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Front Page

- PELOSI MEETS DALAI, CHINA FUMES

- 20 heat deaths in city govt hospitals in 48 hours, toll likely to rise sharply

- NHRC seeks govt reply on Amazon work conditions

- 12th pass mantri unable to write ‘Beti Bachao’

- IN THE COURTS

- Man lynched over theft suspicion in UP

- IIT-B students fined for Ramayana skit

- ‘Integrity of exam may be compromised’; UGC-NET nixed, CBI probe ordered

- Canada Parl honours Nijjar; India plans Kanishka tribute

- 2 die as water tanker hits car in west Delhi

- Trust of India: TOI No. 1 news brand in country

- Wrong manual signalling to blame for train crash, not dead pilot: Experts

- CABINET CALLS

- Welcome to the US, minus your ‘branded’ fakes

PELOSI MEETS DALAI, CHINA FUMES

Former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi met the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala Wednesday and slammed Xi Jinping, saying the legacy of the Tibetan spiritual leader will live forever while the Chinese president will be gone in a few years and ‘nobody will give you credit for anything’. After meeting Dalai Lama, Pelosi and other visiting US lawmakers said Tibetans have a right to self-determination and should be allowed to practise their religion freely, remarks that are set to rile Beijing, which has already criticised the visit

P 21

20 heat deaths in city govt hospitals in 48 hours, toll likely to rise sharply

52 ‘Brought Dead’ At Delhi Govt Facilities

Anuja Jaiswal & Kushagra Dixit TNN

New Delhi: Govt hospitals across the city have confirmed at least 20 deaths in the last 48 hours due to the heatwave sweeping the region, including six casualties reported in central govt hospitals.

However, the actual toll is likely to be much higher. As per data available with TOI, at least 52 people were declared ‘dead on arrival’ at various healthcare facilities under Delhi govt in the last two days, with Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital alone receiving 27 such bodies. Most of these deaths are suspected to be related to heat. Officials said many of the bodies were of unknown or destitute persons.

Centre will send teams to Safdarjung, Ram Manohar Lohia and Lady Hardinge Medical College hospitals on Thursday to assess the exact number of people who have died in these centrally-run facilities due to heat stroke over the past few days.

Meanwhile, the unprecedented heat in the capital continued unabated. The minimum temperature at Safdarjung on Wednesday was re- corded at 35.2 degrees C, eight notches above normal, and the highest since 1964. This was the first time in 60 years that the minimum temperature at the station had stayed above 35 degrees C.

With the maximum temperature at Safdarjung recorded at 43.6 degrees C, heatwave conditions continued to persist in Delhi although there were reports of light rain in the late evening.

FULL COVERAGE: P 2 & 3

Stalled monsoon likely to delay kharif sowing

After making rather brisk progress across south and many parts of central India, the monsoon remains stalled since June 12. This relatively long hiatus has not only contributed to the ongoing spell of heatwaves but also delayed sowing operations of kharif crops in north and northwest India, reports Vishwa Mohan.

Though IMD, banking on a projected formation of La Nina in the second half of the rainy season, maintains that the country is likely to get fairly good rainfall during July-September, it has downgraded its forecast for June rainfall for the country as a whole from ‘normal’ to ‘below normal’. Experts, however, were hopeful that the overall monsoon rainfall will be normal.

P18

52°C at Mecca: 68 Indians among 922 pilgrims dead

Friends and family searched for missing haj pilgrims on Wednesday as the death toll at the annual rituals, carried out in scorching heat, surged to 922. Relatives scoured hospitals and pleaded online for news, fearing the worst after temperatures hit 51.8 degrees Celsius in Mecca on Monday.

A diplomat in Saudi Arabia said 68 Indian nationals died during the pilgrimage. “We have confirmed around 68 dead... Some died of natural causes... and some are due to the weather, that’s what we assume,” the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP. About 1.8 million people from across the world, many old and infirm, took part in the days-long pilgrimage, held this year during the oven-like Saudi summer.

AFP

P21

NHRC seeks govt reply on Amazon work conditions

New Delhi: Taking suo motu cognisance of a news report alleging anti-labour practices at an Amazon India warehouse in Haryana’s Manesar, National Human Rights Commission has issued notice to the central govt asking for its response within a week.

The commission said the report, if true, raised a serious issue of human rights of workers in violation of labour laws and guidelines issued by the ministry of labour and employment from time to time.

During the proceedings of the case, the report was cited, with workers saying they were made to pledge that they would not take toilet or water breaks until their work target was met.

 No toilet break, P 26

12th pass mantri unable to write ‘Beti Bachao’

Union junior minister for women & child development Savitri Thakur cut an embarrassing picture when she couldn’t write four words in Hindi correctly at a govt school event in Dhar town on Tuesday to welcome students back after the holidays. The school authorities invited her to write “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” on a board to inspire children and staff, but she scrawled something that looked like “Bedhi Padao Bachchav”.

In her election affidavit, Thakur, 46, wrote that she passed her “higher secondary, Urdu Education Board” in 2018, and declared assets of Rs 5.3 crore.

P13

IN THE COURTS

➤ Bombay HC allows release of ‘Hamaare Baarah’ with two disclaimers, muting of 2 dialogues, 3 words in a dialogue and Arabic recitation of a Quranic verse

P 17

➤ In bail plea, CM Kejriwal says excise case against him based on statements of people who were held & promised bail for supporting ED case

P 7

➤ Habeas corpus plea filed before Andhra HC, asking for cops to produce 195 cows handed over to a man

P 26

Man lynched over theft suspicion in UP

A man was lynched by a mob in the Mamu Bhanja locality of Aligarh Tuesday after being suspected of stealing. Videos of the incident, with the victim on the ground even as a group of people rain blows on him, quickly went viral.

P13

IIT-B students fined for Ramayana skit

At least eight IIT-Bombay students have been fined up to Rs 1.2 lakh for staging a play, Raahovan, at the annual cultural festival on March 31, after complaints from some students that Ramayana’s characters were portrayed derogatorily.

P 10

‘Integrity of exam may be compromised’; UGC-NET nixed, CBI probe ordered

New Delhi: Govt on Wednesday cancelled the UGC-National Eligibility Test after an alert by the national anti-cyber crime agency that the paper had been leaked. It also handed over the case to the CBI for a criminal investigation, reports Manash Gohain.

“On June 19, University Grants Commission received certain inputs from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the ministry of home affairs. These inputs prima facie indicate that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised,” an official release said. The order came amid persistent demands for cancellation of NEET-UG over alleged irregularities. Sources confirmed the education ministry, which examined the inputs, took the decision after concluding that the paper had leaked. The exam is conducted by NTA.

11L candidates, P 26

NEET aspirant to face action for forged docus

Allahabad HC on Tuesday nixed a plea filed by a NEET-UG aspirant who had alleged that NTA had failed to declare her result and that her OMR answersheet was found torn. It said the girl had submitted forged documents. Ayushi’s claim added fuel to the demand for cancellation of NEET-UG, and was embraced by Priyanka Gandhi to attack the govt. BJP slammed Priyanka & sought an apology.

P 17

Canada Parl honours Nijjar; India plans Kanishka tribute

IP.Singh@timesgroup.com

Jalandhar: Canadian parliament honoured pro-Khalistan separatist and designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar with a moment’s silence on his first death anniversary Tuesday, reigniting the row triggered by PM Justin Trudeau last year when he insinuated that Indian agents masterminded the Punjab-born immigrant’s killing.

The Indian consulate general in Vancouver responded almost immediately with a reminder of the country’s fight against terror and an open invitation to the diaspora to “a show of solidarity against terrorism” at a memorial service this weekend for the 329 victims of the 1985 Kanishka bombing. Nijjar was killed outside the parking lot of a gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey on June 18 last year. He was the president of the gurdwara management committee.

Fight against terror, P 26

2 die as water tanker hits car in west Delhi

A speeding water tanker hit a car at Tilak Nagar flyover in west Delhi Wednesday, leading to the death of two occupants of the car while one was critically injured and admitted to hospital.

The tanker fled the site immediately, but cops were able to nail the errant driver within 12 hours.

CCTV camera footage from all possible exit routes were studied and traffic personnel were deputed to watch the strategic routes for the vehicle. The tanker was spotted parked near Mahavir Nagar. Comparison with CCTV footage helped verify the vehicle. The transporter was traced and the driver soon after. An FIR with sections related to causing death by negligence and rash driving has been registered against the driver.

P7

Trust of India: TOI No. 1 news brand in country

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

When it comes to the trust of India, there's no beating The Times of India. In a year that has witnessed a hard fought election, which saw rumour mills go into overdrive and social media being flooded with gossip and fake news, India once again turned for reliable and authentic information to its most trusted source.

TOI is the most trusted major news media brand in India, according to a 47-country survey conducted by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), Oxford University. The survey, released as part of Digital News Report 2024, an annual publication by the institute, found TOI had a trust score of 71. TOI had also topped the survey in 2021 and 2022.

While the report does not make any cross country comparisons, just how high a trust level 71 signifies can be seen from the fact that the most trusted brand in the UK, BBC News, had a trust score of 62 and the most trusted paper in that country, Financial Times, scored 57. Similarly, in the US, local TV news had the highest trust score of 62 while New York Times (50), Wall Street Journal (49), CNN (48) and Washington Post (46) scored much lower.

The high level of trust is particularly noteworthy in the year of an election with sharply polarised opinion and mainstream media being challenged by social media channels.

In general, in India print brands were more prominent at the top of trust scores, with the exception of govt media and BBC News. In the West, as evident from the US and UK examples, the pattern was very much the reverse, with television brands topping the trust charts. It is hardly surprising that India had the highest proportion of respondents (40%) who used print media as a source of news. In the US, that proportion was 16% and in the UK 14%.

In India, the respondents were mainly English-speaking, online news users, leaning towards a more affluent, younger, educated, and city-dwelling population. The survey therefore reflects the opinions and attitudes of this section. The survey in India was done in collaboration with Asian College of Journalism.

Wrong manual signalling to blame for train crash, not dead pilot: Experts

Subhro Niyogi, Ajanta Chakraborty & Tamaghna Banerjee

Kolkata/Siliguri: The freight train that ploughed into the rear of the Kanchanjungha Express in north Bengal last Monday should not have been allowed to proceed beyond Rangapani station before the passenger train had crossed Chattar Hat station, based on standard operating procedure for rail traffic cited by several senior serving and retired railway officials.

They pointed out that form T/A 912, a manual authorisation chit or paper lineclear ticket, was “wrongly” issued to the loco pilots of both the freight and express trains in the absence of a functional automatic signalling system. The chit allowed the freight train to pass without reducing speed, leading to the accident that killed 10.

 Stn master’s nod, P 26

CABINET CALLS

➤ Cabinet okays development of a 76,200cr all-weather greenfield deep draft port at Vadhavan in Maha, which will be an integral part of the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor. Another 4,000cr will be spent on building road and rail links to the port

P 10

➤ Cabinet announces MSP for 14 kharif crops, including paddy, ragi, bajra, jowar, maize and cotton, which will have a financial implication of 2L cr for govt and entail gain of 35,000cr to farmers over previous year. It also raises MSP for p addy by 5.4% to 2,300 per quintal

P 19

➤ Govt clears development plan worth 2,870cr for Varanasi airport that will entail building a new terminal bldg & extending runway

P 19

➤ Govt approves 7,453cr viability gap funding for 1 giga watt offshore wind energy project

P 19

➤ Cabinet clears 2,254cr national forensic infrastructure upgrade

P 18

Welcome to the US, minus your ‘branded’ fakes

Amisha.Rajani@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad: Travelling to the United States with a Puma, Adidas, or Nike fake? Your bargain buys might just get confiscated – or even destroyed – by US customs officials.

With US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) stepping up its surveillance of smuggling of counterfeit goods, many Indian students and travellers who flew into America in recent months had their fake luxury items seized at the port of entry. Some told TOI they had to watch the staff run scissors through their clothes or ditch them in the trash can.

CPB rules say an individual can carry one counterfeit item of each type (like one shirt, handbag, or pair of shoes) provided it is for personal use and not for sale. Anything in “excess” of this is banned.

 ‘Serious offence’, P 18

Times Nation

- Cabinet OKs container port at Vadhavan; to cost `76k cr

- 5 of a family killed in Assam landslide

- Bihar mantri ‘announces’ SITs that will shoot armed criminals at sight

- 8 IIT-B students fined `1.2L for Ramayana skit

- Cobra with controller for Xbox, courtesy Amazon

- Fried frog comes with a packet of wafers

- Hooch kills 14 in Tamil Nadu, 40 others hospitalised

- Stairs demolished to eject tenants

- Muslims don’t vote for me also, says Giriraj, backs JD(U) MP

- Fire can’t destroy knowledge: PM at Nalanda univ campus

- BJP’s Surama Padhy set to be Odisha speaker

- Unicef: India among 20 nations with ‘severe child food poverty’

- Foul air claims 464 young kids in India every day: Int’l report

- Woman critically injured in Naxal IED blast in C’garh

- ‘12th pass’ mantri fails to write ‘Beti Bachao...’

- Man kills friend for talking to girl

- ‘Restore Bapu, Ambedkar statues to original spots’

- Forest staffer hurt in Binsar fire dies at AIIMS; toll 5

- Man lynched in Aligarh over theft suspicion

- Amritpal’s detention under NSA extended till 2025

- Good sleep can help reduce high BP risk in children: Study

- B’luru boy caught doing stunts, dad booked under JJ Act

- Over 100 take ill after consuming panipuris in Maha’s Jalgaon dist

- 2 terrorists shot dead in Sopore; cop, jawan hurt

- Aus diplomat got WB meet nod ‘on principle of reciprocity’

- Minors rescued from its MP unit, licence of liquor co suspended

- Man held for assaulting woman home guard in WB

- HC allows screening of ‘Hamare Baarah’ after producers agree to edits

- HC junks NEET aspirant’s plea based on forged papers

- Patna ‘leak’ beneficiary has NEET rank of 71k

- Heatwave claims 4 lives in 48 hrs in UP’s Firozabad

- Stalled monsoon delays kharif crop sowing

- With new crime laws set to take effect, Cabinet okays `2,254cr forensics upgrade

- ‘Didn’t know carrying copies of big brands is a serious offence’

- Govt okays hike in MSP for kharif crops, oilseeds & pulses in focus

- 143 deaths in 152 days: Amravati Maha’s new farm suicide capital

- Turmoil in HP Cong after CM’s wife gets ticket for Dehra bypoll

- Mann transfers 10k cops to fight ‘nexus of police and drug mafia’

- Rlys focuses on supervision of staff at auto signal stretches

Cabinet OKs container port at Vadhavan; to cost `76k cr

Will Be Integral Part Of IMEEEC, And Also World’s 10th Largest

WILL CREATE UP TO 12 LAKH JOBS: The port, located around 130km from Mumbai, will be developed in two phases — first phase by 2030 and second phase by 2039. It will be developed on public private participation model and receive no funding from the Union Budget

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The Cabinet on Wednesday approved developing a major greenfield port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra, which will be an integral part of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEEC). The development of this port — strategically located close to the international trade route, and with a poten- tial to attract mother vessels — will entail an investment of around Rs 76,200 crore. Another Rs 4,000 crore will be spent in building road and rail links.

Union I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said with the operationalisation of the port, the country’s container handling capacity will be doubled. Vadahavan port with 20-metre natural depth will have the capacity to handle 23.3 million TEU (twentyfoot equivalent unit), a measure of volume in units of twenty-foot-long containers. It will emerge as one of the 10 biggest ports in the world and will create up to 12 lakh jobs.

The port, located around 130 km from Mumbai, will be developed in two phases — first phase by 2030 and second phase by 2039 — and will have a cumulative capacity to handle 298 million tonne cargo per annum. A joint venture of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority and Maritime Board of Maharashtra will develop this infrastructure project on public private participation mode. There will be no funding from the Budget.

“The port will act as the main feeder port IMEEEC and propel cargo movement to Chabahar Port in Iran and to International North South Transport Corridor as well,” said Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

The new port will get nine container terminals of 1km length each; four multipurpose berths of 250 metres each and another four berths for handling liquid cargo.

The dredged material will be used to reclaim 1,448 hectares that will be used for construction of berths for container and general cargo vessels, storage yard for containers and other cargo, rail yard and lines, internal roads and utility services. Around 571 hectares will be acquired for rail and road connectivity totheport.

Related reports, P18 & 19

5 of a family killed in Assam landslide

Silchar: Five members of a family died in sleep as a massive landslide buried their house in Assam’s Karimganj around midnight on Tuesday, reports BB Goswami.

The incident occurred at Tajurtal village, a hilly region, located 25 km from the Badarpur railway township, following incessant rains in the district. The victims have been identified as Raimunnessa (55), her daughters Saheda (18), Jaheda (16) and Hamida (11), and grandchild Mehedi Hasan (3). Her husband Abdul Karim escaped unhurt as he was sleeping in another room. Police and SDRF promptly initiated a rescue and recovery operation around 12.30am with the help of locals and retrievedthe bodies.

Bihar mantri ‘announces’ SITs that will shoot armed criminals at sight

How Can Cops Decide Who Is A Criminal, Asks Oppn

Manoj.Chaurasia@timesgroup.com

Patna: NDA govt in Bihar has announced plans to establish SITs in each district with the authority to shoot criminals found carrying illegal arms in public, revenue and land reforms minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal of BJP allegedly says in a viral video clip.

The minister’s alleged statement ignited protests from opposition Grand Alliance led by RJD and Congress, which called the move an attempt to impose a “police raj” in the state.

“... State govt has issued orders to police to shoot dead criminals found moving on the streets with illegal arms and ammunition,” Jaiswal allegedly says in video from an election rally in Rupaul Tuesday, adding the state cabinet has also decided to form separate police teams exclusively for thispurpose.

“Koi apradhi nahin bachega ab (No criminal will survive now),” first-time minister Jaiswal allegedly says in the clip, while campaigning for JD (U) candidate Kaladhar Prasad Mandal for the July 10 bypolls in Rupaul, where JD(U) legislator Bima Bharti resigned from the seat to contest LS polls on an RJD ticket, which she lost.

Opposition reacted to Jaiswal’s alleged remarks, with RJD saying minister was speaking like a “goonda” and undermining the judicial process. RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said: “Minister’s statement means he doesn’t have faith in the judicial process. Whether a person is a criminal or not is decided by the court. How can police decide about it?” Gagan expressed concerns about potential police abuses and asserted that Bihar govt has failed to control crime.

8 IIT-B students fined `1.2L for Ramayana skit

Debarred From Hostel Facilities & Recognition At Gymkhana Awards

The Performing Arts Festival is an annual cultural event of IIT-Bombay

Yogita.Rao@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:At least eight IITBombay students, some of them graduating and the others junior, have been penalised with fines of up to Rs 1.2 lakh for staging a play, Raahovan, during the institute’s annual performing arts festival on March 31.

The play, loosely based on the Ramayana, depicted the lead characters in a “derogatory manner,” claimed complaints made by a section of students.

While graduating students have been penalised with a fine of Rs 1.2 lakh each and will not get any recognition for any gymkhana awards, the junior students have been asked to pay Rs 40,000 each and have also been debarred from hostel facilities, a student said. The institute has taken action based on recommendations of a disciplinary action committee after the complaints.

The Performing Arts Festival, or PAF, is an annual cultural event of IIT-Bombay. It was held in March this year, and the play was staged at the open-air theatre on the campus on March 31. A video went viral in the next few days, showing clippings of the play vis-à-vis the facts from the Ramayana, sparking a debate on artistic freedom and on hurting religious sentiments.

While complaints were sent to the institute in writing, one such complainant told TOIthe play was derogatory in many ways and the students had made a mockery of culture in the name of showing feminism.

A social media handle claimed that the students had abused their academic freedom and that the institute should establish guidelines to ensure no religion is ridiculed under the guise of freedom of expression on the campus in future.

However, several students on campus claimed the harsh action was uncalled for. The play, in fact, a student said, was a feminist take on a tribal society and was well received by the audience and the judges.

While the institute authorities did not comment on the issue, another student said the institute should explain how the confidential document about the action taken has been leaked on social media.

Cobra with controller for Xbox, courtesy Amazon

UNEXPECTED DELIVERIES

Bengaluru:Aresident of Sarjapur Road in Bengaluru, who was eagerly waiting for an Xbox controller from e-commerce platform Amazon, was shocked to find a live spectacled cobra—a highly venomous species unique to Karnataka—stuck to the packaging tape of the consignment onSunday.

Tanvi (name changed) was relieved that the snake was firmly taped and couldn’t move and hence couldn’t cause anyharm.

While Amazon is investigating the matter, the packet originated in Delhi before being shipped to Bengaluru and it is being checked how and where the snake got taped to the packet. Despite potential danger, Amazon’s customer support kept them on hold for over two hours, forcing them to handle the situation on their own in the middle of night. Although Tanvi received full refund from Amazon, she expressed dissatisfaction: “...This is clearly a safety breach caused by Amazon’s negligence and their poor transportation/warehousing hygiene and supervision.”

TNN

Fried frog comes with a packet of wafers

Rajkot:A Gujarati family on Tuesday was horrified to find a fried frog in their packet of salted wafers made by a leading snacks brand, prompting the authorities to launch an investigation. Jasmine Patel of Jamnagar lodged a complaint with civic authorities after he allegedly failed to get a proper response from Rajkot-based Balaji Wafers.

D B Parmar, food safety officer of Jamnagar Municipal Corporation, said, “We are taking samples of wafers of the same batch from the distribution agency for laboratory tests.”

Jay Sachdev, marketing manager of Balaji Wafers, told TOI, “We maintain complete hygiene in our factory and it’s not possible to find a frog inside our snack packet. We also allow visitation of our plants to students every week. However, we will fully cooperate if JMC starts an investigation.”

TNN

Hooch kills 14 in Tamil Nadu, 40 others hospitalised

Kallakurichi:Fourteen people died on Wednesday after consuming illicit arrack near Kallakurichi in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday night. More than 40 others are being treated in hospitals in Kallakurichi, Villupuram, Salem and Puducherry. Samples tested at a forensic laboratory were found to have the poisonousmethanol.

Police arrested a bootlegger, K Govindaraj alias Kannukutti, on charges of selling illicit arrack and seized more than 200 litres ofthe brew.

On reaching home, most of them complained of giddiness, headache, vomiting, nausea, stomach pain andirritation in the eyes. CM MK Stalin asked public works minister EV Velu and health minister Ma Subramanian to visit the hospital and extend all necessaryhelp to the patients.

TNN

Stairs demolished to eject tenants

Tamil Nadu fire & rescue personnel were called in for an unusual emergency on Tuesday. A family found itself trapped on the first floor after their landlord demolished the stairs with an earthmover. The drastic action came after the tenants, who had not paid rent for six months, refused to vacate the flat at Vanavil Nagar in Kancheepuram, reports Ram Sundaram.

Venugopal had rented the first floor last year. However, after falling ill and becoming partially disabled, his ability to work and earn was severely impacted. Despite being granted an additional month to settle the arrears, Venugopal could not make the payment.

Muslims don’t vote for me also, says Giriraj, backs JD(U) MP

Singh faced flak from RJD and Cong

Manoj.Chaurasia@timesgroup.com

Patna: After JD(U)’s Sitamarhi MP Devesh Chandra Thakur controversially declared he wouldn’t work for Yadavs and Muslims since they allegedly didn’t vote for him, Union minister and BJP’s Begusarai MP Giriraj Singh drew flak Wednesday for concurring with his NDA colleague, saying Muslims of Bihar “went out of their way to defeat our candidates” in the Lok Sabha polls.

“The pain expressed by Thakur is right. Why such narrowness in casting votes?” Singh said Tuesday while speaking to reporters in Muzaffarpur. “They (Muslims) don’t vote for me either. NDA never discriminated against them,” he said, also alleging a political conspiracy “to weaken Sanatan dharma”.

Singh, inducted into the Narendra Modi cabinet for a third consecutive term, post- ed on X clippings of news reports on his statement backing Thakur.

RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav criticised Singh for expecting “a particular community” to be indebted to him. “Are they bonded workers to vote for him? A voter holds the right to vote for any party per his or her will, they can't be forced to vote for any party or individual.”

Yadav said it was impossible for the Union minister to win elections with the support of only the upper castes, who constitute around 15% of Bihar’s population.

Congress Legislature Party chief Shakeel Ahmed, too, questioned the propriety of Singh’s remarks in public. “What’s the point in talking about those who are against the spirit of the Constitution? They are speaking a language which doesn’t suit our Constitution,” he said.

Fire can’t destroy knowledge: PM at Nalanda univ campus

‘Will Re-Establish India As Global Knowledge Hub By 2047’

Modi visits the ruins of Nalanda University after inauguration of its campus

Manoj.Chaurasia@timesgroup.com

Patna: PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Wednesday a new Nalanda University campus near the ruins of the institution’s ancient avatar in Bihar’s Rajgir, saying his two-pronged mission is to make India a developed nation by 2047 and re-establish the country as the “foremost knowledge hub in the world”.

“Nalanda is not just a name. It is an identity, an honour, a value, a mantra, and a saga,” said Modi, highlighting that despite the destruction of the ancient university’s libraries by invaders in the 12th century, the essence of knowledge remains indestructible.

“The emergence of the new Nalanda University shows fire can destroy books but not knowledge,” he said during the event attended by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, external affairs minister S Jaishankar, and representatives from 17 countries.

Highlighting the broader significance, Modi said: “My mission is to see India become the centre of education and knowledge for the world. My mission is that India should again be recognised as the most prominent knowledge centre of the world.” He asserted that India is “transforming its education system” as part of its mission to become a devel- oped nation on the 100th year of its independence.

The original university in Nalanda, established around 1,600 years ago, was one of the world’s first residential universities, attracting scholars from around the globe. It flourished for 800 years before its destruction.

Modi said students from over 20 countries are currently studying at the new university, which he described as a shining example of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam” (the world is one family). He hoped the university would become a centre for cultural exchange. The PM also detailed his govt’s achievements in education over the past decade, mentioning the increase in Indian institutions in global rankings.

“During this period, one university came up every week, a new ITI established every day, an Atal Tinkering Lab opened every third day while two new colleges set up every day,” Modi said, adding India currently has 23 IITs. The number of IIMs has increased from 13 to 21, while the number of AIIMS has nearly tripled to 22, he said.

“India is the country of Lord Buddha, and the world wishes to walk shoulder to shoulder with the mother of democracy,” Modi said, suggesting that Nalanda could offer a new dimension to the concept of universal brotherhood.

BJP’s Surama Padhy set to be Odisha speaker

Bhubaneswar: Surama Padhy, 63, a two-time BJP MLA from Ranpur, is all set to become speaker of Odisha legislative assembly.

While BJP named Padhy as its speaker candidate on Wednesday, BJD has not fielded anyone, paving way for her unanimous election scheduled on Thursday.

“Nobody else has filed nomination from any other party. CM Mohan Majhi spoke to BJD president and former CM Naveen Patnaik for his support for Padhy. Naveen has conveyed his party’s support,” Odisha parliamentary affairs minister Mukesh Mahaling said. Padhy, one of the five BJP women MLAs, served as a minister of state in the cooperation department in the BJP-BJD coalition govt from 2004 to 2009.

TNN

Unicef: India among 20 nations with ‘severe child food poverty’

Ambika.Pandit@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Unicef’s new metric on ‘child food poverty’ exposes the magnitude of the food and nutrition crisis in children under 5 years of age across the world with India along with neighbouring countries China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan figuring among the 20 countries home to 65% of the 181 million children globally living in “severe child food poverty”.

The numbers show that 1 in 4 children (27%) globally figure in the severe category as they are surviving on extremely poor diets. These findings are part of Unicef’s global ‘Child Nutriton Report 2024’. The percentage of children living in severe child food poverty in 92 countries with available data ranges from 1% in Belarus to 63% per cent in Somalia with the percentage for India at 40% which is categorised as ‘high’.

Unicef defines child food poverty as children’s inability to access and consume a nutritious and diverse diet in first 5 years of life. The forces driving severe child food poverty include “poor food environments for children, poor feeding practices and household income poverty affecting children and their families”. It is a problem affecting both the poor and non-poor households.

The report cautions that severe child food poverty is driving child undernutrition and percentage of chil- dren living in severe child food poverty is three times higher in countries with a high prevalence of stunting.

The findings of this global study hold signficance for India given that the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) of the Union health ministry puts the prevalence of stunting at 35.5%, wasting at 19.3% and underweight at 32.1% for under 5 children. Even though it is an improvement over NFHS (2015-16) when prevalence of stunting was 38.4%, wasting was 21.0% and underweight was 35.8%, undernutrition continues to be concern.

The UN report also states that children deprived of good nutrition in early childhood do less well at school and have lower earning capacity in adulthood.

Foul air claims 464 young kids in India every day: Int’l report

Malathy Iyer & Chittaranjan Tembhekar | TNN

Mumbai:Every day, on average, 464 children aged under 5 die in India reportedly due to air pollution-related causes, according to ‘State of Global Air (SoGA) 2024’ brought out by an US-based research organisation, Health Effects Institute (HEI). Across all age groups, the all-India toll stood at 2.1 million in 2021, it said.

The findings show air pollution is now second to hypertension as a death risk factor, beating tobacco and diabetes.

As per the report, 8.1 million died across the globe in 2021 due to air pollution-related diseases/conditions— meaning one in four such deaths occurred in India. India (2.1 million deaths) and China (2.3 million deaths) accounted for 55% of the global air pollution burden that year.

“Air pollution has had an impact on non-communicable disease burden in India,” said HEI’s Pallavi Pant. “Around 40% of deaths due to heart disease, 33% of lung cancer deaths, 20% of type 2 diabetes deaths, 41% of stroke deaths and 70% of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) deaths were linked to air pollution in 2021,” she said.

The biggest culprit is the microscopic PM2.5, which accounts for six of every 10 air pollution-linked deaths in the world; the other pollutants —household air pollution and ozone—account for 38% and 6% of deaths, respectively.

The SoGA report—produced for the first time in partnership with Unicef—also focused on millions living with debilitating chronic diseases that put a strain on healthcare systems, economies and societies. “Children under five years old are especially vulnerable, with health effects including premature birth, low birth weight, asthma and lung diseases,” it said. In 2021, exposure to air pollution was linked to over 7 lakh deaths of children under 5, making it the second leading risk factor for death globally for this group, after malnutrition. “Exposure to air pollution in young children is linked to pneumonia, responsible for one in five child deaths globally, and asthma, the most common chronic respiratory disease in older children,” the report said.

A senior civic health official said air pollution-related ailments are not notifiable as per govt rules.

Woman critically injured in Naxal IED blast in C’garh

Raipur: A woman in her fifties was critically injured in a Maoist IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division, Bijapur district, on Wednesday.

The victim, Jogi, had gone to collect forest produce around 6.30am in Nadpalli village in the remote Usoor region — a Maoist hotbed. When she didn’t return for several hours, locals went looking for her. The villagers found her lying in the forest with her legs nearly blown off after she stepped on a pressure-activated IED. Maoists indiscriminately plant IEDs to target security forces.

Villagers informed CRPF personnel, who took Jogi to a PHC. She was, later, shifted to district hospital where she is battling for life.

On June 2, a 22-year-old man was injured in a similar incident in Tarrem area, around 30km from the Nadpalli village. Four civilians have been killed and six injured in the past six months in IED blasts in Bastar.

TNN

‘12th pass’ mantri fails to write ‘Beti Bachao...’

Jr Min For Women & Child Devpt Wrote In Nimari Language: BJP

Twice MP from Dhar constituency, Thakur was made a minister less than 10 days ago

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mhow: Union junior minister for women and child development Savitri Thakurcut an embarrassing picture when she couldn’t write four words in Hindi correctly at a govt school event in Dhar town on Tuesday to welcome students back after the holidays.

The school authorities invited her to be the first person to write “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” on a board to inspire children and staff, but she scrawled something that looked like “Bedhi Padao Bachchav".

In her Lok Sabha election affidavit, the 46-year-old has written that she passed her “higher secondary, Urdu Education Board” in 2018, and declared Rs 5.3 crore in assets.

