doda’ Bhaderwah was intercepted by the terrorists during their stay in Kanser meadow,” police said. Based on their description, police have released sketches of all the four terrorists reported to be hiding in the upper reaches of Bhaderwah, Thathri, and Gandoh in Doda.

CUET-UG & PG scores will be valid for both sessions: UGC

New Delhi: For biannual (twice a year) admission scheme, CUET-UG and CUET-PG scores will be valid for both sessions of admissions, UGC said on Tuesday, reports Manash Gohain.The commission also said that apart from undergraduate and postgraduate admissions, higher education institutions can also now admit PhD scholars twice a year.

The decision to extend bi annual admissions in offline mode, made on May 15 by UGC, follows positive feedback from students. Biannual admissions will enable HEIs to better plan their resource distribution, UGC said.

Following this announcement, aspirants are asking whether the entrance tests would also be conducted twice for admission to the two sessions.

Speaking to TOI, M Jagadesh Kumar, chairperson, UGC said: “There is no need for multiple entrance tests. CUET-UG or PG test scores will be valid for the whole year and students can seek admissions based on the same in July-Aug as well as in Jan-Feb cycle ”

DMK has no moral right to criticise PM, says Tamilisai

Chennai: BJP’s defeated candidate from Chennai South, Tamilisai Soundararajan, on Tuesday said DMK had no “moral right” to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of respecting the Indian Constitution as the Dravidian party had burnt a copy of the Constitution earlier.

“In 1986, DMK members protested against the Centre’s education policy by burning a copy of the Constitution. Around 20,000 DMK members, including their leader M Karunanidhi, were arrested. That was the respect shown to our holy Constitution by DMK, which sheds crocodile tears now, as if they are saviours of the Constitution,” Tamilisai said.

Tamilisai said that many other ways could have been adopted to register protests instead of burning copies of the Constitution. “It is highly condemnable, and one should know the way of DMK and their respect for the Constitution in the past. They don’t have any moral right to criticise our PM on this subject,” she said.

TNN

WHEELS Of CHANGE

The Pudukottai Cycling Movement launched 25 yrs ago, empowered 1 lakh village women, teaching them to read, write and ride

LOOKING UP: The anthem for the campaign was “Cycle otta kathukkanum, thangachi; Vazhka chakkarathai suthi vidu, thangachi (learn to cycle, my sister, spin the wheel of life)”

Muskaan.Ahmed@timesgroup.com

A quarter century ago, when the men were away at work, the women of Pudukottai would sit outside their homes washing clothes or making cow dung cakes. That was until the day a group of women came cycling into their village carrying a banner with the words ‘Arivoli’ (enlightenment) and accompanied by the song “Cycle otta kathukkanum, thangachi; Vazhka chakkarathai suthi vidu, thangachi (learn to cycle, my dear sister, and spin the wheel of life)”. With that, life in the village changed.

The anthem launched the Pudukottai Cycling Movement in 1991 as part of the National Literacy Mission, helping more than a lakh women to read, write, and ride bicycles. The brainchild of the then Pudukottai collector Sheela Rani Chunkath, the Cycling Movement aimed to increase women’s literacy rates in the area, where as per the 1991 census, only 38% of them were literate.

Cut to 25 years later, and you find the movement continues to empower women. S Muthulakshmi, a farmer from Thoppupatti village, a beneficiary of the movement, says, “I got married young and never went to school. By the age of 30, I was a mother of four and spent all my time at home. I wouldn’t travel anywhere as I could not read bus routes.”

Arivoli Iyakkam volunteers taught her to read and write. “It changed my life. I could read bus routes, understand the grades on my children’s mark sheets, and even do calculations,” says Muthulakshmi. The 60-year-old now runs a milk and a farming business. “I still cycle around the village to meet milk vendors and get supplies for farming.”

In 1991, the illiteracy rate in India was 52.2%, says Sheela. “The National Literacy Mission was set up by the govt of India to improve those rates. The mission focused on literacy, numeracy (basic calculations for everyday life), functionality (how to send or receive money orders, how to post a letter, how to meet a govt official), and awareness (basic rights),” says Sheela. “As a fifth component to this literacy campaign, we added mobility. I realised that men would travel to work or for leisure on their own, but women had to depend on men for travel — be it for education, work, leisure, or something as simple as fetching water.”

In the 1990s, says Sheela, most of the women in the villages were forced to stay at home, without work or education. “We understood that mobility gives freedom. We had the support of villagers who understood what we were trying to do.”

D Salai Velamma, a govt school teacher at Erukkumanipatti village in Pudukottai, enrolled as a volunteer to educate women. “I would cycle through dusty, dark, unlit roads to different villages to conduct night schools for women. While some men welcomed me whenever I went to their village, a few would deride me for being “an unmar- ried woman cycling at night” by myself. They would blame my parents for my ‘freedom’, but my parents were supportive. Through this movement, I not only helped empower women but myself as well,” says the 54-year-old.

To ensure it was a women-run initiative, Sheela enrolled women from different villages as block leaders and coordinators. “From young girls to old women, you would find them all on the streets learning to cycle. Since the cycles we got then were built for men and had a diamond frame, it was difficult for women to ride in sarees and skirts. But that didn’t stop them,” says N Kannama, one of the district-level coordi- nators. “They would borrow trousers from their husband, father, or brother and ride. Often, we would see husbands helping their wives learn. Once they learned, the women would help train others. Everyone was encouraging. If the women fell, they would laugh it off, pick up their cycles and try again.”

As the movement gained momentum, the collectorate began organising cycling races in every village block, giving out prizes and trophies. The number of cyclists grew in Pudukottai. After a few years, the focus shifted from just cycling. With the help of the traffic police, the collectorate began training women to ride mopeds.

Within three months of the movement, another song was released to celebrate this victory: “Cycle otta kathakittom, annachi (we learned how to ride a cycle, brother)”. “The idea for this song came to me almost instantly while seeing one young woman cycling with her kids in the front carrying cans of water,” says N Muthubaskar, the song’s lyricist and a writer based in Pudukottai.

Though the movement was shelved after a few years due to lack of funding, its impact endures. “You still see women across different villages in Pudukottai riding cycles and mopeds. It helped women earn and lead families,” says Salai.

Hamza latest Pakistani linked with terror hits to be killed

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Hamza’s wife and daughter, who were with him in the car and received injuries, told that police stressed that the slain ISI man didn’t have any personal enmity with anyone. Pakistani police have said it was a targeted killing.

The attack took place in Jhelum district in Punjab. Hamza’s car was ambushed by four unidentified men on motorcycles. The car had reached Lilla interchange in Jhelum when the quartet on two bikes cornered him from either side, Pakistani media reported. As per Jhelum police, the pillion riders opened indiscriminate fire, ensuring their target was killed, before fleeing the scene.

Express Tribune newspaper in Pakistan said Hamza’s brother Ayub was a witness to the attack as he was following his brother’s car on a motorcycle when the attack took place. Though a complainant, he too is under police scanner. Rescue 1122 service, which rushed to the spot, confirmed the retired brigadier’s death at the scene and injuries sustained by his wife and daughter. “We are investigating it as a ‘blind murder case’. We have registered a case and probe into the targeted attack is underway,” Pakistan police told the local media. Hamza held key supervisory posts towards his retirement. His last position was as director general of the Emergency Services Academy (1122).

His is latest in a series of killings of Pakistanis linked to ISI-engineered terror attacks in India. In April, Amir Sarfaraz, a key ISI henchman and heavily protected, was killed by unidentified gunmen in Lahore. Unidentified men had also gunned down Adnan Ahmed aka Abu Hanzala, a top ranking Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and plotter of a series of attacks on security convoys in the Valley over the years, in Karachi in Dec. Jaish-e-Muhammed terrorist Shahid Latif, chief handler of the fidayeen squad that attacked the Pathan kot airbase in 2016, was gunned down by unidentified assailants in a mosque in Sialkot in Oct.

IMD ‘red alert’ in 3 NE states as rain, flood wreak havoc

Guwahati/Shillong/Aizwal: The unrelenting rains in Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have prompted the IMD to extend the ‘red alert’ for an additional day in the three states until Wednesday, even as floods and landslides continued to wreak havoc across the northeast, cutting off several areas.

In Assam, the number of people affected by floods crossed 1.61 lakh on Tuesday. The death toll went up to 26 in the last 24 hours, with a fresh casualty being reported from Hailakandi district.

The Kopili river in Nagaon district and Kushiyara in Karimganj district are flowing above the danger mark, while the Brahmaputra and several of its tributaries are also showing a rising trend.

SDRF personnel were pressed into rescue and relief operations as floodwaters inundated Karimganj town and district. In Meghalaya, Mawsynram, renowned as one of the wettest locations globally, recorded an extremely heavy rainfall of 78 cm in the last 24 hours (till 8.30 am on Tuesday).Cherrapunji also saw a heavy rainfall of 47 cm.

CM Conrad K Sangma assessed the flood situation on Tuesday. The continued downpour has washed away portions of roads and triggered landslides and m udslides, snapping connectivity in various parts of Arunachal, Meghalaya and Mizoram. The NH-415 leading to Itanagar and NH-6 in Meghalaya connecting Mizoram and Assam have been cut off.

With IMD forecasting heavy rain in Itanagar over the next few days, the district administration urged people living in vulnerable areas to shift to safer locations.

TNN

Roads ministry eyes Cabinet nod to free up 700ha surplus land

New Delhi: In its bid to free up two sets of surplus land totalling around 700 hectares, road transport ministry will soon seek cabinet approval to denotify land parcels where govt has not taken possession even after a long time since the acquisition process was initiated, reports Dipak Dash. In the second set, where excess land is available even after completion of highway projects, the ministry plans to use them for developing wayside amenities, including resting facilities for drivers.

Sources said the ministry is giving final touches to the policy. As per the proposed policy, after denotifying the first set of surplus land, i t will allow owners to take them back. TOI has learned that the quantum of such land parcels is around 350 hectares. Officials said due to change in lane configuration or tweaking of alignment, govt ends up acquiring less land. But once govt issues a 3D notification to notify affected landowners about its intention to acquire land for a specific project, it is impossible for them to sell their land or monetise them.

The ministry will seek one-time relief for denotification of such land parcels. Since the value of such land parcels would have gone up for their proximity to the highway network, govt expects landowners to take them back.

Assam home secy’s life was full of problems: DGP Mahanta

Kno wn for his derring-do, Shiladitya Chetia led multiple oper ations against criminals, for which he receiv ed the P r esident’s P olice Medal for Gallantry on Independence Day in 2015

Prabin.Kalita@timesgroup.com

Guwahati: Assam home and political secretary Shiladitya Chetia, who shot himself minutes after his wife passed away in hospital, had braved a series of unfortunate happenings in his life lately, with his spouse’s death being possibly the unkindest cut, said former Assam Police DGP Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta, now the state’s chief information commissioner.

“He was like a younger brother to me,” said Mahanta, who reached Nemcare after being informed of the tragedy. “His life was full of problems…He lost his mother and mother-in-law not long ago. He was taking care of his wife, and was in Chennai for treatment. I was in touch with him and there was no indication that he would take this step.”

DGP G P Singh announced Chetia’s death through a post on X. “In an unfortunate turn of events, Shiladitya Chetia, IPS 2009, secretary home and political, took his own life this evening, a few minutes after the attending physician declared the death of his wife who was battling cancer for a long time. Entire Assam Police family is in deep grief,” he wrote.

Chetia, whose father was also a police officer, had stints as superintendent of police in Tinsukia, Nalbari, Kokrajhar and Barpeta districts.

Known for his derring-do, he led multiple operations against criminal and terror outfits, for which he received the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry on Independence Day in 2015. Agamoni, too, was an achiever. She studied English and foreign languages at Tezpur University and was a topper, a source close to the family said.

Alka Yagnik’s ‘hearing loss’ a disorder hard to reverse: Docs

Lata.Mishra@timesgroup.com

Top Bollywood playback singer Alka Yagnik on Tuesday revealed she suffered extensive hearing loss while on a personal visit to Goa. The singer said that the hearing loss was caused by a viral attack.

She had gone to Goa with friends in May when she first began to lose hearing in her right ear. Within 24 hours she lost hearing in her right ear entirely and felt her left ear too getting affected.

The singer’s PR team said all her stage shows, including one in London, have been cancelled. Her manager, Niraj Mishra, said all treatment options are being explored, both within India and in other countries. In an Instagram post, the actor wrote that as she walked out of a flight in Goa she felt like she couldn’t hear anything. While initially she thought it was because of ca- bin pressure and that her ear would pop soon, it only became worse as time passed.

By evening, she felt, she had lost hearing in her right ear completely and she could feel voices and sounds fading in her left ear too.

According to sources at Lilavati Hospital, where she was admitted upon her return from Goa, Yagnik was diagnosed with sensorineural nerve hearing loss.

“It has been diagnosed by my doctors as a rare sensory neural nerve hearing loss, due to a viral attack... This sudden, major setback has caught me completely unawares,” she wrote in her post.While seeking prayers from people, she added a word of caution for fans and young colleagues about exposure to very loud music and headphones.

Doctors said that sensorineural nerve hearing loss is hard to reverse. However, there are several treatment options available to manage the symptoms and improve quality of life for those with this condition. Treatment for this condition include medication, cochlear implants, hearing aids and assistive listening devices.

Dr Devkumar Rengaraja, consultant-ENT, Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi, said that they had seen a lot of cases of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) after viral infections, especially during Covid-19 pandemic.

“Other causes being head trauma, illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, exposure to loud noise, aging, congenital defects in the ear, etc,” he said.

Dr Vikas Agarwal, an ENT specialist, said that the condition typically affects hearing on one side and if treated promptly, recovery was possible in about onethird of the cases. “Delaying treatment reduces the chances of recovery, especially after two weeks,” he said.

Farmers, youth, women & underprivileged 4 pillars of my growth agenda: PM in Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews work at Dr Sampurnanand Sports Stadium in Varanasi on Tuesday

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PM Modi transferred Rs 20,000 crore to accounts of 9.3 crore farmers under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, which he hailed as the world’s largest direct benefit transfer scheme. He said that under this scheme, around Rs 700 crore had been deposited in accounts of farmers across Varanasi so far.

“Due to blessings of people of Kashi, I have got the opportunity to become the pradhan sevak for the third time. This is a matter of pride for residents of Kashi that they have not only elected an MP but also a PM for the third time, a feat achieved in the country after six decades,” Modi told the gathering.

“It inspires me to work hard day and night to take the country to newer heights.” Calling farmers, youth, wom- en and the underprivileged the four pillars of his growth agenda, Modi said this was the reason why he started his third term in office by pledging to construct three crore houses for the poor.

Exhorting the agriculture sector to prepare to play the lead role in making India the world’s third-largest econo- my, the PM said at least one food item from India must be on every dining table.

Modi heaped praise on the count ry’s female electorate, saying 31 crore out of 6 4-odd crore women voted in the recent Lok Sabha elections. “Total votes of G7 nations or European Union countries won’t come anywhere close to the votes p olled in LS polls, while the number of women voters almost equals the US population.”

He highlighted Varanasi’s growth story as one spanning agriculture, dairy, rail, road, civil aviation, power, health, education, sport, and several other sectors. “Ropeway as a means of public transport will soon be a reality in Varanasi, making it a role model for development by conserving its heritage and spirituality. The development journey of Kashi will continue.”

Governor Anandiben Patel, Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, CM Yogi Adityanath, and deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak accompanied the PM.

Later, Modi went to Police Lines by a helicopter and visited Dashashwamedh Ghat for Ganga aarti.

Killer left spot, then returned to talk to motionless victim

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Accused told police the woman would spend a lot of time chatting with boys on the phone. He claimed to have spoken to her about it but she evaded him. On Tuesday, he intercepted her and question

ed her about her dating someone else. When she refused to speak to him, he pulled out a wrench and struck her on the head. Such was the impact of the blow that Aarti collapsed on the road. He struck her more than once with the tool.

Witnesses told police that a fter one blow, Rohit left the scene. He returned minutes later, and started talking to the victim, who was lying motionless. He tried to shake her and screamed at her, before throwing away the wrench. He did not attempt to flee nor did he threaten the onlookers. He sat on the footpath near the victim and members of the public called police, who took Rohit into custody.

Rohit, an orphan from Haryana, lived alone at Na- lasopara (East), and worked in a Vasai factory. Aarti Yadav lived with her parents and four siblings around 5km from the crime scene. Her family knew of their relationship. Aarti’s family reached the police station after being informed. Her father Ramdular said his daughter was in a relationship with Rohit and of late there had been friction between the two, though Aarti had not given any reason for their quarrels. Police seized the murder weapon. Rohit and Aarti’s cellphones were also seized to establish the reason behind the killing.

Police said that they will investigate if Aarti was indeed dating someone or Rohit was just suspicious. Police said it is not clear if Aarti was dead after the first blow or she died in subsequent strikes when passersby watched but did not intervene.

Autopsy will be crucial to determine the time of Aarti’s death. Rohit has been booked for murder and remanded in police custody.

Kerala mantri signs off by ending ‘colony-ial legacy’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thiruvananthapuram: K Radhakrishnan, who won Lok Sabha election from Alathur, Tuesday marked his last day as MLA & minister in Kerala cabinet with a unique order – no more use of words ‘colony’, ‘sanketham’ and ‘ooru’, reminiscent of colonial era, to describe tribal & SC/ST settlements.

Radhakrishnan was minister for SC, S T and OBC development besides devaswom and parliamentary affairs. The order said suitable names suffixed by ‘nagar’, ‘unnathi’ or ‘prakrithi’ could replace the present suffixes, which on many occasions led to “disrespect or disregard” to those hailing from such areas.

“The word colony, created by the oppressors, is usually associated with slavery that evokes a sense of inferiority and oppression among residents there,” Radhakrishnan said after his resignation. He tendered his resignation as minister and as MLA to the Kerala CM and speaker, respectively, on Tuesday.

One of the senior-most members of the assembly, Radhakrishnan represented Chelakkara as MLA for the fifth time. Prior to his present assignment in Pinarayi Vijayan’s second cabinet, he had served as a minister as well as assembly speaker in his previous tenures as MLA.

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In Still Of Night, Your Heat Stress Measures 33.8°C

Delhi Records Warmest June Night In 6 Years, But Met Dept Predicts Temporary Rain Relief

Kushagra.Dixit@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The city experienced its warmest night of the season on Tuesday, with the minimum temperature soaring to 33.8 degrees Celsius, making it the warmest June night in six years.

The city, so far this month, has recorded heatwaves at night at the base station in Safdarjung. If all the areas are included, Delhi has been under a heatwave or a severe heatwave for the tenth day in a row.

The heat stress persisted even after nightfall, marking the fifth day of warm night conditions, the highest in at least the last 12 years.

Tuesday saw no relief from the oppressive conditions, with severe heatwaves continuing in some areas. The heat index or the feel-like temperature soared to 51 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, against 50 a day earlier.

However, IMD has forecast a welcome change for Wednesday, with a chance of rain and a decrease in daytime temperatures by 2-3 degrees.

“There are chances of a thunderstorm or a dust storm in the city followed by very light rain on Wednesday and Thursday. The skies will be partly cloudy. Thereafter, the temperature will start soaring from June 21 and heatwaves are set to strike again from June 23 onwards,” an official at India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. IMD has issued a yellow alert for Wednesday and Thursday.

The maximum and minimum temperatures on Wednesday are likely to hover around 43 and 33 degrees Celsius, respectively, which by Thursday may be 42 and 33.

On Tuesday, the maximum temperature in Safdarjung was 44 degrees Celsius, five notches above normal and against 45.2 degrees Celsius a day earlier. The minimum was 33.8 degrees Celsius, six notches above normal and the highest for June since 2018. On Monday, it was 33 degrees Celsius. The humidity on Tuesday oscillated bet- ween 24% and 51%.

A heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature is above 40 degrees Celsius and the rise from the normal temperature is 4.5 degrees or higher. In a severe heatwave, either the maximum temperature must exceed 45 degrees or the increase should be 6.5 notches or higher.

The warm night condition is observed when the maximum temperature is above 40 degrees and the departure for minimum temperature is above 4.5 degrees.

On Tuesday, at 46.1 degrees Celsius, Pitampura was the hottest area, followed by 45.5 degrees at Jafarpur, 45 degrees at Ayanagar, 44.7 degrees on the Ridge and 44.4 degrees at Palam.

The city’s air quality was in the moderate range with an average AQI of 196.

TIMESVIEW: The city is witnessing a merciless heat wave. The lucky among us have the option of working indoors. But many are forced to work in the blistering sun. It would be human and humane, if we make their lives better, even for a moment. We can offer cold water to delivery boys, a fruit drink to security guards working in our apartments and, generally, help anyone who needs it. We can also leave cups filled with water for birds and animals in the open. Compassion can help ease summer misery.

Power demand across NCR cities puts grid under pressure

Meenakshi.Sinha@timesgroup.com

Noida: With ACs on overdrive to help people get through scorching heatwaves that have dominated the DelhiNCR summer, the power distribution network has come under tremendous pressure.

Power demand typically hits its yearly peak in July when humidity sets in along with heat. But this year, not only did UP scale the all-time high in May, demand has also hovered around that level for around a month now, testing the capacities of the power grid which, to engineers’ relief, has so far held up.

On June 17, the state’s peak demand reached a record high of 30,648 MW, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) officials said. In 2023, the state clocked a peak demand of 28,284 MW on July 24.

Data shared by the UPPCL shows that power demand has been on the rise in June, slipping marginally below 29,000 MW on five days. On June 1, the power demand was 29,322 MW. It was recorded at 28,456 MW the next day and 28,648 MW the day after.

On June 4, it again rose to 29,344 MW. For the next three days, it hovered between 28,600 MW and 28,880 MW. It breached the 29,000 mark on June 8 when the demand was 29,263 MW. On June 9, the demand was 29,038 MW, on June 10 it was 29,500 MW and the next day it was 29,820 MW.

In Noida and Ghaziabad, the extreme heat conditions — maximum temperature above 45°Celsius and minimum hovering around 30°C — coupled with excess demand has led to overheating of the power grid and local snags, causing frequent outages.

Capital’s peak electricity demand of 8,647MW surpasses all projections

Abhinav.Rajput@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The scorching heat has led to an unprecedented demand for power in Delhi. On Tuesday afternoon, the demand touched a staggering 8,647MW, surpassing the previous record of 8,302MW set just last month. Power distribution companies had projected the peak power demand to reach 8,200MW this summer, but the actual demand has consistently exceeded the expectations.

"Records have been broken eight times this summer after the peak power load first crossed 8,000MW on May 22. For 30 days in a row this season, Delhi's peak power demand was above 7,000MW," said a discom official.

The surge in electricity demand, besides just the high mercury levels, can be attributed to the increasing population, urbanisation and the growing use of electronic devices, ACs and electrical appliances.

According to the State Load Dispatch Centre, at 3.22pm on Tuesday, the peak power demand clocked 8,647MW. Tuesday also marked the day when the demand crossed 7,000MW for the 30th day in a row, having never crossed the mark in May in 2023 and only once in May 2022.

A BSES official said that power demand in Delhi usually peaks at June-end or early July, with last year’s August being an exception. He said ACs alone account for 30-50% of the yearly energy expense of a household or a company, according to discom estimates.

The BSES official added, “We are geared up to ensure reliable power supply to meet the power demand of 50 lakh consumers and two crore residents in south, west, east and central Delhi.” The measures taken for this include a longterm power-purchase and banking arrangements with other states and deployment of latest technologies for predicting power demand accurately, which is critical for ensuring reliable power supply.

Tata Power DDL, which serves north and northwest Delhi, said it had successfully met the highest peak power demand of 2,446MW in its area of operations. “We made adequate arrangements via long-term and short-term measures and will ensure seamless electricity supply amid the ongoing severe heatwave in Delhi,” the discom said.

Rishi Raj, a spokesperson for transmission utility Delhi Transco Ltd, urged citizens to take steps to alleviate the stress on the power system. "As the entire system is under stress, to ensure safety and reliability of the power system in Delhi, the general public is requested to put off all nonessential loads during peak load hours from 2pm to 4pm and from 10pm to 12.30am," said Raj, advising citizens to set their ACs at 26-27 degrees Celsius during the peak hours.

Five Die Of Heatstroke In 72 Hours

HEAT IS ON

Doctors Stress On Need To Report Early To Hospital

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The scorching heat in the city has claimed five lives in the last 72 hours. The victims succumbed to heatstroke after being admitted to three hospitals.

Two deaths occurred at Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday, the hospital authorities said. A 50-year-old man, who was admitted on the evening of June 17, passed away at 2.30am the following day. A 60-year-old woman, also admitted on June 17, died at 4.40am on Tuesday.

Doctors at Safdarjung Hospital said 28 patients have been diagnosed with heatstroke. Among these, five received treatment at the hospital's out-patient department (OPD).

A 40-year-old woman labourer and a 60-year-old man who worked as a security guard succumbed to heatstroke at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, according to medical staff. The woman passed away on Monday, while the man died on Tuesday evening. As of Tuesday morning, the hospital had recorded 35 heatstroke cases.

Five people had died earlier from heatstroke, taking RML’s count to seven.

Lok Nayak Hospital said that a car mechanic, aged 39 years, from Janakpuri, was admitted to the facility on June 15 with high fever of 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite being placed on respiratory support, he succumbed on June 16.

Six patients were admitted to the RML Hospital on Tuesday, with four requiring ventilator support and two needing oxygen due to delayed arrival.

All the patients belonged to underprivileged socioeconomic backgrounds and lacked awareness about heatstroke and its symptoms.

Medical professionals at RML Hospital reported that one of the patients admitted on Tuesday had a temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit. "Please do report early as time is of essence in heatstroke management," said a doctor, stressing the importance of prompt cooling measures to preserve the patient's organs.

Lok Nayak Hospital on Tuesday admitted seven patients with heatstroke, and five needed ventilator support. Among the critical cases were two men, aged 70 years and 57 years, battling severe dehydration. Three other patients showed signs of recovery.

Doctors said that heat illnesses range from heat cramps, marked by painful muscle spasms due to salt loss from sweating, to heat exhaustion, characterised by intense sweating, weakness, dizziness, headache, and nausea.

“Heatstroke in the most severe form causes confusion, high body temperature, a rapid pulse and has the potential to make a person unconscious. Without prompt treatment, involving rapid cooling and hydration, heatstroke can be life threatening,” a doctor said.

Delhi govt sets tar get of planting and distributing 64 lakh saplings in city

New Delhi: Delhi govt has set an ambitious goal for the year, aiming to plant and distribute a total of 64 lakh saplings throughout the city. This represents a significant increase from the previous year’s target of 52 lakh saplings.

The announcement was made by Gopal Rai, Delhi’s environment minister, on Tuesday following a meeting with representatives from 25 greening agencies operating in the capital.

According to Rai, the target will be composed of 2.48 million trees and 3.15 million shrubs. Additionally, govt plans to distribute 0.77 million saplings, including both trees and shrubs, to the residents of Delhi at no cost. “A tree plantation campaign is being run every year to increase the green cover of Delhi and reduce pollution too. This is also the main measure required to save Delhi from heatwaves,” Rai stated. In the last four years, the number of saplings planted in Delhi has reached 2.5 crore, he added.

The minister announced that the public can also obtain medicinal plants from govt nurseries across the capital for free.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva alleged that the Delhi govt’s claim of increasing greenery and tree plantation in Delhi was a facade. “We demand a green audit through NGT...Rai is only spreading confusion in the name of tree plantation,” he said. TNN

LG discusses innovative approaches to tree plantation

New Delhi: Emphasising the importance of continuing plantation efforts in the wake of increasing temperature and ongoing heatwaves, lieutenant governor VK Saxena has said, “There should be no compromise on plantation, afforestation and reforestation.”

