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CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 143 NO. 286 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 � HARYANA

SIX KILLED IN RSS: THOSE HARMING BIOFUELS PROMISING NASA WANTED SHARING OF
RUSSIAN ATTACKS NATION MUST BE ALTERNATIVE TO TECH POST CHANDRAYAAN-3:
ON UKRAINE WORLD DEALT WITH FIRMLY J&K FOSSIL FUELS INFOCUS ISROCHIEF BACK PAGE
/thetribunechd /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com monday | 16 october 2023

Israel delays Gaza ground assault as Cong releases first

Arab nations decry civilian killings candidate list for 3
Tel Aviv cites impending bad weather | Iran restive, Blinken extends Middle East tour poll-bound states
Sandeep Dikshit
2 INDIAN-ORIGIN ISRAELI
Shubhadeep Choudhury
Party announces 144
Former CEC Gill
DEATH TOLL PALESTINE ISRAEL
passesawayat87
Tribune News Service Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 15

Israel continued its bombing
of Gaza Strip that claimed the
lives of 300 more civilians in
the last 24 hours even as some
reports claimed that it had
put on hold the ground offen-
sive for a couple of days and
offered more time to North
Gaza residents to evacuate.
On a parallel track, US Sec-
retary of State Antony
Blinken extended his Middle
East tour and will return to Tel
Aviv on Monday amid indica-
tions that Iran was getting
restive over the continuing
and escalating humanitarian
crises due to the bombings
and the blockade. Iran has
already warned of “far-reach-
ing consequences” if Israel’s
bombardment on Gaza civil-
ians was not stopped.
With 300 more killed, the
death toll in Gaza Strip
crossed 2,300 while 10,000
were injured (on Sunday
morning), according to
Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel also upped its toll of
soldiers who have died from
222 to 274, of the total 1,300
Israelis dead so far, most of
them in the initial hours of the
An Israeli officer stands behind military vehicles near the border with the Gaza Strip on Sunday. REUTERS
BIDEN DIALS NETANYAHU, ABBAS
US President Joe Biden reiterated US’
support for Israel and emphasised the
need for humanitarian aid for Palestini-
ans as he held separate phone calls with
Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
Hamas attack on October 7.
Israel claimed that the
offensive was being put on
hold for a couple of days due
to impending bad weather
that would make it difficult
for its ground forces and
3,600 2,300 1,300 WOMEN OFFICERS KILLED
■ Two Indian-origin Israeli women
New Delhi, October 15
The Congress on Sunday
nomineesfor MP, 30 for
C’garh & 55 for Telangana Tribune News Service
security officers were killed in the announced the first list of
Hamas attack on October 7 candidates for next month’s New Delhi, October 15
■ The victims are Lt Or Moses and Assembly elections in Mad- Former Chief Election Com-
Inspector Kim Dokraker INSIDE hya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh missioner and ex-Rajya Sab-
and Telangana. For the 230- ha MP from Punjab Manohar
2 FLIGHTS BRING BACK member strong Madhya Singh Gill breathed his last
471 MORE INDIANS Pradesh House, the Congress at a private hospital here on
has announced 144 names. Kamal Nath Bhupesh Baghel Sunday evening. He passed
Kamal Nath, chief of the Chhindwara Patan away after a brief illness, said
party’s state unit and former ‘RAMAYAN’ ACTOR FIELDED family members. He was 87.
Chief Minister, will once again AGAINST SHIVRAJ CHOUHAN MS Gill’s daughter Gauri
contest from Chhindwara Gill said her father had been
seat. Vikram Mastal, who from the Gwalior (rural) seat. ill for the past three days, but
played the role of Lord Hanu- About 40 per cent of the he had full cognition till the
man in a TV serial (Ramayan), state’s population is OBC and end. “He was still worried
MoS Gen VK Singh (retd) receives has been fielded against Chief Congress leader Rahul Gand- about us all and wanted us to
Indians at the IGI airport. PTI Minister Shivraj Singh hi had recently announced go home. He passed away
Chouhan from the Budhni that a Bihar-like caste survey peacefully after a brief ill-
constituency. would be held in MP if the ness,” she told The Tribune.
ISRAEL PM HOLDS EMERGENCY MEET ONE DEAD IN HEZBOLLAH The Congress has named 69 Congress came to power. Gill is survived by his wife
ATTACK ON NORTH ISRAEL sitting MLAs and dropped Former Chief Minister Vinnie and daughters Natasha,
PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday
■ Lebanese Hezbollah fighters
convened a meeting of Israel’s expand- three, including former Digvijaya Singh’s son Gauri and Kaveri. Family
ed emergency Cabinet for the first time launched a missile at an Israeli Assembly Speaker ND Pra- Jaivardhan Singh, MLA sources said Gill was very
and said the country was ready to northern border village on Sunday, japati. Thirty-nine candidates from Raghogarh, has been proud to have daughters and
“demolish Hamas” in Gaza. killing one person and injuring 3 are first-timers, while 36 are again fielded from the seat. would always say “not to have
the ones who had lost in the For the 90-member Chhattis- sons is a tragedy, but not to
drones to operate. US Presi- to do with Hamas’ appalling Israel was restoring water 2018 Assembly polls or in the garh Assembly, the Congress have daughters is a disaster”.
dent Joe Biden on Sunday attacks, and are suffering as a supply to southern Gaza. It bypolls in 2020. Nineteen announced the first 30 names His last rites would be held
drew attention to the plight of result of them.” had earlier stopped the flow women have been fielded. today. Twenty-two sitting at the Lodhi Crematorium at
civilians, saying, “We must An outcome of the world- of water as part of its siege of There are 30 Other Backward MLAs, including Chief Min- 3.30 pm on Monday, said
not lose sight of the fact that wide urging to ease the the Hamas-ruled territory Class (OBC) candidates with ster Bhupesh Baghel, Deputy Gauri. Gill was born in Allad-
the overwhelming majority humanitarian suffering of since the war broke out last OBC mahapanchayat leader Chief Minister TS Singh Deo, inpur village of Tarn Taran.
of Palestinians had nothing civilians in Gaza was that continued on page 9 Sahab Singh Gurjar named continued on page 9 obit: BACK PAGE

Mulling basmati Afghans stun reigning champs File report on blasting

minimum export
price review: Govt in M’garh village: NGT
Sandeep Dikshit Ravinder Saini
Tribune News Service Tribune News Service CRACKS IN HOUSES
CRICKET
New Delhi, October 15
Faced with a virtual revolt
from traders and exporters,
WORLD CUP
Mahendragarh, October 15
The National Green Tribunal
(NGT) has sought a factual
❝ Houses have developed
cracks due to heavy blasting
the government on Sunday and action-taken report from every day. Dust and stones
said it was considering a the district authorities regard- are also adversely affecting
review of free on board (FOB) ing a complaint on heavy the crop yield.
value for issue of registra- blasting being carried out by a — Vijay Kumar Sharma, COMPLAINANT
tion-cum-allocation certifi- firm at Bayal village here,
Work order for supply and installation has been awarded by govt. FILE cate (RCAC) for basmati rice resulting in stones falling in trol Board (HSPCB) and Dis-
by the Agricultural and fields, cracks in houses and trict Magistrate to inspect the

Radiation scanner for Processed Food Products

Export Development Author-
ity (APEDA). TODAY’S TIE Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz (80) plays a shot during a match
endangering life and property.
It has also constituted a joint
committee comprising the
site for verifying the factual
position, including the dam-
age caused to environment,

Attari, seven other ICPs Based on the representa-

tions received from rice
exporter associations that the
TEAMS
Australia vs Sri Lanka
VENUE TIME
Lucknow 2pm
against England. His innings was instrumental in the 69-run win. ANI
Afghanistan: 284/10, 49.5 overs; England: 215/10, 40.3 overs
Director (Mines and Geology),
Haryana State Pollution Con-
property and agriculture.
continued on page 9

Tribune News Service high FOB value is adversely

New Delhi, October 15
Radiation detection equip-
ment (RDE) will soon be
installed at eight land cross-
ing points along India’s bor-
ders with Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Myanmar and
Nepal to check trafficking of
radioactive materials for pos-
sible use in making nuclear
devices, officials said.
The RDE will be installed
at the integrated check posts
(ICP) and land ports of Attari
(Pakistan border); Petrapole,
Agartala, Dawki and
Sutarkandi (all on the
Bangladesh border); Raxaul
and Jogbani (Nepal); and
Moreh (Myanmar).
Work order for supply,
installation and mainte-
IN BRIEF
TO CURB TRAFFICKING OF
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
■ RDE will be installed at integrat-
ed check posts and land ports
on Pak, B’desh, Nepal & Myan-
mar borders to check radioac-
tive material trafficking
■ Will be installed in drive-through
station that scans trucks and
cargo; will raise gamma and
neutron radiation alarms &
capture suspicious objects
nance of the RDE at eight
operational ICPs has been
awarded by the government
through an agreement exe-
cuted last year and the ven-
dor will supply and complete
the installation process
shortly, an official privy to
the development said.
continued on page 9
affecting the export of bas-
mati rice from the country,
Food Minister Piyush Goel
met them and assured that a
review is under active con-
sideration of the government
but the present arrangement
will continue until an appro-
priate decision is taken.
The domestic as well as the
export market of rice has wit-
nessed volatility ever since
the Centre undertook several
measures to check the
domestic prices of rice and
ensure adequate availability
for domestic consumers. One
continued on page 9
Crushers operating ‘illegally’ on temple land in Kangra
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Drug smuggler held after Jalandhar encounter
Jalandhar, October 15
The Jalandhar rural police
arrested drug smuggler
Surinder Singh, alias Shinda,
after an encounter at Nurma-
hal here last night. At least 1
kg heroin, Rs 8.5 lakh drug
money, a 9-mm pistol and two
cars were seized during a
joint operation of the Phillaur
and Nurmahal police.
Jalandhar SSP
Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar
said: “Shinda, a resident of Bil-
FLOUTING NORMS
police personnel. Two cops
2 cops hurt; 1 kg heroin, pistol, ~8.5L & 2 cars seized were injured due to a fall.
The police party was howev-
3 NABBED WITH 2.5 KG HEROIN IN AMRITSAR er successful in nabbing
Shinda, he said. Mahua Moitra, TMC MP
Amritsar: The special task force (STF) has confiscated 2.5 kg of
heroin and arrested three persons in the Gharinda area of Amrit-
sar. Mukhtar Rai, AIG, STF (Border Range), said the trio was
Shinda faces cases under
the NDPS Act and Arms Act
Moitra took ‘bribe’
involved in cross-border drug smuggling. They have been
booked under the NDPS Act at the STF police station in Mohali.
among others at Bilga and to ask questions in
Dasuya police stations. The
SSP said, “Shinda is a hard- Parl, says BJP MP
ga, Jalandhar, was wanted in a joint team led by Phillaur core smuggler whose over- New Delhi, October 15
June 14, 2023, NDPS Act case SHO Surinder Kumar raided seas and cross-border links BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on
registered with the Phillaur a house in Nurmahal.” The cannot be ruled out. The Sunday accused TMC’s
police. Acting on a tip-off, a smuggler fired shots at the investigation is on.” — TNS Mahua Moitra of taking
“bribes” from a businessman
to ask questions in Parliament
and urged Lok Sabha Speaker
Om Birla to constitute an
“inquiry committee” to look
into the charges against her.
ing without approvals from
SEEKS PROBE BY PANEL;

Dharamsala, October 15 ■ Issue flagged by a Vidhan

The working of the Damtal
ED attaches ~315-cr assets linked to ex-NCP MP temple administration in
NEW DELHI: The ED has attached land, jewellery and bullion Himachal’s Kangra has
worth over ~315 crore as part of an alleged bank fraud-linked come under question as
money laundering probe against a former NCP MP. BACK PAGE more than 10 stone crushers
have allegedly been operat-
DRI seizes gold worth ~19 crore in pan-India op ing on its land illegally. The
NEW DELHI: The DRI has seized gold worth ~19 crore from three issue came to light during a
locations in a pan-India operation and arrested 11 persons who visit to the site recently by a
were part of a smuggling syndicate, said an official on Sunday. PTI few Himachal MLAs, who
were part of the Vidhan Sab-
Flight diverted to Karachi due to medical emergency ha’s ‘Local Funds Audit
NEW DELHI: An Air India Express Dubai-Amritsar flight was forced Committee’.
to make an unscheduled landing in Karachi on Saturday, when Headed by Congress MLA
a passenger experienced a severe medical complication. IANS from Barsar Inder Dutt
Sabha committee members
during a recent visit
■ Kangra Deputy Commission-
er has formed a three-mem-
ber probe committee
■ Crushers said to be controlled
by politically influential people
Lakhanpal, the committee
has questioned allowing the
crushers on the shrine’s
property. The land measures
around 5,500 kanals and is
spread across Punjab and
Himachal.
Illegal activity found on land of Damtal temple, which has 5,500 kanals.
The temple was under the
control of a ‘mahant’ (chief
priest) until 11 years ago
when it was handed over to
the state government follow-
ing directions from the
Supreme Court. Sources said
a few influential persons who
had taken the land on lease
from the ‘mahant’ before
the apex court order had now
taken the litigation route to
avert eviction. The crushers,
they said, had been operat-
the mining, pollution and
environment departments.
Kangra Deputy Commis-
sioner Nipun Jindal, who as
the district head controls the
temple, said as per the mining
policy, a temple’s land could-
n’t be used for mining. “A
three-member committee has
been formed under the Indora
SDM to look into the matter.
Action will be taken once the
report comes,” he said.
Interestingly, it’s the first
time an investigation com-
mittee has been formed even
continued on page 9
TMC LEADER HITS BACK
Moitra hit back, saying she
“welcomes any move against
her after the LS Speaker is fin-
ished dealing with pending
charges against him (Dubey)”.
The two MPs, known for
fiery parliamentary speeches
and belligerent attacks on
adversaries, have often
exchanged blows over a host
of issues over the years.
In a letter to Birla, Dubey
claimed “re-emergence of nasty
cash for query” in Parliament
continued on page 9
CITY
WEATHER
FORECAST
Generally cloudy
sky with one or two
spells of rain/thunderstorm
SUNRISE: 6.28 am
SUNSET: 5.58 pm
TEMPERATURE
HISAR
Max: 33.7°C Min: 21.2°C
KARNAL
Max: 33.6°C Min: 20.3°C
GURUGRAM
Max: 34.8°C Min: 20.2°C
Farmers block Gurugram expressway
Tribune News Service
Gurugram, October 15
High drama prevailed on the
Gurugram-Jaipur Express-
way as hundreds of farmers
marched and blocked the
highway this afternoon,
accusing the state govern-
ment of indifference.
The farmers are opposing
the acquisition of 1,810
acres by the Haryana State
Industrial & Infrastructure
Development Corporation
(HSIIDC) for the expansion
of IMT Manesar, citing poor
Farmers protest on the Gurugram-Jaipur Expressway on Sunday. strike for the past 200 days
reached the spot. The officials
HARYANA
OPPOSING ACQUISITION
OF LAND BY HSIIDC
■ Citing poor compensation,
farmers are opposing the
acquisition of 1,810 acres by
the HSIIDC for the expansion
of the IMT-Manesar
■ The farmers said the gov-
ernment was offering them
only ~91 lakh per acre
against the market rate of
over ~10 crore per acre
■ The farmers have been on a
announced a resolution in government has not taken
CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2023
offered plots with conditions
to the eligible farmers. How-
ever, the deal failed to con-
vince the farmers.
The process for acquisi-
tion of 1,810 acres of land in
Kasan, Sehrawan, Kunkro-
la, Fazilpur, Fukurpur,
Mokalwas, Kharkhadi, Bas
Lambi, Manesar, Naharpur
Kasan, Dhana, Bas Kushla,
Bas Hariya and Nakhrola
villages had begun in 2011.
The acquisition was then
challenged by an NGO. In
August 2022, after getting
an order from the court in
THE TRIBUNE
02
Shift HT electricity
cables soon, demand
Faridabad residents
Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service
Several announcements
Faridabad, October 15
Despite the risk of electrocu- made in six years,
tion from high-tension (HT) but to no avail
power lines at around 350
spots in the city, the process
of shifting such lines has
failed to pick up momentum.
Although announcements
have been made several
times in the past six years,

HELPLINE
Police Assistance: 100
Women Helpline: 1091
Fire: 101
Child Helpline: 1098
Corruption: 1064
Ambulance: 102/108
Accident helpline: 1073
Railway enquiry: 139
FARIDABAD
COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
0129-2438000
compensation.
The farmers have been on a
strike for the past 200 days.
According to the farmers, the
officials concerned failed to
address their problem and
therefore, they decided to
block the highway.
The protest led to a long traf-
fic jam on the expressway.
Within an hour of the protest-
ers blocking the highway, offi-
cials from the administration
pacified the farmers and made
them vacate the highway.
The protesting farmers have
now threatened to block the
highway permanently if their
demand for enhanced com-
pensation was not fulfilled.
The issue has been a bone
of contention between the
Haryana Government and
over 3,000 farmers for the
past year. Though CM
Manohar Lal Khattar had
July, no headway has been
made so far.
“Every time they say they
will address our issue in the
next Cabinet meeting and
befool us. We have been on a
strike since the past 200 days
now, but our demand has not
been fulfilled. Neither the
MLAs nor the MPs pay heed
to our demands. We have
threatened to commit mass
suicides, but still the Khattar
any steps to resolve our prob-
lem. We have now decided to
block the highways,” a
farmer said after a mahapan-
chayat on Sunday.
The farmers said the mar-
ket rate of the land was more
than Rs 10 crore per acre, but
the government was offering
them only Rs 91 lakh (the
base price of Rs 55 lakh plus
interest) per acre. To sweeten
the deal, the government had
its favour, the state govern-
ment awarded compensa-
tion for the acquisition.
The farmers at these vil-
lages, meanwhile, alleged
that they had applied for
plots under the oustee quota,
but were denied the same by
the state government. They
have now demanded plots as
well as an additional com-
pensatory amount for the
acquisition of land.
none of the lines has been
shifted so far.
Sources in the Dakshin
Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam
(DHBVN) claim that no defi-
nite action plan has been pre-
pared or launched by the A 66KV cable passing over
power department for a residential colony in
removal of the HT power Faridabad. FILE PHOTO
lines passing close to houses.
“Though the CM and other such accidents have taken
authorities have already place in the past three
announced, nothing has decades, leading to loss of
been done on the ground. lives, injuries and damage to
The presence of HT lines at a household appliances.
large number of places, He said the Haryana Sha-

