First India-Mumbai Edition-14th October 2022

New Delhi: The Su preme Court on Thurs day delivered a split verdict on the ban on wearing hijab in Karna taka’s educational insti tutions, referring the matter to CJI for consti tuting a larger bench.

Justice Hemant Gup ta, dismissed the ap peals against the Kar nataka HC, which re fused to lift the ban and held that the hijab is not part of the “essential religious practice” in Islamic faith. “There is divergence of opinion,”

Justice Gupta, who was heading the bench, said at the outset while pro nouncing the verdict on a batch of 26 petitions. He said he had framed 11 questions in his judgement.

Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia allowed the pleas and said wearing the hijab is ultimately a “matter of choice”.

Crucial

AAP GUJARAT CHIEF

AFTER 3-HOUR DETENTION

New Delhi: AAP Gujarat chief Gopal Italia was released 3 hours after he was detained by the Delhi Police on Thursday from NCW office in connection with a video where he used derogatory language for PM Narendra Modi.

WOMEN’S IPL SET TO START NEXT YEAR IN MARCH

New Delhi: Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) is set to start as a five-team tournament next year after ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on February 26. BCCI’s proposal plan consists of 22 matches and each squad to have 18 players.

NO END TO HIJAB ROW!

n

The SC delivers split verdict in Hijab case

n Justice Hemant Gupta upholds hijab ban

n Matter of choice: Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia

BALL NOW IN CJI’S COURT

T he Supreme Court division bench then said the matter will be placed before the Chief Justice of India for hearing by a three-judge bench. Meanwhile, All India Bar Association (AIBA) has requested CJI UU Lalit that the Hijab issue be referred to a larger bench of a minimum of 5 judges including 1 Muslim judge in SC after split judgments on this issue.

MAJOR HAPPENINGS

l Udupi on Alert, Karnataka government deploys additional security in sensitive areas after SC verdict

l The hijab matter will continue to attract the SC’s attention: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh

l Muslim panel hails Top Court Justice Dhulia’s verdict, asks Karnataka govt to withdraw case

l The questions framed by Justices Gupta and Dhulia may guide the hearing before the new bench

l The hijab matter was first argued on February 2, 2022

Since it’s a judicial matter and since I’ve not read the written document I’ll not be commenting on this. Supreme court verdict is very important in this matter, this not limited to Karnataka, it’s a national issue hence the we will wait for the final Supreme Court verdict.

—Basavaraj Bommai, Karnataka Chief Minister

We welcome the judgment of the Supreme Court. But I had expected an order on the Thursday hearing. The matter will go to a larger bench. As of now, the Karnataka government’s no-hijab rule on campus stays valid. —BC Nagesh, State Education Minister

Tata group, Singapore airlines in talks over Vistara, AI integration

KERALA HUMAN SACRIFICE CASE

3 accused in police custody till October 24

WALK THE TALK, SHUT DOWN TERROR INFRA:

MODI IN HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHAH IN GUJARAT; TOP BJP HANDS ON DECK FOR THE BIG POLL PUSH

Diwali arrives early in Himachal Pradesh!

PM Narendra Modi launches several projects related to the pharma, education and connectivity in Una, HP

First India Bureau

Shimla: Prime Minis ter Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foun dation stone of a Bulk Drug Park in Una dis trict during his visit to poll-bound Himachal Pradesh. He also dedi cated to the nation the Indian Institute of In formation Technology (IIIT)-Una.

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Singapore Airlines Ltd said on Thursday it was in con fidential discussions with India’s Tata Group regarding a potential deal which may involve the integration of Vist ara and Air India.

MAHA TO START LUMPY SKIN DISEASE VACCINE PRODUCTION

Mumbai: The state government has finalized a proposal to begin production of the vaccine against the lumpy skin disease, commonly known as goatpox, an official from the state animal husbandry department said on Thursday.The move will make Maharashtra self-sufficient in producing the vaccine against the virus which has affected a large number of cattle in the state and others parts of the country, the official added. “The proposal is aimed at undertaking vaccine production so that the state can continue to inoculate cattle every year to put a check on the lumpy skin disease spread. The technology to produce the vaccine against the lumpy skin disease is already available with the ICAR, which is a Union government body,” he said. The official said the vaccine production will take place at a facility in Pune district. “The state government needs to transfer around Rs70 lakh to the ICAR as part of royalty. Once the technology is acquired, the government will start production at a facility in Aundh (Pune district) and become self-sufficient in terms of vaccine production and availability,” he said.

“The discussions seek to deepen the exist ing partnership be tween SIA and Tata, and may include a po tential integration of Vistara and Air India,” Singapore Airlines said in a statement. Howev er, it added the discus sions were ongoing and

no definitive terms were agreed upon yet.

Singapore Airlines owns a 49% stake in Tata SIA Airlines, which operates Vistara, while the remaining 51% is owned by the In dian conglomerate. Air India did not respond to comment.

Ernakulam: Amid the horrifying case of Hu man Sacrifice in Kera la’s Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam First Class Magistrate Court sends all three accused to 12day Police custody till October 24 for allegedly killing two women as a human sacrifice in black magic rituals. Earlier on Wednesday, the Ernakulam magis trate court said the 3 ac cused will be under ju dicial remand for a 14day duration which will end on October 26.

Modi laid the founda tion stone of the Bulk Drug Park at Haroli which will be built at a cost of more than Rs 1,900 crore. The park will help reduce de pendence on API im ports. It is expected to attract investments of around Rs 10,000 crore and provide employ ment to more than 20,000 people.

He said that the state has played a crucial role in making India the number one medicine manufacturer in the world. “The raw materi als for medicine manu facturing will be pro duced in Himachal Pradesh. India’s de pendency on other countries will decrease significantly.”

The PM added that there was a need for skill and inno vation institutions across country.

It is our biggest priority to hone the skills and potential of the youth. The youth of Himachal has served in the army and created new dimensions in the security of the country. Different types of skills will help them take them to higher positions in the army as well.

—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

HC asks BMC to accept Rutuja Latke’s resignation today

The municipal commissioner has the dis cretionary power to accept the resignation and waive the notice period. According to us, the discretion is to be used for bonafide purposes.

the nomination papers for the November 03 byelection is October 14.

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday asked the Brihanmum bai Municipal Corpora tion (BMC) to accept the resignation of Rutuja Latke, who is currently employed by the civic body, and thus pave the way for her to file her nomination for the up coming Andheri East Assembly bypoll.

Latke is the Shiv Sena Ud dhav Balasaheb Thackeray par ty candidate in the by-election necessitated by the sudden death of her husband, sitting MLA Ramesh Latke in May.

A division bench of Justices Ni tin Jamdar and Sharmi la Deshmukh said the use or non-use of discre tion by the BMC Com missioner in taking a

The use or non-use of discretion in this case is arbi trary and malafide…. If an employee wants to re sign and contest elections what is the difficulty? It is a clerk who wants to resign, just say yes or no…

burden us, we already have many matters pending.

decision on the resigna tion in this case was “ar bitrary”.

The bench directed the competent authority of the BMC to accept the resignation and issue appropriate letter by 11 am on Friday.

“She (Latke) is your

Jamdar, Bombay HC

(BMC) employee...You should be helping her out,” the court said.

Earlier in the day, Latke’s counsel Vishwa jeet Sawant had told the court that she is a clerk and has no pending dues or enquiries.

The last date for filing

The Uddhav Thack eray faction had on Wednesday alleged that Rutuja Latke was being pressured by the Balasa hebanchi Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to con test on its ticket. The Thackeray faction also alleged political pres sure on the Mumbai civic body to delay the resignation of Latke to scuttle her bypoll candi dature. However, BMC administrator Iqbal Sin gh Chahal had denied the allegations.

Moni Sharma

Advocate Ejaz Maqbool, representing the petitioner side, speaks to the media at Supreme Court lawns, on Thursday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur, Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, State BJP chief Suresh Kashyap, former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal and other leaders at the laying of foundation stone of Bulk Drug Park and dedicates the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Una to the nation, in Una, Himachal Pradesh on Thursday. PHOTO BY ANI

BJP

Addressing a public gathering at Sant Savaiyanath Dham before launching the third leg of the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday expressed confidence that ruling BJP will retain power in Gujarat by winning the upcoming Assembly elections with a two-thirds majority. Also seen here are CM Bhupendra Bhai Patel, State party chief CR Paatil, union minister Mansukh Mandaviya and other leaders. Full Report on P5

Bring back the repealed farm laws: MahaFPC

First India Bureau

Pune: In its annual general body meet ing, MahaFPC, an um brella organization of farmer producer com panies in Maharash tra, passed a resolu tion demanding that the repealed farm laws be reinstated. This was demanded by MahaFPC Managing Director Yogesh Thorat in the presence of Un ion Agriculture Minis ter Narendra Singh Tomar in Pune on Thursday.

Addressing a gather ing, Thorat said that de regulation of commodi ties was necessary to ensure better realiza tion of the farmers. He stated that out-of-mandi trade was necessary to help better prices.

“The Central govern ment brought in the three farm laws, which were in the right direc tion. We in Maharash tra has supported the

MahaFPC MD Yogesh Thorat said that the organization has traded agro commodities worth `2,500 crore and has finalized the model of out-of-mandi trade

laws as this was the need of the hour,” he said.

He further added, the repeal of the laws was detrimental and the government should take steps to bring back the laws. “We need better market access and elec tronic markets to help in better realization,” he said.

Thorat mentioned that MahaFPC has man aged to trade agro com modities worth Rs2,500 crore and had finalized the model of out-ofmandi trade.

BMC fell flat on its face: Uddhav team on HC order

‘Will withdraw from Assembly race if BJP asks me to do so’

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bom bay High Court’s di rective to the Brihan mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to accept the resigna tion of Rutuja Latke is a huge embarrass ment for the nation’s richest civic body, the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena said on Thursday.

The court, earlier in the day, asked the BMC to accept Latke’s resig nation, paving the way for her to contest November 03 bypoll to the Andheri East As sembly constituency as the candidate of the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray party.

Party leader and for mer Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said the BMC was an auton omous body and it should not make “a joke of itself” by pandering to political pressure.

“I have been saying this since the begin ning that the BMC will

Maharashtra has a different political cul ture... If a member of the legislature dies and his family member wants to contest the bypoll, it takes place without any contest. They (the BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Sena faction) should let this election take place without any contest. It will show that the culture of the state is intact.

—Anil Parab, ex-minister, Maha

fall flat on its face,” she added.

Latke, employed as a clerk with the BMC, in her petition in the high court had alleged that the corporation was not taking decision on her resignation in order to stop her from filing nomination for the election.

The last date for fil ing nominations is Oc tober 14.

The by-election be

If BMC officers are acting like politicians, they should take membership of political parties. This is not expected from a civic body.

—Sushma Andhare, leader, Thackeray faction

came necessary due to the death of Latke’s husband and incum bent Sena MLA Ramesh Latke.

Sushma Andhare, another leader of the Thackeray faction, said the BMC did the same thing when it denied the party permission for the Dussehra rally. The HC later asked it to grant the permission.

“If BMC officers are acting like politicians,

they should take mem bership of political par ties. This is not expect ed from a civic body,” she said.

The entire party will contest the by-election with full strength, And hare added.

Anil Parab, senior leader of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, wel comed the court’s order and appealed to the ri val parties to let Latke win unopposed.

Mumbai (PTI): Mur ji Patel, the likely candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Andheri East As sembly bypolls, on Wednesday said he was ready to with draw from the by poll race if his party asked him to do so.