LG recently held a meeting with various agencies, including Delhi Development Authority (DDA), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), departments of environment & forests and irrigation & flood control, and Public Works Department, to discuss innovative approaches to tree plantation.

Saxena advised planting fruit trees, such as bananas, guavas, jamun, mangoes and ber, in the Ridge and other forested areas to control the monkey menace and reduce traffic congestion caused by people feeding animals on the road.

He also suggested replacing plastic or polythene bags used for wrapping the roots of saplings with small dried cow dung pots. “Apart from ensuring that the soil and surface pollution caused by plastic is eradicated, this also provides organic fertiliser to the saplings and ensures that the cow dung generated in the city, which often flows into drains, waterbodies and the Yamuna, is put to productive use,” he said.

While no plantation should be carried out on footpaths, efforts should be made to plant trees on central verges, Saxena instructed. He proposed installing treated water pipelines with attached sprinklers on the central verges to water the plants, eliminating the need for mobile tankers that contribute to pollution and traffic jams.

LG encouraged the distribution of free saplings among people and residents welfare associations, and urged departments to identify spaces for plantation along railway tracks, school boundaries, and under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam drive launched by Prime Minister on June 5.

DDA and NDMC were directed to identify sites in their parks, forests and on the Yamuna floodplain while education department would find space on school and college premises. They were also asked to ensure a survival rate of at least 90%. TNN

Feels like oven! For homeless, warmth of night only brings despair — and blisters

Anindya.Chattopadhyay@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Delhi is grappling with an unprecedented dual challenge of scorching heatwaves during the day and uncomfortably hot nights. This visual narrative, captured between 10:30pm and 1am, illustrates how people are residing on the city's streets, their dreams and sleeplessness intertwined during these oppressive nights.

Umesh Prasad Singh, a 53-year-old security guard on Delhi Meerut Expressway, toils for nearly 12 hours every night to earn a living. With only a dilapidated chair and a makeshift hand fan for company, he has nowhere else to seek refuge. Singh confessed, “At times, I feel as though I am trapped inside a sweltering chamber; I have now grown accustomed to sleepless nights.” During the summer months, the concrete footpaths retain the day's blistering heat until the early hours of the morning, rendering them unbearable for sleeping. Numerous daily wagers are spending their dreamless, perilous nights on the dividers near Kashmere Gate. Surya from Madhya Pradesh said they previously slept at night shelters,“

Abhi to night shelter todke park banega, delhi sundar banega, humein kaun puchega?”

The scenes outside AIIMS and Safdarjung are equally harrowing. The warmest nights are exacerbating the hardships of patients and their relatives who have journeyed from various regions of the country seeking treatment at these hospitals. To attend daily checkups or stand in queues for OPDs, these in- dividuals are compelled to reside on the streets, enduring harsh weather conditions and a dearth of basic amenities. Sonu Kumar, accompanied by his wife and daughter, travels from Narela for his daughter's treatment, enduring sleepless nights amid the severe heatwave.

Savitri Devi, who arrived three months ago to treat her arthritis, lamented, “I am subsisting on the food distributed by people. In this unbearable heat, I cannot even afford to purchase water to quench my thirst.”

Sunehrilal, a 56-year-old daily labourer from Uttar Pradesh who works at a hotel, shared, “I have a single bottle of water to quench my thirst and wash my body.”

Writing not on wall: DJB bulletins skip key details

DJB on Tuesday reported water production at 916MGD through its WTPs, which may further worsen the situation for Delhiites

Siddhanta.Mishra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Delhi Jal Board began releasing daily summer bulletins in late April, coinciding with the onset of the water crisis in the city. These bulletins provided important information about water production levels, sources, volumes of complaints, and testing reports. However, as the water crisis worsened in May and June, the consistency and transparency of the summer bulletins declined.

The bulletins no longer include the number of complaints received, which was a crucial indicator of the severity of the water crisis. Other details such as water sources, levels and testing reports have also been excluded from recent bulletins.

On Tuesday, DJB reported water production of 916 million gallons per day (MGD), which is 374MGD less than the estimated overall requirement of 1,290MGD. A day earlier, DJB reported production of 901MGD, one of the lowest this season.

According to DJB officials, against the capacity of 131MGD, the Wazira- bad plant produced just 93MGD on Tuesday. This plant, caters to north and central Delhi, has been plagued by short supply of raw water more than the other plants. The Haiderpur plant with the capacity to produce 216MGD managed 3MGD, while the Dwarka plant fell 2MGD short of its capacity. The plant at Bawana also saw a 2MGD drop in water production.

Water minister Atishi had always put the blame for the shortage of raw water on Haryana govt. “Due to Haryana govt not releasing water into the Yamuna, the water level has fallen from 674.5 ft to 668,” Atishi said on Monday. “The situation is so bad that dry islands have appeared in the Wazirabad pond.”

On May 22, just before the city voted in the Lok Sabha elections, Atishi alleged that the neighbouring state of Haryana was deliberately blocking water from reaching the city, though DJB's bulletins had contradictory figures about water reaching the city. Later in June, Delhi govt announced it would approach the Supreme Court, claiming that the city was not re- ceiving its fair share of water.

DJB’s first summer bulletin on May 1mentioned the types of complaints it had received and their number. These were usually about water tankers and sewers. The bulletin also mentioned the number of water quality tests done and the amount of water produced. But since the beginning of June, most of this information has been removed from the public platforms.

Starting from June, DJB’s bulletins only mentioned the main sources of water on which the nine water treatment plants depend; this was not part of the first bulletin issued. The bulletins once showed how DJB was lifting water from the Yamuna without having been allocated the river water. But even this information has been removed and only the total water produced by the treatment plants is shared.

On Tuesday too, the bulletin released by DJB and posted on X does not mention any information on tests and complaints. The inconsistency and reduced transparency in the summer bulletins have made it challenging for the public to assess the true extent of the water crisis and the efforts being made to address it. DJB officials did not respond to queries regarding the in- consistency of the bulletin.

Meanwhile, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav said that it was shocking to learn at such a time that 100 of DJB’s 250 water tankers were no longer on its roster. Yadav said the missing tankers were yet another instance of wide-spread corruption in DJB, which, he claimed, was profitable when Congress was in power in Delhi, but went into the red after AAP came to power. There was no response from AAP govt and DJB on Yadav’s allegations.

Couple steal `1cr diamond jewellery from bizman, held

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A couple have been arrested for allegedly executing a high-profile diamond heist that targeted an Agra-based businessman.

On June 16, when the businessman was returning home in Agra, one of the accused signalled him that his car had a flat tyre. When he got out to inspect, another accused fled with his bag containing Rs 1-crore diamond jewellery. A case was registered in Loha Mandi, Agra.

The key accused were identified as a 38-year-old woman and her 23-year-old associate, Kunal, and were arrested from south Delhi’s Pushp Vihar.

Deputy commissioner of police (south) Ankit Chauhan said a team led by inspector Girish Chandra had set up a trap in Sector 4 and apprehended the woman and recovered the jewellery. “She told us that Kunal was coming to meet her. He was also arrested,” Chauhan added. Police also seized Rs 1 lakh in cash.

The couple used to ride on bikes and went around with a few others, targeting businessmen and goldsmiths travelling in luxury cars by using thak-thak gang techniques, the DCP said. After spotting a target, they used to stop the vehicle by diverting the attention of the driver or passengers at a traffic signal. While keeping them engaged in conversation, another gang member would puncture the rear left tyre with a poker or poured oil on the bonnet. Sometimes, they threw eggs on the windshield or claimed smoke was coming out of the vehicle, and took out valuables.

Supply to hospitals and localities in Lutyens’ hit as water crisis deepens

Vibha.Sharma@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: New Delhi Municipal Council members reported on Tuesday that the water shortage in Lutyens' Delhi was affecting supply to major hospitals and various localities, including Bengali Market, Tilak Marg, and Gole Market.

NDMC member Kuljeet Chahal said, "Water supply to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lady Hardinge Hospital has been affected. If the crisis continues, there will be reduction in supply at other significant locations, including AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, even Parliament House when it is in session."

Chahal explained, "Though the hospitals have reservoirs on their campuses for uninterrupted supply, these are filled by NDMC’s piped supply. But NDMC is getting less water from Delhi Jal Board's treatment plants. To meet the gap, we are using water tankers. We sent two tankers to RML Hospital recently." The hospital itself told TOI that it wasn’t facing a water crisis at present.

According to Chahal, no water has been provided from the Wazirabad plant for the past two days. He said, "Despite DJB's promise to resume the supply, there was no supply till Tuesday afternoon. From the other plants too, we are getting short supply."

NDMC receives 125 million litres a day of water from the plants at Wazirabad (60-70MLD), Sonia Vihar (25MLD) and Chandrawal (35MLD). But the current supply is lower by, respectively, 60%, 15% and 30%. NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay said, "The water supplied from these three plants is collected in 27 reservoirs and supplied to Lutyens’ Delhi. But now we are only getting around 60% of the regular supply.”

The Wazirabad water treatment plant serves areas such as Bengali Market, Tilak Marg, Gole Market, Parliament complex, Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and a number of hospitals. The Sonia Vihar plants sends water to Khan Market, Kaka Nagar, Bapa Nagar and Jor Bagh, while the Chandrawal plant caters to the needs in the President’s Estate, Chanakyapuri and the flats of parliamentarians.

NDMC has 21,286 water consumers, comprising 14,386 domestic and 4,097 commercial consumers, with the rest being dhobi ghats, NDMC flats, etc.

According to Upadhyay, the current water disruption is expected to last for one or two days more, based on the latest updates from DJB. He criticised Delhi govt for its failure to effectively address and manage the recurring water shortages during June, blaming it on the lack of adequate measures and longterm planning.

“With only 10 days remaining until the monsoon arrives, no substantial work has been done on desilting the major drains having their outlets in the Yamuna. This shows the lack of management in the Delhi govt departments,” alleged Upadhyay.

AAP responded swiftly to the NDMC members’ allegations. “We left no stone untur- ned to mitigate the sufferings of the people of Delhi by urging the BJP-ruled Haryana govt to release more water to Delhi. The state govt sought the Supreme Court's intervention to direct Haryana to release the surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh to mitigate the water crisis in the capital,” said the party in a statement on Tuesday. “We also urged the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the union jal shakti minister to intervene in the matter.”

Delhi govt claimed to have replaced 3500km of old, leaking pipelines in eight years and added 7300km new pipelines. DJB also spent Rs 500 crores in revamping CLC canal and reducing water loss from 30% to 5% there.

Haryana conveys its inability to provide more water to Delhi

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Haryana has said it will be unable to release more water to the national capital, a day after Delhi water minister Atishi requested for it on “humanitarian” grounds in the middle of a crippling heatwave.

A team of three senior Delhi officials — additional chief secretary (urban development) Manish Gupta, Delhi Jal Board chief executive officer A Anbarasu, and DJB chief engineer (nodal), SL Meena — met Haryana’s principal secretary (water resources) on Tuesday in Chandigarh to discuss the current water crisis in Delhi.

Delhi wanted an additional 137 cusecs to be released from Haryana,as initially promised by Himachal Pradesh. The office of the water minister said Delhi govt’s delegation solicited the release of the additional water to alleviate the severe shortage. “However, Haryana govt has communicated its inability to provide any additional water resources to Delhi at this juncture,” it said.

According to a water sharing arrangement among north Indian states, Haryana provides 1,133 cusecs (as per the Delhi Economic Survey of 2023-24) of water to Delhi through the Munak Canal and the Yamuna. With Delhi’s water demand increasing and the supply of water from Haryana stagnant since 1994, minister Atishi had sent the delegation to Chandigarh to see if additional water could be got.

Expressing disappointment, Atishi said that while discussions over equitable distribution of Yamuna water can be deferred, the current emergency was an immediate priority. “The unprecedented heatwaves have created a dire situation and we earnestly appeal to Haryana to release water on humanitarian grounds. The people of Delhi are enduring immense suffering due to these extreme conditions, the likes of which we have never experienced before,” she said. “The well-being of our citizens is at stake, and it is imperative that we receive this crucial support without delay.”

The meeting lasted for an hour-and-a-half. According to officials privy to developments, the Haryana team produced before the Delhi side the details of mandated supply to the capital.

Haryana officials are also learnt to have communicated to Delhi that despite facing a deficiency of over 20%, they were releasing the requisite amount of water to Delhi.

“This is the situation… We are all helpless. We are eagerly waiting for the monsoon so that the demand gets reduced and we get an adequate flow to consider Delhi’s demands. As of now, Haryana is not in a position to share additional water,” said a senior official, adding that Haryana was committed to supplying the mandated water and forwarding the flow released by Himachal Pradesh to Delhi.

Since the last week of May, Haryana and Delhi govts have been at loggerheads over the issue of flow of the Yamuna water to Delhi. While Delhi govt has accused Haryana of blocking its supply, the chief minister Nayab Singh Saini-led dispensation has attributed the crisis to poor maintenance and distribution system and a an allegedly thriving tanker mafia under AAP govt in Delhi.

MCD breaches deadline for desilting of all major drains

According to an MCD report, 72,412.6 metric tonnes of silt have been removed from all 713 drains, which is 92.7% of the 78,062 MT target that was set for June 15

Vibha.Sharma@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has failed to meet its June 15 deadline for desilting all major drains in preparation for the monsoon.

As of June 18, MCD has completed desilting of 259 out of the 713 drains that are more than four feet deep and which cover an area of 466.5km. Work is on at 426 locations.

According to an MCD report, 72,412.6 metric tonnes of silt have been removed from all 713 drains, which is 92.7% of the 78,062 MT target that was set for June 15.

Raja Iqbal Singh, leader of the opposition, said: "So far, 92.7% of the work has been done and it will take another week to 10 days to meet the target set for Phase I. MCD had initially set May 30 as the deadline for completing the desilting, which was later extended to June 15. However, after breaching both deadlines, AAP in MCD has not provided a new deadline and is simply assuring that arrangements to deal with waterlogging (will be done),” Singh said.

Mayor Shelly Oberoi held a meeting with officials on Tuesday to assess the current situation and to ensure timely completion of the work. In a press conference following the meeting, she said that MCD has made extensive preparations to tackle waterlogging during the upcoming rainy season. "From the last month, we have been continuously holding meetings with officials regarding monsoon preparations and steps have been taken as per the monsoon action plan in all zones," she said.

In addition to the 713 drains that are more than four feet deep, there are approximately 21,000 drains less deep, spanning 6,600km in length. MCD conducts cleaning in all big and small drains in two phases, with a total target of collecting 1,27,368 MT of silt. The first phase, aimed at collecting 78,062 MT before the onset of the monsoon, while the second phase targets the removal of 49,305.8 MT until Jan 15, 2025.

The mayor announced that the desilting work for drains more than four feet deep is nearly complete as 92-93% of the work finished.

For drains less than four feet, 85% of cleaning work has been accomplished, MCD said. “To address waterlogging issues, a quick response team has been established, with a nodal officer appointed for each zone to identify and monitor waterlogging-prone areas and make arrangements for prevention,” she said.

During the monsoon, the mayor mentioned that staff will be present 24x7 at all permanent pumping stations. The corporation has 70-80 permanent pumps and 450-500 temporary pumps.

Oberoi said: "We held a meeting with Delhi govt ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj regarding monsoon preparations last week, in which various agencies such as DDA, PWD, irrigation and flood control department, etc. participated and all assured us that they would work in coordination."

Mukesh Goyal, leader of the House, said that last year flood-like conditions were seen in Delhi as soon as the monsoon began in July. He emphasised that attention is being given to hotspots that experienced acute waterlogging last year.

Clip shows disabled man’s struggle at Isa Khan Tomb

NOT INCLUSIVE

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is in a spot after a social media post highlighting accessibility problems that people with disabilities face at the Isa Khan tomb in the Humayun tomb complex went viral.

The post specifically pointed out the lack of a ramp, hindering the entry of disabled persons into the structure, which is part of a world heritage site in the middle of the city.

The absence of accessibility infrastructure for disabled people has raised concerns about the inclusivity at cultural heritage sites, regardless of physical ability.

Shorya Sood, a PhD scholar in political science at JNU, recently shared a video on X highlighting the lack of accessibility for persons with disabilities at the Isa Khan tomb. In the video, Sood expressed his disappointment, stating that “it was very sad to see that the Isa Khan tomb is not at all wheelchair accessible”. He hoped that Archaeological Survey of India would make a note of these concerns and work towards making all historical places ac- cessible to everyone.

ASI, being the custodian of such monuments, is now under scrutiny. However, the ministry of social justice and empowerment as well as the chief commissioner for persons with disabilities from time to time have requested state govts/UT administrations for barrier-free access to public places by constructing ramps, lifts and railings.

When contacted, ASI spokesperson TJ Alone stated that the director-general was currently travelling and unable to provide a response. Additionally, the inquiry sent by TOI via WhatsApp remained unanswered.

ASI had earlier planned to make the capital's heritage sites more disabled-friendly and begun implementing a plan to build more ramps and wheelchair spaces for visitors with disabilities. However, only a few monuments, including the Qutub Minar complex, have such facilities now.

Sources said the proposal to make a ramp in the Humayun Tomb complex was sent earlier but nothing was finalised.

In 2014-15, ASI carried out an accessibility study on 100 monuments throughout the country. The objective was to identify and remove barriers, making the historical sites more inclusive and accessible to all. Despite the efforts, monuments in the capital continue to pose challenges for people with disabilities.

The 16th century Isa Khan tomb consists of an octagonal garden enclosure, with entrance on the north, in the centre of which lies the mausoleum. With a central octagonal chamber surrounded by verandas, each side pierced by three arches, the mausoleum rises from a low plinth and is surrounded by a dwarf wall.

Delhi Has Extracted Almost All Of Groundwater Available

Only Positive Is Increase In Number Of Areas Marked As ‘Safe’

The CGWB report noted an increase in the urban areas classified ‘safe’ in terms of groundwater levels, with 15% of Delhi’s assessment units falling in this group in 2023 compared with 12% in 2022

Kushagra.Dixit@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: While the city is grappling with a water crisis with the civic authorities trying to boost groundwater to augment water supply, a recent report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) said that the annual recharge and available groundwater for extraction in Delhi have decreased.

According to the report, Delhi's net annual groundwater recharge in 2023 was estimated at 0.38 billion cubic metre (bcm), of which 0.34 bcm was available for extraction. Alarmingly, nearly all of the available ground- water has been extracted. This means 99.1% of the groundwater has been extracted. In comparison, the annual groundwater recharge in 2022 was 0.41 bcm, with 0.37 bcm available for extraction and 0.36 bcm actually drawn out.

The report highlighted the increase in Delhi's groundwater extraction from 98.16% in 2022 to 99.13% in 2023, despite the decrease in groundwater recharge during the same period. This indicates that while some areas have made progress in maintaining safe groundwater levels, Delhi still faces significant challenges in managing its groundwater resources sustainably.

The CGWB report happily noted an increase in the urban areas classified as "safe" in terms of groundwater levels, with 15% of Delhi's as- sessment units falling under this category in 2023 compared with 12% in 2022. In sharp contrast, however, the areas facing a critical groundwater situation also expanded from 21% of the city in 2022 to 35% in 2023.

CGWB assesses groundwater across 34 tehsils in Delhi, each referred to as an assessment unit.

Of these 34 assessment units, 13 (38%) were categorised as 'over-exploited', 12 (35%) as 'critical', four (12%) as 'semi-critical' and five units (15%) as 'safe'.

Since 2022, there have been improvements, such as an increase in the number of tehsils in the safe zone from four to five, a decrease in the number of semi-critical tehsils from eight to four, and a reduction in over-exploited areas from 15 to 13. However, the number of critical areas has increased from seven tehsils in 2022 to 12 in 2023.

To address the groundwater alarm, CGWB has recommended making rainwater harvesting in water-depleted areas mandatory, increasing the use of treated water and creating awareness through mass awareness campaigns for public and farmers, training programmes for personnel engaged in the water sector, and educational activities such as painting and elocution contests themed on water conservation for school students.

The report added, “More sewage treatment plants and use of this water for other than domestic use may be planned and implemented religiously.”

Snag hits services on metro’s Yellow Line

METRO OFFICIAL SAYS Train services were regulated between Sultanpur and Millennium City Centre Gurugram due to damage reported to a portion of OHE known as catenary wire

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi Metro commuters faced inconvenience on Tuesday due to delayed operations on the Yellow Line during peak hour.

“Train services were regulated between Sultanpur and Millennium City Centre Gurugram section of the Yellow Line from 5.15 pm to 6.12 pm on Tuesday due to damage reported to a portion of OHE (overhead equipment) known as catenary wire,” said a metro official.

Services ran normally during this period on the remaining section of the Yellow Line.

Naresh Rautela, a commuter, posted on social media platform X, “When will service be normalised? Stuck between Ghitorni and Sultanpur.”

In another post on X, DMRC wrote, “Delay in services from Millennium City Centre Gurugram to Sultanpur. Normal service on all other lines.”

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had announced earlier that due to ongoing work on a 490-metre section of the Janakpuri West-R K Ashram corridor of phase IV, wherein the alignment crosses over Haiderpur Badli Mor metro station of the Yellow Line (Samaypur Badli to Millennium City Centre), there will be a minor change in the last and first train timings on Sunday and Monday.

The 490-metre stretch, adjacent to the existing operational Yellow Line, is very critical as the corridor reaches a height of about 28.4 metres, the highest level ever in the entire Delhi Metro network.

One dead as armed men open fire at Rajouri Garden eatery

Over a dozen rounds were fired inside the outlet

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A man was killed while a few others were injured after armed people fired indiscriminately inside a food outlet in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden on Tuesday night. Initial probe suggests it was a targeted shooting.

Sources said over a dozen rounds were fired at the Burger King outlet, causing panic in the commercial area, and people were seen running for cover. The target, the sources said, was sitting with a girl when the assailants arrived and started shooting.

“Initially, we thought it was a terror attack. But later we heard cops saying it was a gang war,” said a resident.

Police are scanning the footage of CCTV cameras of the area to identify the accused. An FIR under the section of mur- der has been registered.

The cops have recorded the statement of the people present at the outlet. Crime Branch and other units have been roped in to probe the case.

Police deployment and patrolling have been stepped up in the area. Police said they had formed teams to identify the accused and conduct raids to arrest them.

New Laws Won’t Be Applicable To Offences That Occur Before July 1

Police Will Have To Continue Registering Some FIRs Under Existing IPC

AN OFFICER SAYS In crimes like rape on pretext of marriage in which the crime happens much before it is reported, IPC will continue to be evoked

Rajshekhar.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Delhi Police will have to continue registering some FIRs under the existing Indian Penal Code (IPC) even after the new laws are rolled out next month. This will be for offences which have occurred before July 1, sources said.

The new law, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), will not apply to the offences taking place when IPC was in force. Cops cited Article 20 (1) of the Constitution which implies that no penal law can have retrospective effect. This Article states that neither any person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence.

“So, in crimes like rape on pretext of marriage in which the crime happens much before it is reported, IPC will continue to be evoked,” explained an officer.

However, as simple as it may sound, carrying out procedures under IPC as well as BNS may prove to be a major challenge for cops, particularly when they will be busy grasping the technicalities of the new laws. The investigating officers who TOIspoke to highlighted that the FIRs are currently registered on the crime and criminal tracking network and system that is monitored by Delhi Police’s Crime Branch, which is the nodal agency.

“When this issue became apparent, it was taken up with senior officers. A meeting was held with all the stakeholders, including National Crime Records Bureau, after which a patch/update was prepared. The patch has been installed to ensure that both IPC and BNS can function smoothly,” said a Crime Branch officer.

Excpt some minor glitches in the patch, it has been working fine, cops said. The real test, however, will be on July 1 when all Delhi Police personnel will log in and use it simultaneously.

Besides filing FIRs in both laws, there will be other challenges too, sources said.

Many cops seemed unaware of what would happen with FIRs registered in the run-up to the rollout of the new laws in context with chargesheets and other procedures. A senior cop, however, said that while the IPC nomenclature might be maintained, the procedures like carrying of investigation and filing of chargesheets would be as per Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which would replace the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

“Basically, IPC won’t vanish from the police's functioning right after July 1...It will take some time for it to disappear from police files. However, we will ensure that there is no confusion for the public,” the officer added.

E-rick driver arrested for molesting girl

New Delhi: A 17-year-old girl who took an e-rickshaw to north Delhi’s Majnu Ka Tila from Kashmere Gate ISBT was allegedly molested by the driver. Police have arrested the 27-year-old man following the June 13 incident.

Police received the information about the alleged assault from the hospital where the girl went for treatment. A police team recorded her statement and a case was registered.

Deputy commissioner of police (north) Manoj Meena said that as there was no registration plate on the vehicle, it was a Herculean task to trace it. The fact that the incident took place around 2.30am made the matter more challenging. “More than 150 CCTV cameras were checked,” he said.

The driver was finally identified as Mohammad Istikhar, a resident of north Delhi. “The girl told us that she had hit him on the forehead with a brick. The identity of the accused was confirmed with the help of a fresh injury mark on his forehead. He was apprehended from Mori Gate on June 15 and the e-rickshaw was seized,” Meena said.

Istikhar said the girl had wanted to go to Wazirabad in Gurgaon. She had reached New Delhi station at night from Varanasi and was tild that she could find a vehicle to Gurgaon from Majnu Ka Tila, police said. Istikhar molested her in a forested area near Jal Board Awaas in Bara Hindu Rao.

TNN

IGI gets yet another bomb hoax email

New Delhi: Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday got a bomb alert email that claimed an explosive had been planted on a Dubai-bound flight that was about to take off. After checks on the flight, the threat was declared a hoax.

Meanwhile, a bomb threat message was received for a flight from Chennai to Mumbai at a call centre in Delhi. The threat was termed ‘specific’. The flight landed at Mumbai around 10.30 pm.

Referring to the Delhi airport alert, deputy commissioner of police (IGI) Usha Rangnani said the information was received at 9.35am. “The email was received in the DIAL office at IGI Airport, threatening that a bomb was inside a Delhi to Dubai flight,” the officer said. A thorough search was conducted, but nothing suspicious was found. The email was declared a hoax.”

A case was registered under sections IPC sections 182 (false information with intent to cause a public servant to use their lawful power to the injury of another person) and 505 (1)(b) (intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquillity). Earlier in June, the social media team of IGI airport received an email claiming that an Air Canada flight was carrying a bomb.

TNN

Extortion case against rogue cops, one more suspended

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Police have invoked the extortion section under Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the five policemen who had allegedly forced a man to pay Rs 24 lakh by threatening to implicate him in a false hawala case.

After the suspension of four cops on Monday, an inspector was suspended on Tuesday.

Police said the man from Panipat, who wanted to send his son abroad for studies, had contacted a visa agent who asked him to come to Delhi and stay at a hotel in Laxmi Nagar. The man came with at least seven people and stayed at a hotel in the nearby Shakarpur, where four policemen allegedly met him and extorted Rs 24 lakh.

According to the FIR, the policemen had accused him of having links with Pakistan and being involved in hawala activities. “I maintained that I had no links with Pakistan, was not involved in money laundering, and was the former sarpanch of my village. In response, they began hurling abuses,” the complainant said.

The cops allegedly told the man that they would seize the money and arrest him and he could get bail by arranging for guarantors from Haryana in two-four days, the FIR stated.

