MONDAY 07 SEPTEMBER, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard GERMANY RIGHT PARTY WINS KEY STATE POLL The AfD won in a landslide in a regional poll on Sunday in the ex-communist east, but it is unclear whether it can win an absolute majority to govern PAGE 9 US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after their talks in Kyiv on Sunday | PTI US PEACE ENVOYS MAKE FIRST KYIV VISIT A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS CRASH TAKES PLACE AT 1.30 PM  NEW DELHI TWO NDRF TEAMS DEPLOYED  J8.00  PAGES 12 CM, L-G & TOP COP RUSH TO THE SPOT 5 killed as 50-year-old hostel for students turns into dust & debris Civic officials’ ‘wilful’ apathy puts crashes in repeat mode Following two rounds of discussion with the US officials—who had met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday—Zelenskyy said the goal was a “just, fair peace”. A Ukrainian official said that much of the discussion focused on “how to get through the winter and what can be done before then”. Witkoff termed it a “meaningful discussion” | P9 India backs UN, draws red line on J&K, Ladakh A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi Rescue workers bring out a survivor from rubble on Sunday | PARVEEN NEGI FULL COVERAGE ON P3 a few months back, the PG accommodation was started. According to police, a PCR call was received at the South Campus police station at 1.34 pm regarding the collapse of a building known as Hostel Daze near Nanakpura Gurdwara. The building comprised a basement and five upper floors. A police official said, “The building had a basement and five upper floors. It was used as a PG accommodation. Repair work was underway in the basement when it crashed.” Eight fire tenders and multiple rescue teams from various departments were rushed to the spot, officials said. No immediate official confirmation has been provided regarding the total number of people trapped, rescued, or injured. Both police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed to ensure that ambulances can move freely, the official said. “Teams of Delhi Police, NDRF, Delhi Fire Service and DDMA, along with fire tenders and CATS ambulances, reached the spot and commenced rescue operations,” he said. `11,639 crore push to develop 2,616 villages near international borders RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR & S U M I T K U M A R S I N G H @ New Delhi ONCE known for being neglected and cut off from the rest of the country, India’s border villages are fast turning into hubs of economic activity . One of the major drivers of the change is the Centre’s decision to turn paramilitary outposts along international borders into buyers of local produce. The move is part of a `11,639 crore push to keep villages populated along sensitive frontiers under the Vibrant Village Programme (VVP). Overall, 2,616 villages situated along the international borders are covered under VVP in , two phases. These include 455 villages in Arunachal Pradesh, Two-phase project The village scheme is run in two phases. The first, launched in April 2023, carries an outlay of `4,800 cr for 2022-23 to 2026-27. The second, launched in February this year, carries an outlay of `6,839 cr through 2028-29 75 in HP, 51 in Uttarakhand, 46 in Sikkim, and 35 in Ladakh. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police, which guards the Himalayan frontier with China, has been directed to procure all daily need items from these model villages. Be it procuring milk, vegetables, eggs and grains, they have to buy directly from the villages. The government’s aim it to make border posts of army and paramilitary a local market wherein the troops deployed will buy every day essentials for local farms and reduce the economic isolation that has driven migration away from frontier areas. The paramilitary forces have started the process, the Centre stated on Sunday The Border . Security Force has also started the process. According to sources, the move has had a positive impact with residents returning to villages they had earlier left in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kurung Kumey Dibang Valley and Shi, Yomi districts. The Centre is now planning to revamp schools in these villages and set up hospitals and colleges in these clusters, said a senior government official. CRASH SITE ad FIVE people died on Sunday when a 40-to-50-year-old fivestorey building collapsed in south Delhi’s Satya Niketan area, which is located opposite Sri Venkateswara College in the South Campus of the University of Delhi. Several people were injured during the collapse. Officials said the building, which was being used as a paying guest (PG) accommodation, collapsed at 1.30 pm. The rescue operations were underway till late in the evening, by when 10 people had been rescued. “Debris is being removed, and oxygen cylinders are being dropped under the rubble for those stuck to breath,” an official said. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and civic authorities took the injured to the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Some of them were stated to be in critical condition, the officials said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolence, saying, “The collapse of a building at Satya Niketan, Delhi, is distressing. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. Authorities are working at the site and assisting those affected in the mishap.” Many Central ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah, and state leaders expressed grief. The locals claimed that around 50 people could still be trapped under the debris. They said that repair work was underway in the basement. The police confirmed this fact. According to sources, the building was vacated around a year ago over safety concerns. However, g ro U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi SATYA NIKETAN Rin Residents joined hands with the NDRF teams and civic authorities in the rescue operations on Sunday | PARVEEN NEGI Durgabai Deshmukh Metro station Gurudwara Moti Bagh Sahib FIR, protest after crash 1 CM has ordered magisterial inquiry, FIR against owner 2 ABVP members vandalised MCD office in absence of the commissioner 3 Several students trapped under the debris made phone calls for assistance The collapse of a building at Satya Niketan is distressing. Authorities are working at the site and assisting those affected in the mishap —PM J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi IT appears that no lessons were learned from the May 30 Saidulajab building collapse that claimed six lives, as a similar incident occurred in Satya Niketan on Sunday afternoon. Both the sites are located merely 10 kilometres apart. Locals claimed that collection of water over days of rain in the basement of the Satya Niketan building had weakened its foundation, which led to the collapse. The residents alleged that connivance of the civic officials with the building owner put the lives of students at risk. After the Saidulajab incident, the agencies concerned—particularly the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)—assured to take cor rective measures to avert any untoward incident due to officials’ negligence; the Satya Niketan tragedy proves that the claims were made only on papers. Like the Saidulajab area, which is a major hub for students preparing for medical and engineering entrance examinations, Satya Niketan is also a hub of students studying in various colleges of Delhi University’s South Campus. According to an order issued by the South Zone of the MCD, the assistant engineer (building) and junior engineer (building) were suspended over alleged lapses in supervision related to the structure in Saidulajab. Officials had said the building, estimated to be between five and seven storeys high, housed a coaching institute, cafes and offices. INDIA has drawn a clear line on the depiction of its territory, stressing that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh must be shown in accordance with the country’s official map after it backed a United Nations General Assembly resolution seeking to correct distortions including the relative size of the African continent on commonly used world maps. The External Affairs Ministry on Sunday clarified that India’s vote in favour of the United Nations General Assembly resolution did not amount to an endorsement of any particular map, projection or representation of national boundaries. “Any inaccurate or misleading depiction is unacceptable. Our position on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is clear, consistent and non-negotiable,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The clarification assumes significance because the UN initiative has prompted a discussion over how the world is represented on maps, including the relative size of continents and the way territories and boundaries are depicted. India stressed that the resolution does not seek to settle questions of political cartography . “The resolution neither adopts nor authenticates any particular world map, nor does it address political cartography includ, ing international boundaries, disputed territories or place names,” the MEA said. The foreign ministry added that India’s vote “does not constitute endorsement of any specific map, projection, or depiction of national boundaries.” New Delhi’s position follows its explanation of vote at the UN General Assembly earlier, when it supported the broader principle of using equal-area map projections but explicitly distanced itself from endorsing the equal earth projection. Indian diplomat Raghoo Puri said, “The resolution should be understood as supporting the broader use and consideration of equal-area map projections and not as endorsing the Equal Earth projection, or any other specific map projection.” Net gains for Satwik and Chirag in China Indian doubles duo displays grit and experience to beat He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu in three games to clinch China Masters title in Shenzhen. HARD-FOUGHT VICTORY Like their previous three ties in the competition, the World No 5 pair was thoroughly tested but they kept their calm in key moments to come out on top. When the score was 17-17 in the final game, the Indians reeled off five straight points to seal the deal. India’s sovereign territory, including Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, must be depicted in accordance with India’s official map Randhir Jaiswal 164 nations support UN resolution The resolution titled ‘Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation and Promoting Equitable Representation of the World’s Regions, Particularly Africa’ was sponsored by Togo and adopted by the UN General Assembly with overwhelming support. A total of 164 countries voted in favour, while the US voted against it THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM SHOT IN THE ARM BEFORE ASIAN GAMES The Indians had finished runners-up on two occasions (2023 and 2025) in the recent years. They finally broke the jinx to get over the line on Sunday. Given that this was just their second tournament since their return from injury, it’s a massive shot in the arm for the doubles pair. Now, they will be looking to build on this performance and defend their crown in the upcoming Asian Games in Japan. 2 This is SatChi’s second title of the season. It feels really special. Going into the Asiad, winning a title is definitely a huge boost. It feels whatever we are working for, we are in the right direction. — Chirag Shetty Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy after their win on Sunday | BADMINTON PHOTO | P11 EXPRESS READ Rajnath to visit SL, 1st by def minister since ’88 Defence minister Rajnath Singh will travel to Sri Lanka this week for a three-day official visit, the first by an Indian defence minister to the island nation since K C Pant, defence minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet, visited in 1988. Singh will hold talks with the Sri Lankan leadership on a range of issues and interact with the Indian diaspora in Colombo. P7 Spurious liquor claims 11 lives in MP, 80 fall ill Suspected spurious liquor poisoning has claimed at least 11 lives in five to six villages of Banda tehsil in MP’s Sagar district. While the official death toll stands at 11, around 80 patients are admitted at three separate hospitals. Meanwhile, a critical patient was airlifted from a medical college in Sagar for lifesaving treatment to Bhopal. P8 HIGHWAY ROBBERY Paying cash at toll booths? You could be funding a scam, warns ED S U M I T K U M A R S I N G H @ New Delhi IF your FASTag fails to scan and you pay cash at a highway toll plaza, that money may never reach the National Highways Authority of India. The Enforcement Directorate has found it can disappear into a parallel network of fake receipts and private accounts. On Sunday the ED said toll op, erators used unauthorised mobile apps, including “Mobdata” and “Any to generate counter,” feit receipts for cash-paying vehicles. The collections never entered NHAI’s official books. The practice, investigators found, was systematic across plazas in several states.The scam largely hits drivers of older vehicles, trucks and commercial fleets yet to shift fully to FASTag. Even motorists with valid tags are sometimes forced to pay cash when barriers or scanners fail, with the cash diverted. ED teams raided locations in Lens on toll collection entities India The ED probe begain after a complaint from Lucknow related to largescale fraudulent toll collection at Atraila Toll Plaza, Mirzapur, and various other toll plazas across the nation. ED officials found that illegal apps used to generate fake receipts and conceal collections from NHAI’s official system. The probe found involvement of intermediaries and toll collection entities, entrusted by NHAI, in the scam West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan on September 2 as part of a money-laundering probe. The case began with a complaint from Lucknow and an FIR dated January 1, 2025. An Enforcement Case Information Report followed on May 19 last year. The investigation centres on large-scale fraudulent collec- tion at Atraila toll plaza in Mirzapur and other plazas nationwide. In January 2025, Uttar Pradesh Police had already exposed the use of an illegal app at the Atraila Shiv Gulam plaza to collect tolls from vehicles without sufficient FASTag balance and conceal the money from NHAI. Forensic examination of seized devices showed the unauthorised apps were deployed at around 100 plazas. Digital records pointed to unauthorised receipts running into crores. Intermediaries and some NHAI-entrusted toll operators are under the scanner. Searches have so far recovered about `1.03 crore in cash. SIR DRIVE NEARLY 47.56 LAKH NAMES EXCLUDED The Election Commission completed the arduous task of releasing the draft electoral rolls last week, redrawing the capital’s electoral map | P4