GURUGRAM
Police control room
CPs, DMs directed to ensure ban Nagrota Sainik School including Sector 3, Sector 21,
Sector 17, Sector 55, Old
Faridabad, Sarai Khwaja,
hari Vikas Pradhikaran
(HSVP) had carved out the
residential plots under an
0124-2316100

HISAR
on commercial use of hookah lift volleyball trophy
Superintendent of Police Tribune News Service
8814011300
Chandigarh, October 15
KARNAL Haryana Home Secretary
Deputy Commissioner TVSN Prasad today directed
0184-2267500 all Commissioners of Police
KURUKSHETRA (CP) and District Magistrates
(DM) to ensure hookah is not
Police control room
served in bars, hotels, restau-
01744-222100
rants and taverns. However,
PANIPAT the ban will not be applicable
Superintendent of Police to traditional hookah used for
0180-2699100 non-commercial or personal
use across the state.
ROHTAK In his order, the Home Sec-
Superintendent of Police retary said it was observed
0126-2228114 that hookah bars, which
serve hookah (narghile) with
tobacco, were operational in
various districts of Haryana.
Emphasising that it was
injurious to the health of
users, the Home Secretary
added that other harmful
and prohibited narcotic sub-
stances were also mixed with
tobacco in these bars.
Observing that the popu-
larity of flavoured hookahs
had risen significantly
among adolescents, he said
the availability of multiple
flavours, less harshness of
smoke and misconceptions
that hookah poses reduced
or negligible risk were pro-
moting its usage.
“Even in those hookah
bars, where only flavours or
herbs are served without
nicotine, the smoke may
contain toxicants such as
carbon monoxide, poly-
cyclic aromatic hydrocar-
bons, volatile aldehydes and
heavy metals. These prod-
ucts may lead to cardiovas-
cular diseases, lung dis-
eases and cancer,” he said.
He pointed out, “Similar to
cigarettes, smoke from hookah
can cause ciliary damage,
increased viscosity of secre-
tions and reduced mucociliary
clearance, which increases the
risk of perioperative pul-
monary complications.”
Karnal, October 15
On the fifth day of the All
India Sainik Schools National
Games- 2023, being held at
Sainik School, Kunjpura,
players showcased their tal-
ent in different games.
In volleyball, Sainik School,
Nagrota, Jammu and Kash-
mir, emerged champions after
beating Sainik School, Jhun-
jhunu, Rajasthan, by 2-0.
Chief guest on the occa-
sion was Gurvinder Singh
Dhamija. He is an alumnus
of Sainik School, Kunjpura.
Addressing the participants,
he said the event transport-
ed him down memory lane
into his childhood days.
Dhamija said he was proud
that his alma mater was
looking up with contribu-
tion of the state government
and alumni. He gave medals
and certificates to the win-
ner and runner-up team.
Col Vijay Rana, Principal,
Sainik School, Kunjpura, said,
“Sainik School, Tilaiya, Jhark-
hand, and Sainik School,
Amaravathinagar, Tamil
Nadu, would play the final
hockey match on Monday.”
CM Manohar Lal Khattar
would be the chief guest at
the valedictory function to be
held on Tuesday. — TNS
Jawahar Colony, Dabua
Colony, Kheri Kalan, Palla,
parts of the NIT Assembly
constituency, Bhood Colony,
Indira Enclave and Dayal-
bagh localities, have led to
several accidents as the pow-
er lines had been too close to
the houses,” said social
activist Varun Sheokand.
He said earlier this
month, an 11-year-old boy
suffered severe burns after
coming in contact with a
cable passing over his
house in Tilpat locality.
Subhash Lamba of the
Resident Welfare Associa-
tion of Sector 3 said three
persons were electrocuted
due to overhead cables in the
last two years. Besides, 15
existing HT line in 1990s.
However, the power depart-
ment, which took several
years to launch the work of
shifting cables, was yet to
complete the work, which
was started over a year ago.
“Presence of HT power
lines had also been a cause
for concern in some govern-
ment schools,’’ says
Kailash Sharma of the
Abhibhawak Ekta Manch (a
parents’ body) here.
RN Mishra, Executive
Engineer, Haryana Vidyut
Prasaran Nigam (HVPN),
said shifting of 66 KV line in
Sector 3 was underway and
likely to be over by next
month. No such plan in other
areas is pending, he added.

Hyena ‘hit’
by vehicle
in Aravallis
Gurugram, October 15
An adult striped hyena was
found injured at Damdama
village in the Aravalli forests.
Wildlife officials, who rescued
it, said it appeared that the ani-
mal was hit by a speeding
vehicle while crossing road.
A local sarpanch, who had
gone out for morning walk,
called the Wildlife Depart-
ment after he spotted the
injured animal.
The striped hyena is protect-
ed under Schedule III of the
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Owing to the lack of safe pas-
sages for wild animals and
motorists, who do not abide by
the prescribed speed limits,
road accidents involving ani-
mals have remained a major
concern in the Aravallis.
“We are stepping up surveil-
lance here and will get in
touch with the authorities con-
cerned to ensure the implanta-
tion of speed limits in the
Aravallis,” said ML Mallik, the
conservator of wildlife in
south Haryana. — TNS
Haryana Diary
Birender Singh takes dig at JJP
Chandigarh: Critical of the BJP-JJP alliance
in the government, senior BJP leader Biren-
der Singh, recently in Chandigarh to meet
CM Manohar Lal Khattar, said the BJP must
go alone in the parliamentary and Assembly
elections. “I have told the CM that the faster
the party gets rid of the JJP, the healthier
and cleaner the BJP will be,” Singh said.
MC poll aspirants disappointed
Faridabad: The long wait for the elections of
the Faridabad Municipal Corporation has
led to disappointment among many aspi-
rants. An aspirant said he had spent lakhs
of rupees on his undeclared campaign, but
there seemed to be no possibility of the MC
poll taking place in the near future. “If a civic
body can run without elected members for
about two years, what’s the use of having an
elected body!” said another aspirant.
CM skips Rohtak ashram event
Rohtak: Eyebrows are being raised over CM
Khattar and his Cabinet colleagues not
attending a recent religious ceremony at
Baba Mastnath ashram in Rohtak. Ashram
head Mahant Balak Nath is the BJP’s sitting
MP from Alwar in Rajasthan. Union Home
Minister Amit Shah and other union minis-
ters, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, UP CM Yogi
CONTRIBUTED BY GITANJALI GAYATRI, BIJENDRA AHLAWAT,SUNIT DHAWAN, RAVINDER SAINI AND MUKESH TANDON
Aditya Nath, yoga guru Ramdev, former
Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and
Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda
attended the two-day event.
Badli leaders take potshots
Jhajjar: Badli MLA Kuldeep Vats of the Con-
gress and former MLA Naresh Sharma have
traded potshots, with Sharma accusing the
former of misleading the Election Commis-
sion by giving wrong information about his
academic qualifications in the nomination
papers filed before the 2014 Assembly
polls. Sharma alleged Vats’ affidavit had
claimed he had passed his matric and sen-
ior secondary exams in the same year. Vats
described it as a ‘clerical mistake’, and stat-
ed Sharma is trying to malign him as he’d
lost the election. Sharma has also filed a
petition in the High Court in this respect.
Road repair turns political
Panipat: Road repair work on a street has
become a political issue here. BJP leader
Himanshu Sharma, considered close to for-
mer mayor Bhupinder Singh, submitted two
memorandums to the MC commissioner
and the local MLA, but to no avail. Sharma
also staged a dharna on the road, but the
work has not started. His protest has
become a talking point as it seems to be
directed against his own party.

WHAT OUR READERS SAY

Is a civic issue bothering you? Are you
agitated over the lack of concern? Is there
something heartening that you feel needs
to be highlighted? Or a picture which in
your opinion ought to be seen by many,
and not just you?

THE TRIBUNE
invites its readers to have their say. Please
email at: haryanacity@tribunemail.com

MONKEY MENACE IN UCHANA VEGETATION, ADS OBSTRUCT VIEW OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS

R ESIDENTS of Mall Godam Colony, Railway
Colony and Rajendra Colony in Uchana
town have been facing problems due to the
V EGETATION and advertisements are obscuring the traffic lights at some crossings in
Faridabad, including the signal point at SRS Chowk, Amolik crossing at Sector 88
and MDPS Chowk at Sector 87. The authorities need to address this problem soon as it
presence of monkeys for many months. may lead to accidents. PRAMOD MINOCHA, FARIDABAD
Monkeys can often be seen roaming around
in the streets and they sometimes even enter
houses, forcing people to install iron grills in TOILETS AT AMBALA RLY STATION IN POOR CONDITION
open spaces. Although the residents have
raised this issue with the local authorities, no
action has been taken so far.
F OUL smell emanating from the toilets and the presence of tobacco sellers at the
second entry point of the Ambala Cantonment railway station have been causing a lot
of inconvenience to travellers. The Railways authorities should ensure hassle-free
SURESH GARG, UCHANA passage and proper maintenance of toilets at the station. RAVI KUMAR, AMBALA
THE TRIBUNE
CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2023 HARYANA 03
Khattar reaches out to Ambala airport will transform Rice exporters not to
voters in Shahzadpur buy basmati paddy
Tribune News Service
Meets farmers over
regional connectivity, says CM Karnal, October 15

Ambala, October 15
Haryana Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar today
reached out to rural voters in
Shahzadpur block and under-
stood their problems as part of
the Chief Minister’s Jan Sam-
vad Programme here .
The Chief Minister, who
started his Jan Samvad pro-
grammes, said, “I have come
here as a family member to
listen to the problems of the
people and get them
resolved. Over the past six
months of the programme,
26,000 applications have
been received, of which
nearly 7,000 have already
been resolved and remain-
ing are in the process. All
issues and complaints are
recorded and managed
through the online portal.”
During the Jan Samvad,
while the CM kept his focus on
mentioning the welfare
schemes being run by the gov-
ernment, the locals had a list of
long-pending issues.
Village sarpanches and resi-
dents raised issues of poor
roads, drainage, sewerage sys-
tem, aged trees, stadiums,
NDC, sanitation, repair of
dharmashala and religious
places and power supply. The
CM directed the officials of the
departments concerned to
resolve the issues.
The CM approved a sewer-
age system for Shahzadpur vil-
pending dues of
Naraingarh sugar mills
lage and announced a grant of
Rs 5 lakh for the construction
work of the Radha-Krishna Bal
Ashram at Naraiangarh.
During the programme, the
CM handed over pension cer-
tificates to 12 elderly persons.
The CM held a meeting with
farmer leaders to discuss the
issue of pending dues of
Naraingarh sugar mills.
BKU (Chaurni) district
Chief Malkeet Singh, said,
“We were holding a peaceful
demonstration but
administration arranged a
the
meeting with the Chief Min-
ister in which the Chief Min-
ister assured us that Rs 8.50
crore would be transferred
into the accounts of the
farmers in 4-5 days and the
remaining payment
cleared soon after the mill
begins its operation.”
Meanwhile, another
group of farmers was
apprehended by the police
for holding a demonstra-
tion over the same issue.
Samyukta Kisan Mazdoor
Inquilab Union leader Dharm
Vir Dhindsa said, “As many as
44 farmers were apprehend-
ed and taken to the CIA-
Shahazadpur police station.
We will continue to raise
farmers’ issues.
Lays foundation stone of Ambala’s civil enclave
Tribune News Service
Ambala, October 15
Haryana Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar per-
formed the “bhoomi poojan”
and laid the foundation
stone of the Ambala’s civil
enclave (domestic airport) in
Ambala Cantonment on
Sunday evening.
Deputy Chief Minister
Dushyant Chautala, Home
and Health Minister Anil
Vij and Rajya Sabha MP
Kartikey Sharma also
attended the ceremony.
The terminal of the civil
enclave is coming up on 20
acre, adjoining the air force
station in Ambala, at an esti-
mated cost of Rs 20.50 crore.
The runway of the Air Force is
to be used in the project.
While addressing a gather-
ing on the occasion, the CM
said, “The Ambala domestic
airport is set to transform the
connectivity in the region.
The establishment of the air-
port will not only attract
increased investments but
also foster industrial growth
in the region, leading to the
creation of numerous job
opportunities and infrastruc-
tural development.”
The Chief Minister said
Ambala’s domestic airport
would open routes for
Dehradun, Lucknow, Amrit-
‘Museum to
come up at
Agroha’
Chandigarh, October 15
Haryana Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar today
announced to establish a
museum at the historically sig-
nificant archaeological site of
Agroha in the state. The gov-
ernment would develop Agro-
ha on the lines of Rakhigarhi.
CM Manohar Lal Khattar lays the foundation stone of civil enclave. The CM made this
announcement during a
HAD TO WORK HARD FOR IT press conference held after
paying obeisance at the Mata
❝ The civil enclave project is very special to us as
we had to work very hard for it. Many people have
Mansa Devi temple on the
first day of Navratras in
Panchkula near here. Khat-
played crucial role in making the dream come true. tar said the archaeological site
We are grateful to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh of Agroha was historically sig-
for the approvals related to the defence land and the nificant as the capital of
Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister for their Maharaja Agrasen.
quick approvals for the project. Anil Vij, HOME MINISTER Through the development of
this site, not only would it
establish itself as a revered
sar, Jaipur, and Shimla. land has been acquired at a centre of faith, but also gain
Maharaja Agarsen Interna- cost of Rs 133 crore and the recognition as a prominent
tional Airport is being devel- domestic terminal will be tourist destination. He said the
oped in Hisar and soon some developed in the next six Centre had approved a com-
activities will start from there months.Under the UDAN prehensive development plan
and we will also get the bene-
fit of Jewar airport. Haryana
scheme, the Haryana Govern-
ment has applied for routes
for the Agroha archaeological
site and its surrounding areas
is gradually progressing in from Ambala to Srinagar, through a memorandum of
the civil aviation sector. Varanasi, Jaipur, Amritsar, understanding . He said the
Haryana ranks first among and Delhi. The budget of the excavation of Agroha site
the big states in terms of per Civil Aviation Department would be done jointly by the
capita income.” has been increased from Rs Archaeological Survey of India
Deputy Chief Minister 38 crore to 957 crore by the and the Haryana State Archae-
Dushyant Chautala said,“The government.” ology Department. — TNS
With the Government of India
retaining the Minimum
Export Price (MEP) Control
order on basmati exports at
$1,200 per tonne, the exporters
in the state have decided to
suspend the purchase of bas-
mati paddy and rice till a fresh
decision by the government.
They alleged the decision of
the Centre would lead to losses
to all stakeholders involved in
the business of basmati trade.
The Arhtiyas Association of
Haryana has also extended
support to the exporters.
“The Centre imposed the
MEP control order on basmati
exports ($1,200 per tonne) on
August 25, while there are
many basmati varieties that
are exported between $850
and $1,050 per tonne. The gap
between the MEP and the
actual export prices is very
high. Exporters feel the buyer
may shift to Pakistan and oth-
er countries, due to which the
exporters have decided to
suspend the purchase of bas-
mati paddy,” said Vijay Setia,
INLD names office-bearers
Chandigarh, October 15
National president of the
INLD Om Prakash Chautala
today named office-bearers of
the party at the national and
state levels. RS Chaudhary
and Prakash Bharti will be the
Want minimum
export price of
rice cut
former president of the All-
India Rice Exporters Associa-
tion (AIREA).
“Around 20 days ago, we were
assured by the Commerce
Minister that the government
would reduce the MEP, but
now it has announced not to do
so,” Setia added. AIREA presi-
dent Nathi Ram Gupta said
they would not purchase
basmati paddy till the issue
was resolved. Ashok Gupta
of the Arhtiyas Association
Haryana said they had
extended support to the rice
exporters. — TNS
new national senior vice-pres-
idents, while Abhay Chatuala
will be the secretary general.
Nafe Singh Rathi has been
retained president of the state
unit, according to a press note
issued here today. — TNS

127 cases of stubble Sirsa GST fraud

burning in one day
Tribune News Service
Karnal, October 15
Even after several initiatives
taken by the state government
and local authorities, including
imposition of penalties, there is
no respite from stubble burning
as farmers continue to defy the
orders by setting the crop
residue on fire across the state.
Haryana on Sunday recorded
the highest number (127) of
stubble burning cases in a day,
taking the total number of
such cases to 542 cases from
September 15 to October 15
this year. Last year, only 168
such incidents were reported
during the corresponding
period. In 2021, the number
stood at 850 across the state
during the same period.
With 80 cases, Fatehabad dis-
trict leads the tally, followed by
Ambala (79), Kurukshetra (67),
Jind (59), Kaithal (51), Sonepat
(42), Yamunanagar (42), Karnal
(39), Hisar (29), Palwal (24), Pani-
pat (14), Sirsa (six), Rohtak
(four), Jhajjar (three), Faridabad
(two) and Bhiwani (one).
The authorities said they
had been imposing fine on
violators. In Karnal only, the
department had imposed a
fine of Rs 62,500 on 21 farm-
ers, said Dr Wazir Singh,
Deputy Director Agriculture.
The Agriculture and Farm-
ers Welfare Department, in
coordination with other
departments, has been educat-
ing farmers about the ill-
effects of stubble burning. The
farmers are also being told
about the subsidy on equip-
ment for managing stubble.
Environment experts say
farm fires are affecting the
quality of air. Morning and
evening walkers feel itching in
the eyes and breathlessness.
They are also complaining of
skin-related issues, they say.
mastermind in
police net
Hisar, October 15
With the arrest of Ramesh
Arora, the special investiga-
tion team (SIT) has cracked
the Goods and Services Tax
(GST) fraud that also involved
Mahesh Bansal and Padam
Bansal. The trio is known as
‘MRP’ in Sirsa.
They are stated to be the
mastermind of the GST rack-
et operating in Sirsa.
The SIT members said the
trio had started Rs 300 crore
scam in Sirsa district by float-
ing fake and shell firms,
which showed false trade
entries and claimed the return
of input tax credit (ITC) on
GST. A Sirsa police
spokesperson said after
Mahesh and Padam, the SIT
also arrested Ramesh Arora
yesterday and he was
brought on remand till Octo-
ber 17. Shrikant Jadhav,
ADGP, Hisar range, said it
took nearly nine years to
bust the racket and arrest the
main suspects involved in
the multi-crore scam. — TNS

