ani BHUBANESWAR l monday l september 19, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l JEYPORE EDITION India, Singapore agree to strengthen cooperation an open discussion on future of ties: EAM In their first multi-ministerial roundtable, the two countries discussed fintech and investment opportunities Energy security among talking points External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said it was an open and freewheeling discussion on the possibilities and prospects of ties between the two countries in the coming decade. The discussion focussed on ways to enhance cooperation in emerging and futuristic areas. The Indian delegation was led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ■ ■ Singapore foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan said the two countries discussed ways to improve cooperation in food and energy security, digitisation and skills development He said it was agreed to jointly meet the challenges posed by evolving geopolitical developments and supply chain disruptions 3-member Indian delegation also included commerce minister piyush goyal 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 Chorus grows for Rahul Gandhi as party president Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Gujarat PCCs adopt resolutions urging him to lead party pesh Baghel and seconded by PCC chief Mohan Markam, state AsCongress leaders from across sembly Speaker Charan Das Mathe country have started exerting hant, and ministers T S Singh pressure on Rahul Gandhi to re- Deo, Shivkumar Dahariya and turn as party president. The par- Premsai Singh Tekam. ty’s state units in Rajas“If similar resolutions than, Chhattisg arh, are passed in other Assam, Odisha and Gustates, then Rahulji jarat have passed resolushould rethink his decitions that he be brought sion of not returning as back as party chief. OthCongress president.... er state units are likely keeping in view the sento do an encore. timents of party workRahul had resigned ers, I think Rahulji will from the post after the agree (to become party Similar party’s loss in the 2019 chief),” Baghel said. resolutions Lok Sabha elections. Rahul had recently in 2017 Ever since, he has fobbed said “whether I become Similar off calls to take back the president of Congress or party’s reins and indi- resolutions were not will become clear passed in 2017 cated he may not change when elections for the before Rahul was president’s post take his mind. elevated as With the process for place.” His remark was Congress the Congress president’s seen as an indication president. But election scheduled to bethat he might stick to his the situation gin on September 22, all stance of not taking up now is state units had been the party chief ’s post. completely asked by the party’s cenSenior Congress leaddifferent tral leadership to pass a er P Chidambaram and resolution authorising Jairam Ramesh, too, the incoming president to appoint have favoured a consensus for the state unit chiefs and AICC mem- post of AICC chief. The window bers. While adopting it, PCCs for filing nomination papers for have started passing another res- the post is between September 24 olution calling for the return of and 30. The last date for withRahul as party president. drawal of nominations is October In Chhattisgarh, the resolution 8. Elections, if required, will be seeking Rahul’s retur n was held on October 17. The results moved by Chief Minister Bhu- will be out on October 19. S h a h i d F a r i d i @ New Delhi linda holds court Seventeen-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova receives the Chennai Open winner’s trophy from Tamill Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday as TN Tennis Association president Vijay Amritraj looks on. Fruhvirtova beat Magda Linette in three sets | Ashwin prasath pinarayi proposes, bommai disposes rail & road projects Express News Service @ Bengaluru Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday turned down various road and rail infrastructure projects proposed by his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan, saying the projects would adversely affect ecologically sensitive areas and wildlife sanctuaries on the Karnataka side. Bommai and Vijayan held a bilateral as decided at the Souther n Region Council meeting convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Thiruvananthapuram recently. “The Kerala government sought our cooperation for its various railway projects, including the Kanhangad-Kaniyoor rail line, and other highway projects. The proposed railway line will have a 40 km route in Kerala and 31 km in Karnataka. But the project will not benefit Karnataka. Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai (L) felicitates his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan in Bengaluru Besides, it will pass through some of the most ecologically sensitive and biologically diverse areas of the Western Ghats. The Kerala chief minister was clearly told that it was not possible to extend cooperation,” Bommai said. He said Vijayan also brought up the old proposal of Thalassery-Mysore railway line and was again told strictly that it was not possible to give permission as the proposed rail route would pass through Bandipur and Nagarhole National Parks and would cause great damage to the flora and fauna. Bommai said he flatly rejected a proposal to construct an underground rail tunnel on the route, as that too would damage the environment during the course of the construction. Bommai also said the Kerala CM sought permission to increase the number of night buses passing through the Bandipur National Park from two to four. “But we said no,” the Karnataka CM said. He said Vijayan also told him that the National Highways Authority of India has proposed a new alignment touching National Highway H-73 that won’t pass through any eco-sensitive areas. “Let NHAI give us a proposal. We won’t allow any project in eco-sensitive zones ...” Bommai said. express read ‘BOLDs’ women perform drill at Attari border Students protesting over alleged objectionable videos, at Chandigarh University | PTI Massive protests in Univ over ‘objectionable’ vid night and lasted till early morning. Students resumed it on The campus of a private uni- Sunday evening. versity here was on the boil Sources said it all began after since Saturday midnight fol- three inmates of the girls’ hoslowing rumours of objectiona- tel complained to the warden ble videos recorded by a girl about a fellow hosteller shootstudent and released on social ing multiple videos of bathing media. The Punjab Pogirls and sending them lice arrested the girl to the boy in Shimla. Police fail and claimed it was The university manto pacify only her own video agement, district adstudents that was doing the ministration and PunProtesting rounds, adding they jab Police, however, students did not find any other rejected accusations objectionable material demanded to see of the existence of in their preliminary a copy of the FIR multiple videos. A few and refused to inquiry . girl students who accept the After agitated stupassed out in panic management dents of the Chandiwere given first aid. and police’s g arh University Senior Superintendclaimed the objection- version. SSP Soni ent of Police of SAS tried to pacify able videos were sent Nagar Vivek Sheel them but failed by the girl to a boy in Soni said a case under Shimla, who uploaded section 354-C of IPC it on the Internet, the Himachal (voyeurism) and the IT Act has police detained him. been registered. “Our forensic Students also alleged that teams have so far found only some of them had attempted one video of the accused girl. suicide in panic, but the police She has not recorded any other rejected the claims. Chief Min- video of anyone else. Electronister Bhagwant Mann ordered ic devices and mobile phones a high-level inquiry . have been taken into custody Massive protests on the cam- and will be sent for forensic pus began past Saturday mid- test,’’ he said. H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh Chandigarh: The Border Lion Drill Squad (BOLDs) of the BSF, which is primarily comprises women constables, is now a new attraction at the Joint Check Post (JCP) at the Attari border. They perform this electrifying 10-minute drill at the renowned beating retreat ceremony | P8 President Murmu offers tribute to Queen in UK London: President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday visited Westminster Hall in London, where the body of Queen Elizabeth II is lying in state, and offered tributes to the late British monarch on behalf of the Indian government and the people of the country. She will attend the state funeral on Monday | P9 OPCC pushes for Rahul or Sonia at the helm E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Bhubaneswar Amidst the ongoing debate over election of Congress president, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Sunday pressed for all out efforts to persuade Rahul Gandhi to take up the post. If he still is not ready, present party chief Sonia Gandhi should continue, the State Congress unit emphasised. While passing a unanimous resolution in the presence of Pradesh Returning Officer (PRO) of the Congress Niroj Dangi authorising the Congress president to nominate all office-bearers and AICC members including the State president, the OPCC members reposed faith on either Rahul or Sonia Gandhi to lead the party. Even as no specific resolution was passed, the meeting discussed three options on the issue of the party president. The first was that former president Rahul Gandhi should be persuaded to take up the post, or else, the present party chief Sonia Gandhi should continue. If there will be any opposition in view of the ongoing debate that the post should go to a non-Gandhi family member, the leaders felt that somebody chosen by the Gandhi family should be elected. Discussion was also held on an alternative scenario where somebody not chosen by the Gandhi family wantContinued on p5 ed to contest. Four infants die in 24 hours at Keonjhar DHH, probe ordered Debasish Mishra @ Keonjhar/Bhubaneswar DEATH of four infants in last 24 hours at the special newborn care unit (SNCU) of the district headquarters hospital (DHH) rocked Keonjhar on Sunday with grieving parents seeking an investigation into the matter. Locals as well as angry parents staged an agitation on the hospital premises alleging that the infants succumbed as they were not supplied with oxygen on time. Apart from the short supply of oxygen, relatives of the infants alleged on-duty doctors were absent when condition of kids worsened in the night. Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kisore Das directed Keonjhar district administration to inquire into the matter and submit an action taken report immediately . Collector Ashish Thackeray The SNCU of Keonjhar DHH who reached the hospital also ordered a joint probe into the matter. In last one month alone, 13 children have died at the SNCU of the DHH which has received sanction from the National Medical Commission for upgradation into a medical college. “Since we are not allowed to go inside the SNCU, there is no way we could ascertain whether the kids are being attended properly and on time. There was no doctor present in the hospital on Saturday night and nurses were seen running for oxygen,” said the mother of a kid. Deepesh Nayak, a resident of Joda, lost his six-day-old kid. He said he had brought his son from Tata Hospital at Joda to the DHH at 9 pm on Saturday but the infant could not be saved at the SNCU. Kama Dehuri came from Uparemiri village of Bansapal block with his five-day-old child. He was apparently asked to shift his child to Cuttack which he could not due to lack of funds. The father was later told that his kid was no more. As tension ran high in the hospital following agitation by locals and angry family members, chief district medical and public health officer (CDM&PHO) Dr Sujata Rani Mishra rushed with a team of officials to take stock of the Continued on p5 situation. gen next New Guruvayoor chief priest is also a YouTuber E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ Thrissur The newly-appointed head priest of the Sree Krishna Temple in Guruvayur, Kerala, is the talk of the town. Not only is the 34-year-old Kiran Anandh an ayurveda doctor, he is also a popular YouTuber. He manages a YouTube channel with his wife Manasi Mundayakkad. “I belong to Kakkad Mana, one of the four Othikkan families of Guruvayur temple, and used to take part in major rituals of the temple with my fa- ther. I will perform my duties as melsanthi with utmost devotion. The new responsibility will take me one step closer to the lord,” said Kiran. Kiran had been working as an ayurveda doctor in Moscow for the past six years. When his father found it difficult to perform temple rituals due to age-related ailments, Kiran returned from Russia and learned how to perform them. He said although he lacks the experience of perfor ming ‘nithya pooja’ in temples, he has been practising whatever he has learned as Vedic rituals in his life. The couple’s YouTube channel is named HARTT DUOS – HARTT stands for Health, Art, Tech and Travel – and contains, among other things, videos of I will perform my duties as melsanthi with utmost devotion. The new responsibility will take me one step closer to the lord Kiran Anandh their travels through Russia as well as neighbouring countries. The channel has more than 18,900 subscribers and 179 videos at present. Being music lovers and talented singers, the duo has posted several videos to help viewers “understand music easier.” “We are planning to continue posting videos on YouTube. In collaboration with my friend, I may bring out a devotional music album,” said Kiran, who is planning to set up an ayurveda clinic in Guruvayur once his term as melsanthi ends. Dilip Tirkey files nomination for Hockey India president E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar FORMER Indian captain and Olympian Dilip Tirkey on Sunday filed his nomination for the post of Hockey India (HI) president. After filing his nomination, Tirkey said he will strive to take the sport to g reater heights. “Submitted my nomination for the post of president, Hockey India with the blessings of all. I am committed to take Indian hockey to new heights,” he said in a social media post. “Whatever I got in my life that is because of hockey, now it’s my turn to pay back to Indian hockey,” Tirkey told The New Indian Express. Ahead of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023, the Federation of International Hockey had advised HI to hold its election as soon as possible. “The election is going to be held on October 1, 2022. I am confident that other state units of our country will come forward to support me for the overall development of the sport,” said Tirkey. Former electoral officer in the Bihar government, Ajay Nayak had been appointed as the returning officer for the polls. Sunday was the last date for filing nomination papers. Continued on p5
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