“I asked them for a solution, and they said we could either leave all our money behind and go or bring our guarantors and get bail. They then demanded the passwords for our phones, unlocked them and deleted any videos related to the incident. We were terrified,” the complainant said, adding that the cops gave him Rs 50,000 for the return journey.

A case of cheating and common intention was registered, to which IPC 388 (extortion) has been added.

From blackboard to monitor, cops get upskilled, and how!

Kiran Bedi

SPECIAL TO TOI

Irecall the year 2000 when I was posted as joint commissioner of Delhi Police, Training. I got down to the task on Day One. I began by visiting a computer class for recruits and another one meant for all ranks too.

Guess, what did I see! The trainer drawing a computer on the blackboard? I was anguished.

But then what do I do? If I have to stop this deceit, I needed computers. And I needed money too. The police headquarters had to part with it, provided it had any.

The need was urgent and the time for training was running out. I decided to call on the then Union home minister, L K Advani. Straight to the point, I said, “Sir, I have come to tell you this year all sub-inspectors will fail in the test because there is a paper on computers and we have none.”

“What do you want?” he asked me. I said, “Sir, computer labs at the earliest before these candidates pass out of the training school.” And I added for good measure, “I also need a library, simulator, printing press and gym.”

“Please, do not give Delhi Police money. Give in kind if I am to fast-forward training. Or else considerable time will be lost in tenders and bureaucracy,” I pleaded.

He asked me for a note, and didn’t tell me to go to the commissioner. Instead, he sent me to the chief procurement officer of his ministry, a senior joint secretary. He was asked by Advani to procure computers for the police training college without delay and have it delivered.

I duly informed the police commissioner about my meeting with the home minister. He barely heard me, but my duty was done.

Within weeks, computers and other things began to arrive. Officers were happy over the prospect of learning computers directly from the keyboard. I augmented our efforts by mobilizing community donation of computers.

In 2024, I am very happy to note that the new laws of criminal justice system are all about involving technology such as filing e-FIRs, ma- king video recording of all statements, searches, witness accounts, expert appearances and self too; making copies of documents which are to be given to all concerned, case diaries and chargesheets; and video conferencing and other modes of communications. All evidence has to be saved on folders to be retrieved at a short notice. This data has to be maintained for quick retrieval and also for successors.

IT training of police personnel across India has not been uniform. Now, all of them have to be upskilled overnight and made to keep pace. It’s a mind-boggling task. The police leadership will have to rise to the occasion.

The administration of the day will need a big IT budget. It’s a mammoth task. Let’s see how the governments of the day, both at the Centre and in the states, navigate this.

Now, an FIR can be lodged anywhere in India. It has become one police station because we have embraced technology.

(A 1972-batch IPS officer, Kiran Bedi was IG of Tihar Jail from 1993 to 1995 when she implemented prison reforms. Her other memorable stint was as deputy commissioner of police, traffic, in the capital)

Maliwal seeks support from INDIA bloc

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal has sought support from INDIA bloc leaders alleging that she has faced “incessant attacks on her character and victim shaming orchestrated by the leaders and volunteers of her own party” after she filed a complaint about the alleged assault on her at chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence by his aide Bibhav Kumar.

Maliwal has sought time from leaders like Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar to discuss the issue with them. “How will any survivor raise her voice against assault if even a MP is victim-shamed?” Maliwal asked in a press statement. “I have been totally isolated, only because I dared to file a complaint against a powerful person. Today, I have written a letter on the same to all the big leaders of the INDIA alliance seeking their support,” Maliwal added.

Her letter to the INDIA leaders gains significance as it comes ahead of the first session of Parliament since the Modi govt returned to power for the third time scheduled to begin from Monday. She has also written to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Bannerjee, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Lalu Prasad among others.

Given that Maliwal is still in AAP, which is part of the INDIA bloc, her outreach puts the spotlight on how members will respond to this letter. It also gives ammunition to BJP to attack the alliance on the issue. AAP which is clearly caught in a spot has so far refrained from comment.

In her letter Maliwal said, “Unfortunately, after becoming a MP, I was assaulted by the PA of the CM at his residence on May 13.” She adds that following this “traumatic incident” she filed a police complaint but instead of finding support she was attacked by her own party members.

She claims in her letter that a “smear campaign” was organised in the electronic and social media to undermine her “reputation, character and credibility”. “Due to the lies spread against me, I have been receiving multiple rape and death threats,” Maliwal has alleged.

She adds that over the past one month, she has encountered first-hand “the pain and isolation a survivor faces when she fights for justice”. “The brutal victim shaming and character assassination I have been subjected to, would discourage other women and girls from speaking up against abuse,” Maliwal said.

When asked about Maliwal’s letter, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, “Delhi Police is already investigating the matter. I don’t think we need to interfere at this stage. It is an internal matter of a party (AAP) and also police is looking into it.”

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, meanwhile, said, “Maliwal, whom Kejriwal used to call Rani Lakshmi Bai and various other names, has now been left alone by the entire party.”

“She has now understood that AAP’s talk of respecting women is hollow, and perhaps that’s why she has given up hope for justice from the party,” he added.

Stolen iPhones worth `3.2cr found in warehouse, 2 held

HUGE HAUL

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi Police has arrested two men and recovered iPhones worth Rs 3.2 crore, which the duo had stolen from a warehouse in southwest Delhi. Police said one of the accused was the complainant's driver.

The two accused persons were identified as Mandeep Singh (31) and Sachin (25). On June 17, police were informed about the theft of several brand new Apple iPhones from Rameshwar Singh's warehouse in Mahipalpur. The iPhones were to be sent to various distributors in North India.

DCP (southwest) Rohit Meena formed a team under ACP Satyajeet Sarin, and an investigation was taken up. “Several CCTV footages were analysed, and suspects were rounded up. The prime suspect, Mandeep, who worked as Rameshwar’s driver, was absconding, and his mobile was found to be switched off,” the DCP said.

It was found that Mandeep even stole Rameshwar’s car to move the iPhones. “With the help of GPS data, the vehicle was found abandoned in Samalkha village. Further investigation led us to clues in Panchkula, Haryana, and raids were conducted at several hideouts, leading to the arrest of the two,” the officer said.

Seven stolen iPhones were recovered in the possession of the accused persons. During further investigation, Mandeep's house was also raided, and 311 more iPhones were seized.

MCD staffers arrested for accepting bribe of `15k

New Delhi: A junior engineer and a beldar of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) were arrested on Tuesday by the anti-corruption branch (ACB) of Delhi govt for allegedly accepting a bribe to facilitate the construction of a residential building. According to ACB, a man visited its office on Tuesday and identified himself as a builder working in northeast Delhi’s Bhajanpura. He reported that Sudharshan, also known as Rajbir and employed as a beldar in Shahdara (North) zone of MCD, had demanded Rs 15,000 to expedite the construction of a house in Bhajanpura. “The complainant found the demand unethical and approached Gaurav Garg, the junior engineer in the area, to report Rajbir’s illegal demand. However, the junior engineer was found to be complicit with the beldar and instructed the complainant to pay the bribe,” said ACB head Madhur Verma. A team was formed, and at 2pm, the team, accompanied by the complainant, reached the meeting point at a temple. “Rajbir was apprehended by the team while demanding and accepting the bribe money,” the officer said. “During the preliminary inquiry, the beldar admitted that he had demanded the bribe at the behest of the junior engineer,” Verma added. The team then went to Garg’s office in Shahdara and confronted him. “The junior engineer could not justify the reason behind demanding the amount from the complainant. During a search, he was found in possession of a wad of Rs 500 notes totalling Rs 50,000, and couldn’t provide a satisfactory explanation regarding its source,” Verma said. A case under Prevention of Corruption Act was registered by ACB.

TNN

Bidhuri resigns from assembly

New Delhi: After being elected to the Lok Sabha, leader of opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, resigned from his assembly membership on Tuesday. Bidhuri has resigned from both the Legislative Assembly and the leader of the opposition post. He submitted his resignation to Ram Niwas Goel, speaker of the assembly. Bidhuri had defeated AAP's Sahiram Pehalwan from the South Delhi parliamentary seat.

TNN

Now, self-drop your baggage in 30 secs at Delhi airport

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: For the first time in India, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has launched a quick drop solution for its self-service bag drop (SSBD) kiosks, enabling passengers to selfdrop their luggage in just about 30 seconds, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has stated.

The airport operator said 50 SSBD machines were operational at terminals 1 and 3, allowing passengers to print their boarding pass and drop the luggage without waiting at an airline counter.

Earlier, DIAL explained, passengers would first print their boarding passes and baggage tags at common use self service (CUSS) kiosks, and upon reaching a SSBD unit, they would scan their passes or undergo biometric face scanning before placing their luggage on the conveyor belt. This entire process would take slightly over a minute. DIAL announced the installation of SSDBs in June 2023.

Now, passengers simply need to obtain a baggage tag at CUSS and place their luggage on the SSBD machine. “It is now a one-step process where the need for boarding pass or biometric validation is removed, since these details are already available on the baggage tag. This reduces the processing time from about a minute to 30 seconds,” said a DIAL spokesperson.

Currently, SSBDs are available for only three airlines — Air India, IndiGo and Air India Express — with plans to gradually expand the facility. For the remaining airlines, customers still need to approach an airline counter to check in their luggage.

DIAL CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar emphasised that the initiative demonstrated the airport’s dedication to utilise advanced technology to improve the travel experience. “The quick drop solution not only speeds up the baggage drop process but also ensures a smoother, more enjoyable journey for our passengers. We are proud to be pioneers in this space and look forward to continuing to innovate in ways that benefit travellers,” he said.

AAP protests, seeks probe monitored by SC into NEET

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Alleging large-scale irregularities in NEET-2024, Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday staged a protest at Jantar Mantar and demanded its cancellation and a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the conduct of the test. AAP members and workers burnt copies of the NEET paper and raised slogans against BJP-led Central govt.

“The ministry of education, the National Testing Agency and functionaries in BJP-led states have together messed up with the future of lakhs of children of the country. Therefore, our demand is that this NEET should be cancelled and the exam should be held again,” AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh said.

He alleged that the NEET results were to be declared on June 14, but were released 10 days earlier so that the media remains busy with the election results and there is no discussion about the paper leak. “There should be an investigation as to why the NEET results were released on June 4”.

The AAP functionary also urged the youth and students to come forward and raise their voice. “Today, we have raised your voice on the road. Parliament’s session is going to start from June 24 and the session of Rajya Sabha will start from June 27. I assure the suffering youth and students of the country that the MPs of AAP will raise their voice strongly in Parliament as well,” said Singh.

Delhi health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that 24 lakh students were “cheated” by the NEET result. He alleged that some aspirants received the exam’s question paper and answers in a “safe house” near Patna in Bihar a day before it was conducted on May 5.

“It is counted among the prestigious exams of the country. It was never heard before that one can get good marks in the exam by paying money. Around Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh were taken from the students for the NEET question paper. This has been said by the Bihar police,” he claimed.

The Delhi minister said it was the responsibility of central govt to investigate the matter under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

Drunk man ploughs his car into pedestrians, 8 injured

The incident triggered chaos

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Eight people were injured after a car driven by a drunk man in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri ran amok on Tuesday. He was caught by passersby and handed over to police.

A police source said that they received information about the driver being apprehended by the public after the incident. “A team from the local police station rushed to the spot. During the inquiry, it was discovered that a car had hit several individuals near LBS Hospital, causing them injuries. The vehicle was found damaged and the driver appeared to be heavily intoxicated,” the source said.

The crime scene team was later called in to inspect the incident site.

The accused was identifi- ed as Dev Singh (37), a resident of Khichripur who works for a tour and travels company. He was also medically examined and found to have tested positive for alcohol.

Police stated that all the victims sustained minor injuries, except for the two who were admitted to a hospital with probable fractures in their hip and knee, respectively. All were fit to provide state- ments. A statement from one of the injured, Vikrant Jhan (27), a resident of Mandawali Fazalpur, was recorded.

Earlier, the incident triggered chaos in the area for a while. Upon hearing the loud noise, people rushed to the spot and apprehended the suspect. They waited there until the cop arrived. A case under section 337 (causing hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC was later registered in this connection.

In March, a 17-year-old boy ploughed his car into shoppers at Mayur Vihar market in east Delhi, killing a woman and injuring nine others. The woman who had died in the incident was 22 years old. She was in the market for groceries when she was fatally hit by the car.

Ashwani Kumar is MCD’s new commissioner

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Ashwani Kumar, an IAS officer from the 1992 batch, has been appointed as the new commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi, as per a notification issued by the Union home ministry on Tuesday.

Kumar, who was serving as additional chief secretary in Delhi govt, will be taking over from outgoing commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, who is moving to the Centre as an additional secretary in the ministry of women and child development.

Kumar had previously served as the special officer in MCD after its unification by the Centre in May 2022, where he was responsible for ensuring a smooth amalgamation of the three erstwhile civic bodies—north, south, and east Delhi municipal corporations—until the elections were held and a mayor was appointed in Feb 2023.

During his tenure as the special officer, Kumar had the powers of the deliberative wing. In Oct 2022, the home ministry also gave him additional charge as principal secretary, home of Delhi govt.

‘Accident’ turns out to be murder, 1 arrested

On June 11, police were informed about a man lying near RCC Road, close to a metro construction site

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The death of a man in north Delhi’s Burari that initially appeared to be a traffic accident has turned out to be a murder. A 21-year-old cab driver has been arrested for allegedly murdering the man during a robbery.

At 7.18pm on June 11, police were informed about a man lying near RCC Road, close to a metro construction site. The man was taken to a hospital before police reached the spot and was declared dead on arrival, an officer said.

A pool of blood and clothes were found on the metro rail track near the spot, and two days later, the victim was identified as 32-year-old Neeraj, who lived in Burari’s Sant Nagar.

Deputy commissioner of police (north) Manoj Meena said Neeraj’s family told them he had left the house around 12.30am on June 10 under the influence of alcohol, carrying his phone and some cash.

“A postmortem was conducted after the identification and the initial sections were replaced with Section 302 (murder) of Indian Penal Code,” Meena said. “Approximately 100 CCTV cameras were checked and the deceased was spotted with two persons on a motorcycle. The team succeeded in decoding the registration number of the bike,” he added.

Based on technical inputs, the two others were identified as Love (21) and Rajan Kumar (22), and questioned. It was found that both Love and Rajan were roaming around under the influence of alcohol on the intervening night of June 10-11. They encountered Neeraj whom they had already known and convinced him to join them for more drinks. The three went near Ashok Vihar on a motorcycle, bought liquor and returned near the Mukundpur flyover.

“Rajan left the spot with the bike after reaching the spot, leaving Neeraj and Love alone. Love knew that Neeraj was carrying cash. To rob Neeraj, Love struck him multiple times on the head with a heavy object lying by the road, and fled with Rs 5,500 and the mobile phone,” police said.

Court allows provision of air cooler in jail for Sukesh

Chandrashekhar requested the court for a private cooler due to the unprecedented heat

Vineet.Upadhyay@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: A Delhi court has allowed provision of a cooler for Sukesh Chandrashekhar, an accused in an alleged money laundering case, on medical grounds. It stated that the national capital was experiencing an unprecedented heat this year.

“At the time of framing of Delhi Prison Rules 2018, such a circumstance may not have been contemplated to emerge in future. Therefore, in the backdrop of this unprecedented situation, contention relating to health of inmate/accused Sukesh Chandrashekhar has to be interpreted under the umbrella of general principle that careful attention is not only to be given for treatment to sick person but also to the matter connected with health of prisoner,” said the court of additional sessions judge Chander Jit Singh.

Chandrashekhar had moved a plea, stating that he had developed skin problems due to high temperature and requested the court for directions to provide a private cooler at his expenses. He also said that his blood pressure was on the lower side. Through his lawyer Anant Malik, the accused submitted before the court that the central cooling system at his cell was switched off on purpose.

Following this, a report was called on this application and the court was informed by the authorities concerned that the entire centralised cooling system at the Mandoli Jail complex was under repair/replacement.

The court further checked the medical status report of Chandrashekhar, which revealed that his blood pressure was indeed lower than normal.

“It is reported that in view of the persistent health condition and advice of the consultant, the applicant/accused needs optimum room temperature to avoid further exposure of skin problem and proper recovery of his health,” the court noted.

The Delhi Prison Rules 2018 do not explicitly provide for the installation of private coolers for inmates.

However, they do stipulate that accommodations, such as a special diet and bed facilities, should be made for sick inmates, the court stated further.

Consequently, Judge Singh directed jail authorities to ensure that Chandrashekhar’s cell maintains an optimum room temperature. If necessary, they are to allow him to install a private cooler at his own expense to comply with medical advice.

29-yr-old, friends spend `12L to buy freedom for 124 goats

Raj Shekhar Jha & Abhay TNN

New Delhi: A 29-year-old chartered accountant and a few of his friends and relatives from central Delhi made an unusual shopping list on Eid al-Adha. They aimed to buy all the goats that were being sold for slaughter in their area, but not for the purpose of sacrificing them as the practice on the occasion is. The group went around the markets in old Delhi and bought 124 goats, spending around Rs 12 lakh on them.

Vivek Jain, who spearheaded the operation, now plans to shift these animals to a goat shelter in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. On Tuesday, he told TOI that he was inspired by his religious philosophy of ‘live and let live’ and non-violence to carry out this mammoth task.

“Initially, my plan was to purchase just 6-7 goats with my savings. However, as our acquaintances learnt about my project, they offered finan- cial help and wanted to join in,” Jain said. The message was then circulated in WhatsApp groups and through word of mouth and contributions poured in. Within no time, Jain and his friends managed to raise around Rs 17 lakh.

With the funds in place, the bigger challenge was to rescue the goats. They had to do it very carefully because they didn't want to hurt religious sentiments. “We formed six teams, with each having two members of our Jain community. Each member, clad in white kurta and pyjama, visited the various localities around Jama Masjid, Matia Mahal, Daryaganj and Meena Bazar throughout the day,” Jain said.

The purchasing process necessitated rigorous negotiations, and the teams ultimately secured the goats at an average price of Rs 10,000 each. At the end of it, the group had 124 of the animals in its custody.

The caprine survivors were temporarily taken to Naya Jain Mandir Dharamshala in Dharampura near Chandni Chowk and given food and water. Jain and his friends also arranged for the chanting of mantras to pacify the distressed animals. Members of the Jain community in Chandni Chowk thronged the dharamshala to see the bleating creatures. Some contributed monetary assistance for their sustenance, many affectionately caressed them, while others extolled the virtues of their own non-violent faith.

With the rest of the money, the group plans to send the redeemed animals to a goat shelter called Bakrashala in Baghpat, where they would be taken care of. “We will donate the balance amount to the shelter so that they can take care of the goats hereafter,” said Jain. The act became a rage on social media through Tuesday and attracted mixed reactions.

Times Ascent

- How To Gear Up For Future Of Work In Evolving Landscape

How To Gear Up For Future Of Work In Evolving Landscape

By M Muneer

The devastating effects of Covid may be behind us but fundamental shifts have been witnessed in our daily lives and work situations. Leaders must change their mindset and capabilities with the evolving work landscape.

The employer brand and, therefore, the employee experience is woven with the enterprise’s leadership and in- fluence the outcomes. Leaders have the power to shape employees’ lives. Toxic workplaces start with bosses.

The landscape of work is evolving, and with it, the role of leaders is undergoing significant shifts. Many companies have insisted that employees return full-time to offices despite research showing better productivity for some employees remotely. As we progress into the future of work, there are several key challenges that leaders must be wary of to drive better success metrics:

Remote & hybrid work

The pandemic catalysed a rapid shift to remote work, highlighting the need for leaders to adapt to managing distributed teams effectively. Leaders must embrace remote and hybrid work models.

Emotional intelligence

Understanding and managing emotions, empathising with team members, and nurturing a supportive work culture is crucial. Leaders need to exhibit empathy, active listening, and adaptability to effectively lead diverse and dispersed teams.

Prioritise DEI: Effective leadership requires a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Leaders must drive an environment where different perspectives are valued, ensuring fair opportunities and eliminating biases in recruitment, promotion, and decision-making.

Agile leadership: The pace of change in the business environment demands leaders who can make swift, informed deci- sions. Agile leadership involves empowering teams, decentralising decision-making, and promoting experimentation and adaptability.

Reskilling & upskilling

Technological advancements and automation are reshaping job roles. Leaders must take proactive steps to reskill and upskill their workforce as well as themselves.

Ethical leadership: Leaders are under scrutiny to lead ethically and responsibly. The futu- re of work demands leaders who prioritise CSR and ethical decision-making. This is about going beyond govt compliance.

Most leaders agree that the future of work presents both challenges and opportunities. Uncertainty, difficulty and fundamental shifts have made it one of the most difficult jobs. Embrace these shifts and it will be beneficial not just for the leaders but their employees and teams too.

(The writer is co-founder of Medici Institute for Innovation)

Times Global

- TENS OF MILLIONS IN US UNDER HEAT WARNINGS

- China protests US Congress team’s visit to India to meet Dalai Lama

- AROUND THE WORLD

- Justin Timberlake charged with drunk driving in New York: Report

- Biden offers citizenship path to undocumented spouses of Americans

- Ecuador stops waiving visas for Chinese nationals over rise in irregular migration

- Anouk Aimee, star of ‘La Dolce Vita’ & ‘A Man and a Woman,’ dies at 92

- Bibi blames US for withholding weapons, slowing Israel action

- Nato and US want China to pay for propping up Russia’s Ukraine war

- Outgoing Dutch PM Mark Rutte strongest nominee for Nato chief post

- Thailand passes same-sex marriage bill

TENS OF MILLIONS IN US UNDER HEAT WARNINGS

US cities are breaking decades-old temperature records this week as a heat wave stretches from central to eastern portions of the country, the National Weather Service said on Tuesday, in what officials are warning could become a deadly weather event. With roughly 80 million people from Indiana to New England under a heat advisory or excessive heat warning, New York governor Kathy Hochul has activated the state’s emergency operations centre in response to high temp expected to last until the weekend. ‘This is a deadly event,’ she said, one day after the city of Syracuse hit 34.4°C, topping a record from 1994. Chicago registered 36.1°C at Chicago O’Hare International Airport Monday, which broke a previous record of 35.5°C set in 1957. The sweltering — and record — heat, started just days before official start of summer Thursday, and is expected to last the rest of the week. The US last year saw the most heat waves, consisting of abnormally hot weather lasting over two days, since 1936. REUTERS

China protests US Congress team’s visit to India to meet Dalai Lama

Nancy Pelosi arrives in Dharamshala

A group of US lawmakers arrived in India on Tuesday to meet Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, with the head of the delegation saying Prez Biden would soon sign a bill that aims to press China to resolve the Tibet dispute. The bill seeks to push Beijing to hold talks with Tibetan politicians, stalled since 2010, to secure a negotiated deal on Tibet and spur China to address Tibetan people’s aspirations on their historical, cultural, religious and linguistic identity.

China Tuesday urged Biden not to sign the Tibet policy bill, warning of “resolute measures”, and expressed “strong concern” over the visit of the Congress delegation to Dharamshala, home to the 88-year-old Tibetan monk in exile. The bipartisan team of seven lawmakers is headed by Republican representative Michael McCaul and includes Democratic former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, while reacting to the US delegation visit, said: “We ... urge the US to fully recognise the anti-China and separatist nature of the Dalai clique, abide by its commitments on Tibet-related issues, refrain from any form of contact with it, and stop sending erroneous messages.”

The US House of Representatives voted 391-26 last Wednesday to approve the Promoting and Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, which was passed by the Senate, a media report said, adding that the bill would direct funds to counter what it calls “disinformation” from Beijing about its control over Tibet.

Claiming that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times, Lin said it always remained China’s territory and “Tibet related affairs are purely China’s internal affairs that brook no external interference.” “We urge US side to adhere to its commitments of recognising Xizang as part of China. The US must not sign the bill into law. China will take resolute measures to firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests,” he said. China refers to Tibet as Xizang. PTI & REUTERS

AROUND THE WORLD

An oil spill caused by a dredger boat hitting a stationary cargo tanker has blackened part of Singapore’s southern coastline, including the popular resort island of Sentosa, and sparked concerns it may threaten marine wildlife as a clean-up operation was under way

France to try suspects over false transgender claim about its first lady

Two women are to be tried this week over false claims that France’s first lady Brigitte Macron was transgender, which sparked online rumour-mongering by conspiracy theorists and the far-right. In 2022, Brigitte Macron filed a complaint for libel against two women who posted a YouTube video in Dec 2021 alleging she had once been a man named “Jean-Michel”. The claim went viral just weeks before the 2022 presidential election. It also led to more serious accusations of child abuse brought against France’s first lady. The trial on defamation charges in Paris comes amid a frenetic campaign for snap legislative polls called by Prez Emmanuel Macron after the far right trounced his party in EU Parliament elections. Brigitte will not attend the hearing on Wednesday and is to be instead represented by her lawyer. Macron, 46, has previously lashed out at the false information spread about his wife. The prez’s relationship with his wife 24 years his senior has been a source of attention in France and abroad.

Secret service agent robbed at gunpoint on night of Biden’s LA Gala: A US Secret Service agent was robbed at gunpoint in California over the weekend, on the same night that Prez Joe Biden was in Los Angeles for a re-election fundraiser. Celebrities, including George Clooney and Julia Roberts attended the gala, which the Biden campaign said raised at least $28 million. It was not clear if the Secret Service agent was in California protecting Biden or Obama.

Japan co launches first film camera in 20 yrs for new gen A new Pentax film camera will be launched for the first time in two decades as demand for retro photography rises among young people, its Japanese manufacturer said on Tuesday. Most Japanese camera makers had stopped producing analogue film models in the 2000s as digital ones became dominant.

Justin Timberlake charged with drunk driving in New York: Report

Pop star Justin Timberlake was charged early Tuesday with driving while intoxicated in a village in New York’s Hamptons, after police said he ran a stop sign and veered out of his lane in the posh seaside summer retreat. The boy band singer-turned-solo star and actor was driving a 2025 BMW in Sag Harbor around 12.30am when an officer stopped him and determined he was intoxicated, according to a court document.

“His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odour of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” the court papers said.

Timberlake, 43, was released without bond later Tuesdayafter being arraigned in Sag Harbor. He was charged with a DWI misdemeanor, and his next court date is July 26, the Suffolk county district attorney’s office said.

AP

Biden offers citizenship path to undocumented spouses of Americans

It affects about 500,000 people who have been living in the US for more than a decade

US Prez Joe Biden on Tuesday announced sweeping new protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been living in the US illegally for years but are married to American citizens. Some 500,000 undocumented spouses will be shielded from deportation and given a pathway to citizenship and the ability to work legally in the US.

It is one of the most expansive presidential actions to protect immigrants in more than a decade. Biden will celebrate the programme during a White House ceremony Tuesday marking the 12-year anniversary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or Daca, which protects people who came to the US as children from deportation.

The decision comes as Biden tries to strike a balance on one of the most dominant political issues in an election year. Aware that many want tougher policies on the border, Biden just two weeks ago announced a crackdown that suspended longtime guarantees that give anyone who steps onto US soil the right to seek asylum here.

Marrying an American citizen generally provides a pathway to US citizenship. But people who crossed the southern border illegally — rather than arriving in the country with a visa — must return to their home countries to complete the process for a green card. That means long separations from their spouses and families. The new programme allows families to remain in the country while they pursue legal status. To be eligible, the spouses must have lived in the US for 10 years and been married to an American citizen as of June 17. They cannot have a criminal record. The benefits would also extend to the roughly 50,000 children of undocumented spouses who became stepchildren to American citizens. NYT

Ecuador stops waiving visas for Chinese nationals over rise in irregular migration

The foreign ministry said that between 2023 & 2024, 66,189 Chinese travellers entered Ecuador, while just 34,209 recorded as leaving

Quito:Ecuador’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said that it was effectively reinstating a visa requirement for travellers from China, citing an increase in irregular migratory flows from the Asian nation.

