BHUBANESWAR  SATURDAY  OCTOBER 26, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION CENTRE ASKS STATES TO DISCOURAGE FIRECRACKERS TO CURB POLLUTION With air pollution levels soaring in many cities, the Union health ministry has shot off a letter to all states, urging them to take preventive steps STOP STUBBLE BURNING, REDUCE GENSETS USE CHECK AIR QUALITY BEFORE VENTURING OUT In the letter, Director General of Health Services Dr Atul Goel advised state authorities to discourage stubble and waste burning and spread awareness among people about reducing firecrackers during festivities, promoting public transportation, limiting reliance on diesel-based generators, and curbing smoking. The letter noted that air pollution has become a health hazard ■ ■ ■ The advisory said people in polluted cities must minimise their exposure to polluted air and check the air quality indices before venturing out The other preventive measures include avoiding congested areas, and opting for cleaner fuels at home for cooking, heating, and lighting Those with pre-existing health conditions must take extra care, it added 0-50 HEALTHY AIR QUALITY INDEX (AQI) RANGE. ANYTHING ABOVE THIS IS DEEMED HARMFUL 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 A man walks along a road blocked by an uprooted electricity pole at Talakrunia in Balasore; CM Mohan Majhi briefs mediapersons; NDRF personnel clear a tree that fell on a house at Anantpur in Balasore | DEBADATTA MALLICK Dana packs wind but lacks sting CM Mohan Majhi hails Zero Casualty achievement; lauds state administration for effective disaster mitigation efforts B I J AY C H A K I @ Bhubaneswar ODISHA heaved a sigh of relief as Cyclone Dana made its way through the north coastal districts without causing any major damage to life and property . The tropical storm, categorised as a severe cyclone, crossed the coast near Habalikhati in Bhitarkanika National Park shortly after midnight on Thursday with wind speeds gusting up to 120 kmph. The landfall process completed in the morning and the system weakened into a deep depression. The system lay centred over north coastal Odisha about 50 km northwest of Bhadrak and 70 km east-southeast of Keonjhar. It is likely to move nearly westwards across north Odisha and weaken gradually into a depression, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Chief Minister Mohan Cha- INSIDE ran Majhi, who had been constantly monitoring the situation, expressed satisfaction over the efforts of the administration in preparing for and handling the impact of the storm. “The state government has achieved its objective of Zero Casualty as there has been no report on loss of life. With the blessings of Lord Jagannath, precautionary measures, administrative preparedness and teamwork, we have successfully managed the impact of the cyclone. Our administrative officers and rescue teams were on the ground for over 72 hours,” he said. Even as Dana packed strong winds, there was a visible lack of intense rainfall activity which to a large extent minimised its impact. There were reports of felling of trees, minor disruptions in road communication and power supply in the affected areas but 90 per BHITARKANIKA MANGROVE BLUNTS DANA’S RAMPAGE I P3 cent restoration work was completed by evening, Majhi said. The chief minister will make an aerial survey of the affected areas on Saturday along with Revenue and Disaster Management minister Suresh Pujari. Collectors of affected districts have been asked to submit preliminary damage report within the next seven days. “According to preliminary estimation, crops in 1.75 lakh acre have been damaged. However, a decision will be taken only after final reports are received from the collectors. Compensation will be paid to the affected people on the basis of the reports,” he said. Majhi said due to coordinated efforts of ministers, officials deployed in the affected districts, elected representatives and local administrations, the state government has successfully tackled the cyclone. CONTINUED ON P5 FARMERS STARE AT LOSS AS CROPS BEAR CYCLONE BLOW I P3 A S I S H M E H TA @ Bhubaneswar Due to an insufficient expanse of oceanic distance and inhospitable environment, the cyclone did not maturate into an organised system AS Cyclone Dana was fast dissipating hours after making landfall near Bhitarkanika National Park of Odisha on Thursday midnight, it left in its wake a raging debate over prediction of its intensity. Did it manifest as strongly as projected by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) was the poser. According to the national weather forecaster, it crossed close to Habalikhati near