BHUBANESWAR  MONDAY  NOVEMBER 04, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION INDIA, CHINA MADE SOME PROGRESS IN DISENGAGEMENT, SAYS JAISHANKAR India and China have made ‘some progress’ in disengagement, the foreign minister said while interacting with the Indian diaspora in Brisbane IT OPENS UP POSSIBILITY FOR OTHER STEPS: EAM INDIA HAS BIG ROLE TO PLAY IN WEST ASIA “In terms of India and China, yes, we have made some progress,” he said, adding that the disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh, agreed by India and China, is a welcome step. S Jaishankar said it could open up the possibility that “other steps could happen” that would improve the ties further. He arrived in Australia on Saturday and will fly to Singapore later ■ ■ Jaishankar said India is “trying to do something” to bring peace in both Ukraine and West Asia. In case of the latter, India is one of the few countries that can mediate between Israel and Iran to stop a wider war He said there’s genuine goodwill and desire among nations to work with India. “We see a sentiment overall for India to succeed,” Jaishankar said Fourth INDIAN CONSULATE IN AUSTRALIA TO BE INAUGURATED IN BRISBANE BY JAISHANKAR 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 12 injured as terrorists lob grenade on Srinagar crowd CRPF vehicle was the target; L-G asks forces to crush terror outfits F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar A day after Srinagar witnessed the first encounter in two years, militants on Sunday carried out a grenade attack at the crowded flea market in the city , injuring 12 people, including two women. The condition of one person is critical. After the attack, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha directed security officials to use full force and crush the terror outfits. Sources said militants lobbed a grenade towards a vehicle of paramilitary CRPF at Sunday Market near Tourist Reception Centre. The attack happened in the afternoon when the place was crowded with people thronging the flea market to buy woollens and other items. “The grenade missed the intended target and exploded on a road. It caused splinter injuries to those present on the spot,” a police official said. The injured were evacuated to nearby SMHS hospital, where doctors attended to them. Medical Superintendent Dr Tasneem Showkat told this newspaper that of one the injured is in critical condition while the rest are stable. The grenade attack caused panic in the area with the people running helter-skelter. The grenade attack took place a day after an encounter Will implement UCC, tribals to be exempt: Shah M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi UNION Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that the BJP will implement the Unifor m Civil Code (UCC) in Jharkhand if it wins the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, but would keep the tribals out of the law’s ambit. “Uniform Civil Code will definitely be introduced in Jharkhand, but the tribal community will be kept out of its ambit,” Shah said. “They (The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Congress) are spreading rumours that if the UCC is intro- them.“If the BJP forms government, we will make a law to return the land to the innocent tribals of Jharkhand,” Shah said. Training his guns on Soren, Shah said the chief minister insulted Champai Soren by unceremoniously removing him from the post of CM to satisfy his lust for power. Reacting to Shah’s promise to implement the UCC, Soren vowed that neither the UCC nor the National Registry of Citizens will be implement- Winter session likely from Nov 25, Centre may introduce Waqf bill Forensic team collects samples from the attack site in Srinagar on Sunday | PTI P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi in Khyanyar area of Srinagar in which a top Lashkar commander was killed. There has been a surge in militant violence and attacks in Jammu and Kashmir after the civilian government led by Omar Abdullah took charge as chief minister on October 16. THE winter session of Parliament is likely to commence on November 25 and will continue until December 20, according to sources. During the session, the government will introduce the contentious One Nation One Election and Waqf bills. The results of the Jharkhand and Maharashtra assembly elections, which will come on November 23, will also have a significant bearing on the session. Still smarting from the Haryana defeat, the Congress and its allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are pinning their J&K Assembly session starts today The legislative assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will meet for a fiveday session on Monday. NC leader Abdul Rahim Rather is set to be the Speaker “The last few days have been dominated by headlines of attacks and encounters in parts of the Valley Today’s news of a . grenade attack on innocent shoppers... is deeply disturbing. There can be no justification for targeting innocent civilians,” Omar Abdullah said. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha spoke to DGP Nalin Prabhat and senior security officials. “Terrorists targeting citizens will have to pay a very heavy price for their actions. You have full freedom to crush terror outfits and leave no stone unturned to complete this mission,” Sinha told the senior security officials. hopes on wresting power in Maharashtra while retaining the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand. The results will dominate the tone and tenor of the session. Sources said the government may also pass a resolution to grant full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, a crucial step towards reinstating constitutional rights and safeguarding the unique identity of the region’s residents. Recently, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to discuss the issues related to the Union Territory in, cluding early restoration of statehood. According to sources, a special joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament will be held on November 26 to mark the 75th anniversary of adopting the Constitution of India. The joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is likely to be held in the Central Hall of the Samvidhan Sadan, where the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on November 26, 1949, and it came into effect on January 26, 1950. If the government introduces the One Nation, One Election Bill in Parliament, it will face stiff resistance as several opposition-ruled states are opposed to the proposal, saying it is against the Constitution. ed in the state. Senior BJP leaders including Jharkhand election in-charge Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Assam Chief Minister and co-election in-charge Himanta Biswa Sarma attended the function to launch the ‘Sankalp Patra’. Shah said the BJP will launch ‘GoGo Didi Yojna’ in the state if elected. Under the scheme, `2,100 will be transferred to poor women on the 11th day of every month. Besides, free LPG cylinders will be given to poor households on Diwali and Raksha Bandhan, P8 he said. ADANI SLASHES ELECTRICITY SUPPLY TO B’DESH OVER DUES Adani has slashed crossborder electricity supply to Bangladesh by half due to some $850 million in unpaid bills, power officials said on Sunday, with Dhaka scrambling to boost production to stem blackouts. “We are trying to meet the gap by running other plants,” Rezaul Karim, chairman of the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), said on Sunday | P9 Engaging with C’garh for resolving Mahanadi water dispute: CM Majhi Govt orders probe into 50 elephant deaths in six months EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar THE state government on Sunday ordered a detailed inquiry into the unnatural death of around 50 elephants in the last six months. Raising concern over the spate of elephant deaths, Forest and Environment minister Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia said responsibility will be fixed on officers found negligent and inefficient in safeguarding the life of the animals. Singhkhuntia directed additional chief secretary (ACS), Forest, Satyabrata Sahu to conduct divisionwise investigation into incidents of elephant deaths and take stringent action against those found responsible. He also asked the ACS to submit a report on the progress of investigation and action taken, within a month. Describing the situation as very alarming, the minister directed the forest department officials to take additional care and protective measures to curb the elephant deaths in the state. He underlined that the state government has been taking various measures to prevent the death of the elephants due to unnatural causes through initiatives such as deployment of Gaja Sathis and rapid action teams. “However, more care and sincerity on the part of forest officials have become need of the hour to ensure a safe environment with statutory protective measures for the safety of the elephants. Priority must be given to the matter and errant officers must not be let scot free,” he CONTINUED ON P5 said. duced in the state, the art and culture of the tribal population will be ruined,” he said. Releasing the BJP’s manifesto, ‘Sankalp Patra’, for the upcoming elections in Jharkhand, Shah alleged that the JMM-led state government has failed to protect the tribal land from ‘intruders’. He said if the BJP forms gover nment in the state, it will bring laws to prevent the transfer of tribal land to infiltrators and take back the land already g rabbed by RUSH SEASON People wait at New Delhi railway station on Sunday to catch trains to reach their hometowns ahead of the Chhath Puja | PTI EXPRESS READ Will oppose SC status to Dalit converts: NCSC chief New Delhi: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes is strongly against granting SC status to Dalits who have converted to Islam and Christianity, said Kishor Makwana. Makwana said the Constitution mandates that any person professing a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism cannot be considered a member of the SC | P7 Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother booked for threatening Bhim Sena chief Gurugram: The police have booked Anmol