Construction stopped at 71 sites

in Sonepat to curb air pollution
Mukesh Tandon
Tribune News Service
Panipat, October 15
To control air pollution, the
Haryana State Pollution Con-
trol Board (HSPCB) has
stopped construction at 71
places in industrial zones at
Barhi, Kundli, Rai and Khark-
hoda in the district.
The air quality index (AQI) of
Sonepat was recorded 321 on
Saturday. The AQI of Panipat
was a moderate 129.
As per directions of the
HSPCB, it is mandatory to
register construction activities
in areas of 500 square metre or
more on the dust control portal
to monitor pollution levels.
The Commission for Air
Quality Management (CAQM)
has instructed officials con-
cerned to implement the grad-
ed response action plan
(GRAP) from October 1.
“There is no permission for
construction or demolition
activities on plot size equal to
or more than 500 square
metre, which are not regis-
tered on the web portal of the
pollution board, during the
implementation of GRAP,”
Water being sprinkled on a road
in Sonepat to check dust.
said an official of the pollution
board. Following the CAQM’s
directions, the HSPCB team
identified 71 construction sites
in residential and industrial
sectors, which were not regis-
tered on the dust monitoring
portal of the department, offi-
cials said. According to
sources, four sites have been
identified in the HSVP’s resi-
dential sectors, three in HSI-
IDC, Kundli, 17 in HSIIDC,
Rai, 41 in HSIIDC, Barhi, and
six in HSIIDC, Kharkhoda.
After identifying the sites,
the HSPCB served show-
cause notices on site owners
on September 28 and October
3, but they still didn’t register
on the portal.
Pradeep Singh, Regional
Officer (RO), HSPCB, instruct-
ed Estate Officers (EOs) of the
HSVP and HSIIDC to stop
construction on these sites
with immediate effect in com-
pliance of the CAQM’s direc-
tions and also sought action
taken report (ATR).
He said construction was
stopped on all 71 sites in resi-
dential and industrial areas.
Besides, a dedicated group on
WhatsApp had been formed.
He said, “Deputy Commis-
sioner, Sonepat, Municipal
Corporation Commissioner
and heads of various depart-
ments are members of the
group.” “The civic bodies in
Sonepat, Ganaur, Kundli and
Kharkhoda are sprinkling
water on roads to control dust
pollution,” the RO said.
“As many as 265 industries
in the district have shifted to
gas fuel while others are using
biomass, a much cleaner fuel,”
he said. “As many as 771
industries in the district,
which create air pollution, are
registered with the pollution
board,” the RO said. Officials
were keeping a close watch on
stubble burning incidents in
the district, the RO said.
04
PUNJAB SMALL INDUSTRIES & EXPORT
CORPORATION LTD. A State Government Undertaking
TENDER NOTICE
Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation Limited, Chandigarh
invites bids for the work of Supply, Installation, Testing and
Commissioning of 2 no. Canal Water Treatment Plants with 5
years' Operation & Maintenance based on Multi Grade Filtration
technique at Hi-Tech Valley, Dhanansu, Ludhiana.
Online Availability of tender
Closing Date & Time
Technical bid Opening date & time
For details log onto http://www.eproc.punjab.gov.in.
Note: Any corrigendum(s) to the Tender shall be published on the
above website only.
#18 Himalaya Marg, Udyog Bhawan, Sector 17A
Chandigarh 160017 | Phone: 2702301-305
3 months on, Lohian
houses still submerged
Deepkamal Kaur
From 16.10.2023 Tribune News Service
30.10.2023 at 03.00 PM Shahkot (Jalandhar), Oct 15
31.10.2023 at 03.00 PM Even as three months have
passed since the floods hit
Lohian in the district, several
Executive Engineer - I houses in villages near points
where breaches had occurred
are still surrounded by water.
Since the river waters
have inundated fields
around the breaches, these
remain submerged under
10-12 feet of water even now
and there is no hope that
these will dry out anytime
soon. With the Sutlej flow-
ing about a kilometre away
from such waterlogged
areas, there is little chance
to pump out the water.
Jasvir Kaur, whose house
was right in front of the point
where a 950-foot breach had
occurred, showed how it was
still surrounded from all
sides by water. “We came
home recently and there was
still a lot of water even in our
verandahs. We had to live in a
PUNJAB SMALL INDUSTRIES & EXPORT
CORPORATION LTD. A State Government Undertaking
TENDER NOTICE
Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation Limited, Chandigarh
invites bids for the work of Upgradation of Water Supply System at
IFP Abohar. (Estimated cost - Rs. 95.19 Lakh)
Online Availability of tender
Closing Date & Time
Technical bid Opening date & time
For details log onto http://www.eproc.punjab.gov.in.
Note: Any corrigendum(s) to the Tender shall be published on the above
website only.
Executive Engineer - III
#18 Himalaya Marg, Udyog Bhawan, Sector 17A
Chandigarh 160017 | Phone: 2702301-305
PUNJAB
rented accommodation for
three months in Lohian. We
were able to return home but
that too after a team of Rajya
Sabha MP Balbir Singh
Seechewal got the water from
my house pumped out. They
also helped us contruct a
raised passage for entry to
our house,” she said.
Similarly, Munshi and other
residents of Dhakka Basti area
said that their houses were
completely damaged and all
their belongings lost, but they
did not get any compensation.
“Worse is that for the past three
months, we are still commut-
ing on boats as the water level
is not going down,” he added.
Likewise, Joginder Singh, a
farmer of Mundi Shehrian
village, said that he too had
got no compensation for the
loss of crop and cracks which
had appeared in his house.
Salwinder Singh of Mandala
Chhana village said that Rs
6,800 per acre compensation,
which he had got, was too less.
From 16.10.2023
30.10.2023 at 03.00 PM
31.10.2023 at 03.00 PM
Ex-Cong leaders’ ‘ghar wapsi’
may take some more time
Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 15
The formal ‘ghar wapsi’
of former Congress lead-
ers, who had joined the
BJP last year, may take a
few days.
Back-end efforts to molli-
fy the annoyed leaders
have begun on the instruc-
tions of the party high com-
mand. It is learnt that Pun-
jab Congress leaders have
been told to analyse differ-
FILE
ent permutations and com-
binations to adjust them by
taking the senior leader-
ship in confidence.
Last evening, a meeting
was organised by Leader of
the Opposition Partap Singh
Bajwa at his residence, in
which party leaders and the
former Congress leaders,
who had met AICC general
secretary in Delhi on Friday,
were present. PPCC chief
Amrinder Raja Warring did
Rice millers’ strike hits lifting,
chokes mandis with paddy
Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 15
The ongoing strike by rice
millers in many parts of
Punjab is impacting the
paddy procurement opera-
tions, with mandis being
glutted with grains as their
lifting has come to a near
halt. Over 65 per cent of the
paddy purchased so far has
not been lifted from mandis.
As of today, 14.88 lakh metric
tonnes (LMT) of paddy is lying
in the mandis with the rice
shelling units refusing to let
the government stock the
newly purchased paddy on
their premises.
Paddy procured is cleaned,
stored in bags and then lift-
ed from mandis and sent to
the rice shelling units. It is
only after its shelling that
the rice is delivered to gov-
ernment agencies.
The rice millers in the state
have been on strike for the
past three days over the rejec-
tion of the fortified rice kernel
(FRK) blended rice by the
Government of India. The
millers claim they have no role
in the quality of FRK that they
get to blend (1kg FRK in 99kg
of custom milled rice) as the
FRK is purchased from GoI-
notified manufacturers. “But
heavy fines are being imposed
on us for the poor quality of
FRK manufactured by some-
Farmer earns
~16L by selling
paddy straw
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 15
Gurpreet Singh Kuthala, a
26-year-old farmer from
Kuthala village in Malerkotla
district, has been earning
well by selling paddy straw,
which most of the farmers
consider a liability.
He grabbed the opportunity
by buying an ex-situ
machine, a straw rake and a
baler, provided by the govern-
ment at 50 per cent subsidy.
Has bought ex situ
machine, a straw rake
and a baler
The progressive farmer is a
Class XII passout and culti-
vating a total of 40 acres (10
acres of his own and 30 acres
on lease).
Besides, he had signed a
contract with Sangrur
RNG Bio Gas Plant, Panj-
garaian, to supply 12,000
quintals of paddy straw
bales last year and earned
around Rs 16 lakh by sell-
ing the same.
Efforts to mollify annoyed partymen on
FORMER MINISTERS WHO WANT TO REJOIN PARTY
Those who want to rejoin the party include former Cabinet
ministers Dr Raj Kumar Verka, Sunder Sham Arora, Gur-
preet Kangar, Balbir Sidhu, Hans Raj Josan, besides Amrik
Singh Dhillon and Dr Mohinder Rinwa. While Verka, Arora,
Kangar and Sidhu had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party,
Dr Rinwa and Josan the Shiromani Akali Dal
not attend the meeting as he
was still in Delhi.
Sources said a meeting on
the sidelines of the two-day
Paddy bags lie on Rajpura grain market auction platform. TRIBUNE PHOTO
Over 65% of crop procured but not lifted
one else. We only blended
what we got,” Bharat Bhushan
Binta, president of the Punjab
Rice Industries Association.
According to the data avail-
able from the Punjab Mandi
Board, 23.69 LMT of paddy
has arrived in the mandis till
today. Of it, 22.71 LMT has
been purchased. But only 7.83
LMT of paddy has been lifted,
which is just 34.47 per cent of
the total purchased stock.
Ravinder Singh Cheema,
president of the Arhtiya Associ-
ation of Punjab, said he had
received reports from 60 of the
biggest mandis, including
Khanna, Rajpura, Banur,
Patiala, Sirhind, Kharar, Kotka-
pura, Mandi Ahmedgarh, get-
ting choked as arrivals are in
full swing and lifting was not
taking place.
Punjab records surplus rain
till mid-Oct, Jalandhar wettest
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 15
Amid intermittent spells of
rain over northwest India, Pun-
jab has recorded significantly
surplus rain in the first half of
October. The rainfall, however,
has been deficient in Haryana
and Himachal Pradesh.
In Punjab, rain has been
above by 115 per cent during
this period. From October 1
till the morning today, the
state received 11.2 mm rain
as compared to the normal of
5.2 mm for this period,
according to data compiled
by the India Meteorological
Department (IMD).
Drone seized along IB
Ferozepur: The BSF jawans
found a drone lying in the fields
at Chak Bhange Wala village
near Border Outpost Gatti Hayat
in Ferozepur sector. Officials said
Harpreet Singh and Sukhchain
Singh of Chak Bhange Wala vil-
lage informed the Company
Commander that a drone was
lying in their fields. OC
CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2023
Vidhan Sabha session had
been planned on October 20
and 21. Not all former lead-
ers would rejoin the Con-
In Rajpura, commission
agent Mahinder Krishan
Chand Arora, said there was
not a yard of vacant space in
the mandi. About 18 lakh bags
of the total 22 lakh bags of pad-
dy purchased in the mandi
had not been lifted, he said.
Tarsem Saini, president of
the Punjab Rice Millers
Association, said they had
had meetings with the state
government on the issue of
their harassment over the
FRK-blended rice being
rejected by the FCI. “Though
they have assured of taking
up the matter with the Cen-
tre, we will continue with our
strike till our demand of
accepting our previous
years’ FRK-blended rice is
accepted and no miller is
unjustly punished,” he said.
Light to moderate rain
occurred at many places in the
state over the past 24 hours,
bringing down the maximum
temperature in some place
and the minimum tempera-
ture in almost all places.
Jalandhar was the wettest
district during the fortnight,
with rainfall being surplus by
408 per cent, followed by
Fatehgarh Sahib with 310 per
cent and Kapurthala with 269
per cent. Patiala, Ferozepur,
Amritsar, Ludhiana and SBS
Nagar are among the districts
that received more than dou-
ble the normal rainfall.
During this period, south-
western Punjab remained dry,
KIRTAN AND ANTIM ARDAS
With profound grief and sorrow we inform that
S. Gurcharan Singh Randhawa
son of Principal Tara Singh, left for his heavenly
abode on 11th October 2023.
Kirtan and Antim Ardas will be held on
18th October, 2023 at Sri Guru Singh Sabha
Gurudwara Sahib, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana.
Grief Stricken:-
Dr. (Mrs.) Surinder Randhawa
Dr. Munroop Randhawa & Dr. Harkamal Shergill (Daughter & Son-in-Law)
Dr. Taproop Randhawa & Er. Amrinder Pal Virk (Daughter & Son-in-Law)
Mobile: 98145-41716
THE TRIBUNE
gress as there were issues
with them. In Malwa, some
Congress leaders raised
objection to joining of for-
mer Akali leader Jeet
Mohinder Sidhu and former
Congress MLA Amrik Singh
Dhillon and former minister
Sunder Sham Arora.
On Friday, there was stiff
opposition from different
quarters within the Congress
that delayed the return of for-
mer Congress leaders. The
leaders were told to join in
Chandigarh.
Among the leaders who
had landed in Delhi includ-
ed former Cabinet minis-
ters Dr Raj Kumar Verka,
Sunder Sham Arora, Gur-
preet Kangar, Balbir Sidhu,
Hans Raj Josan, besides
Amrik Singh Dhillon and
Dr Mohinder Rinwa. While
Verka, Arora, Kangar and
Sidhu had joined the BJP,
Dr Rinwa and Josan had
joined SAD.
Bajwa for probe
into ‘fake’
registrations at
Aam Aadmi Clinics
Chandigarh, October 15
Following the exposé of the
registration of fake patients
at Aam Aadmi Clinics in Pun-
jab, the Leader of Opposition
(LoP) in Punjab Vidhan Sab-
ha, Partap Singh Bajwa, on
Sunday slammed the AAP
government in Punjab for
launching a faulty health
model in the state.
Bajwa said that Patiala
Deputy Commissioner had
ordered a special audit after
the revelation that an Aam
Aadmi Clinic in the district
had been allegedly register-
ing fake patients. As per the
news report, under its flag-
ship health project, the AAP
government offers Rs 50 per
patient to the doctors deput-
ed at these clinics.
However, a doctor gets a fixed
salary of around Rs 63,000 per
month. A clinical assistant and
a pharmacist get a minimum
salary of Rs 11,000 and Rs
12,000, respectively.
“The possibility of some
bigger scam with the com-
plicity of some highly placed
officials in the Health
Department cannot be ruled
out. It is an open loot of Pun-
jab taxpayers’ money. A
thorough probe or a special
audit into the alleged scam
must be conducted at all the
mohalla and Aam Aadmi
Clinics in the state,”
Bajwa added.—TNS
with Fazilka, Muktsar, Farid-
kot, Bathinda and Mansa not
receiving any rain. Tarn
Taran, Hoshiarpur, Ropar,
Mohali, Pathankot and Bar-
nala received below normal
rainfall, with the deficiency
ranging up to 61 per cent.
The weatherman has pre-
dicted light to moderate rain-
fall at many places accompa-
nied with isolated
thunderstorm and lightning
over Jammu and Kashmir,
Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Haryana,
Chandigarh and Punjab on
October 15 and 16, and isolat-
ed rainfall on October 17 over
the above areas.
(Wife)
DI-19091
THE TRIBUNE CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2023 05
06
OPINION THE TRIBUNE CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2023

THE TRIBUNE
established in 1881 Israel, Palestine at a crossroads
Ruthless vengeance cannot be a substitute for a pragmatic and ethical long-term policy
Empowered CAG on identity politics and confer
Guardian of public purse must stay independent high priority on members of a
particular religious community

T
HE office of the Comptroller and Auditor as preferred citizens. This has
also been referred to as religious
General (CAG) of India has dismissed as
nationalism, communal nation-
baseless the claim that the transfer of three
alism and, by some scholars, as
officers was linked to the submission of fascist communalism.
reports critical of the Modi government’s C UDAY BHASKAR In this formulation, the Jewish
flagship Bharatmala and Ayushman Bharat schemes. A DIRECTOR, SOCIETY FOR state can take recourse to any
news portal had reported that the officers were han- POLICY STUDIES action to safeguard what it per-

