SAMBALPUR l monday l april 20, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION U.S. delegation to reach Pakistan today to resume talks with IRan US President Donald Trump renewed his threats to destroy Iran’s vital infrastructure if it did not agree to a deal with the US to end the war ‘NO MORE MR. NICE GUY’, Trump warns Iran day after ships fired at, strait stays shut Trump said his negotiators would arrive in Islamabad on Monday evening. Ahead of the expected talks, Trump stepped up his threats saying the US will “knock out every single power plant and bridge in Iran” if it does not agree to the deal he offers. “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” he wrote on Truth Social. Vice President J D Vance is expected to lead the US delegation ■ ■ The Strait of Hormuz remained closed on Sunday. Trump slammed Iran for violating the ceasefire by firing upon ships transiting the strait Meanwhile, Iran doubled down on its pledge to curb ships transiting through the strategic waterway. “It is impossible for others to pass, while we cannot,” Iranian speaker Mohammed Ghalibaf said | P11 Wednesday when the current ceasefire between IRan and the U.S. expires CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Odisha joins semicon league with launch of India’s 1st 3D chip unit @ Bhubaneswar 23 killed, 11 injured in explosion at Tamil Nadu firecracker unit Police, some media personnel, including TNIE photographer, hurt in second blast during rescue op H a r i n i M @ Virudhunagar At least 23 workers were charred to death and 11 others sustained injuries in a massive explosion at Vanaja fireworks unit at Kattanarpatti village near Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu on Sunday. At least five policemen, media personnel, including TNIE senior photojour nalist KK Sundar, and a few fire and rescue services personnel suffered injuries in a second blast at the private firecracker unit d u r i n g re s c u e o p e r at i o n around 7pm, sources said. Based on preliminary inquiry, police said the incident happened around 3 pm when around 50 employees were working at the DRO-licensed unit. The blast is believed to have originated in the front veranda area, where workers were allegedly handling raw materials. The impact of the blast was so severe that at least four rooms were reduced to rubble, and several adjacent structures were completely levelled. Sources said fire and rescue services personnel battled the flames for several hours. So far, police have identified the deceased as K Velsamy (56), a deafening blast and call of duty Virudhunagar: In a firsthand account, TNIE’s photojournalist K K Sundar recounts a harrowing experience during the blast at Kattanapatti. While approaching the site on a Sunday, Sundar was nearly caught in a massive secondary blast. The explosion was so powerful it caused temporary disorientation and a head injury from flying debris. Despite the physical trauma and rising panic, Sundar overcame personal fear to answer his call of duty Heatwave Scorching days ahead as mercury set to touch 45 degree C this week A man takes rest under a tree shade to escape the afternoon heat, at Patel Marg in Bhubaneswar on Sunday | DEBADATTA MALLICK experience heatwave on Wednesday . The sultry weather condiBlistering hot days are tions are likely to prevail in on cards for Odisha as the parts of the state till Friday . India Meteorological De- The national weather body partment (IMD) has forecast has forecast warm nights in mercury to touch 45 degree western Odisha districts on Celsius in several districts Monday and Tuesday . of the state this week. Weather experts, meanThe national weather while, attributed the posforecaster has also issibility of rise in day sued heatwave warntemperature to ing between Tuessouth-westerly day and Thursday. winds blowing toWeather exper ts wards the state. In said intensity of the its extended range sweltering heat is outlook for two SULTRY WEEK expected to be at its weeks (April 17 to Heatwave between peak on Tuesday 30), the regional Tuesday and and Wednesday Iso. met office has preThursday lated places in Samdicted the temperabalpur, Jharsuguda, ture to hover beSambalpur, Balangir and Sun- Jharsuguda, Balangir tween 42 deg C and dargarh districts 44 deg C in interior and Sundargarh to are likely to experiand western disbear the brunt ence heatwave durtricts of Odisha. Hot and humid ing this period. In view of the sitweather to prevail The IMD has preuation, the Special till Friday dicted hot and huRelief CommisMercury to hover mid conditions for sioner (SRC) has around 42-44 deg C Balasore, Bhadrak, asked all collectors in interior and Jajpur, Kendrapara, to take precautionwestern Odisha Cuttack, Jag atsary measures in i n g h p u r, P u r i , their districts. PeoKhurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam ple have been advised to and Gajapati districts on avoid venturing out of their Monday. Meanwhile, a few houses between 11 am and places in Sambalpur, Jhar- 3.30 pm. The administrasuguda, Balangir, Sundar- tions have also been directed garh , Kalahandi, Bargarh to closely monitor the and Nuapada districts may situation.  