WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard `61,973 cr X.com/TheMornStandard NZ AIRPORTS THE PREVIOUS HIGHEST MONTHLY FII OUTFLOW, RECORDED IN MARCH 2020 3-MINUTE CUDDLE CAP FOR DROP OFF A new three-minute time limit on goodbye hugs in Dunedin airport’s drop-off area is aimed to prevent lingering cuddles from causing traffic jams. PAGE 9 INDIAN MARKETS TANK AMID FII SELL-OFF ■ ■ A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00 MODI, XI TALKS TODAY Bilateral dialogue before BRICS Summit opens at Russia’s Kazan, says government Need to restore mutual trust to go back to status quo ante: Army Chief Gen Dwivedi We are trying to restore the trust. That will happen once we are able to see each other and reassure each other that we are not creeping into buffer zones that have been created Gen Upendra Dwivedi BILLION+ COUNTRIES India and China have a population of over a billion. “Anybody who is predicting developments of this century cannot leave India and China out of that equation,’’ External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said ECONOMIC TIES UP Economic ties are improving. China is India’s largest trade partner with $118.4 billion twoway trade in 2023-24. This was slightly higher than the bilateral trade between India and the US at $118.28 billion in the same year PAGES 12 Rai to 3 states: Stop diesel buses from entering city EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi ENVIRONMENT Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday wrote to the transport ministers of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, urging them to ensure no diesel buses from their states plied to the national capital in view of GRAP-II restrictions in place. With the air quality in Delhi plummeting, Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) second stage restrictions kicked in from 8 am. Rai announced a slew of measures, including enhanced water sprinkling to control road dust, use of dust suppressants and deployment of additional traffic personnel Y E S H I S E L I A N D M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi SETTING all speculation to rest on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping holding a bilateral meeting in Russia’s Kazan, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said it will be held on Wednesday ahead of the BRICS Summit. “I can confirm that there will be a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Jinping tomorrow,” Misri said. This will be their first meeting after bilateral relations went south following a bloody clash of soldiers at Galwan in eastern Ladakh in 2020. Their meeting will not only signal to the world that the BRICS grouping is more powerful than perceived but also show India in a much stronger collaborative position with the China, Russia, and Iran. Back home, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi pointed to trust issues with China, saying, “We want to go back to the status quo of April 2020. Thereafter we will be looking at disengagement, de-escalation and normal management of LAC... This has been our stand since April 2020.” Gen Dwivedi was delivering the Colonel Pyara Lal Memorial Lecture on Indian Army’s Decade of Transformation in Delhi. He felt that both sides need to reassure and convince each other to move forward with the subsequent phases of disengagement. This newspaper had on Monday brought out the trust concerns with China as several sources said there was nothing on the ground to suggest China was willing to blink. The new agreement addresses two key friction points, Depsang and Demchok. The military has remained consistent in its interpretation of the disengagement processes from areas such as Galwan, Gogra, Hot Springs, and the north and south banks of Pangong Tso, while also asserting that this does not affect India’s claim over the LAC alignment. According to sources, previous disengagements were carried out on the principle of mutual and equal security with no prejudice , to either side’s claims over the LAC. However, the standoff at Depsang remains significant, as Chinese troops have blocked access to Patrol Points (PPs) 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 13, which cover an area of approximately 952 sq km. These PPs, located east of the strategic SubSector North road, are not directly on the LAC but lie within Indian territory Sub-Sec. tor North is crucial due to its terrain, which allows large-scale armoured operations.  Russian President Vladimir Putin embraces Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of BRICS Summit at Kazan on Tuesday | AP/PTI Amid the massive sell-off, the Indian stockmarkets tanked on Tuesday, with the Sensex falling 930.55 points, or 1.15%, to settle at 80,220.72 Data showed the market cap of BSE-listed firms shrank `9,19,374 crore to `4,44,45,649 crore ($5.29 trillion) on Tuesday. This is interpreted as erosion of `9.19 lakh crore in investors’ notional wealth in a single day | P10 Urged to ensure strict norms to check emission norms With Delhi grappling with poor air quality, Environment Minister Gopal Rai wrote to transport ministers of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, urging them to ensure no diesel buses from their states plied to the national capital in view of GRAP-II restrictions in place. to ease congestion. The minister in his letters said a major component of air pollution is vehicular