Twice MP from Dhar constituency, Thakur was made a minister less than 10 days ago. The central minister was chief guest at a “School Chale Hum” event in Dhar town, 60km from Indore. As cameras rolled, Thakur managed just three of the four words, that too with mistakes in letters and “matra”.

A video of this was shared widely on social media. It shows people around her smiling uneasily at her mistake. Someone is heard prompt- ing from behind, “Beti bachao”, but in vain. Thakur did not respond to queries about the spelling blunder.

Dhar district BJP spokesperson Sanjay Sharma said, “Didi (Savitri Thakur) speaks the Nimari language and she was writing the same words which she speaks.”

Congress reacted sharply to the minister’s faux pas. MP leader of opposition and MLA from Gandhwani Umang Singar said, “It’s true that there is no criteria for becoming an MP or a minister, but public representatives should have basic writing skills.”

TIMES VIEW: It is strange and disappointing that a 12th pass minister is not able to write four simple words in Hindi, which goes against the very cause that she’s promoting. The minister should come clean on why it happened. People have a right to know.

Man kills friend for talking to girl

A man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly murdering his friend for talking to a girl in UP’s Rae Bareli.

TNN

‘Restore Bapu, Ambedkar statues to original spots’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Continuing the protest against the shifting of statues of national icons in the Parliament complex, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Wednesday wrote to the presiding officers of the two Houses of Parliament demanding that statues of Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar be restored to their original prominent spots.

In letters to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, Kharge said the shifting of statues to a corner of Parliament without any consultation with stakeholders or in the committee dedicated for the purpose, violated the spirit of democracy.

Kharge said the spot of Gandhi’s statue in a meditative posture, installed on Oct 2, 1993 in front of the old Parliament Building, had a sacrosanct value, which inspired the MPs and where members also held protests to draw govt’s attention for redressal of people’s grievances.

Also, Ambedkar’s statue at a vantage position, installed on April 2, 1967, had become a convenient place for tributes to the leader on his anniversaries by common people, without any concerns for security.

He also expressed anguish that the dedicated committee for installing portraits and statues in the Parliament House Complexhas not been reconstituted since 2019.

Forest staffer hurt in Binsar fire dies at AIIMS; toll 5

Almora: A 21-year-old forest watcher, who received 70% burns in the wildfire that erupted in Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary and killed four forest personnel, died at AIIMS Delhi on Wednesday after battling his injuries for almost a week, reports Yogesh Nagarkoti.

The incident had occurred on June 13 when forest teams were sent to extinguish the blaze at the sanctuary. However, the fire was raging so intensely that the workers were soon engulfed in the flames, as per officials.

Meanwhile, fresh fire incidents were reported on Tuesday. Sources said the fire reignited at some of the same spots, causing alarm among local residents. The renewed flames are believed to have originated from the roots of oak and kafal trees. The situation escalated on Wednesday when fires spread to the Kataramal and Kasar forests, as well as other parts of Binsar Sanctuary.

Man lynched in Aligarh over theft suspicion

Aligarh: A man was lynched by a mob in the Mamu Bhanja locality of Aligarh around 10:30 on Tuesday, sparking outrage and protests across the city, reports Mohammad Dilshad. Videos of the brutal murder spread quickly on social media triggering shock and condemnation.

Police have identified and arrested six persons from the mob of at least 22 individuals who assaulted Mohammad Farid alias Aurangzeb, 35, with wooden sticks and lathis.

While police said the mob lynched Aurangzeb, who made rotis at weddings and get-togethers, after he “broke into the house” of textiles trader Mukesh Chand Mittal his brother, Mohammad Zaki said the group attacked him “only after finding out that he was a Muslim”.

Amritpal’s detention under NSA extended till 2025

Chandigarh: Punjab govt has extended the detention of newly-elected MP and jailed pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singhunder National Security Act (NSA) for one year till April 22, 2025, on the ground that he has continued to indulge in “subversive and separatist activities prejudicial to the security of the state and maintenance of public order even in Dibrugarh central jail,” reports Sanjeev Verma.

Waris Punjab De outfit head Amritpal Singh, detained since April 23, 2023, won Lok Sabha elections from Khadoor Sahib constituency in Punjab, defeating Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira by a margin of 1.9lakh votes.

Before deciding to extend Amritpal’s detention under NSA, authorities had recorded that security personnel had on Feb 17 seized various unauthorised electronic devices with Amritpal and his associate detenues and had claimed that they had resisted the cops’ search operation.

During the investigation, it came to fore that one Nipen Das, superintendent at Dibrugarh central jail, provided electronic articles to Amritpal and his associates to establish contact with their associates outside the jail to further the “separatist and secessionist agenda.”

Good sleep can help reduce high BP risk in children: Study

Sleeping At Right Time Needs To Be Practised, Say Docs

DurgeshNandan.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: It is not just the adults. Many children also suffer from hypertension or high blood pressure.

While earlier it was thought that changing the diet and improving physical activity are the best nonpharmacological interventions to manage it, new research published in the journal Paediatrics suggests adequate sleep and going to bed earlier are equally important.

“We recommend that when a paediatrician identifies a patient (children and teenagers) with elevated blood pressure, in addition to standard counselling, a patient would benefit from counselling on optimal sleep health,” study author Amy J Kogon, a pediatric nephrologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a video abstract.

Kogon and his team studied the link between sleep and blood pressure in 539 children and teens who were being evaluated for high blood pressure at the hospital’s paediatric nephrology clinic.

According to study, they found that on average the children and teens slept just over nine hours per night. Every extra hour of sleep duration was associated with reduced odds of increased blood pressure in the morning. Later sleep onset was associated with worse daytime blood pressure parameters, the researchers found.

In India, some studies suggest that nearly 7% of school-going children suffer from hypertension.

Dr Krishan Chugh, principal director of paediatrics at Fortis Gurugram said the Philadelphia hospital study scientifically proves what has been widely believed earlier also that a good sleep is essential for maintaining the normal blood pressure and working of the heart, besides that of the brain and the mind.

“In recent times, it has been noticed that many adolescents are having high blood pressures, both systolic and diastolic, even when they’re not suffering from any other illness. Yes, many of them are overweight or obese, but as such, do not have any disease like a kidney disease. High blood pressure in younger children leads to all the adverse effects that are noticed in adults with hypertension,” Dr Chugh said. He added that it is not only sleeping for a number of hours that is important, but also sleeping at the right time and not too late to match the biological cycle of a normal human being that needs to be practised.

Dr Dhiren Gupta, senior consultant paediatrician at Sir Ganga Ram hospital, said shortened sleep duration in children and adolescents predisposes them to inattention, hyperactivity, easy irritability and poor appetite control among others. Ideally, Dr Gupta said, children aged between six to 12 years should sleep for nine to 12 hours daily.

B’luru boy caught doing stunts, dad booked under JJ Act

Bengaluru: A businessman in his 40s has been booked under the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, apart from IPC and the Motor Vehicles Act, for allowing his minor son to ride his scooter and perform stunts on the road, reports Chaithanya Swamy.

The 17-year-old boy was caught performing wheelies near Marathahalli bridge in Bengaluru on June 1. After confirming that the boy was a minor, traffic police filed a complaint against his father on June 15.

A senior police officer said a case under section 75 of the JJ Act (punishment for cruelty to child) has been registered. “We will issue a notice to the father and record his statement, and a chargesheet will be filed against him. The two-wheeler has been seized by traffic police,” the officer said.

Over 100 take ill after consuming panipuris in Maha’s Jalgaon dist

Over hundred people from three villages fell ill after consuming panipuris in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district, reports Santosh Sonawane. Authorities have identified the panipuri vendor and the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) officials in Jalgaon have collected samples of all the ingredients for analysis.

2 terrorists shot dead in Sopore; cop, jawan hurt

Security forces during an encounter with terrorists in J&K’s Sopore on Wednesday

Saleem.Pandit@timesgroup.com

Srinagar: Two unidentified terrorists were killed in an ongoing encounter in Sopore, north Kashmir, on Wednesday after security forces launched a search operation in Hadipora area of Watergam.

An officer said the identities of the two terrorists slain in the Hadipora Rafiabad encounter would be ascertained after the forces had retrieved the bodies. A policeman shot and injured in the encounter was taken to a nearby hospital. An Army jawan was injured as well.

Earlier, officials had said that a joint Army, CRPF and J&K Police team had started a cordon-and search operation in Lyser Hadipora village in Rafiabad, Sopore, after receiving credible inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area.

The hiding terrorists fired at the security forces, triggering an encounter. Meanwhile, roads leading to the encounter site were sealed as the operation was still under way.

Rajouri resident held for sheltering Reasi attackers

Jammu: J&K Police arrested Wednesday a 45-year-old man named Hakam Din, alleged to be a local “overground worker” for terrorist organisations and the prime suspect in guiding and sheltering the group of suspected Pakistani gunmen who attacked a bus carrying pilgrims in Reasi district on June 9, reports Sanjay Khajuria. The attack, carried out with M4 carbines and other semiautomatic weapons, resulted in the deaths of seven pilgrims, the bus driver, and the conductor, and left 41 others wounded as the bus travelling from Shiv Khori cave shrine to Vaishno Devi temple in Katra rolled down a hillside near Teryath village.

Reasi SSP Mohita Sharma said Din, a resident of Bandhrahi in Rajouri district, was arrested in Reasi. “The arrested man has confessed that he had helped the terrorists as a guide and also helped them find shelter,” Sharma said. “During preliminary interrogation, the arrested man mentioned the three terrorists. A day before the attack, they stayed at his home.”

The SSP alleged Din guided the terrorists through the forests to the site of the attack and received Rs 6,000 for his assistance. Police claimed to have found the money at his home. Sharma said around 150 people have been detained for questioning in connection with the attack. Since the attack, security forces have been actively scouring the region to capture the terrorists, but no one has been captured yet.

Man flees with SPO’s AK-47, later arrested in Doda

Jammu: A man who fled with an AK-47 rifle of a special police officer (SPO) after offering him a lift in his vehicle in J&K’s Doda district on Tuesday was nabbed from near his home in a village in the district on Wednesday, reports Sanjay Khajuria. After a night-long search operation, a joint team of police, special operation group, and Army nabbed Mohammad Rafi from a seasonal rivulet near his home in Doda’s Bhalla village and recovered the rifle from his possession.

“SPO Safdar Hussain took a lift in Rafi’s vehicle. When they reached Pul Doda, Hussain got down to buy essentials but left his AK-47 in the vehicle. Rafi fled with the rifle,” said Doda SSP Javed Iqbal.

Security forces quickly cordoned off the area and located the vehicle abandoned near Jagota area of Bhalla on Tuesday night. However, Rafi and the rifle were missing, said the SSP. “Rafi is being interrogated. We are trying to find out the motive behind his actions,” he added.

Aus diplomat got WB meet nod ‘on principle of reciprocity’

New Delhi: Australian deputy high commissioner Nicholas McCaffrey was conveyed a “no-objection” based on the principle of reciprocity for meeting officials of West Bengal govt at an “appropriate” level, sources said Wednesday, after TMC MPs Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghose accused Centre of not allowing the diplomat to meet top Bengal ministers in Kolkata, reports Mohua Chatterjee.

TMC plans to raise the issue in Parliament, after discussing it with INDIA bloc partners.

According to official sources, while a “no-objection” was given to meet BJP’s Dilip Ghosh and Sukanta Majumdar and TMC’s Derek O’Brien and Jawhar Sircar, they recommended against meeting state ministers.

Explaining the principle of reciprocity, another official source said, the rank of a minister of a state govt is much higher in protocol than that of the deputy chief of a foreign mission and this provision is followed in heeding to any request for meetings. The source suggested that the deputy high commissioner is much junior to the ministers and that is why the meetings sought by the diplomat were not in sync with laid down norms.

Minors rescued from its MP unit, licence of liquor co suspended

Bhopal: MP govt Wednesday suspended the licence of Som Distilleries — makers of wellknown liquor brands — after 59 child labourers were rescued from its unit in Raisen by NCPCR four days ago. The order issued by state excise commissioner Abhijit Agarwal says, “License (of the distillery) is suspended for a period of 20 days or till the detailed report is received from the labour department, whichever is later.”

The order says on June 15, an NCPCR team rescued 59 minors, including 20 girls, from a unit of Som distilleries at Sehatganj in Raisen district (25km from Bhopal). An FIR was registered against its directors, mentioning that minors were found to be working at the factory and the skin of their hands was “damaged and infected”.

“Prima facie, it is evident from the FIR and report of Raisen collector that minors were found working in the factory premises,” the suspension order says. Police, labour department, industrial safety department and excise department are conducting separate probes. TNN

Man held for assaulting woman home guard in WB

Police have arrested a man for allegedly hurling abuses, assaulting and molesting a woman home guard after she reportedly prevented him from parking his bike in a busy lane near Alimuddin Street in Kolkata’s Park Street police station area on Monday, reports Dwaipayan Ghosh.

FRIDAY RELEASE

HC allows screening of ‘Hamare Baarah’ after producers agree to edits

Rosy.Sequeira@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: Bombay HC Wednesday permitted the release of the film ‘Hamare Baarah’ after its producers agreed to make changes to it before its release in cinemas on Friday.

“As per suggestions of the court, and which is agreeable to all the parties, the following changes will be made. The changes mentioned below shall be done before the film is released,” said Justices Burgess Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla. On Tuesday, the judges said they saw the film which sends out a social message for women empowerment, is not based on religious texts, and is not offensive to the religious sentiments of Muslims. They asked both sides to arrive at consent terms.

The changes included display of two disclaimers regarding Sharia law—in English and Hindi—for 12 seconds each, which senior advocate Rahul Narichania for the producers said “will be more than sufficient for anyone to read”. Two dialogues and three words in a dialogue and an Arabic recitation of a Qu- ranic verse at the start of the film will be muted. Thereafter, Central Board of Film Certification will issue the film a fresh certificate no later than 12pm on Thursday. The producers “shall be at liberty to forthwith exhibit the film on all platforms of their choice” and also upload the CBFC certified trailer on social media and advertise the film, said the court.

“Upon satisfaction of the aforesaid conditions, no party shall have objection to exhibi- tion of the film and its trailer on any platform or screen,” the judges said. They directed YouTube, Twitter and Google to forthwith take down teasers and trailers appearing with the objectionable dialogues.

The producers were directed to donate Rs 5 lakh to the NGO Ideal Relief Committee Trust to use for providing relief to people during natural disasters. Tamboli’s advocate Mayur Khandeparkar said with these changes, the petition works out to everybody’s satisfaction.

HC junks NEET aspirant’s plea based on forged papers

Allahabad HC termed the matter ‘regrettable’ and said NTA, which conducts NEET-UG, was free to take legal action against the aspirant

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow/New Delhi: Allahabad HC Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by a NEET-UG aspirant who had alleged that National Testing Agency (NTA) had failed to declare her result and that her OMR answer sheet was found torn. The court said the girl had submitted forged documents.

“NTA can take legal action in the matter,” Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan said in his order. NTA told the court the decision to initiate legal action against the student, Ayushi Patel of Lucknow, had already been taken.

The order came after NTA, as per the court’s direction, produced the original OMR answer sheet of the student, which was found to be intact.

Ayushi’s sensational claim added fuel to the demand for cancellation of the NEET-UG exam, and was embraced by Congress functionary Priyanka Gandhi Va- dra to attack the Modi govt.

With HC adjudging Ayushi’s claim to be a hoax, BJP slammed Priyanka and sought an apology. “You remember this tweet by Priyanka Vadra, here is how Congress peddles fakery,” party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said while dubbing Congress “jhooth ki dukaan”.

In her petition filed early this month, Ayushi claimed NTA sent her a communication saying her result would not be declared as her OMR sheet was found torn. Ayushi had demanded her OMR sheet be evaluated manually. She demanded that the counselling for admissions be stopped while her petition was pending and an inquiry be set up against NTA. She also claimed she should have scored 715 marks out of 720, while her actual score was 335.

While presenting the OMR sheet, scorecard and attendance sheet of the petitioner, NTA said the applica- tion number of the petitioner in the documents was 240411340741, which was signed by the petitioner herself. However, she was sending emails citing the application number 240411840741, changing one digit.

After seeing the documents, the court said Ayushi had filed the petition based on forged documents. It termed it “regrettable” and said NTA was free to take legal action in the matter.

Before she approached HC, Ayushi had released a video with her claims. It generated much political heat after Vadra shared it and slammed the test-conducting agency. However, NTA had on June 12 said Ayushi’s paper was intact and it was a case of forgery on the part of the candidate whose actual score was lower than claimed. “No torn OMR answer sheet was sent from any official NTA email, and the actual OMR is available and not torn. Moreover, all the results are available online,” an official said.

Patna ‘leak’ beneficiary has NEET rank of 71k

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: If the welter of claims and counter-claims over alleged paper leak in the NEET-UG was not enough, this is going to compound the chaos further. Three of the alleged beneficiaries of the paper leak at a Patna centre for the medical test failed to muster the qualifying score.

The other nine alleged beneficiaries, some with scores of 500, 400, 300, 200 and 185 out of 720, would be lucky to get into good private medical colleges which charge exorbitantly high fees, not an enviable prospect for parents who shell out loads of money to access “leaked papers” and arrange “solvers” who write the exam for their wards. Even the best performer with 609 marks is ranked 71,000 in the merit list and would not get into any govt medical college which together account for a little over 56,000 seats.

Education ministry Wednesday sought a report from Bihar Police’s economic offences unit on alleged irregularities in Patna. Bihar Police’s claim that it found signs “suggestive” of paper leak, led the ministry to promise a fresh look into the integrity of the exam. Its claim is based on the statement of a aspirant Ayush Raj, who said the paper he got was the same that had been “leaked” to him a day in advance. Intriguingly, Ayush finished behind at least 6 lakh of the 24 lakh candidates.

Heatwave claims 4 lives in 48 hrs in UP’s Firozabad

Agra:Blistering heat became deadly in Firozabad when in 48 hours four individuals, who arrived at the district’s govt trauma centre in critical condition after suffering a heat stroke, died. They were brought to the emergency department for treatment of fever, diarrhea, and high blood pressure triggered by heat stroke, officials said, reportsDeepak Lavania.

Those dead included Usha Devi, 70, Ramesh Kumar, 58, Ashok, 55, and Som Kumari, 89.

Six patients with heat stroke are currently admitted in critical condition and undergoing treatment, the officials added. More than 90 people have been admitted to the centre in the past 24 hours, according to the hospital.

According to the hospital administration, the number of those affected by the intense heat is increasing daily. The emergency ward is overcrowded, with two patients sharing one bed in some cases.

Stalled monsoon delays kharif crop sowing

At A Standstill Since June 12 After Hitting N-E 6 Days Early

We need to wait for the next spell to revive the monsoon, said a climate scientist

Vishwa.Mohan@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The monsoon, which made its onset over Kerala two days in advance and arrived in the North-East six days before its normal date, has remained almost at a standstill since June 12 after making gradual progress and covering roughly 40% of the geographical area during the first 14 days. The current relatively longer hiatus has not on- ly contributed to the current heat wave phase but also delayed sowing operation of kharif (summer sown) crops in north and North-West India.

Though the India Meteorological Department (IMD), banking on upcoming La Nina formation, still maintains that the country is most likely to get fairly good rainfall during July-Sept, it has downgraded its forecast for June rainfall for the country as a whole from ‘normal’ to ‘below normal’ due to the current pause in the movement of monsoon.

La Nina conditions — climate pattern associated with the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equa- torial Pacific — are generally associated with good monsoon rainfall in India. Past data shows that the summer monsoon was either ‘normal’ or ‘above normal’ in most of the last 22 La Nina years since 1954 except 1974 and 2000 when it was below normal. IMD has, already, predicted ‘above normal’ monsoon rainfall for the country as a whole this year.

“Monsoon hiatus is very common in the monsoon season. Monsoon does not progress in one stretch. But the current hiatus is relatively longer. It could be associated with the intra-seasonal activity and also Madden Julian Os- cillation (MJO),” said Madhavan Rajeevan, climate scientist and former secretary, ministry of earth sciences. MJO is one of the most important atmospheric-ocean coupled phenomena in the tropics, which has a profound influence on the Indian summer monsoon.

Asked whether the current hiatus will impact the overall quantitative outcome of the monsoon, Rajeevan said, “We need to wait for the next spell to revive the monsoon. That is expected during the last week of June. Anyway, June will be deficient. But we should not worry. We will have a normal monsoon.”

With new crime laws set to take effect, Cabinet okays `2,254cr forensics upgrade

The strengthening and upgrade of forensic capabilities nationwide is expected to take care of the higher demand for forensics in probe of crimes under the new criminal laws

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Days before the new criminal laws — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — come into force, the Union Cabinet has cleared a significant national forensic infrastructure upgrade scheme envisaging expansion of the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) network and setting up of more National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) campuses.

The components of the Rs 2,254 crore National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme (NFIES) approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday include establishment of more NFSU campuses and CFSL facilities across the country, besides enhancement of infrastructure at NFSU’s Delhi campus. Financial outlay for the central sector scheme — to be implemented between 2024-25 and 2028-29 — will be met out of the home ministry’s own budget.

The strengthening and upgrade of forensic capabilities nationwide is expected to take care of the higher demand for forensics in investigation of crimes under the new criminal laws, which come into effect from July 1, as they provide for mandatory forensic examination of the crime scene and evidence for offences punishable with imprisonment of seven years or more. An MHA spokesperson said the new criminal laws will significantly increase the workload of forensic laboratories, which are currently grappling with a lack of trained forensic manpower.

Stressing on the need for significant investment and enhancement in national forensic infrastructure to en- able the smooth rollout of BNS, BNSS and BSA, the home ministry said the establishment of additional off-campuses of the NFSU and new CFSLs would address the shortage of trained forensic manpower in the country. This way the case load or pendency of forensic laboratories will be reduced and the Govt of India’s goal of securing a high conviction rate of more than 90%, can become a reality, it added.

Home minister Amit Shah, in a post on ‘X’, thanked PMModi for the “landmark decision to bolster India’s criminal justice system by opening a chain of state-of-the-art forensic laboratories and NFSU campuses across the nation”. “The Rs 2254.43 crore project will not only ensure the training of manpower in forensic sciences but also enhance speedy and immaculate justice delivery to everyone,” he stated.

MHA spokesperson said the NFIES “underscores the importance of high quality, trained forensic professionals in the timely and scientific examination of evidence for an efficient criminal justice process, leveraging the advancements in technology & evolving manifestations and methods of crime”.

‘Didn’t know carrying copies of big brands is a serious offence’

Continued from P 1

I travelled to the US to meet my son, who is pursuing a master’s in supply chain management in Texas. I was carrying eight shirts, four trousers, some socks, and a pair of shoes. All the goods were still packed as I had just bought them, said a schoolteacher from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.

“At the port of entry officials checked my bags and bombarded me with questions about where I was travelling from, who the goods were for, if I was smuggling them, etc. Though I tried explaining to them that it was all for my son, they insisted that I could not take them as they were all counterfeit goods — copies of big brands — which I wasn’t aware of. Since they threatened me with criminal charges, I had no choice but to let them seize everything immediately.”

The traveller said many of the clothing items were torn before being discarded. “I lost goods worth at least Rs 30,000,” added the 43-year-old, appealing to authorities to mention these rules on relevant platforms for the benefit of travellers.

“How do we know this (rule) if it is not prominently mentioned in the dos and don’ts guide that gives travellers a checklist of what can be carried and what can’t,” asked a 27-year-old student from Hyderabad who had a similar experience a few months ago.

“It is very common in India for people to sell and buy copies of big brands.I had no idea that carrying them in my luggage is such a serious offence.” The student, pursuing a master’s in business management and economics from California, had eight to 10 shirts, pants, and three pairs of shoes thrown into the trash by customs officials.

When TOI reached out to the CPB, officials said that scrutiny had increased after 23 million counterfeit goods from 19,724 shipments were seized in 2023. “This violates Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). If these goods were genuine or sold illegally with actual brand names, it would have amounted to $2.7 billion,” a department representative said, adding that such fake goods threaten economic vitality, national security and public safety. “Bringing them into the United States may result in civil or criminal penalties and purchasing counterfeit goods often supports criminal activities, such as forced labour or humantrafficking.”

Govt okays hike in MSP for kharif crops, oilseeds & pulses in focus

Signal To Switch: Water-Intensive Paddy Gets Relatively Less

Vishwa.Mohan@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Govt Wednesday approved new minimum support price (MSP) for kharif crops in 2024-25 marketing season approving the highest absolute increase over the previous year for oilseeds and pulses in a signal to farmers to opt for growing these crops with an eye on trimming the country’s import bill.

Accordingly, MSP of (oilseed) niger was hiked by Rs 983 per quintal followed by another oilseed sesamum (Rs 632 per quintal) and pulses, tur/arhar (Rs 550 per quintal). The MSP of the most popular kharif crop, paddy, was, however, increased by merely Rs 117 per quintal — from Rs 2,183 per quintal in 2023-24 to Rs 2,300 per quintal in 2024-25 (rise of 5.3%).

In 2023-24, the hike in MSP for paddy over the previous year was Rs 143 per quintal (7% increase over 2022-23). Relatively less hike this year in MSP of water-guzzling pad- dy can be attributed to the govt’s focus on other crops — oilseeds, pulses and coarse grains — so that farmers can gradually switch over to less water consuming and sustainable crops for better returns over their cost of production.

Since the govt has been promoting cultivation of nutri-cereals (coarse grains), the MSP of Ragi has been increased by Rs 444 per quintal — a hike of 11.5% over 2023-24.

“This MSP hike is the first Cabinet decision taken in PM Modi’s third term,” said I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The expected margin to farmers over their cost of production are estimated to be highest in case of bajra (77%) followed by tur/arhar (59%), maize (54%) and urad (52%). For the rest of the crops, margin to farmers over their cost of production is estimated to be at 50%. “The hike is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times of the all-India weighted average cost of production,” added Vaishnaw.

Though pulses got priority in the new MSP, moong (green gram) is missing from the list even as it is cultivated in the kharif season in north India. It means the MSP of moong will remain unchanged at Rs 8,558 per quintal. In south India, moong is cultivated in rabi season.

India set to tap offshore wind energy with `7k cr VGF boost

New Delhi: Govt on Wednesday approved Rs 7,453 crore viability gap funding for 1 GW offshore wind project, setting the stage for adding yet another untapped renewable source in India’s energy basket.

Some Rs 6,853 crore of the approved amount will be given as VGF for building two offshore wind energy projects of 500 MW each off coast of Gujarat & Tamil Nadu. Another Rs 600 crore will be spent on upgrading two ports, govt said.

These projects will be the harbinger of an ecosystem required to supplement the country’s ocean-based economic activities. This ecosystem will support development of 37 GW of offshore wind energy capacity initially at an investment of Rs 4.5 lakh crore.

Cabinet’s decision to approve funding scheme for 1 GW offshore wind projects off coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu will enhance our renewable energy capacity, reduce CO2 emissions and create jobs, PM Modi said on X.

TNN

Cabinet clears new terminal & runway extn at Varanasi airport

New Delhi: Modi 3.0’s first Cabinet meeting Wednesday approved a major expansion plan for the airport at the PM’s parliamentary constituency —Varanasi. The airport’s capacity will be doubled by building a new terminal and expanding the runway, at a cost of around Rs 2,870 crore.

Once complete, Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport will see its annual passenger handling capacity rise from 39 lakh to 99 lakh.

“The Cabinet chaired by PM Modi approved the proposal of AAI for the development of LBSIA, including construction of new terminal, apron and runway extension, and parallel taxi track,” a govt statement stated.

Spread over 75,000 square metres, the new terminal building will have an annual passenger handling capacity of 60 lakh, with a peak hour capacity of 5,000 flyers. Like Ayodhya, the new terminal will “offer a glimpse of the city’s cultural heritage.”

TNN

KILLING FIELDS

143 deaths in 152 days: Amravati Maha’s new farm suicide capital

Shishir Arya & Mohammed Akhef TNN

Nagpur:Over the years, the cotton growing Yavatmal district has come to be known as the Maharashtra’s farm suicide capital, but it is neighbouring Amravati district that is topping the death count these days.

Amravati, bordering Yavatmal, is a cotton and soyabean belt, and the famed Nagpur orange is also cultivated here.

Till May this year, 143 farmer suicides were recorded in Amravati. With 152 days in the five months, one farmer committed suicide practically every day, shows data maintained by state govt. Yavatmal is second, but not far behind, with 132 suicides recorded till May 2024. Figures of June are yet to be compiled.

Amravati has surpassed Yavatmal in suicides since 2021, when 370 farmers suicides took place, followed by 349 in 2022, and 323 in 2023. In Yavatmal, the toll stood at 290, 291 and 302 from 2021 to 2023 respectively.

Farm activist Kishore Tiwari, former chairman of Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swavalamban Mission, a state govt task force on farmers, said the situation has been particularly harsh in Amravati. Farmers shifted to soyabean, and saw a marked dip in yield. The rates dropped to Rs 4,000 a quintal last year. With lack of enough banking credit, many depend on small finance companies or money-lenders, and face harsh recovery.

Since 2001, state govt has been maintaining data of farmer suicides in six districts of Vidarbha: Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Washim, Buldhana and Wardha. More than 22,000 suicides have taken place in the districts in over two decades.

The suicides are divided between those farmers eligible for compensation of Rs 1 lakh from state govt and those not. A district level committee probes if the suicide is driven due to farm crisis or other reasons. To be eligible for compensation, the victim must have faced debts, recovery pressure, crop failure, & other crisis related to farming.

In Amravati, 33 out of the 143 suicides till May have got the farm crisis tag, with 10 cases rejected, and investigation continues in 100. In Yavatmal, 34 out of the 132 suicides recorded till May have farm crisis as the official reason. With the investigation continuing in 66 cases, the district administration has rejected 32.

Turmoil in HP Cong after CM’s wife gets ticket for Dehra bypoll

Shimla: A storm is brewing in Dehra constituency after Congress gave a ticket to chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife, Kamlesh Thakur, for the assembly bypoll.

Not happy at being denied a ticket, Rajesh Sharma, who had contested the 2022 assembly polls from Dehra on a Congress ticket and secured 19,120 votes to finish second, held Wednesday a meeting with supporters to decide his future course of action.

Sharma told his supporters the CM had assured him a ticket and had even told him to start campaigning but now, in the changed circumstances, he had been denied a ticket and the chief minister’s wife had been fielded from Dehra.

While addressing supporters Sharma apparently suffered a panic attack and was hospitalised. He is currently under medical observation.

BJP has this time given a ticket to former Independent MLA Hoshyar Singh, who won successive elections from Dehra in 2017 and 2022. By fielding Kamlesh Thakur, Congress has sprung a surprise.

After Kamlesh Thakur got a ticket from Dehra, Sukhu had told reporters he had not wanted his wife to contest elections but could not avoid high command’s orders.

PTI

Mann transfers 10k cops to fight ‘nexus of police and drug mafia’

Chandigarh: The Bhagwant Mann govt has effected transfers of nearly 10,000 cops across Punjab as part of its multipronged strategy to crack down on the nexus between drug peddlers and a section of the police force. The transfer process is expected to be completed in a week.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday after chairing a meeting of officers, the CM said rotation of cops’ postings is going to break this nexus. He said the move is aimed at checking smuggling of drugs in the state as he had received reports that police officers at the lowest level were involved with drug peddlers. State police had seized a lot of cash and drugs in the run up to the elections and got several vital clues regarding its supply.

Mann said a number of cops transferred at the lowest rung of hierarchy had been “squatting on their posts for long”.

The CM said if anyone is found involved in smuggling of drugs, the personnel would be dismissed from service within a week and the cop’s property would be confiscated. “The black sheep in police dept are being identified and strict action will be taken against them for their involvement. It is an unpardonable crime if someone in uniform is involved and will invite dismissal,” he added.

Rlys focuses on supervision of staff at auto signal stretches

The Kanchanjungha Express accident site near New Jalpaiguri station

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The Union railway ministry is looking at ways to have better and more intensive supervision of the field staff and loco pilots who are initially deployed on stretches where automatic signaling system have been installed so that they get fully acquainted with the system. Top officials are working on this mechanism after the recent fatal train crash in Darjeeling district of Bengal.