October 14 is the last date of filing of nominations for the November 03 byelection.

The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have pledged support to the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray party, making Rutuja Latka the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candi date, while the BJP is likely to field Murji Patel.

The bypoll was ne cessitated by the death of Rutuja Latke’s hus band and sitting MLA Ramesh Latke in May.

Speaking to report ers here, Patel said, “I

I am ready to withdraw from the con test if my party (BJP) asks me so. Deputy Chief Minister Deven dra Fadnavis and Mumbai BJP presi dent Ashish Shelar will take a decision on it. I will abide by the party’s decision.

—Murji Patel, likely BJP candidate

am ready to withdraw from the contest if my party (BJP) asks me so. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mum bai BJP president Ashish Shelar will take a decision on it. I will abide by the par ty’s decision.”

In the 2019 state Assembly elections, Patel had contested the election as an independent candi date against Ramesh Latke, but the latter had won. Patel later joined the BJP.

Engineer highlights waste dumping at night; BMC blames housing societies

2,500KG PLASTIC SEIZED IN MUM, `24L FINE COLLECTED IN 3 MONTHS

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Ataul Khan, a computer engineer, has been tweeting to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corpora tion (BMC) about a garbage heap in Dharavi’s Azad Nagar for the past few days.

According to Khan,

PUBLIC WELFARE

Jasmine Mill Road is hardly 20ft wide and such a large pile of gar bage occupies half the space, leading to a traf fic jam. “There has to be a permanent solution to this. We cannot allow citizens and SMPA vol unteers to dump waste here every day,” he said.

However, civic offi

Mumbai: In the past three months, the Brihan mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has seized 2,551kg plastic and collected Rs24.7 lakh in fines, after taking action against 494 violators, said the civic officials. As the COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed, the civic body swooped upon errants with renewed vigour as the ban couldn't be strictly enforced during the pandemic. The officials started making surprise checks at commercial establish ments as well as venues of social gatherings. The inquiry committee set up after the devastating 2005 deluge concluded that clogged single-use plastic was the reason behind waterlogging at several spots.

cials claim that housing societies are not in forming them of the time when their gar bage will be ready for collection.

“We can schedule the pickup accordingly if the housing societies let us know when the gar bage is ready,” an BMC official said.

Healthcare services should reach all Thanekars, says Sandeep Malvi

nicate empathetically with patients who come for treatment at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital and other health centers run by the civic body.

Malvi was speaking at the a review meeting held at Narendra Ballal auditorium in TMC headquarters in the city.

First India Bureau

Thane: Thane Munic ipal Corporation Ad ditional Commission er Sandeep Malvi has said that health offi cials should commu

He directed all medi cal officers and nurses to effectively imple ment the National Health Programme so that healthcare is avail able to all citizens.

“All medical officers

should provide utmost care to all the patients coming to the health care facilities. Asha workers should reach out to citizens and in form the public about national health initia tives. Also, it is neces sary to give the daily details of how many home visits have been made to the senior citi zens, otherwise, action will be taken against the concerned medical officers,” Malvi said.

The additional com missioner also warned that action will be taken against the employees

who are delaying or evading the work.

“It is mandatory for doctors, nurses and health officers to attend the office hours. If com plaints of patients wait ing for longer haul due to unavailability of doc tors will attract imme diate action against concerned persons,” Malvi said, adding that the health department of the civic body has done a good job during the COVID-19 pandemic and it is equally impor tant to provide better healthcare services overall.

Nashik: The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS)-managed Maharashtra Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (MPGIMER) has set the ball rolling on the trauma centre at the Nashik civil hospital.

The project, the brainchild of the institute’s dean, Maj Gen Dr Sushil Kumar Jha (retd), has the support of MUHS Vice-Chancellor Lt Gen Dr Madhuri Kanitkar (retd). “Our aim is to devel op this trauma centre on the lines of the similar centre at AIIMS, Delhi within the next two-three years. It would ensure quality interdisciplinary medical care to save lives and limbs of patients,” said Dr Jha.

The meeting was at tended by Medical Health Officer Dr Yo

gesh Sharma and Ma ternal Child Care Of ficer, Rani Shinde.

I have been saying this since the beginning that the BMC will fall flat on its face.

—Kishori Pednekar, former Mumbai mayor

Court earlier asked the BMC to accept Latke’s resignation, paving the way for her to contest Nov 03 Andheri (E) by-election

The BMC has been asked to accept Latke’s resignation from her post of clerk by Friday.

PHOTO

Murji Patel had contested the 2019 state Assembly polls as an independent candidate but lost to Ramesh Latke. Patel later joined the BJP. —FILE PHOTO

MahaFPC Managing Director Yogesh Thorat. —FILE PHOTO

30-BED TRAUMA CENTRE BECOMES OPERATIONAL AT NASHIK CIVIL HOSP

nurses

NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray felicitate NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal as he turns 75, in Mumbai on Thursday. Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar, JKNC President Farooq Abdullah and others were also present at the event. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

SIGHT FOR SORE EYES

‘A poor life this if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare,’ a poet once said. As if to reiterate his point, this dramatic sunset seen from Mumbai’s Marine Drive serves as a reminder to take a step back, and take a deep breath amid nature’s dazzling brilliance, at least for a few moments, irrespective of anything else happening around you.

—PHOTO BY ANI

MAN, 3 OF HIS FAMILY BOOKED FOR TRYING TO KILL HIS WIFE

First India Bureau

Thane: A 24-year-old woman has filed a complaint against her husband and three members of his fami ly, alleging that they tried to murder her, a Dombivli police offi cial said on Thursday.

The incident occurred on October 07 at their house in Kopar, he said.

“The victim was getting ready for a job interview when her mother-in-law stopped her from step ping out. Her husband also prevented her from appearing for the inter view and beat her up. He also kicked her when she tried to call her father,” he added.

Her husband tried to strangle her. Besides him, her sister-in-law also tried to kill her by throttling her using a belt, the complaint said, adding that her in-laws also instigated them to kill her.

The victim immedi ately ran into another room and locked herself from inside. She then called her father, who sent one of her relatives to Kopar village and she was rescued. The wom an was later admitted to Badgaon rural hospital, where she is undergoing

NAVAL ENGINEER MAN BOOKED AFTER TEEN GIRL FILES RAPE CASE

Mumbai (PTI): A Navy engineer has been booked for rape on the complaint of his 19-year-old friend, an official said on Thursday.

The teen, who stays in a hostel near INHS Asvini in Navy Nagar, filed her complaint on Tuesday, the official said. “On Sunday, she had gone to meet her father’s friend in Navy Nagar and hap

treatment, police said. Based on the complaint, the police reg istered an of fence un der In dian Penal Code (IPC) sec tions 307 (attempt to murder), 498A (harass ment of woman), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional in sult) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

pened to meet the 29-year-old man there.

They exchanged num bers and she met him again at his quar ters,” the official said.

The girl and the man had become friends during the lockdown in 2020, when she was staying at INS Tunir, Karanja, with her family.

“The victim shifted to Navy Nagar in Au gust and the accused

moved to the same area for work. A case of rape has been reg istered and an investi gation is underway,” the official said. “Af ter the rape, the ac cused threatened her against revealing the ordeal to anyone claiming it would only go on to malign her image. However, she informed her friends, hostel in charge and parents.”

58-YEAR-OLD ARRESTED FOR RAPING MINOR

WOMAN HARASSED OVER BIRTH OF GIRL

First India Bureau

Senior citizen swallows dentures, docts remove it without surgery

First India Bureau

Panvel: Doctors from Medicover Hospital successfully removed a single-tooth denture that got stuck in the food pipe of an 83-year-old man from Panvel after he acci dentally swallowed it.

The octogenarian also suffered from chronic kidney disease and other comorbidi ties owing to which a surgery would have re sulted in complications.

The bridge that the man swallowed was re sulting in severe pain in his throat and he was un

able to even consume beverages. Unable to re ceive immediate treat ment from a doctor, he later visited Medicover Hospital at Kharghar.

According to Consult ant Gastroenterologist Dr Amey Sonavane, the denture was 5cm long and 3cm wide. Due to its jagged shape, it was causing bleeding in the food pipe. It was chal

lenging to remove the dentures. “We had to ma noeuvre it carefully into the stomach and then gradually change its axis to avoid injury,” he said.

Consultant Gastroen terologist and Head of Gastroenterology De partment at the hospital, Dr Amit Gharat added, “The patient has chronic kidney disease which rendered his platelets dysfunctional, causing more bleeding. He also has high blood pressure and diabetes, and has al ready undergone a heart bypass. It was therefore difficult to perform an emergency endoscopy.”

Mumbai: Police on Wednesday arrested a 58-year-old man for al legedly raping an 11-year-old in Mum bai’s Dongri area.

A case has been reg istered against the ac cused, identified as Swami Krishnacharya, who works as a watch man, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Of fences Act (POCSO) and Section 376 of the IPC.

Police say the girl had been waiting for her tuition teacher outside the class, when the watch man took her to a secluded area and raped her. The girl then told her teach er of the incident, and the teacher called the cops.

Thane: Navi Mumbai Police have registered a case against a man and seven members of his family for alleg edly torturing his wife for giving birth to a girl, an official said on Thursday, adding that the accused were also unhappy that the baby was dark-com plexioned. The case was filed based on the complaint lodged by the 29-year-old woman, who was married to the man in February 2019.

The couple resided at Kamothe area along with her inlaws. “In November 2019, the woman gave birth to a baby girl, following which her in-laws started taunting and harass ing her. They said they wanted a boy, but she delivered a girl, who is darkskinned. They kept harassing her, and finally threw her out with the infant,” the official said quoting the complaint. Her in-laws also wanted her husband to mar ry another woman and he threatened to kill their daughter, the complaint added.

MAJOR HAUL

30L comp for kin of BMC labourer who died in crash

`

First India Bureau

Thane: The local Mo tor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded the fam ily of a deceased Bri hanmumbai Munici pal Corporation (BMC) labourer who died in a road acci dent in 2020.

In his order issued last week and made available on Thursday, MACT member HM Bhosale directed the two respondents in the case—the owner of the offending car and an in surance company—to make a payment to the petitioners along with an annual interest of 8% from the date of the filing of the petition.

Jayesh Koli (30) fell off his scooter near Ghodbunder Khind when a car crashed into him on June 15, 2020, and sustained se vere injuries in the ac cident. He was taken to a hospital, but was de clared “brought dead”.

The petitioners in the case—the deceased’s

Jayesh Koli (30) fell off his scooter when a car crashed into him and sustained severe injuries. He was taken to a hospital, but was declared brought dead

widow Dayaben and his parents—submitted that they were totally dependent on the vic tim’s income as a la bourer with the BMC. The respondents contested the claim ve hemently and submit ted that it be dismissed on various grounds. After hearing the sub missions made by the counsels of the peti tioners and the re spondents, the MACT awarded compensation of Rs30.07 lakh—in cluding Rs16,500 each towards the loss of es tate and funeral ex penses, and Rs44,000 towards spousal con sortium.

7 arrested as airport officials seize 15kg gold

Four of those held for smuggling are Indians, while two are from Sudan

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Airport cus toms seized 15kg of gold valued at Rs7.87 crore in four cases and foreign currency worth Rs22 lakh in two different cases on Tuesday and Wednes day and arrested seven people in total, an of ficial said.

