BHUBANESWAR l monday l august 24, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Spurt in swine flu cases not due to new strain, says ICMR No new strain of H1N1 has been identified and there is no cause for panic, sources at the Indian Council of Medical Research said on Sunday Delhi govt issues health advisory Current vaccines offer good protection The clarification comes amid an increase in swine flu cases in Delhi and other parts of the country. The Delhi government has issued a health advisory urging people to follow respiratory hygiene, avoid crowded places and seek timely medical advice. The national capital has recorded over 2,300 Influenza-A cases this year, including over 1,777 H1N1 cases till Friday ■ ■ The strains currently circulating are “well matched with the vaccine strains recommended for the Northern Hemisphere”, ICMR sources said Seasonal influenza, including H1N1, is mostly self-limiting. However, young children, elderly persons and individuals with underlying medical conditions may be at greater risk of complications 114 H1N1 cases reported in Delhi on Aug 20, one of the highest in a single day 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 Doval heads to Beijing Navy, ICG step up search ops as MV Ocean ahead of Xi’s India visit Winner still untraceable with 22 crewmen NSA to reach China on Monday to take part in crucial border talks J AYA NTH J A CO B @ New Delhi National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is set to travel to Beijing on Monday and Tuesday for the 25th round of talks between India and China’s Special Representatives on the boundary question, ahead of a possible visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to New Delhi next month for the BRICS summit and bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines. Doval, India’s Special Representative for the boundary negotiations, is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart, Politburo member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on Tuesday. Beyond the long-running border issue the talks are expected to take stock of the broader bilateral relationship, the efforts by both sides to stabilise ties and the likely visit of Xi to India next month. The timing is significant. Doval’s Beijing visit express read Startup’s vow: Meds to be made in space New Delhi: The day may not be far when Indian satellites will make pharmaceuticals in space and return them to India, one of the young CEOs of a space startup recently told PM Narendra Modi. A CEO, who introduced himself as Antariksha, said that they have set up the first spacepharma startup | P7 Teacher aspirants go on hunger strike Bhubaneswar: With the state government yet to come up with a concrete decision regarding fulfilment of their demands, the agitating teacher aspirants have started a hunger strike here from Saturday | P3 Ex-captains call for Imran’s treatment New Delhi: Over 20 former cricket captains, including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar, have written to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for proper medical treatment to jailed former Pak PM and cricketer Imran Khan Boundary question Doval’s meetings with Wang will help advance dialogue on the unresolved boundary question and create the political space for a broader reset ahead of the BRICS summit. Both countries have set in motion a series of measures to rebuild trust, which includes improving connectivity, people to people ties and other measures comes just weeks before India hosts the BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. While Beijing and New Delhi have not officially confirmed Xi’s participation, officials are hopeful that the Chinese president will at t e n d t h e m e e t , which will provide an opportunity for a bilateral meeting with Modi, possibly on the day of Xi’s arrival for the BRICS summit itself. This would be Xi’s first trip to India in seven years and would carry considerable diplomatic weight following years of strained ties after the 2020 military confrontation in eastern Ladakh and amidst efforts to normalise and stabilise the relationship between the two neighbours. The Special Representatives’ mechanism was established in 2003 to pursue a political framework for resolving the boundary dispute along the approximately 3,488-km India-China border. Several rounds of talks have yet to produce a final settlement, but the mechanism remains an important channel for managing one of the most sensitive aspects of the relationship. The discussions are particularly relevant as both countries seek to consolidate the easing of tensions along the Line of Actual Control and restore broader engagement. Progress on the border, however, remains central to any sustained improvement in ties. Congress smells special Parl session plot by govt p r e e t h a n a i r @ New Delhi THE delay in the formal closure of Parliament’s Monsoon Session set off fresh speculation on Sunday that the government may be keeping the door open for a special sitting to push through the Constitution