BHUBANESWAR l tuesday l september 15, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION Houthis seize more Red Sea islands, attack Saudi’s King Khalid Air Base Houthi rebels said on Monday they have captured more strategic islands in the southern Red Sea and hit a major Saudi Arabian airbase in Khamis Mushait Arab states call off Iran meeting Saudi Radar systems hit, claim rebels The capture of the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish is the latest in the Yemen-based, Iran-backed rebels’ swift advance around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz and a key passage for Saudi oil shipments. In response to the fresh attack by the Tehran-backed outfit, Arab states in the Gulf called off a meeting with Iran planned for Monday ■ ■ Houthis said they fired dozens of missiles and drones at the Saudi military airbase, hitting aircraft hangars, radar systems, runways and ammunition depots. They described the attack as retaliation for hundreds of Saudi airstrikes on Yemen in recent days | P11 There was no immediate response from Riyadh about Houthis’ claims Mocha Saudi-backed forces are trying to retake this port city from houthis 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 Wholesale, retail NGT fines chief secy, 6 Govt mulls special Parl inflation up in August officials `10,000 each session, nudges Oppn for delay in filing replies Illegal quarry case Food prices push up CPI inflation to eight-month high of 4.82%; WPI at 9.9% P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi Inflationary pressure in the economy is slowly building up, with both retail and wholesale inflation inching up. Retail inflation rose to an eight-month high of 4.82% in August from 4.45% in July, driven by higher food prices. Wholesale inflation rose to 9.9% in August from 9.8% in July. With retail inflation breaching the Reserve Bank of India’s estimate of 4.7%, the prospects of a rate hike in the October monetary policy review have brightened. According to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Monday, higher prices of cereals, sugar, milk and other essential food items contributed to the increase in household expenses. Elevated global crude oil prices have also pushed up fuel and transpor tation costs. Food inflation emerged as a key driver of the rise in headline inflation, increasing Oil prices shoot up Oil prices rose more than 3% on Monday, after fresh Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and Iranian attacks on ships in the Gulf region compounded supply concerns following the closure of a key Saudi oil pipeline. Brent crude futures rose $3.21, or 3.1%, to $107.82 per barrel. WTI futures gained $3.17, or 3.2%, to $103.22 per barrel The sharper rise in food inflation is worrisome since food has a large weight in household consumption Manoranjan Sharma, chief economist at Infomerics Ratings to 5.95% in August from 5.52% in July, due to erratic weather conditions and supply-side disruptions affecting prices of several agricultural commodities. The prices of onion, ginger and garlic rose by more than 40%. Higher inflation was not restricted to food, with the hospitality sector also witnessing a significant rise. Inflation in restaurants and accommodation services rose by 8.38% in August, while transport inflation stood at 4.60%. Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services recorded the highest inflation at 15.17%. According to economists, although 4.82% remains within the RBI’s statutory 2-6% tolerance band, the combination of accelerating food prices and evidence of firming core inflation leaves less room for monetary easing. “Inflation is still below 5%; it is unlikely that the credit policy will see any change in the repo rate. However, the inflation threat remains... 11 of the 36 regions had inflation above 5%,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Bank of Baroda. In wholesale inflation, major groups such as primary articles, fuel and power, and manufactured products recorded 7.76%, 22.93% and 8 . 3 7 % r e s p e c t i v e l y, i n August. E x press N e w s S er v i c e @ Cuttack The National Green Tribunal’s East Zone bench has imposed a total fine of `70,000 on seven senior government officials, including state chief secretary for fail, ing to file their responses in a case alleging environmental violations by a stone crusher unit under Dharmasala tehsil in Jajpur district. The bench of judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert members A Senthil Vel, Afroz Ahmad and Ishwar Singh granted the officials one final opportunity to file their replies within one month, subject to payment of `10,000 each. The `10,000 fine has been imposed individually on the chief secretary additional chief secretary of Rev, enue & Disaster Management department, additional chief secretary of Forest & Environment department, SP Jajpur, Dharmasala tehsildar, deputy director of mines, Jajpur and deputy director general of Forests, MoEFCC, regional office, Bhubaneswar. Jajpur collector, who is also a party to the case, has submitted his response affidavit. The order came on a fresh petition filed by way of interlocutory application (IA) filed by Urbashi Jena and two others. The petitioners, in the IA, sought a direction to the deputy director of mines, Jajpur, to assess the minerals excavated from the quarry concerned from December 26, 2025, till date and calculate environmental compensation for alleged illegal mining. They also sought compensation for the period between March 31, 2022 and March 3, 2023, when the lessee allegedly did not have a valid Environmental Clearance (EC) and Consent to Operate (CTO). Advocates Sankar Prasad Pani and