In the first case, offic ers at Chhatrapati Shiva ji Maharaj International Airport caught an Indi an who arrived from

Dubai with 9.895kg of gold worth Rs5.20 crore hidden in a specially de signed belt. The man said he’d been given the gold by two Sudanese passengers. All three were arrested and re manded to judicial cus tody for 14 days.

In the second case, an Indian was arrested af ter officials found pack ets of gold dust weighing 1.875kg worth Rs99.75 lakh concealed in his un derwear..

In the third case, gold

dust weighing 1.068kg and 1.185kg valued at Rs56,81,760 and Rs58,78,600, respectively, was seized from two In dians who had arrived from Jeddah, also hid den in underwear.

In the fourth case, 973g gold dust in wax form, valued at Rs51,17,980 was seized from a Sudanese national who had ar rived from Dubai with the contraband con cealed in the rectum.

At

been named in complaints involving crimes against women in a 48-hour span

The seized gold was found in various forms including powder and powder mixed with wax.

THE NORD STREAM GAS PIPELINE SABOTAGE

DR N K SOMANI

The Nord Stream gas pipeline leak has put the world on the verge of confrontation, amid world peace already at stake after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Russia has directly blamed the US-Ukraine for this incident, while the USA has termed a big conspiracy to create an energy crisis in European countries during the winter season.

both the pipelines. Although the pipeline had not been in operation since the time of the Russia-Ukraine war, but both lines were filled with gas. The extent of damage caused to the marine environment is not yet known. But it is estimated that if the entire gas reserves go into the water through the leak, then about 200,000 tons of methane gas will be emitted.

The dangerous way methane gas is leaking in the Baltic Sea has affected the ecosystem of the ocean and it infuses the world into a new environmental crisis. In such a situation, the question is who is responsible for the damage caused to the flora and fauna of the sea due to the strategic competition of the superpowers?

Actually, in 2011, Russia and Germany signed an agreement on a 1222 km long Nord Stream pipeline for easy and safe transportation of natural gas. The pipeline was commissioned in Octo ber 2012. Through this pipe line, Russia supplies 55 bil lion cubic meters of natural gas to Germany per year. This pipeline became chron ic and dilapidated. So Russia started Nord Stream2. This is completed in 2021. USA and some European countries had objected this project.

Recently, there were reports of rupture of Nord Stream pipelines and gas leaks from Russia’s Baltic Sea to Europe. There are two gas leaks in

SC’S SPLIT VERDICT ON HIJAB BAN

Natural gas is composed mostly of methane, which is the second most powerful green gas after carbon diox ide. In such conditions, the possibility of major environ mental damage is being ex pressed. This issue is gaining momentum. NATO says that the pipelines have been delib erately targeted. This is an attack on the interests of NATO countries and NATO will retaliate for it. The EU has also taken this seriously. It says it is a well-intentioned conspiracy and is aimed at exacerbating the energy cri sis in Europe. The EU has also warned of retaliation on the lines of NATO.

Both USA and Russia al leged each for sabotage. Be fore the leak there were sev eral explosions in the Baltic Sea one after the other. It is alleged that these explosions have caused damage to the pipeline.

The quality and depth of Nord Stream is stateof-the-art. In such a situation, the chances of damage to the pipeline itself are negligible. Then the question arises as to who has done this audacity?

Russia’s reason for suspi cion is that the leak occurred exactly when Norway and Po land announced the commis sioning of the Trans-Baltic

NATO says that the pipelines have been deliberately targeted. This is an attack on the interests of NATO countries and NATO will retaliate for it. The EU has also taken this seriously. It says it is a well-intentioned conspiracy and is aimed at exacerbating the energy crisis in Europe. The EU has also warned of retaliation on the lines of NATO

Pipeline. After the commis sioning, the countries of East ern Europe will no longer be dependent on Russia. So Kremlin may have damaged the Nord Stream to create an energy crisis. Since both the pipelines are built by Russian company Gazprom and it has 51% stake in the entire project.

The cost of project of Nord Stream 2 of $11. In such a situ ation why Russia would harm itself? If Kremlin’s intention was to push Europe into an energy crisis, he could have openly announced a halt to gas supplies. Ukraine has also blamed Russia. Russia has called a meeting of the Secu rity Council to investigate the whole matter, calling the alle gation a ‘stupid and absurd’. Then is this action of USA? The finger is being raised on America because USA and some countries of Central and Eastern Europe have been op

posing the creation of Nord Stream 2 from the very begin ning. The USA believes that its construction will increase Pu tin’s influence in Europe and put Putin in a bargaining posi tion with big countries such as Germany, Britain and France. US have said on several occa sions that this pipeline is part of Russia’s broader strategy to weaken the West by increas ing European dependence on Russian gas supplies. Presi dent Joe Biden said just before the Russia-Ukraine war that the US would block Nord Stream 2 if it invaded Ukraine.

Poland and Ukraine are also under suspicion. President Putin suspects that Ukraine sabotaged the pipeline to weaken Russia economically and cut its influence on Eu rope. There is another reason to doubt Ukraine. After the start of Nord Stream2, a big source of his income was go ing to end. The Nord Stream One went to Europe via Ukraine. Ukraine used to re ceive an amount of $ 1 billion annually from Russia in the form of transistor fee. Now through Nord Stream 2, Rus sia wants to bypass Ukraine and reach European coun tries. So may have Ukraine damaged the pipeline.

The dangerous way meth ane gas is leaking in the Baltic Sea has affected the ecosystem of the ocean and it infuses the world into a new environmen tal crisis. In such a situation, the question is who is respon sible for the damage caused to the flora and fauna of the sea due to the strategic competi tion of the superpowers?

SOURAV GANGULY GIVEN A RAW DEAL BY BCCI AND IT’S UNFAIR TO HIM

For now the ban on hijab will contin ue in Karnataka schools. The Su preme Court hear ing the petitions challenging the Karnataka High Court’s order upholding the ban im posed by the state govern ment gave a split verdict on Thursday. Justice Hemant Gupta dismissed the peti tions challenging the high court’s order, while Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said that “wearing hijab is a matter of choice” and struck down the order.

Because of their diver gent views the Bench has re ferred the matter to the Chief Justice of India “for appro priate directions” like wheth er the case should be heard by a three-judge bench or larger.

The Karnataka High Court

Allowing the appeal Justice Dhulia said, “One thing which was topmost (priority) for me was education of girl child. A girl child in (many) areas does household work and chores before going to school and are we making her life any better by doing this (banning hijab).”

had ruled that a prescribed school uniform does not vio late either the right to free dom of speech and expression or the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Allowing the appeal Jus tice Dhulia said, “One thing

which was topmost (priority) for me was education of girl child. A girl child in (many) areas does household work and chores before going to school and are we making her life any better by doing this (banning hijab).”

The insistence on wearing hijab by a section of Muslim girls is in stark contrast to Iranian women’s defiance against hijab which is sup posed to be mandatory as per Islamic law, though the Kar nataka High Court ruled that it is not a “part of essential religious practice in Islam”.

It seems that what is religios ity for one set of Muslim women is a curtailment of women’s freedom for anoth er. Even in India there are Muslim women who prefer to go without hijab.

Sourav Ganguly’s likely exit from BCCI has kicked up a con troversy as Jay Shah has been given an other term as the cricket board’s secretary while the former India skipper has been denied the fa vour of continuing as President for a second term. Ganguly’s fans feel that the BCCI has been unfair to him. They believe he has been snubbed. He is also un likely to get the board’s backing for the post of International Cricket Council’s chairman. Ac cording to reports he has de clined to be the

Ganguly himself downplayed the controversy. “I was the presi dent of the Cricket Association of Bengal for five years. I have been president of the BCCI for two years. After all these terms you have to leave and go… You cannot play forever and you cannot re main in administration forever.”

One Trinamool Congress lead er said that the BCCI is now packed with relatives of BJP lead ers. There is obviously more to the controversy than meets the eye.

TWEETS

#PragatiKaHighway

SPIRITUAL

It’s

Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp

of global crisis, India helped many countries including America. Today India is supplying food to the world along with its food supply.

#GujaratGauravYatra

Nitin Gadkari @nitin_gadkari

Bringing Prosperity Through World Class Infrastructure in New India.

Iconic cable-stayed cum suspension bridge across Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana has been approved at total cost of Rs 1082.56 Cr with the construction period of 30 months.

DR SURESH YADAV

writer is Freelancer and Commentator on International Affairs

writer

Professor

Affairs

To

Previous govts in India did not provide proper facilities: PM

New Delhi: PM Naren dra Modi, who flagged off country’s 4th Vande Bharat Express train that will run from Amb Andaura in Himachal Pradesh & New Delhi, said previous Indian governments did not provide facilities avail able elsewhere even in 20th century.

He was addressing a public meeting at the Indira Gandhi stadium in poll-bound Una dist.

“We will provide you with facilities for the 20th as well as the 21st centuries,” Modi said.

PM Modi laid the foun

IN THE COURTYARD

ED MOVES TO BENGALURU

COURT AGAINST 6

Bengaluru: ED has filed a Prosecution Complaint before the Principal City Civil and Sessions Judge and Special Court at Bengaluru against 6 individuals on charges of money laundering.

Those individuals are TL Praveen Kumar, Branch Manager, Bank of Baroda; SK Subramanaya Reddy; R Ranganath, Narasimha Murthy K, Santha Kumari K, and R Kavitha. The Special Court (PMLA) has taken cognizance of said Prosecution Complaint, ED said.

APPROACH TRIAL COURT FOR BAIL, HC TO EX PFI CHIEF

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Thursday ‘dismissed as withdrawn’ the plea moved by E Abubacker, the former chairperson of Popular Front of India (PFI), for bail on medical grounds. He was recently arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and has been in custody since Sept 22.

Over 6 thousand unrecognised UP madrasas found in survey Lucknow (ANI): A to tal of 6,436 unrecogniz ed madrasas have been identified in UP so far, and the survey has been completed of 5,170 ma drasas, said State Mi nority Welfare Minister Dharampal Singh. Talk ing to ANI, Singh also said that the time period for the survey of unrec ognized madrasas of the state has been ex tended till Oct 20.

dation stone of two hy dropower projects, the 48 MW Chanju-III Hydroelectric Project and the 30 MW Deothal Chanju

NEHRU IS TO BE BLAMED FOR PLAGUING KASHMIR’

He said this during the Gaurav Yatra on Thursday morning which will conclude at Somnath Temple

Zanzarka (Guj): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday blamed India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru for issues plaguing Kash mir & credited Naren dra Modi government for solving them by re moving Article 370.

Speaking at an event to flag off BJP’s ‘Gaurav Yatra’ in poll-bound Gu jarat, Shah also said the Cong used to taunt his party over the construc tion of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya but work on it was now in progress.

“Due to the mistake of (first prime minister) Jawaharlal Nehru of in serting Article 370, Kashmir was in a mess. It could not be properly integrated with country. Everybody wanted re

Raipur: Enforcement Directorate on Thurs day arrested Chhattis garh cadre IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi and two other people after it launched multi-city raids in state early this week as part of a money laundering investiga tion, officials said. Businessman Sunil Agrawal of the Indram ani group and Laxmi kant Tiwari, uncle of “absconding” business man Suryakant Tiwari, have also been taken into custody.

moval of Article 370. PM Modi removed it in one stroke & completed inte gration of Kashmir with the country,” Shah said. Incidentally, Modi had also blamed Nehru

SHAH: PEOPLE OF GUJARAT HAVE GARLANDED BJP WITH VICTORY

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday expressed confidence that ruling BJP will retain power in Gujarat by win ning upcoming Assembly elections with a two-third majority. He said the people of Gujarat have been trusting the BJP for a long time and the party has fulfilled their wishes.

