BHUBANESWAR  TUESDAY  NOVEMBER 05, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION U.S. ALL SET FOR KAMALA VS TRUMP ELECTORAL SHOWDOWN TODAY The presidential race appears to be hurtling towards a photo finish, with the last set of polls showing a close contest between the two FIRST RESULTS BY EARLY WEDNESDAY CANDIDATES MAKE FINAL PUSH IN KEY STATES Over 244 million Americans are eligible to vote, of which 78 million have already cast their ballots in early voting. In most US states, voting will start either at 6 am or 7 am local time. The first results will be out around 6 p.m. eastern time (4.30 am IST on Wednesday). Tightness of the race means, it could possibly take a few days for the final results to emerge | P9 ■ ■ Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump spent Monday, the last day before the election, in key battleground states, making their final pitches to the undecided voters to back them Elections for all 435 seats in the US House and 34 seats in the Senate will also be held. Republicans are in majority in the House at present Jan 20 WHEN THE NEW PRESIDENT WILL TAKE OATH OF OFFICE 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 36 die as bus falls into U’khand gorge Khalistani attack on Canada temple cowardly: Modi N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun A private bus plunged into a gorge in Uttarakhand’s Almora district on Monday, killing 36 people and injuring 27 others. The bus was on its way from Likhwal to Ramnagar when it fell 200 metres into the gorge in Koopi village in the district’s Marchula area around 8 am. The 43-seater bus had 63 passengers on board when the accident happened. “The bus was just 35 kilometers from its destination, Ramnagar, when it plummeted 200 metres into a gorge in Almora’s Marchula area,” Almora District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey said. He said the bus, operated by the Garhwal Motor Owners Association, had left Pauri in the state’s Garhwal region on Sunday evening for Ramnagar, about 250 km away . Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) told this newspaper that four SDRF teams were dispatched to the site upon receiving information about the incident. “We received information about the accident at 8.45 am on Monday Immedi. ately four SDRF teams were dis, patched. Our personnel pulled out the injured and the bodies of those killed by breaking the glass and cutting through iron sheets of the bus,” he said. Soon after the incident, Assistant Regional Transport officials of the Pauri and Almora districts were suspended on orders of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The chief minister announced `4 lakh ex-gratia for the next of kin of the deceased and `1 lakh for those injured. Separately, the Prime Minister’s Office announced `2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased and `50,000 for the injured. Chief Minister Dhami instructed the Commissioner of Kumaon, Mandal Deepak Rawat to conduct a magisterial inquiry into the accident. 10 WOMEN AMONG DEAD Of the 36 killed, 10 are women. Twenty-eight people died on the spot and eight succumbed to injuries in the Ramdutt Joshi Joint Hospital, Ramnagar People beaten up, consular event disrupted; 3 held; violence unacceptable, says Trudeau YESHI SELI AND HARPREET BAJWA @ New Delhi/Chandigarh RETURNING TO WORK A state disaster relief force official said the bus was carrying people who were returning to work after spending the long Diwali weekend at home Rescuers look for survivors amid the mangled remains of the bus | PTI 10 DEAD AFTER INDONESIAN VOLCANO ERUPTS A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted overnight, killing at least 10 people as it spewed fireballs and ash on surrounding villages, officials said on Monday as they raised the alert to its highest level | P9 INDIA’S equity markets fell sharply on Monday with benchmark indices NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex plummeting up to 2% in intraday deals to their lowest level in four months. The fresh selloff is attributed to the nervousness ahead of the US presidential election, continuous FPI/FII selling, and a disappointing September quarter earnings season. According to analysts, expectations of a fresh stimulus package by China to prop up growth also triggered selling in Indian stocks. Markets across the world are feeling the impact of a close contest between Don- WHY THE MARKETS CRASHED 1 Uncertainty ahead of US presidential elections 2 Relentless selling by foreign investors 3 Expectations of a fresh stimulus package by China NIFTY A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi SENSEX JITTERY MARKETS TUMBLE AHEAD OF TIGHT U.S. POLLS 78,782.24 941.88 23,995.35 309 6 LAKH CR wiped out as market cap falls from `448 lakh cr MANIC MONDAY to `442 lakh cr 4,329.79 CR pulled out by FIIs on Monday ald Trump and Kamala Harris as the world’s biggest economy is all set to elect its next President. “We believe Harris’ win will be neutral/mean continuity for the economy, equities, and other asset classes. Trump would have a reasonable impact on emerging markets (EMs), equities, and currency due to de-globalisation. Amongst EMs, we expect rela- tively positive impact for India in the long-run,” said Anjali Verma and Navaneeth Vijayan of Phillip Capital in a recent