amendment linked to delimitation and women’s reservation bill. The Congress pointed out that though the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on August 13, the Presidential notification proroguing the two Houses has not been issued yet. Questioning the 10-day delay , Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that prorogation ordinarily follows within two to four days of a House being adjourned sine die. In several instances, he said, the formal termination of a session has come on the day of adjournment itself. “What explains the abnormal delay now? Is the Union Home Minister still in search of his tainted 2/3rd majority to get the Constitutional Amendment Bill on Delimitation passed in a special session?” he wrote on X. “It is true that the gap for the Monsoon session in 2015 was 28 days and in 2021 it was 20 days. But there were no diabolical moves afoot then.” During the just-concluded Smriti’s poser to Rahul Former Union minister and BJP’s national general secretary Smriti Irani on Sunday asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to back his recent statements with action. She asked if Rahul Gandhi could translate his support for women by backing the implementation of the women’s reservation Bill Monsoon Session, there was talk that the government could reintroduce the Delimitation Bill, which was defeated in the previous session. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju reached out to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi twice to seek Congress support for the twin legislations. The Congress, however, sought an allparty meeting before proceeding with the Bills. In the recently held Congress Working Committee meeting, the party called for freezing the current strength of Lok Sabha at 543 seats for 25 years, and demanded 33 percent reservation for women be implemented from 2029 polls. A s i s h M e h ta /A ma r n at h Pa r i d a @ Bhubaneswar/Paradip The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard have intensified search and rescue operations for the Panama-flagged cargo ship MV Ocean Winner, which is feared to have sunk in the Bay of Bengal off Paradip coast. While two crew members were rescued from life rafts on Saturday, 22 others are still missing. The Search and Rescue (SAR) operation is yet to locate the ship, which went off the tracking systems and lost communication about 290 nautical miles from Paradip coast on Friday . Additional DG Coastal Security Arun Bothra said the vessel had sounded a distress alert on Saturday morning which was received by the Indian Navy It immediately de. ployed a P8I aircraft, which was on surveillance sortie, in the SAR mission in coordination with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) at Sri Vijaya Puram in Port Blair. Coast Guard sources said the naval aircraft spotted an oil slick and three life rafts drifting in the vicinity of MV Ocean Winner’s last known position. However, there was no trace of the vessel. The MRCC then raised an international safety net (ISN) alert and two merchant vessels in the vicinity, MT Aospos and LNG Tanker MT Mol Azure, joined coast guard ships Varad, Anmol and Vijit in the Govt rejects Oppn demand for special Assembly session on MMDR Bill E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar The state government has rejected the demand of the Opposition BJD and Congress for convening a special session of the Assembly to discuss the impact of MMDR Amendment Bill, 2026 on Odisha, stating there was no need for a separate discussion on the matter. Parliamentary Affairs minister Mukesh Mahaling said the issue can be discussed during the regular monsoon session of the Assembly, notification of which will be issued soon. “The state government is ready to discuss all matters to be raised by the Opposition in the session,” he said. The monsoon session of the Assembly is likely be convened during the second week of September. Opposition BJD and Congress are also preparing to raise the issue during the monsoon session. On Saturday, the Congress led by legislature party leader Ramachandra Kadam had submitted a memorandum to Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati at the Lok Bhavan demanding a special session of the Assembly to dis- c u s s the issue which the party said concerned the interests of Odisha and its people. Congress vice-president Santosh Singh Saluja and MLA CS Raajen Ekka also strongly criticised the Parliamentary Affairs minister for rejecting the demand for a special session of the Assembly over the issue. Stating that the government was afraid of calling a special session, they alleged the double-engine gover nment sacrificed Odisha’s interests. Addressing a media-conference on the day, senior BJD leader and former minister Pritiranjan Gharai and party MLA Byomakesh Ray said BJD president and leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik had demanded a special session and an all-party meeting to discuss the issue. However, the BJP is not doing so for the benefit of mine owners, they alleged. Questioning