Shah was addressing a public gathering at Sant Savaiyanath Dham, a popular religious place in Zanzaraka of Ahmedabad district, before launch ing the third leg of the Gujarat Gaurav Yatra.

The yatra will conclude at Somnath temple in the Gir-Somnath district.

Hydro-electric Project, in Chamba. Both pro jects will generate over 270 million units of elec tricity annually and

Himachal Pradesh is ex pected to get annual rev enue of Rs 110 crore from these projects.

The Prime Minister also launched Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yo jana (PMGSY)-III in Himachal Pradesh for the upgradation of around 3,125 km of road in the state. More than Rs 420 crore has been sanctioned by the cen tral government under this phase for the upgra dation of 440 km of roads in 15 border and far-flung blocks of the state.

According to Prime Minister’s Office

(PMO), running from Amb Andaura to New Delhi, it is the fourth Vande Bharat train that has been introduced in the country and is an advanced version com pared to the earlier ones, being much light er and capable of reach ing higher speed in shorter duration.

It accelerates to 100 km per hour in just 52 seconds. The introduc tion of the train will help boost tourism in the region and provide a comfortable and fast er mode of travel for people of India.

I want to bring a change in the party, says Tharoor

New Delhi (ANI): Con gress presidential can didate Shashi Tharoor on Thursday lamented that some leaders had openly come out in sup port of his poll opponent Mallikarjun Kharge and even summoned meet ings in his favour, say ing it disturbed the lev el-playing field.

He also said several PCC chiefs and senior leaders were not availa ble for a meeting with him during his visits to their respective states, but they warmed up to Kharge when he visited them for support.

THAROOR APPOINTED CHAIRPERSON OF PARL PANEL ON CHEMICALS & FERTILISERS

Srinagar: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday adminis tered the oath of office to Justice Ali Moham mad Magrey as Chief Justice of High Court of J&K and Ladakh here.

Sources told GNS that sitting judges and some retired judges of the HC, judicial officers, Advo cate General, lawyers and other dignitaries from civil and police de partment participated.

Justice Magrey, who was born on Dec 8, 1960, in Wattoo village of

Gang uses FASTag to dupe people in Delhi with new credit cards

New Delhi: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has claimed to have busted a gang using FASTag to cheat people in the name of activat ing credit card services. The police said they have arrested three men and seized luxury vehicles and other SUVs from the posses sion of the accused.

According to the po lice, accused cheated people of Rs 80L in less than a month. The mat ter came to light while the police were investi

gating a murder case. Senior officers said one of the gang members was living with the murder accused. The man, Mohd Zahid, 22,

for issues plaguing Kashmir while address ing a gathering in Guja rat earlier this week.

Shah, later in day, will flag off 2 ‘gaurav yatras’.

“BJP governments have done innumerable types of works. And therefore, in every election, whether it is corporation, district/ taluka, people of Gujarat have garlanded BJP with a victory,” said Shah.

Seeking votes from delegates at DPCC of fice, He said he wanted to bring a “change” in organisation. He also said aimed to “bring back” the voters who did not support the Con gress in the 2014 and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“I want to bring a change in the party,” he told the delegates.

New Delhi: Cong leader Shashi Tharoor has been appointed as chairperson of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers, according to a notification issued by LS Secretariat.Tharoor’s appoint ment as chairperson of parliamentary panel came after Cong leadership suggested his name. Recommendation came at a time when he is contesting Cong Prez election.

ALL AICC GEN SECYS, STATE IN-CHARGES, TOLD NOT VOTE IN ASSIGNED STATE

New Delhi: Cong’ central election authority has issued a directive, AICC general secretaries, state in-charges, sec retaries & joint secretaries would cast their vote in party’s presidential polls at their home state & not in assigned state. This has been done in order to “maintain trans parency in election process”, according to directive by central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry.

Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul says BJP ‘auctioning’ govt jobs in Karnataka

Chitradurga: On 35th day of the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra, par ty leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Karnataka government of auction ing off state jobs. “The twin engine of the BJP is devouring the future of the young,” he add ed, adding that the BJP administration in Kar nataka is busy “selling jobs” while the state’s youth are unemployed. Karnataka is the first BJP-ruled state to join the yatra. A day before the yatra arrived in Karnataka, posters of welcoming were ripped.

POLITICAL GAME

was caught with a lap top, mobile phone, card swipe machine, and SIM cards. When ques tioned, he couldn’t give details of belonging.

Sharat K Verma

New Delhi: Delhi govt’s Dalit Min Rajen dra Pal Gautam has resigned. He resigned at behest of party, which was approved by Lieu tenant Guv VK Saxena.

On other hand, Satyen dra Jain is in jail for several months in the hawala case but he is still a minister and has not resigned. His port folios have been divided

among other ministers but his resignation has not been taken even though he is in jail on

a social and political dispute, but he was quick to resign.

corruption charges.

The controversy in which Rajendra Pal Gautam got involved is

Rajendra Pal Gautam had attended an event in which thousands of Hindus took a pledge not to worship Hindu deities while reiterat ing oath of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar. Af ter its video went viral, BJP accused Gautam of being anti-Hindu & Ke jriwal hastened his res ignation because Kejri

wal may have got Ambedkar’s photo in stalled in all govt offices but he is doing Hindut va politics. In Gujarat elections, he is asking for votes by claiming themselves to be incar nations of Krishna & on other hand their Min are making a resolution not to worship RamaKrishna. Only then, see ing possibility of loss of votes, Kejriwal to Gau tam to resign.

Self proclaimed ‘Krishna’ Kejriwal gets Gautam to resign for Hindu votes, but keeps jailed Satyendra!

PM Narendra Modi greets the supporters at the flagging off ceremony of Vande Bharat Express from Amb Andaura, Una, to New Delhi. Also seen Ashwini Vaishnaw Jai Ram Thakur. —PHOTO BY ANI

PM Narendra Modi at flagging off ceremony of Vande Bharat Express from Amb Andaura, Una to New Delhi. —PHOTO BY ANI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Gujarat BJP President CR Paatil offers prayers at Sant Shree Savaiyanath Samadhi Sthaan temple, Zanzarka, in Ahmedabad on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

CONGRESS’ ‘BHARAT JODO YATRA’ TO PASS THROUGH VILLAGES IN CHITRADURGA

Chitradurga (Karnataka): ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ of Cong led by Rahul Gandhi on Thursday resumed from Bommagondana halli in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district and headed towards Rampura. Hundreds of people gathered on roadside in morn ing to welcome them. According to Cong workers, march started at 6.30 am from the BG Kere underpass in Bomma gondanahalli. The yatra will exit the state on October 20.

Cong presidential candidate Shashi Tharoor addresses a press conference regarding party presidential elections.

Rahul Gandhi interacts with a padayatri as he takes part in party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, at Bommagundanahalli in Chitradurga.

IAS officer and two others arrested by ED Justice Ali Mohd Magrey takes oath as CJ of J&K & Ladakh HC

Damhal Hanjipora in south Kashmir’s Kul gam dist, is 35th CJ of HC. CJ Magrey received

school education in his native village & did graduation from Uni versity of Kashmir.

Manoj Sinha (left) with Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey during the latter’s oath-taking ceremony as Chief Justice.

—PHOTO BY ANI

—PHOTO BY ANI

IIT Guwahati needs to nurture other institutes in NE: President

Prez spoke after virtually inaugurating & laying foundation stones for various projects

Guwahati (ANI): Pres ident Droupadi Murmu, on Thursday stressed the need to promote a knowledge-based socie ty and the importance of technological solu tions to the problems of the country, while high lighting the role of in stitutes of higher edu cation in this regard.

She was speaking af ter virtually inaugurat ing and laying the foun dation stones for vari ous central and state projects from the cam pus of the Indian Insti tute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati.

These include the in auguration of super

computer ‘Param Kam rupa’, under the Nation al Supercomputing Mis sion, and a laboratory for the design and devel opment of high-power microwave components

CRUCIAL READ

AIFF TO INITIATE ENQUIRY ON LATE ARRIVAL OF BOOTS

Bhubaneswar (PTI): The All India Football Federation will initiate an enquiry on the late arrival of boots of four members of the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup, leading to the players wearing them for the first time during the match.AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said he has asked for a report from the teams on how the consignment of new boots did not reach.

ODISHA, TELANGANA GOVTS VIOLATE MODEL CODE

New Delhi (PTI): A delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party lead ers met the Election Commission here on Thursday to complain against the “illegal” transfers and postings by Odisha and Tel angana governments ahead of bypolls in both states early next month. The delegation submitted memo randums regarding complaints against both states.

LAW MINISTRY TO ORGANISE ALL INDIA CONFERENCE OF LAW MINS FROM TODAY

New Delhi (PTI): The Union Ministry of Law and Justice will organise an All India Conference of Law Ministers and Law Secretaries from October 14 to 17 to provide a platform for discussion and to help policymak ers upgrade the overall legal system, an official statement said.In a state ment, the Ministry said the conference will be held at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat. The inaugural session will be held on Saturday morning.

ARMY's ASSAULT DOG, CRITICALLY INJURED, DIES

New Delhi (Agencies): Army assault dog Zoom, who received gunshot wounds during an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, succumbed to his injuries on Thursday noon, news agency ANI reported citing army officials. The dog was under treatment at the 54 Advance Field Veteri nary Hospital (AFVH) in Srinagar.

SPICEJET MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING IN HYD

Hyderabad: A SpiceJet plane coming from Goa made an emergency landing at Hyderabad airport on Wednesday night after smoke was observed in the cabin and cockpit and avia tion regulator DGCA is probing the incident, according to officials. Due to the emergen cy landing, as many as nine flights were diverted on Wednesday night after the incident at around 11 pm.

at IIT-Guwahati.

Murmu also virtual ly inaugurated the Dhu bri Medical College and Hospital and laid the foundation stones for the Zonal Institutes of

The north east should be a torch bearer in spreading knowl edge and inculcating scientific tempera ment. The benefits of technology should reach the remotest corners of society

—Droupadi Murmu, President of India

the National Institute of Virology (NIV) at Di brugarh in Assam and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh at the same programme. Lauding the achievements of

IIT-Guwahati, the Pres ident stressed the role of the institute in the region.

“Being the only IIT in the North East, it must shoulder the responsi bility to nurture other institutes in the region to work with the state government and defence forces to strengthen our borders and provide technological solutions to prevent recurrence of natural calamities in the region,” she said.

Murmu also exhort ed the people of the Northeastern region to play a leading role in creating a knowledgebased society.

“THREAT TO HUMAN LIVES”

Maha: “Conflict Tiger” that killed 13 captured

Gadchiroli (Agen cies): The Maharashtra forest department on Thursday tranquilised and captured ‘conflict tiger’ CT-1 after it had killed 13 persons in Gadchiroli and Chan drapur districts in the state’s Vidarbha region, an official said.

The tiger was moving in Wadsa forest range here in Gadchiroli and was becoming a threat to human lives, he added.

“The tiger had killed six persons in Wadsa, four in Bhandara and three in Brahmapuri for est range in Chandrapur district. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Nag

pur had, in a meeting on October 4, directed that conflict tiger CT-1 be cap tured,” he said.

