CRPF SEEKS 35 NEW BATTALIONS TO BOOST ANTI-TERROR OPERATIONS THURSDAY 30 The Central Reserve Police Force has sought the Union home ministry’s approval to raise 35 new battalions, senior officials said on Wednesday MAY, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard SOUTH AFRICA FATE OF ANC HANGS IN BALANCE STRENGTH OF FORCE TO GROW BY 35,000 Ruling ANC was on Wednesday fighting to defy expectations that it could lose 3-decade-long grip on power as voters turned up for a watershed election A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 09 NEW DELHI J8.00 PAGES 12 @52.9 C DELHI SMOULDERS, O A DRIZZLE OF RELIEF FOLLOWS IMD says investigating readings Safdarjung observatory records max 46.8°C, the highest in 79 yrs SHEKHAR YADAV J I T E N D R A C H O U B E Y @ New Delhi Mungeshpur sizzler “It (52.9°C) looks abnormal and it is an outlier when compared with other weather stations in NCR,” IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said. Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju directed IMD to verify the weather station. CHANDIGARH 46oC PRAYAGRAJ (UP) 48.8oC ROHTAK (Haryana) 48.8oC PILANI (Rajasthan) 48.2oC AGRA (UP) 48oC VARANASI (UP) 47.4oC GAYA (Bihar) 44.4oC FOR several days, Delhiites feltlike being through a blast furnace. On Wednesday, Mungeshpur in northwest part of the city delivered a frightening message of a temperature being recorded at 52.9° Celsius at 2.30pm — the highest-ever temperature recorded in the city So unnerving was the fig. ure that it sent the weather office back to its measurement centre. The weather showed its other side in the evening: light rain, bringing the much-needed relief. “The IMD (India Meteorological Department) is examining the data and sensors,” said the department, adding that it was yet to confirm if it was actually the hottest day ever in the country . Delhi’s primary weather station, the Safdarjung observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 46.8° Celsius, the highest in 79 years, according to official data. Delhi’s maximum was 46.7° Celsius on June 1945. The Wednesday’s count was six notches above the season’s average, IMD said. A team of IMD scientists is examining the data and sensor as nearby other stations in Delhi NCR temperatures varied from 45.2° Celsius to 49.1° Celsius in different parts of the city . Explaining the reason behind the rising temperature, IMD regional head Kuldeep Srivastava said the city’s outskirts are the first areas to be hit by hot winds from Rajasthan. “Parts of Delhi are particularly susceptible to the early arrival of these hot winds, worsening the already severe weather. Areas like Mungeshpur, Narela and Najafgarh are the first to experience the full force of these hot winds,” he said. Mahesh Palawat, vice president of Meteorology and Climate Change at Skymet Weather, said, “In open areas with vacant land, there is increased radiation. Direct sunlight and lack of shade make these regions very hot.” Gufran Beigh, founder and project director of SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research), said, “This (unprecedented high temperature) is something unusual.” A major part of North India has been reeling under prolonged extreme heatwaves. According to the IMD, 73 districts meteorological stations reported tempera- Paid break for workers NORTH’S BLAST FURNACE Relief in few days The weather office says heatwave conditions are likely to abate over the next couple of days due to a western disturbance, rainfall, thunderstorms and moist southwesterly winds blowing from the Arabian Sea to northwest India. tures over 45° Celsius and the soaring temperatures departed from normal by up to 8° Celsius on Wednesday . However, IMD said prevailing severe heatwave conditions over Northwest are likely to reduce gradually from May 30 to June 2, as another western disturbance reaching India, will bring light to moderate rainfall in northwest. But then the heatwave days will continue in June. “The mercury is going up because of three reasons: First, we are undergoing the transition period from El Nino to La Nina. This transition is associated with extreme drought conditions/prolonged dry periods. Second, another reason is absence of western disturbances due to which there is no moisture in the atmosphere. Third reason, Gufran Beigh said is the Heat Island effect. “In it, there is usual variability in one BJP turncoat in fray, Mirzapur weighs the hat-trick question of Anupriya A N U R A A G S I N G H @ Varanasi ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR MINISTER of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel, 43, is braving the heat and dust of Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur to reach out to the constituency’s voters who elected her in 2014 and 2019. She is eyeing a third term to boost the prospects of her party Apna Dal-Sonelal, which has grown to become a staunch ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Daughter of Apna Dal founder and OBC leader Sonelal L-G directs officials to ensure a paid break for labourers from noon to 3 pm, water and coconut water at construction sites, and water pitchers at bus stands. The labour department asked establishments to change the shift of workers. P3 Patel, Anupriya is pitched against Ramesh Bind, the sitting BJP MP from adjoining Bhadohi who joined the SP after the saffron party denied him a ticket. According to observers, Anupriya’s hat-trick chances are not that strong as she is facing multiple challenges including anti-incumbency allega, tions of bias towards her Kurmi vote base, and a possible electoral backlash from the Thakur community following her remarks against Raghuraj Pratap Singh ‘Raja Bhaiya’. Mirzapur has a chequered history, having sent the likes of B a n d i t Q u e e n Phoolan Devi a n d