T
dling the audit reports that had exposed corruption.
Alleging intimidation of officers and questioning the HE Gaza war has
government’s silence about the matter, the Congress entered its second
has demanded the cancellation of the transfers. The week, with Hamas’
CAG report, it has said, documented 1,400 per cent cost terror attack draw-
inflation and tendering irregularities in the Dwarka ing a fierce retalia-
Expressway project, and faulty bidding practices as well tory response from Israel. The
as 60 per cent cost inflation of the Bharatmala scheme. death toll is rising with each
passing hour, leaving a trail of
An audit of Ayushman Bharat showed that lakhs of
bloodshed. The ground situa-
claims were paid to dead patients and at least 7.5 lakh
tion is highly kinetic, and
beneficiaries were linked to a single mobile number. there is a possibility that the
During the UPA rule, CAG reports used to be a violence will escalate.
lethal weapon in the hands of the Opposition. The Since the onset of the war,
CAG emerged as a key institution responsible for over 1,300 Israelis have lost
ensuring accountability. Having been at the receiving their lives. Meanwhile, Israeli
end, the Congress has accused the BJP of imposing airstrikes on Gaza have result-
curbs on the custodian of the public purse since 2014. ed in the death of more than
Following the latest controversy, the CAG has denied 2,300 Palestinians so far.
issuing verbal orders to stop all field work. It has point- A million Palestinians have
ed out that the approval of audit reports has been on been forced to flee to safety.
the rise under the incumbent, Girish Chandra Murmu, Egypt is reported to have taken
‘unprecedented measures’ to
a Gujarat-cadre officer who was appointed as the CAG
prevent its borders with Gaza
in 2020 after serving as the first Lieutenant Governor
from being breached by
of J&K. These facts are not under dispute. The refugees and cautioned that
empowerment and independent functioning of the Israel’s potential ground inva-
institution, free from government control and political sion of the territory will be a
bias, are at the core of the debate. ‘grave mistake’.
The office of the CAG has spoken about fulfilling its While the stated Israeli objec-
constitutional duty to ensure transparency and tive is to eliminate Hamas, the ter-
accountability in governance. Nothing less is expected. rorist group responsible for the
attack being described as Israel’s
9/11 (a comparison with the terror
attacks against the US on Sep-
DASTARDLY: The terror attack by Hamas has dealt a big blow to the Palestinian cause of statehood. AP
of land by settlers, transformed
Palestine into the world’s
largest and most oppressive
open-air prison. Around two
million Palestinians live in
ghettos that are densely popu-
lated and their daily lives are
continuously monitored by a
harsh surveillance system.
While Palestine, with Yasser
Arafat as its distinctive voice, was
a major issue for the Arab/Muslim
world during the Cold War
decades, the support the Palestin-
ian cause received has progres-
sively waned. The US ambiva-
lence regarding statehood for
Palestine and Israeli intransi-
gence has resulted in an impasse,
and in the light of more recent
regional geopolitical develop-
ments, it appeared that an equi-
table resolution of the Palestine
issue had gone off the global
Hamas does not
represent the broader
voice of Palestine, and
numerous liberal
voices have expressed
their disapproval of the
group’s terror tactics.
lance grid and military infra-
structure during the initial
hours of the Hamas attack. Was
it merely a case of total systemic
collapse and institutional inep-
titude? Or, as some Israeli mili-
tary veterans seem to suggest,
though it may sound heretical,
was it caused by corruption,
including clandestine collusion
with the enemy? These are ear-
ly weeks and only a more
detailed investigation into the
failures that led to the October 7
attack will provide answers to
the many questions that are
being raised both within Israel
and beyond. The fake news and
disinformation campaigns only
add to the opaque murkiness.
The second aspect relates to a
structural determinant — the
causal factors that have led to
this cycle of violence. Israel, like
ceives as its interests, even at the
expense of denying Palestinians
their homeland, historical rights
and human dignity.
Pitted against this religious
nationalism is the ugly face of
religious exceptionalism, as
manifested by Hamas (and oth-
er Islamist terror groups),
wherein death to the Jews is pre-
sented as an immutable tenet
that is theologically ordained.
Clearly, this template is highly
deplorable and should be reject-
ed, and, if necessary, groups that
espouse such an ideology
should be neutralised by force
when warranted. The October 7
attack would qualify as one such
exigency — but at what cost to
innocent Palestinians?
In this bleak scenario, where
both Hamas and Israel are
locked in a ‘heads you win, tails
I lose’ cul-de-sac, the chimera of
ensuring ‘security’ at the cost of
mortgaging ‘peace’ is striking.
Israel, till recently, was the
exemplar of a state that priori-
tised military security at any
cost. However, in the process, it
has not been at peace with itself
or its colonised, non-Jewish
Palestinian inhabitants.
Whether Israel will invest in

G20 crypto roadmap

tember 11, 2001), the collateral radar — until October 7. However, the reprehensible Pakistan, is an ab initio nation- security or peace after this
damage to the civilian population Nonetheless, the dastardly ter- acts of terror by Hamas and other state, which means that there current cycle of bloodshed is
in Palestine will be immense. ror attack by Hamas targeting groups cannot justify the numer- was no such entity prior to 1948. uncertain. For now, it is seek-
It’s vital in view of major scams This violation of international Israeli civilians and foreign ous instances of Israeli mass Religion was the determining ing retribution. But as the US

T
law and normative humanitarian tourists, while bringing attention killings and the prolonged suffer- factor of the nascent nation, with experience in its global war
HE adoption of the crypto roadmap by the tenets is not new, and the target- to the Palestine issue in a chilling ing of Palestinians, including a narrative of persecution sym- against terror after 9/11 has
finance ministers and central bank gover- ing of innocent civilians has a dia- manner, has also dealt a severe their expulsion from their home- bolised by Hitler’s genocidal demonstrated, ruthless
nors of the G20 nations to deal with the chal- bolical past since the advent of air- blow to the cause of statehood. land, over the past 75 years. policies laying the foundation for vengeance cannot be a substi-
power in the early 20th century. Hamas, with its anti-Jewish Two aspects of the ongoing legitimising the relentless occu- tute for a pragmatic and ethi-
lenges posed by crypto assets is a step in the
The long-festering Palestine zealotry, does not represent the violence warrant consideration pation of Palestinian territory cal long-term policy — one
right direction. The International Monetary
issue has a complex and tangled broader voice of Palestine, and as this conflict continues to and the expulsion of its non-Jew- that foregrounds human secu-
Fund and the Financial Stability Board have recom- history, but it is now accepted numerous liberal voices have intensify. Firstly, the scale of the ish population. Academics have rity and dignity of all inhabi-
mended that while crypto assets should not become that over the past 75 years, expressed their disapproval of surprise factor that seems to described such a pursuit as pseu- tants of a tortured region that
legal tender, they should also not be banned as prohibi- Israel has, through its military the group’s terror tactics, have completely stunned Israel do-nationalism, which consists is venerated as their holy land
tion is a costly exercise and difficult to enforce. The plan power and forceful occupation although without much success. and its much-vaunted surveil- of those movements that build by the Semitic faiths.
to reach out to other nations for regulatory support is
also timely in view of the frauds detected in the crypto thought for the day
world, which is not confined to geographical borders.
A major scam has just been unearthed by the Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. —Mahatma Gandhi
Himachal Pradesh Police with the arrest of two king-
pins belonging to the state and their accomplice, a
former HP cop, from Punjab. While investigations
into the case are underway, the scam is believed to be
worth Rs 400 crore and thousands of people from the
state and beyond have been swindled out of their
An incredibly Difficult time for BJP
letters to the editor
Crisis in Gaza
money. Their modus operandi was to lure people to
invest in the ‘Korvio Coin’ cryptocurrency with the
promise of attractive returns, like in a Ponzi scheme.
suitable match Apropos of ‘No easy pickings for the BJP’
(Nous Indica); the BJP has reached a point of
no return. It capitalised on the Balakot
The crisis in Gaza demands a swift and just
resolution. Israel’s decision to maintain the
Gaza siege until hostages are freed is under-
The multilevel chain marketing structure enabled Col PS Randhawa (retd) airstrikes in the last General Election. Howev- standable, but the repercussions of such
the cheats to rip off gullible customers by paying er, in the upcoming five Assembly elections, actions are severe. The US, as a global leader,

handsome returns to the initial few investors and
then pulling the rug from under their feet.
Framing regulatory procedures for this form of
financial dealing, as also for the digital currency, is
vital. The advocacy of global coordination and infor-
mation-sharing on crypto assets and ensuring compli-
ance with FATF (Financial Action Task Force) stan-
dards on crypto assets will help curb scams. Lakhs of
investors worldwide are still reeling under the multi-
billion-dollar impact of last year’s sudden collapse of
FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency
exchanges. Remedial steps are urgently needed.
on this day...100 years ago
lahore,tuesday, october 16, 1923
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE SIKHS
IT is safe to assert that the drastic action which the authorities have
just taken in Amritsar and elsewhere has created a situation of
unprecedented difficulty both for the government and the people.
Never before now, except perhaps in the days of Martial Law, were
so many persons, holding eminent positions in their community,
simultaneously arrested for alleged offences against the state of the
gravest character. And even in the days of Martial Law, the govern-
ment did not proclaim a public body of the importance, reputation
and authority of the SGPC as an unlawful association. Into the mer-
its of the cases against the arrested persons we have, of course, no
desire to enter. Not only are the cases sub-judice, but we know little
or nothing about them. Our sole concern is with the question of pol-
icy, which in this case is more important than the question of law and
technical justice. The question which the government must ask
itself and must answer at the bar of public opinion is — is its action
wise, expedient and statesmanlike? It cannot deny that some of the
persons arrested are among the recognised, foremost leaders of their
community. Does not the arrest on such a charge of such persons
amount both to a condemnation of the community and of itself? Nor
can it deny that the body of which these persons were members and
which the government has, in the exercise of powers expressly vest-
ed in it for emergency purposes, proclaimed to be an unlawful asso-
ciation is one whose representative character it has itself recognised
again and again before now, and with which it has repeatedly
entered into negotiations for the settlement of issues deeply affect-
ing the Sikh community as a whole.
M
Y wife and I recently attended a get-together of vet- the BJP may encounter challenges due to must urgently advocate for restraint on all
erans in Jaisalmer, where retired officers — some of its own missteps, including neglecting sides to prevent escalation. A diplomatic
with/without their spouses — enjoyed quality time. several party stalwarts. Both the BJP in gener- approach that prioritises dialogue over aggres-
It was great fun doing sightseeing, shopping, etc. Flights to al and the Prime Minister in particular recog- sion is crucial for fostering peace and stability
Jaisalmer usually start in the tourist season, i.e. the winter. nise that making baseless allegations against in the region. It is imperative that the interna-
Otherwise, one has to reach there by road or rail. the Opposition will not be effective. In a tional community works collaboratively to
On our return trip, we shared a taxi with a couple. As the democracy, no matter how powerful a political address the root causes of the conflict and find
journey was long, we got to know each other quite well. party may be, when its mismanagement is a sustainable resolution that ensures the safe-
Both husband and wife are Punjabis settled in Bhopal. exposed, the people tend to reject it. ty and well-being of all involved.
The retired officer had a few postings in Bhopal; he liked CAPT AMAR JEET (RETD), KHARAR NAVNEET KAUR, JAMSHEDPUR
the place and settled there. His married daughter is also
settled in the capital of Madhya Pradesh. Media must help voters Launch more Poshan schemes
Out of curiosity, my wife asked the officer’s better half: Refer to ‘No easy pickings for the BJP’ (Nous Refer to ‘Hunger pangs’; the Global Hunger
‘How did you first meet each other?’ The husband replied: Indica); the write-up, besides being informa- Index report, ranking India 111th out of 125
‘Ours is an unbelievable story. She was virtually married to tive and educative, is politically relevant and countries, is deeply concerning. The govern-
me even before she was born!’ Now that made me sit up. timely. The article effectively holds up a mir- ment’s attempt to discredit the report’s
The parents of the officer and his wife are distant rela- ror to the BJP trio of PM Modi, Amit Shah and methodology lacks conviction, particularly
tives. Before the woman’s birth, her mother bore chil- JP Nadda. The notion that the ends justifies when the National Family Health Survey also
dren, but unfortunately they didn’t survive. All kinds of the means has unfortunately become the reveals a significant increase in the neonatal
treatments were tried out, but none worked. One day, a bane of today’s electoral politics, and it mortality rate. Furthermore, the Poshan Tracker
soothsayer suggested: ‘Pledge your unborn child to be appears that no party is immune to this trend. paints a grim picture of the numerous malnour-
betrothed to someone’s son/daughter. It will survive.’ It Easy gains and opportunism often dictate poll ished children in the country. It is both ironic
so happened that the officer in question, about four years strategies, leading to alliances, defections and and shameful that a self-sufficient, food-surplus
old then, and his father visited the childless parents betrayals. It is incumbent on the media to nation like ours is grappling with hunger and
around this time. They told the boy’s father that in case a help voters distinguish between genuine malnutrition, ranking below countries such as
girl was born, she would be married to him when he grew commitment and empty promises. Pakistan and Nepal. The government should
up. The father agreed to the proposal. LALIT BHARADWAJ, PANCHKULA prioritise launching initiatives like the Poshan
As luck would have it, a girl was born in the family. She Abhiyaan to ensure access to nutritious food,
survived. So did her younger siblings. The officer was told Israel must heed calls for restraint clean water and sanitation for all.
about the match only after he entered college. The woman, Refer to ‘Exercise restraint’; war is a syn- CS MANN, UNA
too, came to know about it when she was in college. Both onym for human suffering, yet it continues
were staying in different cities and could not meet each to erupt frequently. Despite its extensively Spectre of Khalistan
other. She recalled that at times her siblings would tease discussed counter-terror capabilities, Israel Refer to ‘The bogey of Khalistan must be put to
her by saying that she was already married. Subsequently, failed to take pre-emptive measures against rest once and for all’; the spectre of Khalistan
they met, with the permission — and in the presence — of terror attacks by Hamas militants. Israel has must be decisively addressed. However, articles
their parents. He was in the Army, and was allowed to write ordered Palestinians in northern Gaza to in the press continue to keep the issue alive. The
letters to his would-be wife by her parents. On getting com- evacuate for their safety, but will Hamas writer feels that the government doesn’t treat
missioned as an officer, his in-laws came to the ceremony allow this to happen? Bombarding vulnera- the minorities well, and he points to the farmers’
without her as the wedding was to be held soon. And final- ble people, who may already be suffering due agitation as an example. However, he has forgot-
ly they got married, and it had been 45 years since then. to a lack of essential resources like food, ten that the agitation received support from
When asked whether he or she or their parents thought water and fuel, would be tantamount to com- Khalistanis abroad. Sikhs have held prominent
about getting them married to someone else, he replied: ‘Yes, mitting war crimes. Israel should heed the positions in India; this serves as substantial evi-
her mother wanted a better match for her daughter, but she calls for restraint from the US and the UN dence that there is no discrimination against
and her father stood their ground.’ and consider the humanitarian conse- minorities. Khalistan finds no support in India
Those were the days when young people did not have quences of its actions. and mainly exists in media narratives.
many demands from each other and learned to accept each HL SHARMA, AMRITSAR WG CDR CL SEHGAL (RETD), JALANDHAR
other despite being from Mars and Venus. Ask parents
today how difficult it is to make their young sons/daughters Letters to the Editor, typed in double space, should not exceed the 200-word limit.
say yes to a marriage proposal. Indeed, those were the days! These should be cogently written and can be sent by e-mail to: Letters@tribunemail.com
THE TRIBUNE CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2023
OPED 07

The right to be born alive is non-negotiable

ing from lactational amenor- risk to life of the pregnant MTP is based on the legal
rhea and depression, the woman or grave injury to her and constitutional sanctity
same Bench had concurred physical or mental health or of the unborn child’s right
in allowing the termination there is substantial risk that to be born alive.
of her pregnancy after if the child is born, it would The mail of the doctor seek-
obtaining a medical report suffer from physical or men- ing a clarification on the
from AIIMS. tal abnormalities. A pregnan- question of stopping the
The review of the MTP per- cy of more than 24 weeks heartbeat of a viable foetus
KP SINGH mission granted earlier was may be terminated only with adds another dimension to
FORMER DGP, HARYANA necessitated when the doctor the permission of the court. the issue. It must not be tak-

W
HAT could
have been
just another
case of med-
ical termina-
tion of pregnancy (MTP) has
turned out to be a substantial
question of law involving
issues of recognising the sanc-
tity of professional ethics, pre-
serving constitutional morali-
ty, protecting rights of the
unborn child and respecting
an individual’s right on one’s
own body. These issues
cropped up last week during
the hearing before a three-
judge Bench of the Supreme
Court of the petition of a
woman seeking permission to
abort her 26-week pregnancy.
On October 11, the opinion
of an all-women two-judge
Bench of the court was divid-
ed, warranting the constitu-
tion of a larger Bench when
the fact was brought to its
notice by the Central Govern-
ment that the heart of the foe-
tus to be aborted with its per-
mission was beating and it
was a viable child. Earlier,
considering the prayer of the
woman that she was suffer-
who was assigned the task to
perform the MTP wrote a
mail to the Additional Solici-
tor-General, seeking direc-
tions from the SC whether he
could stop the heartbeat of
the foetus before terminating
the pregnancy, as is usually
done while performing the
process on an abnormal foe-
tus but is generally not done
in the case of a normal foetus.
The doctor wrote that the foe-
tus appeared to be ‘viable’,
indicating a ‘strong possibil-
ity of survival’.
It is not that a pregnancy of
26 weeks or more was to be
terminated for the first time.
On September 7, 2017, the
SC even allowed a teenaged
rape survivor to abort her 32-
week pregnancy. The instant
case is unique because, per-
haps haunted by the Hippo-
cratic oath and professional
ethics, the doctor requested
for directions from the SC to
unburden him from the
guilt of performing an act
akin to homicide.
As per Modi’s Medical
Jurisprudence and Toxicolo-
gy, a treatise on forensic med-
icine, human life begins in
FAIR AND SQUARE: The MTP Act strikes a balance between the genuine need for a safe abortion in
certain situations and the right of a foetus to be born alive. ISTOCK
the mother’s body at the
moment of conception. With-
in 7-10 days of conception,
the ovum gets implanted on
the wall of the womb; up to
three months, the ovum is a
lump of flesh. After that, the
placenta is formed and the
organs start appearing and
showing their presence on
the foetus one by one. A foe-
tus of more than seven
months is called a “viable
child”, capable of being
reared if born prematurely.
Causing miscarriage and
abortion is prohibited in law
and criminalised the world
over. The Indian Penal Code,
too, recognises the right of a
foetus to be born alive and
even penalises the pregnant
mother if she voluntarily
agrees to undergo abortion.
Civil laws accord the status of
a legal person to an unborn
child and protect his/her right
to inherit property. At the
same time, the MTP Act,
1971, gives women the right
The issue before to abort in certain situations.
The Act strikes a fair bal-
the Supreme ance between the genuine
Court involves need for a safe abortion in
certain situations and the
adjudication on right of a foetus to be born
competing alive. As per the Act, preg-
nancy up to 24 weeks may be
demands of the terminated by following the
stakeholders. prescribed procedure, that is,
if the continuance of the
pregnancy would involve
In the case pending before
the SC, none of the circum-
stances that would justify the
MTP appears to be present,
as the foetus is reported to be
normal. The woman wants to
get rid of the pregnancy
because she is said to be suf-
fering from lactational amen-
orrhea and depression, which
cannot be termed as a life-
threatening situation, but
may cause discomfort and
inconvenience to her.
In such a situation, the
issue before the SC is not
merely a question of law and
procedures; it involves adju-
dication on competing
demands of the stakeholders.
One argument in favour of
allowing the MTP is that the
rights of a woman on her
body must triumph, respect-
ing her individuality, which
she may exercise by choosing
not to give birth to a child.
This argument appears to be
logical on the face of it, but it
needs a close scrutiny as not
to give birth and not to give
birth to a foetus in the womb
are two distinct propositions.
On the other hand, the
argument against allowing
en as an individual’s reflec-
tion; it is a statement of the
perpetual professional dilem-
ma and mental agony of the
whole medical fraternity,
which needs a permanent
solution. It has also put the
judiciary in a fix over
whether such an issue should
be decided by resorting to the
power of logic or listening to
the heartbeats of the unborn.
On October 12, the three-
judge Bench observed that it
could not kill the child as no
abnormality had been
noticed in the foetus, as per
the medical examination
report. At the same time, the
Bench said that it had to bal-
ance the rights of the unborn
child vis-a-vis the rights of
the woman. Prudence sug-
gests that it is not advisable
to intervene in a natural
process all the time; let
nature take its own course.
The judiciary is divinity
personified and has the
sacred duty to stand up for all
those who cannot fend for
themselves. There should be
no doubt that the unborn
child has the non-negotiable
right to be born alive.