note. The US Federal Reserve’s policy outcome is scheduled for Thursday, with the street anticipating a 25-basis-point rate cut. However, this may not have a favourable impact on the market, as the rate cut is already priced in. AMID a diplomatic chill between India and Canada, Khalistanis radicals attacked devotees on the premises of a temple in Brampton, drawing widespread condemnation, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Videos showed protesters with Khalistani flags attacking people and indulging in fistfights at the Hindu Sabha temple in Brampton on Sunday, disrupting a consular event coorganised by the temple authorities and the Indian Consulate there. The attack happened despite the presence of the Peel Regional Police at the site. The police later arrested three persons and slapped criminal charges against them. “Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of the law,’’ Modi said in a strongly-worded statement. The Indian High Commission in Ottawa shared its disappointment at disruption of the consular camp. “It is deeply disappointing to see such disruptions being allowed for routine consular work, organised by our consulates with fullest cooperation of local co-organisers. We also remain very concerned for the safety of applicants, including Indian nationals, on whose demands such events are organised,’’ the Indian mission said in a statement. India also said attempts at disrupting similar camps in Vancouver and Surrey were also made. Consular camps in future will be contingent on security arrangements made by the local authorities, the statement added. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the leader of the opposition Pierre Poilievre condemned the attack. “The acts of violence at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton today are unacceptable. Every Canadian has the right to practice their faith freely and safely said Trudeau. “Completely ,” unacceptable to see violence targeting worshippers,” said Poilievre. Govt to kickstart paddy purchase from Bargarh district on November 21 procurement foolproof and hassle-free for the farmers,” Revenue minister Suresh PuTHE state government has de- jari told mediapersons after the cided to start paddy procure- meeting. ment for the kharif marketing While the panel has proposed season (KMS) 2024-25 from Bar- to start procurement from Nogarh district on November 21. vember 21, the procurement This will be the first procure- committee of Bargarh district ment season of the BJP govern- in its meeting on Tuesday will ment which has committed to take a call on the date to start fulfil its major poll promthe operations. ise of buying paddy at “In order to ensure `3,100 per quintal with transparency in paddy input subsidy of `800 procurement, it was deone of the highest subcided that the authorsidy support by a state ised officials will be to farmers in the counpresent at mandis till try under the minicompletion of the mum support price process. They will reregime. port to the governA five-member min- In order to ensure ment on daily basis transparency isterial level sub-comthrough a dedicated in paddy mittee under the portal,” Pujari said. procurement, it chairmanship of depHe said a supervisor uty chief minister was decided that will be in-charge of the authorised Kanak Vardhan Singh four to five mandis. officials will be Deo on Monday final- present at mandis Each mandi will have ised the procurement till completion of a quality testing mamodalities. “The BJP chine so that fair averthe process government is going age quality (FAQ) of Suresh Pujari, to create another hispaddy can be assessed Revenue minister tory An additional fi. properly This will end . nancial support `800 the unethical practice per quintal of paddy will be of ‘katni chatni’. The Transgiven to farmers over and above port department will inspect the minimum support price of the paddy transportation from `2,300 announced by the Cen- mandis to rice mills. tre. The sub-committee disTime lapse of online token iscussed measures to be adopted sued to farmers was another at mandi (paddy purchase cen- important issue discussed at tre) level to make the entire the meeting. CONTINUED ON P5 I strongly condemn the deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada. Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats. Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law - Narendra Modi, prime minister UNCHECKED KHALISTANI EXTREMISM “This exposes just how deep and unchecked Khalistani extremism runs in Canada.... any Hindu who dares to question or resist this is swiftly branded an ‘Indian agent’, accused of engaging in so-called ‘transnational repression’,” the Coalition of Hindus of North America said MUDA SCAM Lokayukta police to quiz Siddaramaiah tomorrow E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Mysuru THE Lokayukta Police have summoned Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for questioning on Wednesday in connection with the alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 MUDA sites to his wife Parvathi. Siddaramaiah, who is campaigning in Shiggaon, has confirmed it saying: “Yes, I will go to their office in Mysuru on Wednesday .” After the questioning, Siddaramaiah will proceed to Channapatna to campaign for Congress candidate C P Yogeshwara, who