The ministry, in a statement posted on social media, said that it was suspending an agreement with China which had waived the requirement for travelers to obtain a visa. It added that many Chinese travellers had overstayed the permitted 90-day period, with some potentially using Ecuador as a stepping stone to reach other destinations in the region. The ministry also said that in recent months, nearly half of visitors from the country did not exit through regular routes on time.

Asked about Ecuador’s visa waiver suspension, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Tuesday that China firmly opposes all forms of human smuggling. “The agreement on mutual visa exempti- on between China and Ecuador... has played an important and positive role in promoting cross-border travel and practical cooperation in various fields between the two nations.”

Since 2022, Ecuador has seen an increase in the number of Chinese citizens entering its territory without registering their departure. Between 2023 and 2024, 66,189 Chinese travellers entered the country, while just 34,209 were recorded as leaving, meaning some 32,000 have not been registered as leaving Ecuador, the foreign ministry said. Many of the Chinese citizens arriving in Ecuador head toward the US, mainly through the so-called Darien Gap, the ministry added.

REUTERS

Anouk Aimee, star of ‘La Dolce Vita’ & ‘A Man and a Woman,’ dies at 92

She won the Golden Globe for best film actress in 1967 for her role as a widow in a complex romance in ‘A Man and a Woman’. She also got an Oscar nomination for the role

Anouk Aimee, the French film actress who became an international sex symbol as the aloof, enigmatic and sensual star of Claude Lelouch’s 1966 romance “A Man and a Woman,” died on Tuesday at 92. Her death was announced on social media by her daughter, who said her mother died at home in Paris.

Aimee had already made a considerable impression in international film, particularly in Federico Fellini’s movies “La Dolce Vita” (1960), in which she played a sex-hungry Italian socialite, and “8 1/2” (1963), in which she portrayed the lead character’s jealous but patient wife. But it was with “A Man and a Woman”, a 28-year-old director’s low-budget project that went on to win the Oscar for best foreign film, that she created the image that endured throughout her career. As an emotionally reluctant young widow and movie-industry script girl, she falls in love with a racecar driver and widower played by Jean-Louis Trintignant. Their long, long-awaited kiss, enhanced by a circling camera and Francis Lai’s hit theme, became one of the era’s most re- vered and recognisable movie images. Aimee was nominated for a best actress Oscar for the role. It also brought her the Bafta film award for best foreign actress and the Golden Globe for best motion picture actress.

In 2002 she received an honorary Cesar, the French equivalent of the Academy Award, for career achievement. She was named best actress at the 1980 Cannes International Film Festival for a darkly comic role, that of a mentally disturbed woman whose brother hopes she will commit suicide, in the Italian film “Salto nel Vuoto”.

Aimee’s film career was predominantly European, and her relatively few American films were less than great successes. She was part of the all-star cast of “Ready to Wear” (1994), Robert Altman’s poorly received satire about the fashion industry. A quarter-century earlier she had played the title character of the 1969 drama “Justine”, directed by George Cukor.

Nicole Francoise Sorya Dreyfus was born on April 27, 1932, in Paris At 13, Francoise was approached by Henri Calef, a director who cast her in 1947 “La Maison Sous la Mer”. She was billed simply as Anouk, her character’s name. The surname Aimee, the French word for “loved”, was added later. Still a teenager, she received international attention as a modern-day Juliet in “The Lovers of Verona” (1951). Aimee had starring roles in Jacques Demy’s “Lola” (1961), a New Wave soap opera about a cabaret entertainer, and in his “Model Shop” (1969). She continued to work in European film and TV well into her 80s. “The Best Years of a Life” (2019) was her last film. She married and divorced four times, and is survived by a daughter NYT

Bibi blames US for withholding weapons, slowing Israel action

Blinken Refutes Allegation, Says Pause Only On 2k-Pound Bombs

Israelis took to the streets to call for elections, hours after Netanyahu dissolved his war cabinet Monday

Jerusalem: Israeli PM Netanyahu on Tuesday claimed the US is withholding weapons and implied this was slowing Israel’s offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where fighting has exacerbated the already dire humanitarian situation for Palestinians. Prez Biden has delayed delivering certain heavy bombs to Israel since May over concerns about the killing of civilians in Gaza. However, the administration has gone to lengths to avoid any suggestion that Israeli forces have crossed a red line in the deepening Rafah invasion, which would trigger a more sweeping ban on arms transfers.

Netanyahu, in a short vi- deo, spoke directly to the camera in English as he lobbed sharp criticisms at Biden over “bottlenecks” in arms transfers. “It’s inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel,” Netanyahu said, adding, “Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job a lot faster.”

Netanyahu didn’t elaborate on what weapons were being held back, and the Israeli military declined to respond to a request for comment. Ophir Falk, a foreign policy adviser to Netanyahu, deferred questions on details to the US govt.

Netanyahu also claimed that US secretary of state Antony Blinken, in a recent visit to Israel, said he was working around the clock to end the delays. However, Blinken said the only pause in sending weapons to Israel was related to those heavy bombs from May, speaking during a presser Tuesday. “We, as you know, are continuing to review one shipment that Prez Biden has talked about with regard to 2,000-pound bombs because of our concerns about their use in a densely populated area like Rafah,” he said. “That remains under review. But everything else is moving as it normally would.”

AP

2 key Democrats in US Congress approve major arms sale to Israel, says report

Two key Democrats in the US Congress have agreed to support a major arms sale to Israel that includes 50 F-15 fighter jets worth more than $18 billion, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing three unnamed officials. Representative Gregory Meeks and Senator Ben Cardin have signed off on the deal under heavy pressure from the Biden administration after the two lawmakers had for months held up the sale, the Post reported. Meeks told the paper that he had been in close contact with the White House and had urged them to pressure Israel over humanitarian efforts and civilian casualties. He said the F-15s would not be delivered until “years from now,” according to the Post.

REUTERS

Nato and US want China to pay for propping up Russia’s Ukraine war

Self-Reflect & Stop Shifting Blame, Says Beijing In Response

Russia’s Prez Putin visits a school in Russia’s Yakutsk hours before starting his trip to North Korea. On Tuesday, he arrived at Pyongyang’s airport where he was met by North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. The streets of the capital were decorated with portraits of Putin & Russian flags

Washington:Nato’s chief Jens Stoltenberg Monday called for China to face consequences if it keeps up support to Russia, accusing Beijing of worsening the conflict in Ukraine through its major export push to rebuild Russia’s defence industry.

Prez Xi Jinping “has tried to create the impression that he is taking a back seat in this conflict, to avoid sanctions and keep trade flowing”, he said. “But the reality is that China is fuelling the largest armed conflict in Europe since WWII, and at the same time, it wants to maintain good ties with West,” Stoltenberg said. “Beijing cannot have it both ways. At some point — and unless China changes course — allies need to impose a cost. There should be consequences,” he added.

On Tuesday, US secretary of state Antony Blinken joined Stoltenberg in criticising Beijing. “China’s support for Russia’s defence industrial base is prolonging Ukraine war and has to stop,” he said in a press conference with the Nato boss. China is providing critical support that enables Russia “to keep the war machine going.

In response, Beijing said Nato “should engage in self-reflection rather than arbitrary smears and attacks on China”. “We advise (Nato) to stop shifting blame and sowing discord, not add fuel to the fire and instigate confrontation, but rather do something practical for political settlement,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

China and Russia’s strategic partnership has only grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine, but Beijing has rebuf- fed Western claims that it is aiding Moscow’s war effort. And G7 foreign ministers on Friday expressed “strong concern” about transfers of dual use materials and weapons components from Chinese businesses to Russia being used by Moscow for its military expansion.

AFP

Putin vows to support N Korea against US

Russian Prez Vladimir Putin vowed on Tuesday to deepen trade and security ties with North Korea and to support it against the US, as he headed to the reclusive nuclear-armed country for the first time in 24 years. In a signal that Russia, a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, is reassessing its entire approach to North Korea, Putin praised Pyongyang for resisting what he said was US economic pressure, blackmail and threats. In an article published by North Korean state media, Putin praised “Comrade” Kim, and promised to "jointly resist illegitimate unilateral restrictions”, to develop trade and strengthen security across Eurasia.

REUTERS

Outgoing Dutch PM Mark Rutte strongest nominee for Nato chief post

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg described Mark Rutte on Tuesday as a very strong candidate to replace him after the departing Dutch PM won the support of Hungary and Slovakia. The defence alliance takes decisions by consensus, so any candidate needs the support of all 32 allies. Only Romania, whose Prez Klaus Iohannis is also vying for the job, is still opposed to Rutte’s candidacy.

Dutch news outlet NOS quoted sources as saying Rutte will succeed Stoltenberg, who steps down in Oct after nearly a decade at the helm. Stoltenberg said the decision-making process was very close to a conclusion.“I think Mark Rutte is avery strong candidate. He has alot of experience as PM.”

Nato’s next chief will face the challenge of sustaining allies’ support for Ukraine, while guarding against any escalation that could draw it directly into a war with Moscow. REUTERS

Thailand passes same-sex marriage bill

First in Southeast Asia And 3rd In Asia To Allow Such Unions After Nepal, Taiwan

Thailand’s legislation will become law after it’s reviewed by a Senate committee and the Constitutional Court and receives royal assent from the king, a formality that is widely expected to be granted

Lawmakers in Thailand voted on Tuesday to approve a marriage equality bill, a move that puts the country on a clear path to becoming the first in Southeast Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. Thailand’s Senate passed the bill by 130 votes to 4, with some abstentions, on Tuesday afternoon. It was approved by the House of Representatives in March. The legislation would become law after it is reviewed by a Senate committee and the Constitutional Court and receives royal assent from the king, a formality that is widely expected to be granted.

“After 20 years of trying to legalise this matter,” activist Plaifa Kyoka Shodladd said in the Senate chamber after the vote, “finally, love wins.” The bill’s passage underscores Thailand’s status as a relative haven for gay couples in Asia. Only Taiwan and Nepal have legalised same-sex marriage.

In some Asian countries, gay sex is a criminal offense. Indonesia, where gay marriage is illegal, made extramarital sex illegal in 2022. In 2019, Brunei made gay sex punishable with death by stoning. It later said it would not carry out executions, after widespread international protest.

After the bill’s passage, hundreds of supporters gathered in downtown Bangkok to celebrate the milestone despite the punishing heat, waving flags and throwing colorful balloons at a Pride rally. A parade began with the bang of afirecracker and confetti fly- ing in the air. Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” played at the rally, as well as a ’90s-style Thai pop song called “History”, with the lyrics: “History won’t repeat anymore, history’s about to change its course, change toward equality.” PM Srettha Thavisin said he would host a celebration for activists on Tuesday, though he said he could not attend the event because of a Covid infection.

Thailand’s bill, which amends the country’s civil and commercial code, calls marriage a partnership between two people age 18 and above, without specifying gender. It also gives LGBTQ couples equal rights to adopt children, claim tax allowances, inherit property and give consent for medical treatment when their partners are incapacitated.

The bill has been contentious since its first version was introduced over 20 years ago. While Thailand is one of the most open places in the world for gay couples, it is socially conservative in other ways. In Feb, lawmakers dismissed a proposal to let people change genders on official documents. But a majority of the Thai public supports the marriage equality bill. Last year, 60% of adults in Thailand said they backed legalising same-sex marriage in a survey.

NYT

Times Business

- Nvidia beats Microsoft as world’s most valued co

- Sebi is dealing with F&O trading frenzy: RBI guv

- ‘Vote against Singhania’s re-election to Raymond board’

- Twin peaks: Sensex closes above 77k, mcap tops $5tn

- Voda to sell 10% stake in Indus Towers for $1.1bn

- Jio, some other tech cos face outages

- Godrej family deal gets CCI approval

- Cricket leads, B’wood shines in top 5 celeb club

- Industry bodies seek tax sop for middle class

- 9 Indian ports make it to top 100 of WB performance index

- AC prices surge 6-8% on scorching demand

- Direct tax kitty increases 22%, cushion for govt to spend more

Nvidia beats Microsoft as world’s most valued co

Nvidia’s relentless rally has propelled the semiconductor giant’s market capitalisation over its mega-cap tech peers, helping it clinch the title of the world’s most-valuable company as the AI wave continues.

Shares rose as much as 3.4% to about $3.3 trillion on Tuesday, catapulting it over Microsoft and Apple. Microsoft, for its part, is also seen as an early AI winner given its investment and partnership with OpenAI, which created ChatGPT. And, this week, Apple shares rallied after the iPhone maker finally unveiled its plan for using the technology, appeasing investors at long last.

“We believe over the next year the race to $4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and centre between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft,” Daniel Ives analyst at Wedbush Securities wrote in a note. Investors and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argue that Nvidia is more than a chipmaker. “They’re not just selling chips, they’re selling systems,” Michael Lippert, VP and portfolio manager at Baron Capital, said in an interview, pointing to the company’s proprietary software and development ecosystem.

Nvidia’s swift climb to the top has been record breaking, as the company is one of the few firms to have demonstrated significant revenue growth from AI. BLOOMBERG

Sebi is dealing with F&O trading frenzy: RBI guv

Regulators Have Discussed Issue Flagged By FM, Says Das

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: RBI and markets regulator Sebi have discussed the huge volumes in the futures and options (F&O) segment, amid concerns raised by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and senior govt officials.

“The volumes in the F&O market are very large, perhaps larger than the nominal GDP. We have discussed the matter with Sebi, and they are dealing with it,” RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said at ET Now Leadership Dialogues.

The governor said that the Financial Stability and Development Council’s sub-committee, chaired by him with Sebi and other financial regulators as members, had an early warning group to address issues causing discomfort. This group was examining the rise in F&O volumes. Futures allow investors to take positions on the expected price of a stock or a commodity, while with options investors have the choice to buy or sell at the pre-offered price.

Sitharaman had flagged the increasing participation of retail investors in the segment as a worry. “An unchecked explosion in retail trading in the futures and options market can create future challenges for the market, investor sentiment, and household finances,” she had said last month.

F&O trading is seen as a tool to make quick money in the stock markets, but Sebi data released last year showed that 89% of the people were losing money. That has not deterred investors from getting into the speculative segment of the market with derivatives turnover on NSE soaring 30 times from Rs 247.5 lakh crore in March 2020 to Rs 7,218 lakh crore in March 2024.

Das, however, gave his vote of confidence to the markets regulator. Responding to a query on whether the financial sector was outpacing the real economy due to higher market capitalization compared to GDP, the governor said all the parameters and indicators of the Indian economy and the financial sector looked stable. “What you are implying is whether some segment is getting overheated. Sebi is fully seized of what is happening in the stock market,” he said.

The governor’s comments came amid a report by Reuters that Sebi is tweaking rules for derivative trading which would result in higher margins for options contracts.

Das said that if RBI has any thoughts on areas that are not under the central bank’s domain, RBI shares its thoughts with Sebi. He said RBI keeps an eye on all segments of the credit markets. “We took action in the unsecured loan sector and bank lending to NBFCs. Wherever there is a likelihood of stress, if matters are left unattended, we have acted pre-emptively, and credit growth in all these areas has moderated,” said Das.

At the event, SBI chairman Dinesh Khara said that capital formation was crucial for sustained growth. Responding to a question on the impact of savings moving to the capital markets, Khara said, “Money going to the capital market should lead to capital creation, not froth. Money with the banks leads to capital formation.”

Das said that RBI was continuing with its stance on withdrawal of accommodation given the slow pace of disinflation, which he attributed to recurrent food price hikes, which could get worse with slightly adverse weather.

‘Vote against Singhania’s re-election to Raymond board’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Leading proxy voting advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (Iias) has recommended to vote against the re-election of Gautam Singhania (59) to the board of Raymond ahead of the company’s annual shareholder meet on June 27.

Singhania, who has been on the board of Raymond since 1990 and who is in the midst of divorce proceedings, has been accused of domestic violence as well as of using company funds for personal benefits by his estranged spouse Nawaz Modi.

According to Iias, the board has not provided clarity whether an independent investigation has been undertaken into these accusations and if so, what were the conclusions of this evaluation. “It is now for the shareholders to shield the company from this intra-promoter dispute. Hence, we do not support Singhania’s reappointment to the board,” it said.

Raymond offered no comment on the Iias report.

Reappointment of Singhania as a director falls under ordinary resolution and according to rules, an ordinary resolution needs 50% of the votes to be cast in its favour.

Iias has also criticised Singhania’s proposed remuneration structure from July 2024 to June 2027 as it exceeds regulatory thresholds. In FY24, Singhania’s remuneration was about Rs 20 crore and the CMD’s FY25 remuneration is estimated to be around Rs 23 crore. “The proposed remuneration structure is open-ended with limited contours,” said Iias, “allowing Singhania to get remuneration in excess of 5% of the company’s profits — which could be Rs 35 crore”. It further said Singhania’s proposed remuneration is also high compared to peers.

Twin peaks: Sensex closes above 77k, mcap tops $5tn

The sensex closed above the 77,000 level for the first time, and broader Nifty scaled a fresh peak on Tuesday as key equity indices stayed on the record-breaking run powered by renewed foreign fund inflows. The country’s stock market value also settled above $5 trillion for the first time.

The country’s equity market has joined the ranks of the US, China, Japan and Hong Kong after topping the threshold. It took India about six months to add the latest $1 trillion to the capitalisation of companies listed on its exchanges.

Rising for the third straight session, the sensex climbed 308 points or 0.4% to settle at a new closing peak of 77,301. During the day, it jumped 374 points or 0.5% to hit a fresh lifetime peak of 77,367.

Nifty went up by 92 points or 0.4% to hit a record closing high of 23,558 for the fourth straight session. It rallied 113 points or 0.5% to hit the new all-time high of 23,579 during the day trade.

“The market is responding positively to the upcoming Budget, which is anticipated to strike a balance between growth and populism. Similarly, it is also taking cues from positive glo- bal market trends,” said Vinod Nair of Geojit Financial Services. AGENCIES

Fitch ups FY25 GDP forecast to 7.2%

New Delhi: Global ratings agency Fitch expects the Indian economy to expand by 7.2% in FY25, slightly higher than the earlier estimate of 7%. It also sees investments continuing to rise but slower than in recent quarters and consumer spending recovering with elevated consumer confidence.

“Purchasing managers survey data point to continued growth at the start of the current financial year. Signs of the coming monsoon season being more normal should support growth and make inflation less volatile, though a recent heatwave poses a risk,” Fitch said in its latest report. TNN

Voda to sell 10% stake in Indus Towers for $1.1bn

Bengarulu: Vodafone Group will sell about 10% stake in India’s Indus Towers for as much as $1.1 billion on Wednesday, according to a term sheet , as a part of the British firm’s efforts to repay debt.

Last week, Reuters reported that Vodafone was mulling to sell its stake in mobile-tower operator Indus Towers, in which it owns a 21.5% stake via various group entities. Vodafone plans to repay part of its $42.2 billion net debt using proceeds from the Indus Towers stake sale, sources had said last week.

Vodafone will sell roughly 268 million shares in Indus Towers through stock market block deals in Mumbai at a price range of Rs 310 to RS 341 per share, valuing the stake between $996 million to $1.1 billion, the term sheet showed on Tuesday. The midpoint of the price range is at a 4.5% discount to Indus’s stock closing price on Tuesday, but roughly in-line with its close on Friday after the reporte on the sale. Markets were closed on Monday.

Vodafone and Indus Towers did not respond to requests for comment. Block deals, where investors sell shares in stock markets, have become popular in India as the market has surged to record highs. REUTERS

Jio, some other tech cos face outages

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Reliance Jio, the country’s biggest telecom company, suffered outages on Tuesday with network tracker Downdetector showing disturbances across certain geographies during middle of the day, which was also highlighted by users on social media. Disturbances were also reported on the network of Airtel, and other OTT apps.

Downdetector showed disturbances on the Jio network from around 1:15pm which peaked at around 4:55pm and continued to be felt till around 8pm. The problems were reported on the company’s JioFiber broadband network, as well as its mobile network.

However, there was no estimate of how many subscribers were impacted. Jio did not comment on the report.

Godrej family deal gets CCI approval

Mumbai: The Competition Commission of India has approved the separation of business interests among the Godrej family members. Adi Godrej and his younger sibling Nadir Godrej, according to the April 30 family settlement pact, will receive eight entities. Their cousin, Jamshyd Godrej and his sister Smita Crishna will receive four companies. TNN

Cricket leads, B’wood shines in top 5 celeb club

Rupali.Mukherjee@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Cricket seems to have reigned supreme in terms of brand endorsements, yet Bollywood emerged as the shining star, witnessing the highest growth in endorsements (value and volumes) in 2023.

Former India captain Virat Kohli reclaimed his position at the pinnacle of India’s most powerful celebrity brands, boasting a value of nearly $228 million in 2023, according to Kroll’s Celebrity Brand Valuation Study. However, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was the true mover and shaker in terms of growth in brand endorsements, seeing his value soar to $120.7 million and catapulting him from 10th place in 2022 to the third spot in 2023.

“2023 has been the year marking ‘Return of the Kings’ —Virat, SRK and Bollywood. We also witnessed rise of celebpreneurship in India, ex- panding their sphere of influence and blurring boundaries between entertainment and business,” Aviral Jain, MD (valuation advisory services), Kroll, told TOI.

In an increasing trend, a growing number of celebrities are leveraging their star power and flexing their entrepreneurial muscles and becoming what are being termed celebpreneurs. Some have launched their own brands, while some are investing in start-ups, the study by Kroll, a leading independent global risk and financial advisory solutions firm, said.

For instance, in 2023, Akshay Kumar launched his own athleisure brand Force IX, Kareena Kapoor Khan launched her own Korean skincare brand Quench Botanics and Deepika Padukone launched a luxury skincare brand 82°E.

Under celebpreneurship, a growing number of stars are ditching the silver screen for boardroom, diversifying portfolios to build successful businesses. We’ve done some parallels with Hollywood, looking at 80 startups of top 50 Hollywood celebrities, benchmarking by age and industry. It’s no longer just the top four or five celebrities, many are getting involved. For example, we have Nayanthara with 9Skin, Kriti Sanon (Hyphen) and Sanjay Dutt (The Glen Walk) getting involved in various ventures,’’ Jain said. In Hollywood, the top product categories, which are attracting celeb power, include beauty and personal care and food and beverages. In India, a similar trend is visible.

Industry bodies seek tax sop for middle class

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Industry lobby groups CII and PHDCCI have demanded personal tax benefits for the middle class, with Ficci backing a simplification in the direct tax regime in the budget.

During a meeting with revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra, CII president Sanjiv Puri pitched for marginal relief in tax for taxable income up to Rs 20 lakh, while seeking lower excise on petrol and diesel, arguing that pump prices in Delhi have fallen Rs 1.8 a litre, although Brent was 40% down.

Besides, he suggested an increase in the annual PMKISAN payout to Rs 8,000 from the current Rs 6,000, while also proposing an increase in minimum wages under MGNREGA on the grounds that the two moves will increase the disposable income and spur consumption.

“The middle class is currently taxed at a rate of 30%, leaving them with little disposable income for savings and other needs. We suggested that the 30% tax slab should apply only to incomes above Rs 40 lakh,” Mukul Bagla, chair of the direct taxes committee at PHDCCI, was quoted as saying by a news agency.

Ficci has recommended simplification of the capital gains tax structure by rationalising regime in two or three broad buckets of different types of assets, holding period for such assets to turn long term, indexation benefit eligibility. It suggested that assets should be put in three buckets — equity instruments, debt and other assets should – and the rates for long-term and short-term gains should be stipulated, without making a distinction between residents and non-residents.

“Our suggestions have focused on maintaining the growth momentum, while seeking simplification for ease of doing business and reducing litigation. Where litigation has started, the idea should be to find a workable solution for everyone,” said Subhrakant Panda, the chamber’s immediate past president.

9 Indian ports make it to top 100 of WB performance index

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Signalling a significant improvement in efficient handling of ships and cargo in recent years, nine Indian ports have made it to the top 100 rankings (in list of 405 ports) in the Container Port Performance Index 2023 (CPPI 2023) of the World Bank. Govt-owned Visakhapatnam ranked 19th, first time for an Indian port making it to top 20. Adani-owned Mundra ranked 27.

In 2022, Visakhapatnam port ranked 115 and Mundra’s ranking was 48. The improvement is a milestone for India’s maritime industry, officials in the ports and shipping ministry said. The Indian ports have achieved this by enhancing their operational efficiency and service delivery.

Officials said Visakhapatnam port has demonstrated good performance on parameters, such as 27.5 moves per crane hour, a turnaround time (TRT) of 21.4 hours, and minimum berth idle time. These highlight the port’s ability to handle container ships efficiently and influence customer preferences.

The seven other ports which were ranked within 100 were Pipavav (41), Kamarajar (47), Cochin (63), Hazira (68), Krishnapatnam (71), Chennai (80) and Jawahal Lal Nehru (96).

The index prepared by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence is a comparable assessment of performance based on vessel time in ports. Yangshan port in China and Salalah port in Oman were top two ports in terms of rankings .

“The average duration of a port call (time taken to load or unload at least one container) in 2023 was 40.5 hours, which represents a slight increase over the global average of 36.8 hours in 2022. About 11.7% (or 3.7 hours) was idle time consumed at the berth immediately before and after cargo operations. Also known as the ‘Start-Up’ and ‘Finish’ sub-processes of a port call, each activity does not necessarily need to take more than 30 minutes to complete safely,” said the report.

AC prices surge 6-8% on scorching demand

‘Torturous’ Temperatures Fuel Sales | Supply Shortage Seen For Fully Built Products, Parts

Pankaj.Doval@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The searing heat has fired up AC sales. The unprecedented demand this summer season — following record high temperatures across many parts of the country — has also meant supply shortage and scarcity of critical on-ground manpower, all of which have seen prices shooting up 6-8% in June due to costlier inputs.

Summer this year has been torturous and demand at record high, say executives at some of the top companies such as Voltas, LG and Llyod. This has meant that supplies — both of fully-built products as well as components — are short.

Industry officials say that the demand surge has taken the industry — and even the supply chain — by surprise, leading to shortages. “There is short supply of even the manpower on the ground for installation and service. Costs have gone up here too. Many companies are also shifting their stocks from south India — where temperatures are getting better — to the north where heat still remains strong,” an official said.

The strong demand is now becoming a dampener for the heat-harried consumers as prices have gone up. “The input costs have gone up from all angles, and we had no option but to raise prices,” a top official with a leading company said. “At the higher scale, the prices have increased by 6-8%, while so- me companies, which still have stock in the market, are trying to absorb the costs to some extent to keep the momentum going.”

“This year has been a golden year for the AC industry. We are very bullish on sales even in the month of June as temperatures are still very high across many states. We are witnessing exceptional growth,” said Sanjay Chitkara, senior VP at LG Electronics India.

Sunil Vachani, president of Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), said the industry is expected to grow by 30-40% this year. “We expect sales at 15 million units in 2024, against the around 11.5 million units that we did last year.”

On shortages and pressures on costs, Vachani said that freight and commodity prices are up. “Hopefully, the industry will be better prepared next year. These types of temperatures are likely to continue, with global warming being a grim reality.”

Voltas, one of the top play- ers in the AC category, said it has been able to manage the stocks on better preparation ahead of the season. “Our supplier base and ancillary base is very strong… (this) has helped us achieve significant growth over the last six months,” Pradeep Bakshi, MD & CEO of Voltas, said.

