WEDNESDAY 10 RATNA BHANDAR JULY, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard COALITION GOVT FRENCH PARTIES BEGIN TALKS 1978 They sought to project strength and gather allies on Tuesday, with the govt adrift following an election in which no one political force claimed a clear majority. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 After Kathua ambush, fresh gunbattle in J&K’s Doda NEW DELHI Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami pays tribute to the soldiers martyred in Kathua, in Dehradun | PTI J8.00 Putin promises early release of Indians working in Russian military; ambitious bilateral annual trade target of $100 bn set for 2030 TA S K S AHEAD Aspiration for elimination of non-tariff trade barriers on bilateral trade. Continuation of yalks to liberalise bilateral trade, including possibility to establish EAEUIndia Free Trade Area. Raising mutual trade volume to over $100 bln by 2030 F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar A fierce gunfight broke out between militants and security forces in the mountainous Doda district on Tuesday, a day after the deadly ambush by terrorists on an Army convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district. A security official said an encounter broke out between militants and a joint contingent of Army and police at Ghadi Bhagwah forest area in upper reaches of Doda district. “The security men had launched a search operation in the forest area after receiving inputs about the presence of militants there,” the official said, adding: “We have got inputs that a group of 2-3 militants are hiding in a forest area.” Additional troops were rushed to the forest area to tighten the siege. According to reports, two militants were hit in retaliatory fire by the security personnel. Meanwhile, officials said the National Investigation Agency will be assisting police in the probe on the Kathua ambush, which killed five soldiers — all of them from Uttarakhand. A security official said a joint team of police, CRPF and Army is conducting massive searches in the forest areas of Machedi and adjoining areas in Kathua district to trace and neutralise the terrorists responsible for Monday’s ambush. Officials said the elite para commandos, who were air dropped in the area on Monday evening, are assisting the troops in the search operation. The Army is using drones to track down the movement of militants responsible for the attack. “No fresh contact has been established with the hiding militants. The search operation is going on,” said a security official. He added that the search operation has been extended to Basantgarh forest area of neighbouring Udhampur district. Sources said during initial investigation it was found that three or four militants were involved in the attack on the Army convoy in Kathua. P7 Russian President Vladimir Putin confers the award of the ‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle’ on visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the Kremlin in Moscow on Tuesday | AP/PTI PM: Bombs, bullets stymie peace push Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi VISITING Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised in his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that a solution to the Ukraine war cannot be found in the battlefield, adding efforts for peace do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets. The talks came amid reports of a Russian cruise missile bombing a children’s hospital in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. Modi said in his televised opening remarks at the summit talks on Tuesday, “Let’s take war, any conflict or terrorist acts: any person who believes in humanity feels pain when people die, and especially when innocent children die. When we feel such pain, the heart simply explodes, and I had the opportunity to talk about these issues with you yesterday Modi told Putin. He said both ,” discussed Ukraine and other matters extensively for over 4-5 hours. For his part, Putin said, “I appreciate the attention India has paid to pressing issues, which includes efforts to finding ways to resolve the Ukraine crisis primarily through peaceful means.” Later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Modi is not claiming to be a mediator” on Ukraine. The Indian PM, he informed, suggested proposals to end the war. But he doubted if the NATO grouping would consider Modi’s peace initiatives. In his opening remarks, Putin reaffirmed that Russia and India have a special and privileged partnership and that trade between the two countries grew by 66% last year and by 20% in the first quarter of 2024. Putin also conferred on Modi the ‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle’ for his outstanding services in developing the strategic partnership between Russia and India. The award was announced in 2019. In their bilateral talks, Putin agreed to Modi’s strong demand for the early release and return of the Indian nationals working in the Russian military as support staff. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said the Russian side promised early discharge of all Indian nationals from the service of the Russian Army . Modi also expressed concern over delay in the shipping defence spare wparts. Meanwhile, India will be opening two new consulates in Russia — at Kazan and Yekaterinburg. Development of a bilateral settlement system using national currencies Increase of cargo turnover with India through the launch of new routes of the North-South International Transport Corridor, the Northern Sea Route and the Chennai-Vladivostok Sea Line Increase of bilateral trade in agri products, food and fertilisers Cooperation in energy sectors like nuclear energy, oil refining, petrochem. Facilitation of energy security amid global energy transition Strengthening interaction in infra development, transport engineering, automobile production and shipbuilding, space and other industrial sectors Promotion of investments and joint projects across various sectors of digital economy, science and research, educational exchanges and internships for employees of hightech companies Studying possibility of opening branches of Indian medical institutions in Russia UP govt suspends six officials after SIT report on Hathras stampede flags lapses N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow THE Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday suspended six officials, including a local subdivisional magistrate (SDM), in connection with the July 2 stampede in Hathras during a satsang (prayer meeting), which claimed 121 lives. The action came soon after the special investigation team (SIT) submitted its report to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, holding the event’s organisers and the local administration responsible for the mishap. The suspended officials are Sikdanararau SDM, circle officer, SHO Sikandrarau, tehsil- ‘Conspiracy angle can’t be ruled out’ The SIT report said ‘a big conspiracy’ leading to the tragedy can’t be ruled out, adding only a thorough probe can bring out the truth. Earlier, Bhole Baba’s lawyer had claimed some people sprayed ‘poisonous substance’ into the crowd dar, and police outpost in charge of Kachora and Pora. The SIT report recommended action against these officers saying they did not take the event seriously and also failed to inform higher officials. It said that the SDM granted permission without inspecting the venue or seeking the advice of higher authorities. As for the event’s organisers, the SIT report faulted them for understating the number of devotees who would be attending the event and also flouting conditions on which the approval was granted. It found that some members of the organising committee acted recklessly and misbehaved with local police. It also noted that the preacher, Bhole Baba, was allowed to meet the crowd without any security arrangement, which added to the chaos. P8 THE LAST TIME PURI JAGANNATH TEMPLE’S TREASURY WAS OPENED WAS 46 YRS AGO PAGES 12 REOPEN PURI JAGANNATH TEMPLE’S RATNA BHANDAR ON JULY 14, SAYS PANEL The recommendation was made during a meeting, said the high-level panel’s chairman Justice Biswanath Rath | P5 NDA vs INDIA in first bypolls to 13 seats after general elections P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi WITH the bypolls for 13 assembly constituencies to be held on Wednesday the stage is set , for another face-off between the NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc in seven states. The states that go to the polls are Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Coming on the heels of the 2024 Lok Sabha results, the contest is significant for both sides. The results, which will be declared on July 13, will also be a curtain raiser for important state elections later this year. The election to the four seats in West Bengal will be keenly watched as three seats fell vacant after BJP MLAs jumped ship to the Trinamool Congress (TMC). While the BJP is trying to leverage its Lok Sabha election leads in three of POLL TIME State West Bengal Himachal Pradesh Uttarakhand Bihar Tamil Nadu Madhya Pradesh Punjab Seats 4 3 2 1 1 1 1 these segments, the TMC is harping on its recent electoral success. The fourth seat became vacant after the death of the sitting TMC MLA. Stakes are high in Himachal Pradesh as the election to the three seats—Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh. It was necessitated after three independent MLAs joined the BJP The BJP . is going all out to win them though the Congress is in the majority with 38 MLAs while the BJP has 27. In Dehra, the VEGGIE PRICES HEAD PAKISTAN ISI CAN INTERCEPT, NORTH AS WEATHER TRACE CALLS FOR NAT’L SECURITY BLAMED FOR SUPPLIES A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi VEGETABLE prices across Delhi-NCR have skyrocketed burdening the common man’s budget. Vendors and wholesalers first blamed the heatwave and now the rains in many parts of the country for the supply disruption sending the prices of the kitchen staple northward in retail markets across the region. Tomatoes have taken the biggest hit: local vendors are selling them for nearly `100 per kg. A couple of weeks ago, the prices varied between `25 and `40 a kg. Prices of other vegetables too have increased twice-thrice in retail markets. Market experts say no relief is expected in the next two-three weeks. The supply has been hit due to the ongoing rains. “Weather variations have led to a big plunge on the supply side. Hoarding is playing its part, but the government isn’t doing much. No one can understand such an astounding rise in the prices of common-use vegetables such as onions, potatoes, garlic and lemon,” said Dushyant Naagar, a farmer rights activist. “The government should strictly check hoarding to bring the rates down,” said Naagar. “Supply rates at Azadpur wholesale market, Okhla, Keshopur and Ghazipur mandis have doubled these days. The mandis receive tomatoes for nearly `40-60 a kg at wholesale price. Retailers sell the same veggies for `80 and `100 depending on quality as well as locality said a ,” former office-bearer of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC). “Buyers won’t get relief in the next two-three weeks if rains continue in the neighbouring states,” he said. Amit Gupta, joint secretary of New Delhi Traders’ Association, said price rise has also hit restaurants/hotels who cannot pass the additional burden to customers. “Small traders suffer more,” said Gupta. KITCHEN STAPLE BURDEN ON PEOPLE `/kg Current prices Vegetables Tomato Onion Potato Sponge gourd Bottle gourd Coriander