“Accordingly, the Tadoba Tiger Rescue team, the Rapid Re sponse Teams of Chan

drapur, Navegaon-Nagzi ra and other units worked on war-footing to capture the tiger. It was tranquilised and cap tured from Wadsa forest range on Thursday morning,” he informed.

One cannot stay in admin forever, says Sourav Ganguly

Ganguly says on his future as BCCI president

Kolkata (ANI): Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly said that he enjoyed his time as a cricket administra tor, but one "cannot play forever, remain in ad ministration forever".

His comments come when he was likely to take over as BCCI presi dent. "I was the presi dent of the Cricket As sociation of Bengal for five years. I have been president of BCCI for years. After all these terms, you have to leave and go. As an adminis trator, you have to con

EAM Jaishankar to pay two-day visit to Egypt

New Delhi (PTI): Ex ternal Affairs Minis ter S Jaishankar will begin a two-day visit to Egypt on Saturday to explore new initia tives in India’s part nership with the Afri can nation.

It will be his first bi lateral trip to Egypt as the external affairs minister. Announcing the visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thurs day that Jaishankar will discuss a range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest with his Egyptian counter part Sameh Hassan Shoukry. Egypt has been invited as a ‘guest country’ during India’s Presidency of G-20 in 2022-23.

tribute a lot and make things better for the team. Me being a player, who was around for a long time, understood it.

I enjoyed my time as an administrator thor oughly. You cannot play forever and you cannot remain in administra tion forever," said Gan guly at an an event.

Former Indian crick eter and member of the 1983 World Cup winning team Roger Binny is likely to be the next BCCI president replac ing Ganguly while BJP MLA Ashish Shelar is likely to be the Treas urer replacing Arun Dhumal as per sources in the BCCI.

‘15 states among achievers in logistics performance index ’22’

New Delhi (PTI): Andhra Pradesh, As sam and Gujarat are among the 15 States and UTs categorised as achievers in the logis tics index chart 2022, ac cording to a report re leased by the commerce and Industry Ministry on October 13, 2022.

The index is an indi cator of the efficiency of logistical services necessary for promot ing exports and eco nomic growth. Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Ra jasthan, Puducherry, Sikkim and Tripura are the other States catego rised as fast movers in the ranking.

The 15 States and UTs ranked in the aspirers category include Bihar,

Chhattisgarh, Goa, Mi zoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lak shadweep, Ladakh, Na galand, J&K and AP.

The other States and UTs which are in the achievers category in clude Chandigarh, Del hi, Haryana, HP, Karna taka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, TN, Telangana, UP and Ut tarakhand.

Will Guj and HP Assembly elections be held together?

Mahesh Sharma

New Delhi: It is a big irony that the Election Commission says on one hand that it is capa ble of holding all the elections across the country simultaneous ly and on the other hand it cannot hold elections in two states simultaneously.

Elec tions are still held in six-seven phases in many states. The as sembly elections of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are an example of this. Last time i.e. in 2017 the elections of both the states were held

separately in a gap of one month. First Himachal Pradesh elec tions were held and after voting, the parties and candidates had to wait for about one and a half months for the results.

This time it is expect ed that both the states elections can be held si multaneously. In 2017, the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections were held on November 9.

Voting for all the 68 as sembly seats in the state was held on the same day on November 9. But after that the results had to wait for about one and a half months as the as

sembly elections were held in Gujarat a month after Himachal Pradesh and the votes of both were counted together.

Voting for 182 assembly seats in Gujarat was held in two phases on December 9 and 14.

Four days later, on De

ACROSS THE WORLD

cember 18, the votes of both the states were counted.

Just think, there are two small states, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Together, there are a total of two hun dred and fifty assembly seats, but the Election

Commission had con ducted elections on these two hundred and fifty seats in three phas es and it took two months for the process to be completed.

In Himachal Pradesh, the process of nomina tion had started on Octo ber 18, that is, before that the model code of conduct (MCC) was put in place and the MCC continued till the results were declared on De cember 18. The process of elections in Gujarat began in November.

So, this time there are two questions before the election commission.

First, whether the elec tions to both the states will be held simultane ously and secondly, when will the announce ment of the elections be held? The last time elec tion process was com pleted on December 20. In this regard, the Com mission still has time. If both the elections are to be held together, then the announcement of elections can be done in November also. But recently, Gujarat state BJP president CR Patil had said that the process of election would be completed by the end of November.

Russian missiles target more than 40 Ukraine cities, towns

Kyiv(Agencies): Rus sian missiles pounded more than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns, offi cials said on Thursday, as NATO allies meeting in Brussels unveiled plans to beef up Eu rope’s air defences after committing more mili tary aid to Kyiv.

The new pledges prompted Moscow to renew warnings that Western states’ help made them “a direct party to the conflict” and that admitting

Ukraine to Western military alliance NATO could trigger World War Three.

Three,” deputy secre tary of Russia’s Secu rity Council, Alexan der Venediktov, told media as the United States vowed to defend “every inch” of allied territory.

WANT “EVEN STRONGER” INDIA TRADE TIES: UK FM

NATO HOLDS NUCLEAR TALKS AMID WAR TENSIONS AND PUTIN THREATS

‘PAK MISUSED CICA PLAN TO PROPAGATE FALSE PROPAGANDA’

“Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed es calation to a World War

Moscow has repeat edly justified the Feb 24 invasion that has killed tens of thousands of people, in what it calls a “special operation”, by saying Ukraine’s ambitions to join the al liance posed a threat to Russia’s security.

London (Agencies): British foreign minister James Cleverly said Britain wanted to have an even stronger trading relationship with India after reports that remarks by a fellow minister about Indian immigrants could put a future deal in doubt. Interior minis ter Suella Braverman about Indian migrants and the pos sible impact, Cleverly said, “We do want to have an even stronger, it’s strong already, an even stronger trading relationship with India.”

BRUSSELS (Agencies): NATO’s secretive Nuclear Plan ning Group met as the military alliance presses ahead with plans to hold a nuclear exercise next week as con cerns deepen over President Vladimir Putin’s insistence that he will use any means necessary to defend Russian territory. Defense ministers which usually happens once or twice a year, at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

SHANGHAI QUIETLY SHUTS DOWN SCHOOLS, GYMS, BARS AS COVID RETURNS

Shanghai (Agencies): Shanghai is quietly shutting down schools and a raft of other venues as officials try to rein in a flareup that’s hit the financial hub just days before one of China’s most important political events. Several schools dotted throughout the city have sus pended in-person classes as the fear of infection spread grows, according to parents and social media posts.

Astana (ANI): India and Pakistan squared off on the issues of Kashmir and mean ingful engagement at a re gional summit in Kazakhstan on Thursday, with minister of state for external affairs Meenakshi Lekhi calling on Islamabad to immediately end cross-border terrorism to create conditions for any dialogue. Addressing the CICA Summit in Astana, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused the Indian government.

A view shows an apartment building damaged by a Russian military strike in Mykolaiv on Thurdsay. —PHOTO BY ANI

President Droupadi Murmu inaugurates the Supercomputing facility at IIT Guwahati, as Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi and CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly signs a cricket bat during a programme, in Kolkata on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

The man eating Tiger that killed 13 persons in Gadchiroli and Chandrapur district. —FILE PHOTO

Piyush Goyal

‘

COAL INDIA

UP 1,190-MW

India is a bright light economy, but…’

Jaipur: Coal India Ltd (CIL) will set up a 1,190MW solar power plant in Bikaner district of Ra jasthan. For this, the CIL signed a MoU with the Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. The solar plant will be set up in a 2,000-MW solar park be ing developed by RVUNL in Poogal, Bikaner. The state government has al lotted 4,846 hectare land to develop the park in which the RVUNL will set up its own solar project of 810 MW, and a power project of 1,190 will be set up by the CIL.

GOLD GAINS `42 BUT SILVER PRICES DROP BY `493

Washington (PTI): India has emerged as “a bright light” at a time when the world is facing imminent prospects of a recession, the chief economist of the IMF said on Wednesday, noting that the country, however, needed key struc tural reforms in order to achieve the ambitious tar get of being a $10 trillion economy.

Pierre-Olivier Gour inchas, chief economist of the IMF said: “Well, India is, I want to say, sort of bright light. The Indian economy has been doing reasonably well.”

Responding to a question on the ambitious goal of India becoming a $10 tril lion economy, Gourinchas said that he certainly be lieves this is achievable.

“I mean, we’ve seen a

number of countries grow at very fast rates in the past and really develop very rapidly. So, I think it’s cer tainly, now it’s not neces sarily an easy task, but I think, yes, there is certain ly an enormous potential for an economy like India,”

he said. To do so, India needs to carry out a num ber of structural reforms, he observed.

“Well, there are certainly a number of structural re forms that are or improve ments are needed in the economy like India. There

India’s deployment of cash transfer scheme is a ‘logistical marvel’: IMF

New Delhi: Gold prices in Delhi rose by `42 to `51,255 per 10 grams on Thursday amid a rise in the prices of the precious metal in the international market, according to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, the yellow metal had touched `51,213 per 10 grams.

However, silver dropped by `493 to `57,717/kg from `58,210 per kg. In the international market, gold was trading in green at $1,672.2 per ounce while silver was down at $19.03 per ounce.

INDIAN STARTUP FUNDING HITS 2-YR LOW IN Q3 OF 2022

Washington (PTI): The IMF has described India’s deployment of a direct cash transfer scheme and other similar social wel fare programmes as a “lo gistical marvel”, saying there is a lot to learn from the country which is one of the most inspiring exam ples of the application of technology to solve compli cated issues.

The aim of DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) is to transfer the benefits and subsidies of various social welfare schemes directly in the bank account of the beneficiary on time by bringing efficiency, effec tiveness, transparency and also to eliminate the inter mediary body.

According to the govern ment data, more than `24.8

WHAT IS THE AIM OF DBT?

z The aim of DBT is to transfer the benefits and subsidies of various social welfare schemes directly in the bank account of the beneficiary on time by bringing efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and also to eliminate the intermediary body

lakh crore has been trans ferred through DBT mode since 2013, ` 6.3 lakh crore in the financial year 2021-22

alone; on an average over 90 lakh DBT payments are processed daily as per data of FY22.

“From India, there is a lot to learn. There is a lot to learn from some other ex amples around the world. We have examples from pretty much every conti nent and every level of in come. If I look at the case of India, it is actually quite impressive,” Paolo Mauro, Deputy Director of the Fis cal Affairs Department at the IMF, said.

“In fact, just because of the sheer size of the coun try, it is a logistical marvel how these programmes that seek to help people who are at low-income lev els reach literally hun dreds of millions of peo ple,” he said.

have been a number of re forms already,” he said.

For instance, India is very much at the forefront of digitalisation, he said.

“The way these digital tools can be deployed to im prove financial inclusion or to facilitate access to ad ministrative services, and things like that. And that is a testimony to the sort of innovation in that sector that is happening in India,” he observed. “But beyond that, there are needs for re forms that will actually boost potential growth. It’s not just about stabilising the economy around the potential growth that it has right now. In order to un leash India’s potential, a lot of reforms have to be im plemented that will boost productivity growth,” Gourinchas said.