Bakshi said the company’s recent investments in expanding greenfield and brownfield capacities for key product categories like ACs and commercial refrigerators are on track. It will add one million unit capacity in Tamil Nadu for ACs and 2.5 lakh units for commercial refrigeration in Gujarat. “We have already made significant investments in capital expenditure across our facilities in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Moving forward, we are well poised for a 3-million supply capacity for ACs.”

Alok Tickoo, executive VP at Havells-owned Lloyd, said it is investing a fresh Rs 50-60 crore for expanding its AC manufacturing capacity at Ghiloth in Rajasthan and Sricity in Andhra Pradesh.

Direct tax kitty increases 22%, cushion for govt to spend more

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Gross direct tax collections have increased 22.2% to Rs 5,15,986 crore during the fiscal year up to June 17, providing cushion to the Centre to take on higher spending. Latest data released by the finance ministry estimated a 27.3% growth in advance tax collections to a little under Rs 1.5 lakh crore, indicating that economic activity remains strong as a bulk of the receipts are from the corporate sector.

Companies and certain categories of individuals are required to pay advance tax in four instalments with the first one due on June 15.

“Refunds amounting to Rs 53,322 crore have also been issued in the FY2024-25 till June 17, 2024, which are 33.7% higher than refunds issued during the same period in the preceding year,” the finance ministry said in a statement. As a result, provisional direct tax collections on a net basis went up 21% to over Rs 4.6 lakh crore.

Editorial

- NCERT AINTY

- Parents, Step Up

- Coalition Carbar

- The Message From Our Train Wrecks

- Not-To-Do List for Rahul, Priyanka

- Do Not Mistake Thought For Intelligence

- CONTRAPUNTO

NCERT AINTY

Yes, liberals also have political bias. But liberal approach to education is better than a right-wing one

NCERT keeps making news – mostly of the wrong kind. National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET-UG, has blamed changes in NCERT textbooks for inflated marks of some examinees. NTA’s logic is that some examinees had based their answers on earlier textbook versions. This doesn’t absolve NTA of its mismanagement. But NCERT revisions are a cause for concern, in multiple ways. Revised NCERT Class 12 political science textbooks, which hit stores last week, have engendered yet another pedagogic dispute.

Politics will be there | Politics influencing social science textbooks isn’t unique to India. Examples include the critical race theory controversy in US, and the debate over Chiang Kai-shek’s legacy in Taiwanese history books. But NCERT textbooks are arguably crossing a line. This is NCERT’s fourth round of textbook revision since 2014. Many are arguing these revisions are geared solely to pushing the political right-wing’s ideological agenda, often by deleting or diluting topics like Gujarat riots and Babri Masjid demolition.

Bias vs bias | There’s a case to be made that academia in India and other parts of the world has had a left-liberal bias. In the West, for example, East European studies are subsumed in Russian studies in many schools and universities – reflecting an old left-liberal bias for Soviet Union. But the answer is not to replace this with even worse right-wing bias, as seems to be happening in NCERT textbooks. Education should provide students with multiple narratives and then let them make up their minds. But that can’t happen if, for example, the contribution of Mughal dynasties in art, architecture and jurisprudence is diminished. Similarly, selectively presenting Supreme Court judgments to suit the governing party’s narrative does not create intellectually supple minds.

Aim higher | Ultimately the goal of education is to equip students for the modern world where multiple narratives co-exist. A student can go on to favour any shade of political ideology. But that’s not for educators to pre-judge. Their job is to provide a menu of perspectives, and provoke questioning. Towards that end, a liberal approach to education, which recognises multiple viewpoints, is by far a better option. NCERT’s thinking needs a revision.

Parents, Step Up

Govt warnings can’t cure kids’ social media addiction. That’s a job for mums & dads

US surgeon general Vivek Murthy’s call for a warning label on social media platforms – he said they are dangerous for the mental health of teenagers – is an idea that can spread globally. Murthy argues teenagers who spend more than three hoursa day on social media are twice as much at risk of facing anxiety and depression symptoms. He wants the warning labels done along the lines of action against tobacco use in US decades ago. But can govts influence individual behaviour beyond a point?

Mental health issues on rise | Since 2010, rates of anxiety and depression have gone up sharply for teens in many countries. This is also the period that saw smartphones take centre stage in our lives.

But, research on what too much social media use does to teens does not throw up definitive answers. Murthy argues that waiting for ‘perfect information’ could have serious consequences. EU has already taken steps to try and check the power of social media platforms.

It would just be a start | Yet, a warning label would only ‘start the conversation’. Anti-tobacco labelling has been around for years. But in more than a few countries, smoking is down but far from out. At 26.5%, the Southeast Asian region has the highest percentage of population using tobacco; the more developed European region is not far behind at 25.3%. Perhaps, warnings will make social media platforms more careful when planning their marketing techniques. Ideally, they should also spend more resources insulating adolescents from toxic content. But they probably won’t.

Onus is on guardians | Ultimately, ensuring warning labels are heeded is squarely the responsibility of parents and other responsible adults. Doing this job would require not just smartphone rules for teens but also difficult conversations. Psychologists and educators say teens must be made to cut down on screen time in general and engage more in unstructured play and offline activity. Since practice is the best form of preaching, it would help if parents begin by first limiting their own social media use, at least in children’s presence.

Coalition Carbar

second opinion

The driver of a very complex vehicle must steer a very careful course to avoid any mishaps along the way

Jug Suraiya

A customer walks into the showroom of Coalition Carbar Company, where a red carpet has been laid out, and is greeted with a respectful namaste by the salesperson.

Salesperson: Here’s our very latest Coalition Carbar, it’s called Compromise III and is very special.

Customer: I don’t know about very special. It certainly looks very strange. Why is it so narrow up front and so wide in the rear?

Salesperson: Because up front there’s only one seat where the driver sits, and in the rear are several seats where all the backseat drivers – so sorry, co-passengers – sit.

Customer: Why does this Carbar have to have so many backseat dri… co-passengers?

Salesperson: Because the driver might want to take the Coalition Carbar from Point A to Point B. But the Backseat… um, co-passengers might want to take the Carbar from Point A to Point C, or Point J, or any other Point of the alphabetic compass. Indeed, the Backseat D…uff oh!, the co-passengers mightn’t agree that never mind the finishing Point, even the starting Point needn’t be A.

Customer: All this sounds very complex.

Salesperson: It is very complex. That’s why the driver of the Coalition Carbar must get a special licence called Coalition Dharma to ensure that the Coalition Carbar doesn’t become a Collision Carbar.

Customer: Collision Carbar? With what does it go into collision?

Salesperson: With itself. It’s what happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object. In physics it’s called a paradox. In politics it’s called President’s Rule. To avoid this, it’s best for a Coalition Carbar to start with an MCA, Minimum Common Agenda.

Customer: That sounds doable. The driver of the Carbar can have Minimum in Common with the Agenda of the Backseat – correction, co-passengers.

Salesperson: That’s the problem. Too many of these Carbars start with MUAs, Maximum Uncommon Agendas. Here are the keys to your Carbar. Safe driving. And let’s hope you don’t make your Coalition into a Go-alition, with each one going their own way till they’re all collectively asked to go…

The Message From Our Train Wrecks

Monday’s was another train collision that could have been prevented by relatively low cost, easy to implement measures. We needn’t wait for full network coverage by a hi-tech system like Kavach

M Jamshed

As investigation gets underway into Monday’s Kanchanjunga Express-cargo train accident near Jalpaiguri, the question that’s asked after every rail tragedy is back: why do train accidents happen so frequently in India. Answer: because the railways isn’t doing the basics right. Of course, Kavach, the indigenous hi-tech rail safety system, must be installed across the rail network. But there are interim measures the railways can take.

Flush with funds | Until 2015, Indian Railways (IR) was hostage to severe resource crunch, which diminished its ability to build capacity and renew assets. Adoption of tech advances was slow, and overuse resulted in increased equipment failure.

This changed from 2015, with capital expenditure (capex) increasing significantly. Over the last five years, allocation for capex has increased manifold. It’s currently in the range of `2.5L cr annually. There’s no dearth of financial resources, for augmenting capacity or safety.

Safe to say… | Rail, unlike road, has fixed infra and can exclusively ensure creation, maintenance and functioning of its assets. Safety is not an additionality, but a feature of operations.

Safety is neither outside of the system nor can be ensured by external input. It must count for as much as speed and expanse when assessing operational efficiency. The target for accidents must be zero. It would be heartless to talk up statistics on accidents and casualties. But then statistics also show us what’s going wrong.

Collision too many | IR classifies accidents as ‘consequential’ and ‘indicative’. ‘Collisions’ are consequential accidents. Those called SPAD (Signal Passing at Danger) are treated as only ‘indicative’.

Last decade’s safety statistics indicate a significant reduction in the number of accidents. Further analysis, however, reveals that in 2022-23, the number of accidents increased to 48 from 35 in 2021-22, when fewer trains were operated due to Covid.

Importantly, the number of collisions that mostly resulted in high fatalities and injuries increased to six in 2022-23 from two in 2021-22. For 2023-24, figures aren’t yet available, but reports indicate four major collisions have taken place this year.

Automate safety | Collisions are caused mostly on account of failure of staff, and sometimes failure of equipment. A running train collides with another “head-on” or “rear-on” when the preventive system of signalling fails or the crew ignores the same.

IR needs to provide additional intervention to the loco pilot. Such interventions, on sensing an obstruction or its likelihood, stop the train, whether or not the pilot takes that action.

Is this possible in India? Yes. All developed rail systems globally have this aid and have eliminated train collisions. This brings us to our indigenous antitrain collision system, what we call Kavach, currently being implemented on IR.

It isn’t that Kavach type of tech wasn’t considered earlier. Mumbai suburban system, which carries almost half the number of IR passengers, has had an automatic train protection system for a couple of decades, with loco and trackside equipment. Projects called TCAS (train collision avoidance system), AWS (auxiliary warning system), AAS (audio alert system), and ETCS Level 2 were under trial before rail research body RDSO developed Kavach.

Kavach is estimated to cost `1.2cr per km of track length. Reports say `710cr was allocated for its implementation in 2023-24; `540cr for 2024-25. In the first phase, Kavach is supposed to be installed along 10,000 route km of the network. It has already been sanctioned for Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai (3,000 route km). But we don’t know the target date for completion. IR’s initial plans on Kavach are to cover around 1,500 route km per year.

Can’t wait | The collision at Rangapani is another reminder to IR why it’s so important to redouble its efforts. IR can’t afford major accidents with loss of lives and obviously can’t wait for the installation of Kavach on its entire network. Interim measures that can be provided include:

● Intensive training of frontline staff, both maintenance and operations.

● Fitting all locomotives with improved versions of low-cost devices like VCDs (vigilance control devices) and what’s called Dead Man’s Handle (a safety lever that applies the brakes if a loco pilot is incapacitated).

● Bringing back SPAD as a subcategory of collisions – each one of these is a potential collision.

● Filling operational vacancies and rationalising train operations on all routes.

● We should have a rail safety regulatory authority, like other developed railway systems.

IR should remember: every life lost in a train accident overshadows its otherwise outstanding performance.

The writer is former Member Traffic, Railway Board. Views are personal

Not-To-Do List for Rahul, Priyanka

Rae Bareli, Wayanad calls taken, and pumped up by LS results, Gandhi siblings mustn’t think their charisma & one national strategy are enough. 2024 results offer a more subtle message

Asim Ali

Congress has asked BJP to heed the message of the 2024 verdict. It has a point. But Congress itself is likely to misread the verdict. From Haryana to UP to Maharashtra, Congress’s swelling tally was built largely on heightened anti-incumbency against BJP. The results don’t primarily reflect an expanded voter base for Congressor renewed leadership charisma of the Gandhis. If Congress leadership lulls itself into committing past mistakes, 2024 would mark yet another false dawn.

The principal task before newly charged Congress is to convert its rising momentum into an expanded core voter base. To consolidate its gains, the party needs to avoid two strategic mistakes.

First, an over-reliance on leadership charisma and neglect of organisational structures. The resurgence of the Gandhis – Rahul potentially as leader of opposition and Priyanka’s likely entry into Parliament from Wayanad – represents a double-edged sword.

If the increased power of the emerging Gandhi duopoly is used merely to centralise decision-making structures and project an alternative national leadership, or to run Gandhi-centred campaigns in state elections, it might well turn into a handicap.

This is precisely the mistake Congress made after its impressive performance in the Hindi belt in 2009 national elections. Projecting Rahul as a ‘prince-in waiting’, a heady Congress plunged into contesting almost all seats in subsequent elections in UP and Bihar, getting badly routed in both. In 2022, Priyanka’s campaign in the state resulted in just two assembly seat wins. Congress lost deposits in all but a dozen seats.

The reinforced political capital of the Gandhi family would serve to boost the party if it is carefully deployed to streamline the organisation and push through its restructuring. These include, first, managing testy factional squabbles that threaten the stability of its govts in Telangana and Karnataka and which might thwart its rising prospects in Haryana and Kerala. Second, using their renewed authority within the party, to push forward the task of revamping the organisation, in line with the Udaipur pledges of inducting younger and diverse crop of leaders in all decision-making levels.

An encouraging precedent was the reconstitution of Congress Working Committee last year along these very lines, a few months after the Karnataka triumph. The party also needs to project a fresher leadership in Odisha, MP and Chhattisgarh, where an exhausted old guard has run it into the ground. The defeat of sons of Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath, and of Bhupesh Baghel himself, provides fortuitous opportunity to make a fresh start in these states, where Congress suffered heavy defeats last year under the leadership of these satraps.

The second mistake the party must avoid is following a nationally determined strategy rather than a state- centred one. Congress must realise it can no longer reprise the era of Indira Gandhi, where charismatic leadership and nationalised campaigns would suffice to sweep aside structural problems of weak organisation and depleted social base. The nine seats the party has won in UP and Bihar is mainly down to the support it received from SP and RJD, respectively. The party must use this foothold as abridge to build organisational strength and construct a core voter base over the long term.

BJP, for instance, from the mid-1990s onwards, followed a patient strategy of stable alliances and collegial leadership to grow in states like Bihar, Maharashtra and Haryana. It realised that hard Hindutva and leadership charisma could only take it so far. From then on, it utilised alliances with regional parties to grow among traditionally weak constituencies such as backward castes, while building a core voter base among upper caste and middle class voters.

Congress would do well to follow a similar strategy in UP, Bihar and Maharashtra, where its alliance partners bring complementary social bases, while seeking to cannibalise the space of declining parties with overlapping bases, such as BRS in Telangana, JDS in Karnataka, BJD in Odisha, and BSP in northern/central India.

In 2016, political scientists Sridharan and Farooqui wrote that Congress seemed fated to “disintegration and eventual demise by further splits and loss of social base” unless it could revive “as a broad, left-of-centre coalition of the disadvantaged…facing a broad, BJP-led, right of centre coalition”.

These elections demonstrated Congress’s potential to tap into precisely such a reinvigorated centre-left space, sweeping backward and rural regions: Vidarbha in Maharashtra, the Jat belt in Haryana, Kalyan division of Karnataka, eastern Rajasthan and southern Telangana. As CSDS-Lokniti post-poll data showed, the biggest gains made by the party happened in smaller towns, and among Dalit and peasant caste voters.

These diffuse constituencies, however, cannot be mobilised via a uniform national agenda. Congress’s relative success this time was thanks to its fine-tuning of campaign issues on a state-by-state basis. This was a more astutely crafted campaign, compared to the overly centralised narrative built around Rafale and a uniform income guarantee (NYAY yojana) in 2019.

For instance, Congress did not emphasise caste census in Haryana, instead focused on unemployment and rural distress. This helped it mobilise both dominant Jats and marginalised backward castes and Dalit voters under a single platform. Similarly, in Maharashtra, Congress only emphasised caste census in Vidarbha, and not in Marathwada or western Maharashtra. Here, it followed the lead of its allies in appealing to specific reservation demands of Marathas.

In state elections Congress won last year (Karnataka and Telangana), the party maintained a similar balance to accommodate dominant caste interests (Vokkaligas and Reddys, for instance) alongside a pro-poor agenda, hitched to a state-specific bouquet of welfare guarantees.

These elections demonstrated the survival of a large Congress space (centre-left) in national polity. The challenge for the party over the next decade would be to expand such a centre-left space and include newer constituencies: middle income segments (roughly, half of the population squeezed between rich and poor), Adivasis, non-dominant backward castes and women voters.

Among these constituencies, Congress’s performance continues to be extremely weak, squandering its potential to mobilise these segments around socio-economic concerns. The relatively young Gandhi siblings are well-placed to facilitate such an expansion of Congress space, provided they follow a long-term and state-specific roadmap, and stay away from impulsive and centralised short-term gambits.

The writer is a political researcher

Do Not Mistake Thought For Intelligence

THE SPEAKING TREE

J Krishnamurti

Are you clear – as clear as in the knowledge a cobra is poisonous –that thought can never under any circumstances reach intelligence? People are using thought to create a machine that can think, a supercomputer, and artificial intelligence. They are working to create a brain that will be like ours, which will be mechanical. They are using their tremendous knowledge of the brain to produce an artificial brain which is based on thought.

Do you see this as a fact? To see it as a fact is to see that thought under no circumstances can have the other. If thought is no longer the instrument of inquiry, then you have nothing else with which to inquire. You can’t inquire. Then what is intelligence that is not based on inquiry?

I want to inquire into truth. I don’t know anything about it. I don’t want to depend on anyone to find out. So, I have to discard all of the past. I want to find out what supreme intelligence is. So, can I discard everything that I know? The only instrument I have is thought. I can think clearly because I have been trained to think not sentimentally but objectively. Thinking which can produce so-called intelligence is then on the same level as thinking that has produced war. Therefore, it is not intelligence. So, under no circumstances will thinking have a perception of that. I must be absolutely clear. If I am not clear unconsciously, deeply, then thought is going to interfere.

Before anything else, I want to clear the board. Is that possible? I see that what they are doing won’t get them there. They will create mechanical, artificial intelligence, which is like human intelligence. That is capable of destroying the world. Thinking, and all the instruments thought has invented to investigate into that – meditation, various types of silence, various types of self-denial – are out. The technologies won’t accept that, but true inquiry is that. And they haven’t found it. They are anchored to thought, and they move through thought. They won’t accept that thought can under no circumstances come to it. Then what have I left to see that thought, under any circumstances, cannot produce intelligence?

Courtesy: KFI

CONTRAPUNTO

My cell phone is my best friend. It’s my lifeline to the outside world

–CARRIE UNDERWOOD

Times Techies

- TECH I’D LIKE TO SEE

- PRIDE MONTH IS A TIME TO REFLECT

- Master hardware and software to design cars

- Take initiative, boldly defy conventions

- GLOSSARY OF IN-GROUP TERMS USED

TECH I’D LIKE TO SEE

GEN AI FOR BETTER BANKING SECURITY

Robin Bhowmik | CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER, MANIPAL ACADEMY OF BFSI

I would like to see banks integrating large language models into their current security architecture to be able to protect themselves better against evolving cyber threats. GenAI, when implemented in the form of automated malware detection systems, uses AI generated synthetic malware samples. Network traffic and system logs can be continually monitored by these systems, cross-referencing incoming data with a database of known virus signatures and behavioural patterns. Using GenAI’s capacity to produce varied and realistic malware samples, these systems can also identify previously unknown threats with greater accuracy and efficiency. Gen AI can be used to assess the effectiveness of security by integrating it into cybersecurity training and simulation platforms that banks employ. Creating realistic attack scenarios and malware samples will give banks vital hands-on experience in identifying and mitigating cyber threats in a secure, regulated setting.

PRIDE MONTH IS A TIME TO REFLECT

Celebrated every June, Pride Month honours the LGBTQ+ community, commemorating the Stonewall Riots of 1969 that ignited the modern gay rights movement. It’s a time of parades, events, and advocacy, celebrating diversity, promoting equality, and recognising the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Pride Month is a vibrant display of solidarity and an affirmation of the right to love and live authentically

Publicis Sapient has activities planned all month

Publicis Sapient says their Pride celebrations are designed to cultivate an environment where everyone can thrive and be happy. Their offices in Hyderabad, Gurgaon, and Bengaluru are abuzz with Pride activities this month. These include meetups, artistic performances, and themed movie screenings. The gatherings also feature educational workshops and inspiring Pride walks. The company also launched a month-long queer movie marathon that explores diverse LGBTQ+ experiences. LGBTQ+ rights advocate Aruna Desai was invited virtually to conduct a workshop aimed at guiding parents of LGBTQ+ children.

It took me 42 yrs to realise being gay was amazing

Being gay is the best thing that has ever happened to me. It just took me a long time to realise it: 42 years to be precise. Growing up in an era when homosexuality was not even acknowledged, it was confusing. I just wanted to belong, and being different meant asking myself the dreadful question, “Is something wrong with me?” It was with such doubts and fears that I grew up, convincing myself to live a heteronormative life. Every minute of every day of every year, I did things that went against every fiber of my being. But there was only so much self-denial that I could live with. I came out in 2016. Coming out for me was an avalanche of feelings and emotions. I had a lot of worries about finding acceptance in society. Would people continue to accept me? I was filled with apprehension. However, over time, thanks to the support of people around me, I was able to accept myself more and share my true self with the world as well.

We are most productive when we are authentic

I have been a little different all my life and never really fit into the defined constructs growing up. I was mocked in school and stayed in the closet through college, but I never did struggle with my identity. However, my struggle was to express it as vividly as I would want to. While legal aspects for LGTBTQ+ issues are changing in India, challenges remain as social stigma still exists. I moved to Bengaluru and then joined Goldman Sachs in 2017 and found dance as a means to express myself about four years ago. The unwavering commitment to an inclusive work culture at Goldman Sachs has helped me be my authentic self. I have grown in leaps and bounds since then, and never looked back. Sometimes people we meet at our workplace become a safe space. Something as simple as introducing yourself with pronouns can lead to a conversation that nurtures a safe space with an individual who chooses to be an ally. We are most productive when we are not constantly suppressing certain aspects of ourselves to fit in.

Attitudes have changed for the better

One of the most significant advances in the LGBTQ+ inclusivity journey has been mainstreaming conversations across our society. There have been noteworthy achievements within the corporate world as well, including comprehensive anti-discrimination policies and, from a holistic wellbeing perspective, tailored mental health support. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that there remains much more to be achieved. While the laws have changed for the better, societal attitudes still lag in the journey towards true acceptance and inclusivity. To those in the LGBTQ+ community, my advice is to seek out, engage and root for supportive networks within your organisations and communities. By sharing our stories and advocating for change, we can create more inclusive and supportive environments.

A vocal leader made me realise I can be open too

I identify as a pansexual and am in a happy, committed relationship with my same sex partner of many years. However, there was a time when I was hesitant to share this vital aspect of my life with others. That changed when I joined Accenture in 2018. At Accenture, I came across a senior woman leader who was comfortable acknowledging her same sex partner at the workplace just the way heterosexual colleagues would speak of their partners and families. It made me reflect that if she can acknowledge her identity and be her whole self, then why can't I do the same? The presence of visible role models and allies in my team gave me the confidence to acknowledge my authentic identity with my colleagues. Subsequently, I also came out to my family. As is natural, it took them some time to accept my reality. But they now love me for who I am. I have known my partner for over a decade, and credit her for being the cornerstone of my journey.

Gender affirming healthcare can be life changing

My life changed dramatically in 2021 when I came out as a trans man. I had struggled with gender dysphoria since puberty and growing up, I always felt that I had the wrong name, wrong identity, I had to wear the wrong school uniform and use the wrong restroom. I got bullied for having short hair, for being masculine, for hanging out with the boys. The world labelled me as “she”, while I knew deep inside that I was “he”. Intel was my first job out of college in 2018 and three years later, when I began my transition, I received a lot of help from my manager and my HR partner at the time. They started off by organising a sensitisation session for my team. Everyone was supportive and readily agreed to address me by my chosen name and pronouns. I was very fortunate that my employer provided insurance coverage for all the costs, from psychiatric consultations and hormone replacement therapy to the multiple surgeries I went through. Most trans people are not able to make this decision because they can’t afford the cost of the gender affirming process.

Stand-up comedy and referral campaigns at PhonePe

PhonePe kicked off their Pride Month festivities with a stand-up comedy show by Swati Sachdeva, where the comedian spoke about the rich diversity and unique perspectives of the LGBTQ+ community through humour and heartfelt stories. The company also hosted a special Pride-themed lunch for all their employees. The cafeteria was decorated in vibrant colours, and a special menu featuring dishes celebrating the LGBTQ+ community were served. PhonePe also launched an LGBTQ+ referral campaign. The initiative aims to expand their talent pool by attracting qualified individuals from the community, both internally and through external outreach.

Wall murals and flea markets at GE Aerospace For their Pride month celebrations, GE Aerospace had multiple engagement activities where they invited members of the LGBTQ+ community to engage with employees at their Bengaluru campus. These activities included a Pride Walk where allies and senior leadership emphasised the significance of an inclusive culture at GE Aerospace and how it helps drive positive business impact with participation from over 225 employees. Allies of the LGBTQ+ community painted diverse wall murals with the help of transgender artists supported by NGOs, and organised a ‘Rainbow Bazaar’, a flea market by LGBTQ+ vendors.

Ishant | VICE PRESIDENT IN CONTROLLERS ENGINEERING, GOLDMAN SACHS

Amit Dhariwal | SENIOR MANAGER, DIGITAL CONTENT OPERATIONS, FIDELITY INVESTMENTS INDIA

Shubhashish Roy | SPECIALIST, GLOBAL SERVICES, FISERV

Manisha Thakur | PACKAGED APP DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY CENTRES IN INDIA (ATCI), ACCENTURE

Arpit Das | STANDARD CELL DESIGN ENGINEER, INTEL INDIA

Master hardware and software to design cars

Akhil George & Sujit John | TNN

Software is dramatically changing the automobile. Cars are being called computers on wheels. Consumers today view automobiles as more than just a means of transport. They expect advanced driver assistance, immersive infotainment, and connectivity. AI is bringing ever more exciting features.

Anuraag Bharadwaj, industry platform leader for automotive at Capgemini India, says automobiles have changed because of the availability of compute power at affordable rates. “Even a simple vehicle today has hundreds of electronic control units (ECU) in it, and they are constantly exchanging data with each other.”

These chips, Anuraag says, have extended the boundary of vehicles beyond their physical chassis. “You can access your vehicle from your mobile or from your web browser to switch the vehicle on or off, or to switch on the AC a few minutes before you enter on a hot day.”

Anuraag estimates that electronics and software today account for 30% of the total cost of a vehicle.

Nishit Jain, head of future mobility and digital services at Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, says the way engineers design and manufacture a vehicle has also changed dramatically. Now, the journey to build a vehicle starts with a simulation. “Instead of spending time building a prototype, you can actually design the vehicle virtually and deal with all the mistakes and corrections at the virtual level itself.”

This, he says, shaves off a massive amount of time from the development process. “Earlier, a typical automobile would take around four years to design. Simulation software has now reduced this to around 20 months.”

Generative AI, Anuraag says, looks like it will help cut the ancillary research & development tasks drastically as well – like market research and price analysis. “What kind of product should be built? What is the ideal price? Where should I sell it? To whom? All of these questions are research intensive, and marketing and R&D teams can do wonders with Gen AI tools to answer them,” he says.

Mohit Dubey, pro-vice chancellor at MIT ADT University, Pune, says that new age technologies like augmented reality screens and AI are opening up new avenues in the design domain and are ushering in highly personalised experiences – all of which students looking to enter the automotive space should be aware of. “Let’s say you are driving around in Pune, and you come across a tourist attraction, the screens in your car could immediately light up with information while still acting as seethrough glass. But how do you design these kinds of experiences? There is some work that our design school is doing in this space.”

