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 ■ ■ BHUBANESWAR  THURSDAY  MARCH 20, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION JOY ALL AROUND AS SUNITA’S BACK HOME D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, stranded on the International Space Station for nine months after their spacecraft developed serious technical glitches, finally returned to Earth in the wee hours on Wednesday . The SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship carrying the two made a successful splashdown off the Florida coast on Tuesday at 5:57 pm (local time). Williams (59), an IndianAmerican with roots in Gujarat, and Wilmore (62) had set off for the ISS onboard a Boeing Starliner on June 5, 2024 for an eight-day mission. However, the spacecraft encountered technical problems, compromising its ability to bring the astronauts back safely . As the news of their safe retur n spread, celebrations erupted in Williams’ ancestral village Jhulasan in Gujarat’s Mehsana district. Residents gathered at the village temple on Wednesday morning to watch the live broadcast. The moment the SpaceX capsule splashed down off the Florida coast, the villagers burst crackers, danced, and chanted Har Har Mahadeva in sheer joy An . Punjab Police evict protesting farmers Leaders Dallewal and Pandher detained in Mohali; cops clear Khanauri & Shambhu, raze stages, pull down tents Protest began on Feb 13, ’24 The protesting farmers had been camping at the Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 last year when their march to Delhi was thwarted by security forces Important for growth: AAP govt Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the step was necessitated for the economic growth of the state. ``It is important that we fight against unemployment too,’’ he added Oppn raps police action Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Bittu condemned the crackdown. Former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said the AAP govt succumbed to pressure from the Centre and took action against the farmers H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh IN a dramatic operation, the Punjab Police on Wednesday evicted all protesting farmers from the Shambhu and Khanauri border with Haryana shortly after detaining their leadership in Mohali. The drama began in the evening when Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non Political) leaders Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal entered Mohali enroute to Khanauri following another inconclusive round of talks with the Centre at Chandigarh. The Punjab Police detained them when they reached the Jagatpura area of Mohali. Dallewal has been on a hunger strike since November last year. Dallewal was taken into custody while inside his ambulance, while others were detained along with their vehicles after some resistance. Pandher was detained at the Zirakpur barrier as he attempted to flee. Fourteen farmer leaders and others accompanying the two were also detained. Pandher has been taken to the Bahadurgarh Fort Commando Police Training Centre in Patiala. It has been transformed into a makeshift detention centre, as a majority of farmer leaders and protesting farm women, except Dallewal, are being lodged there. After detaining the leaders, the police force led by senior officers reached both border points and evicted the farmers there. They were first requested to clear the area and sit in vehicles arranged by the police. At Khanauri, a little force was used for eviction. Then, JCBs were deployed to pull down the make- CM, RSS try to tamp down Maha tension S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ New Delhi TWO days after communal riots in Nagpur, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked his party’s ministers to restrain from making unwanted comments that would disturb harmony. Controversial minister Nitesh Rane, too, was asked to tone down his rhetoric, sources said. In Bengaluru, RSS spokesperson Sunil Ambedkar said the Aurangzeb tomb controversy is not relevant today, adding the RSS does not support any kind of violence as it was not good for the society . On Monday, 35 police personnel, including three deputy commissioners of police, and five civilians were injured in communal riots in Nagpur. Opposition leaders have welcomed the stand taken by Fadnavis. “Nitesh Rane has had tacit support from the upper leadership, so he has been making provocative statements. No action was taken against him. It is high time action is taken against such ministers and set an example,” said Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar. The Punjab Police using a bulldozer to remove a temporary structure at the Punjab-Haryana Shambhu border | ANI shift stage and other structures, including tents. The tractortrolleys parked by farmers were taken away The clearing opera. tion is expected to last through