“It was felt that we need to pay special attention to this aspect since such staff need to get fully familiar with the system for better and safer running on trains. This will get priority and loco inspectors will be asked to have better supervision of drivers deployed on such stretches,” a ministry official said.

All India Loco Running Staff Associations (AILRSA) have reiterated the need to provide proper training to the loco staff and others to work under the automatic block signalling system. “Last year, the staff association of New Jalpaiguri had written to the DRM of Katihar that they were forced to work in the automatic block signaling system without pre-training,” said V Balachandran, central organising secretary of AILRSA.

In fact, the New Jalpaiguri wing of the association had requested the DRM that without proper training and competence certificate no loco running staff should be engaged to work in automatic block signalling system.

Flagged high speed of goods train, gateman deposes before probe panel

Ten railway staffers — three gatemen of level crossings between West Bengal’s Rangapani station and the accident site, two linesmen, two station managers, the pilot and the co-pilot of Kanchanjungha Express and another railway employee — deposed before the chief commissioner of railway safety, NFR, on the first day of the probe on Wednesday, with one of the gatemen confirming that he had raised an alarm about the goods train moving at more than the approved speed, report Tamaghna Banerjee, Roshan Gupta & Sarthak Ganguly.

“One of the gatemen said that he had seen the train passing at a speed higher than the allowed limit and had immediately called Rangapani station to alert them. We are checking the timing of the landline conversation and are questioning the station manager and other officials about what they had done after receiving the information,” said Surendra Kumar, divisional railway manager, Katihar Division, who is part of the investigation team.

So far around 30 people — including railway personnel, multiple witnesses and rescuers who reached the spot immediately after the accident — have been called to help the investigation being held at the additional divisional railway manager’s office in Siliguri.

Times City

- Swinging To 1960s, Min Makes Max Impact

- No cheer even after sunset: Why met factors have failed to ease heat’s grip

- Heat kills in city: 20 more deaths confirmed but toll could be higher

- Health ministry to send teams to hosps to assess number of deaths

- At 34.8°C, Gurgaon baked by its first ‘very warm night’

- Scale up beds for heatstroke patients: Delhi govt to hosps

- BEAT THE HEAT, STAY SAFE

- Atishi Plans Fast For ‘Due Share Of Water’

- 8,656 MW: Peak power demand at a new high

- Health secy went on ‘long leave’ without my nod: Bharadwaj to MHA

- Parched residents of South Ex II plan to protest outside DJB office

- BJP intensifies protest over water crisis

- Flyers fret as SpiceJet aircraft boils in heat; all good, says airline

- Dusib officials face heat over ‘inaction’

- NHRC Takes Note Of 6-Yr Wait For Cardiac Surgery At AIIMS

- ASI, ministry get notices for inaccessibility at monuments

- Panic On Menu: Bullets Rain Thick And Fast At Food Joint

- Khandelwal holds meeting to discuss Chandni Chowk’s dangling wire woes

- Police suspect role of Murthal case shooters

- ‘40 for 14’: Himanshu Bhau stakes claim, calls it revenge

- No fear of law? As firing cases shoot up, cops find selves on a sticky wicket

- 2 die as water tanker hits car in W Delhi

- LG approves creation of a new police station at Bijwasan rly stn

- Man stabbed to death in Seelampur

- Ugandan woman found dead

- Chief secy Naresh Kumar is now NDMC chairman too

- CM: Versions Against Me Are Questionable

- ED on alert after Delhi firm sells `1,858 crore on crypto exchanges

- Dangerous bldgs: 65% of survey done, says MCD

- You Can Pay Tax On Saturdays Too

- Elected MP, Sehrawat resigns as councillor

- Fire breaks out in factory:

- Car Buyers Left In Dark As EV Policy Runs Out Of Charge

- 24-year-old poses as Sr citizen to board Canada flight, caught

- Traffic police nod in, but flyover repair yet to start

- Over 50% of RRTS stretch on Delhi-Meerut corridor ready

- ‘Source 29.9% power from green options’

Swinging To 1960s, Min Makes Max Impact

Promised Relief Fails To Materialise, 35.2°C Highest Minimum In 60 Yrs

Kushagra.Dixit@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: On Wednesday, Delhi registered a minimum temperature of 35.2 degrees Celsius, the highest in 60 years and just 0.3 degree shy of the summer of ’64.

On June 10, 1964, Delhi had recorded a scorching 35.5 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature. Delhi’s minimum temperature, according to data available with India Meteorological Department (IMD), after 2000 saw a climb to 34.7 degrees Celsius on June 3, 2010, which was still lower than what was recorded on Wednesday.

The latest minimum reading is eight degrees above the normal, which explains the heat stress that residents are feeling across the city. On June 18, the city recorded 33.8 degrees, which was then the highest in six years.

Despite a forecast of relief in the form of a drizzle and thunderstorms, the city on Wednesday continued to reel under a heatwave for the 11th consecutive day and a warm night for the 6th day in a row.

Delhi also saw dust-raising south westerly winds reaching amaximum speed of 46 kmph on Wednesday, spiking the pollution level. The air quality of the city was in the “very poor” poor range with an AQI of 306. It was 196 on Tuesday.

The maximum temperature at the base station, Safdarjung, was recorded at 43.6 degree Celsius on Wednesday, five notches above normal. Tuesday was 44 degrees Celsius. The maximum is expected to fall on Thursday and Friday.

Delhi has seen a streak a 40-plus maximum for the 37th day on Wednesday.

In this season, seven times the maximum crossed 45 degrees Celsius, of which two days were in June and five days in May, including season’s highest and city’s second highest ever recorded on May 30 at 46.8 degrees Celsius.

The IMD has said that despite a slight drop in the maximum reading, the heat index or feel-like temperature is still likely to be high. The feel-like temperature on Wednesday was 51 degrees Celsius and is set to rise to 52-54 on Thursday due to a western disturbance inducing additional moisture and raising humidity.

The persistent heat stress and warm nights have taken a toll on the city's residents, emphasising the need for precaution and relief efforts.

“There are chances of thunderstorm or dust storm in the city followed by very light rain on Thursday. The skies will be partly cloudy. The maximum temperature on Thursday will hover around 42 degrees Celsius. The gusty winds are also expected to reach 40-50 kmph,” an IMD official said.

The IMD had issued an orange alert for thunderstorm and very light train for Wednesday, however no such activity was observed till late evening.

At 45.1 degrees Celsius, Pitampura was the hottest area of the city, followed by 44.7 degrees at Palam and Jafarpur.

The heatwave is recorded when the maximum temperature is above 40 degrees Celsius and the departure above 4.5 notches. For severe heatwave to be called, either the maximum temperature has to exceed 45 degrees Celsius or the departure from the season’s maximum has to be more than 6.5 degrees.

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

No cheer even after sunset: Why met factors have failed to ease heat’s grip

Kushagra.Dixit@timesgroup.com

HEAT IS ON

New Delhi:City residents have been enduring persistent heat stress even after sunset. The night conditions, with temperatures at a low measuring around 34 degrees Celsius, have left them grappling with the consequences. While some localities recorded a minimum temperature reaching up to 37 degree in the past week, the base weather station at Safdarjung itself recorded 35.2 degree Celsius on Wednesday night, the warmest night in the past 60 years.

Despite the presence of western disturbances, easterly winds and clear skies during the night hours, the city has found no respite from the warm night conditions since June 14. The combination of these meteorological factors has failed to alleviate the dis- comfort experienced by the citizens, leaving them exposed to the challenges posed by the unrelenting heat.

As the heat stress increases during the night hours, experts pointed out that the health impact of high night temperatures was worse than high daytime mercury levels According to Prasoon Singh of the Centre for Climate Change Research at TERI, while the normal night time temperature for June should be 27-29 degrees Celsius, this year, it had reached 36-37 degree Celsius in some parts of Delhi.

“There is a cascading effect,” said Singh. “Since the temperatures in daytime are very high consistently and there is no cooling taking place, the heat is cascading to the next day. Night heat is very harmful, even more than the daytime temperatures since the body needs comfort with cooling of the environment. Those with comorbidities are at special risk.”

Dr Vishwas Chitale, senior programme lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, observed that this was one of the longest streaks of heatwave in Delhi with record-breaking number of warm nights and the minimum temperature at least five degrees higher than normal.

“These high night temperatures pose serious health concerns because they prevent cooling down from the daytime heat,” said Chitale. “Although the southwest monsoon made a timely onset over south India, it remains delayed in the north, which means there is no immediate relief from the heatwaves. It is critical to follow the recommended dos and don'ts to deal with the heat. It is becoming increasingly clear now that due to climate change, boiling summers are the new normal. We need year-round preparedness to be more proactive than reactive in dealing with heatwaves.”

According to Mahesh Palawat, vice-chairman, climate change and meteorology, Skymet, persistent warm winds at night and early morning are among the reasons why the minimum temperature is high. “The city had been seeing warm and dry north-westerly winds T night, which doesn’t allow cooling. Besides, the daytime temperatures are also consistently high. So, there is no scope of cooling down,” said Palawat.

Heat kills in city: 20 more deaths confirmed but toll could be higher

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Deaths due to the intense heatwave sweeping across the capital continues to take its toll with 20 more fatalities taking place in the past 48 hours. This official figure includes six in central govt hospitals and the rest in hospitals run by Delhi govt.

The toll could, however, be much higher as several Delhi govt hospitals have reported alarming figures of people being “brought dead”. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital (DDUH) in west Delhi received bodies of 27 unknown/destitute persons in the past 48 hours. Most of these deaths could possibly be attributed to the extreme heatwave conditions. Other Delhi govt hospitals too reported 25 more such deaths.

According to details shared by Dr Ajay Chauhan of RML Hospital, four deaths have been reported there in the past two days. Two of these deaths occurred on Wednesday morning, with one taking place around 1:05 am and the other around 8:20 am. TOI had reported seven deaths here earlier with the total toll now going up to 11. Dr Chauhan also disclosed that the hospital had admitted six new patients on Wednesday.

Two persons – a 55-year-old woman from Sangam Vihar and a 45-year-old man from Noida -passed away on Wednesday at Safdarjung Hospital. With this, the total number of heat-related deaths in the hospital has risen to six. Doctors said both patients were found to be suffering from very high fever on arrival. They passed away within an hour of being admitted. The hospital had also admitted 15 more patients the same day, highlighting the severity of the ongoing heatwave.

In the past two days, a total of 14 people have lost their lives due to heat-related reasons in various Delhi government hospitals. Among these fatalities, six were reported at Lok Nayak Hospital. Earlier, TOIhad reported two deaths at Lok Nayak Hospital due to heatstroke.

According to data available with TOI, at least 52 more people were declared dead upon arrival at various healthcare facilities under the jurisdiction of the Delhi government possibly due to heat-related conditions in the past two days. The highest number of such cases was at DDUH as reported earlier here.

Attempts to reach out to Dr BL Chaudhary, medical director of DDUH, for his comment on the matter were unsuccessful. Dr Chaudhary did not respond to questions sent via WhatsApp and further efforts to establish contact with him proved futile.

The rising temperatures in the city have taken a toll on the health of its residents. The authorities are urging people to take necessary precautions to protect themselves from the scorching heat and seek medical attention if they experience any symptoms related to heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

Water shortage affects surgeries at Safdarjung

The ongoing water shortage in Delhi impacted surgeries at Safdarjung Hospital’s Sports Injury Centre on Wednesday. According to officials, five surgeries that were scheduled had to be postponed due to water shortage in the hospital. Sources claimed that the new SIC has been grappling with a water crisis for the past month due to a significantly reduced flow of fresh water from NDMC. To meet daily requirements, the authorities have been relying on hired tankers.

TNN

Health ministry to send teams to hosps to assess number of deaths

DurgeshNandan.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Union govt will send teams to Safdarjung, Ram Manohar Lohia and Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) on Thursday to assess the exact number of people who have died in these central hospitals due to heatstroke over the past few days. The teams, composed of senior officials, will also review on-ground preparations to deal with patients coming with heat stress and heatstroke.

According to Atul Goel, the director general of health services in the health ministry, all the heat-related deaths reported by hospitals are audited by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to reach the final tally. “We are sending teams to all three hospitals to assess the number of such deaths,” he said, amid reports of a high number of heat-related deaths being reported from these hospitals in the last 24 hours.

Goel said Centre had been issuing advisories from time to time to the states/ Union territories to prepare the health facilities to deal with heat-related illnesses in view of the forecast of prolonged heatwave. “Most hospitals have prepared. Even then, we are seeing a rise in incidence of heat stress and heatstroke because of the prolonged heatwave. This is worrying,” the director general of health services added.

His remarks came hours after a meeting was called by Union health minister J P Nadda to review the heatwave situation in the country in which he directed all central govt hospitals to start special heatwave units to deal with the rising incidents of heat stress and heatstroke.

The health minister directed officials to ensure that all hospitals are prepared to provide the best healthcare to those affected by the heatwave.

The health ministry has issued an advisory to all states/UTs, which calls for prioritising rapid assessment and rapid heat-related cooling of severe heat-related illnesses and keeping ambulances with ice packs and cold water etc ready to transport serious patients to the nearest equipped healthcare facility.

At 34.8°C, Gurgaon baked by its first ‘very warm night’

Gurgaon: For the first time this season, the city recorded a ‘very warm night’ as minimum temperature hit a sweltering 34.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, 7.6 notches above normal for this time of the year.

It was also five notches higher than Tuesday’s low of 29.4 degrees Celsius.

The day was no better. Gurgaon’s maximum temperature was 43.6 degrees Celsius, 3.8 notches higher than normal, on Wednesday. Discomfort from relentless heat was exacerbated by relative humidity levels, which stood at 32%.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has sounded an alert for the coming week, predicting minimum temperatures to hover around 35°C and daytime temperature around 44-45°C.

IMD declares a ‘warm’ night when the maximum temperature is over 40° Celsius, and the minimum is at least 4.5 notches above normal. It records a ‘very warm’ night when the minimum temperature is at least 6.5 degrees Celsius higher than normal.

TNN

Scale up beds for heatstroke patients: Delhi govt to hosps

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:Following a spurt in the number of deaths due to heatstroke in Delhi, health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj held an emergency meeting with the heads of hospitals on Wednesday and directed them to scale up beds for patients of heat-related illnesses.

It was also decided to seek help of Delhi Police’s beat officers and patrolling teams to help homeless. After the meeting, Bharadwaj posted on X, “Delhi Police beat officers/ patrolling teams will be requested to help in shifting homeless to shelter homes in case they are lying under open sky. Department is sending communication to Delhi police commissioner to ask their patrolling teams to call ambulances in case their teams spot destitute is running high fever or sick.”

He added, “Hospitals to scale up the beds for patients of heat-related illnesses. Circular issued to hospitals and CATS ambulance service. Fresh advisory to be advertised in radio and newspapers.”

The minister’s secretary, OP Mishra, later sent an email to the Delhi police commissioner seeking help from the PCR teams to encourage the homeless to move to night shelters. “Additionally, if individuals are identified with symptoms of heatstroke or high fever, PCR teams should facilitate their transportation to the nearest govt hospital. All govt hospitals have been directed to prioritise and immediately admit patients with heat-related ailments, with reserved beds allocated accordingly,” Mishra added.

After the meeting, a special secretary in the health and family welfare department issued a circular urging hospitals to take “extra precaution” this season and emphasised the importance of early management of heat-affected patients. The communication directed the medical superintendents, medical directors, chief district medical offices (CDMOs) and the directorate of health services to ensure that the emergency section of all hospitals remained operational 24x7 and a senior doctor be present to handle such patients.

“As already directed, all the necessary medicines required for the treatment of such patients also must remain in the hospitals,” read the circular.

The medical superintendents and medical directors have been instructed to personally ensure the immediate admission and treatment of heatstroke patients and save maximum lives. “All the CDMOs are also directed to ensure that even if such a patient comes to the dispensaries, the immediate treatment is given to the patient and he is shifted to the nearest hospital in an ambulance,” the circular read, adding that CATS ambulances had also been put on high alert.

Last month, Bharadwaj had announced each Delhi govt-run hospital would reserve two beds for such patients while five beds would be kept at Lok Nayak Hospital.

BEAT THE HEAT, STAY SAFE

Advisory issued by Delhi Disaster Management Authority to minimise the heatwave impact

➤ Avoid going out in the sun between noon and 3pm

➤ Drink sufficient water as often as possible

➤ Carry water with you while travelling

➤ Wear lightweight, light-coloured, loose and porous cotton clothes

➤ Use protective sunglasses, umbrella or hat, and shoes while going out in the sun

➤ Avoid strenuous activities when the outside temperature is high

➤ Avoid working outside between noon and 3pm

➤ Use a hat/umbrella and a damp cloth on head, neck, face and limbs while working outside

➤ Avoid alcohol, tea, coffee and carbonated soft drinks, which dehydrate the body

➤ Avoid high-protein food; do not eat stale food

➤ Do not leave children or pets in parked vehicles

➤ If you feel ill or faint, see a doctor immediately

➤ Drink ORS, homemade drinks like lassi, torani (rice water), lemon water or buttermilk to rehydrate the body

➤ Keep animals in shade and give them plenty of water to drink

➤ Keep your home cool, use curtains, shutters or sunshade and open windows at night

➤ Use fans, damp clothing and take bath in cold water frequently

Atishi Plans Fast For ‘Due Share Of Water’

Says Has Written To PM Seeking His Intervention

Atishi addresses a press conference on Wednesday

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Water minister Atishi on Wednesday threatened to sit on an “indefinite fast” from Friday if Delhi doesn’t get additional 100 cusecs to tide over the current water crisis.

Addressing a press conference, Atishi said she had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention after Haryana refused to provide more water to Delhi. The shortfall, she claimed, has rendered nearly 28 lakh people in Delhi waterless.

“The suffering of the people of Delhi has crossed all limits. I have made a humble request to PM Narendra Modi to somehow arrange water for the people of Delhi,” the minister said. “In case we do not get water, I will have to sit on an indefinite satyagraha (hunger strike) from June 21. No matter how much pain my body suffers, I cannot bear the suffering of the people of Delhi any more,” she said.

Delhi BJP accused Atishi of indulging in “theatrics” to distract attention from “theft and blackmarketing” of water and demanded that AAP govt be sacked for its “inaction”.

Atishi, however, claimed that Delhi was grappling with a water crisis because Haryana was not releasing the capital’s share of water. “The total water supply in Delhi is 1,050MGD. Of this, 613MGD comes from Haryana. On June 18, the amount of water... from Haryana… came down to 513MGD. This means Delhi is facing a water shortage of 100MGD today,” she claimed.

The minister added that one million gallon water met the daily requirement of nearly 28,500 people. “If Delhi is getting 100MGD less water from Haryana, it means more than 28 lakh people are getting less water.”

In her letter to PM, Atishi claimed that for a population of nearly three crore people, Haryana’s water allocation was 6,500MGD while Delhi’s share was only 1,050MGD for almost an equal number of people.

“Even if Haryana has to give 100MGD water to Delhi, it is only 1.5% of its total water... It is written in our scriptures that there is no greater virtue than giving water to a thirsty person,” she said.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed Haryana had provided surplus water to Delhi on Tuesday. “There are official documents to prove it, but she is now resorting to drama,” he said.

South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged that Atishi was trying to shift the blame of her own govt’s failure on others.

“AAP govt went to the Supreme Court and alleged that Haryana was giving less water. But the court did not accept its plea. Himachal Pradesh has refused to give water to Delhi, but Atishi is claiming Haryana was stopping it. Delhi govt runs away from its responsibility in every crisis,” the BJP MP alleged.

8,656 MW: Peak power demand at a new high

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The heatwaves the city has been experiencing for 11 consecutive days pushed the peak power demand of Delhi to an all-time high of 8,656MW on Wednesday afternoon. Just a day before, the power demand had broken all past records by touching 8,647MW.

Delhi’s peak power demand clocked 8,000MW for the first time on May 22, 2024. Since then, it has crossed the 8,000MW mark on nine occasions, said a senior official.

According to discom estimates, air-conditioners account for 30-50% of a household’s or business’ annual energy costs, said a discom official. Besides the high mercury levels, the surge in electricity demand can be attributed to the increasing population, urbanisation and the growing use of electronic devices, he pointed out.

A BSES official said the power demand usually peaked in Delhi at the end of June or in early July, with last Aug being an exception. BRPL and BYPL discoms successfully met the peak power demand of 3,778MW and 1,886MW in their areas on Wednesday, the official said. Tata Power-DDL also said it had met its all-time high peak demand of 2,460MW.

Health secy went on ‘long leave’ without my nod: Bharadwaj to MHA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj wrote to the Union home secretary claiming that Delhi’s health and family welfare secretary, SB Deepak Kumar, went on a “long leave” without his permission amid a severe heatwave and sought strict action against him.

While Kumar could not be contacted, sources in the health department claimed that Kumar was on a two-day leave on June 13 and 14 and then went to attend a mid-career training programme at Mussoorie from June 18 to July 13.

“An official mail from the Delhi health secretary’s office regarding this was sent to health minister’s office on June 12,” a source claimed. “A link officer, also a senior IAS officer, has taken over the responsibility of the department in the secretary’s absence,” the source added.

In his letter to Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Delhi health minister questioned the absence of the department secretary at a time when the city was in the grip of a “unprecedented heatwave”. “The role of the health department is most important regarding arrangements for people affected with heat-related illnesses,” Bharadwaj wrote, adding that he was surprised to know that Kumar had proceeded on a “long leave” till July 13 without his permission.

“There are several questions that need to be answered by Ministry of Home Affairs, central govt which is controlling all the officers of Govt of NCT of Delhi, including health secretary SB Deepak Kumar,” Bharadwaj wrote, asking who granted the leave. “How will a critical department like health function when the head of department goes on long leaves and does not respond to any call or message?” he asked.

Bharadwaj also cited his previous communication to the home secretary regarding a fire tragedy in a neonatal health centre in May and sought to know what action had been taken by Centre against the officer in the case. He had told MHA that he got to know about the fire through the media.

“I had given several directions to the secretary (health), including the need to ensure fire audit of all private nursing homes and hospitals by June 8. There were several other directions related to the said incident,” Bharadwaj said, adding that the officer never updated the status.

Parched residents of South Ex II plan to protest outside DJB office

A DJB water tanker leaves after refilling the ground tank of a few houses in South Extension II on Wednesday

Siddhanta.Mishra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The residents of South Extension Part II, an affluent neighbourhood, aren’t immune from water problems. The direct pipeline supply to the locality has been disrupted and the water tanker supply has allegedly been diverted. The residents’ welfare association has decided to protest outside the local DJB office if water supply isn’t restored.

Gaurav Khosla, general secretary, South Extension II Welfare Association, said, "There are residents here who haven’t got water for 3-4 days. We get empty assurances from Delhi Jal Board officials about fixing pipeline problems. We used to get water tankers when requested, but lately it seems they have been rerouted to other areas. We prepare lists of houses facing problems and send it to DJB officials, but only a few get water."

Many residents of B, K, and G blocks are forced to purchase water twice a day due to the water shortage. Veena Murgai, 82, of B block wakes up around 4am daily to check for water in the taps. "Usually disappointed, I start calling the DJB helpline to order a water tanker. I also approached the RWA for help. We used to get water tankers earlier, but in the past few days, the tankers come just once in two-three days,” she fulminated.

“I am a senior citizen but it seems DJB is not interested in helping me. Why do we pay taxes? Is it to have daily fights for basic requirements like water?"

Some colony residents have obtained permission for borewells, but the water is saline and unsuitable for washing machines and other appliances. Poonam Kanwal, a B block resident who teaches in Delhi University, relies on tanker water now. "The authorities should think about how we can solve our drinking water problems when we have jobs to concentrate on. The piped supply has dried up and the water tanker comes in two or three days. We buy two big bottles of water every day to manage our drinking water needs," said Kanwal, who does not have access to a borewell.

In G block, A Bahal said, "There have been days when there is no water to drink as there is no supply from tankers. Even when the water tankers arrive, not everyone is able to get water. Many residents have to wait for the next day. "

The RWA members claimed that in 2021, a separate water pipeline of 150mm diameter had been installed to augment water supply in South Extension B block, but there was no long-term solution to the problem of inadequate water supply.

DJB officials did not respond to queries about this. For more than a month, the city has been facing a water crisis due to reduced water production and the extraordinarily high summer temperatures. As part of its summer action plan to meet exigencies, DJB had deputed extra water tankers to manage the demand for water, but still several parts of the city are facing supply problems.

BJP intensifies protest over water crisis

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: BJP intensified its agitation against the water crisis by organising protest marches in various parts of Delhi on Wednesday. The protesters targeted Kejriwal govt for its alleged failure to address the issue.

At Indira Camp in Andrews Ganj, state president Virendra Sachdeva led the protest in which BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj and hundreds of party workers took part. He claimed that “AAP govt has created such a situation for women in Delhi that they have to wait in queue for hours, even at night, for water”.

MP Praveen Khandelwal led the protest at Moti Bagh Chowk in Kishan Ganj, while MP Yogendra Chandoliya spearheaded the agitation at Mandir Road in Rithala. Former state presidents Vijender Gupta and Adesh Gupta led the protests in Rohini and Sarojini Nagar Market, respectively.

Chandoliya alleged, “AAP govt has destroyed DJB like a termite. It has been in power for 10 years but has still not been able to provide water to people.”

“Minister Atishi frequently blames Haryana to hide the failures of her govt... Despite Haryana providing surplus water, proper distribution is not happening in all parts of Delhi because her party stands with those involved in the water trade,” he alleged.

New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj said that AAP had “deceived” the people of Delhi in the name of water. “Despite AAP trying to escape its responsibilities by giving it a political colour, the fact is that BJP councillors are pressuring DJB to provide tankers to the public,” she alleged.

AAP did not respond to the allegations.

Flyers fret as SpiceJet aircraft boils in heat; all good, says airline

Some passengers were seen using flight brochures to fan themselves

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A video by news agency ANI on X has shown passengers on a SpiceJet Delhi to Darbhanga flight sitting inside the plane at Delhi airport with inefficient air conditioning in the middle of a heatwave.

The video showed the passengers sweating and in distress on the flight that seemed full up to its capacity. Some of the passengers were seen using flight brochures to fan themselves to cope with the heat. The footage shows some passengers visibly uncomfortable in the stuffy cabin.

SpiceJet, when asked to respond to the incident, denied the allegations. The airline said that the air conditioning system initially faced "slight inefficiency" due to the extreme heat and the fact that both doors of the aircraft were open. However, the system started functioning properly shortly after, the airline said.

The airline's statement aimed at clarifying the matter and address the concerns raised by the passengers.

“SpiceJet flight SG 476 from Delhi to Darbhanga on June 19, scheduled to depart at 11 am, departed on time without any delays. The air conditioning was working normally throughout the flight, which was verified and cross-checked upon arrival in Darbhanga. The same aircraft operated the return flight to Delhi, and there were no issues with the air conditioning on the return flight either,” a SpiceJet spokesperson said.

The official added that there was, however, a minor flaw in the air conditioning due to extreme heat and because both the aircraft doors were open as the flight was not docked at the aerobridge.

“During boarding in Delhi, the air conditioning initially experienced slight inefficiency due to extreme weather conditions and both doors of the aircraft being open, as boarding was not via the aerobridge. The doors were promptly closed after boarding completion, and the cooling functioned normally thereafter,” the SpiceJet spokesperson said.

Dusib officials face heat over ‘inaction’

New Delhi: Delhi urban development minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday directed Dusib’s chief executive officer to act against three senior officials for failing to comply with his direction to inspect homeless shelters and fix deficiencies in the wake of heatwave conditions in the capital.

Bharadwaj said Delhi was facing one of the hottest summers in past few decades and he had directed three officials of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (Dusib) to inspect five night shelters every day, prepare a list of deficiencies and submit a report to him by June 18.

“Till date, I have not received the inspection reports from Dusib. Therefore, you are directed to take appropriate action against the officers for not complying with the directions,” Bharadwaj said in his note to the CEO.

The minister noted that the night shelters were managed by private agencies and they were paid to provide services to the homeless.

“If services are not being provided and officers are complacent, then senior officers are expected to do surprise checks and identify deficiencies. This is to ensure accountability of the agencies as well as officers of Dusib,” the minister said.

TNN

NHRC Takes Note Of 6-Yr Wait For Cardiac Surgery At AIIMS

Says Report Raises Very Serious Issue Of Human Rights Violation

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of a report published in TOI on June 13, highlighting the unprecedented delay of nearly six years in conducting a cardiac surgery on a 6-yearold boy in AIIMS. The boy from Bihar’s Begusarai had been diagnosed with the problem in 2019 when he was three months old. AIIMS had given the boy’s parents dates for the surgery every time they visited the hospital but hadn’t carried out the procedure.

NHRC observed that the contents of the media report, if true, raised a very serious issue of human rights violation. The right to health and medical care is a basic human right and AIIMS is a prestigious public-funded healthcare institution that a large number of people from across the country look up to for getting their loved ones treated for ailments by very good doctors, the commission said.

NHRC noted that it was aware of the constraints faced by public hospitals across the country, but that it was still painful to know that a young boy from Bihar had been waiting for cardiac surgery for six years despite his poor health. This is indeed a matter of deep concern, it said.

Accordingly, the panel issued notices to the secretary of the Union ministry of health & family welfare and director of AIIMS, calling for a detailed report on the matter within one week. This includes the present health status of the boy and the scheduled date of his cardiac surgery, as required and advised by the doctors in AIIMS.

Citing the details of the report published in TOI, the NHRC notice stated that the father of the boy earned a modest monthly income of Rs 8,000 and faced significant financial strain due to medical expenses, with each visit to Delhi costing him between Rs 13,000 and Rs 15,000 for transportation and accommodation. The child could not walk more than 15 steps without experiencing breathlessness. Additionally, his physical development had been hindered. The reasons for the delay in surgery reportedly provided by AIIMS were varied, ranging from the unavailability of beds to the absence of doctors.

AIIMS has also constituted a committee to verify the allegations. When contacted, professor Rima Dada, who is in charge of the AIIMS media cell, claimed that a report had been compiled and submitted to the director's office. However, Dada did not have access to the specifics of the report at the time of contact. She said that she was making efforts to obtain more information about the report's contents.

Meanwhile, the boy’s father, Ankit Kumar, said that AIIMS officials had contacted him and requested him to visit the OPD during his next trip to Delhi. In a conversation with TOI, Kumar revealed that he had also been in contact with Dr Nischal, the founder of the rotary paediatric cardiac surgery programme about the surgery. Nischal informed Kumar that he would conduct the necessary tests before making a decision regarding the boy's treatment. Kumar plans to reach Delhi on June 27 to follow up on his son's medical situation.

ASI, ministry get notices for inaccessibility at monuments

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The court of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities has taken suo motu cognisance of a report published in TOI on June 19 and on social media regarding the inaccessibility of Isa Khan’s Tomb for persons with reduced mobility and wheelchair users. Notices were issued on Wednesday to the secretary of the Union culture ministry and director-general of ASI, asking them to file comments regarding the matter.

The notice issued by deputy chief commissioner Praveen Prakash Ambashta stated, “You are hereby advised to forward your comments on the matter in an affidavit signed by an officer of appropriate seniority, not below the level of a Group ‘A’ officer. Additionally, you are to produce all the requisite documents upon which you base your comments or claim. Where you rely on any other document as evidence in support of your comments or claim, you shall include such documents in a list to be annexed to the comments on this matter to this court within 30 days from the date of issue of this communication. Failing to do so, the case shall be disposed of ex-parte.”

The notice added that while responding to it, due care should be taken of relevant provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, other statutory provisions and govt instructions such as the ones mentioned above, including but not limited to sections 89 and 93 of the Act.

The notice mentioned various sections of Disabilities Act, 2016, including Section 3, which provides as follows: "The appropriate govt shall ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy the right to equality, life with dignity and respect for their integrity equally with others. The appropriate govt shall take steps to utilise the capacity of persons with disabilities by providing an appropriate environment. No person with a disability shall be discriminated against on the ground of disability unless it is shown that the impugned act or omission is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. No person shall be deprived of his or her personal liberty solely on the ground of disability. The appropriate govt shall take necessary steps to ensure reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.”