Anti-terror forces should learn lessons from Hamas attack

cally forming the core of its that Israel’s preparedness and Hamas, one cannot
capabilities, backed by cut- was challenged politically. ignore the basics of border
ting-edge surveillance tech- The PM’s decision politicised management. Despite
nology. Of late, Israel has the army, as many senior gen- Israel’s significant invest-
carved out a significant com- erals opposed the reforms, ments in intercepting low-
parative advantage in sur- and caused divisions in the cost missiles by Hamas, the
veillance technology start- ranks as well. Hamas may infiltration and attacks
ups. These companies export have exaggerated the turbu- reveal a failure to have tradi-
LUV PURI their technology to various lence in the Israeli political tional and old-school
JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR countries as vendors and context because of this, but manned border checkpoints

I
N the past decade,
with the possible con-
sent of the Israeli secu-
rity establishment,
several books, includ-
ing those written by former
Mossad officials, and OTT
shows such as Fauda have
focused on the heroics of
the Israeli security appara-
tus in a turbulent environ-
ment. This literature and
mass media content have
not only made a global audi-
ence familiar with the chal-
lenges that security agen-
cies face but also provided
psychological insights.
The Israeli-Palestine con-
flict is arguably the most
reported and analysed con-
frontation across the world.
Its vivid details, captured by
journalists and scholars who
have lived in the region for
years, are in the public
domain. The October 7
Hamas attack provides les-
sons for various countries
that are involved in anti-ter-
ror operations. The Israeli
lapses need to be scrutinised.
Intelligence and counter-
terrorism preparedness are
related to the relevant politi-
cal and societal contexts.
Israel’s counter-terrorism
efforts are unique, with
human intelligence histori-
actively recruit individuals
with diverse linguistic skill
sets on a global scale.
The Hamas attack has
revealed the limitations of
surveillance technology, as it
appears that Hamas may
have trained, planned and
executed it without leaving
any discernible digital trace.
The old-school and tradition-
al human intelligence, sup-
ported by knowledge and
grip on societal and situation-
al nuances and develop-
ments, cannot be entirely
substituted by technological
surveillance. In fact, in many
instances, it has been proved
that technological surveil-
lance can lead to faulty con-
clusions on account of wrong
analyses of a spoken or writ-
ten word, leading to wastage
of resources and, in some
instances, wrongful deten-
tions. To be fair to Israel, it is
operating in a difficult and
exceptional environment.
Mossad’s human intelli-
gence has historically
excelled in infiltrating Pales-
tinian society, elite circles in
neighbouring countries,
many of which are hostile.
This has significantly con-
tributed to its reputation.
However, in the recent
attack, human intelligence
was clearly lacking, and this
UNPREPARED:The infiltration shows Israel failed to have old-school manned border checkpoints at key places. AP
came at a huge cost.
There is little doubt that
domestically, Israel has suc-
cessfully established the only
truly functional multi-ethnic
democracy in West Asia, even
though it faces criticism for
its human rights record with
respect to Palestinians. The
internal political system
allows dissent much similar
to the political landscape of
Western countries and one
can openly criticise the poli-
cies of the ruling elite without
being victimised. There is
also a broad spectrum of
Israeli society that has dis-
played sensitivity towards the
state of ordinary Palestinians.
For instance, filmmakers like
Shimon Dotan, through their
documentaries, have present-
ed a balanced perspective to
the outside audience, includ-
ing a vivid description of psy-
chological triggers that creat-
ed suicide bombers from
Palestinian society. The unity
in national resolve is not ham-
pered by the democratic dis-
sent against the ruling politi-
cal party. The system has
withstood the test of time as it
is based on credibility and
independence of various
foundational institutions of a
democracy that have in-built
checks and balances like any
other Western democracy.
The whimsical decisions of
the right-wing coalition gov-
ernment led by Israeli PM
Benjamin Netanyahu to
bring in regressive judicial
reforms directly impacted the
resilience of Israeli democra-
cy. This was allegedly done to
avoid possible corruption
indictment in various trials.
Traditional human Even US President Joe Biden
intelligence cannot minced no words as he urged
Netanyahu to seek consensus
be entirely instead of pushing ahead
substituted by with such unpopular meas-
ures. In 75 years of Israel’s
technological existence, with the exception
surveillance. of the initial reverses of the
1973 Yom Kippur war with
Egypt, this is the first time
the timing hints it was a fac-
tor in the Hamas calculus.
What gives the Israeli
security apparatus a unique
advantage in the region is its
multi-ethnic and cultural
character. Jews came from
across the world to settle in
the ‘promised land’, with
significant populations orig-
inating from Western
Europe, particularly the
Ashkenazi Jews, who initial-
ly held elite status due to
their access to better educa-
tion. Additionally, there
were Sephardic Jews, as
well as those who arrived
from the former Soviet
Union and spoke Yiddish.
There also are Mizrahi Jews,
primarily originating from
the Arab world; they have a
strong command of Pales-
tinian or Levantine dialects
of Arabic. Additionally, 18
per cent of Israel’s popula-
tion consists of Muslims, the
majority of whom are Arabic
speakers, and they are also
represented in Israeli Parlia-
ment. The advantage of
diversity is often blunted
with the authoritarian poli-
cies of an executive that are
aimed at the homogenisa-
tion of society and personal
aggrandisement.
In asymmetrical warfare,
like the one between Israel
at several places.
Other standard operating
procedures, such as the
deployment of quick reac-
tion teams, similar to the
counter-militancy grid in
the Kashmir valley, were
conspicuously absent for a
disproportionate time fol-
lowing the infiltration, as
indicated by the accounts of
various eyewitnesses.
In India’s case, those famil-
iar with the nitty-gritty of bor-
der management are aware of
the continuous vigil along the
Line of Control and the inter-
national border. Neverthe-
less, terrorists and drug ped-
dlers manage to infiltrate
through tunnels from Pak-
istan’s Sialkot district.
The same technique was
pioneered and mastered by
Hamas in the past as they
were able to clandestinely
procure weapons from neigh-
bouring Egypt.
The counter-terrorism
ecosystem across the world
should draw lessons from the
Hamas attack, adapting them
to local situations. One lesson
that stands out is that an
excessive or skewed reliance
on technology and contesta-
tions on foundational princi-
ples of a democracy can blunt
institutional preparedness
and create blind spots.

quick crossword su do ku forecast

SATURDAY’S SOLUTION SUNSET: MONDAY 17:51 HRS
ACROSS DOWN SUNRISE: TUESDAY 06:25 HRS

8 9
7 8 5 9 6 3 2 1 4
1
5
Censure severely (8)
Discontinue (4)
1
2
The price paid (4)
One more (7)
2 4 6 4 9 1 2 8 7 3 6 5
CITY MAX MIN
Chandigarh 29 19
3 3 2 6 5 4 1 8 9 7
9 Ghost (5) 3 To humble (4,4,1,3)
10 A heavy fall (7) 4 Withdraw from federation (6) 1 6 4 2 7 1 9 5 3 8
New Delhi
Amritsar
32
28
21
17
11 Shrub with large showy 6 Slender candle (5)

13
flowers (12)
Cast (6)
7 Mountains of southwest
Europe (8)
9 2
1
8
7
5
3 6 5 8 9
9 4 3 2 1
4
7
2
6
Bathinda
Jalandhar
29
28
20
18
14 Talk disconnectedly (6) 8 In perfect condition (5,2,1,4) 5 3 7 8 9 4 6 2 1
17
20
Lavishly spectacular show (12)
Proceed without
12
15
In great detail (2,6)
Grotesque (7)
9 4 5 2 9 6 4 1 2 5 7 8 3
Ludhiana
Bhiwani
29
32
19
21
2 1 8 3 7 6 4 5 9
21
hesitation (2,5)
A white heron (5)
16
18
Male goose (6)
Straggle (5) 8 calendar
Hisar
Sirsa
34
33
20
20
22 Body of a ship (4) 19 To lodge (4)
23 Whimsical humour (8) 4 1 3 8 OCTOBER 16, 2023, MONDAY
■ Shaka Samvat 1945
Dharamsala
Manali
26
17
12
07
Shimla 20 10
SATURDAY’S sOLUTION 3 5 ■ Aashwin Shaka
■ Aashwin Parvishte
24
30
Srinagar 15 09
Across: 1 In any case, 8 Fed up, 9 Stamina, 10 Way-out, 11 Jammu 22 18
Shelve, 12 Research, 15 Prospect, 18 Unmask, 20 Hustle, 8 7 ■ Hijari 1445
■ Shukla Paksha Tithi 2, up to 1.14 am
Kargil ----- ----
21 Strange, 22 Pious, 23 Head start. Leh 11 0
Down: 2 Notch, 3 Nimble, 4 Conserve, 5 Efface, 6 Adjourn,
7 Spot check, 11 Shipshape, 13 Situated, 14 Nonstop, 16
7 5 1 8 9 ■ Vishkumbha Yoga up to 10.03 pm
■ Swati Nakshatra up to 7.35 pm
Dehradun 27 18
Mussoorie 18 14
Polish, 17 Impart, 19 Sugar. ■ Moon in Libra sign
V. HARD TEMPERATURE IN OC
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THE TRIBUNE
CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2023
15 labourers rescued from
Shinku La after blizzard
Were returning to native states from Zanskar due to onset of winter
AbhinavVashisht
Kullu, October 15
Fifteen labourers coming
from Zanskar to Manali were
rescued from the 16,580-foot-
high Shinku La after a snow
blizzard blocked the road
last night. They were travel-
ling in a vehicle (HP-01-7377)
and were stuck in the pass
throughout the night. The
Darcha police post received
information about the inci-
dent in the wee hours today
and rescued them. They
belong to Jharkhand, Bihar
and West Bengal and work in
Zanskar. They were return-
ing to their native places due Labourers rescued from the 16,580-foot-high Shinku La at Darcha on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO
to the onset of winter.
Meanwhile, Lahaul and high Jalori Pass on the Aut-
20 VEHICLES STUCK AT SARCHU
Spiti SP Mayank Chaud- Luhri National Highway-305
hary urged people not to ■ Twenty vehicles, most of ■ Baralacha La, Shinku La also recorded 25 cm of snow,
cross passes during bad these of tourists, going Kunzum and Rohtang the first of the season. Vehic-
weather and travel only after from Leh towards Manali passes have received six ular movement came to a
obtaining information about were stuck at Sarchu due to eight inches of snow. standstill for some time.
the weather conditions. to snowfall at Baralacha The Jalori Pass recorded Meanwhile, low-lying areas
La on Saturday 25 cm of snow
Twenty vehicles, most of of Kullu district received heavy
these of tourists, coming rain while snowfall occurred
from Leh towards Manali by and tourists. The transit Baralacha La, Shinku La on high hills in the morning.
were stuck at Sarchu due to camp of the Border Roads and Kunzum and Rohtang As a result, temperatures
snowfall at Baralacha La yes- Organisation (BRO) is also passes have received six to dropped sharply. Keylong in
terday. They reached Sarchu providing help to the trav- eight inches of snow. Vehicu- Lahaul and Spiti recorded the
in the afternoon but had to ellers but now due to chang- lar movement through all lowest minimum tempera-
stop there due to snowfall at ing weather conditions, trav- passes was closed this morn- ture of 1.7°C. Una recorded
Baralacha La. At present, elling on this route has ing but was allowed after the 13.2 mm of rainfall, followed
three dhabas at Sarchu are become risky, heavy snowfall weather improved in the by Narkanda (13 mm) and
the only support for passers- can occur anytime now. afternoon. The 10,281-feet Sundernagar (12.8 mm).
Be force behind change in society,
Eco-friendly tech
to be used to build
Air Chief Marshal advises students
durable roads: CM
Our Correspondent Tribune News Service
Dalhousie, October 15 Shimla, October 15
“You must first ensure The state government has
‘change’ in yourself that you said that roads under the
want to see in society,” said Pradhan Mantri Gram
Air Chief Marshal VR Chaud- Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) will
hari, Chief of the Air Staff, now be constructed with the
while addressing the golden help of Full Depth Reclama-
jubilee function of Dalhousie tion (FDR) technology, said
Public School here today. Chief Minister Sukhvinder
He underlined the impor- Singh Sukhu here late Sat-
tance of self discipline in life urday evening. He presided
and said, “We live in a fast- over a PMGSY meeting with
changing world and the youth the Public Works Depart-
like you are better equipped to Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari flanked by DPS Chairman Dr (Capt) ment (PWD) over the issue.
be the driving force behind GS Dhillon enjoys the cultural programme at Dalhousie on Sunday. He instructed the PWD to
the change desired for the use the technology in roads
nation. Discipline will be a range, adding another layer ja zara” wove a spell of artistic to be constructed under the
underlining virtue and of sophistication to the brilliance, enthralling the PMGSY. He said that initial-
strength for your life”. school’s infrastructure. It audience with its grace and ly, about 666 km roads in var-
Air Chief Marshal Chaud- provides students with an emotive expression. ious districts would be con-
hari said, “Seeing hard work exclusive platform to refine In a display of disciplined structed with FDR
behind your show, I see future their shooting skills, foster- artistry, Tae kwon do demon- technology. The roads con-
leaders, Generals, Admirals ing precision, discipline and strations by both seniors and structed with this technolo-
and sportspersons. You will a spirit of excellence. juniors showcased not only gy are more durable and bet-
carry the torch of the future DGP Sanjay Kundu skills but also indomitable ter for vehicles. Besides, it is
for which you need to come presided over the inaugura- prowess cultivated through a cost effective and eco-
out of your comfort zones.” tion of the PowerPlay Gym- rigorous training. The high- friendly technology.
Today’s event marked the nasium yesterday. The cultur- octane Zumba performance Sukhu said, “The state gov-
conclusion of the two-day al tapestry unfurled with the by girls injected a contempo- ernment is working with com-
event showcasing students’ pulsating beats of ‘Aavahan’, rary flair, resonating with the mitment to provide better
achievements, extraordinary a drum performance by boys, dynamic ethos of the school. roads to the people of the
talents and an impassioned not only set the tone but also Dr (Capt) GS Dhillon pre- state. After Uttar Pradesh,
celebration of the school’s reverberated with energy that sented a comprehensive Bihar and Assam, Himachal is
storied legacy. Before the echoed throughout the cele- report on the school’s going to be the fourth state in
final event, the Air Chief Mar- brations. The captivating achievements, coupled with a the country to construct roads
shal inaugurated a shooting Krishna dance on “Kanha so compelling vision for future. using FDR technology.”
Curtain down on Khushwant Singh Litfest
Tribune News Service sports, cinema, armed forces, the event, Anjum Hasan, a In other session during the
literature, medicine, etc. At novelist, spoke about her day, Vikramjit Singh, a phil-
Shimla, October 15 the conclusion of the event, novel ‘History’s Angel’, anthropist, spoke about how
The 12th edition of Khush- Rahul Singh, son of Khush- which is about the life of a he and his team arranged
want Singh Litfest came to an want Singh, hoped the discus- Muslim in the present-day and distributed oxygen con-
end at Kasauli today. The sions during the event must India. Set in Delhi, the novel centrators in Punjab when
three-day event saw several have inspired many to “Be the brings out anxiety among Covid-19 was at its peak. In
discussions on a variety of change you want to see”, the Muslims through the life of a other session, film star and
subjects, with speaker coming theme of the event this year. middle-aged history teacher politician Raj Babbar dwelt
from fields as diverse as On the concluding day of in a Delhi school. on his struggles.
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT AND SESSIONS JUDGE, KARNAL
No. 19149-50 Dated: 13.10.2023
Applications are invited from the eligible candidates to fill up the following posts of Process Servers and Peons,
purely on temporary but on regular basis by way of direct recruitment:-
Sr. Name of Number of Vacancies Pay Scale Remarks
No. Posts
1 Process 11 Posts Pay Matrix Purely
Server General Person with Scheduled Backward Backward Ex-Servicemen FPL-DL temporary
disability Caste Class-A Class-B (General) (Rs. 16,900 but on
(blindness and – 53,500/-
plus other
regular
basis
low vision)
05 01 02 01 01 01
allowances
Sr. Name Number of Vacancies Pay Scale Remarks
No. of the
Posts
2 Peon 32 Posts Pay Matrix Purely
General Persons with Sched- Back- Back- Ex-Servicemen Out- FPL-DL temporary
disabilities uled ward ward
(a) blindness and Caste Class-A Class-B
of different
categories
standing
Sports
(Rs.
16,900 –
but on
regular
low vision. Persons 53,500/- basis
(b) deaf and hard plus other
allowances
of hearing
14 02 05 04 02 General - 01 BC(A) - 01
BC-A - 01 SC - 01
BC-B - 01
The last date for submission of applications is 31.10.2023 by 05:00 p.m. Complete details with regard to essential
qualification, age, date and time of interview etc. are mentioned in the employment notice dated 16.10.2023, which can
be seen by visiting the official website: https://karnal.dcourts.gov.in/notice-category/recruitments/
DI-18942 Sd/- District and Sessions Judge, Karnal.
THE TRIBUNE
CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2023 JAMMU & KASHMIR/LADAKH 09
Those harming nation must Jawan hurt in mine blast Israel delays Gaza...
Our Correspondent Infantry. from page 1 ing the entire population of

