MEXICO , CANADA, CHINA TARIFFS FROM MARCH 4 US President Donald Trump said illicit drugs are still pouring into the US from Mexico 25% BHUBANESWAR  FRIDAY  FEBRUARY 28, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION Uttam Mohanty, Ollywood’s first superstar, breathes his last at 66 Majhi, Pradhan condole death D I A N A S A H U @ Bhubaneswar UTTAM Mohanty, veteran actor and Odia film industry’s evergreen star, passed away on Thursday night. Mohanty who dominated the silver , screen for decades, breathed his last while undergoing treatment for pneumonia and liver cirrhosis at Medanta hospital in Gurugram. He was 66. Earlier this month, he was airlifted to Medanta hospital where he was on organ support in the intensive care unit. Born in Baripada in 1958, the yesteryear superstar began his stellar career in Odia film industry with Sadhu Meher directorial ‘Abhimaan’ which released in 1977 and became a darling of the masses. The next year, he was offered a role in MS Koti Reddy’s ‘Pati Patni’ which was based on a Telugu story. Although late Bijay Mohanty’s performance was well appreciated in the film, Uttam Mohanty’s acting did not go unnoticed. His chocolate boy image charmed the audience and a new age of romantic films had arrived in Ollywood. His 1 9 5 8 - 2 0 2 5 Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief and said Mohanty was the shining star of Ollywood. His death is an irreparable loss to the film and entertainment industry, he said. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Mohanty’s contribution towards enriching the Odia film industry is unparalleled. Odisha has lost a jewel, Pradhan wrote on X. filmography included ‘Nijhum Ratira Sathi’, ‘Chinha Achinha’, ‘Ramayana’, ‘Tapasya’, ‘Ram Balaram’, ‘Palatak’, ‘Abhilasha’, ‘Danda Balunga’, ‘Pooja Phula’, ‘Jaga Hatare Paga’, ‘Sahari Bagha’, ‘Mamata Mage Mula’, ‘Sata Kebe Luchi Rahena’, ‘Chaka Bhaunri’, ‘Jor Jahara Mulak Tahara’, ‘Tunda Baida’, ‘Suna Chadhei’, ‘Pua Mora Kala Thakura’, ‘Kanyadaan’, ‘Chaka Aakhi Sabu Dekhuchi’, ‘Rajanigandha’, among others. In fact, his stardom peaked in the 1980s when he dominated the film industry, be it as the romantic hero, a character artiste or the villain. Mo- hanty delivered box office hits year after year. With his wife Aparajita, theirs turned out to be the most successful pair of the film industry The hit pair . was first seen together in Sarat Pujari’s ‘Astaraga’. The film, released in 1982, was well appreciated. After doing notable films like ‘Maa’, ‘Bidhira Bidhan’, Mohanty’s focus shifted towards character roles. Mohanty went on to act in nearly 150 Odia and 30 Bengali films besides a Hindi movie ‘Naya Zaher’. He also had a successful stint in the small CONTINUED ON P5 screen. SC upholds power of arrest by GST, Customs officers Says their authority to arrest is ancillary to their power to collect goods and services tax functioning of the officers combating serious crimes may emTHE Supreme Court on Thurs- bolden the people who commit day upheld the constitutional such crimes and may not do validity of the arrest provi- justice to the victims. sions under the Goods and The bench, however, was Services Tax Act and the Cus- mindful of the abuse of such toms Act. Rejecting a powers. It said anticibatch of pleas challengpatory bail could be aling these provisions, a lowed even in cases bench of Chief Justice where FIR is not filed Sanjiv Khanna, Justice but the threat of arrest Bela M Trivedi, and is imminent. Justice M M Sundresh “By striking a deliUse it with cate balance between upheld the legislative caution, amendments that clasenforcement powers sify specific economic says court and personal liberty, offenses as cognizable SC maintained the judgment ensures and non-bailable. that while the governthat the This means enforcement can take stringent powers to ment authorities will arrest must be action against financial have the power to ar- exercised with offenses, citizens’ funrest individuals withdamental rights remain due caution out prior judicial approtected,” said Aband in proval in cases of hishek A Rastogi, compliance serious violations such founder of law firm with the as tax evasion exceed- constitutional Rastogi Chambers. ing specified thresh“This reinforces the safeguards olds, fraudulent claims legal architecture of of exemptions, or misuse of anti-evasion mechanisms and trade instruments. also brings the much-needed Special Acts like GST and clarity to the enforcement Customs Act have specific ob- of