SAMBALPUR l sunday l october 25, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l CITY EDITION travel insurance for railway counter bookings from Tuesday Passengers booking reserved train tickets through offline counters can purchase the optional travel insurance policy starting Tuesday follows recent supreme court order only digital payment accepted It comes days after the Supreme Court directed the Railways to extend the optional travel insurance facility to those booking tickets through the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters at railway stations. The Railway Board has instructed zonal railways to ensure that all PRS counters are suitably equipped to offer the facility from October 27 ■ ■ Only digital payment is applicable for those opting to buy the coverage. “The applicable premium shall be collected along with the ticket fare through digital means only,” the Railway Board said As per IRCTC, the premium is 45 paise per passenger. The insurance company is responsible for issuing policies and settling claims 11% of reserved tickets are bought via counters, according to railways 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 Anti-dam stir: Cyclone track emerges, to land in AP Arunachal mob between Bapatla, Visakhapatnam: IMD on the rampage As i s h M e h ta @ Bhubaneswar Set NHPC office on fire, vandalise houses of three politicians, including two MLAs p r a s a n ta m a z u m d a r @ Guwahati WITH THIS ISSUE Married to Menace PLUS 12 P AGES THE proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) turned a massive flashpoint on Saturday as anti-dam protesters in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang district set fire to an office of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and scores of vehicles parked on the premises of a police station, then vandalised houses of three politicians, including two MLAs, and later clashed with security forces that left several injured. The incident took place around 11 pm on Friday after a 12-hour bandh to protest against the hydropower project was over, Pasighat Deputy Superintendent of Police Tony Tatak said. The agitators vandalised the residences of BJP state unit president and former MLA Kaling Moyong, and Pasighat West legislator Ninong Ering, he said. The office of the Adi Bane Kebang, the apex body of the Adi community was , also ransacked, the officer said. Later in the night, violence broke out again in Pasighat town and adjoining Mebo in East Siang district, where clashes left several people injured. Pasighat remained shut on Saturday . The violence erupted hours after a bandh in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts to protest against the proposed hydropower project was over, a senior police official said. The Union government had proposed SUMP , expected to generate 11,000 MW power, as a counter to a 60,000 MW Chinese project. The protesters are demanding scrapping of the hydro power project, withdrawal of armed forces from the region, deployed allegedly in connection with pre-feasibility report (PFR) or survey release of 10 arrested activists and re, instatement of some suspended village chiefs. The protesters fear displacement, loss of livelihoods and environmental and seismic risks. Joint protest The shutdown was jointly called by the Adi Bane Kebang United, SUMP Affected Area Youth Association, Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Wing and Adi Galo Welfare Society The cyclone building over the Bay of Bengal may just spare Odisha as the storm is likely to skirt the state and approach the Andhra Pradesh coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) indicated in its latest forecast on Saturday . As per the national forecaster, Friday’s low-pressure intensified into a well-marked low-pressure area over east-central and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal on the day It then strength. ened into a depression later in the evening. The system is expected to move west-northwestwards, intensify further into a deep depression on Sunday and into a cyclonic storm over westcentral Bay of Bengal on Monday morning. Moving west-northwestwards, it will continue to intensify further and reach over west-central Odisha fully prepared, says CM Majhi Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday said the state government is fully prepared to tackle the cyclone, which is building up in the Bay of Bengal | P3 Bay of Bengal near Andhra Pradesh coast around Wednesday morning, said the IMD. The latest status said it was centres about 1,100 km east of Bapatla. As it crosses the Yanam coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, it would be gather power as a very severe cyclonic storm with the maximum sustained wind speed of 115-125 kmph gusting to 140 kmph by October 28. Some weather agencies, meanwhile, suggested rapid intensification of the system. As express read Odisha eyeing 40% urbanisation, $500 billion economy by 2036: CM A damaged police station in Pasighat | ANI CM’s appeal Chief Minister Pema Khandu, expressed concern over the vandalism, looting and damage to property. “The government’s doors are always open,” Khandu said Bhubaneswar: CM Mohan Charan Majhi said the government was working towards increasing Odisha’s urbanisation rate from existing 17 per cent (pc) to 40 pc and transforming the state into a $500 billion economy by 2036. Majhi said the government was developing modern urban infrastructure with the vision of building a prosperous Odisha | P2 Forces take over Kuki rebels’ camp, first after peace pact Guwahati: Security forces on Saturday took control of a designated camp of Kuki ‘Suspension of Operations’ (SoO) groups after it was found to be housing 17 people, allegedly impersonating members of the groups. This is the first instance when a camp of the SoO groups has been taken over by security forces | P8 Sindhu in pristine touch, storms into French final AT 31, badminton players usually start thinking about sipping a hot beverage within the confines of their homes watching their favourite movie or sport. The challenges of courts would not be as enticing as it would have been five years ago, especially if one is a multiple Olympic and world championships medallist. P V Sindhu is one such player who has a cabinet full of medals; most players would be envious of. She has won Olympic medals, Worlds gold and different medals and numerous other BWF Tour titles. Yet, when she should be slowly walking into the sunset, she is still conjuring wins like a regular top player. There is no sign of age slowing her down or mental fatigue due to