be dealt with firmly: Bhagwat Jammu, October 15

Arjun Sharma
Jammu, October 15
Underlining the importance
of being non-violent, com-
passionate, resilient and
robust, Rashtriya Swayamse-
vak Sangh’s chief Mohan
Bhagwat on Sunday said
those seeking to harm the
society and the country must
be dealt with firmly.
At a gathering of RSS mem-
bers in Kathua, he said that
like money is donated to help
the poor, power should be
used to safeguard the weak.
“This should be instilled in
every individual, both from a
social and national perspec-
tive,” Bhagwat said.
It was the third day of
Bhagwat’s UT visit. The vis-
it holds importance months
ahead of the Lok Sabha polls
as he has stressed for expan-
sion of the organisation’s
base, especially in rural
areas of the Union Territory.
He met various members of
the frontal organisations of
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at Kali Mata temple, Jammu. PTI
STRENGTHEN RSS BASE, WORKERS TOLD
Bhagwat laid stress on spreading the organisation’s network
ahead of the centenary celebrations of the foundation of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, said a member.
the RSS as well as senior BJP
leaders. The RSS workers
have been asked to “take the
message of social harmony”
in rural areas of Jammu
region especially in areas
with substantial Muslim pop-
ulation including Rajouri,
Poonch, Doda and Kishtwar.
An RSS member informed
that 105 members of 38
organisations of the Sangh
Parivar attended the meeting
in which various social as
well as religious issues were
discussed. “Bhagwat laid
stress on spreading the
organisation’s network
ahead of the centenary cele-
brations (100th year) of the
foundation of RSS,” the
member informed.
RSS chief’s visit holds
importance as the BJP is try-
ing hard to not let local
issues impact voter’s mind-
set in Jammu and Udham-
pur Lok Sabha constituen-
cies which went to party’s
kitty in 2019. The saffron
party got significant votes in
rural areas in 2019.
“During a meeting, Bhag-
wat reviewed various projects
initiated by the J&K RSS for
the development of villages
and rural economy. He gave
some suggestions to the
Swayamsevaks who have tak-
en projects for village devel-
opment and social harmony
in the society,” the RSS mem-
ber said. (With PTI inputs)
A soldier was severely
injured when he stepped on a
landmine in Nowshera area
of Rajouri district during a
patrol duty along the Line of
Control (LoC). As soon as the
soldier stepped on the mine,
a blast sound alerted other
soldiers in the vicinity who
immediately took him to a
hospital.
The soldier has been identi-
fied as Rifleman Gurcharan
Singh of 3 Sikh Light
Radiation scanner for Attari, 7 other...
from page 1
The Centre has taken the initia-
tive to keep trafficking of
radioactive materials across
international borders in check.
The eight ICPs witness a size-
able cross-border movement of
people and goods. Smuggling
of radioactive material could
be a challenge for security
agencies as it could be used
for making nuclear devices or
radiological dispersal devices,
another official said.
The incident took place in
the forward area of Kalsian
village in Nowshera. After
first aid, he was taken to the
military hospital in Udham-
pur for specialised treatment.
Infiltration bids from Pak-
istan have increased during
the past sometime due to
which patrolling along the
LoC has increased. Mines
planted in the past some-
times get dislocated during
rainy seasons and enter the
patrolling paths close to the
Line of Control.
The RDE will be installed in
a drive-through monitoring
station that scans trucks and
their cargo. Though the
movement of people and
goods through the Attari ICP
has come down drastically
due to the current chill in rela-
tions with Pakistan, footfalls
in other ICPs are significant.
The RDE is equipped with
raising separate gamma and
neutron radiation alarms and
generating video frames of
weekend. Israel was also walk-
ing back on its bravado of tak-
ing on all adversaries by
dialling down its tensions with
Hezbollah of Lebanon on its
northern borders. If Hezbollah
restrains itself, Israel would
respect the situation along the
border as it is today, said the
Israeli Defence Minister.
Blinken visited six Arab
countries and is currently in
Egypt. The common mes-
sage from all the Arab capi-
tals has been a complete
opposition to Israel punish-
suspicious objects.
It will also have the ability
to differentiate between spe-
cial nuclear material and nat-
urally occurring radiation in
fertiliser or ceramics as well
as high-energy gamma iso-
topes which are an attribute
of recycled uranium. The
government is believed to
have taken technical help
from a few foreign agencies,
including those from the US,
in installing the RDE.
Gaza for Hamas’ assault. His
extended shuttle diplomacy
reflects the US worry about
the fighting spilling over to
the entire region. US NSA
Jake Sullivan also did not
rule out Iran getting engaged
in some way and said the US
is prepared for every possible
contingency.
The US has already deployed
an aircraft carrier group
equipped with fighter jets and
lethal missiles while another
such group is on the way to the
Mediterranean to deter Iran.
Crushers...
from page 1
though illegal mining was tak-
ing place for years. A portion of
the land, especially close to
Pathankot airport, was prone
to illegal mining, sources said,
adding the authorities had
been dithering on action as the
crushers were controlled by
politically influential people.
Kewal Singh Pathania, Con-
gress MLA from Shahpur who
too was part of the Assembly
committee, said they would vis-
it the temple properties soon.

FROM PAGE 1

Congress releases first list...

their Cabinet colleagues and
state Assembly Speaker Cha-
randas Mahant have been giv-
en tickets. Baghel will contest
from the Patan constituency,
where he will be up against his
distant nephew and Durg MP
Vijay Baghel as the BJP nom-
inee. Singh Deo has been
fielded from the Ambikapur
seat. The party has fielded
Deepak Baij, Bastar MP and
Chhattisgarh Congress presi-
dent, from the Chitrakoot seat.
Of the 30 seats in the party’s
first list, 14 are reserved for
Scheduled Tribes, three for
Scheduled Caste categories
and the rest are unreserved
seats. The party has fielded
nine OBC candidates and
denied tickets to eight sitting
MLAs. The Congress list fea-
tures four women candidates,
including a minister and two
sitting MLAs.
Chhattisgarh Mineral Devel-
opment Corporation chair-
man Girish Dewangan has
been fielded from the Raj-
nandgaon seat against former
Chief Minister and BJP candi-
date Raman Singh. In the case
of Telangana, the first list of 55
names is a mix of seniors,
including sitting legislators
and Lok Sabha members and
defectors from other parties.
Telangana Congress chief A
Revanth Reddy, who lost the
Assembly election from the
Kodangal constituency in
2018, has been re-nominated
from Kodangal. CLP leader
Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has
been retained from the Madhi-
ra SC reserved seat.
While Madhya Pradesh will
go to the polls on November
17, Chhatisgarh Assembly
elections will be held in two
phases on November 7 and 17
and the Telangana elections
will be held on November 30.

Mulling basmati Moitra took...

minimum export and levelled charges breach of
price review: Govt privilege, contempt of House
and criminal offence under
of the measures, now being Section 120-A of the IPC
opposed by rice exporters, is against Moitra. Citing a letter
that contracts for basmati rice received from an advocate,
exports with the value of Dubey claimed the lawyer had
$1,200 per ton will only be shared “irrefutable” evidence
registered from August 25. of bribes exchanged between
In its defence, the govern- the TMC leader and a busi-
ment says this step was taken nessman. Hitting back, Moitra
after receiving field reports said on X: “Am using all my ill-
regarding misclassification gotten cash & gifts to buy a col-
and illegal export of non-bas- lege/university in which
mati white rice, exports of Degree Dubey can finally buy
which were banned on July a real degree.”
20. Officials claimed in many Tagging the Speaker, she
cases, non-basmati white rice said: “Finish the inquiries
was being exported under the against him for false affidavits
HS code of basmati rice. & then set up my inquiry
Now, the new crop of bas- committee.” In his letter to the
mati has started arriving Speaker, Dubey said 50 of 61
and there is generally a questions asked in the LS till
decline in prices when the recently were focused on the
new crop starts arriving. In Adani group, the business
view of this development, conglomerate that the TMC
the government has given MP has often accused of mal-
signs of relenting. practices. — PTI

File report on blasting in...