Anupriya Patel (C), Ramesh Bind (L) and Manish Tiwari dreaded dacoit Shiv Kumar Patel’s brother Bal Kumar Patel to Parliament in the past. The constituency has a good number of OBCs, SC/ST communities, Thakurs and Brahmins, and the caste dynamics can influence the results. Anupriya’s recent statement that “now kings are born from EVMs and not the wombs of queens” triggered a controversy as it was interpreted as targeting the powerful Thakur politician Raghuraj Pratap Singh, descendent of an erstwhile royal family . His supporters are now campaigning against Patel. However, some see the controversy as a blessing in disguise for Anupriya, who was earlier facing polarisation of backward sections towards SP’s Bind. “Now there is reverse polarisation of Brahmins, OBCs and most backward voters in support of her,” says senior journalist Neeraj Pandey . Also, such a reverse consolidation in Patel’s favour could damage the poll prospects of BSP candidate Manish Tiwari. area to another and it all depends on the greenery and the barren land,” he added. Reacting to the soaring temperatures, Uttarakhand-based environmentalist Anoop Nautiyal said that it is the new normal. Arti Khosla, founder of Climate Trend, underlined the compounding effect of urbanisation and climate change which is making Delhi and large parts of India sizzle in unlivable heat. MORE REPORTS ON PG 3 & 4 Brij Bhushan son’s convoy hits bike, kills 2 N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Luncknow TWO youth on a bike were killed after thet were hit by a speeding SUV which was allegedly part of , the convoy of Karan Bhushan Singh, the BJP candidate in Kaiserganj, on Wednesday in UP’s Gonda district. Karan Singh is the son of MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, former chairman of Wrestling Federation of India, who faces allegations of sexual harassment. Police have seized the SUV and arrested the driver. It was not immediately known if the Bhushans were in the convoy . Kar nalg anj SHO Nirbhay Narayan Singh identified the deceased as Shehzad Khan (20), who was riding the bike, and his cousin Rehan Khan (17). After ramming the bike, the SUV also hit Sita Devi (60), who was walking on the roadside. She has been hospitalised. The speed of the vehicles in the convoy was above 100 kmph. If the Centre approves the proposal, the total strength of the force will increase by 35,000. At present, the CRPF has 246 battalions. With the added strength, the force aims to raise specialised units with a particular emphasis on tackling terrorist threats in Jammu and Kashmir. It comes at a time when the Central force is tightening its noose around Maoists in insurgency-hit areas PM sees plot in Patnaik ‘deteriorating health’ B I J O Y P R A D H A N @ Bhubaneswar WITH Narendra Modi leading the BJP’s charge to wrest power from the BJD in Odisha, the prime minister on Wednesday made a rather unusual remark on the health of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Modi wondered if there was a conspiracy behind the “deteriorating health” of the Odisha CM. The statement came a day after a video of Naveen’s close aide V K Pandian grabbing the CM’s left hand at an election rally went viral. “I want to bring to your notice a very grave concern about Naveen Babu. Well wishers of Naveen Babu are worried at the sudden deterioration of his health in the last one year. People who have long been working with him now say Naveen Babu can’t do anything on his own. They also speculate that it could be a conspiracy Modi said at the three public meetings ,” he addressed at Baripada, Balasore and Kendrapara on the day “Is there a lobby . behind this, the one which is enjoying power in the state taking advantage of Naveen Babu?” the PM wondered. In his rather sharp rebuttal, Naveen said: “If the PM is so concerned, all he had to do was to pick up the telephone and ask, as he had stated publicly before that he was a good friend of mine.” Modi went on to claim that when BJP forms government in the state, a special committee will be formed to investigate the issue. “We will make the findings of that report public,” he said. It was Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who started the row by post- Modi at a rally in Balasore district | PTI ODISHA CM’S PUSHBACK “Let me assure the PM that I am in perfect health and I have been campaigning for the last month,” Naveen told the media in his pushback. He blamed the BJP for spreading rumours about his health ing the video on micro-blogging site X on Tuesday “After today’s viral video, there . is no need for a medical report on Naveen Babu’s health. Our issue is not with Naveen Babu but with Pandian who is illegally controlling Odisha,” he alleged. Sarma, who has been campaigning extensively in the state, claimed a retired officer has tried to physically control the hands of a sitting CM for the first time in history . On Wednesday he posted another such , video, which was mentioned by BJP national vice president Jay Panda at the Kendrapara event of the PM. EXPRESS READ Sharjeel Imam granted bail L-G orders suspension of in ’20 communal riots case health minister’s OSD The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to student activist Sharjeel Imam in connection with a 2020 communal riots case. Imam had assailed a trial court order refusing to release him, though he had served more than half of the maximum sentence that could be awarded to him, if convicted. P4 Fresh tussle erupted between L-G VK Saxena and the AAP government on Wednesday after the L-G suspended health minister Saurabh Bhardwaj’s officer on special duty (OSD) over alleged “misconduct with regard to (an) unauthorised and illegal” nursing home in East Delhi—Jyoti Clinic and Nursing Home. P4
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