Additionally, the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities under the social justice ministry has incorporated culture-specific harmonised accessibility standards and guidelines, notified by the Union culture ministry into Rule 15 of the RPwD Rules, 2017. These standards provide detailed guidelines on the issue, the court said.

Panic On Menu: Bullets Rain Thick And Fast At Food Joint

GANG WAR: It Was Over In Minutes As Two Fired Nearly 40 Times At Target

Abhay@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 9.35pm, Tuesday. The Burger King outlet in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden was bustling with customers, mostly young crowd trying to catch up over some fast food. A couple, no different than others, entered the eatery, ordered two burgers and fries and sat down on table number 67. The girl asked the man for his phone and was casually scrolling. Two men entered the eatery, placed an order and seated themselves at a table towards the rear. In the next few moments, they wreaked havoc as they started shooting with automatic pistols. The target — later identified as Aman Joon — was killed at the spot and the men walked out with ease. The woman accompanying the target left too.

As cops landed at the spot, all they could find was bullets scattered around and a man wearing a blue, printed shirt, ripped jeans and slider slippers lying in a pool of blood near the billing counter. The man had a DTC bus ticket valued at Rs 10 and Rs 320 in cash in one pocket and a phone charger in the other.

On Wednesday, the outlet wore a devastated look — food and bottles were still scattered on the floor and so were belongings of customers who left in panic after the shooting began. Chairs and tables lay overturned and burger packets were strewn inside and outside the outlet. On one of the tables was a lunch box while another had a half-eaten burger, indicating how people ran to save their lives amidst raining bullets.

There were around 50 people, including a dozen staffers, at the time of the incident. By the time people could understand anything, the shooters had fired around a dozen bullets. “It happened within seconds.. By the time, their first round of magazines got over, the people started running out,” said a waiter who didn’t want to be named. The shooters and a woman also mingled with the crowd and fled while posing as customers.

Staffers recounted the chaotic scenes and the fear-driven exodus of people from the outlet. Ram Kishan, the guard, initially mistook the sounds for firecrackers, believing it to be a celebratory event like a birthday party. However, his perception quickly shifted as he observed people running around in panic. “When people began rushing out, I su- spected a short circuit due to the sudden outage of lights. It was only later that an employee informed us about the shooting,’ he explained.

Adjacent to the food outlet stands a food van where a Burger King staffer rushed to for safety after the incident. Upon inquiry by the cart manager, he revealed news of the shooting. Within moments, a crowd had gathered, and within 10-15 minutes, cops arrived at the location amidst traffic snarls caused by the unfolding incident.

Rakesh Bakshi, managing the nearby food van, vividly recalled catching a glimpse of the body lying on the floor amidst the chaos. “Initially, we mistook the sound of at least 15 rounds be- ing fired for firecrackers. But as the noise persisted, I stepped out of the cart and saw people fleeing,” he said.

Later on, a few individuals entered the premises, prompting Bakshi to notice the hand of an injured male lying on the ground. “The scene was utterly horrific. Subsequently, the outlet staff instructed us to evacuate. This incident marks the first of its kind in this area,” he reflected sombrely.

“It felt like a terror attack...We sought cover as bullets continued to fly,” a local resident recounted, highlighting the sheer terror that gripped the scene.

The building where the sensational shooting occurred was bustling with activi- ty until late hours on Tuesday. The first floor houses the Burger King outlet, while the other floors accommodate a co-working facility and a lifestyle centre. A vibrant mix of food outlets, clubs and clinics surrounded the building. Behind it, there is a residential society. One of the guards stationed there said that he was guarding one of the gates of the society when he heard the sound. As he came near the spot, he found people running out, screaming and frightened. The outlet is mostly frequented by students as there are private colleges in the vicinity.

On Wednesday, many young customers arrived unaware of the recent events. A group of four boys had come to have some snacks but they were shocked after hearing about the incident. E-rickshaws, autorickshaws and cars kept stopping nearby throughout the day and people approached the outlet only to be informed by onlookers about the firing incident.

On X, a few users wrote about how they had a narrow escape. One user @Sethiman** said he was at the restaurant just a few hours before the shooting and god saved him.

The scene of crime still remains sealed with cops and forensics experts carrying out a detailed investigation. A white towel belonging to the deceased was the last remaining article left on table number 67 that was picked up by the forensics.

Khandelwal holds meeting to discuss Chandni Chowk’s dangling wire woes

New Delhi: Chandni Chowk MP Praveen Khandelwal on Thursday held a meeting with various stakeholders to discuss the problem of hanging wires in Old Delhi. A team led by a former executive director of Power Grid Corporation will prepare a plan for underground wiring, and this roadmap will be presented to Delhi govt, said Khandelwal.

The report is likely to include practical suggestions based on the ground reality and the geographical situation of the area, as well as the ongoing commercial and residential activities.

“These wires were installed decades ago, considering the electricity usage at that time. But now, the load has increased significantly. The major problem is that the coating on these weak wires has worn off in many places due to the increased load, creating a risk of breakage,” said Khandelwal.

The BJP MP further said that the dangling electric wires in Old Delhi markets were a constant threat to life and property and were a direct or indirect cause of frequent fire accidents. “It is crucial to eliminate this grave problem,” he added.

The former executive director of Power Grid Corporation, BS Pandey, engineers, representatives from the traders’ associations and residents of Chandni Chowk were present during the meeting.

TNN

Police suspect role of Murthal case shooters

A liquor trader was killed at an eatery in Murthal

Rajshekhar.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:Shooters who carried out a killing at an eatery in Murthal, Haryana three months ago and a mystery girl, who cops identified as Anu, are the prime suspects in the sensational killing at the Burger King outlet in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden. While confirming that a manhunt had been initiated for the trio, the cops on Wednesday identified the two prime suspects as Ashish Khadedi alias Lalu and Vicky.

The trio have been captured on the outlet’s CCTV and the grabs have been circulated amongst various police units in Delhi and Haryana to locate and arrest them. The developments were also discussed at an inter-state meeting, incidentally scheduled for Wednesday, and neighbouring states promised all possible support in catching the culprits.

Police have recovered 31 empty cartridges from the spot, almost corroborating Bhau’s claims that the target was shot 40 times. Three types of handguns were used by the shooters. One was possibly a .45 caliber Colt which used Sellier & Bellot ammo manufactured by a Czech Republic firm Colt CZ Group. Twenty-five of the empty shells had S&B engraved on them. Others had WRA 54 and KF (Indian ordnance factory) marking, sources said.

The FIR in the case mentions the seizure of seven distorted bullet leads, and 24 broken bullet lead fragments which possibly are remains after bullets exited the target’s body. The FIR has been filed on the complaint of Sandeep Yadav, the beat officer of the area, who was informed about the incident by the manager.

The two shooters were involved in the murder at Gulshan Dhaba at Murthal reported on March 10, sources said. The target in that case was Sunder Malik, a 38-year-old liquor trader from Gohana, who was dragged out of his vehicle and shot multiple times by henchmen sent by gangster Himanshu Bhau. The shooters had fired around 35 rounds at Malik after tracking him using a GPS that they fitted in his vehicle. “Two main shooters —Ashish and Vicky — who were also captured on CCTV in that incident have been at large and we suspect they were the ones who carried out the killing at Burger King,” said a senior cop.

About the girl named Anu, the cops said that she had been spotted with members of Bhau gang on several occasions and her family had even filed a missing complaint after she left home. She supposedly laid a honeytrap and lured the target, Aman, to the restaurant. She has vanished after the killing.

Investigators have also gathered details about the murder of Satish alias Shakti Kheda who Bhau mentioned in his Instagram post. Kheda was acousin of jailed gangster Neeraj Bawana and also related to Bawana’s uncle, Rambir Shokeen.

Aman Joon, aged around 32, belonged to Chhochhi Village in Jhajjar, Haryana. The Bhau gang suspected that Joon was the spotter who had tipped about Kheda’s movements to the rivals and thus had kept him on the hitlist. Kheda was bumped off by henchmen from Ashok Pradhan and Neetu Dabodia gangs in 2021, triggering an all-out gangwar. Kheda was playing volleyball with his friends when assailants shot him 14 times. Malik, who was killed in Murthal, was also connected to the Dabodia gang and thus targeted by Bhau.

‘40 for 14’: Himanshu Bhau stakes claim, calls it revenge

Bhau (21) has been trying to establish himself as the rival of Lawrence Bishnoi’s syndicate and has recently orchestrated a series of violent incidents in Delhi and Haryana

Rajshekhar.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Gangster Himanshu Bhau has claimed responsibility for the sensational shooting incident at Burger King in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden. In an Instagram post, Bhau said it was a revenge killing and more targets were in line. The message ended with “40 for 14”, implying that the target in this case, Aman Joon, was shot 40 times because the rivals had shot Bhau’s aide 14 times.

Sources said that Bhau— who has an Interpol Red Corner notice issued against him — has supposedly reached the USA using the donkey route. He was earlier in Portugal. Intelligence agencies are onto him and efforts are under way to locate him and bring him back. His closest aide, Sahil, was supposedly detained in the US a few weeks ago. Sahil too had a red notice against him.

The Bhau gang posted the message on Instagram around midnight using a newly crea- ted account. It was in Hindi and said: “The person killed in Rajouri Garden was involved in the murder of our brother Shakti Dada, and this was an act of revenge. Everyone else involved will also be targeted soon.” In the post, Bhau claimed that he along with Naveen Bali and Neeraj Bawana, both lodged in Tihar Jail, was responsible for the murder. Police have informally interrogated both the inmates in the jail and will seek their custody from court. A manhunt is under way for the shooters.

Bhau (21) has been trying to establish himself as the rival of Lawrence Bishnoi’s syndicate and has recently orchestrated a series of vio- lent incidents in Delhi and Haryana. He has joined hands with Bishnoi’s rivals in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan and has been extorting money from businessmen, liquor sellers and bookies mainly.

Originally a gangster from Ratuali village in Rohtak, Haryana, Bhau has become very active in Delhi in the last one year. In the last six months, Bhau’s henchmen have carried out a series of shootings. Just last month, they had fired indiscriminately at a car showroom in west Delhi.

Bhau’s typical modus operandi has been to first demand money through WhatsApp and then send his men to open fire at the target’s house or office in order to scare him. In every case, his shooters have ensured that they fire over a dozen rounds. In 2022, he executed three killings in a span of 24 days in March. The same year, he got a passport made on forged documents and fled to Dubai from where he went further to Portugal, it is suspected.

No fear of law? As firing cases shoot up, cops find selves on a sticky wicket

An extraordinary rise in shooting incidents in the past one year has put aserious question mark on the functioning of Delhi Police and its specialised units in particular. An analysis of incidents of the past one year shows that unlike before, the number of bullets being fired has substantially increased in every case

The city’s streets seem to have turned into a playground for men with weapons

Rajshekhar.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The fear of law is evidently waning in the capital. Criminals have become trigger-happy like never before and shoot at will. An unprecedented situation seems to be unfolding where the city’s streets have turned into a playground for men with weapons and Delhi’s police seem to be watching helplessly.

An extraordinary rise in shooting incidents in the past one year has put a serious question mark on the functioning of Delhi Police and its specialised units in particular. An analysis of incidents of the past one year shows that unlike before, the number of bullets being fired has substantially increased in every case. Organised gangs have been making extortion calls like never before.

Last Dec, henchmen of gangster Himanshu Bhau had fired around over 40 rounds at the office of a builder in Dwarka, making it the most brazen extortion-related incident of 2023. The shooting was preceded and followed by a number of shootings at the city’s businessmen, builders, liquor sellers and others. Last month, two men opened fire at a property dealer’s office in Dwarka and dropped an extortion slip demanding Rs 10 lakh. A week before this incident, seven people were injured after two men rained bullets at a car showroom in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar.

In April, multiple rounds were fired at a businessman’s house in Moti Nagar. The shooters left behind a note, insisting on an extortion amount of Rs 50 lakh. The same month, a gangster’s henchman fired at the house of a businessman in an extortion attempt of Rs 50 lakh in northwest Delhi’s Pitampura and two men opened fire at the office of a car dealer in Maurya Enclave in an extortion bid.

Every month, 2-3 incidents of this nature are taking place wherein a gangster from abroad demands “protection money” and his henchmen then fire shots at his premises. The shooters are then dramatically “arrested” in 2-3 days and the case is then “solved”.

Then there are gangwars breaking out in the city as well, which were earlier restricted to outskirts and neighbouring towns to a large extent. The Wednesday’s incident, which saw a barrage of bullets being fired inside a popular hangout, has only dented the police’s image further. “The fact that criminals can dare to fire shots at this scale inside a restaurant and believe that they can get away with ease after that shows how brazen they have become. There seems a lack of fear of police and it’s a matter of serious concern,” says a retired senior police officer who dealt with the city’s crime and criminals for two decades.

Retired police officers further pointed out how a rise in these incidents also showed that the cops were unable to implement even traditional measures like street surveillance, area domination, night patrolling and beat policing. Former top cops agree that an intimidate course correction was the need of the hour and that Delhi Police needed a complete overhaul across its ranks to make the city safer.

The home ministry is learnt to be keeping a close watch on the developments and may soon order a shake-up, sources said.

2 die as water tanker hits car in W Delhi

The driver, Bharat Ray (34), was tracked down and he admitted to filling the tanker from Padam Nagar and heading towards Mahavir Nagar when the accident took place

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Two occupants of a car were killed and one was left critically injured when their vehicle was hit by a speeding water tanker at the Tilak Nagar flyover in west Delhi on Wednesday. Despite being a blind hit-and-run incident, the traffic police managed to trace the errant driver within 12 hours.

After the police control room was informed about the accident, traffic officers from the Tilak Nagar circle promptly went to the spot where a Honda Amaze car with registration number DL3FA0065 was found in a wrecked condition. The injured had already been transported to a hospital.

The cops rushed to the hospital and found that two of the victims, identified as Jagrit Vaid and Vedant Arora, were declared dead on arrival while Ananya Sehgal was admitted for treatment.

“Prompt action by Tilak Nagar Traffic Police ensured a swift investigation. Following instructions from senior officers, six teams were formed to locate the vehicle responsible for the accident. The CCTV camera footage from Ganesh Nagar Chowk, Tilak Nagar Chowk, Tagore Garden metro station, 24x7 Vikaspuri and Shivaji College was reviewed and a water tanker was identified,” said special commissio- ner HGS Dhaliwal.

Traffic personnel deployed along strategic routes like Najafgarh Road, Pankha Road and Outer Ring Road managed to trace the truck (HR55AL2891) parked near Mahavir Nagar. A comparison with the CCTV footage confirmed it to be the vehicle involved in the accident, police said.

Investigation revealed the truck belonged to Umesh Kumar Mahto, a transporter. The driver, Bharat Ray (34), was also tracked down and he admitted to filling the tanker from Padam Nagar and heading towards Mahavir Nagar when the accident took place. He was subsequently handed over to Tilak Nagar police station.

An FIR under sections 304A (causing death due to negligence) and 279 (rash driving) of IPC was registered. “Inspector Kulvir Singh, inspector in charge of Tilak Nagar Traffic Circle, and his team have been commended for their swift action in apprehending the accused,” said a senior officer.

LG approves creation of a new police station at Bijwasan rly stn

New Delhi: LG VK Saxena on Wednesday approved the creation of a new police station at Bijwasan railway station after realigning the existing boundaries of the police station at Delhi Cantt railway station.

According to officials, there are 13 railway stations under the jurisdiction of the police station at Delhi Cantt railway station. “After the creation of the new police station at Bijwasan railway station, Palam, Shahbad Mohammadpur and Bijwasan, having a total length of about 9 kilometres, will come under its jurisdiction,” said an official.

“Apart from strengthening security and effective management of law and order, the new police station will cater to nearly 1.5 lakh population living in the area,” the official added. TNN

Man stabbed to death in Seelampur

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A 48-year-old supplier was allegedly stabbed to death in northeast Delhi's Seelampur. No arrest has been made.

The deceased was identified as Manoj Kumar, who worked as a spare parts supplier in the Kashmiri Gate market and lived with his family in Shahdara.

Police received information about a person admitted to the hospital around 11.23 pm on Tuesday.

An inquiry revealed that the incident occurred at 9.40 pm on the GT Road near a flyover towards the Welcome metro station. “He was found injured near the flyover on GT Road towards Welcome metro with his motorcycle,” an officer said.

Kumar is survived by his wife, daughter, and son. He sustained a stab wound on the right side of his chest.

Multiple teams have been formed to solve the case. CCTV footage of the area is being scanned. Cops are probing multiple angles including robbery or personal enemity.

Ugandan woman found dead

New Delhi: A 42-year-old Ugandan national was found dead at her rented accommodation in Panchsheel Vihar.

At 10.51 pm on Tuesday, cops received a PCR call about the woman found in unconscious condition. She was taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead upon arrival.

During the probe, police learned that the woman had been residing in the house for the past three months with another female friend from Uganda, both employed as hairdressers.

TNN

Chief secy Naresh Kumar is now NDMC chairman too

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The Union home ministry has assigned additional responsibilities to Delhi chief secretary Naresh Kumar by appointing him the chairperson of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) for a period not exceeding two months. This is Kumar’s second stint at NDMC.

The official order, issued on Tuesday by under-secretary CP Vinod Kumar, stated that Kumar, a 1987-batch AGMUT- IAS officer, would assume the role, in addition to the existing charges, with immediate effect until further orders or for a maximum of two months from the date of assuming the charge, whichever would be earlier.

The position of the NDMC chairman has been vacant since the departure of Amit Yadav last month. He has been reassigned to a central govt role as an officer on special duty in the social justice and empowerment department.

CM: Versions Against Me Are Questionable

Court Extends Custody Till July 3 In Excise Case

CM Arvind Kejriwal

Vineet.Upadhyay@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal told a court on Wednesday that the case against him was based entirely on the statements of people who were not only tainted but had also been arrested and subsequently promised bail for supporting the Enforcement Directorate's case.

The court of special judge Nyay Bindu was hearing Kejriwal's application for regular bail in the money laundering case related to the excise policy of 2021-22. The court will continue hearing the matter on Thursday.

Kejriwal, through his counsel Vikram Chaudhri, told the court that the statements against him were of questionable veracity and lacked corroboration. Of those who had made statements against the CM, Chaudhri said, "They were promised pardon. They are no saints. These people were lured. There is a question mark on the credibility of these people."

Referring to the statement of Lok Sabha member Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, whose son Raghava Magunta Reddy is an approver in the case, Chaudhri claimed the MP when asked specifically about Kejriwal responded that he hadn’t met him in connection with excise policy. “Later he makes a statement regarding me (Kejriwal), his son then gets interim bail. And he is granted pardon as well," Chaudhri told the court.

The counsel added, "The Reddys made the statements after they were arrested by ED and after they failed to get bail. ED bartered their personal liberty for the statements."

CM’s lawyer insisted ED's role in the case was deplorab- le and the accusations were dubious. "They are harping on my conduct. If my conduct is bad, it is to be determined by CBI. ED can only probe my role in money laundering," he said, adding that there was no corroborative evidence that Rs 100 crore was paid to AAP functionaries by the so-called South Group and that there was no "camera recording or money as such which has been exchanged". "These are all only in the form of statements,” Chaudhari pleaded. “I will not be surprised if some more statements come to fill in lacunae. This investigation is unending, it will continue till eternity.”

Opposing bail for Kejriwal, additional solicitor general SV Raju, appearing for ED, argued that an approver couldn’t be discredited because he had been given an inducement. "In any case when the prosecution finds it difficult to get the evidence, it opts for approvers. The law recognises approvers and the law says they can be given inducements. You are given a carrot," admitted Raju.

ED argued that everything linked to the case had boiled down to Kejriwal's role and he was liable not only in a personal capacity but also vicariously since he was in charge of Aam Aadmi Party. “He demanded a bribe of Rs. 100 crore. How can you say he is not prima facie guilty of the offence?” Raju asked.

Responding to Kejriwal's contention that he hadn’t been arrested in the CBI case, Raju countered that one need not be accused to be arrested in a money laundering case. He said this was not necessary according to a judgment by the Supreme Court. "The demand (for a bribe of Rs 100 crore) is established. The money has gone to Goa. It has gone to hawala dealers. We have recorded statements," insisted the ASG.

Meanwhile, the same court extended the judicial custody of Kejriwal on Thursday till July 3 after a court interaction through video-conferencing. The court also extended the judicial custody of Vinod Chauhan, another accused in the case. ED had said it was essential for Kejriwal to remain in custody for further investigations in the case.

During the hearing, Vivek Jain, counsel for Kejriwal, opposed ED's application, arguing that there were no grounds justifying the extension of his custody and the agency’s application was bereft of merit.

ED’s contention was that Chauhan received Rs 25 crore for the Goa election from the personal assistant of K Kavitha through Abhishek Boinpally. The investigation officer informed the court that Rs 25 crore was part of the Rs 100 crore allegedly paid as bribe in the excise case. The agency claimed a money trail involving Rs 45 crore had been established till date.

After denial of bail, Jain declared, “We object to the judicial remand. The arrest has already been challenged. It's sub-judice before the Supreme Court.”

ED on alert after Delhi firm sells `1,858 crore on crypto exchanges

SPECIAL COURT SAYS As part of this large operation, foreign outward remittances worth more than Rs 3,500 crore have been sent to Canada and Hong Kong

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A Delhi-based company sold crypto currencies worth more than Rs 1,858 crore on crypto exchanges, raising an alarm at the Enforcement Directorate which then started an investigation after a case was registered by the Crime Branch of Delhi police.

Soon, a money trail by the officials of the anti-money laundering agency revealed that the accused had already made illegal foreign outward remittances of more than Rs 3,500 crore, a startling disclosure that led to further widening of the probe to unearth the actual beneficiaries of the hawala racket that led to transfer of black money to offshore tax havens.

The probe further revealed the accused had deposited cash of Rs 1,300 crore in several bank accounts here in shell entities. After a search, the ED arrested the main accused, Manideep Mago, who was allegedly laundering black money of several big businessmen by opening accounts in Canada and Hong Kong using hawala channels and crypto exchanges.

A special court here on Tuesday remanded Manideep to ED custody for five days for his interrogation and recording of statements. “During searches, it was revealed that an international hawala syndicate has been active in Delhi and was collecting cash from exporters/importers and remitting the same to foreign countries against bogus invoices. As part of this large operation, foreign outward remittances worth more than Rs 3,500 crore have been sent to Canada and Hong Kong,” the ED said.

The remittances were made against bogus invoices raised for online lease of GPU servers for crypto mining, educational soft-wares and lease of Bare Metal servers, the ED said, adding that the members of the syndicate incorporated companies in Hong Kong and Canada, for facilitating international hawala transactions. “The syndicate has invested heavily in illegal Crypto mining and arbitrage trading as part of their international hawala operations,” ED said, and claimed it has found evidence of involvement of chartered accountants and few bank officials.

The agency further disclosed that bogus invoices were generated in the name of 70,000 random names to justify the deposit of cash. The source of the crypto was not revealed by the accused persons so far, the ED said.

Dangerous bldgs: 65% of survey done, says MCD

Vibha.Sharma@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) claims to have completed 64.8% of the survey of “dangerous structures” in the city and demolished two properties in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri as part of its initiative to identify vulnerable buildings and take action against them before the monsoon.

According to MCD officials, the action was taken after issuing prior notices and providing adequate time to the owners or occupiers to demolish the buildings for safety reasons.

“We are conducting a survey of dangerous buildings in all 12 zones. In total, 27,66,198 are to be surveyed this year, and till June 14, the engineering department has surveyed 17,94,403, 64.8% of the target,” said an official, adding that all structures would be covered by June 30, the deadline for the survey.

MCD claims to have intensified the drive to check private buildings by deploying inspection teams in all zones. “If any building is found to be dangerous, a notice is issued immediately to the owner or occupier to remove or carry out the necessary repair work, depending on the condition of the property. MCD takes strict action as per norms if the work is not done within the stipula- ted period,” and official said, adding that the survey was being carried out from outside as people often don’t allow officials inside. However, no information was available from MCD on the number of notices already issued.

With only 10 days left in the month, the opposition has questioned the sincerity of the efforts to complete the survey and take necessary action against vulnerable buildings. Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “We are again and again emphasising on carrying out detailed surveys in Old Delhi, which have decades-old buildings with weak foundations.”

Concerns have been raised that due to the excessive heat this year, structurally weak properties may have developed cracks, which may turn dangerous during the monsoon, said an official.

MCD is responsible for conducting an annual survey of dangerous buildings across the city, including in approved and unauthorised colonies and villages, before the monsoon. According to estimates, the city has approximately 30-35 lakh buildings.

Last Year, the building and maintenance department had inspected 30,54,130 buildings and 292 of them were identified as repairable. Eight houses were found to be in dangerous conditions, with seven of them in Rohini zone.

MCD also issues annual guidelines for the inspection and repair of all municipal schools, offices, dispensaries and hospitals.

You Can Pay Tax On Saturdays Too

MCD’s Collection Dept To Remain Open For Additional Day In Week Till June 30

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has announced that its assessment and collection department will be open on Saturdays till June 30 to help property owners meet their tax obligations. The department is also holding camps in various locations in partnership with RWAs and market associations.

"We appeal to all property owners or occupiers of vacant land and buildings to pay tax for the current year 2024-25 and get 10% rebate on lump sum payment of tax before June 30. For tax payment, the property owners or occupiers can log onto www.mcdonline.nic.in. All property owners or occupiers of the vacant land and buildings are also advised to geo-tag their properties," an official said. Currently, 30% of taxpayers have geotagged their properties. In the current financial year, the department has conducted over 800 camps, enabling over 24,000 taxpayers to pay successfully.

Property owners can pay their taxes using various methods, such as UPI, wallets, demand drafts, or any online payment gateway.

MCD has also sent advance tentative bills to 8.7 lakh taxpayers who paid their taxes the previous year, providing them with an estimated amount they are expected to pay this year. "People paid taxes from certain UPIC numbers last year have been sent SMS with alink to a receipt which reflects the tentative amount due for this year," the official added.

According to Section 114 of the DMC Act, 2003 (amended), all buildings and vacant land within the jurisdiction of MCD are required to pay property tax. Rule 22 of the DMC (property taxes) bye-laws, 2004, state that the property tax becomes due on the first day of April each financial year. Consequently, for 2024-25, the property tax became due on April 1, 2024. In the 2023-24 financial year, MCD experienced a decline in property tax collection of 11.5%, compared to the previous fiscal year.

The total amount collected in FY 2023-24 was Rs 2,137 crore, which was Rs 280 crore less than the Rs 2,417 crore collected in FY 2022-23. Additionally, the number of taxpayers also decreased from 13.29 lakh in 2022-23 to 12.58 lakh in 2023-24. Officials attributed the higher collection in the financial year 2022-23 to the introduction of the Samriddhi scheme, which generated an additional Rs 400 crore in revenue.

However, this scheme was not implemented in the financial year 2023-24, which may have contributed to the decrease in property tax collection.

Elected MP, Sehrawat resigns as councillor

New Delhi: West Delhi MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat has resigned from her position as a councillor for Dwarka B ward. Mayor Shelly Oberoi has accepted her resignation, said MCD officials.

She has to vacate the position after her win in the Lok Sabha polls.

The municipal secretary’s office is now likely to notify the state election commission about the vacancy and announce the dates for the bypoll to fill the vacant seat.

Sehrawat’s resignation has also created a vacancy in the standing committee, where she was one of the six elected members.

An official said, “MCD will be required to elect a new member to the standing committee through a House meeting in the near future. And the date for conducting the elections will be issued by the mayor. Following this, a circular will be issued, inviting nominations from interested candidates and the election will be held in the House meeting.”

Sources claimed that a councillor from AAP was likely to win the poll.

A source explained, “With one candidate electing a contest from one party, there is no scope for preferential voting and only direct voting will happen. So unless cross voting happens, chances of AAP getting its member elected will be high”.

The mayor could not be reached for comment.

Yogesh Verma, a BJP councillor, however, stated, “The scenario has changed and the councillors in AAP are not happy. So chances of our candidate winning a standing committee member election are equally high. Also, unlike assembly elections, Congress is no longer associated with AAP”.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav said that the party had not yet discussed the matter with its councillors and senior functionaries. “We will support the decision which will be good for all, and as of now, there is no formal alliance with AAP”.

According to an AAP councillor, the election for a new standing committee member may take place in the next House meeting. The formation of the zonal or standing committee has been pending for more than 16 months.

The standing committee has 18 members with 12 members elected from each of the 12 zones. Typically, the party holding a majority in zonal committees sends or elects these members. Six members are directly elected in the MCD House. TNN

Fire breaks out in factory:

A fire erupted in a factory in the Samaipur Badli Industrial area on Wednesday afternoon. Delhi Fire Service (DFS) received a call about the fire at 3.30 pm, prompting the dispatch of eight fire tenders to the scene. No one was injured in the incident. A few days ago, a major fire broke out at an LED manufacturing factory in Mundka, outer Delhi, where over 100 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the blaze. Recent data obtained by TOI reveals that up to May 26, there were 194 fire incidents in factories across the city. Over the past two years, Delhi has witnessed a total of 800 factory fire incidents. TNN

Car Buyers Left In Dark As EV Policy Runs Out Of Charge

Many Deprived Of Subsidy For 6 Mths Due To Non-Renewal

Abhinav.Rajput@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Car buyers in Delhi have been deprived of the subsidy for electric vehicles for six months due to the non-renewal of the EV policy after it lapsed last year. The policy, which offers financial incentives to individuals purchasing EVs, was to have been extended in January this year after its expiration on December 31, 2023.

Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said that the extension was hindered by bureaucratic delays, depriving the public of subsidy benefits for six months. “This should be expedited so that the people can benefit and Delhi can continue to be the No. 1 state in terms of EV penetration,” said Gahlot on Tuesday.

A transport department official said that the executive order for the policy extension was approved by the state cabinet but could not be implemented due to the operation of the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections. “We have now sent the extension proposal again for approval,” the official said, adding that it was expected to be cleared in a week’s time.

The official added that there were issues related to the bank managing the EV subsidy portal. “The portal hadn’t used the vehicle number as a unique ID number, which may have led to discrepancies,” she said. “So the delay was on the part of the bank. However, now the portal has been rectified.”

Under the EV policy, the purchase of an electric two wheeler involves a subsidy of Rs. 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity (maximum Rs. 30,000). Three-wheelers offer a subsidy of Rs. 30,000 per vehicle, irrespective of total cost and battery capacity. The subsidy for four-wheelers is not applicable any longer because it had been offered only for the first 1,000 EVs registered in Delhi under that particular scheme.

The government wanted to formulate EV Policy 2.0 in October last year after the expiry of the current policy in August. It even carried out consultations with different stakeholders, but that attempt too was stalled, leading to the old policy getting repeat extensions.

After the shift to CNG from petrol and diesel, the transition to EVs is the biggest change in car use in the capital. Commercial EVs have also seen a huge jump in sales. In 2021, 426 e-commercial cars were sold. This increased to 2,515 in 2022 and to 2,453 in 2023.

Anil Chhikara, faculty at the Asian Institute of Transport Development, cautioned that the prolonged absence of EV subsidies would leave many potential buyers of such vehicles in Delhi without the financial support they had anticipated and this could potentially slow down the adoption of eco-friendly transportation in the city. “An EV has a higher upfront cost and it is still in a nascent stage. Govt should ensure a subsidy for people to popularise the purchase of e-vehicles,” said Chhikara. Otherwise, the enthusiasm of EV stakeholders diminishes, he added.

24-year-old poses as Sr citizen to board Canada flight, caught

The man was taken to a checking point in the departure area for a thorough search

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A 24-year-old man was caught at IGI airport for posing as a 67-year-old while attempting to board a flight to Canada.

According to a CISF official, at 5.20pm on June 18, based on profiling and behaviour detection, the staff intercepted a passenger in the check-in area of Terminal-3.

"Upon inquiry, he identified himself as Rashvindar Singh Sahota, born on February 10, 1957, and stated he was bound for Canada on an Air Canada flight at 10.50pm," the officer said.

However, upon examining his passport, discrepancies were noticed. "His appearance, voice and skin texture seemed significantly younger than the details provided in the passport. Closer observation revealed that he had dyed his hair and beard white and was wearing glasses to appear older," the officer said.

