NEW DELHI 14 JULY 2024 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24 facebook/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in THE CANADA CATASTROPHE PLUS: 12 PAGES TWO MUCH OF A GOOD THING MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES Pushpesh Pant Sumeet Bhasin Ravi Shankar Ganesh Saili Checking in on Chekhov Echoes of Deceit Shampa Dhar-Kamath Nitin Desai Shankkar Aiyar Namrata Joshi DIY on Asian Griddles Of Anxieties and Imagined Utopias AMMA SPEAKS Finding Peace Frame of Future Two hours away from Paris, a German city apes Olympic host; attracts India’s finest I N D R A N E E L D A S @ Chennai Oppn picks up 10 of 13 bypoll seats, keeps momentum Cong and TMC pocket 4 assembly seats each, BJP gets 2, Independent bags Rupauli in Bihar P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi IN a major boost to the Opposition in the first bypolls after the general elections, the INDIA bloc gained an upper hand over the NDA by winning 10 out of 13 assembly seats that were up for grabs across seven states. While the BJP managed to secure one seat each in Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, an Independent candidate wrested Bihar’s Rupauli seat. The bypoll results were keenly watched as they are expected to set the tone for the upcoming elections to four states — J&K, Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand — scheduled for later this year. Coming on the heels of the Lok Sabha elections, the results are a setback to the BJP, which failed to secure a majority of its own to form the government at the Centre. While the Congress and the Trinamool Congress secured four seats each, the AAP and the DMK picked up one each. The bypolls were held on Wednesday in four seats in West Beng al, three in Himachal Pradesh, two in Uttarakhand, and one each in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. In a direct contest with the BJP in West Bengal, the TMC swept all four seats. The contest was crucial for both the parties as three of the seats fell vacant after BJP MLAs jumped ship to TMC. The fourth seat became vacant after the death of the sitting TMC MLA. Stakes were high in Himachal Pradesh for both the Congress and the BJP in the election to the three seats — Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh. While the Congress won both Dehra and Nalagarh, the BJP pocketed Hamirpur. The election was necessitated after three Independent MLAs joined the BJP. In Dehra, Congress’s Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu won against the BJP’s Hoshiyar Singh, who had switched sides earlier. Dealing a blow to the BJP in Uttarakhand, the Congress’s won both Badrinath and Manglaur. Buoyed by the outcome, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “The results have made it clear that the web of ‘fear and confusion’ woven by the BJP has been broken.” In Tamil Nadu, the ruling DMK candidate Anniyur Siva emerged victorious in the Vikravandi constituency by defeating his nearest rival — NDA constituent PMK’s Anbumani C — by a margin of 67,757 votes. In Punjab, Mohinder Bhagat of AAP won the Jalandhar West seat. As for Madhya Pradesh, Congress suffered a setback after BJP’s Kamlesh Pratap Shah won Amarwara — a stronghold of former chief minister Kamal Nath — by a margin of 3,027 votes against Congress’ Dheeran Sah in a close contest. MORE REPORTS ON PAGE 8 EXPRESS READ ‘Malicious spyware’ Four to be charged attack on phone: KC in match-fixing case Congress general secretary K C Venugopal on Saturday accused the Narendra Modi government of targeting his phone with a “malicious spyware”. Venugopal shared a screenshot of a message from Apple, which stated that his iPhone associated with his Apple ID was targeted by a spyware attack. A Delhi court has ordered framing charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating against four persons accused of fixing international cricket matches between India and South Africa in 2000. It said that the “chain of events, record of conversations, and conduct” clearly pointed to the involvement of the four accused. P3 The sprawling Sportcampus, Saar, is now hosting around 400 athletes right now hu, Olympic champion Neer- and what they have managed aj Chopra (was training until to provide for Indians. Kopkow July 7), the table tennis and felt the unique positioning of the boxing teams (both the city has added to its men and women) along demand. “It’s just 1hr 48 with coaches and supSunday min away from Paris. port staff. Special It’s the same time and The chief operating climate zones. Though and marketing officer it’s quite rainy right (COO and CMO) of Sportnow, which is pretty much campus, Saar, Johannes Kop- uncommon this time, it’s still kow, during a virtual interac- the same weather like Paris. tion with this daily, outlined It’s the Central European Time the nuances of his facilities or the Middle (Central) Euro- TRANSFERS, POSTINGS Ahead of polls, govt strengthens J&K L-G Manoj Sinha’s powers S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi SAT PROBE