SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard BHUTAN GLACIAL LAKE OUTBURST TRIGGERS FLOOD ALERT IN INDIA OIL INFRA UKRAINE STRIKES BACK, SAYS RUSSIA The glacial lake outburst at Sintaphu in Bhutan early on Friday triggered downstream alerts in low-lying areas of West Bengal and Assam 12,000 PEOPLE RELOCATED IN ASSAM, BENGAL Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries after a brief pause, Russia’s deputy prime minister said on Friday, warning diesel exports could suffer A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI Ready for special session on ‘vote theft’, but Oppn won’t agree: Shah ‘Impeachment’ today at Kharge’s residence Union home minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the BJP is ready for a special Parliament session to discuss the alleged “vote theft” but the Opposition parties are not interested in discussion. “I challenge Rahul and Akhilesh. The BJP is ready to discuss every allegation inside Parliament ... But they will not discuss,” Shah said, dismissing the allegations against the poll panel as baseless | P8 INDIA bloc’s symbolic ‘public impeachment’ of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was postponed to Saturday due to rains, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said. The event will be held at Mallikarjun Kharge’s official residence | P7 Will serve people of India till my last breath: Modi Seen as riposte to Cong chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s ‘baap’ remark D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that he would serve the people of India till his last breath, in an indirect response to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s recent controversial remark that “even Modi’s father will have to go”. “Jeevan ke antim kshan tak janta ki seva main hi juta rahunga (I will continue to serve the people until my last breath),” Modi said while addressing farmers after inaugurating the Bharat Bovine Breeding and Research Centre at Bhildi town in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district. During the roadshow, Modi’s supporters were seen carrying placards that read Modi kahin nahi jayega (Modi is not going anywhere) as a direct counterresponse to Kharge’s comment made at a public rally in Bihar last week, which kicked up a political storm. In his address, Modi accused the Opposition parties of rejoicing whenever the country faces a crisis. He alleged they tried to spread panic over the HC asks Maha govt to pay `2L to activist for illegal arrest S U D H I R S U R AY W A N S H I @ Mumbai THE Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court Nagpur has held the September 2011 arrest of activist Arun Ferreira “illegal” and ordered the Maharashtra government to pay him a compensation of `2 lakh. A bench of justices Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Raj Wakode in an October 27 order came down heavily on the state police for branding Ferreira as absconding in the case even though he was in jail since 2007. The HC said the police had violated Ferreira’s fundamental rights under Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution. When the law is breached by the police, the punishment must be proportionate, it added. “The responsibility of the police officers is to protect and uphold the law. It may not be out of context to remind that the motto of Maharashtra State Police is Sadrakshnaya Khalanighrahanaya (Sanskrit: To protect good and to punish evil), which needs to be respected.,” the bench observed. The court ordered that the compensation of `2 lakh be paid Ferreira , who is out on bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, within eight weeks. The judges were hearing a plea filed by Ferreira, who said he was released from prison on September 27, 2011 after he was acquitted in eight criminal cases. As he stepped out of prison, while his mother and brother were waiting for him with his advocates, officers in civil clothes took him away . Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at an event in Banaskantha, Gujarat | PTI There are those who wish to see the country in distress— they actually derive pleasure when the nation faces hardship. Whenever a crisis befalls the country, they find joy in it — Narendra Modi, PM availability of fertilisers and cooking gas amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Without taking names, he said: “They sowed fear among farmers, claiming fertilisers would become unavailable. They created artificial queues and created a sense of panic.” After laying the foundation stones for development projects worth `14,000 crore, he claimed farmers across the country have received or saved more than `50 lakh crore through major government schemes, adding that his government transformed agricultural support through direct transfers, fertiliser subsidies, MSP payments and crop insurance. Modi said his government has placed farmers, particularly small cultivators, at the centre of its policies. He also took a swipe at previous governments, accusing them of neglecting small farmers. “Since independence, the needs of these small-scale farmers were never understood, and they were never even consulted,” Modi said, adding that farmers cultivating small landholdings account for more than 85% of the country’s farming population. Highlighting the financial assistance extended to farmers, the PM said the agricultural budget has increased fivefold and around `4.5 lak hcrore has been transferred directly to farmers’ accounts under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. On Friday `18,000 crore was , released to nearly 10 crore farmers, including over 50 lakh beneficiaries in Gujarat. WRESTLER MANISHA SCRIPTS GOLDEN HISTORY AT WORLDS The 29-year-old from Haryana on Friday became the first woman from India to clinch a gold medal at the senior World Championships 8-6 Manisha was down 1-6 in the final against Abigail Nette of USA after the first period but made a stunning comeback to win 8-6 in the 59kg weight category final in Astana, Kazakhstan. GOLD AFTER 29 YRS Indian women first competed at the Worlds in 1997. Alka Tomar won the first medal (bronze) in 2006. In 2021, Anshu Malik created history by reaching final but ended with silver. BEST-EVER SHOW With Indian women winning four medals (one gold, two silver and one bronze), the show became India’s best-ever at the marquee event. Their previous best came in 2019 when men and women wrestlers combined to bag five medals (one silver and four bronze). P11  J8.00 TO tackle crop residue waste and reduce air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region, the government aims to ensure that 40% of the crop residue generated in Punjab and Haryana is managed exter nally, including through industrial use, this year. The target is set to increase to 60% next year. The burning of crop residue in Punjab and Haryana contributes to deteriorating air quality in Delhi-NCR. According to the Commission for Air Quality Manage- ment (CAQM), Punjab may generate 7.9 million tonnes of crop residue, of which around 4.5 million tonnes will be put to use outside farms. Some of it will be used in thermal power plants to meet the mandatory 5% co-firing requirement, while the rest will be used in PAGES 12 Pilot among 6 killed in chopper crash N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun SIX people, including a pilot and five pilgrims, were killed when a chartered helicopter flying from Badrinath to Dehradun crashed near Chai village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli on Friday officials said. , The passengers were residents of Bengaluru, while the pilot, Captain Himanshu, was from Delhi, Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjeet Singh Panwar informed. VT-HCX, an AS350 B3 helicopter, operated by Trans Bharat Aviation, took off from Badrinath at 1.14 pm for Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun. It was manoeuvring a patch of airspace amid snowfall when contact was lost near Hathi Parvat, close to Joshimath. WHERE DANGER LURKS 2010 | June 12: Rotor snag, one dead 2013 | June: Relief copter crashes in Kedarnath, killing pilot June 21: Private chopper crash near Garudchatti, 2 dead June 25: IAF MI17 rescue helicopter crash kills 20 July 24: Kedarnath crash kills two 2017 | June 10: Crash during take-off at Badrinath Dham kills chief engineer 2019 | August 21: Crash in Arakot kills three September 23: Crashlanding at Kedarnath injures seven Wreckage of the helicopter near Chai village in Chamoli on Friday | PTI The police and the district administration immediately began search and rescue efforts. Authorities have not yet released further details about the cause of the crash. Those on board apart from were Captain Himanshu were Prathapa, Arun, Shankar Gowda, Sudheer K and H S Natraja. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau under the Ministry of Civil Aviation will conduct a probe into the crash. Its team has already left for the site, a senior official said. P5 India’s poverty decline among fastest globally, says new World Bank report P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi INDIA has recorded one of the fastest declines in poverty globally with the share of its population living below poverty line falling from 57.7% in 2011 to 16.1% in 2023, a World Bank report said. The report titled India Poverty and Equity Brief: October 2026, released on Friday, said India lifted 496 million people out of poverty during this period. It, however, flagged wage disparities, noting that median ear nings among the top 10% of workers were 13 times that SECOND GOLD AFTER 2010 Manisha, who returned without medal from the Asian Games recently, also became only second Indian to finish on top of the podium in the Worlds. Before Friday, only Sushil Kumar, twotime Olympic medallist, had won a gold medal, which came way back in 2010. We have seen seven to eight videos of her opponent’s previous bouts. One thing which stood out was the fact that the American usually gets tired in the last minute of the second period. So we have decided that we will launch an attack in the last 60 seconds. —Virender Dahiya, India women’s team coach Centre aims at 40% utilisation of crop residue to combat Del-NCR air pollution J I T E N D R A C H O U B E Y @ New Delhi  The outburst occurred at Sintaphu Lake near Wakila Mountain in Lungo, Laya Gewog, in Gasa district of Bhutan. Following this, the Central Water Commission issued a special advisory to authorities in West Bengal and Assam. More than 12,000 people were relocated to safer areas in West Bengal’s Alipurduar. Authorities are watching the situation in Assam’s Dhubri and Kokrajhar districts | P7 Note of caution The World Bank report also cautioned that as poverty declines, it becomes increasingly concentrated among households with lower levels of education, fewer assets and limited access to stable employment of the bottom 10% in 2023. According to the report, India made remarkable progress in reducing poverty across monetary and non-monetary dimensions. Extreme poverty, measured against the $3-aday threshold, also fell sharply from 27.1% to 2.6%, it noted. The World Bank expects poverty (measured against the $4.20-a-day threshold) to decline further—from 14.2% in 2026 to 12.1% by 2028. The improvement is expected to be driven by strong consumption growth, rising employment, particularly among women, and expanded social transfers, including food subsidies. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government’s sustained policy efforts were yielding tangible results, strengthening the foundations for inclusive growth and greater economic opportunities. “This is the reason why NDA government wins people’s trust and mandate of our citizens,” she said. Don’t ‘wrestle’ with Vinesh notices: High court to WFI to participate in any competitive event so that their performTHE Delhi High Court has di- ance is not compromised in any rected the Wrestling Federa- way the judge said, describing ,” tion of India (WFI) to decide Phogat’s predicament as “genwithin two weeks on two no- uine”. The court was hearing tices issued to wresPhogat’s plea chaltler Vinesh Phogat lenging the two noticAnti-drug, over alleged violations misconduct es, issued on May 9 of anti-doping rules and June 17. Her counTwo WFI notices sel told the court that and misconduct. Justice Amit Ma- have been issued the WFI had not yet to wrestler hajan passed the order passed a final order in Vinesh Phogat on October 29, observeither matter. over alleged ing that a sportsperAlthough there was son must be in a re- violations of anti- currently no bar on laxed state of mind to doping rules and her participating in misconduct. compete without their upcoming tour naperformance being afments, Phogat feared fected. The court said any deci- that an adverse decision before sion taken on the notices after the competitions could leave the two-week deadline must be her without an effective remekept in abeyance until the next dy, her counsel submitted. hearing on January 20, 2027. Phogat wants to compete in a “A sportsperson has to be in national tournament scheda fit and relaxed state of mind uled for mid-December. U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi 2022 | October 18: Kedarnath-bound copter crashes in Garudchatti, 7 dead 2025 | May 8: Chopper crashes en route to Gangotri; six dead June 7: Technical snag; pilot hurt 2026 | Oct 30: Badrinath crash, 6 including pilot dead EXPRESS READ Wettest, coldest Oct day in capital Delhi residents felt wintry chills on Friday, with the city recording its lowest October day temperature in 75 years after a night of heavy showers. Maximum temperature plunged to 20.7 °C. It was also the wettest October day. P3 ‘Delhi must belong in wider NCR plan’ L-G Taranjit Singh Sandhu has said that Delhi must be planned as part of the wider National Capital Region, pointing out that housing, transport, water and environmental concerns extend beyond administrative limits. P4 Local GPS system placed in orbit ISRO successfully launched its navigation satellite NVS-03 on Friday. It has indigenous and procured atomic clocks to give a big boost to the nation’s satellite navigation system ‘NaVIC,’ Indian version of GPS. P5 BIGGEST WAVE OF STUDENT PROTESTS IN ITALY Thousands of students and workers took to the streets across Italy on Friday. They called for more school funding and relief from the soaring cost of living, in massive protests that remained peaceful | P9 Season’s biggest single-day spike with 194 stubble burning cases on Oct 29 H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh brick kilns, compressed biogas plants and other industries. In PUNJAB recorded its biggest Haryana, 2.7 million tonnes of single-day spike in paddy stubcrop residue will be similarly ble-burning incidents this seamanaged externally . son on Thursday with 194 farm , Meanwhile, Union Minister fires taking the cumulative talfor Environment, Forest ly to 1,007. Tarn Taran topped and Climate Change Bhupendthe district-wise count with 397 er Yadav visited the newly deincidents, followed by veloped Inte g rated Command and Control BURNING ISSUE Amritsar (171) and Ferozepur (104). Centre (I3C), named In a separate inciPAVAN (Platform for dent, a cluster officer overseeAir Quality Vigilance and ing crop residue management Analytics for NCR), in was allegedly assaulted and New Delhi. Yadav reviewed its left unconscious while recordtechnological framework and ing farm fires in Kang village operational readiness. P3 Amritsar of Tarn Taran on Thursday . Maninder Singh, a soil and water conservation officer, was inspecting the fields when he spotted five farm fires and began recording video evidence required for compliance reporting to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). An unidentified assailant allegedly attacked him repeatedly leaving him uncon, scious in the fields. Villagers and the sarpanch rushed Singh to a hospital where he is in ICU. Tarn Taran Deputy Commissioner Rahul said, “Strict legal action would be taken against the accused.” With wheat sowing set to begin on November 1, experts expect incidents to peak around Diwali. The first fortnight of November is considered ideal for sowing, leaving farmers a narrow window to clear fields after the paddy harvest.