Continued on P7 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar S Porkodi (63) both from Thiruthangal village, K Pandiammal (55), M Bakyalakshmi (40), K Kaliammal (45), M Indhurani (46), R Mariammal (57), K Maruthan (50), his wife Nagammal (48), K Pandiammal (54), A Janaki (55) and I Nachiammal (55), all from Servaikaranpatti. The charred bodies of the deceased were shifted to Government Virudhunagar Medical College Hospital and the Jayanth Ja c o b @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Concrete structures reduced to rubble at the Vanaja fireworks unit in Kattanarpatti after a massive explosion; (right) fire and rescue services personnel carrying an injured man to safety; (inset) a woman breaks down outside the Virudhunagar MCH | k k sundar injured are also getting treatment at the same hospital. Police identified the injured as Saratha, Panjavar nam, Petchiammal, Sangli Thangam, Veerabathran, Arunkumar, a 12-year-old V Sathish (son of one of the workers who was playing at the spot). Among the injured, Petchiammal and Panjavarnam sustained more than 80% burns and are said to be critical. The rescue operations resumed post a brief halt after the second blast.Minister KKSSR Ramachandran said that CM M K Stalin will announce compensation after getting approval from the ECI. President Droupadi Murmu, Vi c e P re s i d e n t C P R a d hakrishnan, PM Narendra Modi and CM MK Stalin have expressed their condolences. Taking a major leap in its semiconductor ecosystem ambitions, the state government on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the country’s first advanced 3D chip packaging unit at Infovalley-II in the city . The Heterogeneous Integration Packaging Solutions project, promoted by 3D Glass Solutions, was grounded in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Union Electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The facility will bring cutting-edge 3D glass substrate packaging technology to India for the first time. Calling it a historic milestone, the chief minister said the project marks Odisha’s transition from a resourcebased economy to technology driven growth hub. He said the association of the global technology majors such as Intel, Lockheed Martin and Applied Materials with the advanced packaging ecosystem signals strong global interest in Odisha. With an investment of nearly `2,000 crore, including `799 crore in central support and around `399.5 crore from the state, the facility is expected to CM Mohan Charan Majhi and Union IT minister Ashswini Vaishnaw taking a look at the miniature map of the 3D chip packaging unit at Infovalley-II produce 70,000 glass panels annually, along with 50 million assembled units and 13,000 advanced 3D hetero geneous integration modules. Commercial production is slated to begin by August 2028, with fullscale operations targeted by 2030. Majhi asserted that the state is rapidly emerging as a preferred destination for investors. It has already attracted semiconductor investments worth over `10,000 crore with companies like RIR Power Electronics and SiCSEM establishing a presence here. The chief minister said the products manufactured in the state will support nextgeneration sectors such as AI, high-performance computing, defence electronics, telecommunications and advanced digital Continued on P7 systems.  Modi’s address to nation flouted poll code: Left parties PA RV E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the Opposition for voting against the women’s quota bill in the Lok Sabha, the Left parties wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar alleging Modi’s address to the nation violated the poll code. A Congress leader in Kerala also wrote to the EC against the alleged violation, while West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said she would soon file a complaint against Modi’s “illegal campaign”. In separate letters to the poll panel, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby and CPI Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar alleged misuse of the public broadcaster Doordarshan influencing public opinion in states where voting is scheduled in the coming days. In his letter, Baby said the PM’s televised address constitutes a flagrant breach of the MCC provision laid down in the section under the heading Party in Power. “It was blatantly political, targeting the opposition parties… and seeking to