Washington (PTI): Applauding India’s digitisation efforts, the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday said the move was a game changer as it had al lowed the Indian government to do things that would have been extremely difficult otherwise. “Digitisation is helping along a number of dimensions. One is financial inclusion, obviously because there are a lot of people in countries like India that were unbanked. And having access to digital wallets is a way in which they can enter into transactions that are not just cash transac tions, which are very inefficient,”

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the chief economist of IMF said in response to a question about India’s digitisation efforts. “I think it (digitisation) has allowed the (Indian) government to do things that would have been ex tremely difficult to do otherwise. Yes (it is a game changer). It is certainly something that is a very welcome development,” Gourinchas suggested. “So that’s a huge plus in terms of bringing people into a more modern economy. That’s a factor for growth,” he said, adding that your market becomes very different if you are plugged into this digital instrument. “The second one which I think has also been important in the case of India is these digital instruments also allow governments to reach and disburse sys tems in ways that are much harder to do sometimes with some of the regular pipes of the safety net,” he said.

Sensex falls 391 points; Nifty closes above 17K

Mumbai (PTI): Bench mark BSE Sensex declined by 391 points on Thursday following heavy selling in banking, finance and capi tal goods stocks due to infla tion and growth concerns.

A weak rupee and rising crude prices also impacted the market sentiment, trad ers said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 390.58 points or 0.68% to settle at 57,235.33.

Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty fell 109.25 points or 0.64% to end at 17,014.35.

Wipro was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shed ding 7.03%, followed by SBI, L&T, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, Dr Red dy’s RIL were among the gainers.

RUPEE FALLS 5 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 82.38 AGAINST US DOLLAR

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee traded in a narrow range and settled 5 paise lower at 82.38 against the US dollar on Thursday, track ing a muted trend in domestic equities amid weak domestic macroeconomic data. Besides, risk aversion sentiment among investors weighed on the local unit. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee witnessed range-bound trading. It opened at 82.30 against the US dollar, then fell further to close at 82.38, registering a fall of 5 paise over the last close. It was moving in a tight range of 82.25 to 82.42.

OTHER STORIES

India’s palm oil imports jump 2.7 times

New Delhi (PTI): India saw more than two-and-ahalf times increase in im port of refined palm oil at 17.12 lakh tonne in the last 11 months due to lower prices in Indonesia, indus try body SEA said on Thursday.

The country had import ed 6.28 lakh tonne of re fined palm oil (RBD palm olein) in the year-ago peri od. The oil year runs from Nov to October, it said.

India, the world’s lead ing vegetable oil buyer, im ported 130.1 lakh tonne of vegetable oils during the November-September pe riod of the ongoing 2021-22 oil year, 4% higher than the year-ago period.

Palm oil shipments com prise 50% of the total veg etable oil imports.

New Delhi: Amid global economic slowdown, startup funding in India hit a two-year low at $2.7 billion in the third quarter of 2022, as per a PwC In dia report. Only two start ups in India attained the unicorn status in the JulySeptember period of 2022, mirroring a global trend in decline in the number of new unicorns this last quarter, said the report titled ‘Startup Deals Tracker - Q3 CY22’.

Globally, the quarter un der review produced 20 unicorns and 45% of them are from the SaaS segment. No new de cacorns were added.

INDEX OF CONSUMER

SENTIMENTS ROSE

BY 7.1% IN SEPT

15 states do well in 2022 logistics index

New Delhi (PTI): Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Guja rat are among the 15 states and UTs categorised as achievers in the logistics index chart 2022, accord ing to a report released by the commerce and Indus try Ministry on Thursday.

The index is an indica tor of the efficiency of lo gistical services necessary for promoting exports and economic growth.

Kerala, Madhya

ON ROBUST FESTIVE DEMAND

Pradesh, Rajasthan, Pu ducherry, Sikkim and Tripura are the other states categorised as fast movers in the ranking.

The 15 states and UTs ranked in the aspirers cat egory include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Mizo ram, Andaman and Nico bar Islands, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Nagaland, Jam mu and Kashmir, and Arunachal Pradesh.

The other states and

UTs which are in the achievers category in clude Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Ma harashtra, Odisha, Pun jab, Tamil Nadu, Telanga na, Uttar Pradesh and Ut tarakhand.

The report ranks the states on the basis of their logistics ecosystem, high lights the key logistics-re lated challenges faced by the stakeholders.

PV wholesales surge 92% in September

New Delhi: The index of consumer sentiments rose by a robust 7.1% to a 30-month high in Sep tember which was the month packed with festiv ities across the nation, the CMIE said. However, the first two weeks of Oc tober have shown a dip and all hopes are now on the week around Diwali.

The unemployment rate dropped to a four-year low of 6.3% and the index of consumer sentiments rose to a 30-month high 7.1% in September.

New Delhi (PTI): Riding on the back of strong fes tive season demand, pas senger vehicle wholesales in India increased 92% to 3,07,389 units last month, as compared to the same month last year, auto in dustry body Society of In dian Automobile Manufac turers said on Thursday.

Passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches from factories to dealerships in Septem ber 2021 stood at 1,60,212 units. As per the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufactur ers (SIAM), two-wheeler sales also rose 13% to

17,35,199 units, as com pared to 15,37,604 vehicles in September 2021.

Motorcycle sales rose 18% to 11,14,667 units, as against 9,48,161 units in September 2021.

AS PER LATEST DATA BY SIAM

z PV dispatches from factories to dealerships in September 2021 stood at 1,60,212 units

z 2-wheeler sales also rose 13% to 17,35,199 units, as compared to 15,37,604 vehicles in Sept 2021

GOVT ACCORDS INFRASTRUCTURE STATUS TO DATA CENTRES WITH OVER 5 MW CAPACITY

New Delhi: The government has accorded infrastructure status to data centers with more than 5 megawatt capacity of IT load. The move helps data centre companies to get easier access to institutional credit at lower rates.

Centre is included in the Harmonized Master List of Infrastructure sub-sectors by insertion of a new item in the category of ‘Communication’,” a notifi cation, said. Data centres that are “housed in a dedicated/centralized building for storage and processing of digital data applications with a minimum capacity of 5 MW of IT load” will be considered eligible for infrastructure status.

SIGNIFICANT NO. OF EMPLOYERS LIKELY TO ADD APPRENTICES

Mumbai: A significant percent age of employers are likely to increase their apprentice pool in the second half of 2022, as companies look at lever aging appren ticeships as the key source of talent, says a report. Accord ing to Apprenticeship Outlook Report for H2 by TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, 77% of employers are likely to increase their apprentice pool in H2 2022, which was 45% in H2

INFOSYS QUARTER 2 NET PROFIT UP 11 PER

CENT TO ` 6,021 CRORE

New Delhi: Infosys on Thursday posted an 11% yearon-year rise in consolidated net profit to `6,021 cr for the Septem ber quarter and also announced a share buyback programme worth `9,300 cr. The IT major will also pay an interim dividend totalling `6,940 cr to the shareholders. The net profit of India’s second largest IT services company stood at `5,421 crore in the same period a year ago.

NHAI InvIT LOOKS TO RAISE ADDITIONAL `3,800 CRORE, SAYS UNION MINISTER NITIN GADKARI

Scooter sales were up 9% to 5,72,919 units, from 5,27,779 vehicles a year ago.

In the September quarter, PV sales increased by 38% to 10,26,309 units, as against 7,41,442 units in the similar

period of the last fiscal.

Similarly, total twowheeler sales rose 13% to 46,73,931 units, as com pared with 41,36,484 units in the September quarter of the last fiscal.

New Delhi: National Highways Infra Trust (NHAI InvIT) is looking to raise additional `3,800 crore, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday. Gadkari said that of the additional fundraise, around `1,500 crores are being garnered through an issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) with a long-dated maturity of 24 years.

These InvIT bonds will be listed on BSE and NSE providing an opportunity for investors to invest and trade, he added. Gadkari said that the InvIT, so far, has raised more than `8,000 crore from foreign and Indian institutional investors.

THANE MAN BEING HELD, ‘TORTURED’ BY EMPLOYERS IN THAILAND, BROTHER SAYS

According to the complaint filed by 31-yearold Ashish Dubey’s brother, the Thai firm is demanding $3,000 for his release

First India Bureau

Thane: A city-based man lodged a com plaint with the police stating that his young er brother was being held captive in Thai land by his employer company for the past month, which was de manding $3,000 in ex change for his release, an official said on Thursday.

According to the complaint, 31-year-old Ashish Dubey had gone to Thailand on Septem ber 12 and was being mentally and physically tortured to complete “his performance tar get”, given by the com

pany that employed him, to contact and con vince people to buy cryptocurrency.

A case of cheating and extortion was regis tered against a Thai na tional at Srinagar po lice station, under the Wagle Estate Division, the official said.

The complainant also raised the issue with the External Affairs Minis try and Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), he said.

Reportedly, Dubey had applied and inter viewed for a job in Thai land, and was selected for a digital marketing role, where he would supposedly be paid

MLA, mob vandalizes crop insurance office

First India Bureau

Aurangabad: A group led by MLA Santosh Bangar of the Balasa hebanchi Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday allegedly vandalized the office of a crop insurance firm in Hingoli, al though senior police officials said no com plaint had been filed in this regard so far.

In a video that was shared on social media, the Kalamnuri legisla tor can be seen pushing a table within the office of the insurance firm,

located in Hingoli City police station limits, while several persons with him can be seen damaging items there.

“The company did not go to farmers for a sur vey for crop insurance but took signatures on blank forms. Action should be taken against this firm,” Bangar al leged. “I called the insur ance firm to discuss this but no one responded.”

$1,000 per month, the police said.

According to the po

lice, the firm bore Dubey’s travel cost, who travelled with two oth

to Thailand on Septem ber 12 and on his arrival along with the man from Mumbai, he was taken to an unidentified location,” the official said. The complaint stated that Ashish was then employed by a company running a fake call centre, where he was asked to make fake social media ac counts under women’s names. The company also asked him to con vince people into buy ing cryptocurrency and cheat them using the fake profiles.

10,482 CLUNKERS IN PARKING LOTS ACROSS MUMBAI

ers—a man from Mum bai and another from China. “He took a flight

While the victim was forced to do what the firm told him, stated the complaint, he was also not allowed to get in touch with his family, and thus held against his wish. The police have initiated an inquiry.

CM OFFERS PRAYERS AT JAISALMER SHRINE

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday visited the famous temple of local deity Baba Ramdev in Jaisalmer district. He also offered velvet chadar and Prasad at Baba’s samadhi. Priest Kamal Chhangani made him worship with rituals. Earlier, Fadnavis was welcomed by BJP workers at helipad in Ramdevra town. Later, while talking to reporters, Fadnavis said that Baba knows the wishes of all the devotees and it is not proper to make it public. He said that Baba fulfils the wishes of all the devotees, and believes that his wish too will be addressed.

8 of 11 Marathwada dams full as region sees 124% rain

First India Bureau

Aurangabad: As many as eight out of 11 ma jor dams in the usually drought-hit Marath wada region have now reached maximum wa ter storage capacity, while the overall per centage of the 11 com bined stands at 97.98%, an official said on Thursday.

Jayakwadi, Yeldari, Siddheshwar, Majal gaon, Penganga, Manar,

Vishnupuri and Sina Ko legaon projects, are all 100% full, while water

storage is at 75.05% of capacity in Dudhna, 85.71% in Manjara and

98.46% in Nimna Terna, he informed.

“Apart from these, 75 medium projects in the region, which compris es eight districts, are 91.27%. The smaller projects have 75.78% water at the moment,” he added.

