BHUBANESWAR l tuesday l july 21, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l JEYPORE EDITION Core sector output growth at five-month high of 5% in jun Core sector output grew 5% year-on-year in June, driven by robust growth in iron ore, power and cement production, official data showed iron ore sector reports 44% growth 9 sectors now in index of Core Industries Among the nine sectors, iron ore recorded the sharpest growth of 43.9% in June, followed by electricity and cement at 9.8% each. Steel output rose 4.6%, while coal production increased 1.4%. On the other hand, natural gas (-7.4%), refinery products (-4.7%), crude oil (-4.2%) and fertilisers (-3.3%) contracted during the month, the data showed ■ ■ The June data marks the first release of the revised Index of Core Industries with the base year updated to 2022-23 Also, under the revised series, iron ore has been included as a separate core industry owing to its extensive use in industrial production, increasing the number of core sectors to nine | P10 3.2% was the year-on-year core sector growth in May 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 tripura shocker DGP found hanging at police HQ chamber Govt’s emissary J P Nadda meets CJP leaders as protest march to Parliament turns violent; several injured P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati Tripura Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Dhankar was found hanging in the washroom of his official chamber at the Police Headquarters in Agartala on Monday, and was declared dead minutes later at a hospital in the city . “I am deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic demise of Anurag, IPS, Director General of Police, Tripura, who was found hanging in the washroom of his official chamber today,” Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said. Saha added that Dhankar was immediately rushed to Agartala Government Medical College & Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Dr Pradip Bhowmik, Head of the Department of Medicine at the hospital, told media that the DGP was b r o u g h t around 12 pm. “We could not detect a pulse or blood pressure. We immediately began administering CPR. A team of doctors did everything possible, but as he could not be revived, we declared him dead at 12.48 pm,” Bhowmik said. “The cause of death will be known after post-mortem,” he said. Opposition parties demanded an impartial probe into the circumstances leading to the death. CPI(M) leader and the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Tripura Assembly, Jitendra Chaudhury, said an officer like Dhankar, who had faced many challenges in his career and successfully navigated them, would not take his own life without major reasons. State BJP president Abhishek Debroy assured that there will be a magisterial-level probe and the truth surrounding Dhankar’s demise will be out shortly . Centre blinks as CJP protest turns violent n i t i n r a w at @ New Delhi Security personnel use batons and tear gas on agitators during a protest march at Sansad Marg in New Delhi| PTI Oppn stalls Parl over 1 NEET-UG paper leak Delhi High Court sought a comprehensive medical report from Safdarjung Hospital on Sonam Wangchuk’s health after his wife moved court alleging he was forcibly kept there P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi THE Monsoon Session of Parliament got off to a tumultuous start on Monday as protests over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak rocked both Houses and spilled onto the streets, setting the stage for a combative session. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments as Opposition MPs demanded discussion on the baton charge on protesting students and action against those responsible for the alleged leak of the medical entrance test paper. They also targeted the government over the alleged Ram temple donation row. In the Lok Sabha, proceedings were adjourned four times amid slogan shouting and placard displays by Opposition members. The protests began soon after the House assembled at 11 am for Question Hour, forcing Speaker Om Birla to adjourn proceedings until noon. The protests followed a morning meeting of INDIA bloc floor leaders, where the Opposition decided to jointly raise issues concerning students. The DMK and AAP did not attend the meeting. The Rajya Sabha, too saw multiple adjournments after the Opposition members protested against the police action against protesters. Save Hirakud, all other reservoirs running low on water, says state govt E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar The state gover nment on Monday admitted that water levels in almost all major reservoirs are well below last year’s mark and said a contingency plan has been activated to mitigate the impact on agriculture. Chairing a high-level meeting of senior officials from the Agriculture, Energy and Water Resources departments, deputy chief minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo said live storage in almost all major reservoirs, except Hirakud, is significantly lower than during the corresponding period last year, raising concerns over irrigation availability if the dry spell continues. Although the state has received over 12 per cent abovenormal seasonal rainfall, its distribution has been highly uneven. The southern districts of Gajapati, Rayagada, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri have recorded rainfall deficits ranging from 21 to 41 per cent, Union minister J P Nadda meets CJP’s Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka | Express while Kalahandi has registered a 30 per cent deficit, resulting in critically low water levels in the Balimela, Kolab and Indravati reservoirs. To conserve available water, the government has decided to prioritise reservoir storage for drinking water and irrigation, with hydropower generation taking a secondary role. As part of this strategy, power generation from the Balimela hydroelectric project has been temporarily suspended to preserve water for agricultural use. He assured farmers that protecting irrigation and drinking water remains the government’s top priority as deficient rain, fall in four southern districts and three western districts has significantly reduced live storage in several reservoirs, prompting immediate measures to safeguard the ongoing kharif operations. The deputy chief minister, who also holds the Energy portfolio, maintained that there is no immediate threat to electricity Continued on P5 supply  . 