MINDSET CHANGE

Nishit says that students should stop differentiating between hardware and software when thinking about automotive engineering, and instead think of the automobile as a product as a whole. “The moment you start talking about a product, it combines both hardware and software, and then you think in that direction. Currently, some people are comfortable with software, so they stick to the software mentality, and some with hardware, and they stick with hardware,” he says.

Mohit says universities are where that change needs to be seen first. “In a four-year engineering course, the first two years can be used to equip students with all the theoretical knowledge. But after two years, you can send them to an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), to train them not just on hardware and design, but also how to do market analysis and talk to customers. The year after that they can be sent to software companies to start adding the layers of software.”

Take initiative, boldly defy conventions

CAREER LADDER FOR WOMEN

Anandhi Krishnaswamy

I strongly believe in the value of lifelong learning, maintaining a curious mindset, embracing change and prioritising personal and professional growth. It’s through continuous learning and openness to new challenges that I was able to progress from quality leader to operations leader, and eventually to engineering leader – all new experiences for me at the time. How? As a quality leader, I learnt about product excellence, the Intuit culture and how people operated; as an operations leader I learnt a completely new space in operations that helped me ground to changing realities & challenges and enable transformations eventually; and as an engineering leader I learnt more on product integrations and how large-scale enterprise platforms are built.

Learn to adapt | Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to learn how to adapt to the ever-changing landscape, whether it involves technology or people. Starting my career as a technical lead, I progressed to higher-level positions including manager, senior manager, director of engineering, and ultimately vice president of engineering. Each position presented unique developmental opportunities, whether it involved leading organisational mindset shifts, scaling teams, or driving innovation initiatives.

Dare to disrupt | One thing that has worked for me is to take the initiative, boldly defy conventions and daring to disrupt with revolutionary ideas and unconventional approaches. I was responsible for establishing the first Security Centre of Excellence and revolutionising quality engineering with a patent. This exemplified my capacity for innovation and driving efficiency within the organisation.

Acknowledge your limitations | A critical lesson I’ve learned is the value of transparency. By acknowledging my own limitations and seeking guidance from peers and leaders, I’ve sharpened my leadership and stakeholder management abilities. This transparency has also nurtured an environment of trust and collaboration within my teams, enabling us to address intricate issues and instigate meaningful transformations, and I would encourage younger women entering the workforce to also prioritise this. It’s crucial to embrace your unique perspective, leverage your strengths, seek mentorship, and confidently advocate for yourself in any setting. Nothing beats hard work and sincerity. Never take anything for granted and try to always be fully prepared.

Help others succeed | One lesson I’ve learned is the importance of helping others succeed. My proudest moment was when I facilitated the growth of my team members and ensured that all of our deserving quality engineers were placed within other Intuit teams during some organisational changes. I also advocate for internal mobility when it aligns with the career growth of our engineers.

Anandhi Krishnaswamy is VP of product development at Intuit

GLOSSARY OF IN-GROUP TERMS USED

ON THIS PAGE

ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNITS OR ECUs

ECUs are the ‘brains’ of a vehicle’s electronic systems. They are embedded systems within automotive electronics that control and manage one or more of the vehicle’s electrical systems or subsystems. ECUs control various features like fuel injection, cabin temperature maintenance, braking, suspension, airbags. They ensure the vehicle operates smoothly and efficiently. ECUs receive realtime input from sensors distributed throughout the vehicle. These sensors measure parameters like engine timing, vehicle temperature, and speed, allowing the ECU to make adjustments to optimise performance.

Times Sport

- ‘Euro’s smaller nations are well organised’

- ZERO OR ZORRO?

- Recalled Kante saves France the blushes

- Hungary under more pressure: Germany

- Turkish delight!

- How can India bring Kuldeep into the XI?

- Indian cricket has come a long way, says Wes Hall

- BOULT CALLS T20 WORLD CUP EXIT HIS ‘LAST DAY’ FOR KIWIS

- GALLERY

- Pooran power helps Windies top group

- Shubhankar, Gaganjeet qualify for Paris

- GM Arjun triumphs in Armenia

- Gold for Neeraj at Paavo Nurmi Games

- ‘Ball-tampering scandal will never go away’

- South Africa test for confident US

- CUES FOR INDIA FROM WINDIES WIN

- RAUF DEFENDS ACTION AFTER ALTERCATION WITH FANS

- WILLIAMSON TIGHT-LIPPED ABOUT HIS T20I FUTURE

- GAMBHIR SET TO SUCCEED DRAVID

- Fresh faces likely to be picked in Indian team for Zim T20Is

- Irked Stimac threatens to sue AIFF

- Celtics thump Mavericks for record title

‘Euro’s smaller nations are well organised’

Frankfurt: Slovakia’s shock 1-0 win over Belgium on Monday was proof of the progress of the smaller nations but there remained a gap even though his side won, said coach Francesco Calzona.

Slovakia pulled off a huge upset as they scored early and then kept the much-fancied Belgians at bay. “The lesser teams, if you will ... the smaller nations, have made progress. And we can cause problems for the more prestigious nations. But there is still a big gap,” said Calzona after the 48th-ranked Slovaks upended No. 3 Belgium.

“We have to work very hard. It’s by no means easy because a country like Belgium produces so many footballers. But it’s also true that the smaller nations are also developing and I realised that in the qualification group the smaller nations are very well organised, and it’s true, they have made progress.”

Limited resources made Monday’s triumph even sweeter for Italian-born Calzona, formerly at Napoli before taking on the Slovakia post two years ago.

“We’re a small nation. And it’s not easy to find personnel,” said Calzona. AGENCIES

EURO UPSETS

1968: England 0-1 Yugoslavia (semis)

1984: West Germany 0-1 Spain (group stage)

2004: Portugal 1-2 Greece (group)

2016: Ukraine 0-2 Northern Ireland (group)

1992: CIS 0-3 Scotland (group)

2012: Netherlands 0-1 Denmark (group)

2000: Belgium 0-2 Turkey (group)

2016: Belgium 1-3 Wales (quarters)

2004: France 0-1 Greece (quarters)

2016: England 1-2 Iceland (L-16)

2024: Belgium 0 Slovakia 1 (group)

ZERO OR ZORRO?

Red And Yellow: Bloodied Nose, Goal Drought And A Booking Underline Mbappe’s Opening-Day Misfortune; Star Set To Wear A Protective Mask In Coming Games

NOSE JOB: Kylian Mbappe bears the brunt of a penalty box collision with Austrian Kevin Danso

Duesseldorf: A bloodied nose, a booking for unsportsmanlike conduct and an unfathomable miss that silenced a stadium — France’s Kylian Mbappe underlined his troubled relationship with the European Championship on Monday amidst uncertainty over his injury.

The French Football Federation said Tuesday it had received “positive” news about Mbappe’s chances of continuing at Euro 2024, but did not specify how long it would take before he is able to play again.

“The news is rather reassuring so far as there are no operations planned for the immediate future. As for his participation in the rest of the tournament, it’s a bit too early to give a timetable,” federation president Philippe Diallo said Tuesday.

The Federation said the decision not to carry out surgery came after he was treated by Dr. Franck Le Gall at a Dusseldorf hospital following France’s 1-0 win against Austria on Monday.

It said a mask would be made to allow Mbappe to “consider resuming competition after a period devoted to treatment.”

“They tried to reduce the aftermath of his fracture, for him to be able to stay in the tournament,” Diallo said. “We’ll wait until the end of the day to see how things develop. But all in all, I’d say the information was pretty positive.”

Mbappé stayed on the ground after his face collided with the shoulder Austria’s Kevin Danso as he attempted a header during the Group D match at Dusseldorf Arena. His nose was badly swollen and blood poured from his face, turning parts of his white jersey red.

Austria goalkeeper Patrick Pentz signaled for urgent medical assistance.

“We’re worried to see Kylian leave the field like that,” France midfielder N’Golo Kante said afterward.

The France captain was sublime in creating the goal that beat Austria 1-0, but his failure to score at a Euros will weigh heavily on a player who has found the net 12 times at World Cups, including a hattrick in the 2022 final.

Mbappe’s last match at a European Championship ended in acrimony for France, with his miss in a shootout the trigger for their shock second-round exit to Switzerland at Euro 2020 after his side squandered a two-goal advantage late in the game.

Goal droughts do not come often for Mbappe but France’s opening Group D match on Monday marked his fifth successive Euros game without scoring after a combined 18 goal attempts.

The 25-year-old was impressive and involved in just about every France move, but it just was not his night.

After receiving treatment for the broken nose, he left the field initially but in a bizarre move Mbappe returned minutes later then sat down on the pitch, prompting boos and jeers from the Austria fans and a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“It’s very bad news for us tonight,” France manager Didier Deschamps said. “If you had Kylian who is in a difficult situation... Obviously, the French team with or without him, this is not the same thing. I hope he can be there.”

Given Mbappe’s performance on Monday France will be hoping it won’t be long before he is firing again and that he recovers in time for France’s next game with Netherlands on Friday.

Mbappe was the standout French player, reeling off perfectly weighted passes, coolly spreading the ball around and injecting bursts of lightning pace to leave his markers for dead.

He threatened to score after nine minutes with a fierce low shot from an angle that tested goalkeeper Patrick Pentz.

Mbappe then created a goal from nothing near halftime with a quick shimmy to skip around three players before delivering a cross that was headed into his own net by Maximilian Wober.

He stunned the crowd in the 54th minute when he accelerated past an opponent at the halfway line before darting into the area and uncharacteristically firing a shot wide with time, space and only the goalkeeper to beat, prompting a cheeky grin.

Mbappe, who has returned to the team’s training camp with the rest of the squad, appeared to see the lighter side of his injury.

“Any ideas for masks?” he posted on X. That sparked a flood of memes online.

AUSTRIA’S DANSO ‘SORRY’ FOR HURTING STAR

Duesseldorf: Austria’s Kevin Danso sent a message of sympathy on Tuesday to French striker Kylian Mbappe who broke his nose in a collision with the defender’s shoulder on Monday.

“I wish him a good recovery and I hope he can quickly get back on the pitch,” Danso said on X.

“To French supporters: I am sorry that Kylian Mbappe was injured from our duel,” added Danso, whose back was turned when Mbappe’s face struck his shoulder.

DUTCH EXPECT MBAPPE TO BE FIT FOR NEXT CLASH

Berlin: Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders said Tuesday his side believe France superstar Kylian Mbappe will recover from his broken nose in time for Friday’s crucial Euro 2024 match-up in Group D.

“I think he’ll be fine,” the AC Milan midfielder said.

“I think we’ll see him later on with a mask.

Mbappe is a great footballer and you have to deal with injuries as a player.”

Reijnders said the Dutch were unawed against France, who are among the favourites, having made the final of three of the past four major tournaments. “They played a bit like I thought they would. We’ve played France before. We have to see what we can do better and work on that in the coming days. We need to work hard for it.”

BOOKING BLUES

The captain of the Blues decided to return to the field by sitting on the pitch, to stop the game. According to law 3.8 of the rules of the IFAB (International Football Association Board), “if a player who must wait for authorization from the referee to return to the field of play returns without the authorization of the referee, the latter must: warn the player for having entered the field without authorization.

This unauthorized action therefore pushed the referee of the match, Jesus Gil Manzano, to distribute a yellow card to the 25-year-old striker.

THE MEN IN THE MASK

FROM A MARKED MAN TO A MASKED MAN, MBAPPE IS LIKELY TO BE FITTED WITH A CARBON-FIBER MASK FOR THE NEXT MATCH. HE WOULDN’T BE THE FIRST FOOTBALLER NEEDING TO WEAR A MASK, AS MBAPPE HIMSELF HAS POINTED OUT...

Son HEUNG-MIN

South Korean Son sustained a fractured eye socket during a Champions League match for Tottenham just weeks before the 2022 World Cup. Following surgery, he had to wear a protective mask while playing for South Korea in Qatar. “It’s more comfortable than I was expecting,” Son commented about the mask, although he mentioned that the heat in Qatar made him sweat.

Josko GVARDIOL

The Croatian centre back also wore a mask at the 2022 World Cup after breaking his nose in a collision with his thenLeipzig teammate Willi Orban during a German league match. Despite the injury, doctors permitted him to play for Croatia, provided he wore a mask. Gvardiol was still one of the tournament’s standout defenders — apart from when he came up against Lionel Messi.

Paul GASCOIGNE

Gazza, as he was fondly known, needed face protection after being on the receiving end of an elbow from Netherlands midfielder Jan Wouters at Wembley Stadium in 1993. It broke his cheekbone and, invariably, the carbonfibre protector he donned was nicknamed the “Gazz-mask.” He wore it for Lazio and for England against Poland in a World Cup qualifier in Chorzow.

Antonio RUDIGER

Rudiger, currently playing for Real Madrid, wore a face mask at Euro 2020 after suffering a facial injury while playing for his former club, Chelsea, against Real Madrid. The incident took place in April, and he continued to wear the mask for the rest of the season with Chelsea and throughout the Euros, indicating that Kylian Mbappe may need to use one for a prolonged period.

Pierre-Emerick AUBAMEYANG

Aubameyang, who joined Chelsea for the 2022-23 season, had to wear a custom-made protective mask after his home was burglarized while he and his family were present. During the unfortunate incident, which occurred when he was playing for Barcelona in the latter half of the 2021-22 season, the attackers broke Auba’s jaw.

BANDAGED BROS

Kylian Mbappe wasn’t the only one with spilt blood at Dusseldorf on Monday. Antoine Griezmann was hustled off the ball by Maximilian Wober. The Frenchman clattered against the electronic advertising and sustained a gash on his right temple. The Austrian defender had earlier given France the lead with an own goal when trying to clear a Mbappe cross.

Recalled Kante saves France the blushes

Duesseldorf: Eyebrows were raised when France recalled N’Golo Kante after two years in wilderness but coach Didier Deschamps knew what he was doing and the midfielder looked as if he had never been away in the 1-0 win over Austria.

Before the recall Kante’s last game for his country was in June 2022 as he missed the World Cup with a hamstring injury.

A move to the Saudi Pro League appeared to have ended his France career but the 33-year-old was superb on Monday, showing that playing at a lower club level did not mean a drop in personal standards.

Kante showed the same all-pitch energy of old, working tirelessly to keep the physical Austrians at bay, and also had the fitness to support attacks deep into the match, while also showing his often underrated passing ability.

“His performance? You saw him,” Deschamps said. “We were sure about recalling him. He is smart — on a technical level he has the capacity to read balls. He was really bright and we needed that.”

In the build-up to the game, Marcus Thuram said: “I have never seen anything like it, it’s horrible. We can’t play anymore, we can’t play in training anymore. As soon as we have him on our team we know we have won.” REUTERS

Hungary under more pressure: Germany

CRUISE CONTROL: Germany will bank on Kroos’ passing nous against Hungary

PREVIEWS

Herzogenaurach: Hungary will be under greater pressure with the threat of elimination hanging over them than hosts Germany when they face each other in their Euro 2024 Group A match on Wednesday, Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said on Tuesday.

The Germans started the tournament in spectacular style with a 5-1 demolition of Scotland on Friday, while Hungary lost 3-1 to the Swiss in their own opener.

The Germans scored three times in a dominant first half to put the game to bed. “I had put Scotland and Hungary on a very similar level,” Nagelsmann said. “It depends how we play tomorrow. Hungary are under a bit more pressure than we are after the first match.”

“I think they have to be a bit more aggressive than against Switzerland as they could potentially be out of the tournament.”

The Germans are top of the group on three points, ahead of the Swiss on goal difference, with Hungary and Scotland without any points. Victory over Hungary could see them guarantee a top-two finish and a spot in the knockout stages.

“We have analysed the Hungarians and have a clear idea how we will play. It is about winning the game tomorrow. We saw their first match against Swiss where it was a game of two halves. Hungary deserved more than they got in the end,” Nagelsmann said.

“In the qualifiers Hungary were the second-best team when it came to creating or converting chances from set pieces. They play a good transition game. They have strikers who are powerful in the air. They play with precise crosses. They are very dangerous.”

Nagelsmann said Hungary’s performance would also depend on the way Germany approach the game, just as it was against Scotland. “After the Scotland game I said it depends on us, how we play. Scotland were impressed in the first 20 minutes with how we were playing. It has to do with how we play.”

Meanwhile, Stuttgart police say they are ready to intervene robustly if any supporters cause trouble ahead of the Group A match on Wednesday.

THE BALKAN BATTLE: CROATIA HOPE TO AVOID EARLY EXIT

Hamburg: Croatia will be aiming to get their campaign back on track against Albania on Wednesday, with their ‘golden generation’ in danger of a disappointing farewell from the top level after the humbling loss to Spain.

Although World Cup semi-finalists in 1998, Croatia have enjoyed an unprecedented spell of success since reaching the 2018 World Cup final in Russia, where they lost to France.

Zlatko Dalic’s men are bidding to reach the knockout phase for a fifth consecutive major tournament in Germany, but there are fears this could be the end of an era.

Captain and star player Luka Modric is 38, winger Ivan Perisic is 35 and midfielders Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic, as well as forward Andrej Kramaric, are all in their 30s.

Former lynchpins of the national team, including Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Rakitic and Dejan Lovren, have already retired from international football. The average age of the 15 players who featured in a demoralising 3-0 loss to Spain in Croatia’s opener was 28.5 years old.

But coach Dalic insists that defeat was far from a fatal blow — after Albania in Hamburg, they face holders Italy in their last Group B clash in Leipzig on June 24. AGENCIES

Turkish delight!

Super Strikes Swamp Feisty Georgia

Turkiye’s 19-year-old Arda Guler has broken Cristiano Ronaldo’s record from 2004 to become the youngest player to score on Euro debut

Dortmund: Arda Guler enhanced his reputation as one of Europe’s brightest young stars by curling home a brilliant second-half goal to help Turkiye to a 3-1 win over tournament debutant Georgia at the on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old forward brought a strong end to his first season at Real Madrid to the Euros by cutting in from the right and bending a fierce shot into the top corner in the 65th minute, regaining the lead for Turkiye at 2-1 in a Group F match played in a febrile and intense atmosphere in Dortmund. Kerem Akturkoglu scored a breakaway goal in the final seconds of stoppage time for Turkey’s third.

This was a nation-stopping moment for Georgia, a South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people that is making its debut in an international soccer tournament amid protests and political turmoil back home. Georgia’s players dealt well with an intimidating atmosphere created by Turkiye’s fans and responded to Mert Muldur’s volleyed finish for the Turks in the 25th with an equalizer by Georges Mikautadze in the 32nd.

Fighting broke out between fans of Turkiye and Georgia inside Westfalenstadion before the start of the match. The brawling took place at ground level in one corner of the stadium, with supporters seen throwing punches and objects at each other as security attempted to intervene in pouring rain.

The fighting stopped when police officers in riot gear came between them. A thick line of officers remained in place, with some standing in the stairwell alongside Georgia fans.

The nations share a border of around 270 kilometers. There had been no sign of any disorder earlier in the day as both sets of fans mixed in Dortmund’s city centre.

How can India bring Kuldeep into the XI?

KULDEEP YADAV

Dwaipayan.Datta@timesgroup.com

Bridgetown: It’s been one of the most difficult decisions for the team management so far — how to play Kuldeep Yadav, who came into the event in redhot form but hasn’t got a game yet?

And now that India are into the West Indies leg of the World Cup, is there a temptation to get the left-arm wrist spinner into the playing XI?

On both days of practice at the Kensington Oval here, the chinaman bowler was seen turning his arm over for long spells. In the spinners’ net, Kuldeep was definitely the best bowler in action.

In the long spell that he bowled in tandem with Ravindra Jadeja, both got the ball to turn quite a bit. It’s difficult to predict whether the nature of the practice pitch and the centre-wicket where the game will be played on Thursday will be of similar nature. But if it is anything close, Kuldeep should be in the fray.

During his spell, Kuldeep got both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli out, not a mean feat wherever you’re playing. While Rohit lobbed one back to Kuldeep, Virat’s slash outside the off-stump should have resulted in a catch in cover.

But the problem of including Kuldeep here will mean that the team will have to break a winning combination. India will be extremely reluctant to drop any of the four allrounders in Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jadeja and Axar Patel. If there has to be a change, it has to be to leave Mohammed Siraj out.

“Ideally, India should go in with three pacers and three spinners, but it’s to be seen whether they are ready to take the gamble,” an insider who has a fair understanding of the Kensington Oval conditions told TOI.

The team management, too, understands that it is slightly unfair to keep Kuldeep out. Bowling coach Paras Mhambrey had said that the left-armer could well be in the equation once the group moves to the West Indies.

Captain Rohit, too, had spoken of some “secret” up his sleeve that he didn’t want to divulge in New York. “You’ll have to wait for some more time to know what it is,” Rohit had said during one of his interactions.

One feels in slightly favourable conditions for spinners, Kuldeep can well be that secret weapon that Rohit had spoken about. But there’s absolutely no denying that two finger-spinners and one wrist-spinner, and all in good form, make the attack look way more balanced.

The fact that Aussie leggie Adam Zampa became the Man of the Match here in a high-scoring match when they played England should also be in the team management’s mind when they sit down to choose the XI.

Pant takes a break

Rishabh Pant had a long batting and wicket-keeping session on Monday but he took a break on Tuesday. It was an optional session and Pant might well have been cooling his heels before a final training session on Wednesday.

Indian cricket has come a long way, says Wes Hall

MEETING OF LEGENDS: Wes Hall with Rahul Dravid on Tuesday

Dwaipayan.Datta@timesgroup.com

Bridgetown: “I have seen many great players bat, you’re right up there. I have been following your career, score a few more centuries,” the legendary Wes Hall told Virat Kohli at the Kensington Oval on Tuesday.

Hall had come to the ground to present his autobiography to Kohli and coach Rahul Dravid and it became quite an occasion for all those who were around, trying to record a beautiful moment.

The legendary pacer of the 1950s and 60s had played only 48 Tests during his playing days over 16 years. “It amazes me how much more these boys play,” the octogenarian said, trying to go back in time. When asked to compare his bowling days and whether he would have enjoyed the situation here, Hall thought for a minute. “I don’t like the fact that when batters can bat for 20 overs, why should there be a restriction on bowlers? That’s one thing I really don’t like about modern-day cricket,” Hall said.

The fact that bowlers are cutting their careers short is one thing that bothers him a little bit as well. It’s the money that has come in and Hall feels “if there is money for the proletariat, there will be a change of mindset… They are earning millions in such a short time, so sometimes they are not playing for too long,” Hall said.

It’s the change in the Indian team that has also fascinated the legend, who could create a sense of fear with this pace in his playing days. When he was playing, there weren’t too many pacers who were plying their trade.

“Over the years, the only good pacer that we could think of from India was Kapil Dev…But all that has changed. Look at the Indian bowling attack of the day. I absolutely love Jasprit Bumrah. But there are a few more as well who can be really good… Indian cricket has really come a long way.”

As Hall was wrapping up his interaction, Dravid came in and the paceman had a few words with him. “What a fantastic team you guys have. You’ve the best batter in the business, then you have the best bowler. It’s such a wonderful team,” Hall said.

Dravid acknowledged it, only to add: “I don’t want to say them that just yet. The tournament is on, and you know what happens, right.”

The two legends shared a laugh and we all soaked it in under the hot Barbados sun.

BOULT CALLS T20 WORLD CUP EXIT HIS ‘LAST DAY’ FOR KIWIS

TRENT BOULT

Port of Spain: Left-arm paceman Trent Boult said he had played his “last day” of international cricket after New Zealand’s disappointing T20 World Cup campaign ended with a seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea in Trinidad on Monday.

His 13-year stint in international cricket appeared to have ended in the downbeat setting of a ‘dead’ T20 World Cup game. “It feels a little bit weird, a few emotions obviously the last couple of days,” said Boult.

Pressed on whether the game represented his final New Zealand appearance, Boult added an element of doubt: “I haven’t thought much further than this, I’m in no position to comment right now. I enjoyed being out there one last time.”

GALLERY

Indian shotgun team for Paris Oly announced

New Delhi: Senior trap shooter Prithviraj Tondaiman will spearhead the Indian shotgun team at the Paris Olympics as the national shooting federation Tuesday named a five-member squad for the event, with all of them appearing in their maiden games. The Paris Games will be held from July 26 to Aug 11. Tondaiman has made the cut in men’s trap, while Rajeshwari Kumari will take aim in the women’s trap. Anantjeet Naruka will be India’s sole men’s skeet shooter. PTI

ACTION TODAY

CRICKET: ICC T20 WC, USA vs SA, 8 pm (Star Sports); India Women vs South Africa, 2nd ODI, 1.30 pm (Jiocinema);

FOOTBALL: Euro 2024, Croatia vs Albania, 6.30 pm; Germany vs Hungary, 9.30 pm; Scotland vs Switzerland, 12.30 am Thursday (Sony Sports)

Pooran power helps Windies top group

Gros Islet (St Lucia): Nicholas Pooran was run out agonisingly short of a maiden T20 World Cup hundred as a rampant West Indies humbled Afghanistan by 104 runs in a clash of unbeaten teams on Monday. With both sides already into the Super Eights, Pooran smashed 98 off 53 balls in the final group match to propel the hosts to 218-5 after being put in to bat.

A rattled Afghanistan never recovered from the loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over of the reply and were bundled out for 114 off 16.2 overs, seamer Obed McCoy marking his first match of the tournament with best figures of 3-14.

“When you get the good wickets you have to capitalise as batters. When it’s your day you have to take it and make the most of it,” said Pooran, who thumped six fours and eight sixes in a spectacular innings took him past 2,000 T20I runs.

Coming to the middle in the second over after the demise of Brandon King, Pooran and hometown hero Johnson Charles (43 off 27 balls) accelerated at supersonic speed in lifting the total to 92-1 by the sixth over.

It was the highest total ever in the Powerplay overs of a T20 World Cup since the first of the eight editions was played in South Africa in 2007. That period of relentless carnage included 36 off an over from seamer Azmatullah Omarzai, whose wayward bowling in that fourth over of the innings reflected the confused state of the Afghan attack.

Brief scores: WI 218/5 (Pooran 98, Charles 43; Naib 2-14) bt Afghanistan 114 in 16.2 overs (Zadran 38; McCoy 3-14, Hosein 2-21, Motie 2-28). AGENCIES

36: Joint-most runs in an over

Nicholas Pooran and West Indies scored 36 runs in an over from Azamatullah Omarzai, the jointmost expensive over in T20 World Cup history. It was also only the fifth-such instance in all men’s T20Is. All the instances.. Yuvraj Singh (India) vs Stuart Broad (England), Durban, 2007; Kieron Pollard (West Indies) vs Akila Dananjaya (Sri Lanka), Coolidge, 2021; Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh (India) vs Karim Janat (Afghanistan), Bengaluru, 2024; Dipendra Singh Airee (Nepal) vs Kamran Khan (Qatar), Al Amerat, 2024; Nicholas Pooran and Johnson Charles (West Indies) vs Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan), St. Lucia, 2024.

Shubhankar, Gaganjeet qualify for Paris

OLYMPICS

New Delhi: India’s number one male golfer Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar will be teeing off for the country at the prestigious Golf National course in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, come the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This was confirmed after the International Golf Federation revealed its Olympic qualification list of 60 men and women golfers for the Olympic Golf tournament, scheduled from August 1-4.

Both Sharma and Bhullar will make their Olympic debuts. Sharma whose Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) is 222, qualified with an Olympic rank of 48. Bhullar qualified with an Olympic rank of 54.

