BHUBANESWAR  TUESDAY  FEBRUARY 25, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  JEYPORE EDITION BLOODBATH ON DALAL STREET: SENSEX, NIFTY HIT 8-MONTH LOWS India’s equity market saw a sharp decline on Monday, with the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 plunging to their lowest levels in eight months File photo WEAK GLOBAL CUES, FII EXODUS A CONCERN TRUMP’S TARIFF PLANS CAUSE RIPPLE EFFECT The sell-off was driven by weakening global cues and persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) selling amid concerns over US trade policies. The 30-share Sensex tumbled by 856.65 points, or 1.14%, to close at 74,454.41, while the Nifty50 dropped by 242.55 points, or 1.06%, to settle at 22,553.35. So far in 2025, both indices have declined by over 5% ■ ■ The downturn was fueled by a fall in US consumer sentiment to a 15-month low in February and expectations of inflation remaining high due to US President Donald Trump’s absurd tariff plans Experts believe the near-term scenario remains uncertain, with trade war, FII outflows, and high valuations weighing on investor sentiment 4.22 lakh cr IS WHAT INVESTORS LOST ON MONDAY AS THE BSE SENSEX FELL BELOW 75K 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 Weight loss? Dhoni may use lighter bat this IPL season F I R O Z M I R Z A @ Chennai COME Indian Premier League 2025, former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni might wield lighter bats. Since his U-19 days, Dhoni has been using bats weighing around 1,200 grams. The weight gradually increased as he graduated to the senior level. However, at 43, the most successful Indian captain is expected to bring down the weight of his bat by around 10-20 grams. “Four bats have been delivered to Dhoni recently by Sanspareils Greenlands Pvt. Ltd, the cricket equipment company from Meerut,” a source in the know of the things told this daily. Suresh Raina, former India all-rounder and Dhoni’s ex-CSK teammate, also confirmed the same while commentating during the IndiaPakistan match on Sunday . “Each bat weighs around 1,230 grams with the same shape as before,” added the source. Reduction in weight can be seen as a natural progression. “His bats were always heavier than ours,” one of Dhoni’s former teammates, who had played age-group and senior domestic cricket with him, told this daily In his prime, Dhoni . was one of the few players to use a middle-weight bat, which weighed between 1,250 and 1,300 grams. Meanwhile, Dhoni’s training schedule ahead of the IPL season has yet not been finalised and so is his arrival in Chennai. CSK will be playing their first match on March 23. Full story: newindianexpress.com April timeline Hopes dim as rescue ops enter day 3 for Modi, Yunus meeting likely EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad Both expected to hold talks on the sidelines of the 7-nation BIMSTEC summit in Thailand J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet the Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to Bangladesh interim government, on the sidelines of the 6th BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit in Thailand in April 3-4. April 4 will be the main summit day of the sub-regional grouping. Though the possibility of the meeting between Modi and Yunus is being explored, there is no official confirmation yet. Modi will travel to Thailand for the summit, which was earlier slated for on September 3-4 last year but got postponed due to domestic political developments in the host country . India is promoting BIMSTEC as a model regional organisation, after SAARC became largely inactive due to the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. Ties between India and Bangladesh waded into choppy waters after the removal of Sheikh Hasina as the prime minister. Speaking at a public event on Sunday just days after his meet, ing with Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Touhid Hossain in Muscat, foreign minister Jaishankar expressed concern regarding the interim administration’s hostile approach towards India and the violence against minorities. CALL TO ACTION PM Modi leads charge in battle against the bulge R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi THE battle lines have been drawn in India’s war on obesity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching a na, tionwide campaign to promote healthy living and reduce the burden of obesity-related diseases. A day after expressing concern about the growing obesity epidemic in India in his Mann Ki Baat, Modi on Monday nominated 10 influential personalities to join the war against flab, spread awareness and inspire change. Those nominated include J&K CM Omar Abdullah, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra, actor Mohanlal, Bhojpuri singer-actor and former MP Dinesh Lal Yadav (Nirahua), actor R Madhavan, philanthropist and Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murthy shoot, ing champion Manu Bhaker, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani and singer Shreya Ghoshal. Each of them has been asked to nominate 10 individuals to further the cause. Nirahua quickly responded by inviting 10 others, including Uttar MANDAR PARDIKAR Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister Chirag Paswan, Malini Awasthi, Dr Kumar Vishwas, and Bhojpuri actors-turned-politicians Manoj Tiwari, Ravi Kishan, and Pawan Singh. “I’m very happy to join the campaign against obesity launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji,” Omar said on X. He nominated 10 individuals, including Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Sajjan Jindal, Deepika Padukone, Sania Mirza, Irfan Pathhan, Supriya Sule, Kuldeep Handoo, Sheetal Archer, Iqra Rasool, and Palak Kour Bijral. Anand Mahindra said reducing cooking oil consumption by 10% can have a significant impact on health, finances, and the environment. He nominated Anil Kapoor, P V Sindhu, Gul Panag, Nikhil Kamath, among others. Sudha Murthy nominated P T Usha, Anil Kumble, Mukesh Bansal, Kiran Bedi, Venkatesh Prasad, Tejasvi Surya, Mrunalini