the night. Around 300 farmers were detained at Khanauri and Shambhu during the operations. Internet service was suspended in many areas around the Shambhu border amid heavy police deployment in the nearby villages. The decision to take action was reportedly made on Tuesday night, following a meeting between top AAP functionaries and industrialists. The industrialists said that they were incurring significant cost markups because of the protests. Deputy Inspector of Police (Patiala Range) Mandeep Singh Sidhu, who was at the Khanauri border and Senior Superintendent of Police of Patiala, Nanak Singh, who was at Shambhu, said that the farmers were requested to cooperate in clearing the roads. “Those who were willing to leave for their native places were sent away. The police are clearing the roads and dismantling the makeshift structures,’’ said Singh. The officers said thet are in touch with their Haryana counterparts to clear the blockades on their side so as to open the roads for unhindered traffic movement. akhand jyot (eternal flame) had been burning at the village temple since she left for space over nine months ago. Sunita Williams’ cousin Navin Pandya shared that a grand procession is planned in her honour. “We are eagerly waiting for Sunita to visit Jhulasan,” Pandya said, adding that the villagers will extend a war m invitation for her homecoming. 286 DAYS THE TWO NASA ASTRONAUTS WERE STRANDED IN SPACE FOR NINE MONTHS Physical challenges NASA astronaut Sunita Williams being helped out of SpaceX Dragon spacecraft after splashing down off the coast of Florida on Wednesday | KEEGAN BARBER/NASA VIA AP/PTI Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will face some physical challenges due to their prolonged spaceflight, including muscle and bone loss. They will need to adjust to the Earth’s gravitational force before walking again 3 sacked, 7 slapped show cause for playing Holi in trauma ICU of SCB However, the hospital authorities were compelled to initiate a probe into the matTHE SCB medical college and hospital ter after a video of the Holi celebration management has disengaged three out- went viral on social media. The doctors, sourcing employees and issued nursing staff, attendants, houseshow cause notice to seven nurskeeping staff and security pering staff for celebrating Holi insonnel on duty at the trauma side the trauma ICU of the precentre on the Holi day were mier healthcare centre on quizzed as part of the Three outsourcing investigation. Saturday . staff including a The on-duty staff reportedly security personnel Basing on the probe outcome, created commotion and even three staff were dismissed. and two played with colours right inside While two of those were attendattendants have the critical care unit despite the ants, one was a security guard. been terminated fact that over 15 accident vic- from service while They were employed at the hosseven nursing tims were undergoing treatment pital via an outsourcing agency . at the ICU. Some of them were staff issued show The seven others are permanent cause notice. also on ventilator support. employees. Anyone found The incident had triggered “Action was taken basing on guilty would not discontentment among the pathe findings and information be spared tients’ attendants but they had provided by the other staff who chosen to stay silent apprehend- Dr Lucy Das, hospital were present when the incident superintendent ing hampering the healthcare took place. Three outsourcing services. Later, some of them staff including a security pertook to X to apprise the matter to Chief sonnel and two attendants have been terMinister Mohan Charan Majhi and minated from service while seven nursHealth minister Mukesh Mahaling, de- ing staff issued show cause notice,” said manding a high-level probe into the mat- hospital superintendant Dr Lucy Das ter and appropriate action against the adding, anyone found guilty would not be errant staff. spared. A R A B I N D A PA N D A @ Cuttack CABINET OKAYS `1,500 CR PUSH FOR SMALL BHIM-UPI DEALS The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a `1,500-crore incentive scheme to promote BHIMUPI (Person-to-Merchant) transactions below `2,000 in 2024-25. An official statement said small merchant transactions using BHIM-UPI will receive an incentive of 0.15% per transaction value | P10 EXPRESS READ Schools to have morning classes from April 2 Bhubaneswar: With the heatwave conditions making an early entry, the Odisha government on Wednesday announced that morning classes will be held in all the schools beginning April 2. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari informed that from April 2, the schools will open at 7 am. “The heatwave has started early this year and temperature in many Western Odisha districts is rising. Coastal districts are also experiencing both heat and humidity,” he told mediapersons | P2