bhubaneswar l monday l september 07, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION U.S. peace envoys make first Kyiv visit eyeing end to Ukraine war Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held talks in Kyiv on Sunday in their first official visit to Ukraine, hoping to end Russia’s invasion ukraine trip follows meeting with putin Had meaningful discussion, says witkoff Russia has recently been using fast-flying, jet-powered drones, and the recurring wail of air-raid sirens has become part of daily life in Kyiv. The trip by the Americans follows a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday. Washington’s push to end the war has lost momentum, with US focused for the past six months on the Iran war ■ ■ Following two rounds of discussion with the US officials, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the goal was a “just, fair peace” “We’ve had very meaningful discussion,” Witkoff said. A Ukrainian official said anonymously much of the discussion focused on “how to get through the winter and what can be done before then” | P9 1,250km long frontline in ukraine where troops are fighting russians 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 India backs UN, draws red line on J&K, Ladakh J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi Devi awardees pose for a group photograph after the presentation ceremony in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. In the frame (left to right) Shyni S, Nina Singh, Laxmi Meher, TNIE CEO Lakshmi Menon, Paramita Satpathy, Aruna Mohanty, TNIE Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, Prof Debasmita Pankaj Alone, Nalini Kandi, Jayanti Behera, Sujata Priyambada Choudhury and Sumona Karjee Mishra | DEBADATTA MALLICK Not beneficiaries, women should be leaders of development: Dy CM Parida presents Devi Awards to 10 women achievers from Odisha E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida on Sunday called for a shift from viewing women merely as beneficiaries of welfare schemes to recognising them as partners, leaders and drivers of development. Addressing the Devi Awards ceremony, organised by The New Indian Express here in presence of TNIE editorial director Prabhu Chawla and Group CEO Lakshmi Menon, Parida said women-led growth must be central to Odisha’s transformation into a developed state and contribute to the national goal of a Viksit Bharat. “Devi Awards celebrate the modern expression of Shakti women who create, lead and transform the society. We worship Shakti in our temples and revere the strength of women in our traditions. Tonight, we celebrate Shakti in its most power- ful modern form,” she said. Parida, also the minister for Women and Child Development and Mission Shakti, said the society must create an environment that provides women with opportunities, resources and freedom to exercise their potential. “We want our daughters to become entrepreneurs. We want women to lead enterprises and embrace technology and innovation. We want greater participation of women in governance and decisionmaking at every level,” Parida said. Describing Mission Shakti as a major instrument of women’s social and economic transformation, Parida said, “Odisha’s vision is evolving from women’s welfare to women’s empowerment, from women’s empowerment to women’s leadership and from women’s leadership to a women-led economy .” State can hit hard when protests cross limits: Amish to Gen Z A s h u to s h A c ha r ya @ Bhubaneswar Author and former director of the Nehru Centre and minister for Culture and Education at the High Commission of India in the UK Amish Tripathi on Sunday advised Gen Z to protest within constitutional limits, cautioning that while the Indian State can be “very soft” when protests remain within the law, it can be “very hard” when those limits are crossed. Speaking at the session ‘Dharma in Daily Life: The Morality Question’ on the second day of Odisha Literary Festival on Sunday, Amish said, “As long as the protest is within constitutional limits, it’s okay But, when you cross a . line, in India, the State will be very hard on you, regardless of the party .” Referring to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest in July, Amish said parts of the movement had turned anarchic due to violence, but maintained that the protesters had legitimate demands. “They have the right to protest that exams should be clean and they should have jobs. They have achieved stuff because they remained within the constitutional limits,” he observed. He pointed out that a committee had been constituted to look into the examination-related concerns. He also cited the announcement of a free online coaching scheme which, Author Amish Tripathi speaking at Odisha Literary Festival | Express in a way, would address the challenges of the high cost of coaching being faced by students. Amish also called for greater regulation of social media, and said it caused tremendous chaos among both children and adults. Responding to criticism that Gen Z was particularly aggressive or disrespectful, he said younger generations were not necessarily worse behaved than previous generations. “Gen Z is a little more aggressive, but not as crazy as Gen X