Against an annual average rainfall of 679mm in Marathwada, the region has so far re

BUREAUCRACY

ceived 840mm this mon soon—123.62% of its average precipitation, he said. As per a report from the revenue de partment, Nanded got 1118.6mm, followed by Hingoli (992.4mm), Jal na (843.8mm), Latur (802.9mm), Aurangabad (728.2mm), Osmanabad (723.1mm), Beed (712.2mm) and Parbha ni (700.4mm).

Mumbai: The civic body has identified 10,482 “dead vehicles” between March and October at various city-owned parking spaces, officials said. While the D-Ward (Malabar Hill-Nepean Sea Road) had the a maximum number of such vehicles at 1009, it was followed by the L-Ward (Kurla) at 795 and 708 in H-Ward that covered areas such as Bandra-Khar-Santacruz (West).

Thane: The Bhiwandi Nizampur City Mu nicipal Corporation (BNCMC) has hiked the ex-gratia mount for its workers by Rs900 to Rs11,000 said an official. The decision was taken by Munic ipal Commissioner Vijaykumar Mhasal, after holding talks with representatives of civic workers’ unions on Wednesday. The ad ministration’s decision will benefit as many as 4,317 employees.

Jalna: Cops in Jalna have announced a reward of Rs2lakh for anyone who helps find out the thieves who stole 10 ancient ‘panch dhatu’ idols from an old temple on August 22. The idols were stolen from the Ram temple situated in Jamb Samarth village, which is the birthplace of renowned Sant Ramdas Samarth, in Ghansawangi tehsil. “The temple was built in 1535. We announced a reward of Rs2 lakh as the investiga tion has not yielded much so far,” he added.

MAN HELD FOR ASSAULT ON DOC, CAUSING RUCKUS

Thane: A man was arrested for assaulting a doctor and creating a ruckus at a hospital, in formed a cop on Thurs day. The accused, who has been arrested under sections 353 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code, entered the hospital in an inebriated state and picked up a fight with a senior citizen who was being treated for a dog bite. He also hit a doctor who tried to intervene and informed Chief Medical Officer Dr Purshottam Like.

2 KILLED, 5 HURT AS SUV RAMS INTO TREE ON HIGHWAY

Mumbai: Two per sons were killed and five others were injured when a sports utility vehicle (SUV) rammed into a tree along the Eastern Express Highway in Vikhroli early on Thursday, a police official said. The incident took place at around 12.30 am near the Kanjurmarg bus stop, he added.“Two persons including the driver and a passenger were killed, while five others sustained seri ous injuries,” he said.

TATTOO ON ARM HELPS SOCIAL GROUP

REUNITE 75-YEAR-OLD WITH HIS KIN

Thane: A 75-year-old man was reunited with his kin with the help of his village’s name mentioned on his tattoo. A Jeevan Anand Sanstha member said that Vijay Jagtap (75) was found near a bridge in the Va kola area on October 07. “The functionaries reached ‘Jangalpur’ tattooed on his arm by using Google maps and met his daughter Sangita Kadam,” he added. “The village is in Selu taluka of Wardha. Vijay is in VN Desai hospital and will be taken back after he recovers, “ trustee Kisan Choure said.

Maharashtra govt transfers 20 IAS officers in reshuffle

Medical Education Commissioner

Virendra Singh has been appointed as the Managing Director of Maha IT Corporation in Mumbai

Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra govern ment on Wednesday night transferred 20 IAS officers, includ ing Medical Educa tion Commissioner Virendra Singh, who

has been posted as Managing Director of Maha IT Corpora tion in Mumbai. Sunil Chavan, Collector of Aurangabad district, has been posted as Development Com missioner (Unorgan ized Labour) and transferred to Mum bai, according to an

official statement.

Ajay Gulhane, an IAS officer of the 2010-batch who was serving as Col lector of Chandrapur district, has been ap pointed Additional Mu nicipal Commissioner of Nagpur.

Deepak Kumar Mee na, Additional Munici pal Commissioner of

Nagpur, has been named Additional Tribal Commissioner of Thane.

Vinay Gowda, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zilla Pari shad (ZP) of Satara, will be the new Collec tor of Chandrapur.

RK Gawade, CEO of Nandurbar ZP, has

been posted as Addi tional Chief Electoral Officer and moved to Mumbai.

Manik Gursal has been posted as Addi tional Commissioner (Industries).

Shivraj Shrikant Pa til, Joint MD of CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corpora

tion), will take over as MD of Mahanand, a state-run body, in Mumbai, while Astik Kumar Pandey is the new Collector of Au rangabad district.

Deepak Singla, MD,

Maharashtra State CoOperative Tribal De velopment Corpora tion in Nashik, has

been posted as Joint Commissioner MMR DA (Mumbai Metro politan Region Devel opment Authority).

IAS officer SC Patil has been posted as Joint Secretary, Depu ty Chief Minister’s Of fice in Mantralaya (state secretariat) in Mumbai. RD Nivatkar,

Collector of Mumbai, will also function as Commissioner of Med ical Education besides looking after his cur rent assignment. Sen ior bureaucrat RS Chavan has been post ed as Joint Secretary, Revenue Stamps and Forest Department at Mantralaya.

Rajeev D Nivatkar Shivraj Shrikant Patil Virendra Singh Ajay Gulhane Astik Kumar Pandey Deepak Kumar Meena Manik Gursal Sunil Chavan Vinay Gowda

BNCMC

JALNA COPS ANNOUNCE `2L REWARD FOR INFO IN TEMPLE IDOL THEFT CASE

Jayakwadi dam is 100% full.

—FILE

A SPLASH OF

he emergence of fusion fashion has revolutionised the Indian fashion in dustry. Women want contemporary styles and vintage charm to blend and thus Indo-western wear is fast catch ing up. City First brings to you an over view of the dynamics of this category. Indo-Western Fashion is the amalgamation of western fashion with traditional ethnic wear.

Styling at the top of trends, this fashion state ment is a beautiful mixture of two different cultures and traditions and is commonly re ferred to as fusion fashion, which honours the beauty of both Indian and Western cultures while promoting innovation that transcends

Many famous designers have been expertly combining these two fashion cultures as west ern fashion becomes more well-liked and ac cepted in Indian society.

This beautiful combination of modernity with culture has made a special place in the Indian Fashion World. Young gorgeous girls during the festive season prefer to deck up in various

Combination of ethnic needlework into clothing with a western aes thetic, like Rajasthani mirror work and Punjabi phulkari. Styles like Meenakari, Kundan, Resham, and Zardozi are perfect attires to wear in the festive season. Fashion lovers prefer wearing the shorter form of the kurta, known as the ‘kurti,’ which is typically worn with a pair of denim slacks or trousers. Newer fusion fashion trends are emerging throughout time, like modern bridal clothing including lehengas worn with halter tops.

The emergence of fusion fashion has revolutionised the Indian Fashion industry. Women want the fusion of modern Styles and vintage charm. City First brings to you an overview of this dynamics fashion!

A DOCTOR WHO TURNED INTO A DIRECTOR

Dr Bose, your books have a medical thread running through them, a reflection of your life, were they fic tional works?

HIGHLIGHTS

Dr Anirban Bose is a nephrologist who got inspired and turned into a director by the true story of a gentleman he met at a fundraising event for organ donation

Dr Anirban Bose is a Nephrolo gist who practices as an Inpa tient Neph rology Attending at Strong Memorial Hospital. He is also the clinical associ ate professor at the University of Roch ester in upstate NY.

He is not only a doc tor but also a musi cian and enjoys writing. He has pub lished 3 books titled Bombay Rains-Bom bay Girls, Mice in Men and The Death of Mitali Dotto.

He is very pas sionate about pro moting ethical or gan donation in In dia and worked in India in the pro gram before moving to the USA. His pas sion for the cause and to do something for the program in India made him look at MOHAN Foundation and ob serve how it has gone about promot ing deceased dona tions over the years.

We speak to the au thor who turned di rector with Aye Zindagi, a Hindi movie releasing on October 14.

‘Aye Zindagi, a fresh perspective to inspire millions on the life-transform ing effect of organ donation.’

Well, it is true, my books do have a medical thread run ning through them, that’s probably my source of in spiration. I feel as a physi cian I am privileged in many ways since patients open up and share incidents and issues that they prob ably wouldn’t even share with their friends. So, it’s a rel atively easy way to begin a story.

Where did the idea of Aye Zindagi come from? Was Aye Zindagi a book in your mind or you decided to jump straight to a script?

The idea of Aye Zindagi... well basically it is a true life story. It is the story of a gen tleman I encountered dur ing a fundraiser for MO HAN USA which raises funds for non-governmental organisations that work in the field of Organ Trans plantation. His story was so powerful that it brought me to tears. I wanted to get the story out to the world, so initially, I wrote an article and a lot of people who read it told me that it would make a great film.

Aye Zindagi is certainly not a book in my mind, it was such an unusual ‘life is stranger than fiction’ kind of story, that I felt if I wrote it as a book, it wouldn’t be believable. In fact, that is the beauty and richness of the story of Aye Zindagi.

What made you turn into Director when you wrote the script for Aye Zindagi?

A doctor who writes is still an acceptable norm but you will agree that one who di rects a full-fledged commer cial Hindi film is out of the box.

So, I tried to get this script turned into a movie for quite some years and met a lot of producers in Bom bay... most of them said that

He struggled for two years to find the right person to direct the film and finally decided to direct it on his own

Aye Zindagi - An inspiring movie highlighting the trans formative role of organ donation in people’s lives

it is a beautiful story but it didn’t lead anywhere. Then I met Shiladitya (Bora) who said YES and things started rolling. In the search for a director, I felt that they were not ‘grasping the es sence as much as I was like one director that I met, wanted to make it a heart transplant story as it would be perhaps more emotional. But, the truth is that it is a real-life story of a guy who has a liver transplant and visual ly for a medium like cinema a liver transplant is far more interesting. Because you see things on screen like jaun dice, we see the skin blotch es called spider nevi, we see abdominal swelling. The visual transformation for liver failure is far more ‘cin ematic’. It was not an easy decision, I struggled with the whole thing for about 2 years but finally, I decided to direct it myself. I spent some time learning about film directing, writing, editing and other many things.

Was Revathy your first choice to play the lead?

Revathy was always the first choice to play the lead as she has that kind of beauty that I was looking for. In fact, when I wrote the script, I named the character Revathy because I had her in mind. And when she said Yes, I was thrilled. It turns out that she is the first celebrity in India to sign an Organ Donor card, which is too many coinci dences to not have her play the lead, so I am just very glad she said yes.

Directing a film is a com plete professional change, even though you must have been learning on the go (so as to speak), what was your biggest learning personally?

So, directing a film is a com pletely different thing, it’s like reading a book and then trying to fly a plane. You have no training, you know what the gears do, what the switches and knobs are for but the first time you are sitting in the cockpit and you have to fly this 787 across the Atlantic and that is exactly what di recting first time a fulllength feature film starring big professional actors, felt like. There was a lot of learning but I had excellent support and that is what made everything so good.

The actors were so good, so professional and so com

mitted, I really got to see how intelligent actors are and how they get into the role as they listen to it. I had tremendous help from Shi la my producer, my DOP, my editor and my produc tion designer, anything I wanted they would get for me. So, I was lucky I think, I had lots and lots of sup port. Frankly, at the end of this whole directing pro cess, I feel the director gets too much credit. What the director does is build on the foundation of his team, and it is this team effort that gives life to his imagina tion. I am a lucky man!

Many a time as a film progresses, changes have to be made to make it more acceptable to the masses, any such chang es in Aye Zindagi?

