NEW DELHI 23 FEBRUARY 2025 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in PLUS: 12 PAGES The Temptation of Bed Rotting EAR P O DS 8 MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES Pushpesh Pant Utkarsh Amitabh S Vaidhyasubramaniam Anu Aggarwal Who Let the Dogs Out? Debashis Chatterjee Prabhu Chawla Shankkar Aiyar Nanditha Krishna Trapped in T’gana tunnel MINISTER KEEPS FINGERS CROSSED ON THEIR STATUS ROOF CAVED IN 14 KM WITHIN THE TUNNEL AT 8.30 AM ARMY DEPLOYED FOR RESCUE TELANGANA Jogulamba SLBC Tunnel 96-member Rescue team of NDRF and Army personnel in Domalapenta. Till last reports came in, they were yet to reach the accident spot that is 14 km inside the tunnel. Another team from Singareni Collieries too has been deployed The mouth of the under-construction tunnel (R) of Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project where a section of roof collapsed; and a damaged section | SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT EIGHT workers at the underconstruction Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana were trapped after a portion of its roof collapsed about 14 km from Domalapenta in Nagarkur nool district, around 8.30 am on Saturday . Telangana minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the government had requested the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Army to help with the rescue operations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and assured full support. A 96-member NDRF team and personnel from the Army’s Engineer Task Force (ETF) arrived in Domalapenta at night. But as of 9 pm, they had not reached the accident spot and the rescue works had not begun, government sources said. When asked whether those trapped inside the tunnel were alive, the minister said: “So far there is no information about this. But we are going ahead with the hope that they are alive.” Around 8 am on Saturday, nearly 60 workers entered the tunnel being laid through the Nallamala forests from Domalapenta — near Srisailam backwaters — to the Nakkalagandi reservoir. They were carrying out construction activities around 14 km inside the tunnel when the roof collapsed due to a sudden influx of water, sources said. Uttam said the workers had begun using the Tunnel Boring Machine around 8 am as part of their daily routine. “After some time, there was an influx of water due to a geological disturbance.” A project engineer, field engineer and four labourers from Jaiprakash Associates, and two operatives from Robbins India, which handle the tunnel boring machine operations, were trapped. They hail from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. Uttam said that there was no problem with ventilation inside the tunnel. He said the government had also spoken to experts who rescued workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand in 2023. A team from Singareni Collieries too has been deployed for rescue operations. Singareni CMD N Balram said they have the necessary expertise to handle critical situations such as roof collapses. Bridging Identities, Building Democracy SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS SCIONS OF THE TIMES SHIVRAJ SLAMS AIR INDIA OVER BROKEN SEAT IT took a Union minister to expose the shoddy service provided to flyers by airlines. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday lambasted Tata Group-owned Air India for allotting him a “broken and sunk” seat, prompting his ministerial colleague K Rammohan Naidu to instruct the airline to take “necessary action”. Separately Air In, dia apologised for the incident and ordered a probe while the DGCA sought a report from the airline. Later in the day Chouhan , said he spoke about his experience so that the airline’s management comes to know about it and other passengers do not face such problems again. Describing it as an “unethical” practice where the airline charges passengers full fare and then makes them occupy defective seats, Chouhan in a post on X said he was travelling from Bho- pal to Delhi to inaugurate a farmers’ fair in Pusa, attend the Natural Farming Mission meeting in Kurukshetra, and hold meetings with representatives of protesting farmers’ organisation in Chandigarh. He boarded the Delhibound Air India flight AI436 from Bhopal and was allotted seat 8C. “When I reached my seat, I found it was broken and sunk. Sitting was uncomfortable,” he said on social media. When he confronted the crew over the defective seat, he was told that the management had been apprised about the issue. “Charging passengers full fare and making them sit on defective and uncomfortable seats is unethical. Isn’t this a form of deception towards passengers? Willl Air India take steps to ensure no passenger faces such discomfort or will it continue to exploit passengers?” he asked. The civil aviation ministry asked Air India’s CEO and MD Campbell Wilson, to address the matter on priority . Shaktikanta is principal secretary II to PM Modi EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi THE Centre on Saturday appointed former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das as Principal Secretary-2 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His tenure will run concurrently with that of the Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Das would serve as Principal Secretary-2 to PM along with P K Mishra, the Principal Secretary-1 to PM, the DoPT said in its order. Sixty-eight-year old Das has been a career civil servant with over 44 years of distinguished service, primarily in the areas of finance, taxation, investment and infrastructure. He was the Central government’s revenue secretary Dur. ing his tenure as economic affairs secretary in 2016, the Modi government had announced demonetisation. Das served as RBI Governor for six years. A 1980-batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, Das had taken over as RBI Governor in December 2018. During his tenure at the RBI, he steered the Central bank’s response through the Covid-19 pandemic. IN what could be termed as a body blow to the Maoist movement in Kerala, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested its last remaining active member from Tamil Nadu. A native of Pollachi, Santhosh was arrested from near Hosur on Friday . According to ATS sources, Santhosh was involved in Maoist activities for the past several years. He was a close associate of C P Moideen, Soman and Manoj, who were arrested from various locations last year. “Following the arrest of Moideen, Soman and Manoj, Santhosh had moved base to Tamil Nadu. Acting