Vijay Kumar Sharma, the
complainant, alleged that
marble mining was being
conducted for the past over
three years in the village
without any boundaries, tin
shed, etc. “Heavy blasts are
being resorted to everyday,
due to which stones are
falling in fields, cracks are
developing in houses and
dust generated by the blasts
is adversely affecting the
crop yield. Moreover, the
blasts not only frighten the
livestock, but also disturb the
studies of children,” he said.
High-intensity blasts were
carried out on November 21
last year without intimation
and without blowing siren. “I
had a narrow escape and the
boundary wall around my
field was damaged. Com-
plaints were made to the
authorities but no action was
taken,” he claimed.
Hearing the complaint,
the NGT observed that “pri-
ma facie, the averments
made in the application
raise questions relating to
environment. We consider
it appropriate that a joint
committee be constituted to
verify the factual position
and take appropriate reme-
dial action. The committee
may further report opera-
tions of similar types of
mining activities in the
area. The state pollution
control board will be the
nodal agency for coordina-
tion and compliance.”
Krishan Kumar, Regional
Officer, HSPCB, said the
committee had inspected the
site at Bayal village. “A factu-
al report in this respect will
be submitted to the NGT
soon,” he stated.
10
GLOBE TROT
Afghans walk through debris at earthquake-hit Herat.
4 dead, 153 hurt as quake rattles Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck west-
ern Afghanistan on Sunday, just over a week after strong
quakes and aftershocks killed thousands of people and flat-
tened entire villages in the same province. The US Geological
Survey said the latest quake’s epicentre was about 34 km out-
side Herat, the provincial capital, and 8 km below the surface.
Save the Children, an NGO, said four persons died and that
Herat Regional Hospital had received 153 injured. AGENCIES
Nawaz's party gets nod for rally on Oct 21
LAHORE: The Lahore administration has given permission to
the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party to hold a
rally on October 21 at Lahore's Minar-e-Pakistan where for-
mer PM Nawaz Sharif will address supporters on his return
to the country from London after four years. The 73-year-old
three-time PM, who will end his self-imposed exile in the UK,
is expected to lead his PML-N party in the general elections,
likely to be held in January next year. PTI
High-stakes election in Poland China, Pak to ink pacts
amid row over democratic rule under CPEC projects
Warsaw, October 15
Poles vote on Sunday in a par-
liamentary election the
nationalist Law and Justice
(PiS) hopes will earn it an
unprecedented third term in
office, while the opposition
warns it could put the country
on a path towards leaving the
European Union.
Opinion polls suggest PiS
will come out ahead but
could lose its majority amid
intensifying discontent over
its democratic record, which
has cost Poland billions of
euros in EU aid, and con-
INF CUS AGRICULTURE
The govt should
consider making a
budgetary allocation
to implement
measures to
promote wasteland
for the cultivation of
energy crops and
impart technical
know-how to
farmers. Increasing
the allocation and
extending the term of
the PM JI-VAN Yojana,
and bringing more
biofuel projects
within its ambit
are imperative for
sustainable energy
production. Bringing
energy crops,
particularly
trees, under the
production-linked
incentive scheme
can also
simultaneously
mitigate the
climate-related risks.
AP/PTI
Poland’s ruling party leader
Jaroslaw Kaczynski at a polling
station in Warsaw. REUTERS
cerns over women’s rights
and the cost of living.
With war raging in neigh-
bouring Ukraine and a migrant
crisis brewing, the EU and the
ENERGY SECTOR
Biofuels hold promise as alternative to fossil fuels
Pitambara and Bishwa
Bhaskar Choudhary
T
HE establishment of the
Global Biofuel Alliance
(GBA) at last month’s
G20 Summit has major
implications for global sustainabil-
ity and energy security. This
alliance signifies a collective com-
mitment among the world’s lead-
ing economies to accelerate the
transition towards cleaner and
more sustainable energy sources.
Biofuels, derived from renewable
biomass, offer a promising alterna-
tive to fossil fuels, contributing sig-
nificantly to reducing greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions and mitigat-
ing climate change. They also
enhance energy diversification
and reduce dependence on volatile
oil markets, bolstering energy
security for member nations. By
fostering international cooperation
and knowledge-sharing, this
alliance is poised to promote
research and development, invest-
ment and the adoption of
advanced biofuel technologies.
The Government of India has
been fostering the growth of the
biofuel industry through proactive
policies since 2001, when the coun-
try initiated the 5 per cent Ethanol
Blending (E5) Programme. These
policies are focused on giving a fil-
lip to various categories of biofuels
by providing essential financial
support, establishing a robust
feedstock supply chain, promot-
ing research and innovation in bio-
fuel production technologies for
both existing and new feed stocks,
and encouraging the exploration
of locally available feedstock
resources, given India’s rich bio-
diversity. The government has
also introduced other significant
initiatives to support the biofuel
sector’s development, such as the
Lanka arrests 27
Indian fishermen
for ‘poaching’
Colombo, October 15
Twenty-seven Indian fisher-
men were arrested for alleged-
ly poaching in Sri Lanka's ter-
ritorial waters, the island
nation’s navy said on Sunday.
The fishermen were arrested
off the coast of Mannar in the
northeast and Delft and
Kachchativu islets in the
north on Saturday, it said.
The Sri Lankan navy held
two Indian trawlers that con-
tinued to remain in island
waters off Mannar, with 15
Indian fishermen aboard
while three Indian trawlers
with 12 fishermen aboard
were apprehended near the
Delft and Kachchativu
Islands, officials said.
The arrested fishermen
were handed over to the
authorities for further legal
action, they said.
In September, 17 Indian
fishermen were arrested off
the coast of Jaffna’s
Kakarathivu island. The fish-
ermen issue is a contentious
one in the ties between India
and Sri Lanka, with the
Lankan navy personnel even
firing at Indian fishermen in
the Palk Strait and seizing
their boats frequently. — PTI
US are watching the vote close-
ly, although both PiS and its
mainstream opposition sup-
port NATO-member Poland’s
key role in providing military
and logistical support to Kyiv.
“This election will show
whether Poland will be gov-
erned by Poles, or by Berlin or
Brussels,” PiS leader Jaroslaw
Kaczynski told supporters at
the party’s last campaign rally
on Friday. Since sweeping to
power in 2015, the party has
been accused of undermining
democratic checks and bal-
ances. — Reuters
ETHANOL PRODUCTION IN INDIA
(MILLION LITRES)
2,292
2,002
2,061
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
IMPORT AND EXPORT OF ETHANOL FROM INDIA (MILLION LITRES)
Import
Export
432
193 204
180 165
2014 2015 2016
SOURCE: MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
SATAT (Sustainable Alternative
Towards Affordable Transporta-
tion) scheme aimed at boosting
the production of compressed bio-
gas, the provision of viable gap
funding for second-generation
(2G) bioethanol through the Prad-
han Mantri JI-VAN Yojana and
grants to facilitate research and
development in bioenergy.
Despite the new policies and man-
dates, the average level of
bioethanol blending in India has
reached around 11%, with a lot of
ground to cover to achieve the tar-
WORLD
2 Indian-origin Israeli security
officers killed in Hamas attack
London, October 15
At least two Israeli women
security officers of Indian ori-
gin were killed in the unprece-
dented attack carried out by
the Palestinian militant group
Hamas earlier this month,
official sources and people
from the community con-
firmed on Sunday.
Lieutenant Or Moses, 22, a
commander in the Home
Front Command, from Ash-
dod and Inspector Kim
Dokraker, a Border Police
officer in the police's central
district, were killed in the
attack on October 7, official
sources confirmed. Both of
them are said to have died on
duty in combat.
Meanwhile, British PM
Rishi Sunak condemned the
“horror and barbarism”
unleashed by the Palestinian
militant group Hamas. He
pledged continued support to
Israel in restoring security as
he marked one week of the
conflict in West Asia. In a
statement issued by 10
Downing Street and also on
social media on Saturday
Islamabad, October 15
China and Pakistan will ink
significant agreements
regarding motorways and
highways during caretaker
PM Anwaarul Haq Kakar’s
four-day visit to Beijing start-
ing Monday, according to a
media report on Sunday.
The agreements would be
signed under the USD 60 bil-
lion China-Pakistan Econom-
ic Corridor (CPEC) pro-
gramme. Kakar would travel
to Beijing on Monday to par-
ticipate in the ‘Third Belt
and Road Forum (BRF) for
2,552
2,981
2,692
1,671
722
607
670 669
136 141 129 50
2017 2018
2019 2020
get of 20% by 2025-26.
India has augmented its ethanol
production capacity from around
2 billion litres in 2014 to 5.3 billion
litres in 2022; the target is to pro-
duce 15 billion litres by 2025. Cur-
rently, sugarcane-derived
molasses, broken rice and other
damaged foodgrains are primari-
ly used to generate ethanol. With
only surplus sugarcane and rice
being diverted to fuel production,
this option may not be sustain-
able in the long run.
Climate-related risks such as
THE TRIBUNE
CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2023
Taslima questions
Bangladeshis on
plight of minorities
Kolkata, October 15
A life-long rebel, Bangladeshi
poet Taslima Nasrin, believes
taken hostage by the Pales- that those of her compatriots
tine militant group and who are bothered about atroc-
efforts were on to find him ities against Palestinians
with the help of international should also be equally both-
organisations. ered about the plight of
In Gaza, UN shelters ran out minorities in their own coun-
of water as thousands packed try. “I hear that my fellow
into the courtyard of the Bangladeshi citizens are very
besieged territory's largest agitated about atrocities on
hospital as a refuge of last Palestinians and some even
resort from a looming Israeli wish to go Palestine to help
ground offensive. Medics them... if my countrymen are
warned that thousands could so concerned about atrocities
die as hospitals packed with and the stream of refugees
wounded people ran desper- created by attacks in Pales-
ately low on fuel and basic sup- tine, then their conscience
plies. Israel has cut off the flow should also be disturbed
Palestinians after an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis. REUTERS of food, medicine, water and when minorities in
electricity to Gaza, pounded Bangladesh are attacked even
NEPALESE STUDENT HELD HOSTAGE IN GAZA neighbourhoods with today and many are forced to
■ Nepal said its student who went missing after Hamas attacks in airstrikes and told the estimat- leave their land to become
Israel had been taken hostage and rescue efforts were on. ed 1 million residents of the refugees elsewhere,” she said.
■ In Gaza, UN shelters ran out of water as thousands packed into north to flee south ahead of At 62, the spark within Nas-
the courtyard of the besieged territory’s largest hospital. Israel's planned attack. rin, which saw her defying
Fighting along Israel's bor- convention and writing to
evening, the British Indian eign minister in Qatar where der with Lebanon, which expose hypocrisy and “misog-
leader also reiterated his they agreed to continue coop- flared since the start of the ynistic” religious practices in
commitment to the Jewish eration to achieve the group's latest Gaza war, intensified her society, has not died down
community in the country goals, Hamas said. with Hezbollah militants fir- and she strongly believes she
that all protective measures Nepal said one of its stu- ing rockets and an anti-tank has a duty to continue the
would be deployed. dents, who went missing missile, and Israel respond- “good fight” against injustice
Hamas leader Ismail after a farm in Israel was ing with airstrikes and wherever and whenever she
Haniyeh met with Iran's for- attacked by Hamas, had been shelling. — Agencies finds it. — PTI
6 Ukrainians killed in Russian strikes
Kyiv, October 15
Six persons have been killed SUGGESTIONS OF WAR WITH US NONSENSE: PUTIN
International Cooperation’ in Russian attacks on ■ President Vladimir Putin said suggestions that the US should
from October 17 to 18. Ukraine in the past 24 hours, prepare for a war against Russia and China were nonsense.
“The PM will attend the local officials reported on ■ A US Congress panel on Thursday said the US must be ready
opening ceremony of the BRF Sunday. Two persons were
for wars with Moscow and Beijing by expanding its forces.
and address the high-level killed and three more
forum on Connectivity in an injured in Kherson after
Open Global Economy,” the more than 100 shells bom- city’s military administra- defence ministry announced
PM office said in a post on X on barded the region over the tion, Roman Mrochko. that Ukraine had launched
Saturday. weekend, local governor Local officials said two 27 drones in an overnight
A significant memorandum Oleksandr Prokudin wrote more persons had died in attack on western Russia of
of understanding scheduled on social media. the Donetsk area and that a which 18 were shot down
to be signed is related to the Two guided bombs later hit 57-year-old man and a 54- over the Kursk region, lead-
establishment of a modern key infrastructure in Kher- year-old woman had been ing to speculation in the
Highway Research and son city, sparking a partial killed by an airstrike that Russian press that the attack
Training Centre (HRTC) with blackout and disruption to destroyed their home in the could have been targeting
China’s assistance, the paper the area’s water supply, Kharkiv region. the nearby Khalino military
said. — PTI reported the head of the Meanwhile, the Russian airfield. — Agencies
ETHANOL
ethanol utilisation. The required
quantity of foodgrains for meet-
genetic engineering to develop
strains of bacteria and yeast that
CONTRIBUTION (%) ing the target is roughly 220 can break down lignocellulosic
times greater than the amount of material found in agricultural
FROM DIFFERENT FEED rice allocated by the Food Corpo- residue, wood chips and various
STOCKS, 2021-22 ration of India for biofuel pro-
duction in 2020-21. Moreover, an
forms of waste biomass. These
genetically modified organisms
additional 19 million hectares of (GMOs) produce enzymes, such
land will have to be dedicated to as cellulases and hemicellulases,
sugarcane cultivation. that can efficiently degrade cel-
Therefore, expanding first-gen-
eration (1G) biofuel production
lulose and hemicellulose into
simpler sugars. This enzymatic
may have unintended conse- hydrolysis process is a critical
quences for agriculture and food step in the conversion of biomass
security. Besides the ‘food versus into biofuels as it releases fer-
C-heavy molasses
Surplus rice
from FCI
2%
fuel’ debate, the move will signifi-
cantly increase the water foot-
mentable sugars that can be fur-
ther metabolised into bioethanol
Damaged food- 11% print. More importantly, incen- or other advanced biofuels. How-
grains/maize tives for ever, a well-developed infrastruc-
6% sugarcane/maize-based pro- ture network is pivotal for the
duction for ethanol will be collection, transportation and
3,280
5,300
difficult to withdraw once storage of agricultural waste,
Sugarcane
juice/sugar B-heavy
introduced, given the ensuring a consistent supply of
strength of agricultural lob- feedstock for biofuel production.
syrup/sugar molasses
bies in most of the states. The government should consid-
20% 61%
Therefore, by supporting
policy initiatives that promote
er making a budgetary allocation
to implement measures to pro-
648 2G biofuel production and mote wasteland for the cultivation
embracing sustainable agricul- of energy crops and organise
370 tural practices, India can strike a training sessions to impart techni-
balance between its energy
needs and the imperative of
cal know-how to farmers. Increas-
ing the allocation and extending
109
133
87 ensuring food security for its the term of the JI-VAN Yojana
growing population. India is (2018-19 to 2023-24) and bringing
2021 2022 the second-largest producer more biofuel projects within its
rising temperatures and erratic
of agricultural waste in the
world after China and generates
ambit are imperative for sustain-
able energy production. Further,
monsoon are already threaten-
ing surplus foodgrain production
about 500 million tonnes of it per
year, of which more than half is
bringing energy crops, particular-
ly trees, under the production-
and thus may pose a challenge to discarded or burned. Inappropri- linked incentive scheme and pri-
sustaining an ambitious ethanol
blending policy for the future.
ate management of this agricul-
tural waste generates green-
ority sector lending can ensure
the sustainability of energy pro-
Moreover, India is currently a net
importer of ethanol, which
house gases such as methane,
carbon dioxide and nitrous
duction, while simultaneously
mitigating climate-related risks.
means that it is yet to contribute oxide, endangering the health of
to an increase in energy security. the people and the environment. Pitambara is an independent
Empirical studies have indicated The biochemical conversion of researcher & agri-biotechnologist;
that the production of about 165
lakh metric tonnes of grains and
agri-waste into biofuels is a well-
proven sustainable way of bioen-
Choudhary is a scientist
(agri-economics) at ICAR-Indian
60 lakh metric tonnes of sugar ergy production. Researchers Grassland and Fodder Research
will be required by 2025 for have harnessed the power of Institute, Jhansi. Views are personal
Send your feedback to letters@tribunemail.com
13 CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2023
Gaurav Kanthwal
Tribune News Service
Ahmedabad, October 15
Mass gatherings reflect col-
lective consciousness — a vil-
lage fair sums up the mood of
its people, a musical concert
spreads love through a com-
mon language, a religious
congregation signifies the
confluence of one faith.
A sports gathering is some-
thing else, however. It is the
mingling of contrasting
realms under an umbrella of
universal brotherhood:
Fanatics vigorously root for
their team from start to end,
but also appreciate the other
side’s grit and gumption.
Partisanship, hatred and
prejudice are always looked
down upon — in sports and
in life as well; this is the fun-
damental principle sports
relays to society.
A day after the India-Pak-
istan ICC ODI World Cup
match turned out to be a
mismatch before a crowd
of over a lakh, roads and
GIANT STEPS
Afghanistan humble
champions England for
biggest World Cup win
Rashid Khan celebrates after taking the match-winning wicket of Mark Wood; BELOW: Mujeeb Ur Rahman celebrates with teammates the dismissal of Joe Root. REUTERS, PTI
NEW DELHI, October 15
Afghanistan pulled off a
stunning 69-run win over
defending champions Eng-
land at the World Cup here
today, their second ever win
in the tournament lifting
them off the bottom of the
group standings.
Afghanistan came into the
match having lost 16 of their
last 17 World Cup games,
their only victory coming
against Scotland in 2015.
Put in to bat, Afghanistan
posted 284 after a blistering
knock of 80 from opener Rah-
manullah Gurbaz and a half-
century from Ikram Alikhil.
England crumbled to 215 all
out in reply with Harry Brook
the only batter to adapt to the
conditions with a fighting 66
as spinners Mujeeb Ur Rah-
man and Rashid Khan took
three wickets each.
Mujeeb picked up the key
wickets of Joe Root and
Brook to set up a famous win
and he picked up the Player
of the Match award. “Very
Jasprit Bumrah used his experience of playing at his home ground
to get the best out of the flat wicket. REUTERS
No rub of the green
Fans rue ‘missing vibe’ due to lack of Pakistan supporters
SEA OF BLUE Not a single Pakistan flag could be seen in the packed stadium. PTI
pathways near the stadium
were littered with shirts
and caps which the fans
proud moment to be here in
the World Cup and beating the
champions, it’s a great
achievement for the whole
region. I’m so happy with this
performance,” Mujeeb said.
Rashid said he hoped the
victory would put a smile
on the faces of people back
in Afghanistan, where mul-
had thrown off in order to
put on the Indian blues.
The stadium was a sea of
tiple earthquakes have
killed around 1,000.
OPENING STAND
Afghanistan got off to a flying
start with a 114-run opening
stand between Gurbaz and
Zadran who scored at eight
an over in the first powerplay.
Gurbaz brought up his
Rohit makes hitting sixes look like child’s play: Hardik
AHMEDABAD, October 15
Umpire Marais Erasmus was
not the only one marvelling
at Rohit Sharma’s six-hit-
ting prowess during India’s
comprehensive victory in
Saturday’s World Cup block-
buster against Pakistan.
Watching him dismantle
the Pakistan attack at the
Narendra Modi Stadium,
teammate Hardik Pandya, a
formidable hitter himself,
said it felt more “like
PlayStation” than cricket
with Rohit on the rampage.
Pakistan could not manage
a single six but Rohit alone
clobbered half a dozen as
India, turbo-charged by the
skipper’s 86 off 63 balls,
completed a modest chase
with nearly 20 overs to spare.
After hitting one of those
monster sixes, the opener
blue. However, there was
not one Pakistan flag to
support the visiting team.
fifty rapidly, but they lost
wickets as leg-spinner Adil
Rashid dismissed Zadran
and had Rahmat Shah
stumped in his next over.
Gurbaz looked well set for a
World Cup century having
smashed eight fours and four
sixes, but the 21-year-old was
run out by substitute David
was seen flexing his muscle
in front of a grinning Eras-
mus, an action he later
explained to Pandya in a
video released by the team.
“He was asking me the
secret behind my big sixes,
and if it had anything to do
with the bat I use,” Rohit
told Pandya. “I was just
telling him it was not my
bat, but my power.”
The elegant right-hander
overtook West Indian Chris
Gayle’s record of 553 sixes
in international cricket
heading into the match
against Pakistan. After Sat-
urday’s match, Rohit also
became only the third bat-
ter — after Gayle and Pak-
istan’s Shahid Afridi — to
smash 300 sixes in ODIs.
“I have been trying to bat
like this in the last two
At the Narendra Modi Sta-
dium, the world’s biggest
cricket ground, support for
India was so big that the oth-
er side seized to exist.
“It was one-sided affair in
every sense. The vibe was
missing,” said Akash Rajvi,
18, who was witnessing an
India-Pakistan match in a
stadium for the first time.
Was the absence of Pak-
istani fans among the rea-
sons for it? It is for the first
time that fans of a particu-
lar country were shunned
by the host in an ICC event.
That it happened in the ICC
ODI World Cup is even
more surprising.
The news is that Pakistan
fans were not granted visas
for the tournament by the
government. A handful of
Pakistan-origin US citizens,
including the famous
Basheer Chacha, and a few
journalists were lost in the
sea of blue yesterday.
“Aisa kyun kiya?”
Bhavesh Patel, 15, attired in
Willey at midwicket when
skipper Hashmatullah
Shahidi called him for a risky
