BHUBANESWAR l thursday l june 20, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION more than 21 lakh people died in India due to air pollution in 2021 Globally 81 lakh deaths were due to breathing in polluted air, up from 66 lakh in 2019, says the report by US-based Health Effects Institute a leading cause of death among children For children, exposure to air pollution was the second-leading risk factor for death globally in 2021, after malnutrition. As per the report, about 7.09 lakh children worldwide, including 1.69 lakh in India, died as a result of breathing polluted air. About 72% of these deaths were linked to exposure to household air pollution from burning solid fuels for cooking ■ 99% India, china account for 54% of fatalities ■ ■ Air pollution was the second-largest risk factor of deaths among adults, after high blood pressure. In 2019, it was the fourth India and China (23 lakh deaths) were the two leading countries for air pollution deaths followed by Pakistan (2,56,000 deaths) The report blamed PM25 particles for 90% of air pollution deaths | P7 of people exposed to unhealthy levels of PM25 particles, says report 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 Ahead of key state polls, MSP for 14 crops hiked Govt open to fresh R a j e s h KUMAR T h a k u r @ New Delhi Ahead of elections in key states like Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir later this year, the Centre on Wednesday raised the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for 14 Kharif crops for the 2024-25 marketing season. The MSP for ‘common’ grade paddy has been raised `117 to `2,300 per quintal, while for the ‘A’ grade variety it has been hiked to `2,320 per quintal for the upcoming Kharif season, Union information and broad- casting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters. The MSP hike is in line with the 2018-19 announcement of fixing it at a level of at least 1.5 times of the all-India weighted average cost of production, the government said. “By increasing MSP the gov, ernment aims to provide a safety net for farmers, enabling them to cover their cost of production and secure a fair return on investment,” a senior leader of the NDA said. However, critics said while the MSP hike provides immediate relief to farmers, it must be complemented with broader reforms. 80 Indian Haj pilgrims die of extreme heat Over 900 dead as day-time temperature in Mecca goes past 50°C; 600 are from Egypt Ye s h i Se l i @ New Delhi at least 922 people, including 80 Indians, have died of scorching heat during the five-day Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. A number of Indians are reportedly missing. “Nine of the dead are from Jammu and Kashmir. The deaths are due to extreme heat and also due to old age. Two Indians died in road accidents,” said a source. According to AFP 600 of the , 922 who died are Egyptians. Fatalities have been confirmed by Jordan, Indonesia, Iran, Senegal, Tunisia, and Kurdistan. Last year more than 200 pilgrims were reported dead, most of them from Indonesia. This year’s tragedy could be the third deadliest incident at Haj after the 2015 stampede in Mina that killed 2,400 pilgrims and the 1990 stampede that killed 1,426 people. The Saudi government has not provided any official information on fatalities so far, though it flagged 2,700 cases of ‘heat exhaustion’ on Sunday . Sources said the toll could go up as scores of pilgrims are reported missing by their relatives, who scoured hospitals and took to social media. Facebook and other social media networks were flooded with pictures of the missing and requests for leads. About 1.8 million people from all over the world, many old and infirm, took part in the days-long, mostly outdoor pilgrimage, held this year during the oven-like Saudi summer. Temperatures are hovering over 50 degrees Celsius in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city Accord. ing to reports, several people fainted while trying to perform the symbolic stoning of the devil amid blazing heat. According to a Saudi study published last month, temperatures in the area are rising 0.4 degrees Celsius each decade. Saudi Arabia has already spent billions of dollars on crowd control and safety measures, but the sheer number of participants makes ensuring their safety difficult. Nearly 1.75 lakh Indians went for Haj this year. Officials claimed India extended all possible support to make the pilgrims’ stay comfortable and even facilitated their transfer to Mecca from Riyadh on a high-speed train. Haj is the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It is considered a must for every Muslim who can afford the trip and is physically able to make it. The