how the Centre could pass such an important Bill in Parliament without consulting the states, they said it undermined the federal framework and constitutional system of the country . JeM’s Bahawalpur HQ, destroyed in Op-Sindoor, rebuilt m u k e s h r a n j a n @ New Delhi THE Jaish-e-Mohammed’s key base, Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur, has been substantially rebuilt 15 months after it was destroyed in India’s Operation Sindoor, intelligence sources here said on Sunday . The sources said the Pakistan government, allegedly with ISI assistance, provided Rs 25 crore in instalments for reconstructing the JeM facility, of which around Rs 11 crore was spent for restoring the central hall. “The renovated hall has undergone major refurbishment. Walls have been freshly plastered and painted, new marble flooring installed, and the premises thoroughly cleaned. The restoration suggests the facility is again being prepared for regular activity,” a source said. According to intelligence officials, signs of reconstruction emerged in early 2026, when heavy machinery, bricks, steel and other material were reportedly moved to the site. Work progressed rapidly, and by later in the year the complex had regained the look of an operational facility . Also known as the Jamia Subhan Allah complex, the site lies along Pakistan’s N-5 National Highway in Institutional support The reconstruction at Bahawalpur has renewed concerns in India over the restoration of terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan despite the military action carried out during Operation Sindoor. Intelligence officials view this as institutional support for JeM Bahawalpur, southern Punjab, and has long been an important ideological and training centre for JeM. Bahawalpur was among the sites targeted during Operation Sindoor, launched after the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam attack. On the night of May 6-7, Indian forces struck nine locations in Pakistan and PoK identified as terror infrastructure. JeM chief Masood Azhar had claimed 10 family members, including his sister and five children, and four associates were killed at the facility . Azhar, arrested in India in 1994 and freed in 1999 during the IC-814 hijacking, has since been linked to the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2016 Pathankot, and 2019 Pulwama attacks, and is wanted for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Pakistan denies knowledge of his whereabouts. Image used for representational purposes operation. By late Saturday evening (August 22), MT Aospos rescued two crew members from the life rafts. Ocean Winner with a load of around 71,000 metric tonnes of iron ore was reportedly bound for China. It was carrying 24 crew members, including 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmarese and one Bangladeshi. The vessel was about 225-metre-long and 32-metre-wide. The mishap with the vessel was confirmed by Union minister for Ports, Shipping and Wa t e r w ay s S a r b a n a n d a S o n ow a l . “ T h e Pa n a m a flagged vessel was carrying iron ore from Paradip Port to China. All agencies are coordinating closely and actively doing search and rescue efforts. Two survivors have been successfully rescued and are being given medical care. Their rank and identities are currently being verified,” he said in a post on X. “The two rescued crew members are Chinese nationals. Search for the remaining 22 crew members is in progress by three ships and a navy aircraft,” ICG spokesperson Commandant Amit Uniyal told Continued on P5 TNIE.  CBI books ex-DGCA director Anil Gill, others in graft case E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against former director of flying training at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Anil Gill, and several aviationrelated companies for alleged abuse of official position, extending undue favours to select flight training organisations, and suspicious aircraft transactions, officials said on Sunday . The FIR, registered on August 21, names Gill, Bluethroat Aero Global Pvt Ltd, Redbird Aviation Academy Pvt Ltd, Sabres Corporate Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Sandhills Aviation IFSC Pvt Ltd, among others. Gill allegedly extended undue favours to select Flying Training Organisations, causing “detriment and pecuniary loss” to rival operators. According to the FIR, Gill facilitated procurement of training aircraft at nominal prices through “benami/shell entities managed by his close relatives” and subsequently arranged to lease them back to favoured flying training organisations at exorbitant rates, generating “massive kickbacks, illicit pecuniary advantage”. The FIR was registered on a complaint by Captain J S Dhillon, managing director of Global Aeronautics Ltd. The FIR alleged that Bluethroat Aero Global, incorporated in 2016 with Gill’s mother and maternal aunt as directors, acquired a Cessna aircraft in 2020 for `10 lakh, and another in 2021 for `37.5 lakh, well below the market price of upto `1 crore.