is contesting the byelection to the Legislative Assembly from that constituency sources said. , T h e L o k ay u k t a Po l i c e launched an inquiry based on complaints of alleged irregularities in MUDA in acquiring 3.18 acres of land bearing survey No. 468 at Kesare from Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi and allotting 14 sites to her in upmarket Vijayanagar locality in Mysuru, thereby causing a big loss to the state’s exchequer. Parvathi, Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, landowner Devaraj, and a few other persons have already been questioned by the Lokayukta Police. A Lokayukta Police team recently visited MUDA offices in Mysuru and examined the records pertaining to the land acquired at Kesare from Parvathi for formation of a residential layout, allotment of 14 sites to her, and other documents related to the 3.18 acres of land. EXPRESS READ IndiGo flight receives hoax bomb threat EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar LAST SORTIE Smoke billows out after a MiG-29 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force crashed near Agra on Monday. The pilot ejected safely | PTI EC defers bypolls in UP, Punjab and Kerala Bhubaneswar: An IndiGo flight that was supposed to depart from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) for New Delhi on Monday evening, was delayed by over three hours due to a hoax bomb threat. The flight was scheduled to depart at 7.50 pm. But before its departure, BPIA authorities received the threat. The airport’s bomb threat committee conducted a thorough check of the flight. “After the threat was found to be hoax, the flight was allowed to resume its return journey to New Delhi and boarding process started after 11 pm,” said BPIA director Prasanna Pradhan. New Delhi: The EC issued an order on Monday rescheduling the poll date in 14 Assembly constituencies in three states -Kerala, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh -- to November 20 following “large-scale social, cultural and religious engagements” of people from various communities. The Assembly constituencies include Palakkad in Kerala; Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal, Gidderbaha, Barnala in Punjab; and Meerapur, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Karhal, Sishamau, Phulpur, Katehari and Majhawan in Uttar Pradesh. The pols were earlier scheduled for November 13 | P7 Waste water threat to Meghanada Prachira of Srimandir D I A N A S A H U @ Bhubaneswar WASTE water, especially the discharge from Ananda Bazaar, has emerged as a threat to the Meghanada Prachira of Shree Jagannath temple in Puri, slowly damaging the 12th century shrine’s boundary wall made of laterite and sandstone blocks. Absence of a proper channel to drain out water from the shrine premises has resulted in ingress into the Meghanada Prachira on three sides of the boundary wall - east, north and west. At the south, a pipe system is in place to discard waste water through ‘Magara Muha’. For convenience of devotees visiting the 12th century shrine, the temple administration has installed RO system, one each at the drinking water points in south and north sides besides the premises of Ananda Bazaar where thousands of devotees partake ‘Mahaprasad’ everyday . The existing old drainage channel (dry masonry) in Ananda Bazaar has been lying in a dilapidated condition for a long time and is unable to drain out excess water from the RO system along with the tap water used to wash hands by devotees before and after partaking the ‘Mahaprasad’. While there are water points in the north, east and south parts of the boundary wall, there is a washroom for sevayats in the west side which they use to wash their hands and legs before entering the shrine. Drainage channels near every water point in all the directions of Meghanada Prachira except south are damaged and need to be repaired or reconstructed failing which, percolation of water into the boundary wall cannot be stopped, sources said. The responsibility of the shrine and Meghanada Prachira’s protection, preservation and conservation lies with the ASI while deveotees’ amenities and drainage are looked after by the temple administration. ASI Puri circle head DB Gad- nayak said the matter has been taken up with the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in the past. In August this year, the ASI had written to the temple administrator (development) to take steps for arresting water leakage from the walls of Meghanada Prachira on east, west and north sides alongside the damaged drain, washroom and pipeline. A tender was called by the temple administration for the purpose but could not be finalised. Temple administrator Arvind Padhee said there are six drainage channels on the shrine premises which have already been cleaned for smooth flow of waste water. The works section of the temple has been directed to go ahead with temporary measures to address the drainage issues, particulary at Ananda Bazaar. “Structural safety of the shrine is our utmost priority. Since permanent repair and restoration works for the drainage system are required, it will be done through another tender process. Also, ASI has been asked to immediately look into the safety of Meghanada Prachira and SJTA will extend all help for the purpose,” Padhee said.