Bhitarkanika and Dhamra, packing wind of 110 km per hour. Damage to kutcha houses as well as scores of uprooted trees that impacted low tension power lines vouched for the gale force. However, for a cyclone that was billed as a severe category storm, Dana did not induce commensurate rain. The IMD had predicted extremely heavy rainfall of over 200 mm across several districts on Thursday and Friday . In the last 24 hours, only Chandbali received very heavy rainfall of 158.6 mm. Similarly, heavy rains occurred in only four places - Paradip 76.4 mm, Bhadrak 70.2 mm, Balasore 68.8 mm and Jajpur 68.2 mm. A number of coastal and adjoining districts received light rains despite prediction of very heavy showers. Weather experts pointed out that the tropical weather system did not gather sufficient strength due to factors such as presence of multiple high-pressure zones, unfavourable sea surface temperature during its passage across the Bay of Bengal apart from vertical wind shear. This was not articulated by the IMD though. CONTINUED ON P5 STORM ADDS TO WOES OF CLIMATE REFUGEES I P4 DANA, BARSHA, PABAN BORN IN KENDRAPARA I P4 Sandeep Pattnaik, IIT-Bhubaneswar M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi THE muddled Trudeau government has decided to slash its immigrant intake by about 20% from the next year so as to right-size its population. While Trudeau had earlier announced he would allow 5 lakh immigrants each in 2025 and 2026, he admitted that after the pandemic, “between addressing labour needs and maintaining population growth, we didn’t get the balance right.” As per the new plan, 3.95 lakh new permanent residents will be allowed in 2025, down from 4.85 lakh in 2024. The revised targets for 2026 and 2027 are 3.8 lakh and 3.65 lakh, respectively The announcement comes months after stu. dent visas were cut by almost 35%, as compared to the previous year. Besides, student visas were capped at 3,60,000 for two years. Cumulatively, Trudeau’s announcement is expected to affect Indians in a big way. India had around 3,19,000 students studying in Canada in 2023. The cut in student visas primarily impacted Indians, who constitute more than 41% of Canada’s international student population. In a post on X, Trudeau said, “We’re going to have fewer temporary foreign workers in Canada. We’re bringing in stricter rules for companies to prove why they can’t hire Canadian workers first.” This move is expected to complicate job opportunities for immigrants settling in Canada. As per Statistics Canada, the country had 2.8 million temporary residents, including workers and students, in the second quarter of 2024. Disengagement to be complete by Tuesday PILGRIMS PANIC Bomb threats to four hotels in Tirupati M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi D S U R E N D R A K U M A R @ Tirupati A series of bomb threats sent by e-mail to four hotels in Tirupati on Thursday triggered widespread panic in the temple town. The threats targeted three hotels along the Tirumala bypass road and another at Ramanuja Circle, leaving residents and pilgrims anxious. Under the supervision of Tirupati DSP Venkata Narayana, police teams launched an intensive search operation at the targeted hotels. Special t e a m s, i n cluding bomb squads and sniffer d o g s, we re deployed to inspect each hotel thoroughly No explosives or . s u s p i c i o u s i t e m s we r e found. Speaking to mediapersons on Friday DSP Narayana said , vigil has been stepped up. He explained that teams have been mobilised to carry out searches and assured the public that no explosives were found during their inspections. Hotels in the city have been advised to remain vigilant for suspicious activity or unclaimed items. Thousands of people travel to Tirupati every day to offer prayers at the Srivari temple in Tirumala. Storm intensity hindered by atmospheric factors: Experts Fewer Indians to get visa power as Canada cuts target CHARM OFFENSIVE German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a joint press conference at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Friday | SHEKHAR YADAV | P7 THE disengagement of troops from the two remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh—Depsang and Demchok— is in full swing and is likely to be complete by October 29, sources said. Giving clarity on its progress on the ground, Army sources told this paper on Friday that patrols are likely to resume from October 30. Both sides are moving fast on the recently reached agreement to de-escalate tensions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), where Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a face-off since 