and Boomers were,” the popular author said. Amish said the Naxal movement was an example of the far more extreme nature of political rebellion in earlier generations. “All that these guys (Gen Z) did was make Reels,” he said. However, the author cautioned Gen Z that the consequences of public misbehaviour were far greater in the age of smartphones and social Continued on P5 media. Referring to the Subhadra scheme, she said its objective was not merely financial assistance but strengthening women’s confidence, financial independence and participation in the economy and society “When . a woman becomes financially empowered, the impact extends far beyond her own life. She strengthens her family, her community and ultimately the economy of the state and nation,” she said. Calling upon the awardees to continue breaking barriers and opening doors for others, she said, “The greatest measure of success is not how high we rise individually It is . how many others rise because we rose. Continue to inspire, continue to break the barriers and continue to open doors for others. Whenever you move one step forward, remember to take another woman with Continued on P5 you.” ‘Odisha to be positioned as tourism leader’ B i joy P r adhan @ Bhubaneswar Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida on Sunday said the changes brought by the state government through the Odisha Tourism (Amendment) Policy 2026 and Odisha Homestay , Establishment Scheme, 2025, will position Odisha as a leading destination for nature and cultural tourism. In a conversation with editorial director of The New Indian Express Prabhu Chawla after presenting the Devi Awards, Parida said the previous BJD government did nothing for development of tourism sector. “Years of policy inertia and regulatory hurdles have held back the development of beach tourism despite the state’s vast coastline and rich cultural heritage,” Continued on P5 she said. india has drawn a clear line on the depiction of its territory , stressing that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh must be shown in accordance with the country’s official map after it backed a United Nations General Assembly resolution seeking to correct distortions including the relative size of the African continent on commonly used world maps. The External Affairs Ministry on Sunday clarified that India’s vote in favour of the United Nations General Assembly resolution did not amount to an endorsement of any particular map, projection or representation of national boundaries. “Any inaccurate or misleading depiction is unacceptable. Our position on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is clear, consistent and non-negotiable,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The clarification assumes 164 nations support UN resolution The resolution titled ‘Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation and Promoting Equitable Representation of the World’s Regions, Particularly Africa’ was sponsored by Togo and adopted by the UN General Assembly with overwhelming support. A total of 164 countries voted in favour, while the US voted against significance because the UN initiative has prompted a discussion over how the world is represented on maps, including the relative size of continents and the way territories and boundaries are depicted. India stressed that the resolution does not seek to settle questions of political cartography . “The resolution neither adopts nor authenticates any Net gains for Satwik and Chirag in China Third time is the charm Indian doubles duo displays grit and experience to beat He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in three games to clinch China Masters title in Shenzhen. Hard-fought victory Like their previous three ties in the competition, the World No 5 pair was thoroughly tested but they kept their calm in key moments to come out on top. When the score was 17-17 in the final game, the Indians reeled off five straight points to seal the deal. The Indians had finished runners-up on two occasions (2023 and 2025) in the recent years. They finally broke the jinx to get over the line on Sunday. It feels really special. Going into the Asiad, winning a title is definitely a huge boost. It feels whatever we are working for, we are in the right direction. — Chirag Shetty 50-yr-old five-storey Delhi hostel collapses; 3 dead U D AYA N K IS H O R E @ New Delhi A 50-year-old five-storey building collapsed in south Delhi’s Satya Niketan area in the vicinity of Delhi University’s south campus on Sunday afternoon, leaving five persons dead and several injured. The structure, which was being used as a paying guest accommodation, collapsed at around 1.30 pm. Officials said 10 people were rescued so far. Local residents claimed 50 people could still be trapped under the debris. Prior to the collapse, repair work was underway in the basement of the structure, police said.Victims were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre where some were in critical condition. According to sources, the building was vacated around a year ago over safety concerns. Rescue work on near the structure in Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Sunday | parveen negi However, a