SAMBALPUR  SATURDAY  JUNE 14, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION INDIA ABSTAINS FROM VOTING ON DRAFT GAZA CEASEFIRE RESOLUTION IN U.N.G.A. The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to adopt the resolution seeking an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza MOTION ALSO DEMANDS RELEASE OF HOSTAGES The resolution, introduced by Spain, got 149 votes in favour. Twelve members voted against it while 19 nations, including India, abstained. The resolution also demanded release of hostages, return of the remains of those killed, exchange of Palestinian prisoners, return of civilians to their homes in Gaza, and full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip India has earlier abstained on resolutions on Israel-Palestine. “Our vote today is in continuation of this in the belief that there is no other way to resolve conflicts but through dialogue and diplomacy," he said ■ India is concerned at the deepening humanitarian crisis, he added U.S. DIALOGUE IS THE ONLY SOLUTION, SAYS INDIA ■ India’s Permanent Representative to UN, Parvathaneni Harish, said HAD VETOED A SIMILAR RESOLUTION AT THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL LAST WEEK 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 INTERVIEW Israel takes out Iran military brass, nuke sites Over 100 military facilities destroyed in airstrikes; India calls for de-escalation, Washington denies involvement AGENCIES @ Jerusalem / Dubai / Washington A NEW ODISHA IS TAKING SHAPE As the BJP govt completes one year in office, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi talks about his accomplishments and challenges along with the roadmap for Odisha’s growth and development in the coming years, in an interview with Siba Mohanty & SN Agragami Y our government has completed one year in office with a slogan, ‘Barsa Ek, Uplapdhi Anek’. What is the biggest upalabdhi (achievement) of your government in the last 12 months ? June 12 was a historic day in the political history of Odisha. People changed the government of 24 years and gave us a mandate to take Odisha in the path of development in all fields. Out of the 21 promises made by us, our government has fulfilled 11 promises, which is more than half. The results are for all to see. Let me give you one example. In Subhadra Yojana, we had promised to give a voucher of `50,000 to women and have already provided `10,000 to nearly 1 crore women in two half-yearly installments. This is not a cash dole to create vote-bank. Our aim is women empowerment. We have got ground reports, and you will be pleasantly surprised that 90 per cent of beneficiaries have utilised the money in a gainful manner. On the path of fulfilling the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have increased the number of Lakhpati Didis from just three lakh to 16.6 lakh in one year and achieved the first position in the country The . prime minister himself has praised the achievement of Odisha in the NITI Aayog meeting. Our second priority was the farmer. Within one hour of taking oath, in the first cabinet meeting we approved input assistance of `800 per quintal over and above the MSP, which has already reached 17 lakh farmers. For the youth, we have provided 28,000 jobs. Nearly 30,000 youths have also got jobs in private sector. The previous government had organised three Make-in-Odisha conclaves. But in only one Utkarsh Odisha conclave organised by our government on January 28 and 29, we generated more proposals and signed more MoUs than all the previous three combined. We received proposals of `17 lakh crore, signed MoUs of `13 lakh crore with employment opportunities for 13 lakh youth of the. The government has gained the confidence of the people by doing all this work. We are committed to take Odisha to greater heights economically, socially and politically We have fulfilled . many promises during the year, which is why the slogan ‘Barsha Ek, Upalabdhi Anek’. A New Odisha is taking shape. You claim proposals worth `17 lakh crore and MoUs worth `13 lakh crore were signed at Utkarsh Odisha. Many MoUs were signed earlier too, but few materialised. How is your government ensuring actual project grounding, not just MoU signing? You can yourself see the difference. In just four months, we have already conducted groundbreaking of projects worth `1,78,000 crore, opening possibilities of giving jobs to 1.1 lakh youths. We ensured establishment of a `2,700 crore technical ammonium nitrate (TAN) plant at Gopalpur in just 10 months. This is the largest and first-ofits-kind project in India where all machinery were brought from Singapore. Besides, all big companies like Tata, JSW, JSPL and IOCL are either expanding or bringing new investment to Odisha. The downstream sector is also coming up in a big way . Each and every district is being covered. Many felt your lack of experience in administration would be a hurdle. Besides, your cabinet is mostly made up of first-time ministers. How challenging has it been to function as chief minister and lead the government? I was never an outsider. I was deputy chief whip when there was alliance government in the state. At times, I had to face the ire of the government specially when asking questions about mining areas of Keonjhar which is my home district. Then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had once called and pulled me up