emissions largely attributed to diesel buses reaching Delhi. “The impact of diesel emission on air quality is well established. A large influx of such buses significantly contributes to the degradation of air quality, posing serious health risks to the residents,” he said. Delhi is grappling with poor air quality and the additional burden from interstate traffic JPC MEET ON WAQF TURNS UGLY AS TMC MP SMASHES BOTTLE Iran Prez seeks support to end conflict in bilateral talks P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi tional North South Corridor. Discussions were also held on Afghanistan and humanitarian PRIME Minister Narendra assistance provided to the peoModi on Tuesday held bilateral ple there. “Had a very good meetings with Iran’s new Presi- meeting with the President of dent Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran, Mr Masoud Pezeshkian. Russian President We reviewed the full Vladimir Putin upon range of relations behis arrival in Kazan, tween our countries. ahead of the 16th We also discussed All our efforts BRICS Summit. ways to deepen ties in give priority to “Prime Minister futuristic sectors,” Modi had his first-ever humanity; India is Modi later said. ready to provide meeting with PresiAs for the first bilatall possible dent Pezeshekian after eral, Putin joked that cooperation to he won the elections in Russia-India ties are end Ukraine war Iran. The two leaders so strong that he felt Narendra Modi, spoke about the need Modi would underprime minister to de-escalate tensions stand his comments in West Asia. Iran without a translator. sought India’s help in the resoOn the war in Ukraine, Modi lution of the conflict as it was said, “I have been in touch with acquainted with leaders across Putin. I would want a peaceful the world,” Foreign Secretary resolution keeping in mind the Vikram Misri said. humanitarian crisis. India will Modi also spoke about the extend all possible support for Chabahar port and the Interna- the peace process.” THE meeting of the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill witnessed high-voltage drama on Tuesday as Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee smashed a glass bottle during a heated exchange of words with BJP member and former Calcutta HC judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, injuring himself in the process. Banerjee was suspended for a day from the committee after BJP’s Nishikant Dubey moved a motion to suspend him for his unruly behaviour. The motion was backed by nine members while eight voted against it, following which chairperson and BJP Lok Sabha MP Jagdambika Pal issued the suspension order. The meeting was adjourned briefly following the incident and Banerjee, who hurt his thumb and index finger was taken away for medical aid. Though Banerjee was given an opportunity to speak during the proceeding, he sought another turn to speak. However, Gangopadhyay objected to the repeated disturbances and a heated exchange erupted between the two. Sources claimed both MPs used abusive language and Banerjee grabbed a glass water bottle and smashed it on the table. A source told this newspaper that Banerjee lost his cool when Gangopadhyay allegedly made some remarks about his mother. “Both of them were talking in Bengali... Later, Banerjee said Gangopadhyay used derogatory language against his mother. However, Gangopadhyay claimed Banerjee began it first,” said the source. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi 40 more flights get bomb threats SHEKHAR SINGH & U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi ASSAM POLICE ENCOUNTERS ‘VERY SERIOUS’, SAYS SC A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan made the remark while hearing a plea challenging Gauhati HC’s dismissal of a PIL on 171 encounters. “Petitions like these can’t be brushed aside as premature,” it said | P7 HOAX bomb threats continued to keep the security agencies on their toes and inconvenience passengers on Tuesday as about 40 more flights received threat emails. Three CRPF schools, including the one in Rohini where an explosion happened two days ago, also received threats on Tuesday. On Tuesday, a CRPF school in Dwarka and another one Hyderabad also received hoax bomb threats. The emails, reportedly sent late in the night on Monday, indicated a potential bomb explo- sion in classrooms at 11 am on Tuesday. Officials said a detailed probe is underway, with senior officers of the CRPF, Intelligence Bureau, and Delhi Police reviewing the situation. Between Monday and Tuesday at least 70 flights belonging , to Air India, Vistara, IndiGo, and Akasa Air faced fresh 3 SCHOOLS TARGETED A CRPF school in Delhi’s Dwarka, another one in Rohini where an explosion happened two days ago, and a third CRPF school in Hyderabad also received hoax bomb threats through emails bomb threats through social media, bringing the total number of such threats in the past eight days to 160. Sources put the security threats for Air India at 13, Vistara 11, and Akasa Air 12 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, IndiGo said 23 of its flights—both domestic and international— were targeted on Monday and Tuesday. It said three Jeddahbound flights were diverted to Riyadh, Medina, and Doha. A Vistara spokesperson said that a few of their flights received security threats through social media. An Akasa spokesperson also confirmed receiving security