BHUBANESWAR  SATURDAY  MARCH 01, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 16  JEYPORE EDITION SKYPE TO BE HISTORY ON MAY 5 AS MICROSOFT PLANS TO SHUT IT DOWN Microsoft said Skype will be retired on May 5, 2025, and existing users will be able to log in to the Teams app without creating another account LAUNCH, ACQUISITION AND DOWNFALL WHEN COMPETITORS STOLE THE LIMELIGHT Skype was first launched in 2003 and was acquired by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion. Microsoft tried to integrate Skype into Windows 10 in 2015, but the integration lasted only nine months. Microsoft launched Teams in 2017, a collaboration platform built on the backbone of Skype. Despite efforts to revive Skype, the platform’s popularity declined ■ ■ A hidden message in the latest Skype preview version reveals the impending shutdown and directs users to switch to Teams In the past 10 years, platforms like FaceTime, Messenger and WhatsApp have made it simpler to connect with friends through messaging, voice calls and video chats, leading to Skype’s downfall 36 million DAILY USERS OF SKYPE DESPITE ITS CONTINUING DECLINE 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 IN MEMORIAM Uttam Mohanty : The Oar of Odia Cultural Life S A N J O Y PAT N A I K C elebrities are a source of life. They are a bunch of emotional rescuers with magical impact on people’s lives. They have the ability to ensure happiness amidst a pall of gloom. Uttam Mohanty was no different. He was a source of happiness not only inside the theatres but had the great fan following even in the remotest parts of the state since his arrival on the celluloid canvas. He grew as a representative of the post-Emergency Indian youth who seldom hesitated to take on a fight for the right cause. His well-built body and modern attire was a perfect transition from the dhoti-clad and soft spoken Sarat Pujari or the Akshay Mohanty (Kashyap) of the 60s. The good-bad boy characters that Uttam played perfectly matched the changing notions of Odia identity of the 70s. He sourced his romantic strength and social reforms agenda from the essentially righteous characters that carried traits of ‘bad’ or ‘negative’ on standards defined by a traditional Odia society then. Till Uttam arrived in the cinematic space by the mid-70s, being ‘direct’ was considered ‘disrespectful’ by the conservative Odia society The elders had a right to be wrong and . it was morally improper for the younger ones to challenge. If they did, they were silenced by a very popular line, ‘muhan re jabab dauchu?’ This was a line that the old patriarch in Odia cinema always used to silence familial disagreements. Uttam introduced a culture of respectful deviance. The characters that Uttam portrayed weaved an element of straightforwardness and fearlessness while remaining ethically correct - a trait that his lady-loves greatly approved of and prioritised over timidity Deviance carried a moral and ethical jus. tification. As evident from mythical scriptures like Mahabharata, for a greater good, smaller vices are acceptable. Uttam stood at a threshold where the notions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, especially within the youth, was fast changing. The bad was not necessarily bad as it had an ethically correct goal to achieve. This world view is reflected in a famous song in one of his blockbuster hits, ‘E duniya (world) ta danga (boat) hele kaata (oar) mora thenga (stick)’. A stick can be an oar that helps cross a river, and also a tool to set things right. During the 80s, such was his flamboyance and star value that Uttam’s absence in a film meant disaster. As the biggest money-spinner, a multi-starrer could not be conceived without Uttam where he always had the lion’s share. Because his romance was real and punches were harder than the rest. Uttam invested in his looks and physical fitness to take a distinct departure from the effeminate images that heroes had in the 60s. Some say Uttam was standing in the right place at the right time amidst right people. But Uttam was also born in a lesser known celluloid city like Baripada and emerged as a hero at a time when opportunities were less and skewed. He had no godfather in the industry and had no links in Cuttack, the filmmaking hub of Odisha then. He only had his skills to fall back upon. His rise to stardom was exemplary and pathbreaking. He certainly had his share of luck but his hard work and commitment to his profession was nonpareil, something that the succeeding generations need to learn and profess. Uttam is no more, but will remain ‘uttam’ in all senses. (The author is a writer and filmmaker) EXPRESS READ IMD forecasts more heatwave days New Delhi: After a warmer winter, prepare for a round of hotter summer days. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts above-normal heat wave conditions and temperatures in most of the country this summer. It forecasts a number of likely above-normal heat wave days from March to May 2025 over most of the country except Northeast India, extreme north India, and southwestern and southern parts of Peninsular India | P11 Rescuers carry workers to safety on Friday. Search for the remaining 25 workers will continue on Saturday | PTI AVALANCHE BURIES CAMP IN U’KHAND, 32 RESCUED 25 workers hired by contractor to widen highway remain trapped than 100 people from the Ibex Brigade, @ Dehradun/New Delhi especially trained in high altitude rescue operations, were immediately moTHIRTY-TWO of the 57 Border Roads bilised. The teams included doctors and Organization (BRO) workers trapped ambulances. under an avalanche in the high-altitude According to Disaster Management village of Mana in Uttarakhand’s and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod KuChamoli district have been rescued, mar Suman, the situation is critical with concern over the safety of the oth- with the containers buried under six to er 25 mounting as inclement weather seven feet of snow. The bad weather forced a pause in rescue operations. continues. The avalanche, which buried a BRO Teams of National Disaster Response camp between Mana and BadriForce (NDRF) and SDRF left for nath, rolled down early on Frithe spot, about 300 km from DeCHAMOLI day. Multiple teams comprishradun, amid continuing ing the Ar my disaster snowfall and rain. Home response forces battled Minister Amit Shah said through tough terrain and rescuing the trapped people UTTARAKHAND heavy snow through the day is the government’s top prito reach the men. They initialority In a post on X, he said . ly pulled out 10 workers and he spoke to Chief Minister then the others, sources said. Four Pushkar Singh Dhami and the of those rescued are in a critical condi- chiefs of the ITBP and the NDRF. tion, the Army PRO said. All 32 have The trapped workers were employed been taken to the ITBP camp in Mana by a company involved in highway widfor treatment, the sources said. ening along a 50 km stretch from Mana Mana, three kilometres from Badri- to Mana Pass. nath, is the last village on the India-TiThe BRO is overseeing this project bet border at an altitude of 3,200 me- through a contractor. District Magistres. The avalanche hit around 7.15 am, trate Dr Sandeep Tiwarisaid officials burying the workers inside eight con- have been directed to restore traffic on tainers and one shed, the Army said. blocked roads and repair damaged pow(With agency inputs) Swift response teams, comprising more er lines. N A R E N D RA S E T H I & M AYA N K S I N G H All efforts are being taken to rescue the trapped personnel by utilising all available resources Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister ARMY, ITBP JOIN RESCUE EFFORTS The Indian Army and IndoTibetan Border Police (ITBP) are involved in the rescue efforts; however, the highway beyond Hanuman Chatti remains closed due to weather conditions. SMART RECOVERY Growth bounces back to 6.2% in Q3 D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi THE Indian economy showed resilience and made smart recovery in the third (Oct-Dec) quarter after posting an underwhelming growth rate in the second quarter. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the real GDP grew at 6.2% in Q3 compared to 5.6% last quarter. Meanwhile, the government’s second advanced estimate shows the economy might be growing at a slightly higher pace—at 6.5%—in FY25 against the previous estimate of 6.4%. In FY24, GDP grew at 9.2%, revised upwards from 8.6% as per earlier projections. The recovery in the third quarter was driven by better private and government consumption growth as well as by a heavy lifting in exports. Private consumption in real terms grew at 6.9% in the third quarter compared to 5.9% in the second. For the full year, private consumption is expected to grow at 7.6% compared to 5.6% a year ago. Government consumption grew at 8.3% during October-December compared to 3.8% in the previous quarter. Investments in asset creation, indicated by the gross fixed capital formation, however, remained a drag for the economy growing at 5.7% in Q3 compared to 5.8% in the previous quarter. For FY25, gross fixed capital formation showed a growth of 6.1% in real terms compared to 8.8% in the previous year. “The gross fixed capital formation at the economy level is around 30%, so there is room for the private sector to invest. Of course, there is uncertainty globally but uncertainty isn’t , there with respect to Indian demand; urban demand is recovering,” said Chief Economic Advisor V Ananth Nageswaran. He added that since outbound FDI by Indian firms has picked up, it makes sense for the Indian private sector to invest in a country whose current growth record exceeds the growth performance of other economies. Every dist in India will have day Cong issues gag order on Kerala leaders care cancer centre in 3 yrs: Nadda P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhubaneswar UNION Health minister JP Nadda on Friday said every district in the country will have day care cancer centre within the next three years. Inaugurating the 9th national summit on Good and Replicable Practices and Innovations in India’s Public Healthcare System at Puri, the Health minister said 200 districts will be covered under the scheme this year. Stating that India has made significant strides in healthcare since 