Aditi Ashok (24th) and Diksha Dagar (40th) are likely to make the cut from the women’s when the final list is announced on June 24. The 27-year-old Sharma is a two-time winner on the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) and has eight career titles to his name. He will be seen in action next at the KLM Open in Amsterdam and the Italian Open this month. PTI

GM Arjun triumphs in Armenia

20-Year-Old India No. 1 Takes Break From Classical Chess

RIGHT MOVES: Erigaisi maintains fourth rank in Live World Ratings

Amit.Sampat@timesgroup.com

Nagpur: India’s 20-year-old super GM, Arjun Erigaisi, won his second classical title of the year on Tuesday. In the Stepan Avagyan Memorial round-robin tournament, which concluded at Jermuk, Armenia , on Tuesday, India’s highest ranked Grandmaster lived up to billing and emerged victorious by a margin of 1.5 points. He had a performance rating of 2823.

The India No. 1, who became world No. 4 after his impressive show in the French Team Championship, gained almost 20 rating points in just two tournaments. Arjun is holding on to his fourth position in the live world ratings with 2778.1 Elo and is 17 points away from surpassing world No. 3 Fabiano Caruana of the US. In live ratings, Arjun trails Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Caruana.

In the eighth and penultimate round of the tournament played late on Monday night, Arjun utilized his opening advantage well to defeat Russia’s GM Volodar Murzin (2650 Elo) in 63 moves and emerged triumphant with a game to go. In the final round on Tuesday afternoon, Arjun defended well with his black pieces and completed the formality by playing out a 43-move draw against Armenia's GM Manuel Petrosyan (2625 Elo) to seal his victory. In April, Arjun had won the Menorca Open.

Arjun finished with 6.5 points after winning four games and splitting the point in five rounds. American GM Sevian Samuel and Iran's Tabatabaei M Amin (2713 Elo) followed Arjun on the podium with identical five points.

Arjun will now take a break from Classical chess and shift his focus to the shorter formats. In a chat with TOI, Arjun said, “It’s a good feeling to end on a high before taking a long break in Classical.” On his second title of the year, he said, “I have been able to make the most of my opportunities and this has been a fantastic tournament for me. These tournaments are n ever easy as the level of competition is very high. I am happy with the way I played to clinch my second title of the year.”

Later this month, Arjun will play in the Leon Masters, which will be played in the rapid format. With a couple of FIDE Circuit eligible rapid and blitz tournaments scheduled next month, Arjun is looking to make his mark in the shorter format now.

The Fide Circuit that was introduced last year is a path to qualify for the Candidates tournament. A player who tops the circuit leaderboard during eligible tournaments in 2024, will earn his spot in the 2026 Candidates. With 57.6 points in his kitty, Arjun is now at second position on the FIDE Circuit, the points of his Armenia triumph not included.

Gold for Neeraj at Paavo Nurmi Games

Turku: India’s Olympic and world champion javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra snared his maiden gold medal at the Paavo Nurmi Games here on Tuesday, returning to action in style after being laid low for a month due to a niggle.

Chopra, who claimed the silver here in 2022, produced the winning effort of 85.97m in his third attempt to lead the field for a major part of the competition, which also featured 19-year-old German prodigy Max Dehning who is the youngest member of the 90m club. Home favourite Toni Keranen claimed silver with a best throw of 84.19m, while his compatriot and last edition's gold-medallist Oliver Helander took the third spot with 83.96m.

The 26-year-old Chopra came into this event following a second-place finish in the Doha Diamond League and a gold in the Federation Cup in Bubaneswar last month. PTI

‘Ball-tampering scandal will never go away’

David Warner says he will forever be tarnished by the “Sandpaper-gate” scandal of 2018, as the Australian opener ponders his legacy ahead of impending international retirement.

The 37-year-old is looking to go out on a high with victory at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States, where Australia are into the Super Eight stage.

“I think it’s going to be inevitable that when people talk about me in 20 or 30 years’ time, there will always be that sandpaper scandal,” said Warner, according to Cricket Australia. “Whether it’s people who don’t like the Australian cricket team or don’t like me, I’ve always been that person who has copped it. It’s fine if they want to do that,” the opener added. AFP

South Africa test for confident US

North Sound (Antigua): South Africa will have no room for error as their worldclass batters will be keen to flex their muscles against a spirited USA in their opening Super Eight match of the T20 World Cup here on Wednesday.

The Proteas have remained unbeaten in the tournament so far with their bowlers doing the heavy lifting in all four games. Playing three games on the challenging New York tracks, and one in Kingstown, South Africa have not crossed the 120-run mark even once.

Although their batting performance is not a reflection of the team which possesses some big hitters, the top order of Quinton De Kock, Reeze Hendricks and captain Aiden Markram might feel the pressure to perform.

South Africa survived by a run against Nepal in their previous game and with the likes of defending champions England and hosts West Indies also in Group 2, they can ill afford to let up against USA.

Co-hosts USA, who are an eclectic mix of eight Indians, two Pakistanis, a West Indian, one New Zealander, a South African and a Dutch, are in the midst of a dream run having qualified for the Super-8 in their debut appearance. They have played an aggressive brand of cricket so far.

AGENCIES

CUES FOR INDIA FROM WINDIES WIN

Hardik Pandya at the nets ahead of the match against Afghanistan

TIMES IN THE CARIBBEAN

Rohit & Co May Look To Take Afghan Pacers Apart Before Spin Comes Into Play

Dwaipayan.Datta@timesgroup.com

Bridgetown: A sudden shower that lasted for about an hour in varying intensity on Monday night brought the humidity down a bit here after a hard day’s work. It continued for a bit on Tuesday morning as well, but the Indian contingent, and all those all around the team, would hope that it was just a one-off. Rain is the last thing that they would want on game-day against Afghanistan in Super-8s.

Especially after what they saw of the Afghans in St Lucia in their last league game on Monday before they flew down to Barbados to take on the mighty Indians. Rohit Sharma would desperately want the game not to be curtailed, because in a 20-over contest on a good pitch --as was the case in St Lucia and would be at Kensington Oval as well --India are far ahead of the Afghans.

To add to that, Monday’s game left a crucial pointer as to how India should go about their work on Thursday. West Indies top-order batters Johnson Charles and Nicholas Pooran launched a brutal assault on the Afghan pacers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai, plundering 92 off the first six overs that virtually killed the game for the Afghans. But over the next 14 overs, once the spinners came into operation, the likes of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed were able to curtail the West Indians, even though Rashid went for a massive 28-run last over towards the end, courtesy a rampaging Pooran.

India will surely take a cue from this game and look to do maximum damage right at the top before Afghanistan spinners can get into the game. Given the fact that it’s a day game and there will be no dew, it won’t be a bad idea to bat first and take the game away from Afghanistan, unless of course, there is a lot of moisture on the day of the match.

Virat Kohli, during the practice sessions here, is trying to be at his attacking best. For Rohit Sharma in T20s, it’s always top-gear cricket and the duo will look to push on the accelerator right from the word go. And India’s No. 3 for the tournament Rishabh Pant, too, has been in fine form and the team would love at least two of the three to take charge so that the Afghans don’t find a footing.

For Afghanistan, the turnaround time from a heavy 104-run defeat is very short, especially when they are up against a team that they have never beaten. Coach Jonathan Trott tried to take the lessons from a defeat. “We have seen the areas that we need to work on…If we don’t start an over well, being able to get out of it without too much damage is something we need to do. Today we had two that went for 60 runs and that swung the game massively and took a lot of pressure off the next 18 overs,” Trott said.

But Afghanistan definitely lack the depth in their pace attack that can seriously threaten India. It’s one area where India --with Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya --are so vastly superior that for the Afghan warriors, it can be a bridge too far.

Or, at least that’s what all the Indian fans trooping into Barbados from different parts of the US and Canada believe, along with the millions back home. We will all know in a couple of days’ time!

RAUF DEFENDS ACTION AFTER ALTERCATION WITH FANS

HARIS RAUF

Lauderhill (Florida): Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf found himself in the eye of a storm after a video of his verbal altercation with a group of men surfaced online, prompting him to say that he will “not hesitate to respond” when his family is dragged.

The incident took place after Pakistan’s group stage exit from the T20 World Cup.

In the video clip, Haris was seen walking with his wife when he bumped into a group of people. Although it was not clear what the conversation was about, they were allegedly taunting the cricketer for the team’s disastrous outing in the World Cup. Suddenly Rauf seemed to have lost his cool and was seen rushing across a hedge towards the men. Rauf wrote on X: “As public figures, we are open to receiving all kinds of feedback from the public. They are entitled to support or criticize us. Nevertheless, when it comes to my parent and my family, I will not hesitate to respond accordingly.”

In the video, one of the fans could be heard saying, “Ek picture maangi hai bas (All I wanted was one picture with you).” AGENCIES

WILLIAMSON TIGHT-LIPPED ABOUT HIS T20I FUTURE

Port of Spain: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson remained coy about his future in 20-overs Internationals after his team crashed out from the T20 World Cup. “I don’t know,” Williamson, 33, said when asked if he would be seen in action in the 2026 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. “There’s a bit of time between now and then, so it’s about regrouping as a side. We’ve got red-ball cricket over the next year basically, so it’s back into some other international formats, and we’ll see where things land.” AGENCIES

GAMBHIR SET TO SUCCEED DRAVID

Former India Opener Likely To Guide Team India Through Next WC Cycle; WV Raman Interviewed Too

DEAL SEALED? BCCI secretary Jay shah with Gautam Gambhir after the 2024 IPL final between KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai

Gaurav.Gupta@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir, who played a significant role in India’s two World Cup victories in 2007 and 2011, is set to replace Rahul Dravid as the new head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team. On Tuesday, Gambhir and former India opener and ex-India women’s team coach WV Raman were interviewed via Zoom for the job by the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee.

The BCCI is likely to make a formal announcement regarding Gambhir’s appointment towards the closing stages of the ongoing T20 World Cup, or just after its conclusion. The 42-year-old would be the head coach for all the three formats of the game, and his term, which will start from July 2024, will end in December 2027, after the conclusion of the 50-over World Cup that year.

Gambhir was interviewed at 12 pm, while Raman’s interview began at 12.45pm and lasted for 30 minutes. It’s not clear if any other candidates will be interviewed on Wednesday.

The BCCI had invited applications for the job on its website after Dravid, who took up the role after the 2021 T20 World Cup, expressed his inability to continue as the India head coach after the end of his term, which was extended by six months after the 2023 ODI World Cup in India last year.

The deadline to apply for the post was May 27, a day after the IPL final. Gambhir is currently a mentor of the 2024 IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders -a post he will obviously quit following his India appointment. Like it has done in the past, the BCCI will give Gambhir the freedom to choose the team’s support staff.

Dravid, TOI has learnt, is already on the radar of a couple of IPL teams and could be joining them as the team director. The CAC comprises former India cricketers Ashok Malhotra, Jatin Para- njape and Sulakshana Naik.

“Gambhir was in Delhi and appeared for the interview on Zoom. CAC head Ashok Malhotra is doing commentary in Punjab T20 League and attended via zoom, but Paranjape and Naik were at the BCCI HQ in Mumbai. The interview was a mere formal part of the process, since the BCCI bosses are convinced that he’s the right man for the job, as they sense the need to have a coach who can take a few tough calls going forward in Indian cricket,” a source told TOI.

Speculation had been rife that Gambhir could take up an important position in Indian cricket ever since he quit ‘active politics’ on March 2, just ahead of BJP’s candidate list announcement for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The fact that KKR clinched the IPL this year, after they finished seventh in 2023, convinced the decisionmakers in Indian cricket that Gambhir was apt for the job, even though he hasn’t coached any team in international or domestic cricket. Previously, the 42-year-old was a mentor of Lucknow Super Giants, who made the playoffs in both the years that he was in charge.

Gambhir had also captained KKR to IPL titles in 2012 and 2014 (incidentally Raman was the team’s batting coach that year) and led the team for seven seasons.

It helped his case that the BCCI was keen on an Indian coach to take up the crucial role, with Board secretary Jay Shah having said recently that the cricket body hadn’t approached any former Australian cricketer for the job. “It will be great for Indian cricket,” a franchise owner told TOI on Gambhir taking over as India coach soon. Gambhir’s post IPL final long chat with BCCI secretary Jay Shah in Chennai on May 26 further increased the chatter around his taking up the India head coach job soon.

NEW SELECTOR TO BE APPOINTED SOON

Meanwhile, the CAC is also supposed to conduct interviews to find a selector from the North Zone, who will replace Salil Ankola in the selection committee. Both Ankola and chief selector Ajit Agarkar are from the West Zone. Agarkar was appointed in July last year and replaced Chetan Sharma, who had to quit after a sting operation. Ankola was already a selector when Agarkar took over.

Fresh faces likely to be picked in Indian team for Zim T20Is

Format-Specific Squads On The Radar Of Selectors

IN FORM: Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma may get a look in

Arani.Basu@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: India’s upcoming tour of Zimbabwe in the first week of July could signal the template for different formats. With Gautam Gambhir likely to take over as India’s head coach, it is learnt that the national selectors are set to pick a T20 team for the five-match series with a host of fresh faces in it. The likes of Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma and Yash Dayal could headline the squad.

Historically, BCCI has always sent second-string sides to Zimbabwe in the last decade. But TOI understands that the new management is all set to look beyond the veterans and build a fresh team for the shortest format. Established stars like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah will now be focusing on the longer formats with the WTC and ICC Champions Trophy next year in mind.

Sources told TOI that Gambhir has highlighted to BCCI the need to have format- specific teams. “Gambhir is very clear in his mind that he will need players specific to each format. When it comes to T20 cricket, he is not one to overlook consistent IPL performers. The seniors in the team will be needed for the longer formats for the rest of the year,” a BCCI source told TOI.

Following the Zimbabwe tour, India are slated to play three ODIs and three T20Is in Sri Lanka. It is likely that India will have a full-strength ODI team. India have nineten Test matches—four or five at home against Bangladesh and New Zealand followed by five in Australia. A call on Rishabh Pant’s work- load will be looked at. Shreyas Iyer is also likely to be in ODI squad for Sri Lanka. Sanju Samson could be the lead wicketkeeper in Zimbabwe while Dhruv Jurel is also in contention.

MAYANK UNLIKELY FOR ZIMBABWE TOUR

India’s latest pace sensation Mayank Yadav is likely to miss out on the Zimbabwe tour. Yadav had set the IPL on fire with his blazing pace before being ruled out with a side strain. He is at the NCA with nine other young players who are being monitored. “Mayank is still bowling at 80-90%. It will be tough for him to be rushed into the team for Zimbabwe tour. He is being readied for Sri Lanka tour followed by a red-ball season,” the source said.

GILL HAS FINGER NIGGLE

TOI has also learnt that Shubman Gill, who has been released as a reserve from India’s T20 WC team, is carrying a finger niggle for some time now. “He has had injury on his right index finger all through the IPL. A call on whether he needs a surgery will be taken by the NCA medical team,” the source said.

Irked Stimac threatens to sue AIFF

Cites Unfulfilled Promises & Contract Breaches, Calls Termination ‘Unilateral’

Biju.BabuCyriac@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: Former India football coach Igor Stimac, who was served a termination notice by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Monday, has called it an “unilateral termination” which was “unprofessional and unethical”. Citing a list of unfulfilled promises and contract breaches by the AIFF, Stimac has threatened to sue the federation if it doesn’t settle his dues for terminating the contract within the next 10 days.

“I kindly ask you to immediately, but not later in next ten days, organize payment to me for this termination of the contract without just cause in the amount which will repre- sent a residual value of my employment contract that was prematurely terminated from AIFF side, and all that in connection to the article 6 Annexe 2 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players. Otherwise, I will start proceedings against AIFF in front of the competent FIFA Football Tribunal and sue AIFF,” Stimac said in his email reply, accessed by TOI, to AIFF’s acting secretary general M Satyanarayan.

Detailing the promises not kept by the federation, the coach said: “Instead of improving our travel logistics, it all went from bad to worse. Our president Mr (Kalyan) Chaubey didn’t mind publicly announcing that the team will get charter flights to reach Saudi Arabia before the away game vs Afghanistan, so our fans still think that we have used charter flights to reach there not knowing that we actually travelled three days there and back to India prior to the most important games in our history. The Afghanistan team reached India before us and slept all night while our players travelled 30 hours without sleep after the game in Abha City to reach the venue in Guwahati.”

He added: “We have been left to work without GPS equipment for over 200 days even though we continuously kept reminding you how important this was. India was the only team at the Asian Cup not having GPS equipment.”

Stimac said despite the assurance from Chaubey in March this year that the support staff would get their contracts soon, it was still delayed. “It took you another three months to do so. In the meantime, we have worked without a match analyst for most of the days and without a sport psychologist,” he said.

The coach further said his lawyer will take over any communication with the AIFF. “I don’t want to speak or hear from AIFF anymore because AIFF has caused me enough health problems with its acts. Your “show cause notice” and “final warning letter” did stop me from speaking the truth to Indian fans, and it did give me two stents just prior to the AFC Asian Cup, but didn’t stop me from giving it all to my team. I hope India will find a way out of the mess, created not by me or anyone under my leadership in the last few years, and will always be in my heart!”

NBA FINALS

Celtics thump Mavericks for record title

SUPER SHOW: Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (green jersey) nets the ball past Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic and PJ Washington

Boston: One of the first people to congratulate Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum on winning the NBA championship was his 6-year-old son. “He told me that I was the best in the world,” Tatum said. “I said, ‘You’re damn right I am.’”

Tatum certainly looked like it, recording 31 points and 11 assists as Boston locked up its league-record 18th title with a106-88 blowout of the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Tatum also had eight rebounds while Jaylen Brown added 21 points, eight boards and six assists for Boston, which celebrated the 16th anniversary of its 17th title by completing a 16-3 playoff run.

The Celtics knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 Finals, and those two teams shared the NBA record with 17 championships apiece entering Monday. Brown was selected the Finals MVP, an award named after Celtics legend Bill Russell, after averaging 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and five assists. Russell was someone that Brown admired, making the honor all the more special. “I can’t even put it into words,” Brown said. “Just Bill Russell and what he’s meant for me through my Boston journey, and his spirit. You know, everything that he stood for, just for this to be the Bill Russell MVP Award... I don’t even know what to say. It’s unreal.”

Jrue Holiday had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Derrick White chipped in 14 points as Boston bounced back from a 122-84 loss to wrap up the best-of-seven series. “We did it together,” Holiday said. “I hope that when people watch us play, they see the joy that we play with, that we love playing together, and we got it done together. I feel like that’s the most important thing.”

Luka Doncic paced the Mavericks with 28 points and 12 boards, but he committed seven turnovers. Kyrie Irving finished with 15 points and nine assists for Dallas, and Josh Green netted 14 points.

After Dallas called a timeout with 3:11 left in the second quarter, trailing by 11 points, Boston completely broke the game open. The Celtics scored 17 of the next 24 points, six of which came from Brown. Payton Pritchard capped the outburst in jaw-dropping fashion, canning a 49-foot heave from half court at the buzzer to send Boston into the break with a 67-46 cushion.

AGENCIES

Delhi Times

- SEEING MOM & DAD READING GOT ME INTERESTED IN BOOKS, SAYS SOHA ALI KHAN

- HOW LAKSHYA DEPICTED KARGIL

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- BUZZ STOP

- Alka Yagnik reveals rare hearing loss diagnosis

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- Stress bragging: Guilty pleasure or work hazard?

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SEEING MOM & DAD READING GOT ME INTERESTED IN BOOKS, SAYS SOHA ALI KHAN

Bhai (Saif Ali Khan) reads lots of military and sports history, wildlife and nature, like my father. My mother and I enjoy murder mysteries while Kareena enjoys reading thrillers

Reading Day

Onkar Kulkarni

I was that child who always had a book in her hand. Today they say, ‘No phones at the dinner table’, my father used to tell me, ‘No books at the dinner table’,” says Soha Ali Khan, who, just like her other family members, brother Saif and mother Sharmila Tagore, is an avid reader. “You must make time for reading, else you become more of a book collector than a reader. I believe books really don’t want to be collected; they want to be read,” she tells us. On National Reading Day today, the actress talks to us about her love for books and her relationship with them.

‘I FIND LIBRARIES FASCINATING’

Soha looks back at the time she spent in libraries. “I am a member of a public library in Delhi. I find libraries fascinating. When you spend time in a library, you feel like reading something. Being there encourages you to pick up a book,” says the actress, who feels compelled to read a book every time she is in her daughter Inaaya’s school’s library. The vibe there takes her back to her college days. “I was lucky enough to study at Oxford University, which has one of the best libraries in the world called the Bodleian Library,” she shares.

CONTINUED ON 5

HOW LAKSHYA DEPICTED KARGIL

We had some kind of youthful exuberance inside us as filmmakers, and Hrithik and Preity as actors. None of us had done this kind of film before, and that energy translated on screen –Farhan Akhtar on making Lakshya

20 YEARS OF LAKSHYA

From real-life soldiers in shoots alongside actors in action sequences to its subtle yet impactful portrayal of the Kargil war, Lakshya remains a one-of-a-kind war film

P6

Jimmy Fallon’s Punjabi lessons with Diljit Dosanjh

Besides performing Born To Shine at his debut on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show, Diljit Dosanjh also shared a candid moment with Fallon, teaching him to speak, “Punjabi agaye oye...” and “Sat Sri Akal!”

BUZZ STOP

AMID WEDDING RUMOURS, SONAKSHI MARKS BACHELORETTE?

SONAKSHI SINHA and Zaheer Iqbal are reportedly set to tie the knot on June 23. Ahead of their big day, the couple recently celebrated what fans are assuming to be their bachelor and bachelorette parties. Sonakshi took to Instagram to share photos from the party, where Huma Qureshi was among the attendees.

Alka Yagnik reveals rare hearing loss diagnosis

For my fans and young colleagues, I would add a word of caution regarding exposure to very loud music and headphones. One day, I wish to share the health perils of my professional life

Alka Yagnik

Alka Yagnik, who ruled the music scene in the ’90s and 2000s, revealed a challenging health diagnosis to her fans with an Instagram post. The singer shared that she has been diagnosed with a rare sensory neural nerve condition caused by a viral infection.

Sharing the update, she wrote, “To all my fans, friends, followers and well wishers. A few weeks ago, as I walked out of a flight, I suddenly felt I was not able to hear anything. Having mustered some courage in the weeks follow- ing the episode, I want to break my silence now for all my friends and well wishers who have been asking me why I’m missing in action. It has been diagnosed by my docs as a rare sensory neural nerve hearing loss, due to a viral attack. This setback has caught me completely unaware. As I attempt to come to terms with it, please keep me in your prayers. For my fans and young colleagues, I would add a word of caution regarding exposure to very loud music and headphones. One day, I wish to share the health perils of my professional life. With all your love and support, I am hoping to recalibrate my life and come back to you soon. Your support and understanding will mean the world to me in this critical hour.”

– Inputs by Divya Kaushik & Riya Sharma

Dr Vipul Gupta, director of Neurointervention and co-chief of the stroke unit, says, “Alka Yagnik has been diagnosed with sensory neural nerve hearing loss, a condition where damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve pathways affects one’s ability to perceive sound. This type of hearing loss typically results from aging, prolonged exposure to loud noises, genetic predispositions, infections, or certain medications”

While Alka has cautioned her fans and young musicians regarding the exposure to loud music and headphones, Dr Madhukar Bhardwaj, Senior Consultant & HOD, Neurology, says, “Repeated loud music over a period of time can definitely cause hearing loss but it does not cause sudden hearing loss. The sudden hearing loss involves other causes and occurs without any particular cause.” He adds, “What Alka Yagnik has encountered is a sudden hearing loss. Loud music most certainly wasn’t the cause of her sudden hearing loss.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Balsamic vinegar isn’t always the real deal

A majority of balsamic vinegar isn’t legit because it’s not from Modena, even though labels might suggest otherwise. Real balsamic vinegar must be aged for at least 12 or 25 years and, most importantly, it’s made with Trebbiano grapes, thanks to the optimal climate conditions of the region, giving it a thick consistency. The cheaper imitations are typically made from a combination of grape must and wine vinegar.

Stress bragging: Guilty pleasure or work hazard?

The co-workers wind up feeling more stressed, which leads to higher burnout or withdrawal from work. It’s alright to find the right confidant to talk about your work issues, but be mindful that it is not a badge of honour to be bragged about – Jessica Rodell, the lead author of the study Compiled by: Anukriti Sharma

If you constantly rant to your colleagues about high stress levels at your workplace, you are stress bragging. And it’s something that can affect the way you are perceived by your peers.

What is stress bragging?

Stress bragging, or busy bragging, involves frequently boasting about one’s busy schedule or workload to portray importance, productivity, or dedication. While sharing challenges with trusted colleagues is understandable, when individuals do so mainly to seem stressed and overwhelmed, they glorify struggle and distance themselves from others.

Stress braggarts are perceived by co-workers as:

■ Less competent

■ Less likable

■ Less likely to be helped

The impact

A recent study by University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business found that stress bragging harms the stress braggarts as well as the coworkers who hear their complaints.

Are you sure you are on vacation?

POV

All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go… With your luggage all sorted and a cheerful out of office autoreply set, it’s time to take off. Theoretically, everything feels just so right – you are miles away from work and all the minute preoccupations that come with it. And yet, despite your ambitious itinerary and cocktail-sipping spirits, something’s amiss. Your notifications are off, but your mind refuses to switch off.

Recent reports and research reveal that for the average office-goer, the anticipation of the vacation and the days spent planning it, are often more rewarding than the actual days off. An idea first seeded by utilitarian philosopher and economist Henry Sidgwick when he spoke about the “paradox of hedonism”. In lay terms, the pursuit of pleasure may be at times more rewarding than the destination itself.

But things are quite different in modern workplaces, where you have luminaries advocating and normalising overwork and pushing for a 70-hour-workweek. Not being able to make the most of your destination – literally and otherwise – after the tremendous effort and money spent on planning and executing it is a luxury we simply cannot afford. But as we all know, it happens. And one could argue that we have all failed – collectively failed at resting and vacationing the right way.

One school of thought suggests taking shorter breaks when it is easier to switch off than longer ones when work does pile up and calls do need to be answered. Others suggest finding a destination where there is no connectivity and putting a lid on our urge to share, post and comment on our photos and simply ‘be in the moment.’ All remedies however point to that one important thing one must do before taking off – whether for a staycation or a long holiday. Tame your runaway mind. Be there for yourself, your family, friends or partner who’s with you. Do it for your mental health.

After all, vacation is not just a state of mind. It is a very happy state of mind.

Agree? Disagree? Got a POV idea? Write to us at: pov@timesgroup.com

Link-up rumours with Karan were baseless: Himanshi Parashar

Karan and I acted in a Punjabi TV show and we’re co-actors. He even apologised to me after that controversy erupted

Himanshi and Karan Mehra

Himanshi Parashar has bid adieu to her character Sahiba in Teri Meri Doriyaann, but she is now happy to play another character Gurnoor in the show. The actress says, “I played Sahiba for a year and it was a beautiful journey. Now, that Sahiba has died in the show, I have to embrace a new character, it is a big challenge.”

‘EVERYTHING ON TV DEPENDS ON VIEWERSHIP’

In a TV show, often there are sudden changes made to a story, depending on the ratings, but that’s the nature of the business, says Himanshi. “Everything on TV depends on viewership. In fact, whatever is narrated to us at the beginning may not remain the same as the show progresses,” she adds.