As suspicion against him grew, the man was taken to a checking point in the departure area for a thorough search. During the inspection of his mobile phone, a soft copy of another passport in the name of Guru Sewak Singh, born on June 10, 2000, was found. "Upon further inquiry, the passenger admitted that his real name was Guru Sewak Singh and that he was 24 years old, traveling on a passport issued in the name of Sahota," the officer added.

As the case involved a forged passport and fake identity, the passenger was handed over to Delhi Police.

In 2019, a 32-year-old man was apprehended for posing as an 81-year-old. He was an electrician from Ahmedabad who wanted to go to the US for better jobs. The man was taken to a checking point in the departure area for a thorough search

Traffic police nod in, but flyover repair yet to start

SARITA VIHAR

Siddhanta.Mishra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Repair of the Sarita Vihar flyover has not started despite the Public Works Department (PWD) receiving the no-objection certificate from traffic police.

PWD officials had earlier said that the repair would begin on June 15, but there is now uncertainty as they await more approvals.

The flyover, built in 2010, has been in need for repairs for almost a year. However, it has been repeatedly postponed.

“We are ready to start the work as soon as the advertisement is published. The NOC from the traffic police has been received. Work will hopefully start soon,” a PWD official said.

As the authorities continue to navigate the bureaucratic process and await the required approvals, the condition of the flyover may further deteriorate, raising safety concerns.

According to the plan, the expansion joints of the flyover require immediate repairs.

PWD will take about two months for the repairs. Officials said the en- tire flyover will not be closed, and traffic will be allowed on one side.

The officials were hopeful of getting the required permission from the traffic police after the general elections concluded. The traffic police have also confirmed that the NOC has been granted on June 15.

As per govt procedure, any infrastructural project involving traffic diversions must also be approved by the PWD minister before work begins on the ground. PWD officials confirmed that some necessary approvals are still being obtained.

The department routinely replaces the expansion joints of flyovers to strengthen the structures.

During the strengthening and maintenance work, the concrete of the flyovers will be repaired along with expansion joints, bearings and other components.

To avoid inconvenience to commuters, govt has directed PWD officials to complete the maintenance work within a stipulated time, which is expected to take at least a month.

The repair work was approved by govt in 2022 when Manish Sisodia was the minister in charge of PWD.

Over 50% of RRTS stretch on Delhi-Meerut corridor ready

Abhijay.Jha@timesgroup.com

Ghaziabad: Trains on the country’s first Namo Bharat (rapid rail) corridor will soon run from Sahibabad to Meerut South.

The commissioner of metro rail safety (CMRS) has cleared the third section of the corridor – after SahibabadDuhai and Duhai-Modinagar North – for commercial operations. This 8km section from Modinagar North to Meerut South will increase the span of train operations to 42km, taking it above the 50% mark of the 80km Delhi-Meerut corridor, which has a completion date of mid-2025.

“The section will cut the travel time from Sahibabad to Meerut South to nearly 30 minutes. State and central govts have been told that work on the 8km section has been completed. A decision on its inauguration is likely soon,” an NCRTC official said.

Meerut South will be the district’s first station on the rapid rail corridor which will also have metro services. Of the 13 stations of the Namo Bharat corridor in Meerut, four are for rapid rail and nine others are part of the local metro corridor.

The NCRTC has developed the state’s largest parking facility — spread over 13,000 sqm to accommodate 1,200 vehicles at a time — at the station.

Students have benefited the most after the rapid rail corridor became operational.

Sonal Singh, a student at MMH College in Ghaziabad and a resident of Partapur, said, “The rapid rail starting operations to Meerut soon is good news for us. Ghaziabad and Meerut are industrial and educational hubs but had limited commuting options before the rapid rail. The rapid rail has changed a lot for students like us, and I just hope that in the days ahead, it will reach our doorsteps.”

Vipin Rathi, a resident of Meerut who commutes to Delhi for work, meanwhile said his travel time from Meerut to Delhi’s Patparganj has reduced significantly after the rapid rail operation commenced up to the Ghaziabad-Meerut border. “Earlier, I used to take aprivate vehicle to reach my workplace, but over the past few months, I park my bike at Modinagar South parking and take the rapid rail. If the corridor is operational up to Meerut South, it will further reduce commuting time, not to mention that it will be a hasslefree ride.”

‘Source 29.9% power from green options’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has released its draft regulations for renewable purchase obligation (RPO), which mandates 29.91% green energy purchase in 2024-25 for all discoms in the city. DERC has also recommended an RPO target of 30.01% for 2025-26.

DERC has sought public comments on the Draft Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (Renewable Purchase Obligation and Renewable Energy Certificate Framework Implementation) Regulations, 2024 by July 2, said officials. The comments, suggestions and objections can be forwarded to the DERC secretary either by post or through email at secyderc@nic.in.

The targets are in line with the Union power ministry’s Oct notification under Section 14 of Energy Conservation Act, 2001. All electricity distribution licensees must comply with the targets and non-compliance will result in a penalty of 10 paise per unit.

Large-scale institutional consumers can choose green power from several sources, such as purchasing from power exchange through open access, requisitioning from discoms and captive power plants, purchasing renewable energy certificates, and self generation, officials added.

Times Global

- 900+ dead, including 68 Indians, during haj as Mecca temp hits 51.8°C: Report

- Macron demands schools address antisemitism after Jewish girl raped

- STONEHENGE VANDALISED

- Hezbollah chief warns no place in Israel will be spared in case of a full-blown war

- Cyril Ramaphosa sworn in as SA prez for 2nd term

- Nobody will give you credit for anything: Pelosi warns Xi after meeting Dalai Lama

- Putin and Kim pledge mutual support against ‘aggression’

- Videos targeting Biden’s age go viral, White House calls them ‘cheapfakes’

- AROUND THE WORLD

- ‘AI Steve’ on ballot for UK election

- A Korean secret to keeping friendships strong: Savings groups

900+ dead, including 68 Indians, during haj as Mecca temp hits 51.8°C: Report

Saudi Yet To Comment On Fatalities But Reported 2,700 Heat Exhaustion Cases On Sunday Alone

An Arab diplomat said deaths of Egyptians alone had jumped to ‘at least 600’

Riyadh: Friends and family searched for missing haj pilgrims on Wednesday as the death toll at the annual rituals, which were carried out in scorching heat, surged past 900.

Relatives scoured hospitals and pleaded online for news, fearing the worst after temperatures hit 51.8°C in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, on Monday.

About 1.8 million people from all over the world, many old and infirm, took part in the days-long, mostly outdoor pilgrimage, held this year during the oven-like Saudi summer.

An Arab diplomat told AFP that deaths among Egyptians alone had jumped to “at least 600”, from over 300 a day earlier, mostly from the unforgiving heat. That figure brought the total reported dead so far to 922, according to an AFP tally of figures released by various nations.

A diplomat in Saudi Arabia said 68 Indian nationals had died during the haj pilgrimage. “Some are because of natural causes and we had many old age pilgrims. And some are due to the weather conditions, that’s what we assume,” the di- plomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

In addition to Egypt, fatalities have also been confirmed by Jordan, Indonesia, Iran, Se- negal, Tunisia and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, though in many cases authorities have not specified the cause.

Saudi Arabia has not provi- ded information on fatalities, though it reported more than 2,700 cases of “heat exhaustion” on Sunday alone. The country has spent billions of dollars on crowd control and safety measures for those attending the annual five-day pilgrimage, but the sheer number of participants makes ensuring their safety difficult.

Social media networks have been flooded with pictures of the missing and requests for information. Those searching for news include family and friends of Ghada Mahmoud Ahmed Dawood, an Egyptian pilgrim unaccounted for since Saturday.“ The good news is that until now we did not find her on the list of the dead people, which gives us hope she is still alive,” said one family friend based in Saudi Arabia.

The haj is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims with the means must complete it at least once. Its timing is determined by the Islamic lunar calendar, shifting forward each year in the Gregorian calendar. For the past several years the mainly outdoor rituals have fallen during the sweltering Saudi summer. According to a Saudi study published last month, temperatures in the area are rising 0.4°Ceach decade. A 2019 study by experts at MIT found that even if the world succeeds in mitigating the worst effects of climate change, the Haj would be held in temperatures exceeding an “extreme danger threshold” from 2047 to 2052, and from 2079 to 2086.

Deaths aren’t uncommon at the Haj, which has drawn at times over 2 million people to Saudi Arabia. Last year more than 200 pilgrims were reported dead. There have also been stampedes and epidemics through the pilgrimage’s history. A 2015 stampede in Mina during the haj killed over 2,400 pilgrims, the deadliest incident to ever strike the pilgrimage, an AP count showed. Saudi Arabia has never acknowledged the full toll of the stampede. A separate crane collapse at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, which preceded the Mina disaster, killed 111 people. The second-deadliest incident at hajj was a 1990 stampede that killed 1,426 people.

AFP, AP

Macron demands schools address antisemitism after Jewish girl raped

Paris: Prez Macron on Wednesday asked schools to hold a “discussion hour” on racism and antisemitism this week, after the rape of a Jewish girl in a Paris suburb added to France’s charged social climate ahead of elections.

Three teenagers were arrested this week following a complaint from a 12-year-old girl from Courbevoie, west of Paris, who told police she had been gang-raped while being insulted with antisemitic slurs, the Nanterre public prosecution office said.

The investigation centres on charges of rape, death threats and assault among other crimes, with an alleged religious motivation cited as aggravating factors. Incidents of antisemitism have surged in France since the Gaza war started.

The president on Wednesday asked the education minister “to organise a discussion in all schools on the fight against antisemitism and racism, to prevent hate speech with serious consequences from infiltrating schools”, Macron’s office said.

REUTERS

STONEHENGE VANDALISED

Environmental protesters sprayed paint on Britain’s Stonehenge on Wednesday, with orange marks covering some of the stones of the prehistoric megalithic structure. The incident came just a day before thousands are to gather at the 4,500-year-old stone circle to celebrate the summer solstice — the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Two people have been arrested, police said. In video released by environmental group Just Stop Oil, two protesters were seen running towards two of Stonehenge’s megaliths and spraying paint as another person attempted to stop them. The group said Niamh Lynch, 21, and Rajan Naidu, 73, had used ‘orange cornflour’ which would ‘soon wash away with the rain’. Just Stop Oil has gained prominence in the UK for disruptive protests, with its activists even throwing soup at a Van Gogh painting. The group wants the govt to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030.

REUTERS

Hezbollah chief warns no place in Israel will be spared in case of a full-blown war

Israel bombards village of Khiam in southern Lebanon on Wednesday

Beirut: The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Wednesday that nowhere in Israel would be safe if a full-fledged war breaks out between the two foes, and he also threatened Cyprus and other parts of the Mediterannean. Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israel for more than eight months in parallel with the Gaza War. On Tuesday, the Iran-backed group published what it said was drone footage of sensitive military sites deep in Israeli territory.

In a televised address on Wednesday, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said “there will be no place safe from our missiles and our drones” in Israel in the event of a broader war. The group also had “a bank of targets” that it could target in precision strikes, he said. Israel “knows that what also awaits it in the Mediterranean is very big,” Nasrallah added, without elaborating.

He also threatened Cyprus for the first time, saying it had been allowing Israel to use its airports and bases for military exercises. “Cypriot govt must be warned that opening Cy- priot airports and bases for the Israeli enemy to target Lebanon means that the Cypriot government has become part of the war and the resistance (Hezbollah) will deal with it as part of the war,” Nasrallah said.

Cyprus is not known to offer any land or base facilities to the Israeli military, but has in the past allowed Israel to use its vast airspace — its flight information region (FIR) — to occasionally conduct air drills, but never during conflict. Sovereign British military bases have been used for operations in Syria and more recently, Yemen. The Cyprus government has no say in the matter. There are two British bases in Cyprus, which was a colony until 1960.

REUTERS

Cyril Ramaphosa sworn in as SA prez for 2nd term

Johannesburg: Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in for a second term as South Africa’s president Wednesday in a ceremony in the administrative capital, Pretoria, after his reelection with the help from a coalition of parties, a first in the country’s 30-year rule. Ramaphosa is now set to appoint a cabinet in a new coalition govt after his African National Congress party lost its parliamentary majority in an election last month. He was reelected president by lawmakers on Friday after the main opposition party and a smaller third party joined the ANC in an agreement to co-govern. At least three parties will make up what the ANC is calling a govt of national unity, with more invited to join.

AP

Nobody will give you credit for anything: Pelosi warns Xi after meeting Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama meets US ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Dharamsala

Rohit.Mullick@timesgroup.com

Kullu: Former US house speaker Nancy Pelosi, leading a high-level congressional delegation, met the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala Wednesday and issued a stern message to Chinese Prez Xi Jinping. Highlighting the contrast between Xi and the Tibetan spiritual leader’s legacy, she said: “His Holiness, the Dalai Lama with his compassion, purity of soul, and love, will live for a long time and his legacy will live forever. But, you, the President of China, you’ll be gone and nobody will give you credit for anything.”

Pelosi condemned China’s efforts to purge Tibetan culture “by reducing the use of Tibetan language”. She said: “Ethnic Han population is being assimilated with the Tibetan population in Tibet. We have seen in Tibet that the Chinese govt is trying to educate Tibetan children in the Chinese way to reduce the knowledge of the Tibetan language... They (China) are trying something that we cannot let them get away with.”

Addressing a small group of Tibetan residents and officials of Central Tibetan Administration in McLeodganj, Pelosi announced that Prez Joe Biden would soon sign the Resolve Tibet Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at pressuring China to resolve the Tibet dispute. “Things have changed. The passage of this bill is a message to the Chinese govt that we have clarity in our thinking and our understanding of this issue of the freedom of Tibet. This legislation would soon be signed by President Biden,” she said.

House foreign affairs committee chairman Michael McCaul affirmed that US would not allow China to interfere with the Dalai Lama’s succession. According to him, the delegation had received a warning from Chinese Communist Party not to visit the Dalai Lama. “They sent a letter in which they repeated their false claim that Tibet has been a part of China since the 13th century. But we did not let the CCP intimidate us.

Putin and Kim pledge mutual support against ‘aggression’

No Details Revealed Of Pact Described As ‘Most Powerful’

Putin and Kim Jong-un drive an Aurus car in Pyongyang on Wednesday

Russia Prez Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un revived a Cold War-era mutual defence pledge between their nations on Wednesday, signing a new agreement that calls for them to assist each other in the event of “aggression” against either country. The Russian prez, in a briefing after the two leaders signed the document, did not clarify whether such assistance would require immediate and full-fledged military intervention in the event of an attack, as the now-defunct 1961 treaty specified. But he said that Russia “does not exclude the development of military technical cooperation” with North Korea in accordance with the new agreement.

The pact was one of the most visible rewards Kim has extracted from Moscow in return for the dozens of ballistic missiles and over 11,000 shipping containers of munitions that Washington has said North Korea has provided in recent months to help support Putin’s war in Ukraine. It also represented the farthest the Kremlin has gone in throwing its weight behind North Korea, after years of cooperating with the US at the United Nations in curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programme — a change that accelerated after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Neither North Korea nor Russia released the text of the new agreement. Kim called the pact a “most powerful agre- ement” and praised the “outstanding foresight” of Putin, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti said. The pledge of mutual assistance is likely to alarm Washington and its allies, par- ticularly South Korea, because it could not only provide further support for Russia’s war in Ukraine but also undermines efforts to curb North Korea’s N-missile programmes.

NYT

Kim, Putin take turns behind the wheel of Russia-gifted limo, steering their alliance

Russian Prez Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un took turns to drive each other around in a Russian-built Aurus limousine on Wednesday after the Kremlin said Putin had gifted one of the luxury vehicles to Kim. In a carefully staged PR opportunity, the two leaders used the moment to show how close their working relationship has become during what was a pomp-filled visit to Pyongyang by Putin, his first in nearly a quarter of a century. Putin gave Kim a first Aurus limousine in Feb, meaning he now has at least two of the vehicles. The Aurus Senat, retro-styled after the Soviet-era ZIL limousine, is the official Russian presidential car. Kim gave the Russian leader a red-carpet welcome early Wednesday in Pyongyang, the North’s capital. His energy-starved govt flooded downtown Pyongyang with bright lights. Despite sweltering heat, huge crowds were mobilised to a welcoming ceremony for Putin in the main square of the capital, complete with goose-stepping honour guards and colourful balloons released into the air.

REUTERS

Videos targeting Biden’s age go viral, White House calls them ‘cheapfakes’

Washington: Republicans are flooding the internet with outof-context videos of US Prez Biden, using what the White House has characterised as deceptive editing tactics to cast the 81-year-old as infirm less than five months from Nov’s election. The specious posts claiming to show Biden lost or freezing up underscore how increasingly bitter and personal the campaign has become online in the wake of former prez Donald Trump’s criminal conviction and as attack ads ramp up ahead of the first debates. They also come amid some voters’ worries over Biden’s physical and mental condition, with Trump making age a top rallying point — despite being, at 78, just three years younger.

The White House has branded the videos — many of which originated with an X account run by the Republican National Committee, or RNC —as “cheapfakes”, a term mi- sinformation experts coined to describe content altered using basic and affordable technology. One short clip the “RNC Research” account shared this month shows the prez hunching over during a ceremony in France to commemorate the anniversary of the D-Day landings. Conservative influencers jumped on the 13-second footage, falsely accusing Biden of trying to sit when there was no chair behind him. Others insisted he had lost control of his bowels. Jake Schneider, who runs the “RNC Research” account as the committee’s rapid response director, said the page has merely been posting clips that “come straight from pool feeds”.

Rolling the tape further, however, makes it clear there was aseat beneath the prez. AFP fact-checkers found the RNC’s video was cut to omit the ensuing footage, which revealed that Biden started to sit as the music stopped, paused to wait for defence secretary Lloyd Austin’s introduction and then fully sat as Austin rose to speak. In another video spread widely online, Biden appeared to stray from other world leaders and flash an errant thumbs-up gesture during a skydiving demonstration at the G7 summit in Italy. After the GOP account highlighted the footage on X, the New York Post tagged Biden on its front page as the “Meander in Chief”. But the New York Post’s cover photos — and a video the newspaper shared online — altered the clip’s frame to crop out the parachutists Biden was congratulating.

White House pushed back. “It’s telling that rightwing critics, including Rupert Murdoch’s sad little super PAC, the New York Post, resort to misinformation,” Andrew Bates, its senior deputy press secretary, said. “Biden’s record is so threatening to them that they feel a need to make things up.”

AFP

AROUND THE WORLD

ALIENS’ MARK OR PORTAL? ‘MYSTERY MONOLITH’ APPEARS AGAIN It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. A tall, vertical column mirroring everything around it, with no explanation of its purpose and origin. The rectangular structure is the latest to baffle the internet after they began appearing in places around the globe in 2020. This vertical object stands by a hiking trail on the northern side of Las Vegas — a finding that police are calling ‘mystery monolith’. It was not immediately clear where the object had come from, how it had arrived — or what would happen to it next. Followers of the police department’s Facebook page had fun questioning the geometric figure’s origins. ‘It’s always the aliens,’ one person wrote. Another suggested that perhaps the monolith was ‘a portal going to a different location’

Man gets 2 yrs’ jail for Banksy art theft

A French court Wednesday handed a man a two-year suspended jail sentence for using a bucket truck to steal a Banksy stencil from the back of a parking sign in Paris. Mejdi R, a 38-year-old musician, in court had admitted that he used an angle grinder in Sept 2019 to remove part of the sign on which the secretive British artist had depicted a masked rat holding a box cutter. But he claimed he was a friend of the artist, who had asked him to retrieve the artwork on the sign near the modern art Centre Pompidou museum in Paris. He argued his “friend” wanted to prevent anybody else from making money off the street art. He said Banksy sent a “team” to help him steal it, that then slipped off back to England with the rat. The prosecutor said Banksy had denied this through a spokesperson. The stencil is still missing.

AFP

‘AI Steve’ on ballot for UK election

Businessman Steve Endacott (R) is running for a seat in UK parliament in the July 4 elections, but the face on his campaign leaflet is not of the 59-yr-old, but an AI-generated avatar

Brighton: When voters go to the polls in one English town next month they will get the chance to elect what is being billed as the world’s first AI lawmaker. Businessman Steve Endacott is among hundreds of candidates standing to become amember of parliament at Britain’s July 4 national election -except unlike the others, the face on his campaign leaflet is not of the 59-year-old, but an AI-generated avatar. “We’re launching a party, we’re going to be recruiting more AI candidates across the country after this election, and we see this as the launch, building block for something big and something democratic,” he told Reuters.

Endacott, whose Neural Voice company powers his AI alter ego, said his frustration with “standard politics” made him decide to run as an independent for the Brighton Pavilion constituency in the southern seaside town. “AI Steve” — the name that will appear on ballot papers — engages real-time with locals on topics ranging from LGBTQ rights and ho- using to bin collection and immigration. It then puts forward policy ideas before asking for their suggestions. “We’re using AI in so many (areas), at work, social interactions, why don’t we put it in politics?” said charity worker Eona Johnston, 23, after meeting “AI Steve” near Brighton’s famous pier. “It might change the way we live.”

When asked about AI Steve, the UK Electoral Commission said if he wins, Endacott would be the MP, not any AI version of him.

Most locals appeared reluctant to vote for an AI candidate just yet. Jim Cheek pointed out that an MP has to speak up for constituents in parliament. “AI and politicians have the one thing in common,” another local, Andy Clawson, 42, said. “They can’t be trusted.”

REUTERS

A Korean secret to keeping friendships strong: Savings groups

SAVE TOGETHER, STAY TOGETHER In South Korea, it’s common for friends to form what are known as ‘gyemoim’ to save for vacations, meals and other social activities. Each member contributes what are essentially ‘club dues’ — often between $10 and $50 each month

Last fall, Jina Kim and two of her friends splurged on a two-night stay at the Ananti at Busan Cove, a luxury resort in South Korea. The resort, where rooms start at $369 a night, features infinity pools, spas, restaurants, a private coastal walk and beach area, and a 4,600-meter Kim and her friends weren’t worried about how they would pay for the trip because they had spent over a decade saving in a “gyemoim”, a Korean term for people who form financial planning groups to save money for future expenses.

Forming gyemoim groups can help friends or families sp- lit travel costs equally so everyone can participate, regardless of his or her personal budget. “Honestly, if we didn’t make the gyemoim, then it would have been too difficult for us to arrange that kind of trip,” Kim said. “It would have cost too much.”

Collective financial planning has had a long history in many parts of the world. “It’s actually not unique to South Korea,” said Euncheol Shin, a professor of economics in Seoul. “This practice first developed because there was no financial market, and if you wanted to borrow some money, you had to do some self-financing.”

Each member of a gyemoim contributes what are essentially “club dues” — often between $10 and $50 each month, with the amount decided by the group. As the balance increases, the members discuss how to spend it together. Kim first formed a gyemoim with two friends after they met at a social club in 2014. The three were attending different colleges and believed the gyemoim would allow them to regularly meet up.

Initially, they each agreed to contribute 15,000 won (about $13) every month. Over the next decade, they saved more than 3,000,000 won ( $2,200) before de- ciding to spend the money on a trip to the Ananti, the resort. By then, the three friends had become busy with their own careers and families, but they remained close, in part, because of the gyemoim. “It allowed us to keep in touch and have a good time together without worrying about the cost,” Kim said.

Gyemoim groups can work in South Korea because of the nature of the country’s social interactions and culture of trust. You could walk into a coffee shop in Seoul and leave your bag without needing to worry.

Forming a group to save is so common in South Korea that one bank is adapting to the custom. KakaoBanknow offers a gyemoim group account where friends can share a bank account managed by one designated account holder. Some groups still prefer the “old-fashioned” method — entrusting funds to one member. Gyemoim groups don’t last forever. Circumstances change, friends may’ve a falling-out, someone may no longer want to participate or a new person may want to join. When that happens, it’s up to the collective to decide how to handle it. For a group to be successful, Kim said, members need to share similar interests.

NYT

Editorial

- India’s Goldilocks Moment?

- Love And Let Love

- Immigrant Power

- PAPpu? Who? Me?

- Let Your Life Be Like Music

- Meat For Thought: Why 100bn Animals Die Every Year

- A thought for today

- Sacred space

India’s Goldilocks Moment?

LS polls produced a fairly strong govt and a fairly strong opposition. Onus now on both sides to ensure fairly okay governance

Chetan Bhagat

Goldilocks, the children’s story of a girl and three bears, in which she finds her porridge ‘just right’, is used to describe something ‘just right’. In many ways, this was a Goldilocks election where the results were ‘just right’, and everyone had something to be happy about. BJP/NDA earned a third term. Congress/INDIA did much better than expected. There’s a reasonably stable govt. There’s a reasonably strong opposition. It all seems just right. Or is it? Do we have perfect govt and opposition? Or will it take something else for this to become a Goldilocks term?

For, an optimal mix of numbers in Parliament is not enough to ensure this term will be productive for the country. Onus of making that happen is on both govt and opposition. Since NDA is in office and thus has more responsibility, here are some things it must keep in mind:

No shock-and-awe announcements | After the slow decision-making govt that was UPA-1 and UPA-2, it was a refreshing change to have a decisive leader and swift-moving govt in 2014 and 2019. However, the downside of such a govt is that not enough consensus is arrived at. The reduced mandate makes it necessary for govt to move a bit slower and with more consensus. It may mean certain big-bang reforms cannot happen or take a lot longer than usual. That’s okay. What one doesn’t want is one big announcement and a huge backlash. Not worth it.

Not taking opposition bait | INDIA bloc will throw a lot of bait at govt to provoke it or make it say something questionable that can be twisted. NDA’s mandate is to govern, not to get into battles with opposition. Be boring for a while, it’s okay.

Reflect on what happened in elections | A soul-searching exercise for BJP is required to figure out what is going on. Sure, it won and remains dominant. However, what is the trend? Is the new generation connecting with it like before? Is BJP still considered ‘cool’ on social media, or is the other side gaining ground? Is it trusted, or is Congress being believed more now? How did BJP not know about the growing discontent among a significant chunk of voters? Is media not showing a certain reality? Is leadership surrounding themselves with sycophants or people who give the true message?

Maintain the base, don’t over serve it | BJP has done almost too good a job in terms of its ideological promises. Article 370 removal – Done. CAA – Done. Ram Temple – Done. It’s probably why its base is still intact. However, focusing too much on pleasing this base creates two concerns. One, the marginal BJP voter, that 5-10% vote share that comes for vikas, economy, or governance, can get jittery as they’re not as ideologically aligned as the core. Lose too many of these voters and BJP risks getting stuck in the Advani era – solid base, but not enough to win an election.

The second issue is this – if you already have completed the main ideological projects, what big thing do you offer next? Hence, in the third term, it will almost be better for BJP to do base-lite projects, ones that are ideological but largely conflict-free – cleaning up major Hindu temples, making new religious tourist sites, rediscovering lost culture and architecture, etc.

Opposition bloc INDIA too has a role in making this a good term. Here are three things it should focus on:

Figure out the leadership | Frankly, INDIA bloc should feel grateful it did not get a majority. The alliance did well, but deep down it knows it is not quite ready to be in office. Who would be its PM, for instance? What would its govt look like? The bloc needs to work out all this before the next election.

Pick your battles | With its newfound strength, INDIA bloc will be tempted to attack govt on every little issue, or even attempt to destabilise it. Opposition’s job is to keep govt accountable. However, if INDIA members are seen as disrupting real work or nitpicking, the group will lose credibility fast.

How to grow? | Growing from here will require a new strategy. BJP will work extra hard to get its voters back. Will INDIA bloc work just as hard? Or will it get complacent? That would be a mistake. As poll results have shown us – do not take the Indian voter for granted.

Govt’s mandate is for actual work. It isn’t only for drama, conflict and each side trying to bring the other down. The latter might be more entertaining, and maybe that’s what many people want, not to mention the media. However, we have a rare moment in Indian politics with near ideal conditions – a fairly strong govt, and a fairly strong opposition. Rather than turning it into a boxing match, we need to make the most out of this Goldilocks Parliament and get things done, with the right (or, shall we say ‘just-right’) balance of decisiveness and consensus.

Love And Let Love

Thais get marriage equality. But Indian state’s shadow looms large over Indians’ private lives

As Thailand becomes the third Asian nation to legalise same-sex marriage – pending senate and royal endorsement – it’s an occasion to examine the lengthening distance India has to cover. Basic individual freedoms to love and marry as we like are now being begrudged by political and legal establishments. Family law is being weaponised, to curb rather than guarantee liberty. Homosexuality was decriminalised six years ago. But last year, SC refused to extend the Special Marriage Act to all citizens, irrespective of their sexual orientation. GOI invoked ‘the Indian family unit’. But marriage equality petitioners were not seeking religious or social validation – only recognition of legal coupledom.

That’s not all. India remains a shameful exception among democracies for refusing to criminalise marital rape, unless spouses are separated or the wife is a minor. We have civil remedies, but refuse to see the crime for what it is. All women, whatever their circumstances or personalities, are sole owners of their own bodies, and are rights-bearing citizens.

Marriage does not make consent irrelevant. The stubborn patriarchal reflex is that a man is entitled to his wife’s body, that marriage can be a torture chamber but remains his private dominion, and that the harm of rape is ‘shame’ and ‘dishonour’ rather than assault. And this gut-feeling in our institutions is the only reason that situation persists.

This refusal to see women as humans with wills and desires of their own, but as the property of family and community, has taken on frightening new forms. Even abortion is now being cast differently by our courts, with arguments about the ‘right of the foetus’ making their way into the discourse. The Special Marriage Act, our civil family law that allows “any two persons” to marry independent of religious personal laws, has been made onerous with public notifications and procedural roadblocks that allow families and vigilantes to raise a ruckus. Interfaith marriage has been made practically impossible in states like UP, cast as ‘unlawful conversion’. Basic questions of fairness in marriage and divorce are being distorted to single out and criminalise Muslim men.

The right over one’s own body, romantic partnerships, and family arrangements is the most basic of rights. The state’s looming shadow on the intimate lives of Indians is one of India’s great, and continuing, tragedies.

Immigrant Power

Biden shows the way on welcoming the foreign-born to US. GOI should have a minister for emigration

Biden greenlighting a big change in US immigration policy, which can benefit upwards of half-a-million immigrants, should be big news for India. To qualify for the programme, an immigrant without legal status must have lived in US for 10 years and be married to a US citizen as of June 17, 2024. Applicants can then get a Green Card, a temporary work permit and eventual citizenship without having to leave US first.

Powering America | Such openness to immigration is also why US remains the most powerful economy in the world. An analysis by the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants paid over $500 billion in US taxes in 2021; they account for 22.2% of entrepreneurs, 22.8% of STEM workers and 15.2% of nurses. So, well done Biden.

Indian immigrants | The same analysis also points out that India was the source of 6% of immigrants to US, the second after Mexico at 24%. This is no surprise. India ranked first in the global remittance chart in 2023, with Indians working abroad sending back home a whopping $125 billion. India finds itself in a sweet spot. It has a huge population of young people at a time when many developed nations are in population decline. Thus, India can send millions of young workers to countries facing severe labour shortage.

Emigration push | GOI takes pride in the Indian diaspora, viewing them as a strategic economic and soft power resource. But the process can be strengthened further if GOI creates a post of minister for emigration. This would streamline the process of Indian emigration by helping match skilled and semi-skilled Indian labour with global employers. The minister for emigration would liaison with foreign immigration departments, and therefore help cut down on illegal immigration. Given changes in global labour markets, it’s a win-win that GOI must not pass up on.

erratica

PAPpu? Who? Me?

We’re all project affected people. Blame nuisance infra

Bachi Karkaria

Bet you can’t rattle off the number of zeroes in `111L cr. Bet you are already rattled by infrastructure being constructed, bankrolled by this allotted investment. We have to bear the hardship because it’s for the greater good of development, no? Just like we had to bear demonetisation that was for the greater good of flushing out black money? No!

From small town to swaggerpolis, a Sanjay Leela Bhansali-sized project is coming soon near you, destroying life as you knew it. Or has already. It’s not just villagers displaced by dams. Grand connectors are turning every urban neighbourhood into grand canyons. This makes each of us into a PAPpu who’s lost home, hearing, health, sleep, or simply hours, thanks to diversions and traffic jams.