influence public opinion, including the voters of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, in favour of the ruling party,” he said, adding that appropriate proceedings should be initiated against Modi and the authorities concerned. CPI’s Sandosh Kumar, in his letter to the CEC, said that Modi’s speech contained direct attempts at influencing public opinion on a matter that is under active political contestation. “What is even more concerning is that this address was broadcast on national public broadcasters such as Doordarshan and Sansad TV. It undermines the level-playing field that the EC is constitutionally mandated 9K Indians facing deportation from Canada as new law kicks in H a r p r eet b a j w a @ Chandigarh About 9,000 Indians, most of them students from Punjab, who had sought asylum in Canada, are facing deportation under the country’s new immigration law. Bill C-12, enacted on March 26, tightens rules for asylum seekers in Canada. Many students from Punjab, who had adopted the asylum route to extend their stay in Canada after completing their studies there, due to stringent visa rules and limited pathways to permanent residency, would be affected. A spokesperson for the Canadian Immigration Minister said the government is now implementing the new law and is in the process of sending procedural fairness letters to affected individuals. According to reports, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has told some of them to leave the country immediately . Reports said the IRCC has issued procedural fairness notices to 30,000 asylum seekers, including 9,000 from India, informing them that their asylum claims may no longer qualify and advising them to leave Canada voluntarily or face enforcement action. The IRCC has clarified that those receiving the notice have 21 days to Representational image Tighter curbs on asylum seekers Under Bill C-12, which came into force on March 26, individuals applying for asylum more than one year after arriving in Canada will be deemed ineligible for a full hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board submit additional information. Failure to respond to the notice could lead to deportation proceedings, it said. These notices have triggered panic. Affected individuals have been advised to consult registered immigration consultants or lawyers and gather all supporting documents. Bill C-12 retroactively bars individuals who entered Canada more than one year prior to filing an asylum claim from referring their cases to the Immigration and Refugee Board. This rule applies to entries dating back to June 24, 2020. Ex-Union min Trivedi to be India’s next envoy to Dhaka to uphold during the period when the MCC is in operation,” he said. In his complaint to the Election Commission of India, former Congress MLA Anil Akkara termed the PM’s address “a grave breach of election protocols” and sought a detailed probe and appropriate legal action. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee alleged Modi indulged in “illegal campaign” for the BJP through his address to the nation regarding the women’s quota bill. “We condemn this and will file a complaint (to the Election Commission),” she said on Sunday . In a calibrated move, the gover nment is set to appoint former Union Minister and former Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi as India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh, opting for a political heavyweight over a career diplomat at a moment of cautious reset in Dhaka-New Delhi ties. Though Bangladesh had been quietly informed that the next envoy would be a political appointee, Trivedi’s selection stands out for both its timing and signalling value. He replaces Pranay Verma, who moves to Brussels as India’s ambassador to the European Union. Trivedi becomes one of the few overtly political nominees to a sensitive neighbourhood posting in recent years. The appointment comes as India looks to reset its Bangladesh policy amid an evolving political landscape under Tarique Rahman dispensation. Against this backdrop, sending a 75-year-old political veteran suggests a deliberate pivo t : f r o m p r o t o c o l - h e av y diplomacy to a more politically managed engagement, where messaging, access and negotiation bandwidth may outweigh traditional bureaucratic continuity The move also carries do. mestic political messaging as Trivedi is a for mer TMC leader. Trivedi’s own arc—from a Trinamool Congress minister in the UPA government under Manmohan Singh to a BJP entrant in 2021—adds a layer of political adaptability that may be seen as useful in a complex bilateral setting. His parliamentary experience across both Houses, and familiarity with West Bengal’s political landscape, could also prove relevant in managing cross-border sensitivities.