leaves Pointed gourd 80-100 50-60 50-60 80-100 60-80 400-500 80-100 2 weeks ago 25-40 20-25 15-25 20-30 20-30 100-200 50-60 EXPRESS READ NEW ROLE Kidney transplant racket busted in city, 7 held Gambhir appointed India team head coach The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has busted an international kidney transplant racket and arrested seven people, including the kingpin who is a Bangladeshi national and including a 50-year-old Delhi-based woman doctor, DCP (Crime Branch) Amit Goel said. The DCP said , adding hat a majority of the donors and recipients are from Bangladesh brought to India on the basis of fake documents for the surgeries. P4 Sukhoi-30MKIs to join Centre allows trans IRS ‘Pitch Black’ in Australia officer to change name IAF is sending its four frontline fighter aircraft—Sukhoi-30MKI— to join ‘Pitch Black’, the 20-nation aerial warfare exercise to be hosted by Royal Australian Air Force at Darwin and Tidal from July 12. The exercise began in 1981 as a solely Australian one. The US then joined the exercise in 1983. The Centre on Tuesday approved the request of a transgender IRS officer, M Anukathir Surya (35) from TN, to remove his name given at birth from official records and replace it with his chosen name. The 2013-batch officer did his engineering from Madras Institute of Technology, Chennai. E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai GAUTAM Gambhir has been appointed as the new head coach of the senior men’s cricket team. The opener, who played the role of mentor during Kolkata Knight Riders’ march to the Indian Premier League (IPL) title this year, will link up with the side for the first time during the white-ball series against Sri Lanka, which begins in three weeks. Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), announced the ap- pointment on X (formerly Twitter). “It is with immense pleasure that I welcome Mr @ GautamGambhir as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team,” Shah, whose post interestingly preceeded the press release, posted. “Modern-day cricket has evolved rapidly , and Gautam has witnessed this changing landscape up close. Having endured the grind and excelled in various roles throughout his career, I am confident that Gautam is the ideal person Congress has fielded Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu against the BJP’s Hoshiyar Singh, who switched sides. The Vikravandi Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu is also witnessing a fierce contest between the ruling DMK, NDA ally PMK and NTK. The two seats in Uttarakhand—Manglaur and Badrinath—hold significance to both the Congress and the BJP . The Badrinath seat fell vacant after the Congress MLA joined the BJP. The Congress has fielded Qazi Nizamuddin from Manglaur, a traditional Congress constituency . While Bihar’s Rupauli is witnessing a contest between the RJD and the JD(U), in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is taking on the Congress in the tribaldominated constituency of Amarwara. to steer Indian Cricket forward...” Having represented India with distinction in all three formats, the southpaw will be expected to build on the successes of the last regime, signposted off with global gold in the shortest format. Apart from leading the transition in red-ball cricket (as many as five automatic starters are 35 or over), he will be under pressure to deliver two ICC titles as early as next year (Champions Tro- Gautam Gambhir phy followed by the WTC final, if India qualifies). The BCCI release said: “... his focus will be on developing a culture of excellence, discipline, and teamwork, while also nurturing young talent and preparing the team for future challenges on the global stage.” The 42-year-old will also be given carte blanche with respect to key support staff as the release thanked Paras Mhambrey (bowling coach), T Dilip (fielding coach) and Vikram Rathour (batting coach) for a ‘highly successful tenure’. The government on Tuesday authorised the premier spy agency to intercept calls, with the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication issuing a notification under the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organisation) Act, 1996 to this effect | P9 ‘GOOD CONDUCT’ Murder convict walks out of jail with 6 degrees R A K S H I T H G O W D A @ Bengaluru A 44-year-old man has earned four postgraduate degrees and two diplomas while serving life sentence in the Bengaluru Central Prison. Satish Kumar Gupta, former HR manager of an IT firm based in Bengaluru, was convicted by a city civil and sessions court in July 2017 for murdering his wife on August 10, 2010. Gupta, who was released prematurely on Tuesday along with 76 other prisoners for good conduct, said that he wants to start a new life by taking up a job. He is also keen on offering legal advice to people and helping them draft documents pertaining to their cases. Prison officials said that Gupta created a record by getting postgraduate degrees in criminal justice of law, international business operation, business law and human rights law, and diploma degrees in cyber law, and food and nutrition from Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) in Mysuru and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Gupta told this newspaper that he spent 14 years in prison. He cultivated a habit of reading books to keep away from antisocial elements in the prison. “I also completed 24 certificate courses and did the food and nutrition course to keep myself healthy. Officials and teachers in the prison helped me with my studies and allowed me to spend more time in the library he said. ,” Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara praised Gupta and expressed hope that other prisoners would emulate him.
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.