few months back, PG accommodation was started in the building. According to police, a PCR call was received at South Campus police station at 1.34 pm on the collapse of ‘Hostel Daze’ near Nanakpura Gurdwara. “This was a 40- or 50-year-old building, comprising a basement and five upper floors, and it was used as a PG accommodation,” a police official said. Locals claimed that the collection of water over days of rain in the basement had weakened the building’s foundation, leading to its eventual collapse. Densely packed buildings, marked by heavy student presence and narrow, congested bylanes, lined with eateries and PG accommodations, often leave the area with little room for movement. Eight fire tenders and multiple rescue teams from various departments were rushed to the spot, officials said. No immediate official confirmation has been provided regarding the total number of people trapped, rescued, or injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah expressed condolences and shock at the tragedy. saying, “The collapse of a building at Satya Niketan is distressing. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured.” A high-level probe has been ordered. particular world map, nor does it address political cartography, including international boundaries, disputed territories or place names,” the MEA said. It added that India’s vote “does not constitute endorsement of any specific map, projection, or depiction of national boundaries.” New Delhi’s position follows its explanation of vote at the UN General Assembly earlier, when it supported the broader principle of using equal-area map projections but explicitly distanced itself from endorsing the equal earth projection. Indian diplomat Raghoo Puri said, “The resolution should be understood as supporting the broader use and consideration of equal-area map projections and not as endorsing the Equal Earth projection, or any other specific map projection.” Shot in the arm before Asian games Given that this was just their second tournament since their return from injury, it’s a massive shot in the arm for the doubles pair. Now, they will be looking to build on this performance and defend their crown in the upcoming Asian Games in Japan. 2 This is SatChi’s second title of the season. Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy after their win on Sunday | badminton photo | P11 ISRO rejects reports of privatisation ISRO has rejected reports claiming that it would be privatised. “ISRO will neither be privatised nor will its importance be diminished,” the space agency said express read `11,639 cr push to develop 2,616 border villages New Delhi: ONCE known for being neglected and cut off from the rest of the country, India’s border villages are fast turning into thriving hubs of economic activity. One of the major drivers of the change is the Centre’s decision to turn paramilitary outposts along international borders into buyers of local produce | P5 ed probe Paying cash at toll booths? You could be funding a scam Lens on toll collection entities India S u m i t K u ma r S i n g h @ New Delhi IF your FASTag fails to scan and you pay cash at a highway toll plaza, that money may never reach the National Highways Authority of India. The Enforcement Directorate has found it can disappear into a parallel network of fake receipts and private accounts. On Sunday the ED said toll op, erators used unauthorised mobile apps, including “Mobdata” and “Any to generate counter,” feit receipts for cash-paying vehicles. The collections never entered NHAI’s official books. The ED probe began after a complaint from Lucknow related to largescale fraudulent toll collection at Atraila Toll Plaza, Mirzapur, and various other toll plazas across the nation. ED officials found that illegal apps used to generate fake receipts and conceal collections from NHAI’s official system. The probe found involvement of intermediaries and toll collection entities, entrusted by NHAI, in the scam The practice, investigators found, was systematic across plazas in several states.The scam largely hits drivers of older vehicles, trucks and commercial fleets yet to shift fully to FASTag. Even motorists with valid tags are sometimes forced to pay cash when barri- ers or scanners fail, with the cash diverted. ED teams raided locations in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan on September 2 as part of a money-laundering probe. The case began with a complaint from Lucknow and an FIR dated January 1, 2025. An Enforcement Case Information Report followed on May 19 last year. The investigation centres on large-scale fraudulent collection at Atraila toll plaza in Mirzapur and other plazas nationwide. In January 2025, Uttar Pradesh Police had already exposed the use of an illegal app at the Atraila Shiv Gulam plaza to collect tolls from vehicles without sufficient FASTag balance and conceal the money from NHAI. Forensic examination of seized devices showed the unauthorised apps were deployed at around 100 plazas. Digital records pointed to unauthorised receipts running into crores. Intermediaries and some NHAI-entrusted toll operators are under the scanner. Searches have so far recovered about ` 1.03 crore in cash.