2 Key metro stations, such as Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House and Patel Chowk were shut. There was commotion and sloganeering at these stations 3 Education Minister Pradhan met Home Minister Amit Shah at the latter’s office in the Parliament House. However, it was not immediately known what transpired in the meeting 4 Amid the uproar in the Lok Sabha, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced a Bill to replace an ordinance that increased the strength of the Supreme Court from 34 judges to 38 5 The bill to make insult to Vande Mataram a punishable offence could not be introduced in the Rajya Sabha due to the protests IN one of the biggest mobilisations against the Union government in the last 12 years, the streets of Lutyens’ Delhi came to a halt on Monday when a massive crowd of protesters marched towards Parliament from Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged question paper leaks. The scenes inside Parliament were equally tumultuous, but it was on the streets of New Delhi that the youth’s angst met the belligerence of police. The government snapped internet services. The protest venue, Jantar Mantar, was cleared by evening, but the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said that its founder Abhijeet Dipke and three others — Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo — are still continuing the sit-in protest in front of Kerala House. Wangchuk, whose hunger strike entered the 23rd day, wrote an open letter in the evening, saying he will continue his fast over police actions against the protesters. Police resorted to lathicharge and burst teargas shells to disperse protesters—who drew from across the country and all strata of life—on most roads leading to the Parliament complex. Paramilitary personnel, in riot gear, joined cops to prevent protesters from reaching Parliament. A video surfaced in the morning, showing workers erecting metal barricades to restrict the agitators. However, when the crowd swelled and tried to move ahead, police used force and fired teargas shells. Many protesters said they were brutally assaulted by police. According to the RML Hospital, 65 medico-legal cases were in till 7 pm. The scale of the protest prompted the government to approach the protesters for talks it had resisted since the protest started at Jantar Mantar on June 20. Union minister J P Nadda and CJP members Das and Ranka held a meeting, during which CJP members raised three demands: immediate release of Wangchuk, resignation of Pradhan and `1 crore compensation for all NEET aspirants who had committed suicide. Nadda assured them he will put across their message to the party’s top leadership. express read Govt to introduce trekking in forests Doc assaulted in Bargarh hospital, grievously hurt 12 more die as rain continues to batter J&K Bhubaneswar: In a bid to give a push to eco-tourism and local livelihoods, the state government is set to introduce regulated trekking inside forests, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. PCCF (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden Prem Kumar Jha said the project will be implemented through Ecotour Odisha and allow trekking only within designated tourism zones without compromising ecological integrity of core and sanctuary areas | P2 Sambalpur: An on-duty doctor suffered grievous injuries after being allegedly assaulted by a patient’s kin inside Bargarh CHC on Monday. Police said a child with sickle cell disease and experiencing chest pain was brought to the hospital. Attending doctor Dr Sudipta Rout administered emergency medication and told them to wait for further check-up. Enraged at this, the relatives launched an attack on him, causing serious injuries to him | P4 Srinagar: Twelve more people lost their lives in rain-related incidents in J&K on Monday, taking the death toll from flash floods and other weather-related incidents in two days to 22, while eight people are still missing. The meteorological department has predicted more rains in the coming days. In the border district of Poonch in the Jammu division, a mudslide and landslide struck a house in the Loran-Dumilan area on Monday | P8 Rath Yatra toll up to 3, CM announces `10 lakh aid for two E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar The death toll in the Puri Rath Yatra mishap has risen to three with the state government on Monday acknowledging the demise of a Mumbai native during chariot-pulling on July 16. The government had earlier confirmed two fatalities, including a 60-year-old “yet to be identified” man who was stated to have died of suffocation, and one Anil Das of Cuttack who suffered cardiac arrest. The government had attributed both the deaths to sudden crowd surge and not stampede. The office of the chief minister (CMO) said the third victim Ashok Subare Raikar of Mumbai had fallen ill during the Rath Yatra and succumbed while un- The third victim dergoing treatment at Puri district head- Ashok Subare Raikar of quarters hospital on July 16. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Mumbai had on the day announced an ex gratia of `10 fallen ill during , lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Re- the Rath Yatra lief Fund (CMRF) for the next of kin of and succumbed while Das and Raikar. Expressing deep grief undergoing over the deaths, the chief minister con- treatment at veyed his heartfelt condolences to the Puri district bereaved families and prayed for the headquarters hospital on eternal peace of the departed souls. State govt suppressing truth: BJD July 16 Chief Minister’s Meanwhile, the BJD launched a scath- office ing attack on the BJP government, accusing it of misleading the people by claiming that there was no stampede during the festival. It demanded a judicial probe into the matter to bring out the truth. Addressing a press conference here, BJD vice-president and former minister Sanjay Das Burma along with spokesperson Lenin Mohanty alleged that Health minister Mukesh Mahaling had lied when he said there was no stampede during the Rath Yatra. The BJD leaders alleged that the state government was making every effort to supContinued on P5 press the incident.  Don’t politicise Ayodhya donation theft case, says sc The Supreme Court on Monday warned the petitioners seeking a CBI probe into the Ram temple donation theft case against politicising the issue. “It’s a simple case of commission of crime,” a bench led by CJI Surya Kant said | P7 football wins Messi ends World Cup in tears as La Roja say two cheers e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e There was no fairytale ending. There was no surreal comeback. Sunday evening stood still in time as the tears rolled down his face. On one end of the New York/New Jersey Stadium, Lionel Messi stood transfixed, wondering if this was the end of his Argentina journey after a mostly angelic month at the World Cup where he bent time and space like only he could. Next to him, amid a crestfallen bunch of colleagues, the Spanish were just getting started with the celebrations. A second star on the jersey The victorious Spanish team with the FIFA World Cup trophy on Sunday. (Right) Lionel Messi sheds tears after match | AP a just reward for the side that had most played like a team throughout the 40 days in US, Mexico and Canada. There is a certain irony because in the land where stars are venerated and deified — it was no surprise that Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Michael Olise, Vini Jr, Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland routinely made head- lines in the country of Hollywood — the nation with an ethos for the collective burnt the brightest when the competition got serious. The final itself went on predicted lines as the Europeans, whose only previous win came in 2010, suffocated Argentina before killing them slowly and softly In extra-time, they fi. nally put Argentina out of their misery Ferran Torres crashing , the ball into the roof of the net in the first-half of extra-time. In the end, it was no surprise that the South Americans had as many red cards as shots on goal P11 after 120 minutes.