ORDERED THE CASE: Reported felling of over one lakh trees and shrubs in protected forest areas of Ghaziabad, Meerut, and Muzaffarnagar DEFORESTATION: Linked to construction of 111-km 2-lane road from Muradnagar to Purkaji near U’khand border UP’S POINT: The original width of proposed road was 20 metres which at some places is reduced to 15 metres NGT MOVE: It wants satellite images of kanwar yatra route where tree felling has taken place CUET result delay may defer DU new session I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi THANKS to the delay in the Central University Entrance Test (CUET-UG) results, the commencement of the semester for firstyear students at Delhi University is likely to be postponed to August 16, fifteen days behind schedule, Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh announced on Saturday . “The delay will impact the academic calendar for the students for the first semester in courses where admission is based on CUET-UG,” the V-C said, adding that the university is yet to receive any communication from the National Testing Agency . INVENTORISATION, CONSERVATION THE National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Survey of India to provide satellite images of the Kanwar Yatra route, focusing on the extensive tree felling along the Upper Ganga Canal. The directive follows the tribunal’s suo motu decision to probe the reported felling of over one lakh trees and shrubs in protected forest areas spanning Ghaziabad, Meerut, and Muzaffarnagar. The deforestation is linked to the construction of a 111km two-lane road from Muradnagar to Purkaji near the Uttarakhand border. The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 25. Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, along with judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova delighted the Wimbledon crowd with her epic victory on Saturday. A glance at her feat and Sunday’s big finals... AFTER a gap of 46 years, the inner chamber (Bhitar Bhandar) of Shri Jagannath temple’s Ratna Bhandar (gemstone treasury) at Puri will be opened on Sunday for inventorisation and conservation. The state government provided the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the process to the temple administration on Saturday evening. Speaking to this newspaper, retired Orissa High Court judge Biswanath Rath, who chairs the panel to supervise inventorisation and conservation of the treasury, said the SOP is for opening the Ratna Bhandar, shifting the ornaments and precious jewels to a designated room inside the temple and assessing the treasury’s structural condition. A separate SOP for inventory of the jewels, ornaments and other valuables of the treasury will be released by the government later. At 10 am on Sunday, the high level committee under the chairmanship of Justice Rath, the temple managing committee and officials of the Archaeological Survey of India will meet separately to decide on the time and the number of people who will enter the treasury . They would most likely enter after 1 pm, he said. A medical team will be stationed inside the sanctum sanctorum in case of any emergency. Similarly, a snake hel- pline team will be on standby . “Since this is a highly sensitive matter, only two persons from the high level committee, a team of the temple administration and managing committee, ASI officials and temple servitors who are in-charge of the Ratna Bhandar will enter the treasury in addition to the Collector and ADM,” he said. Law minister Prithviraj Harichandan informed that the keys to the Ratna Bhandar will be handed over to the team on Sunday. “Efforts will be made to open the locks with the available keys but if that does not happen, the locks will be broken in the presence of the magistrate,” Harichandan said. As for the inventory of the valuables, it will be done in a transparent manner in presence of experts and officials of the Reserve Bank of India. “Every piece of jewellery, its weight and caratage will be documented, photographed and digitised. The entire process of inventory will be documented,” he said. Dr A Senthil Vel, expressed dissatisfaction with the replies of UP authorities and directed them to file another report within two weeks. The NGT noted submission by UP that the original width of the proposed road was 20 metres, which at some places is reduced to 15 metres. However, an applicant alleged that the trees have been cut much beyond permission/decision. “The interveners have also pointed out that illegal felling in the garb of road widening is taking place. We direct that the state authorities will ensure that no illegal felling of trees takes place,” read the order. The interveners told the court that the cutting/felling of such a large number of trees was in teeth of Supreme Court’s verdict, holding every citizen had a right to be free from the adverse impacts of climate change. CZECH-MATE 2ND MAJOR SUCCESS FOR KREJCIKOVA Krejcikova defeated Italy’s Jasmine Paolini to win the women’s title for her second Grand Slam singles