BHUBANESWAR l sunday l march 15, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l JEYPORE EDITION i-T dept apologises after incorrect emails sent to some taxpayers The Income Tax Department was red-faced on Saturday after it sent emails to taxpayers with inaccurate details under ‘significant transactions’ Communication was part of e-campaign Taxpayers urged to ignore faulty emails The department issued an official clarification after some taxpayers flagged the emails with incorrect details about their significant transactions. The emails were sent as part of the department’s ongoing advance tax e-campaign for Assessment Year 2026–27. It is a digital outreach meant to alert taxpayers to verify their transactions ■ ■ Taxpayers were urged to ignore the faulty emails. Officials said the e-campaign communications are intended only as reminders “When tax administration is increasingly driven by advanced digital systems, data analytics and real-time monitoring, such errors should be minimal,” says Rajat Mohan, senior partner, AMRG & Associates 2026-27 the financial year for which advance tax notices were sent 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 Max export via Kharg Kharg Island, targeted in US air strikes on Saturday, is a scrubby stretch of land in the Gulf that handles almost all of Iran’s crude exports.The island is located around 30 km off the Iranian mainland. Kharg underwent major developments during Iran’s oil expansion in the 1960s and 1970s, with much of the country’s coast too shallow for supertankers. Old beach park Kharg Island Airport Hospital Gas power plant Old boulevard IRAN Bandar Abbas T Jetty Oil and gas exploration service 2 LPG tankers clear Hormuz Day begins with America carpet-bombing Kharg island, Iran’s biggest oil export hub R a k e s h K u m a r @ New Delhi With two LPG cargoes crossing the troubled Strait of Hormuz after Iran assured their safe passage, they are expected to reach Indian ports by March 16–17. Each of the vessels — Shivalik and Nanda Devi — are carrying more than 46,000 metric tonnes of LPG, with a combined cargo of around 92,700 tonnes. The shipments will be discharged at Kandla and Mundra ports. As per ship-tracking data, Shivalik is currently travelling under Indian Navy’s escort. Six other LPG carriers are arriving from different parts of the world. They will be given priority berthing to ensure faster unloading and distribution, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Shipping Ministry informed. Besides, one LNG cargo and four crude oil shipments are scheduled to arrive. Daily LPG bookings have surged to around 8.8 million, compared with about 6 million before the crisis, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Petroleum Ministry, said, indicating panic buying. “Regarding LPG supply, it remains a matter of concern for us in light of the prevailing geopolitical situation; however, no stockouts have been reported thus far,” Sharma said. Of the 22 Indian-flagged vessels currently stuck in the Persian Gulf, Sinha said six are LPG tankers, four crude oil tankers, three container ships and dry docks, two bulk carriers, one LNG carrier, one chemical products tanker, one empty ballast vessel and one dredger. As for the booking portal conking, Sharma said attempts to book before the minimum refill period will not be accepted by the system. She urged people to use digital booking platforms instead of visiting distributors and standing in queues. NSA revoked, Wangchuk free days before SC hearing R a j e s h A s n a n i @ Jaipur Activist Sonam Wangchuk was released from Jodhpur jail on Saturday after the Centre revoked his detention under the National Security Act (NSA). His release, after six months in custody comes days before , the Supreme Court’s final hearing of a petition by his wife, Geetanjali Angmo, against his detention. On Saturday mor ning, Angmo arrived at the Jodhpur jail to receive Wangchuk. After completing the formalities, the two left together in a private vehicle under police protection. Wangchuk was taken into custody by the Ladakh administration on September 24, 2025, and was transferred to the Jodhpur jail two days later. Authorities had accused him of “inciting violence” during protests demanding statehood for Ladakh and the implementation of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The unrest reportedly left four dead and more than 150 Continued on P5 injured.  1 Commercial LPG supply now under the purview of state govts to prioritise them 2 Commercial users urged to contact state govt for their LPG refill 3 Joint raids by Central and state teams on curb black marketing of cooking gas 4 Online booking currently accounts for about 84% of LPG bookings US embassy in Iraq hit by drone a g en c i e s @ Tel Aviv, Tehran, Dubai ISRAEL on Saturday said the war against Iran was entering its “decisive phase”, as explosions rocked cities across West Asia amid strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad, a major energy facility in UAE, apart from Tel Aviv and Tehran. Washington’s embassy in Iraq’s Baghdad was hit by a drone, the second time it has been targeted since February 28, when US and Israel attacked Iran and plunged the Gulf into a mindless conflict. Clouds of smoke day rose over Fujairah, home to a major Emirati oil storage and export terminal, shortly after Iran warned UAE civilians to avoid ports. President Donald Trump said US forces had struck Iran’s Kharg Island, its biggest oil export hub. Iranian media confirmed the island’s oil facilities were unaffected. Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas urged Iran to refrain from targeting Gulf neighbours, many of which have supported its cause. Beyond the Gulf, Turkey said NATO forces shot down a ballistic missile launched from Iran. Oil-rich Qatar said it intercepted two missiles over Doha on Saturday The UAE slammed the . targeting of its consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan for the second time in a week, the foreign afP9 fairs ministry said.  15 RS polls: Now, BJP moves MLAs to resort in Paradip Naveen alleges horsetrading BJD president and leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik alleged the BJP and its three Rajya Sabha candidates were trying to influence his legislators | P3 Cong MLA missing Problems seem to be far from over for the Congress even after shifting eight MLAs to Bengaluru, as legislator Dasarathi Gomango has gone incommunicado for the last 48 hours | P3 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar With Rajya Sabha elections just a day away the trend of ‘re, sort politics’ has gained momentum in the state, with the ruling BJP shifting its legislators to the port town of Paradip in a bid to keep its flock together and ensure a disciplined vote on March 16. The move comes after the Congress first adopted the strategy of flying its MLAs to the ‘safe haven’ of Bengaluru amid fears of crossvoting in the election. Now, the ruling BJP has followed suit, herding its ministers and MLAs to Paradip after a key strategy meeting at the party’s state headquarters in Bhub a n e sw a r o n S at u rd ay evening. The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, state BJP president Manmohan Samal, ministers, MLAs and other senior party leaders. The leadership reviewed preparations for the election and decided to move all BJP legislators to Paradip for further discussions and t r a i n i n g o n t h e vo t i n g process. Party MLA from Pallahara Ashok Mohanty confirmed that all BJP legislators will stay together in Paradip for two nights to deliberate on the electoral strategy and ensure coordination among members during the voting process. Asked about the need for the ruling party to resort to such a strategy, Mohanty said every political party prefers to keep its members united and cohesive during crucial elections. The BJP is also trying to keep its MLAs together, he said. Party sources said all legislators except the chief minister, party president and election observers have moved to Paradip in three buses and will stay at the luxurious Mayfair Waves resort of BJP-backed Independent candidate Dilip Ray Nearly 100 rooms . have reportedly been booked in the resort to accommodate the party leaders and legislators, who will participate in the closed-door training session. Earlier, the BJP had issued a whip directing all its MLAs to remain present in the Assembly on the day of polling. WITH THIS ISSUE Haute by Hand PLUS 12 P AGES