a tip-off, he was arrested from Hosur, near the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border,” the sources said. Santhosh was produced be- fore the Ernakulam additional sessions court on Saturday and remanded in judicial custody. He was escorted to court by an armed police team. Santhosh is wanted in a case related to explosives found buried in Makkimala, within Thalappuzha police station limits, last June. He is also an accused in the attack on a Kerala Forest Development Corporation office in September 2023. The case is currently being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). He was part of the ‘Kabani’’ squad of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army, which was active in Wayanad forests. Last month, six Maoists, including Wayanad native Jisha, surrendered before Karnataka police. Some cadres were killed in encounters with the forces. Arrested from near Hosur in Tamil Nadu ATS arrested Santhosh, last remaining active Maoist in Kerala from near Hosur in Tamil Nadu on Friday. He was a close aide of C P Moideen, Soman and Manoj, who were arrested from various locations last year. A fresh round of talks between protesting farmers and a central team led by Shivraj Chouhan to discuss demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP on crops, was held on Saturday NEW CORONAVIRUS DETECTED THAT CAN INFECT HUMANS AS COVID-19 South China Morning Post reported that the new virus comes from merbecovirus subgenus, which is able to bind to the human angiotensin converting enzyme, which caused Covid-19 to infect cells 1 The study was led by ‘batwoman’ Shi Zhengli who is known for her work at the Wuhan institute, which has been at the centre of controversy about Covid origins 2 End of Maoism in Kerala MARCH 19 NEXT ROUND OF as last active Naxal held TALKS WITH FARMERS E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kochi The Meaning of Rising in Love CARRIER ISSUES APOLOGY @ New Delhi Wanaparthy Nagarkurnool @ Hyderabad Olive It or Not EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Nalgonda M A N DA RAV I N D E R R E D DY Timeless Stories that Bind India Another study by University of Washington and Wuhan University claimed the new strain, HKU5, did not have efficient human binding 3 COURTESY CALL CM Rekha Gupta on Saturday met PM Narendra Modi at his residence in their first formal meeting after she took charge. | PTI | P3 Shi’s team has a different take. It says HKU5-CoV-2 better adapted to human ACE2 compared to lineage 1 of the virus and may have a broader host range and higher potential for interspecies infection Zero tolerance on AAP corruption, says Speaker A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi LIES and false promises have no future. The illusions created by the previous AAP government only led to its collapse in the Assembly polls, says Speaker elected Vijender Gupta. In his first interview after being named Speaker, Gupta told this newspaper that the people decisively rejected the “corrupt” AAP The former Leader . of Opposition said that parties that attempt to suppress the people’s voice always meet a disastrous fate. Gupta claimed that Delhi’s treasury has been emptied due to AAP’s widespread corruption. In the last 10 years, AAP’s misgovernance and involvement in corruption have left public issues unaddressed, while all its energy was spent on looting the treasury the BJP , MLA from Rohini said. On his complaint, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had recently ordered a detailed investigation into alleged financial and regulatory irregularities in renovating the former Delhi CM’s residence at 6 Flagstaff Bungalow. Considering his long experience, the party allocated him the Speaker’s position. As LoP , he was marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly . Gupta said, wasting no time after the swearing-in ceremony , the BJP government started working on its 100-day agenda to fulfill promises made before the assembly elections. To achieve the target, the L-G office, the political and executive wings of Delhi, and civic agencies like DDA, MCD, NDMC, are working in tandem. “A double-engine government is an added advantage,” he said. The three-time MLA from Rohini defeated AAP’s Pardeep Mittal by 37,816 votes this time. His victory margin was the highest among all 48 MLAs. FULL INTERVIEW ON PG 3 SECOND CHANCE Army Paralympic Node: Dreams get wings after calamities I N D R A N E E L D A S @ Chennai Hokato Sema THIS Army centre is different. It is a life-giver — a place where injured Armymen can turn their nightmare into a beautiful dream and conjure inspiring tales of fortitude and belief. It’s the story of the Army Paralympic Node, Pune, country’s only centre that helps to rehab i l i t at e i n j u re d s o l d i e r s through sports. They are some of the fittest people on earth. They are bat- tle-hardened and can carry out have languished in the abyss of any operations at any time ob- depression. livious of any danger. Not until Ask Wing Commander Shancalamity strikes, either during tanu, who is paralysed chest deadly operations, training down after a freak motorcyor even freak accidents. cle accident in Hasimara Some are confined to (North Bengal). “When Sunday you were in active duty wheelchairs while others walk with the help Special you are a person doing of an artificial limb or normal work and all of a are without fingers and sudden you realise you hands. Suddenly, their norare differently-abled. That mal world turns into an endless feeling can kill you,” he said on ordeal of both body and mind. the sidelines of the Para-athletIf not for sport, they would ics national championships here. Shantanu was one of India’s first para-rowers and now has shifted to para-athletics. “I was depressed for six months. Sports gave me life.” Hokato Sema, the Paris Paralympic Games bronze medallist also found solace in sport. He lost his leg during an anti-insurgency operation in 2002 but it was not until 2016 (the centre was yet to be officially established), he started training. Until then he did not know what to do. The node started with just 10 athletes in 2017, Hokato was one of them. “We started with 10 and now we have 48 para-athletes,” said Nitten Mehta, the secretary of the Army Paralympic Node. “One must understand that all these athletes in the para node were once normal people leading a normal life. Suddenly there has been a tragedy due to service accidents or otherwise, and then they are at the rock bottom of their mental state. Sports gives P11 them a second chance.”