victory. Krejcikova, the 31st seed, won 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to add 2024 All England Club crown to 2021 French Open victory. Her win comes 26 yrs after her mentor Jana Novotna claimed the Wimbledon title 46 years on, Puri Ratna Bhandar to be opened today D I A N A S A H U @ Bhubaneswar Will move resolution against criminal laws in House: Didi | P8 Naidu says ‘Anna Canteens’ to reopen in Andhra soon | P5 Illegal structures near Civil Lines razed, triggers uproar & panic | P3 1L trees cut for Kanwar Yatra, NGT fumes M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi AHEAD of the assembly elections in J&K, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs empowered the Lieutenant Governor in all matters of transfers and postings of all-India service officers and the police besides granting powers to accord prosecution sanction in various cases. It did so by notifying amendments to the Rules of business transactions under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019. Manoj Sinha has been J&K’s Lieutenant Governor since August 2020. These amendments, called the Transaction of Business of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir Government (Second Amendment) Rules, 2024, came into force on FriAny proposal day after they were published regarding grant or in the Gazette. refusal of In the past, proposals conprosecution cerning police, public order, sanction or filing all-India services and the of an appeal shall Anti-Corruption Bureau rebe placed before the LG through the quired approval from J&K’s chief secretary finance department before reaching the L-G. New rule 42B in the Under the revised rules, 2019 Act such proposals must now be presented to the L-G direct through the chief secretary . The Opposition criticised the Centre’s order, calling it a step towards disempowering the people of J&K. Political parties in J&K viewed the new order as an attempt to undermine the power of an elected government. Powers to appoint the Advocate-General and other law officers to assist the Advocate-General in the court proceedings, too, have been vested in the L-G. Proposals for making such appointments shall be made through the chief secretary and the chief minister. These appointments, previously decided upon by the J&K government. P7 PRESSINTAKE Barbora Krejcikova Trinamool Congress supporters celebrate after party candidate Madhuparna Thakur won the Bagda assembly by-election, in North 24 Parganas on Saturday | PTI PARIS: 48.86°N latitude; Saarbrucken: 49.23° N. They are in the same time zone, too. Paris is just about 1hr 48 minutes away from Saarbrucken on high speed train. Proximity to Paris, similar weather conditions and its setting has turned the cultural city into an ideal destination for Parisbound athletes to train ahead of the Olympics starting from July 26. The sprawling Sportcampus Saar, (as it is called) is spread over nine hectares with landscaping and greenery. More than the salubrious settings, it’s the training facilities that have attracted athletes from all over the world. There are about 400 athletes from 27 countries and five continents housed at the Saar campus right now. Among them are a bunch of Indians — double Olympic medallist PV Sind- pean Climate Zone. This makes it easier for athletes coming from a long distance to acclimatise,” said Kopkow. Neeraj has been one of the first few high-profile visitors when he trained there in 2022. “He always needs more than one room because he has a German coach, a physio and also a manager. He has his own apartment in our house of the athletes, so that he can always step in and out as he would want.” He also narrated a funny incident involving Sindhu. “She has a tent (tent-like structure) in her room where she sleeps. That tent has low air pressure (hypoxic chamber). One day we found the bed outside her room and asked what happened and she told us the story. It was funny. She brought the chamber and the bed was outside and we’re thinking what happened!” And for the boxers, the centre has provided a separate kitchen where they can cook Indian food and also a separate area to eat. P11 No va k Djo ko vic MESSI SEEKING DJOKOVIC ON THE FINAL GLORY BRINK OF HISTORY Having won the Copa America and World Cup titles for Argentina in the last few years, Lionel Messi has a chance to win another Copa against Colombia, possibly his last major trophy for the country Before the Major commenced, there were doubts surrounding Novak Djokovic’s fitness. On Sunday, the Serb will look to make history. He is just a win away from owning the most number of singles (25) Majors across genders (currently tied with Margaret Court) England men faced CAN ENGLAND For 58 years,heartbreaks athaveglobal nothing but the WC to WC, Euro to END THE stage.has continued. TheyEuro, the story came close TROPHY in the 2021 Euros, and on Sunday, the will up DROUGHT? Three LionsSpainbeside.against a Could formidable Can they? be a tasty contest Lionel Messi
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