decision comes amid continuing protests by farmers over various demands including guaranteed MSP and the criticism from some quarters that the BJP government’s alleged failure to address farmers’ demands contributed to its lacklustre performance in the Lok Sabha elections. In the three poll-bound states, farmers make up a large chunk of the population, especially in rural areas, and can play a key role in shaping the outcome. The MSP hike comes despite the Food Corporation of India holding a record stockpile of 53.4 million tonnes of rice. MSP 2024-25 Cost* KMS 2024-25 Margin over cost (%) MSP 2023-24 Increase in 2024-25 NEET-UG for all if the SC issues orders Common 2,300 1,533 50 2,183 117 Ke ta n N a r o t ta m Ta nn a Grade A^ 2,320 - - 2,203 117 Hybrid 3,371 2,247 50 3,180 191 Minimum Support Prices for all Kharif crops for Marketing Season 2024-25 Values in Rupees per quintal Crops Paddy Jowar - - 3,225 196 Tur /Arhar 7,550 4,761 59 7,000 550 Moong 8,682 5,788 50 8,558 124 Maize 2,225 1,447 54 2,090 124 Cotton (Medium) 7,121 4,747 50 6,620 501 Maldandi” 3,421 Surama files nomination, all set to be elected as Speaker unopposed E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar SENIOR BJP leader and Ranpur MLA Surama Padhy is all set to be the Speaker of the 17th L e g i s l at ive A s s e m bly o f Odisha. Though election to the post is scheduled on Thursday, Padhy will be elected unopposed with neither the BJD nor the Congress pitching its candidate on Wednesday the last date for fil, ing of nominations. Sixty-three-year-old Padhy will be the second woman to occupy the Speaker’s post and succeed BJD’s Pramila Mallik who had created history by becoming the first woman Speaker of Odisha Assembly in September 2023. She too was elected Surama Padhy filing nomination unopposed. On Wednesday, Padhy filed her nomination papers in presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Ministers KV Singhdeo and Pravati Parida, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari, other members of the Cabinet and BJP MLAs. No BJD or Congress MLA was U.S. team meets Dalai Lama, China protests Y E SHI S E LI @ New Delhi Warmest Delhi night in 55 years 35.2°C Delhi recorded its warmest night in 55 years on Wednesday, indicating severe heatwave conditions even at night. It was 8°C above normal It was the highest daily minimum temperature in Delhi since 1969. The earlier record was 34.9°C on May 23, 1972 On Tuesday, the minimum temperature recorded in Alwar was 37°C, the highest in the country since 1969 present when Padhy filed her papers. Padhy’s name as the Speaker candidate was finalised at the meeting of the BJP Legislature Party presided over by the chief minister where all party MLAs were present. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling announced her name as the BJP candidate for the Speaker’s post. Mahaling said the chief minister had spoken to BJD president Naveen Patnaik and sought his support. The BJD has 51 MLAs while there are 14 members of the Congress in the Assembly The BJP howev. , er, has a clear majority in the 147-member Assembly with 78 MLAs and the support of three Independents. Continued on P5 Dalai Lama being greeted by Nancy Pelosi at the former’s residence in Dharamsala on Wednesday | pti It is still my hope that one day His Holiness the Dalai Lama and his people will return to Tibet in peace —Michael McCaul AMID warnings from China, a bipartisan US Congressional delegation met the Dalai Lama and officials of the Tibetan government-inexile in Dharamsala on Wednesday The delegation, . led by US House Foreign Aff airs Committee chair Michael McCaul and comprising ex-House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, assured the spiritual leader of US support for full autonomy for Tibet. McCaul said Beijing’s claim that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times is false. Lashing out at Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pelosi said the Dalai Lama will live long and his legacy forever. “But you, the President of China, will be gone and nobody will give you credit for anything,” she said. The visit follows passage of the Resolve Tibet Act by the US Congress, which urges Beijing to re-engage with Tibetan leaders. The Dalai Lama will fly to the US this week for his knee surgery . Govt says no proposal received after ASI’s Ratna Bhandar gaffe d i a n a s a h u @ Bhubaneswar HOURS after an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official announced that Ratna Bhandar of the Srimandir will be opened on July 8, the Odisha government on Wednesday stepped in to clarify that it has not received any proposal to this effect from the managing committee of the Shree Jagannath Temple yet. Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said no such deci- sion has been taken either by the temple’s Chhatisha Nijog or the state government. A Law department press release soon followed, stating, “No proposal from Shree Jagannath Temple managing committee regarding opening of Ratna Bhandar has been received by the government today If any . such proposal is received by the government in the future, necessary action will be taken.” Controversy started when ASI superintending archaeologist Dibishida Gadnayak made the gaffe before the media after attending the meeting of the managing committee of the temple at Puri. The meeting, chaired by Puri Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, was to take stock of the preparations for conduct of the Snana Purnima. Gadnayak told mediapersons that it was decided in the meeting to open the temple treasury on July 8 after Rath Yatra. However, SJTA chief administrator Vir Vikram Yadav said the 12-member panel under the chairmanship of Justice Arijit Pasayat, former judge of the Supreme Court, will meet and take a call on the modalities required for opening of the treasury during Rath Yatra. “The modalities will be sent to the state government and it will decide when to open the Ratna Bhandar,” Continued on P5 he added. UGC-NET cancelled, CBI probe ordered @ New Delhi The Union Education Ministry is not averse to conducting a fresh round of the National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance TestUndergraduate (NEET-UG), subject to directives from the Supreme Court’s scheduled hearing on July 8. An official source told this paper that the ministry is ready to organise a retest for all 24 lakh NEET-UG aspirants if the court gives the go-ahead. Sources suggested that one potential approach is to not limit the retest to the 1,563 candidates who were given grace marks and open it to all the students who want to go for re-examination. The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the medical exams, informed the Supreme Court that retest for the over 1,500 students will be conducted on June 23 and the results will be announced by June 30. The court has not stalled the counselling process, which will begin from July 6. When asked whether this would entail a comprehensive retest rather than a selective approach, sources acknowledged the possibility of a complete new exam if directed by the court. They also highlighted Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s “profound concern” regarding the NEET-UG controversy, underscoring his commitment to ad- The education ministry on Wednesday proactively cancelled the UGC-NET exam following inputs that its integrity may have been compromised. The matter has been handed over to the CBI for probe. The schedule of the fresh exam will be announced later dressing it as a “top priority”. “The minister’s main objective is to identify the root cause and rectify it as soon as possible,” a source said. This year’s exam posed a unique challenge: a record number of candidates got the perfect score on 720 on 720, significantly altering the ranking dynamics and intensifying competition for medical college admission, especially in government colleges. Since the announcement of results on June 4, the NTA has come under severe criticism for alleged paper leaks, number of high rankings, discrepancies in the allocation of grace marks, fraudulent activities and other irregularities. Students, parents, educators and even medical associations have called for a retest and a CBI probe. Around 30 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court on the matter, besides a large number of pleas in various high courts. express read Curfew extended in Balasore, no fresh violence reported Naveen to be new Leader of Opposition in state Assembly Bhubaneswar/Balasore: Though no fresh instance of violence was reported in Balasore town on Wednesday, the district administration decided to extend the curfew in the coastal town for the next 24 hours. The curfew, however, will be relaxed for four hours, between 7 am and 11 am on Thursday. During the period, all commercial establishments are allowed to open,” said Balasore collector Ashish Thakare | P4 Bhubaneswar: After serving as the chief minister of Odisha for five consecutive terms, BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik will be donning the role of the Leader of Opposition for the first time in the state Assembly. The decision was taken at the BJD Legislature Party (LP) meeting presided over by Naveen on Wednesday. He was also unanimously elected as the leader of the BJDLP at the meet | P3
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