‘ONE FINE DAY, I WOKE UP TO RUMOURS OF A LINK-UP WITH KARAN MEHRA’

On the personal front, Himanshi was linked with co-actor Karan Mehra in 2021, when his wife Nisha Rawal accused him of domestic violence and having an affair. Himanshi, who has never spoken about this earlier, recounts and says, “I remember, one fine day I woke up to rumours about my alleged affair with Karan. I just couldn’t understand where that was coming from. My name was not directly taken, but people assumed that since we were co-actors, there was something brewing between us. That rumour was weird and absolutely baseless.”

Tanvi Trivedi

Himanshi Parashar

A dream come true: Akash on buying a house in Mumbai

I had no plans of buying a house. I was planning to buy a car, but my dad advised me to invest in property

Akash Jagga

Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2 actor Akash Jagga has finally fulfilled his dream of buying a house in Mumbai. Akash, who hails from Jaipur, says, “I shifted to Mumbai seven years ago and consider myself an out-and-out Mumbaikar now. I had no plans of buying a house till last year. In fact, I had been planning to buy a new car. But my dad advised me to invest in property instead. So, I started saving up for a house and I believe it is the best decision I made. It is a dream come true.”

Talking about how it was tough when he initially moved to Mumbai, he shares, “I was staying as a paying guest with four others; it wasn’t easy. But it was my choice to come here and so I didn’t ask my family for any financial help. I started modelling and did a few ads, which helped me pay off my bills, but it was really tough. Then I bagged my first TV show Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2 in 2020 and there was no looking back.”

Hasti Doshi

During my previous stint on TV, the content was modern & bold: Seema

Seema Kapoor

Having returned to acting with Udaariyaan, Seema Kapoor finds the content on TV today is clichéd compared to the times when she featured in shows like Kurukshetra, Hasratein and Hum Saath Aath Hai, among others. Seema says, “Content today is clichéd with saas bahu dramas dominating the scene. During my previous stint on TV, the content was modern and bold. All my shows were hits and had interesting storylines. Having said that, things are changing slowly now and TV is progressing.”

After Razia Sultan, Seema took a break from acting. She shares, “My dad was unwell and in and out of hospitals, so mentally it wasn’t possible to pick up work.” Does she feel age is a deterrent when it comes to bagging good roles? She replies, “Not really. Age doesn’t matter much because I believe there are interesting roles for all age groups.”

Jaspreet Nijher

Dharmesh Vyas and Seema in a still from Hasratein

‘I’m not Om Puri’s ex-wife’

In recent years, there has been confusion about Seema being late Om Puri’s ex-wife because of some online reports. Seema clarifies, “I am not Om Puri’s ex-wife. Since we have the same name, this has caused a lot of confusion online. Sometimes people also confuse me with a cabaret dancer from the 70’s. I really hope this sets the record straight. I have a body of work and I also want to do a lot more in the future. Acting is my passion and I don’t want this name confusion to come up again.”

Reading clubs play cupid as we

Reading Day

With innovative formats, group activities and more, reading clubs across the country are encouraging people to open a book every day

Reading in a park, by Reading in a park, by the sea, under a tree... the sea, under a tree...

Outdoor reading communities are creating a stimulating environment for readers

A woman lays out a checkered cloth under a tree and sits down to read, a man sits on a bench, plugs in his earphones and listens to his audiobook. It’s 6am on a Saturday and in Pune’s Kamala Nehru Park, you can spot a group of people getting ready for a reading session. They are part of Pune Reads, a silent book-reading community that has been meeting every Saturday morning for a year to escape their daily routine. The scene is not very different in many other cities, where people are reclaiming open spaces with just a book in their hands.

Nikhil Dwivedi, a product manager at an MNC and a regular at Delhi’s Silent Book Club, says, “Reading amid nature in Sunder Nursery and in natural light feels therapeutic. I feel it easy to dive into the author’s world when you are outdoors. I see new people in each meet and I am sure that the charm of reading in open spaces and the excitement of meeting fellow bibliophiles are two major attractions for them.” Rachna Kalra, who started the Delhi and Gurgaon chapters of the Silent Book Club, says, “I chose Sunder Nursery because it gives you the calmness and peace you require while you read. The sounds of nature, the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves enhances the reading experience, making you want to keep coming back. In every session, we have about 40-50 people joining us.”

Reading in picturesque Delhi

Nabiha Tasnim, co-curator, Lodhi Reads, shares, “Reading outdoors in a space like Lodhi Garden, which is full of greenery, history and culture, is a great boost to the love for reading, and even for mental health. Lodhi Garden has a character to it, which adds not only to our reading experience but also to how we experience the city.” “The amount of focus I have here is better than when I am reading alone. As a dog lover, it is nice to have furry companions around while reading and Lodhi Reads has quite a few four-legged regulars,” shares Sidharth Das, a web and graphic designer, a regular at Lodhi Reads.

Mumbai says ‘you do you’

Amie Fazulbhoy and Abhimanyu Lodha co-founded the Bandra Reads in June 2023. “In the last year, our community has met every Sunday from 8 to 10am at Jogger’s Park. Everyone has been consistent and braved Mumbai’s heat, humidity and rains to be a part of this silent reading community.” The best part? You can do anything you want: Read, crochet, sketch. But in silence.

Chennai’s sea-kissed reading group

If you fancy reading by the sea, Bessy Reads conducts reading sessions at the Besant Nagar Beach in Chennai. “The gorgeous shores and sounds of waves crashing is a great environment to read every Sunday morning and discuss books in a bonding session,” says Vasantha, a participant.

Hyderabad’s tranquil retreat

Avinash Denduluri, a filmmaker and organiser of Read A Kitaab in Hyderabad, loves taking part in outdoor reading events. “We gather monthly at Lamakaan – a popular cultural space and read together. It’s a tranquil environment where ideas and poetry flow freely,” he shares.

Kolkata, by the lake

Rain or sunshine, the members of this community are present for every edition. If any onlooker or passer-by wishes to partake in the activity, they are welcomed by the readers, who offer books from their collections, creating a sense of belonging. This sentiment resonates with Dr Charulatha Banerjee, a member of the Sarobar Book Club in Kolkata. “If someone is travelling and is in the city for a few days, they are welcome to join us,” he says, adding, “We started seven years ago and selected Rabindra Sarobar Lake because any activity done near a waterbody is extremely refreshing. One does not always need to go to a cafe to read, these open places are ours. We should claim them and use them for such activities.”

Bengaluru’s bestsellers

Shruti Sah, co-founder of Cubbon Reads, a silent reading community that meets regularly at Cubbon Park, believes it’s important to unite readers without the intellectualisation around books. Today, the group has over 500 attendees in each session. “A park is an informal space, unlike a library, and people can lounge, laze and even sleep with no policing. It is reminiscent of home,” she shares.

— Inputs by Yvonne Jacob, Shivika Manchanda, Anna Fernandes, Arnav Khanna, Mantha Surabhi, Sundas Jawed, Shourya Jha, Raima Ganguly, Debarati S Sen and Shrestha Mukherjee

Delhi’s lush parks, gardens and historical sites provide the perfect venue for silent reading clubs

Groups reading in silence follow the concept of BYOB (Bring Your Own Book)

If any onlooker or passer-by wishes to partake in the activity, they are welcomed by the readers

The Cubbon Park reading group has inspired similar initiatives in other cities

Feasts, meditation, book chains: Reading gets an innovative touch

What started with 20 women in their 40s gathering to read & discuss their favourite female protagonists, is now a growing club of like-minded readers – Nisha Chamria, member of all-women’s reading club, Kolkata

Unique initiatives are popping up across the country with an aim to change the perception that reading is a dying hobby.

ONLINE AND OFF IT

Bengaluru-based Harsh Snehanshu has launched a dating app which matches users based on their reading history and preferences. “Your profile pictures remain hidden until after ten messages are exchanged, ensuring that the initial connection is built purely on shared literary interests,” says Harsh, adding, “Here, books serve as the ice breaker.”

There are other clubs that encourage you to switch off, such as the Saturday Adda in Pune. “Here, you are supposed to keep your phone aside for 90 minutes while fully focusing on the task at hand – reading, writing or knitting – and later discussing your experience,” says the organiser Aditya Rajawade. Aditya also started book swaps back in January, and the members do 10-11 swaps per session once every two months. They bring in a book, wrapped with a note in it. For the first 30 minutes, everyone speaks for a minute or two about the book they brought, without naming it.

FEASTS & QUIZZES

Broke Bibliophiles of Delhi makes reading as interactive as possible, with quizzes, story writing, zine making, meme-making and more. Monthly meets are centred around a theme or a genre, held at bookstores or heritage sites. Similarly, in Kolkata, the Kalam Club aims to offer regulars at the Kolkata Literary Meet a premium reading experience. “Through thematic interpretations, we bring to life characters and stories. We have also hosted luminaries like Arundhati Roy and Amitav Ghosh and paired these sessions very often with meals that were themed around the books. We have also presented plays under this banner,” says Malavika Banerjee, founder of the club.

READ MORE, READ BETTER

Delhi’s Project Bibliotherapy aims to nudge people to “read more and read better”. “We launched curated zines in 2021, featuring 42 diverse articles by 42 authors, encouraging readers to scroll less and read more,” says Nandini Swaminathan and Nitin Goel, founders of the initiative. Guided reading meditations, readathons are the other activities they do to encourage reading.

(Left) A session at Pune’s Saturday Adda and (inset) a book swap section at a boutique in Bengaluru

fall in love with books, again

When I was a child, mom would take me to meet her friends. I would carry my book and while the adults chatted, I would get busy reading. My mom asks me to do the same with Inaaya

Soha, who penned the book The Perils Of Being Moderately Famous, also co-wrote the series Inni & Bobo with her husband Kunal Kemmu. It revolves around the friendship between a girl and her dog

Reading Day

Since I am a reader, I don’t get bored easily: Soha

CONTINUED FROM P1

‘LOOKING AT MOM AND DAD READ, GOT ME INTERESTED IN BOOKS’

In this digital age, Soha had a challenging time getting daughter Inaaya interested in reading. She says, “I enjoyed reading and back then, there wasn’t much competition from movies, TV or the internet. I saw mom and dad reading, and it got me interested. When it comes to Inaaya, I tell her that only when you finish reading this chapter you can eat the chocolate cake and watch TV. I know it’s not good to bribe your children, but I find it very effective (laughs). I also follow positive reinforcement of leaving books lying around her, something they do in her school too, so that kids pick up the books and read them.”

‘SINCE I AM A READER, I DON’T GET BORED EASILY. I ENJOY BEING ALONE’

Talking about the habit of reading, “One needs to prioritise reading because it encourages focus and discipline. Just sitting with a book relaxes your mind. Since I am a reader, I don’t get bored easily. I enjoy being alone. Also, I don’t need music as a distraction and flights are not boring for me as I read. What you read shapes you as an individual. It improves your imagination, vocabulary and writing style.”

While Soha is not a part of any book club, she is fascinated by the idea. “Currently, I am not a part of any of these clubs, but I think it’s a great, inexpensive social diversion at a time when people are looking for digitally free habits and hobbies.” She does follow some celeb book recommendations. “There are many celebrity book clubs. I follow Ellen DeGeneres’ book recommendations, even Oprah Winfrey’s summer pick. I read those, and now it is interesting to see how many reader-actors have online and offline book clubs. Reese Witherspoon and Dua Lipa have popular book clubs.”

Physical books are relevant because when you read something your imagination is at play. Many of my friends are voracious readers, so we exchange books, discuss and share notes, just like in a book club – Bickram Ghosh, musician

I love book clubs. What a way to thoroughly read a book and meet like-minded people. My daughter, Tara, is a part of one and it has helped her truly develop her reading habit. I was part of several book clubs while growing up – Tisca Chopra, actress

I usually read more than one book simultaneously & have an informal book club with my brother Rajiv, our cousin, and brotherin-law. We have a WhatsApp group where we share everything, including books – Raghu Ram, TV producer & actor

I love losing myself in books during the monsoon season. Recently, I delved into The Palace Of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Joining a reading club is on my agenda if I can manage to find the time – Priyamani, actress

‘CONNECTING WITH READERS & NEW VOICES’

A member of an amazing book club of literature professors at DU, quoted Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy to put me in my place!

Anuja Chauhan

At book clubs, everyone is on the same page

“Writing is a lonely business,” says bestselling author Anuja Chauhan. “But when the book is out, people actually read it and have something to say about it the loneliness vanishes. It’s replaced by animated, creative discussion. Taking feedback from thorough, attentive readers helps me to improve my writing. I love book clubs because everybody here is, literally, on the same page. A rarity in our frazzled, polarised world.”

‘Wanted to focus on women and minority voices’

Poet-author-influencer Karuna Ezara Parikh’s Kitaab Club aims at spotlighting women and minority voices from the subcontinent. “The club grew out of my desire to have book discussions with more people, encourage reading and streamline what I was already doing in a less official way,” she says, adding, “Initially, all I knew was that there would be a book every month with discussions online, and making its way to my podcast.”

Celeb book clubs: Using stardom to get people to read, discover authors

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa shares her love for literature each month with a book to represent diverse global voices. Followers: 318K; Started in: 2023 Books read: 12 Recent read: Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe Fun fact: On her website, Dua has 50 book recommendations

While we love all things that celebs do, their book clubs are all the rage right now. With fans and readers looking for a community, celebrity book clubs bridge the gap between the star and their bibliophile fans with social media live sessions, discussions and even newsletters. Here’s a glimpse. — Inputs by Aatreyee Mohanta and Ruman Ganguly

Reese Witherspoon Every month, book-lover-in-chief Reese Witherspoon chooses a book with a woman at the centre of the story and shares her pick on social media. Followers: 3M; Started in: 2017 Books read: 97 Recent read: The Unwedding by Ally Condie Fun fact: Reese’s production house, Hello Sunshine, has adapted many book club picks into films and series

Sonali Bendre From titles by women authors to children’s books, Sonali Bendre has suggestions for everything on the club’s social media handle. Followers: 47.1K Started in: 2017 Books read: 12 books a year, sometimes more Recent read: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar Fun fact: Sonali chooses a book every month for the members of the club, and has discussions at length with community members on social media live sessions

Oprah Winfrey Philanthropist, writer and talk show host, Oprah Winfrey started her book club on her show. The club focusses on emerging authors and is very active on social media. Followers: 857K Started in: 1996 Books read: 105 Recent read: Long Island by Colm Tóibín Fun fact: Around 14 paperbacks became bestsellers forty-two weeks after Oprah picked them

Celebrating Lakshya & howit depicted the Kargil war

“When he (Farhan) came with the idea, I almost said that there is no need for me to hear the script. Javed saheb is writing it, and Farhan is directing it; that’s enough for me,” said Amitabh Bachchan, who played the role of Col Sunil Damle

20 YEARS OF LAKSHYA

Niharika Lal

Be it the authentic depiction of the uniforms, ranks, operation procedures or avoiding over-the-top dialogues, Lakshya remains that rare Bollywood war film that manages to escape stereotypes and create a subtle yet impactful war narrative. “Lakshya is not loud, it doesn’t have jingoism. All the details are accurate, be it the uniform or the operations procedure. It also explored the impact of war on a soldier and the people around him,” said Brigadier (retd) Gautam Ganguly in an earlier interview. As Lakshya completes 20 years, we reflect on this film on Kargil war and how it has stayed relevant over the years.

How Lakshya originated

Soon after Dil Chahta Hai, Farhan Akhtar was deliberating about what to do next and had a discussion with his father Javed Akhtar about some of his ideas. Javed shared that he was working on a story about a young boy who joins the army, not just professionally, but in an attempt to find his true calling and understand who he is through that process. Farhan says, “This was just a story idea, but the core of it really spoke to me. In a large way, that’s what filmmaking did for me. Until I started making movies, I didn’t really know that it is what I wanted to do. I started it when I realised that my love for filmmaking is tremendous. So the germ of that idea was something that I could connect to. Of course, he sat down and wrote the screenplay, which is there for everyone to see. But it really started with a conversation.”

Filming Agar Main Kahoon in Delhi

“We were scouting for locations, and I had expressed how I’d like to do the shoot. After Humayun’s Tomb, we moved to Hauz Khas and then to Tughlaqabad Fort. Since these were tombs and forts, we could not play the song out loud. The actors had to lip-sync. In the morning, nobody knew we were shooting, but by evening, the crowd arrived, knowing that Hrithik and Preity were shooting. We wanted to take a shot of Hrithik dancing in the sunset, but it was not possible due to the crowd. To this day, people come to me and say, Oh! You did Agar Main Kahoon,” says Vaibhavi Merchant who choreographed the song.

“Films or any pieces of creative work are created at a particular time in a person’s life, within a specific societal context, and (according to) the cinematic environment of that period. To gauge anything by the standards of 20 years later is always, I think, a mistake. Having said that, I look back at it with the fondest memories. It was extremely challenging and difficult to put that film together. We had some kind of youthful exuberance inside us as filmmakers, and Hrithik and Preity as actors. None of us had done this kind of film before, and that energy translated on screen.” — Farhan Akhtar

DID YOU KNOW?

■ Hrithik asked gentlemen cadets to teach him how to execute training shots and what to look out for.

■ While the hairstylists were not on board with the Hrithik’s haircut initially, Farhan insisted that he wanted Hrithik’s hair cut same as the other cadets. Farhan wanted Hrithik to look like one of the cadets from the IMA.

■ A major chunk of the film was shot in Ladakh at 13,000 feet altitude.

■ All the actors attended a boot camp in Ladakh and the movie was filmed for five months in Ladakh.

Talking about the film’s music, Farhan says, “Lakshya’s title song is a very difficult song to sing because it goes from low to high in short bursts. The only reason one doesn’t realise it is because Shankar Mahadevan is singing it”

There was no other working title for the film. In the screenplay, there is a very important scene in which the character Karan Shergill tells Romilla that he has finally found what his goal is. The word for that was “lakshya”

Farhan Akhtar shared, “There is a simple thing that anybody who is not from the Army doesn’t knowsoldiers never ever get down on their knees. The soldiers of the Indian Army do not kneel. Getting down on your knees is not considered right either lie down or stand. These kind of things were learnings for us. We also had soldiers from the Indian Army fighting alongside actors. They obviously were trained and knew what to do.”

Table of Contents

TOI Print Edition Jun 19, 2024

Front Page

Balasore under curfew after clashes; 10 injured, Net off

Man kills girlfriend with wrench on busy Mumbai road as people shoot clips

Cattle transport: Lone survivor in lynching case dies in hospital

BENGAL TRAIN COLLISION TOLL RISES TO 10 AS 6-YEAR-OLD DIES

Live wire burns to death 3 of family

4 sisters aged 7-13 drown in UP river

Man killed in shooting at Burger King outlet in city

Retd Pak Brig behind ’18 J&K attack killed

Alignment on big issues: Trudeau after Modi talks

Heat claims 5 lives in Delhi; warmest June night in 6 yrs

Water reservoir storage at 22% of capacity

Won’t tolerate bid to ‘harm’ our citizens: US AG

Minutes after wife’s death, Assam home secy shoots himself in ICU

BCAS moots 5-year flying ban for hoax threats

11 of a family across 3 gens get life for murder

Drunk driver hits 8 people in east Delhi

JD(U) MP’s voting remark sparks row

3rd new bridge over a river in Bihar collapses

SC: Negligence of even 0.001% in NEET must be examined

Voters backing NDA govt after 10 yrs a big win: PM

PM’s Mann ki Baat from June 30

Times Nation

Heatwave likely to abate from today

A temple in UP that farmers believe offers rain forecast

An ‘electronic island’: How Indian EVMs are different

Angry flyer bites ground staff

Out of coma, teen crashes bike, dies

3 of family on bike electrocuted in UP

11 of family get life terms for ’18 double murder

From 5,696 to 18,799: Rlys raises asst loco pilot hirings post crash

60-yr-old in Mumbai loses `2.6cr to online share-trading fraud

Alignment on big issues, says Trudeau after meeting Modi

Curfew, internet ban in Odisha town day after communal clash

HC: ‘Hamare Baarah’ is fine, it sends out social message

Bihar bridge collapses before inauguration

JD(U) MP: Muslims, Yadavs didn’t vote for me, won’t work for them

YSRCP MP’s daughter runs over man in Chennai:

4 minors on visit to grandma’s house drown

Mamata calls on BJP RS MP at his Cooch Behar home

At `1.8L cr, spend on rail safety in 2014-24 up 2.5 times over 2004-14: Govt

Body found in Imphal West

Lone survivor of attack by C’garh vigilantes dies in Raipur hospital

Ahead of Hry polls, Kiran Choudhry, daughter quit Cong, to join BJP today

Villagers postpone Eid-ul-Zuha celebration, jump into rescue op

900 men defy rain, toil 22 hrs to restore tracks

Freight train was racing at 3 times its sanctioned speed

6 trains had passed that stretch before accident

Family questions hasty blame on dead loco pilot

PM seeks ideas for Mann ki Baat, broadcast to resume from June 30

Armed forces formulate new joint doctrine for cyberspace operations

BJP takes a jibe at Priyanka entry: ‘Vadra could be next’

Vadra claims credit for Priyanka move

NDA meet held at Rajnath’s residence to discuss House strategy, Speaker election

HP CM’s wife Cong pick for Dehra bypoll

Aviation museum on cards?

Terrorists shoot at J&K police in Poonch

Alive to problem, hence ordered re-test: Govt to SC

3 detained for not informing cops about terrorists in Doda

CUET-UG & PG scores will be valid for both sessions: UGC

DMK has no moral right to criticise PM, says Tamilisai

WHEELS Of CHANGE

Hamza latest Pakistani linked with terror hits to be killed

IMD ‘red alert’ in 3 NE states as rain, flood wreak havoc

Roads ministry eyes Cabinet nod to free up 700ha surplus land

Assam home secy’s life was full of problems: DGP Mahanta

Alka Yagnik’s ‘hearing loss’ a disorder hard to reverse: Docs

Farmers, youth, women & underprivileged 4 pillars of my growth agenda: PM in Varanasi

Killer left spot, then returned to talk to motionless victim

Kerala mantri signs off by ending ‘colony-ial legacy’

Times City

In Still Of Night, Your Heat Stress Measures 33.8°C

Power demand across NCR cities puts grid under pressure

Capital’s peak electricity demand of 8,647MW surpasses all projections

Five Die Of Heatstroke In 72 Hours

Delhi govt sets tar get of planting and distributing 64 lakh saplings in city

LG discusses innovative approaches to tree plantation

Feels like oven! For homeless, warmth of night only brings despair — and blisters

Writing not on wall: DJB bulletins skip key details

Couple steal `1cr diamond jewellery from bizman, held

Supply to hospitals and localities in Lutyens’ hit as water crisis deepens

Haryana conveys its inability to provide more water to Delhi

MCD breaches deadline for desilting of all major drains

Clip shows disabled man’s struggle at Isa Khan Tomb

Delhi Has Extracted Almost All Of Groundwater Available

Snag hits services on metro’s Yellow Line

One dead as armed men open fire at Rajouri Garden eatery

New Laws Won’t Be Applicable To Offences That Occur Before July 1

E-rick driver arrested for molesting girl

IGI gets yet another bomb hoax email

Extortion case against rogue cops, one more suspended

From blackboard to monitor, cops get upskilled, and how!

Maliwal seeks support from INDIA bloc

Stolen iPhones worth `3.2cr found in warehouse, 2 held

MCD staffers arrested for accepting bribe of `15k

Bidhuri resigns from assembly

Now, self-drop your baggage in 30 secs at Delhi airport

AAP protests, seeks probe monitored by SC into NEET

Drunk man ploughs his car into pedestrians, 8 injured

Ashwani Kumar is MCD’s new commissioner

‘Accident’ turns out to be murder, 1 arrested

Court allows provision of air cooler in jail for Sukesh

29-yr-old, friends spend `12L to buy freedom for 124 goats

Times Ascent

How To Gear Up For Future Of Work In Evolving Landscape

Times Global

TENS OF MILLIONS IN US UNDER HEAT WARNINGS

China protests US Congress team’s visit to India to meet Dalai Lama

AROUND THE WORLD

Justin Timberlake charged with drunk driving in New York: Report

Biden offers citizenship path to undocumented spouses of Americans

Ecuador stops waiving visas for Chinese nationals over rise in irregular migration

Anouk Aimee, star of ‘La Dolce Vita’ & ‘A Man and a Woman,’ dies at 92

Bibi blames US for withholding weapons, slowing Israel action

Nato and US want China to pay for propping up Russia’s Ukraine war

Outgoing Dutch PM Mark Rutte strongest nominee for Nato chief post

Thailand passes same-sex marriage bill

Times Business

Nvidia beats Microsoft as world’s most valued co

Sebi is dealing with F&O trading frenzy: RBI guv

‘Vote against Singhania’s re-election to Raymond board’

Twin peaks: Sensex closes above 77k, mcap tops $5tn

Voda to sell 10% stake in Indus Towers for $1.1bn

Jio, some other tech cos face outages

Godrej family deal gets CCI approval

Cricket leads, B’wood shines in top 5 celeb club

Industry bodies seek tax sop for middle class

9 Indian ports make it to top 100 of WB performance index

AC prices surge 6-8% on scorching demand

Direct tax kitty increases 22%, cushion for govt to spend more

Editorial

NCERT AINTY

Parents, Step Up

Coalition Carbar

The Message From Our Train Wrecks

Not-To-Do List for Rahul, Priyanka

Do Not Mistake Thought For Intelligence

CONTRAPUNTO

Times Techies

TECH I’D LIKE TO SEE

PRIDE MONTH IS A TIME TO REFLECT

Master hardware and software to design cars

Take initiative, boldly defy conventions

GLOSSARY OF IN-GROUP TERMS USED

Times Sport

‘Euro’s smaller nations are well organised’

ZERO OR ZORRO?

Recalled Kante saves France the blushes

Hungary under more pressure: Germany

Turkish delight!

How can India bring Kuldeep into the XI?

Indian cricket has come a long way, says Wes Hall

BOULT CALLS T20 WORLD CUP EXIT HIS ‘LAST DAY’ FOR KIWIS

GALLERY

Pooran power helps Windies top group

Shubhankar, Gaganjeet qualify for Paris

GM Arjun triumphs in Armenia

Gold for Neeraj at Paavo Nurmi Games

‘Ball-tampering scandal will never go away’

South Africa test for confident US

CUES FOR INDIA FROM WINDIES WIN

RAUF DEFENDS ACTION AFTER ALTERCATION WITH FANS

WILLIAMSON TIGHT-LIPPED ABOUT HIS T20I FUTURE

GAMBHIR SET TO SUCCEED DRAVID

Fresh faces likely to be picked in Indian team for Zim T20Is

Irked Stimac threatens to sue AIFF

Celtics thump Mavericks for record title

Delhi Times

SEEING MOM & DAD READING GOT ME INTERESTED IN BOOKS, SAYS SOHA ALI KHAN

HOW LAKSHYA DEPICTED KARGIL

Jimmy Fallon’s Punjabi lessons with Diljit Dosanjh

BUZZ STOP

Alka Yagnik reveals rare hearing loss diagnosis

DID YOU KNOW?

Stress bragging: Guilty pleasure or work hazard?

Are you sure you are on vacation?

Link-up rumours with Karan were baseless: Himanshi Parashar

A dream come true: Akash on buying a house in Mumbai

During my previous stint on TV, the content was modern & bold: Seema

Reading clubs play cupid as we

Feasts, meditation, book chains: Reading gets an innovative touch

fall in love with books, again

‘CONNECTING WITH READERS & NEW VOICES’

Celeb book clubs: Using stardom to get people to read, discover authors

Celebrating Lakshya & howit depicted the Kargil war