Mumbai is being disembowelled, serially, simultaneously, seldom systematically by coastal road, snaking flyovers and most of all metro railway. Each is an awesome engineering feat. But what about feet? People are being forced to manage with ever-smaller crumbs from roads gobbled up by monster projects.

Take my microcosm. White-elephant monorail swallowed half the carriageway. The Eastern freeway zipping past our windows could save us half an hour too, but we’d have to drive as long to get on to it. It’s almost as bad for the hurrahed trans-harbour link, which also cost us our totemic flamingos. Pray that we’ll have easier access to the Sewri-Worli connector whose construction has commandeered whatever remains of this arterial stretch – and our sanity. Hell will worsen with monsoon high water.

End justifies means, okay. But do means have to be so utterly inconsiderate? Way back, when the first metro railway’s cut-and-cover construction buried Calcutta under debris, dust, and daily disruptions, a project engineer confessed to me, ‘We can build this way only because we don’t have to pay for public inconvenience.’ Nothing’s changed. There’s no chaos control, mandatory sound muffling, extra traffic management; not even a basic, obstruction-free pedestrian passage.

Seems public convenience is disposable, in the larger cause of Vikshit Bharat.

***

Alec Smart said : “Now, it’s ‘Engineered Educational Testing’? Sick!”

THE SPEAKING TREE

Let Your Life Be Like Music

Sumit Paul

World Music Day, also known as Fête de la Musique, celebrates the beauty and diversity of music. Sangeet transcends boundaries, cultures, and genres. People worldwide embrace music and its profound impact on their lives.

In his essay Music at Night, Aldous Huxley rightly said, “After silence, which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” Music is to the soul what words are to the mind. Everything in the universe has a rhythm; everything dances. Science has proven that rhythmic tones diminish the feral instincts not only in humans but also in animals.

Rangers at Kruger National Park in South Africa play instruments to tranquilise rogue elephants. Urdu poet Naubat Rai ‘Nazar’ wrote, “Patthar ke seene mein bhi dil ubhar aata hai/Iss qadar asar hota hai mausiqi ka” – Heart appears even in a stone/This is how music impacts.

The Arabic word mausiqibecame music in English. The universal language of symphonic serenity, which the cosmos uses to express itself, neither has geographical barriers nor requires learning a new language to appreciate. One only needs ears to appreciate nature’s soulful cadences. “Kaanon mein jo shahad ghol de/Pahunchaye jo dil ko sukoon/Usi ko naam diya hai mausiqi ka” – What pours honey into the ears/Gives solace to the heart/That’s what we call music.

Don’t we say in English that it’s mellifluous to our ears? Anything with the power and quality to transport us to an ethereal realm is tuneful. Listen to Chopin’s classical piano masterpieces, Yehudi Menuhin and Niccolo Paganini’s gossamer creations on a violin or Beethoven’s most famous compositions, including Symphony No 5 in CMinor; you’re bound to say, Agar firdaus var-roo-e-zameenast/Hameenst, hameenst, hameenst– If there’s heaven elsewhere on earth/It’s here, here and here.

Tuneful soulfulness also has a therapeutic impact on the human mind. Many prisons in the western world have a specific room where prisoners can go and listen to symphonies because rhythms can curb criminal tendencies. In other words, music has a humanising quality. It makes us human and humane. Tunes and tenors are also cathartic. That’s the reason heartbroken people listen to sad songs and ghazals. They feel better after that because sangeet purifies from within and is heart-cleansing. To quote Mirza Ghalib, “Rone se aur ishq mein bebaak ho gaye/Dhoye gaye hum aise ke bas paak ho gaye” – I felt more liberated in love/Once I shed tears and became sanctified.

Let’s listen to soothing music in these times of utter cacophony and merge ourselves into the Elysian bliss because Life is for the living/Death is for the dead/Let life be like music/And death a note unsaid. Remember, some people have lives; others have musical notes as boon companions. Doesn’t it sound like an ethereal symphony to your ears?

June 21 is World Music Day

Meat For Thought: Why 100bn Animals Die Every Year

The scale of animal slaughter for food is unsustainable. May be, just may be, science will find a way

Global demand for animal protein is fast growing. That demand has been met by a sharp increase in meat and fish production. Animal farming has grown to the point that almost a third of all land is used for raising livestock. This, in turn, has increased carbon emissions.

The most jarring statistic is that to meet this demand, 900,000 cows, 1.4mn goats, 1.7mn sheep, 3.8mn pigs, 12mn ducks and 202mn chickens are slaughtered daily for human consumption, per FAO 2021 data. Add to that, fish consumed – an average 211mn killed daily, by one estimate. Caveat: fish stocks, production and consumption are reported in tonnes, so numbers of fish killed daily have various estimates.

Annually then, close to 100bn farmed animals are killed worldwide for human consumption. The scale at which meat is farmed is unsustainable on several fronts, not least for the environmental impact. The numbers are an eye-opener. Over 70% of bird biomass is poultry livestock. Poultry outweigh wild birds by a factor of more than 3 to 1. It’s worse for mammals. Almost 95% of global mammal biomass, excluding humans, is livestock. Livestock outweigh wild mammals by a factor of 15 to 1.

The world is getting weighed down by the need for meat. And the global population of farmed animals is not only a driver of climate change but also its victim.

Pressure on land | About 45% of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture. Crops are grown on just a third of this, the rest of it is mostly grazing land. Just half of the cropland is grown for crops that humans consume.

The other half is used to grow crops for animal feed, and biofuels etc. In short, the majority of the world’s cropland is used to raise livestock for meat and dairy. Worse, animal feed is largely monoculture crops, which results in soil degradation.

Risk of disease | As demand increases, farms that ‘grow’ cows, chicken and pigs face their own challenges. Burgeoning populations mean animals are packed close together, often in cramped and unhygienic conditions. This is a direct risk for epidemic-level viruses to spread. The African swine fever (ASF) is estimated to have killed one in four pigs worldwide since it was first detected in 2018 and has a 100% case fatality rate. FAO’s 2023 outlook noted that the global impact of ASF resulted in a dip in demand for pork and its products, accompanied by a rise in demand for poultry.

Antibiotic resistance | There is excessive use of antibiotics in livestock farming, especially poultry. This leads to antibiotic resistance. Animals are often given antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent illness in their crowded conditions. Such overuse allows antibiotic-resistant bacteria to thrive and spread. These resistant bacteria pass from livestock to humans via food. This impacts how we respond to life-saving antibiotics if we fall ill.

Chaotic climate | Weather extremes impact all farming. But the loss to animals is not given due recognition. Freak storms, floods and forest fires burn farms, killing livestock. Heavy rains and floods in East Africa in June not only devastated cropland but killed almost 10,000 farm animals. Floods contaminated rivers, lakes and ponds from where fish are sourced. All of this has sparked fears of a food crisis.

Emissions & more | The cattle industry is a significant contributor to greenhouse gases (GHGs), primarily through production of methane from livestock digestion and manure management. Cattle belch large amounts of methane, a GHG more harmful than carbon dioxide. Additionally, deforestation for grazing land, fertiliser use, and fossil fuel consumption in meat production processes all generate substantial GHG emissions. Beef typically has the largest emissions; followed by lamb, pork, chicken, then eggs and fish.

About 26% of global GHG emissions are from food: grains, pulses, dairy, meat, the works. Of this, livestock and fisheries contribute almost a third. As scientists, environmentalists, govts and civil society grapple with climate change, the focus is largely on curbing plastics, focusing on energy mix, on pollutants and development models, but as the human population booms, and meat-eating spreads faster, the impact of a plate of food cannot be ignored.

So, what are the solutions? For sure, not for much longer can it be business as usual on the animal farm. It is essential to use science and tech to reconstruct and upgrade how meat is sourced.

Eat less | Less meat is nearly always better than current options of lab-grown meat both for environment and health – given that today’s lab-grown meat (single-cell cultures) falls not only in the highly processed foods category but also did not quite impress consumers once the initial novelty wore off.

Engineer the biology | Called “cellular agriculture”, the essence of such tissue engineering is just that – farming cells and growing meat from them. The idea behind it, under research in labs across the world, is to grow meat from cells extracted from animal organs and grown in a lab. Pioneer and proponent of cellular agriculture, bioengineer Isha Datar argues that we already consume several such cell culture products – as vitamins,flavours and enzymes.

If the question on meat is how to feed more using less land, without emitting GHGs and without killing animals, science will – must – provide the answer.

Text: Nandita Sengupta. Sources: Poore & Nemecek (2018), Hannah Ritchie, Max Roser (Our World in Data), TED Climate

A thought for today

Immigration is by definition a gesture of faith in social mobility

JOHN F KENNEDY

Sacred space

Let us look within ourselves and see whether there is some delightful hidden place inside where we can be free of noise and argument. Let us hear the word of God in stillness and perhaps we will then come to understand it.

Saint Augustine

Times Business

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- Retail inflation easing, food prices remain a concern: RBI

- Sensex rallies for 5th day, hits record in volatile mkt

- Sebi fines RInfra, RPower & 5 others

- Voda sells $1.8bn stake in Indus

- ‘Robots to babysit, cars to drive themselves’

- ‘Robot tax’ for AI-hit jobs figures in FM Budget meet

- ‘Taxpayers want rationalisation of GST rates, amnesty scheme’

- Adani amps up green energy bet to $100bn

`5.6K CR DEAL

Swiss insurer Zurich buys 70% in Kotak’s non-life biz

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Zurich Insurance has acquired a 70% stake in Kotak Mahindra General Insurance in a Rs 5,560-crore ($670-million) deal from Kotak Bank after it received regulatory approvals. The deal, which is the largest foreign investment in India’s general insurance sector, was announced in Nov 2023.

With this deal, Zurich becomes the first foreign insurer to enter India since FDI rules were amended to allow up to 74% foreign ownership in 2021 from 49%. Zurich acquired the ma- jority stake in the general insurer through a combination of fresh growth capital and share purchase. The company will be renamed as Zurich Kotak General Insurance to reflect the new ownership.Kotak Mahindra Bank held 100% equity of the Rs 875-crore paid up capital in the insurance subsidiary as of March 2024. Kotak General had a total premium income of Rs 748 crore from motor insurance and Rs 620 crore from health in FY24.

“The acquisition of Kotak General Insurance sets the way forward for Zurich to be a leading player in a very significant growth market. This is a key strategic step for Zurich,” said Tulsi Naidu, CEO (Asia-Pacific), Zurich Insurance Group.

CCI signs off on WeWork’s exit from India unit

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: The Competition Commission of India has approved the US-based WeWork’s exit from its India unit by selling its 27% stake in the local arm. Once a high-flying startup, valued at $47 billion at its peak, WeWork had filed for bankruptcy in the US last year.

The exit process will be completed in two steps, CCI said in a notification. First, certain share capital of WeWork India will be acquired by Real Trustee Advisory and a group of independent investors from the company’s majority stakeholder Embassy Group.

Separately, Embassy Group will acquire 100% share capital of 1 Ariel Way Tenant (OAW) from WeWork International. OAW holds the share of WeWork India on behalf of WeWork International. WeWork declined to comment.

Currently, Bengaluru-based Embassy Group holds about 73% stake in WeWork India. Real Trustee is the trustee of Volrado Ventures, which are alternative investment funds registered with Sebi.

WeWork recently emerged from bankruptcy, completed its global operational and financial restructuring and appointed John Santora as its new CEO. Troubles at WeWork unfolded following a failed attempt at going public in 2019 and the subsequent pandemic. The Indian unit of WeWork, however, has been growing fairly well.

Retail inflation easing, food prices remain a concern: RBI

‘Impact Of Weather-Related Shocks Needs Close Monitoring’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:Retail inflation is gradually easing but the path has been interrupted by volatile and elevated food inflation, which may cause it to reverse after a temporary fall below the target during the second quarter of 2024-25, a RBI bulletin said on Wednesday.

The central bank has consistently cautioned about the volatile food prices, particularly of vegetables and some cereals, which have come under pressure due to the heatwave sweeping across some states. While prediction of normal monsoon rains may augur well for crops and improve supplies, the impact of weather related shocks needs close monitoring.

“As long as food price pressures persist, however, the goal of aligning inflation with its target remains a work in progress,” according to the RBI document. The central bank has a target of keeping inflation at 4% (plus/minus 2%).

Latest data showed retail inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), slowed to a 12-month low of 4.8% in May. Vegetables and pulses prices remai- ned under pressure while core inflation which is estimated after stripping out food and fuel was steady at 3.1%. Food inflation remained unchanged at 7.9%.

The central bank said the prospects for agriculture are brightening with early landfall of southwest monsoon. The stubborn food price pressures have for the time being pushed back any hopes of a cut in interest rates as RBI would like to assess the price situation against the backdrop of the erratic weather patterns, experts say. RBI has kept the policy rate unchanged at 6.5% and has reiterated its stance of remaining focused on the withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns to the target, while supporting growth.

The RBI bulletin said high-frequency indicators suggest the real GDP growth in the first quarter of 202425 is broadly maintaining the pace it achieved in the preceding quarter.

It said that global growth was resilient in the first quarter of 2024 and many central banks have pivoted towards a less restrictive monetary policy stance in response to the fall in inflation in their economies.

Sensex rallies for 5th day, hits record in volatile mkt

Mumbai: The sensex on Wednesday ticked higher to scale yet another lifetime closing peak of 77,338, while the broader Nifty retreated from the record-high level amid a lack of immediate triggers.

In a volatile trading session, the emergence of profit booking in consumer durables, capital goods and energy shares negated strong gains in banking and financial stocks.

Rallying for the fifth straight session, the sensex climbed 36 points to settle at a new closing high of 77,338. During the day, it soared 550 points or 0.7% to hit the fresh lifetime peak of 77,852. The Nifty ended at 23,516, down 42 points. Intraday, it rose 106 points to hit a new record of 23,664.

“Strong buying in banking stocks helped sensex sail through in a highly volatile trading session, while Nifty ended weak as investors booked profit in auto, metals, oil & gas, telecom and realty shares after the recent upsurge. Ahead of the Budget, markets may see stock & sector-specific activities on hopes govt may increase the outlay for sectors to push growth,” Prashanth Tapse, senior VP (research) at Mehta Equities, said.

AGENCIES

Sebi fines RInfra, RPower & 5 others

New Delhi: Capital markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday imposed penalties on seven entities including Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power and Incredible Realcon for non-submission of no default statement to credit rating agencies. Sebi levied a fine of Rs 1 crore each on Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power and Incredible Realcon, Rs 20 lakh on Paranjape Schemes (Construction), Rs 14 lakh on PVP Ventures, Rs 5 lakh on Hindustan Cleanenergy and Rs 1 lakh on Ginni Filaments.

AGENCIES

Voda sells $1.8bn stake in Indus

Mumbai: Vodafone Group has sold a bigger-than-planned 18% stake in India’s Indus Towers, raising $1.8 billion (over Rs 15,000 crore) that will serve to reduce its debt, the British telecom group said on Wednesday.

Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom company, said it bought about 1% of Indus shares in the transaction, bringing its stake in the operator to around 49%.

Vodafone, which owned 21.5% of Indus before the sale, had initially planned to sell a 10% stake but strong investor demand made it nearly double the sale size, according to a banking source familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity because the person was not authorised to speak to the media.

Vodafone said it sold 48.5 crore Indus shares at a price of Rs 310-341 per share, raising Rs 15,300 crore, or 1.7 billion euros, in gross proceeds that it will use to repay debt. The group said it had bank borrowings of 1.8 billion euros against its Indian assets, which also include a stake in Vodafone Idea — the country’s debt-saddled third-largest telecom operator by subscribers.

REUTERS

‘Robots to babysit, cars to drive themselves’

Akhil.George@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: You may soon be able to buy an autonomous humanoid robot that can babysit your kids after it’s done cleaning your home, all for the price of a low-end electric car, that’s the future Elon Musk painted at Tesla’s 2024 annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas last week.

Musk said Tesla’s Optimus robot, first announced in 2021, is a humanoid robot that is intended to be able to do anything you want it to do. “It can be your companion. It can be at your house; it can sort of babysit your kids and teach them. It can do factory stuff.”

Musk also said that Tesla is using Optimus robots in the production of its cars. “We have two Optimus robots in our Fremont factory that are doing basically…taking cells off the end of the line and placing them in a shipping container. We actually have quite a few of these cruising around our offices in Palo Alto,” he said.

The billionaire did a little jig as he came on stage with many shareholders rising to their feet and shouting ‘Musk, Musk’. Every major pronouncement by him was met with loud applause, drowning out criticism by some of Musk’s huge pay package that came up for voting, and concerns about employee harassment at the firm.

Musk predicted that everyone in the world is going to want the AI-powered humanoid robots when they release, and that the demand could push Tesla’s valuation to $25 trillion. “I think we could make one for a cost, at a really high scale, of about $10,000. It’d be less expensive than a car. And I think if you sell it for $20,000 or something, this is at large-scale volume, Tesla would basically make about a trillion dollars of profit a year from that.”

Though no exact release dates were given, Musk did say they plan to move into limited production by the end of next year and that thousands of these robots could be working at Tesla’s factories by then.

Aside from robots, Musk was also bullish on fully unsupervised autonomous vehicles and claimed that autonomous driving technology is maturing so fast that car owners of the future may be able to send their cars out to work for them.

“It’s actually a combination of Airbnb and Uber to some degree, so there’ll be some cars that Tesla owns itself, kind of like an Uber fashion, but then for the fleet that is owned by our customers, it will be like an Airbnb thing where you can add or subtract your car to the fleet whenever you want. So, in case you’re going away for a week, at just one tap on your Tesla app, your car gets added to the fleet and it just makes money for you while you’re gone,” he said. The day you want your car back, all you need to do is to call it back, and it will drive back on its own.

‘Robot tax’ for AI-hit jobs figures in FM Budget meet

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman with her team during pre-Budget consultations with economists on Wednesday

Sidhartha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: When economists meet the finance minister ahead of the Budget, the conversation usually focuses on growth, fiscal policy, deficit and investment. It was no different on Wednesday when most of the discussion with FM Nirmala Sitharaman saw proposals to push private investment, job creation, sticking to the path of fiscal prudence, while also keeping an eye on the overall debt, and managing food inflation.

Like most discussions these days, artificial intelligence too came up during the meeting, with at least one economist referring to its increased use and the impact that it can have, especially on employment. Another economist, while referring to it, is said to have suggested the possibility of exploring “robot tax”, which can be used to reskill and rehabilitate workers who are displaced.

The recommendation comes days after a paper by the IMF, while noting that AI can boost overall employment and wages, argued that it can “put large swaths of the labour force out of work for extended periods, making for a painful transition”. While it spoke against the imposi- tion of “robot tax”, it suggested reassessment of labour policies and social protection mechanisms.

It suggested greater focus on skilling and sector-based training, apart from broadening the coverage and generosity of unemployment insurance and considering some forms of wage insurance. The paper recommended that countries can reconsider the design of current corporate tax systems in how they incentivise investments in automation.

In an interview on Tuesday, IMF first deputy MD Gita Gopinath suggested that challenges for developing countries may be bigger as they do not have large social safety nets.

“If you look at the fraction of young people who are neither in school, nor working or in any kind of training, that number is much higher than in advanced eco- nomies. Which means that their ability to either benefit from the transition or adapt to the transition is going to be more difficult. These are areas where developing countries will have to invest more in trying to provide a stronger digital infrastructure, more education and training so that they can also benefit from this technology,” she said.

Economists said the full implication of how the technology plays out is still unclear and it will result in large productivity gains for the economy. Besides, they said it may lead to the creation of new kinds of jobs, although govt may have to prepare to deal with the challenges. While any steps in the Budget may not necessarily be taken this time, AI may find a mention in the Economic Survey, which is due to be tabled ahead of next month’s Union Budget.

‘Taxpayers want rationalisation of GST rates, amnesty scheme’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: As GST completes seven years, taxpayers have demanded rationalisation of rates, faceless dealing with authorities and an amnesty scheme, a survey by a leading consulting firm showed.

“Rationalising GST rate across sectors, with a focus on removing inverted duty structure,” is the top demand when it comes to structural changes for GST 2.0, the survey conducted by Deloitte showed. GST Council is due to meet on Saturday where several issues are likely to be taken up.

Rate rationalisation, including a reduction in the number of slabs, has been on the agenda for years but the Centre and the states have been postponing the decision as it will entail an increase in rates on some of the goods and services as the 12% and 18% slabs are likely to be merged around 16-17%. Higher rates on several products may be politically sensitive, the ministers have feared. Correcting the inverted duty structure — where finished products attract lower levies than the inputs — is something that is easier to address.

The survey covering 760 respondents across small and big businesses also drew attention to the problems that tax audits are posing across segments and pointed to multiple such actions by state and central authoriti- es. It also underlined the need to remove restrictions on use of input tax credits, which had been imposed due to frauds that came into focus. Some businesses have also sought steps, that will help reduce the working capital that gets locked up under the current system.

Taxpayers also called for an amnesty scheme to resolve disputes that have come up in the last seven years, some of which are technical in nature.

GST hike has dried up investments for real-money gaming cos, says report

New Delhi: Against attracting strong investments of around $2.6 billion from domestic and foreign funds, inflows into the real-money gaming category have dried up after govt’s decision to mandate a 28% GST on full face value of player collections from Oct 2023, leading to a situation of job losses, revenue stagnation, and high taxes, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and EY said in a representation to govt.

Dealmaking in the industry has also come to a halt, and there are some companies that have shut down operations or have scaled down massively, the report said, adding that illegal operators have sprung up to dodge high-tax formal set-ups.

TNN

Adani amps up green energy bet to $100bn

Had Planned To Invest $70Bn By 2030 Earlier | ‘AI Data Centres To Be Top Energy Consumers’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Infrastructure conglomerate Adani Group will invest more than $100 billion in energy transition projects, upping its earlier commitment of $70 billion by 2030.

It is building a renewable energy park in Khavda, Gujarat, among other clean energy projects. This facility, which it claims to be the world’s largest single-site renewable energy park, will generate 30GW of power, thereby taking its total green energy capacity to 50GW by 2030. Energy transition from fossil fuels to clean sources like solar, wind and hydrogen will “change the global energy landscape forever”, said the group’s chairman Gautam Adani.

Adani Group, which started with commodity trading before diversifying into ports and airports management and other businesses, wants to produce the “world’s least expensive green electron” to become the feedstock for several sectors that must meet the sustainability mandate, Adani said at Crisil Ratings’ infrastructure summit on Wednesday. In 2022, fossil fuel producer Reliance Industries announced that it will plow $76 billion towards clean energy projects.

Adani said data centres that house AI clouds will be the largest energy consuming industry in the world.

“This makes energy transition even more complex and is raising electricity prices, thereby adding to the already high prices because of the combined impact of climate change and demand growth.”

Adani said the infrastructure required for energy transition and the infrastructure required for digital transformation are now inseparable as the “technology sector becomes the largest consumer of the precious green electrons”.

“We already have India’s largest order book for data centres and are now in discussions for additional gigawatt-scale green AI data centres,” Adani said. At the Crisil event, the billionaire also highlighted India’s infrastructure growth trajectory.

“If the period between 1991 to 2014 was about laying down the foundations and building the runway, then the period between 2014 and 2024 has been about the aircraft taking off,” said Adani, adding that “the single most important catalyst enabling this takeoff has been the quality of governance over the past decade”.

Adani said the 1991 liberalisation policy by then FM Manmohan Singh marked a “major turning point”. “The breaking down of the License Raj meant that govt did away with industrial licensing for most sectors. It eliminated much of the requirement for businesses to obtain government permission to invest, or set prices, or build capacity.”

Times Sport

- Germany cruise into knockouts

- Portugal flex muscles with bench strength

- Italy ‘like Armani’ but ready to get dirty to go past Spain

- Messi in lead cast as Argentina launch title defence

- How do you solve a problem called Foden?

- BAH HAMBURG!

- SLOVENIA COOL AHEAD OF SERBIA SHOWDOWN

- REAL WC STARTS NOW!

- WI primed for clash against defending champs England

- Happy being called a game changer: Surya

- Williamson gives up white-ball captaincy, declines national contract

- ‘Afghans dangerous in this format’

- For cricket to stay beautiful, the art of bowling fast has to continue: Wes Hall

- India women manage to prevail in run-fest

- South Africa defeat spirited US by 18 runs

- Amazon asked workers not to take toilet breaks: Report

- AIFF keeps open mind

- 11 swimmers in doping scandal in Oly squad

- Aditi looks at improved show

- Two clay-court events for Bopanna & Balaji pair ahead of Oly

- 11L candidates had registered for UGC-NET

- Habeas corpus plea seeks production of 195 bovines

- Rangapani stn master’s nod for goods train to blame?

- India at forefront of fight against terror: Consulate general

- ASIAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS TO EARN MORE IN PRIZE MONEY

- DJOKOVIC SET TO COMPETE IN PARIS GAMES: SERBIAN OLYMPIC BODY

- OSAKA, KERBER AND WOZNIACKI GET WILD CARDS FOR WIMBLEDON

Germany cruise into knockouts

Gundogan, Musiala Goals Give Hosts Comfortable 2-0 Win

CAPTAIN’S KNOCK: lkay Gundogan celebrates scoring against Hungary

Stuttgart: Jamal Musiala scored his second goal of the tournament to help Germany beat Hungary 2-0 on Wednesday and book their spot in the European Championship knockout stage.

Musiala opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a goal that was furiously protested by Hungary. Ilkay Gundogan had set that up and the Germany captain got on the scoresheet himself in the second half. The 21-year-old Musiala had netted Germany’s second goal in the 5-1 opening victory over Scotland on Friday. Hungary lost 3-1 to Switzerland on Saturday and now face an uphill challenge to advance.

Musiala gave the Germans the lead after some horrendous Hungarian defending led to the ball being poked into his path by Gundogan, and the 21-year-old needed no second invitation, hammering the ball in via a defender.

Roland Sallai had a goal ruled out in first-half stoppage time for Hungary and they wasted a number of other decent chances before Gundogan scored in the 67th minute with a simple finish after a superb build-up to wrap up the three points.

UEFA cancels Kosovar journalist’s credentials

Gelsenkirchen: UEFA has cancelled the media credentials of Kosovar journalist Arlind Sadiku at Euro 2024 following complaints about a nationalist gesture he made towards Serbia fans during their game against England on Saturday in Gelsenkirchen. Football Federation of Serbia (FFS) spokesman Milan Vukovic asked for Sadiku’s removal saying he provoked Serbian fans when he turned towards them during a live broadcast and made a double-headed eagle with his hands. AGENCIES

Portugal flex muscles with bench strength

Twenty-four years after his father Sergio scored a Euro hat-trick against Germany, Conceicao has his own breakthrough moment

OLD CLOTHES: Francisco Conceicao (L) and Pedro Neto celebrate after scoring Portugal’s winner against Czech Republic in Leipzig on Tuesday

Leipzig: Jose Mourinho had claimed even Portugal’s reserves would be contenders for Euro 2024 and they relied on that strength in depth to beat a stubborn Czech Republic 2-1 for a winning start.

Two substitutes combined for a 92nd-minute winner as Francisco Conceicao struck his first international goal with his first touch of the ball from Pedro Neto’s cross.

Another of those sent on by coach Roberto Martinez on Tuesday in Leipzig had also found the net, but Diogo Jota’s header was ruled out for offside against Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal followed the path of England and France as all three of the pretournament favourites got off to winning starts, albeit in unconvincing fashion. Ronaldo was as ever the focus of attention, but the Portugal captain endured a frustrating night. He will have to wait to add becoming the European Championship’s oldest goalscorer to his collection of records.

Martinez’s decision to stick by the 39-year-old may come under closer inspection as the tournament progresses.

Ronaldo was dropped for Portugal’s final two matches at the 2022 World Cup and replaced by Goncalo Ramos.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker Ramos this time never got off the bench, along with Barcelona’s Joao Felix, to underscore the wealth of attacking talent on offer to Martinez.

“We are a country of 10 million but we have a huge amount of players in the (European) top-five leagues,” said Martinez, “That’s a strength and a weakness. If you don’t use it well, it can become 26 individuals trying to show their own thing.”

The Spaniard Martinez has plenty of experience of major tournament football. He took Belgium’s so-called golden generation to the World Cup semi-finals and Euro quarters, but this is his first shot at glory with Portugal.

On a night when Pepe became the oldest player in Euros history at 41, and Ronaldo also passed the previous mark for an outfield player, it was Portugal’s new generation that got them out of trouble. Twenty-four years on from when his father Sergio scored a hat-trick against Germany at Euro 2000, Conceicao enjoyed his breakthrough moment for his country on German soil. Conceicao senior has also been his son’s manager at Porto for most of Francisco’s club career. Martinez, though, said the 21-year-old winger had proved he was worthy of standing on his own two feet.

“He is the ultimate example of earning it. He showed he is ready,” added Martinez. AFP

Italy ‘like Armani’ but ready to get dirty to go past Spain

Gelsenkirchen: Italy go into Thursday’s encounter with Spain hoping to play as elegantly as if they were dressed in their Giorgio Armani suits but they are ready to get themselves dirty if required, coach Luciano Spalletti said.

“We wear Giorgio Armani and Giorgio Armani is known around the whole world,” Spalletti told said on Wednesday when asked if the game with Spain would test his ability to give Italy a new identity, less than a year into the job.

“We will be there, well dressed but ready to get our clothes dirty if needed,” he said.

Both sides won their opening games, Spain cruising past Croa- tia 3-0 while Italy had to overcome the shock of conceding the fastest goal in Euro history to beat Albania 2-1. Italy are defending champions but they failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup — their second consecutive failure — and Spalletti is building a new-look side.

Spain under Luis de la Fuente are looking for revenge for their elimination by Italy at Euro 2020, the latest twist in a long Euro history involving the two countries.

The outcome will be crucial in determining who comes top of what is considered the toughest group, a position that will probably offer an easier tie in the first knockout round. REUTERS

Messi in lead cast as Argentina launch title defence

In more football from across the Atlantic, 16 teams will battle over 25 days for the Copa title

BACK THEN: Messi and mates with the trophy that started it all in July 2021

Lionel Messi returns to a national team football competition on Friday (IST) when Argentina take on Canada during Copa America’s inaugural match. And the lucky Americans who want to see the best player of all time in action don’t need to travel to Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro for that, but just head to Atlanta.

For the second time in eight years, Copa America takes place in the US. This is the result of an almost irresistible business strategy seeking to promote regional football more widely while fattening the national federations’ pockets. But at the same time, it also reflects two troubling trends: the growing elitism of mega-sports events and South America’s struggles to host big competitions in this increasingly winners-take-all era.

The 108-year-old competition is being held in the USs with the host nation among six teams from the CONCACAF region joining the 10 South American nations looking for a place in the July 14 final in Miami.

While FIFA will be looking closely at the organization, two years out from the World Cup which will be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, the tournament’s rich history means it is much, much more than a ‘trial event’.

Argentina have won the Copa 15 times but only once, in 2021, during the Messi era and coach Lionel Scaloni has stuck largely with his World Cup-winning squad, with veterans Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi likely taking their final bow in a major tournament.

Whether this is Messi’s goodbye to international football remains to be seen — the eight-times Ballon d’Or winner will turn 37 four days after Thursday’s opener and has yet to decide whether he will play in a record sixth World Cup. “It’s great to have records and continue to achieve things but I won’t take part in a World Cup just to say I’ve done six,” he said.

“If I feel good and everything is in place for me to be there, fine, but I won’t go just to go,” Messi added.

Brazil have struggled in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup having won just two of their opening six games and are currently sixth place in the standings having lost to Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina.

There are several familiar names missing from Dorival Junior’s Brazil squad with Casemiro, Gabriel Jesus and Thiago Silva left out while Richarlison and Neymar are missing due to injury. The pressure will be on the Real Madrid attacking pair of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo to translate their club form into success.

This month’s Copa America could provide a first glimpse of what Brazil’s future could look like. The Brazilian public and former players are unanimously excited about Endrick, youngest (only 17) player to score three goals for Brazil’s national team since Pele. AGENCIES

MESSI, 10

Since Argentina beat France on penalty kicks to win the 2022 World Cup final, Messi has 10 goals in 10 international appearances, raising his total to 108 in 182 games for Argentina’s national team.