for raising such questions. But I had not stopped as I was in search of truth. I have been three-time MLA, Opposition chief whip and chairman of many committees. The success of the government in one year under my chief ministership has proved my capability . It is correct that many firsttime MLAs became ministers. Further, as the entire administration had worked under another government for 24 years, to make it attuned to the new dispensation was very challenging. I had to hold many meetings with the ministers. They were given responsibilities as prabharis of districts and associated with different problems. By doing this, they gained experience and at the end of one year became capable of running their ministries. We have succeeded in a collective manner. CONTINUED ON P5 IN a major escalation of tensions in West Asia, Israel on Friday launched a barrage of strikes across Iran, targeting nuclear and missile sites, and taking out its top military leadership. Iran responded by launching a swathe of drones. Israeli military said it intercepted 100 drones. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Israel of a “bitter and painful” fate, signalling further escalation. Late in the evening, Israel launched a second wave of attacks specifically targeting Tehran. Among those killed in the early-morning strikes were the country’s highest-ranking military official General Mohammad Bagheri, commander-inchief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps We expect to be exposed to several waves of Iranian attacks With this crime, Israel has set itself for a bitter and painful fate Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left... JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE Benjamin Netanyahu Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Donald Trump General Hossein Salami, deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces Gholamali Rashid, and Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who ran the missile programme. Iranian media put the total toll at 18. Israel said it deployed 200 aircraft to hit 100 targets, including Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz. Dozens of missile launchers and radar installations in western Iran were also destroyed in the attack, in which drones smuggled into the country were also used. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ruled out Washington’s involvement in the attack, while President Donald Trump blamed Iran for not taking the off-ramp he offered by restricting its nuclear programme. “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to make a deal... Today is day 61,” he wrote on Truth Social. AI flight black box found, PM Modi visits crash site D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad A day after a horrible plane crash killed at least 260 people here, probe agencies recovered the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) or black box, which is expected to throw up clues on India’s worst air tragedy in decades. The Aircraft Accident Investig ation Bureau that scoured the debris, said it recovered the black box from the rooftop at the crash site — possibly of the BJ Medical College hostel, which the London-bound Air India aircraft slammed into shortly after take-off from the Sardar Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Vallabhbhai Patel Airport. site of the plane crash on Friday | PTI The black box recording will offer vital data on the final moments of the flight. lone survivor,” Modi said. “AsWhile the DFDR is housed sured them that we are with in the tail section, the Cockpit them and their families in Voice Recorder (CVR) is usu- this tough time. The entire naally located within the cock- tion is praying for their speedy pit. Both DFDR and recovery .” CVR are better Modi also paid known as black boxtribute to former es. Till the time of Gujarat chief going to press, there minister Vijay was no word on Rupani, who was finding the CVR. among the passenPrime Minister gers who lost their Narendra Modi vislives in the ill-fatited the accident ed flight. “It is unsite and chaired a imaginable that high-level review Vijaybhai is not in meeting with senior our midst,” he officials to assess said. “We worked the ongoing rescue together, shoulder Relatives of a victim and relief efforts. to shoulder, inmourn at a hospital in Ahmedabad on Friday “Visited the crash cluding during site in Ahmedabad some of the most today. The scene of devasta- challenging times. Vijaybhai tion is saddening,” he posted was humble, hardworking, on social media. and firmly committed to the He also met the lone survi- party’s ideology .” vor of the crash and the other Amid speculation on the injured persons. “Met those cause of the crash, including injured in the aftermath of the position of its flaps, the the tragic plane crash in Directorate General of Civil Ahmedabad, including the Aviation (DGCA), ordered Air LONE SURVIVOR FOUND SOME SPACE, ESCAPED “Luckily, the portion where I was seated fell on the ground floor of the hostel after the crash. When I saw that the door broken, I saw an opportunity to escape,” says Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the lone survivor | P7 DNA TEST ON, EIGHT BODIES HANDED OVER Only eight bodies have been identified and handed over to their families so far. Autopsies are on in full swing, while DNA sampling has been completed for at least 