arrest provisions unjectives and judicial review der these statutes,” should be exercised cautiously said Rajat Mohan, and in rare circumstances, the s e n i o r p a r t n e r, SC said. It added that frequent A M R G & judicial interference in the Associates. D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi EXPRESS READ Siddu raps Shah’s claim on delimitation Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said home minister Amit Shah’s claim that the South will not be disadvantaged by delimitation aims to create confusion among the Southern states TUHIN NEW SEBI CHIEF Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey is the new head of Securities and Exchange Board of India HC FIAT ON TOXIC UNION CARBIDE WASTE UPHELD S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order on transportation and safe disposal of all toxic waste from Bhopal’s ill-fated Union Carbide plant at a treatment unit in the industrial town Pithampur in the state. A two-judge bench comprising justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih also refused to stay Thursday’s trial run of the disposal of 30 metric tonnes of the waste at Pithampur. Hours later, incineration of the toxic waste generated from the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy began. Indore-based Gandhian Chinmay Mishra was among those who had challenged the HC order. But the bench observed, “You seem to be following the NIMBY principle, that is, not in my backyard. You are saying if they want to pollute, they may do it somewhere else, but not in my backyard. Not in Indore.” Won’t sit The court pointed out that on opinion the HC had considered the of experts views of experts from institutes of repute and recognition The bench said like NEERI, NGRI and CPCB it couldn’t sit before arriving at its decision. on the opinion “The impugned HC order of experts, who would reveal that it took a serihad already ous view of the lethargic manapproved the ner in which the state governtransportation ment was dealing with the and disposal of disposal of waste. It is revealed the toxic that only after the direction Bhopal gas from the HC, the matter has tragedy waste moved. The HC is monitoring the matter. So, we do not find any reason to interfere with the impugned order,” the bench said. While granting some liberty the judges asked , the aggrieved parties to approach the high court. It said the petitioner and intervenors could also give their suggestions to the state government, which would place them before an expert committee for further consideration. Rescue teams push through debris in tunnel using cutters E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad RESCUE teams on Thursday intensified operations inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel to reach eight workers who have been trapped there since the last six days. Using gas and plasma cutters, the teams made some progress in clearing the debris of the tunnel boring machine (TBM). They are expected to cross the previously inaccessible 40-metre area after the path near the TBM is cleared. The teams have been removing slush and dewatering the tunnel, where the estimated seepage rate is around 5,000 litres per minute. Once the debris is cleared, they will be able to reach the TBM. Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the rescue operations would be completed within the next two to three days. Regular tunnel work would resume in two to three months, he added. Eleven top agencies specialising in tunnel disasters are leading the opera- Dewatering operations in progress at the SLBC tunnel | SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT tion. Teams are working 24X7, deploying the most advanced technology for the mission that is being overseen by global experts. “This is an extremely challenging operation, and the best experts are involved. They are risking their lives to complete the mission,” Uttam said. 10% Tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods to kick in next week Extra duty on Chinese goods, over and above 10% tariff levied on February 4 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 ■ We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the US... The proposed tariffs will, indeed, go into effect... The tariffs on Mexico and Canada, announced earlier, was paused on February 3 for 1 month; it will now go live on March 4 Experts say the tariffs carry the risk of higher prices for American consumers and slower growth for the US economy | P9 ■