Ashutosh Padhy appeared on behalf of the petitioners. The matter has been posted for furCONTINUED ON P7 ther hearing on October 28, 2026. mdr to KICK IN UPI payments above `2,000 may no longer remain free D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi UPI transactions above `2,000 may no longer remain free. The government on Monday notified that banks and payment service providers cannot charge customers for transactions made through RuPay debit cards or UPI for p ay m e n t s o f u p t o `2,000. The move provides a statutory basis for keeping these digital payment modes free for users within the specified limit. This means that UPI transactions above `2,000 could attract a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) or a fee that the banks and payment gateways charge from the merchant for processing the payment. However, the government has yet to announce the MDR. But sources have pegged the rate at anywhere from 0.25% to 0.4% of the transaction amount. CONTINUED ON P7 roguing both Houses. The buzz of a special session intensified last week WITH Parliament yet to be prorogued, after Rijiju said Parliament could the Centre has reached out to the Op- convene a session to discuss delimiposition parties over a proposal to tation-related proposals. convene a special session of ParliaFollowing this, Kharge wrote to Riment before the festive season to push jiju, reiterating the demand that the through the delimitation-linked government convene an all-party women’s reservation Bill, it was meeting and disclose the proposed learnt. agenda before taking a decision. Sources said Parliamentary During the Budget session on Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s April 17, the government faced office has reached out to Cona setback as the Constitution gress chief and Rajya Sabha amendment bill, involving Leader of Opposition Maldelimitation, for the implelikarjun Kharge to explore mentation of the women’s reswhether the session can be ervation in the Lok Sabha held before October 11, Congress taps and state assemblies was when the Navratri season defeated in the LS. INDIA allies begins. The government has now Sources said Kharge’s office is yet to proposed a 50% rise in the Congress has respond to the latest outtotal number of Lok Sabha reached out to its reach, sources said. seats, from the current 543 INDIA bloc allies, The move comes amid to up to 850 with each state’s including SP and Opposition questions over representation increasing the TMC, to the government’s unusual proportionately . formulate a delay in proroguing ParliaAccording to sources, the ment more than a month common position if government is pursuing after both Houses were ad- govt proceeds with DMK, which has 22 Lok journed sine die. The delay the special session Sabha MPs, to vote for the has kept speculation about bill. While there is still no a special session alive, though the clarity on if government has the twogovernment has made no formal an- thirds majority required for the pasnouncement about its timing or sage of the bill, a recent meeting beagenda. tween DMK MP Kanimozhi and Shiv Congress communications chief Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Jairam Ramesh on Friday said the NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar fuelled government had broken its previous speculation over opposition consultarecord for the longest delay in pro- tions on the delimitation issue. P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi inspiring journey From living beside public restroom to Asiad: Ashish’s tale c handra pra b hu @ Chennai Imagine living next to a restroom. The stench, the commotion, especially at night, the never ending sound of flowing water...it could be overbearing and at times, depressing. But when one doesn’t have a place to stay this can turn into heav, en. Ask Ashish, 24-year-old sepaktakraw player from New Delhi, he would narrate innumerable stories associated with the place where he was born and brought up. Now, sports has given him a new life. The young player from Majnu-ka-tilla in North of New Delhi will make his Asian Games debut in Japan for India. A striker with the Indian team, Ashish is one of the many athletes for whom sports have become a lifeline. Not just to make a living, but also uplift his family. Born to a mason and a housewife in Khargapur, Madhya Pradesh, Ashish re- called life in his home at Majnu-ka-tilla, north of New Delhi. “First, my parents shifted to Chandigarh in search of a job, but couldn’t find any and then they moved , to Delhi before the year 2000. He constructed that public toilet and hence we got that two-room house to live in. I was born there,” My father constructed that public toilet at Majnuka-tilla, New Delhi and hence we got that tworoom house to live in. I was born there — Ashish, India sepaktakraw player he told this daily from Sonepat, where the Indian sepaktakraw team is training. As his father Jugal did not have a permanent job, the family faced a lot of issues. Such was the financial stress on the family that Ashish had to clean buses in the city to help his father even though he wanted to pursue s p o r t s. “ I wanted to take up sports from the beginning. I be g an cleaning Volvo buses from the age of 14, and I did it for three years,” Ashish added. That is when Kishore Bisht, physical education teacher from his school, changed his life. “When I cleaned buses and trains before and after school, my boss there encouraged me to take up sport, but I could not find a way out. One day Kishore , sir saw me with my dark circles and found out I didn’t sleep properly He deposited `10,000 . in my account and told me not to work,” he recalled.