EMULATING SPAIN?

Can Argentina match Spain, the only nation to win three consecutive major titles: the Euros in 2008 and 2012 around the 2010 World Cup?

BRAZIL’S ATTACK FORCE

Brazil features an attack headed by Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo, just off a Champions League title with Real Madrid, and Raphinha. The emerging star is 17-year-old Endrick, who joins Real Madrid this summer. “If you look at every position in their proposed starting 11, it’s probably one of the world’s best players,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said.

EXPANDED FIELD

There will be 16 teams, just as in 2016. The US, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Panama and Jamaica join the 10 South American nations after qualifying from North and Central America and the Caribbean.

BACK IN THE

USA Ecuador was to host the tournament under CONMEBOL rotation, but they declined. The tournament was then moved to the US, which also hosted the special centennial Copa America in 2016 as Chile won on penalty kicks over Argentina in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

How do you solve a problem called Foden?

Frankfurt: Gareth Southgate must solve his Phil Foden conundrum as the England playmaker struggles to reproduce his brilliant Manchester City form at international level.

While England can book their place in the last 16 by beating Denmark in Frankfurt on Thursday, Foden’s latest underwhelming display for his country has sparked a debate about Southgate’s use of such a sublime talent. Foden laboured to make any impact on England’s nervy 1-0 opening win against Serbia.

The 24-year-old was voted the Premier League’s Player of the Year after playing a key role in City’s fourth successive title triumph with 19 goals and eight assists.

Yet, in stark contrast to his excellence in a City shirt, Foden has never looked comfortable with England. He struggled during England’s run to the Euro 2020 final. Following another inconsistent show at the 2022 World Cup, Foden has scored only once in his last 13 internationals.

Southgate’s decision to play Jude Bellingham as England’s number 10 and use Bukayo Saka on the right flank shunted Foden out to the left wing against Serbia. Not for the first time, Foden seemed lost on that side of the three attacking midfield spots behind England striker Harry Kane.

“When you have an extreme talent like Phil Foden, his best work has been in the middle of the pitch,” for- mer England defender Micah Richards said. At City, Pep Guardiola is completely comfortable with using Foden as the number 10, while he also operates on the right wing at times.

BAH HAMBURG!

Croatia Hang By A Thread After Albania Force Dramatic Draw

NET LOSS: The Albanian defence watches helplessly as Klaus Gjasula’s (centre) deflection results in an own goal against Croatia

Hamburg: Albania left Croatia in danger of a group-stage exit from after a thrilling 2-2 draw on Wednesday as Albania’s Klaus Gjasula scored at both ends, including a dramatic injury-time equaliser.

After a disappointing 3-0 loss to Spain in their opener, Croatia were behind again when Qazim Laci gave Albania an early lead in Hamburg.

But Croatia improved after making two half-time substitutions and Andrej Kramaric levelled with 16 minutes remaining, before Gjasula put through his own net.

The Albania midfielder became the last-gasp hero, though, slotting into the bottom corner in the fifth minute of injury time to snatch his team a point.

Croatia, World Cup semi-finalists in 2022, will now likely need to win their final Group B match against holders Italy on June 24 to reach the knockout phase for a fifth straight major tournament.

Albania have won plenty of plaudits with their performances against both Italy, in a 2-1 defeat, and Croatia, but could not hold a lead in either game and will probably have to beat Spain to keep their last-16 hopes alive.

Croatia’s ‘golden generation’ were ultimately made to pay for a poor first-half display and are in danger of bowing out from major tournament football in limp fashion. Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic opted against a change in formation from the Spain defeat, sticking with his midfield trio of Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic. But he brought in Ivan Perisic at left-back, moving Gvardiol into central defence.

The smell of smoke from flares filled the air outside the stadium as the supporters of both teams created one of the best atmospheres of the tournament so far. Albania scored the fastest goal in European Championship history after just 23 seconds against Italy and they made another quick start.

It took until only the 11th minute for Sylvinho’s men to break the deadlock this time, as Sparta Prague midfielder Laci ghosted into the area unmarked to nod home an inch-perfect, inswinging cross from Jasir Asani.

Croatia tried to impose their passing game, but Albania were constantly in their faces and continued to look the more dangerous side, with right-back Elseid Hysaj firing off target. AFP

SLOVENIA COOL AHEAD OF SERBIA SHOWDOWN

Munich: Slovenia are brimming with confidence ahead of their match against Serbia after snatching a point in their opener while the mood in their opponent’s camp is more downbeat due to injury worries and an unhappy captain.

Participating in their second Euro 24 years after their debut appearance at the tournament, Slovenia know a win will put them in good position to emerge from Group C that also contains England and Denmark.

“The second match will definitely be easier. This point gave us additional confidence,” midfielder Timi Elsnik told Slovenian news outlet Dnevnik. “We know what a win against Serbia brings.”

REUTERS

TIMES IN THE CARIBBEAN

REAL WC STARTS NOW!

Confident India Eye Winning Super 8 Start Against Plucky Afghans

Dwaipayan.Datta@timesgroup.com

Barbados: The Indian team is in a happy space. The players look relaxed, enjoying every bit of the trip, pulling each other’s legs, breaking out into laughter once in a while, yet extremely intense when they get into the nets to bat or bowl.

It has a lot to do with captain Rohit Sharma and his ways — frank, friendly, chatting with the media and telling his boys, “Go talk to the media yaar, dil khol ke baat karon, how long will the captain speak for you?”

It’s this infectious energy and happy vibes of Rohit that have put an already good team completely at ease as they get ready to play Afghanistan on Thursday.

India landed here a couple of days earlier and trained at the Kensington Oval nets. They struggled with the bat on a few occasions after a spot of rain made the pitch stickier, but were always quietly confident that “if New York conditions could be negotiated, everything else can be”.

After Afghanistan on Thursday, India play Bangladesh on Saturday. If current form and pedigree are any indication, India should wrap up their semifinal entry even before they play Australia in St. Lucia on Tuesday.

The team knows it too but that doesn’t make them complacent. Despite the complete domination India have enjoyed over Afghanistan over the last few years in every format, they are not taking Rashid Khan’s boys lightly at all. Rashid himself is an IPL legend while the likes of chinaman Noor Ahmed, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz or medium-pacer Naveenul-Haq are moderately familiar faces on the Indian circuit.

But more than the quality of the players, it’s the warrior-spirit of the Afghans that Team India needs to be careful about. T20, at the end of the day, is a flippant format and a small phase of 12 balls here and there can turn the game upside down.

Add to that the decent run that Afghanistan enjoyed in the group stages, till they were handed a reality check by an impressive West Indies in St. Lucia. But India will keep in mind that Afghanistan have beaten a team of great pedigree in New Zealand. Interestingly, the conditions here at Kensington Oval might just be to the liking of both teams. Discussions with locals suggest that 180 could be a par score, while spinners should get some assistance. The Afghans have their own battery of tweakers led by Rashid, and it will be interesting to see if India manage to find a place for chinaman Kuldeep Yadav ahead of paceman Mohammed Siraj, who has looked the least dangerous till now.

But Rohit would also be mindful of the fact that the Afghans aren’t the greatest players of pace bowling either. If the ball is aimed at their ribcage at good speed, the likes of Gurbaaz and others do tend to flounder a bit. And the pace-attack that India has is being touted as the best in this World Cup. If Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh find their rhythm straight up, the boys in blue should be setting the pace right from the word go.

As for the batting, there’s enough depth and experience in the Indian ranks to deal with any kind of Afghan threat. And with Virat Kohli due for a big one and Rohit completely at ease with his own game, there is a case for the 2007 champions to race off the blocks, as West Indies did in St Lucia the other day.

If India can set the early pace, Thursday should be a comfortable day in office for the team and a stress-free evening for the fans back home.

MATCH PREVIEW

WI primed for clash against defending champs England

Gros Islet (St Lucia): An inform West Indies will be keen to carry the winning momentum but won’t underestimate familiar foes England in their opening Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup which promises to be a run fest here.

Both England and West Indies are each competing for an unprecedented third T20 World Cup title. While the hosts are undefeated in the tournament so far, England had a rather anxious group stage and needed arch-rivals Australia’s help to keep alive their title defence. Having played catch up after a loss against Australia in the league stage, Jos Buttler and his men now have the opportunity to start afresh.

On the other hand, West Indies, who head to the fixture on the back of an eight-match winning streak, put up a sensational display against Afghanistan, notching a huge 104-run win at the Darren Sammy National Cricket StaMATCH PREVIEW dium. They once again head to the stadium that holds the name of their head coach and two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain in search of a similar result.

“It’s not necessarily to send them (England) a message (the huge win against Afghanistan). It’s just to show them that as much as they are playing good cricket, we’re playing good cricket so come Wednesday night it should be a very good game,” skipper Rovman Powell said at the pre-match press conference.

PTI

Happy being called a game changer: Surya

Suryakumar Yadav with Rinku Singh at India’s nets session

Dwaipayan.Datta@timesgroup.com

Barbados: When somebody referred to Suryakumar Yadav as Mohammed Siraj by mistake, there was a roll of laughter in the press-conference room. “Woh kha rahe hain bhai, main Surya hoon,” the Mumbai man said with a smile, exuding the relaxed frame of mind that the entire team is in going into the business end of the T20 World Cup.

On the eve of India’s first Super-8s match against Afghanistan here on Thursday, Surya doesn’t feel any pressure being referred to as the best T20 batter in the last two years. Rather he embraces it and tries to explain why he is “the gamechanger” for India.

“To be the best T20 batter in the world, I have to know how to bat in different conditions. I always try to keep changing according to the situation,” Surya said after a practice session on Tuesday, when he batted for almost 40 minutes at the nets.

He was seen bringing out all those horizontal bat shots that have made him the best in business during practice and he wants to keep doing it against the likes of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed, who have looked pretty good in the tournament so far. “My area of strength is when the spinners are bowling and the pitch is slow. I have my gameplan which I have worked on in practice. We obviously have plans about Afghanistan and we will try to bring that to good use,” the right-hand middle-order batter said.

In fact, the 33-year-old is pretty comfortable being called the game changer. “When I first walked into the Indian dressing room, I had to figure out how I have to play and how people have played in that No. 4 position. That phase between overs 7-14 are crucial because if the attacking intent can be maintained, the work for the latter batters at the death becomes easier. So I always wanted to be the game changer, I have tried a lot of match simulations so that I can be the game changer on a given day,” Surya said.

In New York, Surya scored a 49-ball 50 against USA, which was slow by his standards, but it was good enough to win the game for India. He expects the pitches to be better in the West Indies, but if it is slow, the batter has a gameplan ready.

“When the ball is not coming on to the bat, the first thing you should do is to hit the gap and run hard. Yes, it becomes difficult to generate force and you have to be smart and change according to the situation. The best way is to keep talking to your partner, calm the nerves down and go about the business.”

It’s this simplicity in approach of Surya that makes him such a special player in T20s and it’s about keeping it going for a while longer.

Williamson gives up white-ball captaincy, declines national contract

Christchurch: New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson on Wednesday decided to forego his national contract for the 2024-25 season and also stepped down from white-ball captaincy to extend his international career, following the Black Caps’ shock early exit from the T20 World Cup.

“Helping push the team forward across the formats is something I’m very passionate about and something I want to keep contributing towards,” the 33-year-old said in a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) release on Wednesday. “However, pursuing an overseas opportunity during the New Zealand summer means I’m unable to accept a central contract offer.”

PTI

TIMESVIEW

Like a true leader, Williamson has taken responsibility for New Zealand’s dismal performance in the ongoing T20 WC. His action also underlines that a career in any format of the game should not be extended beyond its expiry date. That’s a lesson and a moral for sportspersons across the world, especially Indian cricketers.

‘Afghans dangerous in this format’

RAHUL DRAVID

Dwaipayan.Datta@timesgroup.com

Barbados: Rahul Dravid is a cautious man. He knows what it is to falter when a game is as good as done. Remember 1997 and the venue where we are here now, Barbados? India failed in the chase of 120 in the fourth innings to lose the series and it still is one of India’s most painful losses.

Dravid smiles when reminded of that ahead of India’s first Super-8s game against Afghanistan. “Come on, I have had a few good memories of this venue as well, and I live in the present. If you had told me winning here tomorrow (Thursday) will help me change the past as well, I would have been worried. But it doesn’t work that way, right?” the outgoing India coach said, settling down for an interaction with the media ahead of India’s final practice session before the Afghanistan game.

Dravid refuses to take the Afghans lightly. In fact, he insists that some of their players are more experienced when it comes to playing T20 cricket across the world than the Indians. “They are a dangerous team in this format. They may not have as much international experience as some of our players but they play more T20 leagues across the world than our guys do. They have quite a few prominent players who have been part of the IPL as well,” Dravid said.

In their last game, Afghan- istan pacers were taken down by the West Indian batters. But Dravid, who has played enough cricket to know that anything can happen on a given day, refuses to commit to the fact that India have the opportunity to target the opposition pacers even before Rashid Khan & Co. come into the picture. “Pacers like Naveen ul Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai have the experience and we will have to take it as it comes instead of going in with a pre-determined mindset,” Dravid said.

The inclusion of a wristspinner has also been one of the issues that has been discussed in some detail in the build-up. Kuldeep Yadav has looked very good in the nets as well and Dravid thinks that one among Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal “will come into the picture sooner rather than later”.

LEGEND SPEAKS

For cricket to stay beautiful, the art of bowling fast has to continue: Wes Hall

Legendary Pacer Feels People May Not Be Keen To Bowl Fast If Rules Don’t Change In Age Of T20 Cricket

Virat Kohli with Wesley Hall in Barbados on Tuesday

Dwaipayan.Datta@timesgroup.com

Barbados: The Eden Gardens in Kolkata has seen many great Test matches over the years. But one game that the old-timers never forget to mention in conversations over afternoon tea is the 1958-59 Test against West Indies, where Rohan Kanhai g ot a double hundred, Garry Sobers a century, and then Wes Hall and Roy Gilchrist ripped India apart.

Among many legends about that game, one that stands out is about Hall and his run-up which the oldies describe as the longest they had seen in more than half a century. “He used to run in from the High Court,” some would s ay in jest, referring to the far end of the ground and Hall’s neverending run-up.

Hall is 86 now, but when he is reminded of India, the old man gets emotional. “I enjoyed playi ng in India, there is so much to the country. I was still a young boy when I had gone to India,” Hall went back in time as he met the current Indian players and journalists on Tuesday afternoon.

It didn’t take him too long to go into the run-up story and Hall remembered how he couldn’t run properly when he first went to England.

“I took a year off and worked on my legs. I used to run on the beach here in Barbados, 10-12 miles a t the same rate. Unless you have your balance going, you can’t bowl well, it’s like a horse in a race. If you don’t train it to know when to pull away it can’t do it on the day, so that’s how I trained. Slow and steady and then sprint, slow and steady and then sprint... On that India tour, it really helped me, I got a lot of wickets,” Hall, who played 48 Tests in a span of 16 years taking 192 wickets, said.

Alot has changed since the time the lege nd played his cricket. The game has gone through a metamorphosis and today’s version of T20 is far removed from the sport in whites that created the myth around West Indies. But Hall accepts it. “It’s fine, if WG Grace saw us play, he would also have been wondering; it’s the same with us when we see today’s cricket. My only grouse is when batsmen are allowed to bat 20 overs, why should bowlers be stipulated to only four,” Hall asks.

But the great man, who took nine wickets in the first tied Test match between West Indies and Australia at the Gabba in 1960, feels the art of pace bowling will never die despite the difficulties that it has to face in this day and age of T20 cricket.

“If the rules don’t change, people may not be very keen to bowl fast. But god forbid, for cricket to be beautiful, the art of bowling fast has to continue for ever and ever,” Hall says.

Talking of the ideal fast bowler and one who could invoke fear in the minds of the opposition, Halls talks about his fellow Barbadian Joel Garner “and that boy from Antigua” Curtly Ambrose.

“I like a paceman who is six feet tall --like our Big Bird Joel Garner and Ambrose. These fellows could get that bounce and batsmen could not get runs because they had to evade. If West Indies can again have 8 -10 fast bowlers it will be great…You know when I was playing there used to be 25 and it was so difficult to get into the team,” Hall recollected, looking to be in the mood to carry on.

But the sun was getting hotter by the minute and with Virat Kohli waiting to have a word with him, the conversation had to be cut short. And as Hall slowly walked away after meeting Kohli, down the Garry Sobers pavilion, you couldn’t help that feeling: “If only I had seen him bowl”.

Australia’s Norman O’Neill avoids a delivery from Wesley Hall in Brisbane in Dec 1960

2ND ODI vs SA

India women manage to prevail in run-fest

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru: After centuries from Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, mediumpacer Pooja Vastrakar held her nerve in the last over to help India women register a thrilling four-run win over South Africa women in the second ODI and win the threematch series 2-0 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Wednesday.

Asked to bat first, Harmanpreet (103; 88b, 9x4, 3x6) and Smriti (136; 120b, 18x4,2x6) helped India score a massive 325/3 in 50 overs, their highest total in ODIs at home and third highest overall in the format. But the visitors, led by skipper Laura Wolvaardt (135n.o, 135b, 12x4, 3x6) and Marizanne Kapp (114, 9 4b, 11x4, 3x6) came close, only to be halted by Vastrakar in their final stride.

With South Africa needing 11 runs off the final over, Vastrakar (2/54) conceded five runs and a bye and bagged two wickets to help the hosts emerge victorious in a high-scoring contest. Though South Africa failed to cross the line, they need to be applauded for their turnaround after being bund- led out for 122 runs in the first match.

At 67/3, South Africa were once staring down the barrel in the chase, but a 184-run stand between Wolvaardt and Kapp brought them back in the game. The dismissal of Kapp by Deepti Sharma (2/56) in the 43rd over emerged as the veritable turning point before Vastrakar stepped in.

Smriti-Harmanpreet show

Earlier, Smriti started off on a slow note. The southpaw only got going from the 18th over, hitting back-to-back fours off Nonkululeko Mlaba. The Mumbaikar meant serious business after skipper Harmanpreet joined in, dealing in boundaries to complete her seventh ton with a single in the 39th over before Mlaba sent her back for 136, her careerbest score.

It was the 171-run partnership between the two experienced players which put the hosts on top.

Brief scores: India women: 325/3 in 50 overs (Smriti Mandhana 136, Harmanpreet Kaur 103 n.o; Nonkululeko Mlaba 2-51) bt South Africa women: 321/6 in 50 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 135n.o, Marizanne Kapp 114, Nandine de Klerk 28, Deepti Sharma 2/56, Pooja Vastrakar 2/54).

South Africa defeat spirited US by 18 runs

COMING GOOD: Quinton de Kock hits one to the fence

North Sound (Antigua): Opener Quinton de Kock hit a blazing half-century and shared a 110-run partnership with skipper Aiden Markram as South Africa defeated the USA by 18 runs in their opening T20 World Cup Super 8 (Group 2) match here on Wednesday.

De Kock smashed 74 off 40 deliveries, while Markram hit a 32-ball 46 as the Proteas made a solid 194 for 4 in 20 overs. They then restricted the USA batters to 176/6 with pacer Kagiso Rabada (3/18) doing the maximum damage.

USA opener Andries Gous gave the Proteas the jitters with his audacious strokeplay but his unbeaten 80 off 47 balls went in vain. He was ably-supported by Harmeet Singh, who contributed 38 runs.

On a pitch expected to be slow and spin-friendly, De Kock defied odds to put the USA bowlers to sword while bringing up his maiden fifty in the tournament. Towards the end, Heinrich Klaasen (36 not out) and Tristan Stubbs (20 not out) added 53 runs unbeaten for the fifth wicket in just five overs.

De Kock led South Africa’s charge following a meek start which saw Reeza Hendricks being Saurabh Netravalkar’s (2/21) latest victim in the Powerplay. After Hendricks mishit a slower one, De Kock took the attack to the opposition and blazed his way to a stunning fifty.

AGENCIES

Brief scores: South Africa 194 for 4 in 20 overs (Q de Kock 74, A Markram 46, H Klaasen 36*, T Stubbs 20*; S Netravalkar 2/21) beat USA 176 for 6 in 20 overs (A Gous 80*, H Singh 38, S Taylor 24; K Rabada 3/18) by 18 runs.

Amazon asked workers not to take toilet breaks: Report

Continued from P 1

According to the proceedings of the case, “At one of the warehouses of Amazon India in Haryana’s Manesar, a 24-year-old worker was asked to pledge that he would not take toilet or water breaks until he finished unloading packages from six trucks, each m easuring 24 feet long, after their team’s 30-minute tea break had ended”.

The proceedings of the case cited a report on a TV channel on May 16 which showed that in the past month, the warehouse’s ‘inbound team’ had taken the pledge approximately eight times, especially on busy days with higher workloads, as confirmed by employees. The report said the ‘outbound team’, which handles items leaving the warehouse, was reminded of its targets daily.

“A female employee at the Manesar warehouse reportedly stated that no restroom facilities are available on the working sites. Reportedly, the labour associations in India have accused five warehouses in and around Manesar of violating regulations outlined in the Factories Act, 1948. While labour inspectors can demand corrections, there is limited enforcement,” NHRC said.

The news report said one of the workers, who puts in 10 hours a day for five days a week and earns Rs 10,088 per month, said that even if they worked continuously without break, including the 30-minute lunch and tea breaks, they could not unload more than four trucks a day. A woman worker claimed that she kept standing for nine hours daily.

An Amazon India spokesperson said, “The safety and well-being of our employees and associates is our top priority. The infrastructure and facilities at our fulfilment centres are industry leading, and are designed to ensure a safe and comfortable working environment...Employees and associates are free to take informal breaks throughout their shifts to use the restroom, get water, or talk to amanager or HR.”

AIFF keeps open mind

May Even Consider ISL Coach For National Job

Igor Stimac (in pix) received a monthly salary of $30,000 (approx. Rs 25 lakh) but the AIFF is unlikely to have the same budget, given that the Croatian coach received the salary as part of his new contract after five years in the job.

Marcus.Mergulhao@timesgroup.com

Panaji: Just a couple of hours after the All India Football Federation (AIFF) terminated the services of coach Igor Stimac on Monday, the federation received applications from three foreign coaches for the vacant position.

It was only on Wednesday morning that the AIFF officially advertised for the job, and since then coaches have started to throw their hats in the ring.

“The India coaching vacancy is an important role and we expect several well-known names to apply, given that we have made progress in the last five years with our infrastructure and approach towards the game,” a senior AIFF official told TOI. “We think it’s an attractive job. We will keep our minds open and not limit ourselves. If there’s any limit, it’s the salary we can afford.”

Stimac received a monthly salary of $30,000 (approx. Rs 25 lakh) but the AIFF is unlikely to have the same budget, given that the Croatian coach received the salary as part of his new contract after five years in the job.

While several big names have already started making inquiries through their representatives, the AIFF is understood to be in favour of coaches who understand India. “He may not neces- sarily have national team experience, but if his record of developing players is good enough, he could be a good bet. In a complex country like India, a newcomer will need six to nine months to understand the country and its dynamics,” said another official.

According to sources, there’s buzz within AIFF at the moment about coaches engaged with Indian Super League (ISL) clubs. FC Goa coach Manolo Marquez has admirers within the federation for his role in developing players while Owen Coyle (Chennaiyin FC) and Sergio Lobera (Odisha FC), both Shield winning coaches, are also being talked about.

At least two of these three coaches are expected to apply for the job. All of them have spent considerable time in Indian football and won trophies.

Other ISL-experienced coaches who are expected to apply are Antonio Habas (Mohun Bagan), Marco Pezzaiuoli, Simon Grayson (both Bengaluru FC) and possibly even current Afghanistan national team coach Ashley Westwood, who was big favourite for the job in 2016, until the technical committee voted for Stephen Constantine.

In its advertisement, the AIFF has called for applications from coaches with minimum 10-15 years of coaching experience at the elite youth and senior level football. Experience as the first team coach of the senior national team is being preferred, while experience of coaching in the World Cup and continental championship qualifiers is an advantage.

“The coach has to be efficient, plan much in advance and make the best use of the available resources and deliver within the budget,” said the AIFF.

11 swimmers in doping scandal in Oly squad

REGAN SMITH

Beijing: China will send 11 swimmers implicated in a doping scandal to next month’s Paris Olympics, after the country named its squad for the Games. Twenty-three Chinese swimmers tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ) — which can enhance performance — ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Games, it emerged in April.

They were not sanctioned after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted the argument of Chinese authorities that the case was caused by food contamination. Several went on to win medals, including gold, in Tokyo.

China named its swimming squad for Paris on Tuesday. Among them were 11 of the 23 who tested positive for the banned TMZ and were named in news reports in April. The 11 includes butterfly specialist Zhang Yufei, who won two golds in Japan, as well as another gold-medallist in Wang Shun.

Smith sets world record in 100m backstroke: This world record was five years in the making for Regan Smith. What an upand-down journey it’s been.

Bouncing back from a close- but-no-Olympics call in her first race, Smith set a world record in the women’s 100-metre backstroke at the US swimming trials on Tuesday night.

The 22-year-old touched in 57.13 seconds, easily beating the mark of 57.33 set a year ago by Australia’s Kaylee McKeown. Smith was just 17 when she first set a world record in the 100 at the 2019 World Championships. But, she struggled to deal with the newfound fame, ceding dominance in the event to McKeown. “A long time coming,” Smith said. “It’s about time.”

There was never any doubt about Smith’s talent, but a lack of confidence was almost crippling at times. She’s been working with a sports psychologist since Oct, which helped turn things around mentally.

AGENCIES

Aditi looks at improved show

R.Satya@timesgroup.com

Sammamish (USA): Coming off a creditable tied 17th-place finish last week, India’s top golfer Aditi Ashok will look to carry that form into the $10.4 million KPMG Women’s PGA Championship that begins at the Sahalee Country Club here on Thursday.

The 26-year-old Aditi shot four straight sub-par rounds — for only the second time this season — for an aggregate of 10-under 278 at the LPGA Classic. “I did a lot of good things throughout last week, so that gives me confidence going into this week,” Aditi said here on Tuesday.

The Bengalurean, who had a splendid 2023 with five top-10 finishes, has fired only in fits and starts this season. However, Aditi has the game and the ability to turn things around. “Even though my game feels good, I think I haven’t had any great finishes yet. Hopefully I can put together four good rounds and have more chances to win this year.”

In four of the previous five years, the PGA Championship has seen a first-time Major winner, including world No. 1 Nelly Korda (2021). So, if Aditi can stitch together four good rounds, she could walk away with the winner’s purse of $1.56 million on Sunday.

With a premium on accuracy at the picturesque par-72 layout, Aditi, known for her accuracy off the tee, would hope to make it count. “I think the golf course will suit my game as I drive pretty straight, and I think that will be the key to playing well at Sahalee,” said Aditi, who will get a feel of the course on Wednesday.

The Asian Games silver medallist will have to contend with nine past champions, besides a plethora of big names in the third Major of the season. Leading the charge will be Nelly Korda, who won the first major of the season besides five other events this year. The 25-year-old, however, comes into the event on the back of two straight missed cuts.

Two clay-court events for Bopanna & Balaji pair ahead of Oly

BOPANNA AND BALAJI

M.Sudharshan@timesgroup.com

Chennai: India’s Sriram Balaji had to wait for a long time for his dream to turn into reality.

At 34, the Tamil Nadu tennis player is enjoying his peak and is set for his maiden appearance at the Olympic Games in Paris. For the quadrennial extravaganza, Balaji got the nod ahead of his closest challenger Yuki Bhambri after Rohan Bopanna suggested his name to the All India Tennis Association (AITA).

While Balaji’s next big assignment is Wimbledon, he has his plans sorted for the Olympics. Bopanna and Balaji will join hands after Wimbledon and compete in two clay-court tournaments in the lead-up to the Games, where tennis events will be played at Roland Garros. “We will be playing in ATP 500 Hamburg (Germany) and ATP 250 Umag (Croatia). We will be getting together right after the completion of Wimbledon,” Sriram told TOI from England, where he is turning out in the ATP Ilkley Challenger.

“It is a dream-come-true moment and it is always special when you play for the country. I am happy that Rohan chose me as his partner, and I am looking forward to the Olympics. Playing in Paris was always in the back of my mind, with Yuki and me ranked the highest among the Indians (behind Bopanna),” Balaji added.

Just before suggesting his name to the AITA, Bopanna got a taste of Balaji’s fighting spirit in the French Open third round. Balaji and Miguel Angel ReyesVarela, entering the main draw as alternates, went toe-to-toe against Bopanna and Matthew Ebden before the second seeds won the tight three-set contest.

“The French Open performance played its part, but I will not say that it was the only reason for my selection. After the match, Bopanna told me that he was going to pick me and send an email to the AITA. He would have had a lot of discussions with his coach Scott [Davidoff] and Balu sir (M Balachandran) for the ideal choice and I did not know anything about this.”

11L candidates had registered for UGC-NET

Continued from P 1

Fresh dates for the exam will be announced. The test in OMR (pen and paper) mode was held on June 18 in two shifts across different cities. A record 11 lakh candidates registered for the exam.

UGC-NET determines the eligibility of Indian nationals for JRF, appointments as assistant professors, and admission to PhD programmes in Indian universities and colleges.

The official release also addressed the controversy surrounding the NEET-UG and said a decision on the demand for a fresh test would be taken on the basis of the report of the economic offences unit of Bihar police, which has claimed to have found evidence “suggestive” of a leak in the m edical entrance exam. The govt said it has already reversed its decision to grant grace marks to NEET applicants who did not get the full 3 hours and 20 minutes to complete the exam.

Habeas corpus plea seeks production of 195 bovines

Illegally Held By Cops, Claim Petitioners

CATTLE BATTLE

Srikanth.Aluri@timesgroup.com

Vijayawada: In a first in Andhra Pradesh, a habeas corpus petition was filed before the Andhra Pradesh high court seeking directions to produce 195 bovines, including oxen and calves, before the court. The petitioners contended that police illegally held the animals captive and their whereabouts were not known.

A habeas corpus petition is filed before a high court or Supreme Court to produce a person before the court in cases of illegal detention or missing persons.

In this case, animal lov- ers Surabattula Gopala Rao and Thota Suresh Babu, both residents of Vijayawada, moved HC contending that police had unlawfully ‘detained’ the animals.

The petitioners alleged that they found a huge number of bovines on the outskirts of Vijayawada on June 16 and on further inquiry learnt that the animals were being transported for slaughtering on June 17. The animals were not fit for slaughtering as many of them were found to be below 10 years of age while some others were suffering from lumpy skin disease. The petitioners called the police and also approached the local veterinary officer for certification which is mandatory for slaughtering. Police and the veterinary officer concluded that the animals were not fit for slaughtering.

However, on the same day, about 300 persons came to the police station and two of them claimed that they were the rightful owners of the animals and had bought them for business. The petition alleged that the police, without following due procedure, shifted the animals to an undisclosed location.

Arguing on behalf of the petitioners, advocate JV Phanuduth told HC ‘right to life’ is not limited to humans but applies equally to animals. He mentioned the SC order in AWBI Vs Nagara ja & Oth- ers case, in which it was declared that “freedom from hunger, thirst, malnutrition, fear and distress, physical and thermal discomfort, pain, injury and disease and freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour of animals will be protected by the state”. Phanuduth argued that the habeas corpus petition is maintainable even in case of animals in view of the legal proposition laid down by Supreme Court.

Arguing on behalf of police, the govt pleader said the animals have been handed over to the person who claimed their ownership. However, Phanuduth contended that police cannot hand over the animals to the claimant without verifying his antecedents and proper evidence of ownership.

The high court directed the police to submit all details related to the case.

Rangapani stn master’s nod for goods train to blame?

Continued from P 1

The question of the freight train’s loco pilot exceeding the speed limit doesn’t arise a s T/A 912 isn’t supposed to specify speed, the officials said. The authorisation that carries a speed restriction of 25kmph is different — form T/D 912.

The thesis until Tuesday, based on what Railway Board chairperson and CEO Jaya Varma Sinha and the CPROs of at least two railway zones repeated, was that the deceased loco pilot of the freight train “disregarded” signals and speed limits. The assumption was that the freight train was travelling at almost thrice the speed limit of 15kmph.