This is a story based on real life and I have tried to stick to the plot points, In fact, the story is so rich and unbelievably beautiful, that for me writing it was really simple. I just had to play up the conflict be cause for cinema to be en grossing for people that conflict has to come out. We have simplified the organ donation process and the brain death protocols a lit tle. Because, if you make it very true to life, it sort of delays the experience or understanding of the elements.

What was the most challenging part of di recting Aye Zindagi?

The most challenging part of directing Aye Zind agi... well, were many! The budget is always an issue, locations were another since we wanted to keep it as true to life as possible so could not use a set. Then we had cast changes because people drop in, then drop out... But at the end of the day, I think that all the challenges and changes were for a good rea son. I can’t imagine the film any other way right now and so if we expect life to be smooth, it’s not really going to be worth it. It’s the chal lenge that makes anything worthwhile.

As the movie releases across India and North America, what do you hope for, apart from a suc cessful run of course? What I am really hopeful about is that people will watch this film and take the underlying message of the film which is that Organ Donation not only saves lives, it is transformative for lives. See Organ dona tion and transplantation are the miracles of medical science like vaccines and antibiotics, but unlike these two, transplantation has this really human element. When we ask someone to donate the organs of a loved one, they are in the midst of a great loss, they are in grief and yet in the middle of their grief they can em pathise with another hu man, a stranger, someone they will never meet, never get anything from him- that is the amazing beauty of organ transplantation.

It brings out the beauty

Dr Anirban Bose

Poster of the film...

COUNTDOWN TO INFINITY & BEYOND!

MRIDULA SHARMA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Now that Karwa Chauth has already arrived, the anticipation for the day was pretty great. Everyone including Bollywood couples was looking forward to a great day. On the occasion, married ladies offered prayers for their husband’s long life and well-being. Numerous Bollywood stars fast on this day each year and they post pictures of their celebrations on social media for their fans to see. Bollywood couples have their own unique way of celebrating the festival. Some celebrity couples observed Karwa Chauth for the first time following their nuptials. City First brings to you glimpses from ‘Karwa Chauth’ celebrations from B-Town hit couples.

DEEPIKA PADUKONE AND RANVEER SINGH

After six years of dating, Ranveer and Deep ika married in Italy in November 2018, apart from the spotlight of the media. Ranveer claimed that he first met Deepika during his diffi cult times when spilling the beans on how he met the love of his life. The actor continued by saying that he met her in person at an office and fell in love with her right away. Ranveer went on to explain how he fasted for his bride last year on Karwa Chauth because he wants Deepika to be his life partner for the subsequent seven incarnations. Their pictures of exhibiting romance on the occa sion of Karwa Chauth are still due.

MOUNI ROY AND SURAJ NAMBIAR

Mouni Roy, who is now enjoying the suc cess of her blockbuster movie Brahmastra, wed her longtime partner Suraj Nambiar in Goa. They followed Bengali and South Indian customs during their wedding. On the occasion of their first Karwa Chauth, on Thursday Mouni Roy shared some beautiful pic tures in which she was seen flaunt ing her henna ahead of her first Karwa Chauth. Mouni looked fresh and stunning in the pic tures. She wrote in the cap tion “Firsts are always spe cial... Happy Karwa Chauth beauties.”

PRIYANKA CHOPRA AND NICK JONAS

VICKY KAUSHAL AND KATRINA KAIF

After keeping their romance a secret, Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal shocked everyone by announcing their marriage in December of the previous year. The pair posted on Instagram, saying, “We have nothing but love and gratitude for every thing that has led us to this point.” Katri na loves Indian festivals and we are sure she must be very enthusiastic about her first Karwa Chauth as well. While fans are still waiting for glimpses of Katrina’s first Karwa Chauth celebrations.

Priyanka Chopra wore a red and gold sari to celebrate her first Karva Chauth with Nick Jonas in 2019, the actress was stuck with the same colour scheme last year also. She teamed her outfit, a not-so-basic scarlet drape from Jade by Monica and Karishma, with a strappy gold shirt for a more contemporary look. The sheer ruffles at the hemline gave the en semble a romantic twist. This year Priyanka and Nick is accompanied by their daughter Malti Marie Chopra and we can’t keep calm for their Karwa Chauth pictures this year also.

RAJKUMMAR RAO AND PATAREKHA

Rajkummar and Patralekhaa decided to take the leap and be married in Chandigarh in November last year after 11 years of dating. Additionally, they chose a small wedding. Patralekhaa and Ra jkummar published images from the wedding and stated, “I married to my everything today, my soulmate, my best friend and my family, after 11 years of love, romance, friendship and joy. Be ing referred to as your spouse today makes me happier than anything else, @patralekhaa Count down to infinity and beyond.” Couple this year celebrated their first Karwa Chauth together.

Anushka Sharma, frequently appear in each other's social media posts. The power couple, who wed in a top-secret ceremony in Italy on December 2017, celebrated Karwa Chauth on Thurs day. Fans may get a glimpse into

ALIA BHATT AND RANBIR KAPOOR

On April 14 of this year, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor be came husband and wife. Attend ed by their close friends and fami ly, they enjoyed a private ceremo ny at Ranbir’s Home Vastu at Ban dra. Bollywood’s A-list couple wore stunning wedding attire. Alia posted the images along with a touching message on her handle. The couple revealed their first pregnancy in June, shortly after getting mar ried. They were prepared to greet their little bun dle of joy following the celebration of Karwa Chauth.

I WANTED TO CARVE MY OWN IDENTITY: MANIT JOURA

sion to overcome."

ASHISH TIWARI

Actor Manit Joura is a pop ular name in the television industry and is presently seen playing the role of Rishabh Lu thra in the most popu lar daily soap 'Kundali Bhagya'. Along with this show, Manit was also a part of another top-rated show, 'Naa gin 6'. Manit spoke ex clusively to Ashish Ti wari of First India.

Speaking on his journey till now he said, “Journey has been very long, I start ed right after school, hailing from a business family I was raised to do business but always wanted to carve my own identity. Acting

has made me realise the same. I believe act ing has magic. I have learned the hard way but I was lucky that I have met some excel lent directors who have taught me to do better. Acting is a craft that you have to learn and deliver on set”

Sharing how he began acting he shared, “I had only access to VCR and Baazigar was my first film in theatres. Shahrukh Khan was my favourite, I have watched his movies by bunking schools. I started with the feeling of trying something new. I am loving what I am doing, I didn't be come an actor for fame and money. The feeling that I experience when the camera is rolling cannot be experienced with the money”

He owns a passion for biking, speaking on it he shared, “My pas sions are not bor rowed, passions are always what I wanted to do. Motorcycling is

my passion, this fever began because I loved travelling. It gave me a piece of mind”

“Even today I feel I don’t know anything and there’s so much to learn. Whenever I am offered a new role I get scared and anxious about how will I per form. It’s years of hard work that comes with act ing.” He added.

ing stability in his life he shared, “When you do what you like, then you be come stable in the journey of life. It balances both. I never thought I’ll be come an actor I was always unde confident about everything but grateful now I am out of it because I had the pas

Sharing his dreams he said, “My dream

Kanishka accuses Sajid

This year’s Bigg Boss is laden with controversy and fans cannot seem to calm down about it. One of the most contro versial issues of the show is the participation of filmmaker Sajid Khan who was accused of sexu al harassment by several women during the #Me Too wave. Now, actor Kanishka Soni raised her voice against him. She revealed a detailed de scription of their en counter and stated that the filmmaker asked her to show him her stomach. Taking to her Instagram, Kan ishka posted a video where she said Khan in vited her to his Juhu

house in 2008 on the pre text of offering her work.

When she showed hesi tance to meet at home, he stated that he lives with his mother so there is no need to worry. However, when she reached there, the filmmaker coerced her to

show him her stomach.

Along with the video, she posted a long message in her captions detailing her fear. She stated that she is afraid that these big personalities would kill her and has no trust left in the Indian govern ment.

I have none. There was no second option in my life. I just knew I had to

Sidharth addresses wedding rumours

Sidharth Mal hotra and Kiara

Advani may not have officially addressed their rela tionship but they both are deeply in love and that is evident. The pair made their first of ficial entrance as a cou ple at the birthday par ty of film producer, Ashivini Yardi. Their chemistry could be seen even through the photos as they held each other while posing for the photos. They both spoke about each other in Kof fee With Karan as well where Kiara called her relationship with Sid “more than close friends”. Sid too expressed his happi ness at Kiara being sin gle and stated that he manifests a happy life with her. There also were rumours about their impending wed ding that will take place in April next year. Now, addressing them, Sid harth talked about it.

In the interview, Sid harth revealed that he is not bothered by any thing. He stated that there is nothing to be bothered about after being in the industry

for 10 years. Talking about his marriage ru mours, the actor said

that if he does get mar ried, it will be difficult to keep it a secret.

Rakul-Jackky to marry soon!

R

akul Preet Singh and Jackky Bhagnani have been dating for quite a while and boy, do they make for a beau tiful pair! It seems natural for the two lovebirds to tie the knot and settle down to gether. And now, it seems that this too would be a real ity very soon as Rakul and Jackky are planning to get married soon!

A source said, "Shaadi 2023 mein hogi aur yeh pak ka hai. Aakhir dono ko ek doosre se inteha pyaar hai aur dono shaadi mein vishwas rakhte."

The month or date is not fixed yet but their families have sat down to gether to start the discus sion on the wedding ar rangements. Rakul's broth

er, Aman too slightly confirmed the news. He said, "Rakul has acted in a couple of projects by Jackky Bhagnani. Marriage is obviously on the cards, but nothing is concrete yet. She will announce it on her

own when she decides to get married. Jackky is one of the top producers of Indian cinema and he has lots of ambitious projects in mind, in fact, both of them are very busy people. So, they have their own goals."

Last Film Show receives Standing Ovation

Ahead of its muchawaited theatrical re lease across India, the makers of India's Offi cial Entry to the Oscars Last Film Show titled Chhello Show hosted a star-studded premiere of the film in Mumbai.

The event witnessed a turnout of the biggest names in Bollywood who unanimously appreciated the film. Once the screening ended, the celebri ties were so moved by Director Pan Nalin's cinematic gem that they gave it a standing ovation which went on for a long time!

Personalities like Deepika Padukone, Kiara Advani, Vidya

Balan, Mira Nair, Aditya Roy Kapur, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Sun ny Kaushal, Sarvari Wagh, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Babil Khan, Kirti Kulhari, Rasika Dugal, Jaaved Jaaferi, Prateik Babbar, Aparshakti Khurana, Vikrama ditya Motwane, Nikkhil Adva ni, Chitrangada Singh, Ramesh Taurani, Madhur Bhandarkar, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Mahima Makwana, Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, Anushka Ranjan, Ashutosh Gowariker, Ranveer Allahbadia, Parmeet Sethi, Ra jat Barmecha, Namit Das, Mayur Puri, Amrita Puri, Pashmina Roshan, Rohit Saraf, Sandhya Mridul, So ham Majumdar and others graced the evening by their presence.

The gala screening was host ed by the film's star producers Siddharth Roy Kapur and Dheer Momaya. They were ac companied by director Pan Na lin, lead actor Bhavin Rabari, Bhavesh Shrimali, Richa Mee na and the entire cast and crew of Last Film Show!

ADITI CHAVAN

Kanishka Soni

Jackky Bhagnani and Rakul Preet Singh

Angad BediAditya Roy Kapur

Anupriya Goenka

Mahima Makhwana Pan Nalin and Bhavin

Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra

Manit Joura