2014, he said the National Health Policy 2017 has brought about a paradigm shift in approach from curative healthcare to one that encompasses curative as well as preventive, promotive and comprehensive aspects. The government has given impetus to tertiary healthcare in addition to improving primary and secondary healthcare. Nadda said the central government’s focus is on ensuring quality and affordable healthcare services for the people. Work done on Ayushman Arogya Mandir under NHM has strengthened the foundation of primary healthcare in the country . He said the decline of maternal mortality rate (MMR) in India is double that of the global decline which highlights the efforts taken in strengthening healthcare system from the grassrootlevel. The infant mortality rate (IMR) and under-5 mortality rate have also recorded a noteworthy downfall. He expressed special appreciation for Odisha on its success in reducing IMR and MMR. The Union minister also highlighted that the WHO’s World Malaria Report 2024 acknowledged India’s significant reduction of CONTINUED ON P5 malaria cases. AMID the row over Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s TNIE column hailing the achievements of the CPM-led government in Kerala, the Congress leadership on Friday said those who don’t toe the party line would face action. Speaking at the meeting of the Congress brass with Kerala leaders, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi cautioned the leaders “not to go against party line and disrespect the people of Kerala”. With Tharoor by her side, Congress’ Kerala in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi said all leaders have to work in coordination, discipline, and unity to win the upcoming local body and Assembly elections in the state. “We have got clear indication from the high command that people are looking for a change, so we should not do From left: Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, Shashi Tharoor and K Suresh | PTI anything that disrespects the people. If anyone says anything personally we will take ... strong action,” she said. According to sources, Rahul said he is emotionally connected to the state and the people. “People are yearning for a change and we should be careful about our strategies. We should not do anything wrong against the party line,” sources quoted him as saying. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said that no leaders have the right to make out-of- WIN-WIN DEAL Kangana Ranaut, Javed Akhtar bury defamation hatchet after five years S H R E YA S PA N D E @ Mumbai KANGANA Ranaut and Javed Akhtar have officially called a truce. The actor-turned-BJP MP and the veteran lyricistscreenwriter, have put an end to their compounding legal feud through mediation. After completing the formalities of the settlement, Kangana shared a photo on her social media where she was beaming in a grin standing alongside a smiling Akhtar. The actor, who earlier had some fiery exchanges with Akhtar, called him “kind” and “gracious” to have settled the matter. Their legal tussle began in 2020 when Kangana gave a TV interview after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. In her shaky soft voice she made a big , claim about a meeting she had with Akhtar at his house. She said Akhtar pressured her to apologise to Hrithik Roshan over their much-publicised feud in 2016. Kangana even alleged that Akhtar warned her of dire consequences if she doesn’t act accordingly . Akhtar strongly rejected the claims. “Whatever Kangana said in the interview is a lie and nothing but a lie. I had told her about the agenda of the meeting on call. Didn’t call her to discuss t h e weather, political situation or America’s election in 2016,” Akhtar told the court. The man, known for writing some pow- er-packed Amitabh Bachchan dialogues wasn’t going to stay silent, was he? Neither was Kangana going to back down. She filed a counter-defamation case against Akhtar in 2021. Now, Kangana has clarified that what she said in the TV interview was due to a misunderstanding. Exiting the court after the hearing on Friday, Akhtar told the media, “The matters are finally settled. She has apologised for all the inconvenience caused to me. I will take back my case and she will take back her case.” Kangana added in her social media post that the veteran lyricist has agreed to write a song for her upcoming directorial. With the legalities settled, will we get to see a moment of “poetic justice” with their collaboration? Only time will tell. line statements in the media. At least three leaders, including M M Hassan, targeted Tharoor, saying his public comments damaged the party . When asked if the censure is directed at Tharoor, Dasmunshi said: “Why are you only pinpointing Tharoor? So many others made personal views. It has been told generally to everyone.” She also ruled out a leadership change in the state unit. It means K Sudhakaran will continue as the president. `9L CR LOSS FOR INVESTORS AS MARKETS CRASH Sensex and Nifty fell 2% on Friday, mirroring deep losses in global markets over trade war fears. The aggressive sell-off eroded investors’ wealth by `9 lakh crore | P14