2020. Explaining the process, sources said temporary structures are being knocked down. Adhering to agreements between the two sides, Indian troops have begun to pull back equipment to rear locations in these areas. “The tents and shades are be- an eye on everything,” said ing removed with continuous sources. verifications being done. The Officials said the current vehicles are also being shifted batch of agreements is excluback in batches,” sources sively for the disengagement said. of Depsang and DemWhile the agreement chok and does not talk between the Cor ps about patrolling limits Commanders was and buffer zones in the i n ke d o n M o n d ay, areas where disengagetroops pullout and disment has already taken mantling of the tempoplace. rary structures startThe agreement on ed on Wednesday The . Depsang and Demchok whole process is exis expected to lead to pected to complete by the forces reaching Tents and shades their pre-Galwan posinext Tuesday and coare being ordinated patrolling tions of April 2020. removed. The from the next day af- vehicles are also The ties between Int e r g r o u n d being shifted back dia and China had noverification. sedived following a in batches “Both sides will infierce clash in the GalArmy sources form each other about wan Valley in June their patrols to ward 2020 that marked the off any faceoff and unsavoury most serious military conflict incidents. Also, surveillance between the two sides in mechanisms will be set to keep decades. PATROLLING TROOPS WILL CARRY WEAPONS For better coordination and smooth operations, each side will inform the other about the size of the patrolling team and the schedule. Also, the patrolling troops will carry weapons including rifles, sources said BOTH SIDES TO GO BACK TO PRE-2020 SITES Under the recent agreement, both Indian and Chinese troops will fall back to the positions they had held before April 2020. They will now resume patrolling the same areas they used to do till that date 39L MGNREGA workers deleted in 5 months; 6.7 cr out of payment system P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi OVER 39 lakh registered workers were deleted from the Centre’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGA) in the current financial year (from April to September), according to a report by civil society organisation LibTech India, released on Friday As per LibTech’s previ. ous year’s report, more than eight crore workers were removed from the MGNREGA registry during FY2022-23 and 2023-24. In another worrying trend, the data showed that over 6.7 crore workers nationwide have become ineligible to seek work under the rural job scheme for not complying with the mandatory Aadhaar seeding. The data points out that regardless of extended deadlines, 27.4% of all MGNREGA workers and 4.2% of active workers are currently ineligible for the Aadhaarb a s e d P ay m e n t S y s t e m (ABPS). In January 2023, the Centre mandated the nationwide implementation of ABPS. Following public outcry and pressure from civil society organisations, the deadline for ABPS implementation was extended multiple times. However, since January 1, 2024, ABPS has been made mandatory . While Assam has the highest percentage of active workers (22%) ineligible for ABPS, Kerala has the lowest. As for all workers, Maharashtra has the highest ineligible percentage of workers (66.3%) while Andhra Pradesh has the lowest. In another critical finding, employment opportunities under MGNREGA dropped significantly compared to the previous year, from 184 crore to 154 crore person-days. Moreover, the data shows a steep decline in persondays generated compared to the previous financial year, reflecting a 16.6% decrease. While Tamil Nadu and Odisha registered the steepest declines in person-days, Maharashtra and H i m a c h a l P r a d e s h s aw increases. CONCERN OVER SUSPENSION OF WORK IN BENGAL The report highlighted the suspension of MGNREGA works in West Bengal since December 2021. “The ongoing legal case in the Calcutta High Court further complicates the situation, emphasizing the urgent need for intervention to restore the program’s functionality in the state.” “This drop suggests not only a shrinking participation base but also a potential shortfall in the delivery of employment opportunities to those who need them most. The persistent implementation challenges, particularly with Aadhaar-based payments and worker eligibility for ABPS, continue to exacerbate these issues,” it said. While there were marginal worker additions, they were overshadowed by the significant number of worker deletions. “This raises concerns about the efficacy of the system,” it said.