a long career. At the French Open on Saturday , post a middling Asian Games campaign, she again showed vintage Sindhu signs. She had been struggling in the final games but not against Hina Akechi as she won 2110, 20-22, 21-16. She will face World No 1 An Se Young in the final. There was some criticism when she lost the Asian Games in the quarterfinal but she can be excused for losing in her third match in less than 24 hours. The gruelling schedule was cruel. Despite such a long career, one big positive was her fitness. She has remained relatively injury-free. Something which she said was because she understood her body and played accordingly. “It is important to know your body,” she had said at the Asian Games. “We use gadgets and know where we are straining, and when we need to take it easy and when we can give I have to give my best: PV “I have to give her a good fight, a tough fight. Every point matters. I know we’ve played a lot of times and she’s been doing really well. But I think tomorrow is a different day. Every day is a new day. I just have to go out there and give my best. I’m ready to give a fight” 2nd Her second BWF Tour Super 750 final after Japan Open which she won PV Sindhu i n d r a n e e l d a s @ Chennai more than 100 per cent. Sometimes one may not be able to give 100 per cent. We need to preserve ourselves.” At World No 11, she is the best shuttler in the country, even now. With LA28 less than one and half years away it augurs well. But , for Sindhu it’s one tournament at a time. For her, right now it’s best to “enjoy where am I at right now, and I enjoy the fame.” For now, she has final to take care of against someone she has not wo n b e fo re. “But I think tomorrow is a different day,” she P11 said.  cause of concern Surat’s industrial effluents to be dumped into Arabian Sea J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi THE empowered committee of Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, as part of India’s largest deep-sea disposal project, has recommended dumping 650 million litres per day (MLD) of treated industrial wastewater from the textile and chemical hubs in Surat in deep sea near the Gulf of Khambhat in Arabian Sea. The effluents are proposed to be carried through pipelines to the landfall located near Danti Village in Navsari, and extend to the outfall point offshore in the Ubharat and Vansi regions of the Arabian Sea. The project vehicle, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, said the onshore pipeline network will extend approximately 67.5 km, while the offshore pipelines will range between 15 km and 17.9 km from the landfall point to the respective marine diffuser locations. Under the chairmanship of M S Negi, chief of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ), the proposal has been recommended for CRZ clearance in line with the CRZ Notification of 2019, at a meeting on October 8, 2026.In its recommendation, the committee highlighted the saturation of existing effluent disposal systems from the CETPs into local creeks. “The treated effluent is currently discharged into nearby creeks. Due to the limited carrying capacity of these creeks, further discharge of treated effluent is not permissible,” the committee said. Environmentalists have criticised this approach. Local fisherfolk in Navsari and Surat fear a loss of livelihood. “They are concerned that releasing such huge daily volumes of industrial wastewater (650 MLD) will decimate local fish populations and push thousands of fishing families into financial hardship,” said MSH Sheikh of Brackish Water Research Centre, a Surat based non-profit. Threat to marine ecology Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change approved India’s largest deep-sea disposal project in Surat The project aims to manage 650 million litres per day of treated industrial wastewater from Surat’s textile and chemical sectors and discharged into deep sea in the of Gulf of Khambhat Environmentalists criticise the lack of a zero-waste policy instead of deep-sea dumping, which may damage marine ecology per the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC), environmental analysis indicates a favourable area for development of the storm. “Global deterministic and ensemble models are in agreement of formation of the storm within 24 hours and a reversal in its motion towards the west. The potential for the development of a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours is high,” it added. Though the cyclone’s exact landfall location is yet to be as- certained, Odisha is expected to receive very heavy rains between Tuesday and Thursday under its influence. The regional met office has issued warning for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Jagatsinghpur, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam and Puri districts on Tuesday. Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati and Ganjam districts may experience extremely heavy rainfall, while heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur in 17 districts, mostly in coastal and interior re gions of the state on Wednesday . The cyclone is expected to trigger squally weather conditions with wind speed reaching 40 kmph to 50 kmph and gusting up to 60 kmph along and off Odisha coast on Tuesday and Wednesday The regional met office has . cautioned that the storm may cause damage to power and communication lines. 19-year-old girl held for catfishing neighbour, leaking her intimate pics S i s i r Pa n i g r a h y @ Berhampur Cyber police have arrested a 19-year-old girl in Gajapati district for allegedly posing as a man on Instagram, luring her 18-year-old neighbour with a promise of marriage and circulating her intimate photographs and videos online. “The accused Nandita Mahakuda of Laxmipur (Gauda Sahi) village under Ramagiri police limits was arrested on October 23 and forwarded to court,” IIC Basant Sethy said on Saturday . According to details of the case that highlights the misuse of social media for impersonation and online harassment, the victim lodged a complaint at the cyber crime and economic offences (CC & EO) police station in Paralakhemundi on October 10, alleging that a person operating Instagram account _ur_aditya_03 had gained her confidence by promising to marry her and persuaded her to share intimate photographs and videos. She alleged that the person later threatened to kill her and circulate the material on social media. On October 2, the photographs and videos were allegedly circulated through Instagram and came to the notice of the victim’s brother, CONTINUED ON P5 relatives and others.