KOHLI IS MASTER OF CEREMONY AT KOTLA Delirious fans screamed in excitement at the mere mention of his name as Virat Kohli’s unmatched aura dominated Ranji Trophy between Delhi & Railways. The DDCA opened the 6,000capacity ‘Gautam Gambhir Stand’ first but sensing that the crowd situation could go out of hand, they openned the 11,000-capacity ‘Bishan Singh Bedi Stand’ | P11 BHUBANESWAR  FRIDAY  JANUARY 31, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION 67 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 KILLED in copter-jet mid-air crash Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Black Hawk Intended route Potomac river American Eagle 5342 Rescuers look for survivors near the wreckage site in Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia on Thursday | AP AGENCIES ALL 64 people aboard an American Airlines aircraft that collided with an Army helicopter were killed in the deadliest US air crash since 2001, President Donald Trump said on Thursday . At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the mid-air collision on Wednesday night when the helicopter, a UH-60 Black Hawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, flew in the path of the aircraft as it was preparing to land at the Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington. Dramatic audio from air traffic controllers showed them repeatedly asking the helicopter if it had the passenger jet “in sight”, and then just before the crash telling it to “pass behind” the plane. “We don’t believe there are any survivors,” John Donnelly the fire chief in the nation’s , capital, said. The plane was found upside-down in three sections of the Potomac in waist-deep water. The chopper was carrying three army soldiers, who are also believed to have died, officials confirmed. In his remarks on the tragedy Trump launched a broad, side blaming diversity hires for the mid-air crash. “I put safety first. Obama, Biden and the Democrats put policy first,” Trump said. “You say what was a helicopter doing in that track,” he said. Passengers on Wednesday’s flight included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members returning from a development camp that followed the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita. The two coaches were identified as Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who had won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships, and had competed twice in P9 the Olympics. Security breach as RSS chief Bhagwat’s convoy stopped by Cong activists in city A S I S H M E H TA @ Bhubaneswar IN a major breach of security, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s convoy was blocked by a group of National Students Union of India (NSUI) activists here on Thursday evening. Bhagwat was on his way to Jayadev Bhawan from Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti in Mancheswar Industrial Estate when the group of student Congress members took the police by surprise and trooped onto the road. Police could be seen struggling to round up the protestors who possibly outnumbered them on the spot. Eight student Congress activists, including NSUI state president Udit Pradhan were detained over the incident which left Odisha Police red-faced as Bhagwat is not only a Z+ category protectee but advance security liaison (ASL) drill was also added to his details last month. Home Minister Amit Shah is the only other ASL protectee. The episode pointed at intelligence failure since Congress has been protesting against the RSS chief for his remarks that India’s true independence was achieved with the consecration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Bhubaneswar police also appeared underprepared to tackle the situation as Bhagwat’s cavalcade was CONTINUED ON P5 halted. AD-HOC JUDGES TO CLEAR BACKLOG OF CASES Considering a backlog of over 18 lakh criminal cases, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the high courts to appoint retired judges on ad-hoc basis for 2-3 yrs | P7 Don’t rush ‘1 poll’ plan, says JD(U) at all-party meet Stormy Parliament session to begin today P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi AT an all-party meeting convened by the BJPled NDA government on the eve of the Budget session of Parliament, key ally Janata Dal (United) flagged its concerns over the Centre’s ambitious ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill, saying it should not be ‘rushed through’ since it required wider consultations. The meeting was chaired by Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju, J P Nadda, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and L Murugan. Significantly, the JD(U) led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has always supported the idea of ‘one-nation-one-election’. In its memorandum submitted to the high-level committee last year, it said simultaneous elections are important to strengthen the architecture of good governance. The JD(U) added that it will reduce the financial burden associated with the frequent elections, as campaigning, logistics and security measures would be consolidated. The ‘One Nation, One Election Bill’ introduced during the Winter Session of Parliament, has been sent to a 39-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for scrutiny . Raising the issue at the meeting, JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha said the gover nment shouldn’t be in a hurry to implement the bill, which proposes simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies. It must hold wider consultations, said Jha. Besides, NDA allies Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and JD (U) joined Congress’ Gaurav Gogoi in questioning the seating arrangement in the Lok Sabha. The allies claimed it was decided without consulting the MPs. During the last winter session of Parliament, TDP member Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy had openly expressed unhappiness over his seat allocation. RAPS NEW UGC RULES Last week, the JD (U) had differed with the new UGC draft regulations saying it would limit the role of an elected state govt in the appointment of Vice Chancellors and also in the field of higher education OPPN’S DEMANDS The Opposition intends to corner the government on the proposed Waqf (Amend) Bill, the Maha Kumbh stampede, new UGC draft norms, the downward trend in the economy and other issues HEALTH INSURANCE Irdai puts 10% cap on hike in premiums for senior citizens D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi IN a bid to protect senior citizens—the most vulnerable age group with limited income sources—from steep hikes in health insurance premiums, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on Thursday capped the annual increase on such premiums at 10%. In its order, the regulator said insurance firms must consult it before proposing any increase that goes above 10%, adding that IRDAI must be duly informed in case of withdrawal of individual health insurance products offered to senior citizens. IRDAI’s move comes in the wake of widespread complaints of arbitrary increase in premiums as well as rejection of claims by senior citizens. The regulator also took note of the fact that health insurance premium is dependent on claims outgo, which in turn depends on amount charged by hospitals for various treatments and procedures. It further noted that unlike in case of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), there are no centralised negotiations of charges with hospitals. In this context, it instructed health insurers to take necessary steps for common empanelment of hospitals and negotiate package rates in line with the PMJAY scheme.