Bishnoi, brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, for allegedly making threatening calls to Bhim Sena chief Satpal Tanwar from abroad, an officer said. According to the complaint, Bhim Sena chief received several phone calls from Anmol on October 30 with the threat that he would cut him in pieces. AS Mahanadi water sharing continues to be a bone of contention between Odisha and Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday said his government is pursuing the matter seriously with the neighbouring state for an early resolution. Addressing a media-conference at Balangir in his maiden two-day visit to the district, the chief minister said he has already had two rounds of discussions with his Chhattisgarh counterpart Vishnu Deo Sai on the issue. “Our government has taken the matter seriously and discussion on the issue is going on. I have taken up the issue with the Chhattisgarh chief minister twice and we are hopeful of finding an early solution to the water dispute,” Majhi said. Targeting the previous government for doing nothing We are committed to ensuring that Odisha’s rightful share of Mahanadi water is protected. The state is giving emphasis to accelerate key projects on the river Mohan Charan Majhi, CM when the Chhattisgarh government constructed a large number of barrages on the upper stream of Mahanadi river, Majhi said the Odisha government is now focused on speeding up the proposed barrages and dam projects on the river to conserve water. “We are committed to ensuring that Odisha’s rightful share of Mahanadi water is protected. The state government is giving emphasis to accelerate the implementation of key projects on the river,” he added. Earlier in September, Union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil had assured that steps were being taken to resolve the long- standing Mahanadi river water dispute soon. The Mahanadi Water Tribunal is working steadfastly to find a fair and equitable solution that benefits both states, Patil had said after CM Majhi had taken up the issue with him during his Odisha visit. Meanwhile, Majhi’s statement on Mahanadi assumes significance as it was made during his Balangir visit. Describing Balangir as one of the most drought-prone districts in the state, the chief minister, who also holds the Water Resources portfolio, blamed the previous BJD government for the situation. Inaugurating and laying foundation stones for 83 projects worth `890 crore, he said, “This is my first visit to Balangir after becoming chief minister of the state. I feel the district has been utterly neglected by the previous government.” CONTINUED ON P5 HUMILIATION AT HOME Gone with the spin in less than 10 days: Why India crumbled G O M E S H S @ Mumbai INDIA did not have any tangible answer to New Zealand’s, what seemed like, an infinite variety of cricket. If the hosts perished to some immaculate pace bowling under overcast conditions, almost England– like in Bengaluru, and later, on turning tracks in Pune and Mumbai, the batters scratched their heads like students struggling to find solutions to multiple problems. Only Risabh Pant stood among the ruins. The ending seemed inevitable on Sunday. After all, for the nine days of cricket India and New Zealand have had in this series, the visitors outperformed India in almost every single one. The tenth day (of the three-Test series) was no different either as New Zealand became the first team to beat India in three consecutive Tests at home. While Tom Latham’s side was spot on in every move, captain Rohit Sharma’s every move seemed to have backfired. He admitted as much after the loss here. “Something like this will be a low point in my career. I fully take responsibility for that as a 92 New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel (3L) and Devon Conway (L) shake hands with India’s Virat Kohli (2R) and captain Rohit Sharma (2L). Ravindra Jadeja is also seen in the picture (extreme right) | AFP India have been clean swept in a Test series at home (3 matches or more) for the first time in 92 years of their history captain. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. With the bat, I have not been good enough,” Sharma said. It all began in Bengaluru when Sharma misread the pitch and opted to bat. The chances of recovery were slim after the 46 all out in the first innings. In search of a win, India opted for a surface that would assist spinners in Pune. However, it was Mitchell Santner who outfoxed the host batters. The second Test loss exposed the struggles of the most experienced batters against spin. In Mumbai, on another rank turner, India went into self-destruct mode. On Sunday, too, the collapse began with Sharma’s miscued pull against Matt Henry. They slumped to 29/5 and eventually fell short by 25 runs while chasing 147. India are in transition where the seniors, including Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin, are in the November of their careers. India’s last home series defeat came 12 years ago. The dominance that followed and the fall in the last three weeks would make this one of the lowest phases in the history of Indian cricket.