Deshmukh, Amish Tripathi, S Gurumurthy and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. Narendra Modi and Muhammad Yunus BIMSTEC model regional grouping, says India BIMSTEC consists of seven member countries: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. India is promoting BIMSTEC as a model regional grouping, after SAARC became largely inactive due to the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan “What is especially concerning is the ongoing attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. This impacts our viewpoint, and we have raised our concerns.” Jaishankar also responded to the Bangladesh government’s public criticism of India in the same event, describing it as contradictory and unproductive. “If officials from the interim government keep blaming India for all their problems, some of which are entirely unfounded, it sends a conflicting message. On one hand, they claim to want good relations with us, but on the other, they continuously blame India for their domestic issues. This is a choice they must make,” the external affairs minister said. AS the efforts to save the eight workers trapped inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel since Saturday entered the third day, the rescue workers are not only battling against time but also the slush and seepage. The continuous seepage has turned the earth inside the tunnel into slush, slowing down the rescue teams. While the fate of trapped workers remained unknown as of Monday evening, officials said the tunnel boring machine has a safe chamber and the workers would be safe if they managed to enter it. Early in the day, Telangana transport minister Jupally Indian Army personnel at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal project site | EXPRESS Krishna Rao told a news agency that he was not optimistic about the safety of the eight trapped workers. “Chances of their survival are very remote. I myself went up to the end, almost just 50 me- tres short (of the accident site) ... Mud has piled up to 25 feet,” PTI quoted him as saying. On Monday, 14 rat-hole miners and sniffer dogs too were pressed into service to find a breakthrough. However, the sniffer dogs could not go inside the tunnel due to the water. The rat-hole miners are in addition to the 584 experts from NDRF, SDRF, Army, Navy and the National Highways Authority of India, as well as from JP Associates and Navayuga. The rescuers are 40 metres away from the tunnel boring machine — separated by water, slush, and machine parts. Dewatering is in full swing using high-pressure pumps. Initially, officials considered vertical drilling — making a hole from the top of the tunnel and going inside. However, the idea was dropped. According estimates, 4,000 litres of muddy water containing slush, sand, and pebbles is flooding the tunnel every minute. Justice system can’t be battleground for failed relationships: High Court E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Cuttack QUASHING criminal proceedings initiated against a man accused of raping a woman on false promise of marriage, the Orissa High Court has held that the law does not extend its protection to every broken promise nor does it impose criminality upon every failed relationship. Delivering the judgement in such a case, the single judge bench of Justice SK Panigrahi emphasised that quashing the criminal proceedings was necessary to protect the integrity of law and prevent it from being used to litigate personal disappointments or moral conflicts. “The justice system is meant to address genuine crimes, not to serve as a battleground for failed relationships,” he observed, calling for scrutiny of automatic criminalisation of failed relationships under the guise of false promise of marriage. According to the complaint, the woman had first met the man in Sambalpur in 2012 when they were students. They developed a close friendship and fell in love. Later, after getting a job as sub-inspector of police, the accused maintained physical relationship with her under the promise of marriage. In 2019, she stayed with him in Bhubaneswar and Titilagarh, and they continued their physical relationship. Criminal proceedings were initiated against the man on the basis of FIR lodged by the wom- EXPRESS READ 29-yr-old escapes unhurt as mobile phone plays shield ONOE panel meet today, stormy session expected Bhubaneswar: In a moment straight out of Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Deewar’ in which a copper badge saves the hero from villain’s bullets, a 29-year-old man escaped unhurt by a stroke of incredible luck as the bullet got stuck in the mobile phone kept inside his pant’s left pocket, here in Jharsuguda | P4 New Delhi: Former CJI UU Lalit and former chairperson of Law Commission Ritu Raj Awasthi will depose on Tuesday before the JPC scrutinising the One Nation One Election Bill. The other two witnesses are Niten Chandra, secretary of panel led by former President Ramnath Kovind, and ex-Congress MP E M Sudarsana Natchiappan | P7 an at the Balangir town police station in 2021. The man, now 33 years old, challenged it in a petition filed in the high court in November last year. In 2023, the woman, also in her early 30s, moved the Family Court, Sambalpur, for a declaration that she is the legally married wife of the petitioner and also an injunction to prevent him from marrying anyone else. She claimed that, on February 3, 2021, they had solemnised their marriage at Samaleswari temple, Sambalpur, and exchanged garlands, vermilion and mangalsutra. They applied for marriage registration under the Special Marriage Act, but he failed to appear for the registration on March 18, 2021, she had also alleged. CONTINUED ON P5 GERMAN RIGHT SEEKS ALLIANCE WITH CENTRE-LEFT Germany’s mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won the country’s national election, ensuring that Ukraine has an even stronger supporter in the European Union’s largest country and creating hopes for renewal in an economic powerhouse that has been badly battered in recent years | P9