run. Alikhil and Rashid
Khan steadied the ship with
a 43-run stand, but the latter
was dismissed when he
looked to clear the long on
boundary in Rashid’s final
over. Root — who took four
catches — timed his dive to
perfection to take a stun-
ning catch in the deep.
Alikhil departed for 58 and
Mujeeb made 28 off 16 balls.
EARLY WICKETS
England lost early wickets,
Fazalhaq Farooqi trapping
Jonny Bairstow lbw and
Mujeeb dismissing Root with
a quicker ball that kept low
and crashed into the stumps.
Dawid Malan made a patient
32 but fell to Mohammad
Nabi, giving Zadran a simple
catch in the covers, and skip-
per Jos Buttler was bowled by
a peach of a delivery from
Naveen-ul-Haq to leave Eng-
land reeling at 91/4. — Reuters
Rohit Sharma alone clobbered half a dozen sixes while Pakistan
could not manage a single six in the game. PTI
years,” Rohit said of his bat-
ting approach in the World
Cup. “Wickets are so good
these days, I want to play
my shots. I know I missed
India’s blues and a King
Kohli crown quizzically asks
his father as fans trooping
out of the stadium debate the
absence of Pakistan’s fans in
this high-profile game.
Looking back at the mem-
orable evening, Gujarat Uni-
versity student Jitendra
Behara, 19, rued: “Had Pak-
istan fans also come here, it
would have been double the
fun. The Mexican waves at
the stadium would have
been more colourful. The
energy level would not have
gone down for a bit.”
“Why were they not
allowed this time around?”
he asks as an afterthought.
Did Pakistan fans’ absence
led to their team’s dismal
performance? Pakistan team
director Mickey Arthur
admitted that he’d be lying if
he said it did not affect them.
“It didn’t seem like an ICC
event, to be brutally honest.
It seemed like a bilateral
series; it seemed like a BCCI
event. I didn’t hear ‘Dil Dil
SCOREBOARD
AFGHANISTAN
R Gurbaz run out (sub) 80
I Zadran c Root b Rashid 28
R Shah st Buttler b Rashid 3 J Root b Rahman
H Shahidi b Root 14
A Omarzai c Woakes b Livingstone 19
I Alikhil c Curran b Topley
M Nabi c Root b Wood
58
9
R Khan c Root b Rashid
M Rahman c Root b Wood
23
28
N Haq run out (Buttler) 5
F Farooqi not out 2 Everyone’s desperate to
Extras: (LB 1, NB 3, W 11) 15
Total: (all out, 49.5 overs) 284
FOW: 1-114, 2-122, 3-122, 4-152,
5-174, 6-190, 7-233, 8-277, 9-277
Bowling O M R W
Chris Woakes 4 0 41 0
Reece Topley 8.5 1 52 1
Sam Curran 4 0 46 0
Adil Rashid 10 1 42 3
Mark Wood 9 0 50 2
Liam Livingstone 10 0 33 1
Joe Root 4 0 19 1
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: MUJEEB UR RAHMAN
2
ND victory for Afghanistan in the history
of the ODI World Cup. They came into
the match having lost 16 of their last 17
World Cup games, their only victory coming
against Scotland in 2015
❝
Very proud moment to be here in the World
Cup and beating the champions, it’s a great
achievement for the whole region. I’m so
happy with this performance. Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz smashed 80 off 57 balls. PTI
out on a hundred.”
Rohit has three double
hundreds in ODIs, the
only batter to have more
than one, and his 264
Pakistan’ coming through
the microphones too often
tonight,” he said.
Asked if this was acceptable
for an ICC event like the
World Cup, Arthur said:
“Look, I don’t think I can
comment on that just yet. I
don’t want to get fined.”
One of the biggest sporting
rivalries in the world, if not
the biggest, India vs Pakistan
matches — be it in hockey,
lawn tennis or cricket — egg
the fans on to frenzy.
Cricket fans on both sides
are always on the lookout to
experience this rare event. In
the past one decade, it has
become rarer still with all the
doors shut for bilateral series.
Pakistan head coach
Grant Bradburn’s thoughts
were the same as those of
the fans. “We are really sad
that Pakistan’s supporters
aren’t here. They would
love to be here and I am
sure Indian cricket fans
would love our supporters
here as well,” he said.
ENGLAND
J Bairstow lbw b Farooqi
D Malan c Zadran b Nabi
H Brook c Alikhil b Rahman
J Buttler b Haq
L Livingstone lbw b Khan
S Curran c Shah b Nabi
C Woakes b Rahman
A Rashid c Nabi b Khan
M Wood b Khan
R Topley not out
Extras: (LB 4, NB 1, W 8)
Total: (all out, 40.3 overs) 215
FOW: 1-3, 2-33, 3-68, 4-91, 5-117,
6-138, 7-160, 8-169, 9-198
Bowling O M R W
Mujeeb Ur Rahman 10 1 51 3
Fazalhaq Farooqi 7 0 50 1
Naveen-ul-Haq 6 1 44 1
Mohammad Nabi 6 0 16 2
Rashid Khan 9.3 1 37 3
Azmatullah Omarzai 2 0 13 0
against Sri Lanka in 2014
remains the highest indi-
vidual score in this format.
His 11 sixes from three
matches in the ongoing
World Cup is second only to
Sri Lankan Kusal Mendis’
14 from two matches.
Past experience
Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah
said he used his vast expe-
rience of playing at the
venue since his junior days
to get the best out of the
flat wicket here. Bumrah
took two wickets and gave
away just 19 runs in seven
overs as India bowled out
Pakistan for 191.
“I have played a lot of jun-
ior cricket on this ground.
Since it was a flat wicket, I
tried to implement that
experience of mine here,”
11
Every game
like a final:
Cummins
Lucknow, October 15
Forced to treat every game as
a final due to their awful start,
skipper Pat Cummins today
said Australia are fired up to
perform against teams that
they have done well against
in the recent past.
Australia were crushed by
hosts India in their opener
before stumbling to a 134-run
defeat to South Africa on
Thursday. They find them-
selves in a precarious posi-
tion to win at least six of their
remaining seven games to
make the semifinals. Howev-
er, Cummins is not pressing
the panic button just yet.
“Looking back at 2019,
India and South Africa were
the two teams that we lost to
in the round games there. In
the last year, they’re kind of
the two teams that we’ve had
the most trouble against,” he
said. “So, the opportunity
now is we’ve got some
teams we haven’t played for
a while that we’ve had a lot
2
of success against and be
32 really confident when we go
11 out there,” he added on the
66 eve of the match against Sri
9 Lanka here.
10 Australia had entered the
tournament on the back of
10
9
away ODI series losses to
India and South Africa.
20
18
“Not an ideal start at all.
15 turn it around. We’re obvi-
13 ously 0-2, so we’ve got to
start winning and start win-
ning quick. Every game now
becomes almost like a final.
You’ve got to win just about
all of them,” he said.
Australia is the most suc-
cessful side in the history
of the tournament but the
current team has been
guilty of churning up lack-
lustre performances.
“No doubt we haven’t been
up to the standard that we
like to hold. We’ve been off
the mark and been outplayed
both games. When we’re at
our best, we’re putting big
runs on the board. We’re put-
ting the pressure back into
the opposition. — PTI
Head returns to nets
ADELAIDE: Australia’s Travis
Head returned to nets
today having recovered
from a fracture on his left-
hand, and the middle-
order batter is expected
to travel to India to join
his country’s World Cup
squad. Head had his pro-
tective splint removed
from his hand on Friday.
The South Australian had
suffered a fracture on his
hand after getting hit by
South African pacer Ger-
ald Coetzee at Centurion
ahead of the World Cup.
Although he might miss
Australia’s fixture against
Pakistan on Friday in Ben-
galuru, Head could fea-
ture against the Nether-
lands on October 25 in
Delhi, provided he passes
the fitness test. PTI
Bumrah, who was adjudged
as the Player of the Match,
told Pandya in the video.
“Before getting hit for four
boundaries, it’s vital to
realise about the wicket
right after one boundary.
That’s what I was trying to
communicate,” he added.
Sweeping risk
Spinner Kuldeep Yadav
said that he was able to
create confusion in the
minds of Pakistan’s bat-
ters. Yadav took the impor-
tant wickets of Saud Sha-
keel and Iftikhar Ahmed
in one over after both went
for the sweep shot. “They
weren’t able to read me
from the hand and were in
two minds whether to
sweep or play normally,”
Yadav said. — Agencies
12
India, Vietnam share profound
historical ties, says Jaishankar
Tribune News Service
NewDelhi, October 15
India and Vietnam share pro-
found historical connections
dating back almost 2,000 years,
External Affairs Minister S Jais-
hankar said on Sunday while
inaugurating a bust of Nobel
Laureate writer-poet
Rabindranath Tagore in Bac
Ninh city. He is also scheduled
to inaugurate a bust of Mahat-
ma Gandhi in Ho Chi Minh city.
Soon after arrival in Viet-
nam, he visited the historical
Tran Quoc Pagoda. Construct-
ed in the 6th century, the Tran
Quoc Pagoda is the oldest
Buddhist temple in Hanoi.
Jaishankar was welcomed by
his Vietnamese counterpart
Bui Thanh Son at the
renowned temple.
Jaishankar extended his
gratitude to the leadership of
Bac Ninh province, which
lies to the east of Hanoi, for
their support for installing
Tagore’s bust.
“India and Vietnam have
Commuters wade through a flooded road in Thiruvananthapuram. PTI
Heavy rain lashes Kerala,
orange alert in 4 districts
Thiruvananthapuram, October 15
As heavy rain continued to bat-
ter Kerala on Sunday, land-
slides and flooding were
reported from many parts of
the state, especially its south-
ernmost district of Thiru-
vananthapuram.
Heavy downpour since Sat-
urday led to waterlogging and
flooding of streets, roads and
low-lying areas of Thiruvanan-
NASA wanted India to share tech
post Chandrayaan-3: ISRO chief
Tribune News Service
NewDelhi, October 15
ISRO Chairman S that took place on August 23”.
Somanath on Sunday said
the success of the Chan-
drayaan-3 mission made US
experts from NASA interest-
ed in importing space tech-
nology developed in India.
He said about a group of
experts from NASA Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
recently came to the ISRO
India can help nations
draft Bills, says Birla
New Delhi, October 15
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla
on Sunday said the P20 coun-
tries agreed to form a group to
enhance domain knowledge
for legislative drafting.
He said India could help
countries with drafting Bills
before these could be tabled
in their respective Parlia-
ments, Birla added while
addressing a press confer-
ence here.
Birla said the P20 summit
was the most successful P20
Printed and Published by Rajesh Ramachandran for The Tribune Trust
Printed at The Tribune Press, Sector 29-C, Chandigarh.
Published at The Tribune, Sector 29-C, Chandigarh.
RNI No. 15/57.
Copyright © The Tribune Trust. All rights reserved.
Telephones: 0172-2655066-72
Circulation: 0172-2670419, Advertisement: 0172-2670256, 257
Editor-in-Chief: Rajesh Ramachandran*
*Editor for purpose of PRB Act, 1867
Unveils Tagore’s bust in Bac Ninh city
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar after unveiling a bust
of Rabindranath Tagore in Bac Ninh, Vietnam, on Sunday. PTI
profound historical connec-
tions dating back almost 2,000
years, which are rooted in the
legacy of Buddhism. Bac
Ninh province is also a part of
this ancient tradition. Histori-
cal records validate Indian
monks played a significant
role in introducing Buddhism
to Vietnam,” he said.
thapuram district.
The India Meteorological
Department (IMD) issued an
orange alert in four -Thiru-
vananthapuram, Kollam,
Pathanamthitta and Alap-
puzha - and yellow alert in
eight districts of the state for
the day. It also predicted isolat-
ed heavy rainfall in many
places in the state in the com-
ing days. — PTI
headquarters, “where our sci-
entists elaborated on the soft
landing by Chandrayaan-3
Somanath said the JPL team
members were impressed by
the scientific instruments of
ISRO, which they found inex-
pensive, sophisticated and
easy to build. They asked if
ISRO would sell these instru-
ments to the US.
“Times have changed and
India is capable of making the
meet in terms of participa-
tion. He said apart from the
G20 countries, 10 other coun-
tries were invited to the sum-
mit. All but one country par-
ticipated in the conference.
The Lok Sabha Speaker
said 37 Speakers/chairpersons
and Deputy Speakers/deputy
chairpersons from 29 coun-
tries participated in the sum-
mit. Expressing satisfaction,
Birla said the P20 conference
had the highest participation
ever. — TNS
“Today marks the addition of
a remarkable memorial hon-
ouring an exceptional Indian
personality, Rabindranath
Tagore, a renowned painter,
educator, humanist, music
composer and a very profound
thinker,” he said at the inaugu-
ral ceremony.
“It’s indeed heartening to
In MP, game of nerves between Chouhan, Nath
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
NewDelhi, October 15
Though the political mettle of
several stalwarts is on the line in
the upcoming Madhya Pradesh
elections, stakes are particularly
high for two leaders — BJP’s
most prominent OBC face and
four-term CM Shivraj Singh
Chouhan and Congress veteran
and former CM Kamal Nath.
Both know they are waging
their last formidable battles and
results could present a make or
break potential for their future.
Neither Chouhan nor Nath
have been formally named CM
faces but both are clear leaders
of their camps busy marshalling
forces needed to win the poll.
Political observers describe
the two key figures as contrast-
ing personalities coming togeth-
er on only the platform of OBC
politics. While Chouhan, 64, who
first became CM in 2005, hails
from Vidisha’s OBC farming
family, Nath, a Brahmin born in
Kanpur, has business roots and
deep pockets. In 2018, while fil-
ing his nomination from the
best of devices and rockets.
That is why Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has opened
the space sector to private
players,” the ISRO chief said
at an event organised to com-
memorate the 92nd birth
anniversary of Dr APJ Abdul
Kalam at Rameswaram,
Tamil Nadu.
“In the next 25 years, we
have to build an India which
is technology-rich,” the ISRO
chief added.
~315-crore assets
linkedtoex-NCPMP
attached by ED
New Delhi, October 15
The Enforcement Directorate
(ED) has attached land, wind-
mills, silver and diamond jew-
ellery and bullion worth more
than Rs 315 crore as part of an
alleged bank fraud-linked
money laundering probe
against a former NCP MP
from Maharashtra, his family
and businesses.
Ishwarlal Shankarlal Jain Lal-
wani, a former Rajya Sabha MP
from the NCP, is the promoter of
Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers
Pvt Ltd, RL Gold Pvt Ltd and
Manraj Jewellers among others.
An ED statement said it had
recently issued a provisional
order under the PMLA to
attach 70 immovable assets
located in Jalgaon, Mumbai,
Thane and Aurangabad dis-
tricts of Maharashtra and
Kutch in Gujarat. — TNS
BACK PAGE
know that Tagore’s ‘Gitan-
jali’ was translated into Viet-
namese and published in
2001. Historical records indi-
cate that Tagore paid a three-
day visit to Ho Chi Minh city
in 1929, leaving a lasting intel-
lectual and socio-cultural
impact on Vietnam,” he said.
From Vietnam, Jais-
hankar will travel to Singa-
pore on October 19.
“India and Vietnam share a
robust comprehensive strate-
gic partnership. Vietnam is a
key member of our Act East
Policy. The External Affairs
Minister’s visit will provide an
opportunity to review progress
in several areas and discuss
ways to further enhance bilat-
eral cooperation,” the Ministry
of External Affairs (MEA) had
said on Saturday.
Jaishankar will also co-
chair the 18th meeting of the
India-Vietnam Joint Com-
mission on economic, trade
and scientific and technolog-
ical cooperation with his Viet-
namese counterpart.
Polls set to witness clash of contrasting personalities —
one seen as a commoner, the other an astute strategist
PREVIOUS POLLS
■ The
BJP won the 2003, 2008 and 2013 MP elections and
was the single largest party in 2018 when the Congress
formed the government under Kamal Nath as CM
■ In 2019, Jyotiraditya Scindia's rebellion dislodged Nath and
the BJP reinstalled Chouhan as CM for the fourth time
Chhindwara seat, Nath and wife
Alka declared joint assets worth
Rs 124.67 crore. Chouhan, con-
testing from Budhni, declared
assets worth Rs 6.35 crore along
with wife Sadhna.
“Chouhan has carefully craft-
ed his brand as a simple man
next door. He calls himself
‘mama’ (uncle) to further that
image. He has brand fatigue
but a capacity to rebrand. This
plus his OBC credentials make
him hard to ignore for the BJP,
which didn’t think twice before
replacing CMs Biplab Deb in
Tripura, BS Yediyurappa in
Karnataka and Vijay Rupani in
Gujarat,” a BJP leader said.
Recent emergence of OBCs as
a poll factor has helped
BRS manifesto promises
LPG cylinder at ~400,
insurance for BPL families
Hyderabad, October 15
Raising social security pension
amount, increasing financial
assistance given under the
‘ Rythu Bandhu’ investment
support scheme for farmers
and providing LPG cylinders at
Rs 400 each are some of the
promises made by the ruling
BRS for the upcoming Assem-
bly elections in Telangana.
Releasing the party mani-
festo for the November 30 polls,
BRS chief and Chief Minister K
Chandrasekhar Rao said all 93
lakh families living below the
poverty line (BPL) in the state
would be provided life insur-
ance cover of Rs 5 lakh and that
the government would bear the
cost of the premium.
Rao said the social security
pension, which currently
stands at Rs 2,016, would be
increased to Rs 5,000 per
month gradually over the next
five years. According to the
manifesto, it will be increased
to Rs 3,016 in the first year after
the BRS returns to power, and
then be hiked incrementally
Chouhan especially with Nath
increasingly harping on Con-
gress’ demand for a caste cen-
sus and recalling the 2019 deci-
sion he took as CM to
implement 27 per cent OBC
quota in central jobs and educa-
tional institutions against 14 per
cent existing at the time.
To dent BJP’s OBC base, Nath
has been publicly saying that the
saffron party is ashamed of pro-
jecting Chouhan as CM. “But
Chouhan is turning this weak-
ness around,” say BJP insiders
citing the CM’s recent emotion-
al pitch in Budhni where he said
to voters, “I don’t run a govern-
ment. I run a family. You will
miss me when I am
gone.”Approach to politics also
up to Rs 5,000 in the next four
years. Similarly, pension for
divyangs (persons with disabil-
ities) will be enhanced to Rs
6,016 in the coming five years,
from the existing Rs 4,016.
Under the ‘Rythu Bandhu’
scheme in which farmers get
Rs 10,000 per annum per acre,
the payments will be enhanced
gradually to Rs 16,000 per
annum in the next five years.
“The BRS, after coming to
power, will give gas cylinder to
eligible beneficiaries for Rs 400
and the remaining cost will be
borne by the state govern-
ment,” it said.
The BRS manifesto also
promises Rs 15 lakh health
insurance cover to all eligible
beneficiaries under the 'Arogya
Sri' health scheme, increasing
it from the present Rs 5 lakh.
Rao, who expressed confi-
dence that his party would
return to power, said the prom-
ises announced by the BRS
would be implemented within
six to seven months after form-
ing the government. — PTI
distinguishes Chouhan and
Nath. Nath, 76, is an astute
strategist who, despite being an
outsider to MP, has controlled
tribal Chhindwara for over 40
years without being much of a
ground leader.
He draws strength from
Gandhis, having worked with
three generations of the family
—Indira Gandhi, Sanjay and
Rajiv Gandhi and Rahul
Gandhi — and has thrived
despite allegations of involve-
ment in the 1984 anti-Sikh
riots. Nath’s clout was visible
when son Nakul retained the
Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat in
2019, becoming the sole Con-
gress candidate to win.
Chouhan, on the other hand, is
a welfarist with a strong grass-
roots presence. In 18 years as
CM, he actively cultivated the
constituency of women voters
with targeted schemes. As elec-
tions heat up, observers are
expecting many more salvos
from the quivers of both veter-
ans who are pitched in a battle of
nerves, conscious that this could
be their last chance at power.
THE TRIBUNE
CHANDIGARH | MONDAY | 16 OCTOBER 2023
obituary
Manohar Singh Gill, FORMER CEC
(JUNE 14, 1936 — OCT 15, 2023)
Son of the soil
Aditi Tandon
A
MONG the last few Facebook posts from Manohar
Singh Gill is a verse from Jalaluddin Rumi. “Half of
life is lost in charming others. The other half is lost in
going through anxieties caused by others. Leave this play, you
have played enough,” reads the message, which defines the
way Gill lived life, on his own terms.
Known for taking independent positions on controversial
issues, Gill, a Punjab cadre IAS officer who began serving in
1958, went on to assume prominent
national roles — as Chief Election
Commissioner who introduced
electronic voting machines, a two-
term Rajya Sabha Congress MP
from Punjab, and a Union minister.
But no matter where he was or
what he achieved, Gill’s heart
always beat for Punjab, more so
for its farmers.
In 2016, when Delhi's ruling AAP government first began
linking capital’s smog to the farmers of Punjab and Haryana,
Gill stood in latter’s defence.
“They have no option but to set the nine-inch paddy
stubble to fire before sowing the next crop. Cash-rich Del-
hi and the Central government should pay Punjab and
Haryana farmers for technical solutions. Everyone
should know these states were not paddy growers. They
were forced to grow paddy 30 years ago to feed a deficient
nation,” Gill has said in 2016.
In 1985, when he became Development Commission-
er, Punjab, after returning from the World Bank, Gill
replicated the Saturday market concept of English
towns as ‘Apni Mandi’ in Chandigarh. The idea spread
across Punjab, Haryana and beyond, helping farmers sell
produce directly to consumers, eliminating middlemen.
“The worth of an idea is in its life after the man is gone,” Gill
would say. His book “An Indian Success Story – Agriculture
and Cooperatives in the Punjab” chronicles his approach-
es to farming, a subject close to his heart.
For his acumen, Gill was a much valued bureaucrat. When
he was Joint Secretary in the Union Agriculture Ministry, late
Parkash Singh Badal asked him to be sent to Punjab and
made him his first Principal Secretary in 1971.
Gill retired as Chief Election Commissioner in 2001 and lat-
er joined the Congress and came to the Rajya Sabha repre-
senting Punjab from 2004 to 2016. He was inducted as Minis-
ter of Youth Affairs and Sports in April 2008 and oversaw the
conduct of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. In
July 2011, he resigned as minister.
Party affiliations apart, Gill was known to speak his mind.
While the Congress was opposed to demands of clemency for
former CM Beant Singh’s assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana,
Gill always called capital punishment barbaric and advocat-
ed its abolition. He favoured dialogue over judicial route as a
solution to the festering SYL issue and lamented the loss of
Punjab's riparian rights after the 1966 reorganisation.
One of the most significant stints of Gill as a bureaucrat was
as the Lahaul and Spiti DC, when he fell in love with the hills.
Gill went on to author “Himalayan Wonderland: Travels in
Lahaul and Spiti" and serve as president, Indian Moun-
taineering Foundation, and president, Himalayan Club.
His interest in the Himalayas was abiding. Mentally active till
the end, Gill had retreated to his East Nizamuddin home in
New Delhi to lead a rather private life after he retired from the
Rajya Sabha in 2016. "There is so much to say about my father.
In this difficult time, I will just mention his most beautiful eyes,
deep compassion, purposeful optimism and his wish to always
be of service to others," said Gauri Gill, his daughter.