Pr esent and former railway officials that TOIspoke to on Wednesday suggested that the root of the problem was possibly the signalling. They also questioned the correctness of the norms being officially cited from the Indian Railways’ General & Subsidiary Rules Book (2004 edition). The officials iterated that form T/A 912 isn’t supposed to carry any speed restriction as no train other than the one receiving this manual all-clear is authorised to cross a rail section during signal failure.

“Only when work is under way on the tracks in a particular section is the maximum speed limit mentioned at all on an authorisation note,” an official said. “The speed restriction being cited is followed when automated signals are functioning normally and the red signal is on.”

When a loco pilot sees a signal with a single yellow light, he has to stop accelerating. If the next signal has two yellow lights, the speed is controlled or reduced. The train is then brought to a complete halt at the red signal.

The train has to wait at the signal for a minute dur- ing the day and two minutes at night before proceeding at 10kmph-15kmph, depending on visibility. “When the rear of another train comes into sight, the train has to stop at least 150 metres before,” the official said.

This aligns with the SOP mentioned in the G&SR Book and is prominently displayed on a board in the cabin crew lobby at New Jalpaiguri station, near which Monday’s crash occurred.

If a signalling failure occurs, the SOP is different. “In that case, a loco pilot can proceed only when a stationmaster issues an authorisation by way of form T/A 912. This paper signal is issued only when there are no trains in the block ahead,” said Amit Ghosh, assistant general secretary of the All India Railwaymen Federation.

“When a loco driver gets this form, he can proceed to the end of the block at normal speed. That is precisely what the loco driver of the freight train was doing. He had no knowledge of the presence of the Kanchanjungha Express ahead as the track was supposed to be clear till Chattar Hat station.”

The standard practice is for the two stationmasters at either end of a stretch to confirm that there is no train on the section and share a twothree-digit private number, similar to an OTP, which is then noted down in a logbook at both stations. Only then is a fresh authorisation issued to the second train to proceed through the section.

This was corroborated by loco pilots of South Eastern Railway and Eastern Railway. The stationmaster at Rangapani had issued T/A 912 to locopilots of both trains. The form handed to the Kanchanjungha Express pilot at 8.20am, numbered 4,917, allowed the train to proceed to Chattar Hat, bypassing nine signals mentioned in the note. The note asked the loco pilot to pass all level crossings after ensuring the gates were closed. The Rangapani stationmaster also authorised the freight train to proceed to Chattar Hat (T/A 912, serial No 4,918) at 8.35am, when the express train was barely 2.5km away on the 14km stretch between Rangapani and Chattar Hat.

TOI has copies of both forms. “How did the stationmaster issue the authorisation to the goods train loco pilot without getting clearance from the stationmaster of Chattar Hat? No train is allowed to pass through a block section during signal failure unless another preceding train passes the section,” said aformer railway official.

Signalling was introduced on the section where the accident took place only seven months ago. The NF Railway edition of the G&SR Book was amended after that (on Nov 10, 2023).

India at forefront of fight against terror: Consulate general

Continued from P 1

Referring to the June 23, 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 by proKhalistan terrorists operating out of Canada as “one of the m ost heinous terror-related air disasters in the history of civil aviation”, the consulate general posted, “A memorial service is scheduled at 1830 hrs on June 23, 2024 at the Air India Memorial at Stanley Park’s Ceperley Playground area.”

“Following discussions among representatives of all parties in the House, I understand there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence in the memory of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, assassinated in Surrey, British Columbia, one year ago today,” speaker Greg Fergus of the Canadian House of Commons said while moving the motion seeking to stand in honour of a man who was wanted in India for various acts of terrorism.

Hours later, the Indian consulate general wrote on its official X handle @cgivancouver that “India stands at the forefront of countering the menace of terrorism and works closely with all nations to tackle this global threat”.

Nijjar was killed outside the parking lot of a gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey on June 18 last y ear. He was the president of the gurdwara management committee. Four people of Punjabi origin were arrested over the last few weeks for their alleged involvement in the murder.

In the first week of May, Canadian commissioner Ma- rie-Josee Hogue said in her initial report on “public inquiry into foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions” that “Indian officials, including Canada-based proxies, engaged in a range of activities that sought to influence Canadian communities and politicians”. Hogue also claimed that India directed “ foreign interference activities” linked to the 2019 and 2021 general elections.

A week later, Canadian parliament unanimously passed the “M-112” motion moved by Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal, asking the Trudeau govt to immediately review its measures that hold to account any person or agents of a foreign state indulging in political interference, violence or related activities.

The resolution mentions “credible a llegations of a link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar”.

“This motion ensures that Canadians are protected from acts of political interference, violence, or intimidation from any person or agents of a foreign state,” Dhaliwal posted on X later. A few MPs weren’t part of voting on the motion.

In Punjab, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh Tuesday hailed Nijjar as a “martyr” at an event in Amritsar to mark his first death anniversary. The function organised by the radical Sikh group Dal Khalsa was also attended by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Harjinder Singh Dhami.

ASIAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS TO EARN MORE IN PRIZE MONEY

Hong Kong: The winners of the new Asian Champions League Elite will pocket a minimum of $12 million, the Asian Football Confederation said on Wednesday in a major boost to club football in the region. The competition, which kicks off with a preliminary round in August, is at the heart of a major revamp of club football across the continent and involves 27 clubs from 12 nations including Japan, South Korea, Australia and Saudi Arabia. The first prize is a three-fold increase from the sum won by Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates in May in the final edition of the Asian Champions League under its previous format.

Brussels refuses to host Belgium-Israel match: Brussels has refused to host a Nations League match between Israel and Belgium on Sep 6 because it could spark demonstrations, city authorities said on Wednesday. They said in a statement that holding such a match while the war in Gaza was continuing “will undoubtedly provoke large demonstrations and counterdemonstrations...”

AGENCIES

DJOKOVIC SET TO COMPETE IN PARIS GAMES: SERBIAN OLYMPIC BODY

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

London: Novak Djokovic will compete in the upcoming Paris Games, the Serbian Olympic Committee confirmed. Djokovic had knee surgery after withdrawing from the French Open ahead of the quarterfinals and said he hoped to return to competition “as soon as possible.”

The Serbian committee said in its announcement that Djokovic had confirmed he will play in Paris. It will be his fifth Olympics. The 37-yearold Djokovic had said surgery on his right knee “went well.”

The tennis events for the Paris Olympics start on July 27 at Roland Garros, the site of the French Open.

It was unclear if Djokovic will be ready to play at Wimbledon, where he has won seven of his 24 Grand Slam titles. That grasscourt major begins on July 1. Djokovic has only won a bronze at the Olympics. That came in his first games — Beijing in 2008.

AP

OSAKA, KERBER AND WOZNIACKI GET WILD CARDS FOR WIMBLEDON

London: Former Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber and Emma Raducanu have all been awarded wild cards for Wimbledon.

Osaka — a four-time major champion and former No. 1 player — and three-time Grand Slam winner Kerber returned from maternity leave at the start of this season.

Former US Open champion Raducanu made her breakthrough at Wimbledon by advancing to the fourth round in 2021. She will be playing there for the first time in two years after undergoing wrist and ankle surgery in 2023. Kerber won the 2018 Wimbledon title and was runner-up at the All England Club in 2016. She is also a former top-ranked player.

Wozniacki returned from maternity leave last August. She’s never got past the fourth round at Wimbledon, where she will be playing for the first time since 2019.

AP

Delhi Times

- THE INITIAL PHASE OF MY CAREER WAS HEARTBREAKING: KARAN SINGH GROVER

- Justin Timberlake held for driving drunk in NY

- (Insta) ofﬁcial?

- #DiscoveredOnReels

- BUZZ STOP

- A Delhi confluence of art and alumni

- ‘CAN’T PREDICT WHICH SONG WILL GO VIRAL’

- Jr NTR jets off to Thailand with wife Lakshmi Pranathi & kids

- VIJAY TAKES HIS PARENTS ON THEIR FIRST USA TRIP

- ‘Mother made us clothes with limited means’

- DID YOU KNOW?

- Dumb phones are making a comeback

- Bipasha & Devi helped me evolve into a better person, says Karan

- You’re a true inspiration: PC’s message for Angelina

- TRIPPIN

THE INITIAL PHASE OF MY CAREER WAS HEARTBREAKING: KARAN SINGH GROVER

Vinay MR Mishra

Karan Singh Grover says marrying Bipasha Basu brought a sense of balance and calm to his personal and professional life. In a conversation with us, the actor, who started his career with TV and transitioned to movies and web shows, talks about the challenges he faced at the beginning of his career and how he is in a happy space now. Excerpts:

‘I’VE LIVED SO MANY LIVES IN THESE 20 YEARS’

This year, Karan completes 20 years in showbiz. The actor, who made his debut with the TV show Kitni Mast Hai Zindagi, says, “I started out as a commerce student, I have a Bachelor of Science degree and I’m pursuing performing arts. So, it’s weird. I’ve lived so many lives in these 20 years. I got into this because this is what I wanted to do. I’m not a trained actor. I never went to an acting school, and I studied hotel management. My dad told me to complete my education, get a degree, spend one year doing what I’ve trained for, and then do whatever I wanted to so that I have something to fall back on. I studied, got my degree and completed one year of working as a sales and marketing executive. As soon as the year ended, I said, ‘I’m going to go act’.”

CONTINUED ON BACK PAGE

Justin Timberlake held for driving drunk in NY

Timberlake, who is scheduled to perform at Madison Square Garden on June 25 and June 26, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. He refused to submit to an alcohol test, according to the report. He was held overnight and then released without bail

On Tuesday night, singer-actor Justin Timberlake was pulled over in New York for veering out of lane and going through a stop sign. Timberlake, 43, had “bloodshot and glassy” eyes and a “strong odour” of alcohol on his breath, and was unsteady on his feet, according to the arrest report. The star also “performed poorly” is a series of sobriety tests. He was then arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated.

As per reports, the police officer who arrested Timberlake “was so young that he didn’t even know” the 10-time Grammy award-winning artiste. During the encounter, a source told The New York Post, Timberlake said under his breath, “This is going to ruin the tour.” The cop reportedly asked, ‘What tour?’ and the singer said, “The world tour,” referring to his ongoing global The Forget Tomorrow tour, which marks his first worldwide tour in seven years and his seventh headlining concert tour. Agencies

(Insta) official?

Shraddha Kapoor’s recent Insta Story has set social media abuzz. The actress shared a sun-kissed selfie with writer Rahul Mody and wrote, “Dil rakh le, Neend toh vaapis de de yaar,” adding Neend Churayee Meri as the background song. And fans are seeing this as a confirmation that the two are dating.

Rumours of the duo’s romance first surfaced earlier this year, when Kapoor and Mody were spotted together on multiple occasions. The relationship reportedly blossomed while Mody was working as a writer on her film Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar.

MUSIC DAY

#DiscoveredOnReels

The original video uploaded four years ago currently has 42M views

Riya Sharma

Whether it’s Kal Raat Aaya Mere Ghar Ek Chor, Nasha or Rasode Mein Kaun Tha most of us are consuming music through reels now. An old melody, a new song, a remix of a dialogue, there are so many musical gems that we have discovered on social media. “It is the unpredictability of social media but it is also the reality of our times,” say artistes who were either discovered on reels or were made popular because of a song that went viral through dance challenges. Ahead of Music Day (June 21), we speak to some of them

Justh: I did not spend any money on marketing Chor

Justh released the music video Chor around six months ago and it was suddenly everywhere on social media – from Sara Ali Khan making a reel to Madhuri Dixit doing a choreographed piece on the song. The singer however says that he didn’t spend any money on promoting the song. “I was quite satisfied with the fact that people made the song their own, everybody had a different way to interpret it. One was the whole choreography thing, and the other was people using the ‘Meri jeet bhi le ja, meri haar bhi le ja’ part to tell stories. And there were memes also. For me, the big moment was when Madhuri Dixit did her performance,” says Justh.

Yashraj Mukhate: After Rasode Mein Kaun Tha, my followers went from 8,000 to 1M in 10 days

In 2020, in the beginning of the pandemic, composer Yashraj Mukhate dropped a musical version of Kokila Ben’s dialogue from the show Saath Nibhaana Saathiya Rasode Mein Kaun Tha. “My follower count skyrocketed from 8,000 to 1 million in just 10 days, something I could never have imagined,” he tells us. “The video was created spontaneously and I was genuinely surprised by the response. Following the success of Rasode Me Kaun Tha, each subsequent video attracted even more viewers to my profile. The viral success opened up numerous opportunities for me. It drew attention to my earlier work, and as a result, I’m still receiving music opportunities. Those viral videos were pivotal in establishing my career,” he says.

Faridkot: We had never predicted that Nasha would become this big

When Faridkot released Nasha in 2019, they had not expected that the song would be discovered by fans years later and would land them a deal with a music label. The song was used in an advertisement two years ago and has since been picked up by creators on social media. “Nasha was pretty crazy. It was used in an advertisement and then everyone started talking about it, looking for the original song and it really got the boost. We were very surprised and amused; it was a song we had made in 2019 and it was like one of the songs that you put out in the universe and you don’t really think too much. It changed a lot of things for us and helped us find a footing in this otherwise crazy industry,” says Rajarshi Sanyal from Faridkot.

CONTINUED ON 3

The Rasode Mein Kaun Tha reel has 16.4M views, while his subsequent creations have also done well – Pawri Hori Hai (9.1M views) and Biggini Shoot (9.2M views)

Chor has 21M views on YouTube

BUZZ STOP

SACHIN, ANJALI TENDULKAR MEET TREVOR NOAH

Sachin Tendulkar recently shared a picture of himself and wife Anjali with comedian and TV host Trevor Noah. “A cricketer, a doctor, and a comic. We spoke about the importance of timing. We also got to know about Noah’s Arc – from keeping wickets during childhood to leaving us in splits now,” Sachin said in his post.

A Delhi confluence of art and alumni

Rohit Jaiswal, President, Welham Old Boys Society

Riya Sharma

The Welham Old Boys Society recently organised a special preview of the ongoing week-long art exhibition, Confluence, at the Stainless Gallery. The second edition of the group art exhibition showcases works by both emerging and established artists from diverse backgrounds.

‘THIS EXHIBITION IS OUR CONTRIBUTION TO OUR ALUMNI TO SHOWCASE THEIR WORK’

From an industrialist’s pictures from his expedition to Antarctica to an entrepreneur’s wildlife photography, the exhibition presents the works of artists from Welham as well as other institutions. “This is the second edition of Confluence. Last year was the 40th year of the formation of Welham Old Boys Society (WOBS), so we thought we should do something big and different. We started with the idea of an art exhibition, since we have many artistes in Welham. We got Welhamites as well as other alumni associations. This year as well, the exhibition have brought everyone together. The idea is to bring work that is usually not showcased at art exhibitions. This is our contribution to our alumni – to give them a platform to showcase their artwork,” said Rohit Jaiswal, President, WOBS.

‘Series on acid attack survivors started as a college project’

New York-based photographer Nanki Singh, who was present along with some acid-attack survivors that she has photographed, told us, “It started as a college project. It has been four years now and while they were initially not comfortable, I’ve built a relationship with them. It is inspiring to see how they are trying to live their life. During our interactions, they have often told me that the difficult part for them is how other people treat them differently.”

Nanki Singh’s series, Aaina Tak Ka Safar or The Journey To The Mirror, features photographs of acid attack survivors and is based on their difficult journey of looking at a mirror after the attack

Sculptor Pratima shares that this piece represents a woman’s journey

The above design has been designed by two architects and a painter. Saakshar Makhija, one of the architects, said, “This bespoke piece of furniture is hand-painted, hand-carved and functional. This is a nomadic living series and the pieces represent nar, naari and angithi”

‘CAN’T PREDICT WHICH SONG WILL GO VIRAL’

OAFF

CONTINUED FROM 1

Anuv Jain: Was confused when Gul went viral

You might know this song as Toote Makaan but the song is actually called Gul. Singer Anuv Jain says that people think that the song is called Toote Makaan because that part of the song was what people picked up on social media. “When Gul released two years ago, it really blew up. Initially, I was very confused that how exactly is this happening because I never considered it to be one of those songs that could go viral. But these days you can’t tell. It is pretty cool that the music is getting popular because of reels and social media. If the song is nice, it can reach a lot of people with minimal marketing. Gul introduced my music to a much wider audience and I became a better writer,” shares Anuv.

OAFF: Even if you have a short piece of good music, it will work

Kabeer Kathpalia, who goes by the name OAFF, released a one-minute song Tu Kahaan in 2022 and it went viral. “I have seen how social media directly impacts streaming. People discover your song on social media first, then go and listen to the song on streaming platforms. For Tu Kahaan, I think what worked was the lyrics (people made travel reels on it) and also it was the beat which was easy and cut for making reels – so, I think these things gave a lot of boost to the song. What I learnt from it was that even if you have a short piece of music, it can still work.” OAFF has since worked on projects like Gehraiyaan and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan.

Gul currently has 51M views on YouTube

Jr NTR jets off to Thailand with wife Lakshmi Pranathi & kids

The RRR actor was spotted at the RGIA in Hyderabad with his wife and kids

Jr NTR has flown to Thailand for the next schedule of his upcoming film, Devara: Part 1, directed by Koratala Siva. On Monday, the actor was spotted at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport with his wife, Lakshmi Pranathi, and their sons, Abhay and Bhargav. A source from the film’s team revealed, “With the release date approaching, Jr NTR has been intensely shooting for the movie. He just completed an action sequence with Saif Ali Khan in Goa and is now heading to Thailand for the next phase. He will be filming a romantic song with Janhvi Kapoor there, which is expected to be one of the film’s highlights.”

During breaks and after shoots, Jr NTR plans to spend quality time with his wife and kids, as his schedules have been hectic lately. “He is looking forward to exploring Thailand with his family and enjoying some time together,” adds the source. TNN

VIJAY TAKES HIS PARENTS ON THEIR FIRST USA TRIP

Taking to Insta, Vijay Deverakonda shared some pics of the family, including his parents and brother, from their vacation. He wrote, “Taking Mum and Dad on their first trip to the US”

‘Mother made us clothes with limited means’

Amitabh Bachchan

In his recent blog, Amitabh Bachchan reminisced how his mother, Teji Bachchan, made clothing with “limited means”. “In the age of young... in the winter of the North... Mother, in her limited means, made clothing to protect us from the cold. It was rough, blanket-like for that was what was available at the means of limitation... it was such a discomfort to wear it... but it was insisted... and Mother was not disobeyed... the pant was most in discomfort (sic),” he wrote. He added, “We’d complain, ‘Maa, bahut gadta hai’. But we had to bear it... until one fine day a solution occurred...before wearing it, I would wear the cotton pyjama that used to be night dress...” Agencies

DID YOU KNOW?

Despite their solid appearance, potatoes are 80% water

Potatoes have a high water content. This means that despite their solid appearance, they are mostly made up of water, which contributes to their texture and weight. This also affects their cooking properties, making them versatile for boiling, baking, frying, and mashing. So next time you enjoy a serving of mashed potatoes or French fries, remember that you’re getting a lot of hydration too!

Dumb phones are making a comeback

Do you know that you can spend more than five years of your entire lifetime scrolling on social media? While people are hooked to social media on smartphones, there seems to be a growing trend of using dumb phones, or simply, old-school, digital alternatives.

5.4 years spent on social media over a person’s lifetime

 2.2 billion expected revenue of Indian feature phone market in 2024 (Sources: Mediakik, Statista)

What are dumb phones?

Dumb phones, also known as feature phones, are basic mobile devices with essential functions like calling and texting. They lack the advanced smartphones features like internet browsing. However, there are very few models that may offer basic internet and apps like WhatsApp and Google Maps.

What’s making people choose dumb phones?

Digital detox

Focus and productivity

To lower stress and anxiety

Don’t want to get a dumb phone? Do this instead

Designate specific days or times of the week to unplug from all digital devices

 Turn off non-essential notifications

 Use built-in screen time features to set daily limits for social media and other apps

 Activate focus or do not disturb modes during work hours or personal time

Allocate specific times for checking and engaging on social media

 Establish certain areas in your home, like the bedroom or dining area, as tech-free zones

Compiled by: Shourya Jha

People have been switching to dumb phones to reduce distraction from social media and avoiding work notifications during personal time

Bipasha & Devi helped me evolve into a better person, says Karan

Karan Singh Grover; (right) with Bipasha and Devi

CONTINUED FROM 1

‘THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE COMING INTO THE INDUSTRY EVERY DAY’

Karan shares that he found it hard to navigate through the initial phase of his television career. “It was very heartbreaking and depressing because you have this image about yourself, and then you come into the real world. There are so many people coming here every day, and they are all good. When you go back home after a day of auditions, you wonder, ‘How is it that nobody wants me?’ I would go for modelling auditions, and they would say, ‘Your face is too soft, you should do television.’ At the auditions for TV shows, they’d say I have a very chiselled face, and I should try modelling. I used to go back home

every night thinking nobody wanted me,” he says.

‘BIPASHA HELPED ME CONNECT WITH THE REAL ME’

Karan and Bipasha met in 2015 on the sets of their horror film Alone and tied the knot the following year. Karan says that his wife has a huge role to play in the way he has evolved as a person. “If I hadn’t met Bipasha, I don’t think I’d be here. She is the kind of person who is in a constant state of giving,” he says, adding, “She helped me understand and connect with the real me. I have another profession (painting) because of her. Bipasha and Devi (his two-year-old daughter) have helped me evolve.”

‘THERE’S NOTHING GOOD ABOUT A DIVORCE’

Karan has been extremely private about his personal life and has never spoken about his divorce with Shraddha Nigam in 2009, and Jennifer Winget in 2014. “There’s nothing good about a break-up or a divorce. Later, when people move on, they realise it happened for the best... I think everyone deserves that kind of privacy to deal with their own life,” he says.

‘Life feels like a series of experiences’

Karan was seen in Fighter earlier this year. He has been a part of only a handful of Hindi movies, but he has no complaints. “The Hindi film industry is a humongous entity. What is happening in my life and the work that I do is not because of the industry, it’s because of my choices. The industry is open to everyone. I’m not a victim.” He adds, “To me, life feels like a series of experiences which I’m thankful for. I’m in a reality that I love, and I don’t want to run away from.”

Karan (R) in a still from Fighter

You’re a true inspiration: PC’s message for Angelina

Angelina and Vivienne at the Tony Awards; (below) PC’s message on Instagram

Priyanka Chopra congratulated Angelina Jolie on her achievement at the Tony Awards, where the American actor-filmmaker’s production, The Outsiders, won the Best Musical award.

In an Instagram story, Priyanka showered praise on Angelina and also mentioned her daughter, Vivienne. Priyanka wrote, “Huge congratulations to this angel who deserves everything in life and more! Congratulations on winning the Tony for best musical for The Outsiders and also multiple awards and 12 nominations!! You’re a force and I’m so inspired by you everyday @angelinajolie. Congratulations Vivienne (sic)”.

Speaking on Vivienne’s involvement, Jolie told a news platform, “She appreciates all theatre, but she certainly knows what she feels close to and what she responds to. And then I had the privilege of watching everyone work over this last year to make it into what it is, and Vivienne has been there the whole way.”

Priyanka Chopra

TRIPPIN

TRIPTI DIMRI is soaking in the European sun during her vacay to Italy and Albania

Table of Contents

TOI Print Edition Jun 20, 2024

Front Page

PELOSI MEETS DALAI, CHINA FUMES

20 heat deaths in city govt hospitals in 48 hours, toll likely to rise sharply

NHRC seeks govt reply on Amazon work conditions

12th pass mantri unable to write ‘Beti Bachao’

IN THE COURTS

Man lynched over theft suspicion in UP

IIT-B students fined for Ramayana skit

‘Integrity of exam may be compromised’; UGC-NET nixed, CBI probe ordered

Canada Parl honours Nijjar; India plans Kanishka tribute

2 die as water tanker hits car in west Delhi

Trust of India: TOI No. 1 news brand in country

Wrong manual signalling to blame for train crash, not dead pilot: Experts

CABINET CALLS

Welcome to the US, minus your ‘branded’ fakes

Times Nation

Cabinet OKs container port at Vadhavan; to cost `76k cr

5 of a family killed in Assam landslide

Bihar mantri ‘announces’ SITs that will shoot armed criminals at sight

8 IIT-B students fined `1.2L for Ramayana skit

Cobra with controller for Xbox, courtesy Amazon

Fried frog comes with a packet of wafers

Hooch kills 14 in Tamil Nadu, 40 others hospitalised

Stairs demolished to eject tenants

Muslims don’t vote for me also, says Giriraj, backs JD(U) MP

Fire can’t destroy knowledge: PM at Nalanda univ campus

BJP’s Surama Padhy set to be Odisha speaker

Unicef: India among 20 nations with ‘severe child food poverty’

Foul air claims 464 young kids in India every day: Int’l report

Woman critically injured in Naxal IED blast in C’garh

‘12th pass’ mantri fails to write ‘Beti Bachao...’

Man kills friend for talking to girl

‘Restore Bapu, Ambedkar statues to original spots’

Forest staffer hurt in Binsar fire dies at AIIMS; toll 5

Man lynched in Aligarh over theft suspicion

Amritpal’s detention under NSA extended till 2025

Good sleep can help reduce high BP risk in children: Study

B’luru boy caught doing stunts, dad booked under JJ Act

Over 100 take ill after consuming panipuris in Maha’s Jalgaon dist

2 terrorists shot dead in Sopore; cop, jawan hurt

Aus diplomat got WB meet nod ‘on principle of reciprocity’

Minors rescued from its MP unit, licence of liquor co suspended

Man held for assaulting woman home guard in WB

HC allows screening of ‘Hamare Baarah’ after producers agree to edits

HC junks NEET aspirant’s plea based on forged papers

Patna ‘leak’ beneficiary has NEET rank of 71k

Heatwave claims 4 lives in 48 hrs in UP’s Firozabad

Stalled monsoon delays kharif crop sowing

With new crime laws set to take effect, Cabinet okays `2,254cr forensics upgrade

‘Didn’t know carrying copies of big brands is a serious offence’

Govt okays hike in MSP for kharif crops, oilseeds & pulses in focus

143 deaths in 152 days: Amravati Maha’s new farm suicide capital

Turmoil in HP Cong after CM’s wife gets ticket for Dehra bypoll

Mann transfers 10k cops to fight ‘nexus of police and drug mafia’

Rlys focuses on supervision of staff at auto signal stretches

Times City

Swinging To 1960s, Min Makes Max Impact

No cheer even after sunset: Why met factors have failed to ease heat’s grip

Heat kills in city: 20 more deaths confirmed but toll could be higher

Health ministry to send teams to hosps to assess number of deaths

At 34.8°C, Gurgaon baked by its first ‘very warm night’

Scale up beds for heatstroke patients: Delhi govt to hosps

BEAT THE HEAT, STAY SAFE

Atishi Plans Fast For ‘Due Share Of Water’

8,656 MW: Peak power demand at a new high

Health secy went on ‘long leave’ without my nod: Bharadwaj to MHA

Parched residents of South Ex II plan to protest outside DJB office

BJP intensifies protest over water crisis

Flyers fret as SpiceJet aircraft boils in heat; all good, says airline

Dusib officials face heat over ‘inaction’

NHRC Takes Note Of 6-Yr Wait For Cardiac Surgery At AIIMS

ASI, ministry get notices for inaccessibility at monuments

Panic On Menu: Bullets Rain Thick And Fast At Food Joint

Khandelwal holds meeting to discuss Chandni Chowk’s dangling wire woes

Police suspect role of Murthal case shooters

‘40 for 14’: Himanshu Bhau stakes claim, calls it revenge

No fear of law? As firing cases shoot up, cops find selves on a sticky wicket

2 die as water tanker hits car in W Delhi

LG approves creation of a new police station at Bijwasan rly stn

Man stabbed to death in Seelampur

Ugandan woman found dead

Chief secy Naresh Kumar is now NDMC chairman too

CM: Versions Against Me Are Questionable

ED on alert after Delhi firm sells `1,858 crore on crypto exchanges

Dangerous bldgs: 65% of survey done, says MCD

You Can Pay Tax On Saturdays Too

Elected MP, Sehrawat resigns as councillor

Fire breaks out in factory:

Car Buyers Left In Dark As EV Policy Runs Out Of Charge

24-year-old poses as Sr citizen to board Canada flight, caught

Traffic police nod in, but flyover repair yet to start

Over 50% of RRTS stretch on Delhi-Meerut corridor ready

‘Source 29.9% power from green options’

Times Global

900+ dead, including 68 Indians, during haj as Mecca temp hits 51.8°C: Report

Macron demands schools address antisemitism after Jewish girl raped

STONEHENGE VANDALISED

Hezbollah chief warns no place in Israel will be spared in case of a full-blown war

Cyril Ramaphosa sworn in as SA prez for 2nd term

Nobody will give you credit for anything: Pelosi warns Xi after meeting Dalai Lama

Putin and Kim pledge mutual support against ‘aggression’

Videos targeting Biden’s age go viral, White House calls them ‘cheapfakes’

AROUND THE WORLD

‘AI Steve’ on ballot for UK election

A Korean secret to keeping friendships strong: Savings groups

Editorial

India’s Goldilocks Moment?

Love And Let Love

Immigrant Power

PAPpu? Who? Me?

Let Your Life Be Like Music

Meat For Thought: Why 100bn Animals Die Every Year

A thought for today

Sacred space

Times Business

Swiss insurer Zurich buys 70% in Kotak’s non-life biz

CCI signs off on WeWork’s exit from India unit

Retail inflation easing, food prices remain a concern: RBI

Sensex rallies for 5th day, hits record in volatile mkt

Sebi fines RInfra, RPower & 5 others

Voda sells $1.8bn stake in Indus

‘Robots to babysit, cars to drive themselves’

‘Robot tax’ for AI-hit jobs figures in FM Budget meet

‘Taxpayers want rationalisation of GST rates, amnesty scheme’

Adani amps up green energy bet to $100bn

Times Sport

Germany cruise into knockouts

Portugal flex muscles with bench strength

Italy ‘like Armani’ but ready to get dirty to go past Spain

Messi in lead cast as Argentina launch title defence

How do you solve a problem called Foden?

BAH HAMBURG!

SLOVENIA COOL AHEAD OF SERBIA SHOWDOWN

REAL WC STARTS NOW!

WI primed for clash against defending champs England

Happy being called a game changer: Surya

Williamson gives up white-ball captaincy, declines national contract

‘Afghans dangerous in this format’

For cricket to stay beautiful, the art of bowling fast has to continue: Wes Hall

India women manage to prevail in run-fest

South Africa defeat spirited US by 18 runs

Amazon asked workers not to take toilet breaks: Report

AIFF keeps open mind

11 swimmers in doping scandal in Oly squad

Aditi looks at improved show

Two clay-court events for Bopanna & Balaji pair ahead of Oly

11L candidates had registered for UGC-NET

Habeas corpus plea seeks production of 195 bovines

Rangapani stn master’s nod for goods train to blame?

India at forefront of fight against terror: Consulate general

ASIAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS TO EARN MORE IN PRIZE MONEY

DJOKOVIC SET TO COMPETE IN PARIS GAMES: SERBIAN OLYMPIC BODY

OSAKA, KERBER AND WOZNIACKI GET WILD CARDS FOR WIMBLEDON

Delhi Times

THE INITIAL PHASE OF MY CAREER WAS HEARTBREAKING: KARAN SINGH GROVER

Justin Timberlake held for driving drunk in NY

(Insta) ofﬁcial?

#DiscoveredOnReels

BUZZ STOP

A Delhi confluence of art and alumni

‘CAN’T PREDICT WHICH SONG WILL GO VIRAL’

Jr NTR jets off to Thailand with wife Lakshmi Pranathi & kids

VIJAY TAKES HIS PARENTS ON THEIR FIRST USA TRIP

‘Mother made us clothes with limited means’

DID YOU KNOW?

Dumb phones are making a comeback

Bipasha & Devi helped me evolve into a better person, says Karan

You’re a true inspiration: PC’s message for Angelina

TRIPPIN