220 victims | P7 LIC EASES NORMS ON PROOF OF DEATH To mitigate hardships of claimants, LIC said any evidence in govt records of death of policyholder due to the air crash or any compensation paid by Central/state govt /airlines will be accepted as proof of death India to go in for enhanced safety checks, including a review of take-off parameters of its Boeing series of flights from June 15. “As a preventive measure, DGCA hereby directs Air India to carry out additional maintenance actions on B787-8/9 aircraft equipped with Genx engines with immediate effect in co-ordination with the concer ned DGCA agencies.” The National Investigation Agency and other central agencies, too, joined the probe, sources said. Ease insurance claim settlement: Govt D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi THE government has instructed insurance companies to ease the process of claim settlement for family members of the deceased in the air crash. A senior finance ministry official said instructions were sent to the insurance companies on Thursday night itself. “Right now it is time for mourning, and no one is thinking about the money However, . the claim settlement process will begin in 5-6 days,” he said. He, however, declined to give an exact estimate of the claims. “This is not something that we can estimate — individually passengers would have all kinds of insurance policies, therefore, it is diffi- cult to make an insurance claims estimate,” said the official. The industry is looking at $150-200 mn in claims. “The hull agreed value of the aircraft would be roughly around $75-80 million, which will be covered under the Hull All Risk part of Insurance,” says Hitesh Girotra of Prudent Insurance Brokers. Multiple strikes on Tehran IRAN ISRAEL Natanz: Uranium enrichment plant A residential apartment in Tehran that was STRIKES NEAR MILITARY, damaged in Israeli strikes on Friday | AP NUCLEAR, RESIDENTIAL SITES The Wall Street Journal quoted Trump as saying he was aware of Israel’s plans to attack Iran. India called on both sides to exercise restraint. The Indian embassies in Iran and Israel advised all Indian nationals in the respective countries to exP9 ercise extreme caution. (With inputs from Jayanth Jacob in New Delhi) RAJNATH SINGH SET TO VISIT CHINA ON JUNE 24-25 J AYA N T H J A C O B & R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi AS India and China work to stabilise relations and rebuild trust, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to the neighbouring country on June 24-25 — the first high-level Indian ministerial visit since the 2020 border standoff in Eastern Ladakh. This signals renewed momentum in India-China engagement, following disengagement along the Line of Actual Control and continuing efforts to normalise ties. Singh will take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers’ meeting, where he may hold talks with Chinese defence minister Admiral Dong Jun. This will be Singh’s first visit to China as defence minister, though he had previously travelled there in h i s c ap a c i t y a s h o m e minister. Singh had last met Admiral Dong in Vientiane, Lao PDR, in November last year on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus. While Chinese foreign ministers have visited India twice since 2022, this marks the first reciprocal high-level visit from India. Diplomatic sources say Singh’s visit reflects the intent of both nations to build mutual confidence and advance the contacts following an understanding reached between Prime Minister The Indian defence minister’s decision to visit to China later this month reflects the intent of both nations to build mutual confidence and trust Diplomatic sources Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in October last year. On Thursday Foreign Sec, retary Vikram Misri had held talks in New Delhi with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong. The two sides reviewed the state of bilateral relations since their last meeting in January and agreed to focus on “people-centric engagements” to stabilise and rebuild ties, External Affairs Ministry said. The discussions covered a broad agenda including resumption of direct air services, visa facilitation, media and think-tank exchanges, and preparations for the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations. It’s cholera in Jajpur, death toll 11; 2 more dists report outbreak H E M A N T K U M A R R O U T @ Bhubaneswar EVEN as the death toll surged to 11, the Odisha government on Friday confirmed the presence of cholera-causing bacteria in samples collected from the affected areas of Jajpur district. Adding to the government’s headache, two more districts also reported the outbreak on the day . Official sources said, of the 41 faecal samples sent to the laboratory for testing, eight tested positive for Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium responsible for cholera. So far, over 700 others have been taken ill across four blocks and one urban local body in the district. The official death toll, however, is five. “We are verifying the details of other deaths,” director of public health Dr Nilakantha Mishra said. Health officials have intensified surveillance, water quality monitoring, and awareness campaigns in the affected regions, including Dharmasala, Danagadi, Korei, and Rasulpur blocks FULL REPORT ON PAGE 4 and Vyasanagar municipality .