alerts on Tuesday . ORDNANCE FACTORY BLAST Officials at the blast site of the Khamaria ordnance factory in Jabalpur, MP. Two persons were killed and 15 others suffered injuries; three are critical | PTI | P8 Behind drug bust: Luxury cars bought in cash, encrypted apps to stay in touch U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi A port in Mumbai was the smugglers’ first stop way back in 2021. The ship brought about 294 kg of heroin from Afghanistan, though it didn’t land at Mumbai first. The merchants chose a circuitous way — to Iran, and other West Asian countries — to evade detection. Multiple arrests were made in the coming years. The Enforcement Directorate was roped in to investigate the money laundering angle to the case. On Tuesday, the ED said it has arrested six people in their ongoing probe that unearthed a major drug trafficking operation. The racket was busted by two premier agencies — the Special Cell of Delhi Police and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), three years back in Front company, Afghan contacts for selling heroin Heroin was concealed within shipments of talc stone and gypsum powder. Such was the command of local drug traffickers over their Afghan suppliers that they did not make payment until the heroin was sold in regional markets, ED sources said. two separate operations. The DRI seized 293.81 kg of heroin from two containers imported by Sandhu Exports at the Nhava Sheva Port in Navi Mumbai on July 6, 2021. A fortnight later, the Special Cell seized 354 kg of good quality heroin worth `2,500 crore from two vehicles and a flat in Faridabad, Haryana. The heroin was concealed within shipments of talc stone and gypsum powder. And such was the command of local drug traffickers over their Afghan suppliers that they did not make payment until the heroin was sold in regional markets. ED sources said the accused used Sandhu Exports, a front company owned by Prabhjit Singh, to smuggle drugs. “The accused disguised the origin of the illicit funds, which were further layered and integrated into seemingly legitimate financial activities. They used cash payments to purchase multiple vehicles including Toyota Fortuner, Etios and Hyundai Verna in the second-hand market for trafficking from the storage hubs to distribution centres,” said an official. The ED investigation also revealed that cash was used to purchase high-end smartphones and encrypted communication apps. Drugs smuggled from Iran and Afghanistan used to be imported via Nava Sheva port in Mumbai, later stored at a rented godown in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri, and further distributed for local suppliers in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana. is aggravating the situation, he said. “I request your office to consider restricting the entry of diesel buses from entering Delhi or implementing stricter norms to control their emission norms,” Rai added. The minister offered to collectively work out implementation of more effective solutions such as transition to CNG or the use of electric buses for interstate transport. The Commission for Air Quality Management has established four levels to control pollution. Currently, the AQI is above 300. P3 EXPRESS READ India, Pak renew pact on Kartarpur Sahib corridor India and Pakistan have renewed the agreement on Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for the next five years, the MEA announced on Tuesday. In view of the continued requests of the pilgrims regarding the removal of $20 service charge levied by Pakistan per pilgrim per visit, India has once again urged Pakistan to not levy any fee or charges on the pilgrims, the MEA said in a statement. Six-storey B’luru building caves in; One dead, 5 injured R A K S H I T H G O W D A @ Bengaluru A construction worker was killed and five others were injured when a six-storey underconstruction residential building collapsed in the city on Tuesday afternoon. Twentyone workers were trapped under the debris. However, 14 of them, including the five injured, were rescued. Operations were on to trace the six remaining workers. T he building collapsed around 3.40pm at Anjanadri Layout in Babusabpalya near Hennur. It is alleged that the building was being constructed without proper approvals from civic agencies and sub-standard materials were used.The deceased has been identified as Arman, 26, of Bihar. The workers are from Bihar, Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, and Yadagir in Karnataka. The condition of a worker, who is in hospital, is said to be critical. A few workers managed to come out just before the building collapsed. “Around 20 people were trapped under the debris. Of them, 14 were rescued. Arman was working inside the building,” D Devaraja, DCP (East) said. A search is on for building owners Muniraju Reddy of Andhra Pradesh and his son Mohan Reddy of Malleswaram in the city . Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who visited the spot, stated that it is said that the building collapsed due to the use of substandard construction material. “I have directed the officials to take steps to prevent such incidents in future,” he added. Labour Minister Santosh Lad also visited the spot and supervised the rescue operations. The CCTV footage obtained from near the spot showed the first floor coming down before the entire six-story building split into two and collapsed.