WEDNESDAY www.thestatesman.com 09 SEPTEMBER 2020 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘WORLD PAYING MORE ATTENTION TO INDIA’S GLOBAL VOICE’ JAISHANKAR LEAVES FOR RUSSIA TO ATTEND SCO FOREIGN MINISTERS’ MEET P4 WEATHER Partly cloudy sky with strong surface with during the day. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 37 and 26 degrees Celsius respectively. RAINFALL: 001.3 Mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max: 89% Min: 25.1°C (0) SUN SETS 18:33 hrs MOON SETS 12:57 hrs Indian Army confronted the Chinese troops strongly, forcing their retreat THUMBNAILS Preparations to re-open a bar after government order to open bars from Wednesday, at Connaught Place in the Capital on SNS Tuesday. Guidelines issued for partial reopening of schools for classes 9-12: Disallowing sharing of 1 notebooks, pens/pencils, water bottles etc among students, prohibition of assemblies and sports, encouraging online learning, entry of asymptomatic persons are some of the health ministry's guidelines for partial reopening of schools for students of classes 9th to 12th from 21 September on a voluntary basis. China confirms five missing AP youth found: Five persons from Arunachal Pradesh, who went missing on Friday, have been found in the Chinese territory, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Tuesday. Rijiju, the Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister and an MP from Arunachal Pradesh, said in a tweet: "China's PLA has responded to the hotline message sent by Indian Army. They have confirmed that the missing youths from Arunachal Pradesh have been found on their side. Further modalities to handover the persons to P4 our authority are being worked out." C hinese troops carried rods, spears, clubs and pole weapons called ‘Guandao’ in aggressively trying to close in on an Indian position in Mukhpari area of Rezang-La ridgeline in eastern Ladakh on Monday evening, government sources said on Tuesday. As tension escalated at the Line of Actual Control(LAC), the sources said around 50-60 soldiers of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) approached the Indian post in the southern bank of Pangong Lake area at around 6 pm but the Indian Army personnel posted there strongly confronted them, forcing their retreat. It may be recalled that the Chinese troops had mounted a savage attack on Indian soldiers with stones, nail-studded sticks, iron rods and clubs during the Galwan Valley clashes in eastern Ladakh on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. The government sources said the Chinese army may have planned to engage Indian troops on Monday evening in a way similar to the clashes in Galwan Valley as its soldiers were carrying rods, spears, clubs and ‘Guandao’. Guandao is a type of Chinese pole weapon that is used in some forms of Chinese martial arts. It has a blade mounted atop As fresh border confrontation erupted between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh, China on Tuesday hoped disengagement can be achieved as soon as possible through mutual consultations, flagging approaching harsh winter in the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian expressed this hope hours after India and China accused each other of firing in the air near the Pangong lake at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh on Monday. The Indian Army said Chinese troops fired shots in the air and attempted to close in on an Indian position in eastern Ladakh on Monday as it rejected charges by China's People's Liberation Army(PLA) that it transgressed across the LAC. The remarks by the Army came after the PLA late on Monday night alleged that the Indian troops crossed the LAC and “outrageously fired” warning shots near the Pangong lake. The use of firearms along the LAC marks a serious escalation in border tensions as the previous instance of shots being fired at the defacto border was in 1975. Spokesman Zhao spoke about disengage- ment when asked at a media briefing about restoration of the status quo by disengaging the troops. You have a good wish. We all hope our troops get back to their camping area and there won't be any more confrontation in the border areas. You know that place has a very bad natural condition and it is above a height of 4,000 metres, he added. In winter this is not good for humans to live. So we hope, through diplomatic and military channels and through consultations on the ground we can achieve disengagement as soon as possible and reach consensus.” a long wooden pole. When the Indian Army forced the Chinese troops to return, they fired 10-15 rounds in the air to intimidate Indian soldiers, in the first use of firearms along the LAC after a gap of 45 years. The previous instance of shots being fired at the de-facto border was in 1975. The sources said Indian troops did not use any firearm. They said the Chinese troops attempted to remove Indian Army from the strategic heights in Mukhpari peak and Rezang-La areas. The PLA has been eye- ing to capture the strategic heights in the last three-four days, the sources said, adding the Chinese troops damaged an iron fence on Monday evening which was put up by Indian troops in the area. India continues to dominate strategic peaks around the southern bank of Pangong lake area overlooking key Chinese formations in the Moldo area. The PLA late on Monday night alleged that Indian troops crossed the LAC and “outrageously fired” warning shots near the Pangong lake. Rejecting the charges, the Army on Tuesday said that at no stage the Indian troops crossed the LAC or resorted to using of any “aggressive means' ', including firing, as alleged by the Chinese PLA. “At no stage has the Indian Army transgressed across the LAC or resorted to using of any aggressive means, including firing. It is the PLA that has been blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvre, while engagement at the military, diplomatic and political level is in progress,” the Army said. Tensions escalated BEIJING, 8 SEPTEMBER Record 1,133 fatalities push death toll to 72,775 SNS &PTI NEW DELHI, 8 SEPTEMBER Recording over 90,000 new cases for two days in a row, India’s Covid-19 tally rose by 75,809 in the last 24 hours to reach 42,80,422 on Tuesday, while a record 1,133 fatalities took the death toll to 72,775, the Union health ministry data showed. During the same period, the number of recoveries surged to 33,23,950 pushing the recovery rate to 77.65 per cent, according to the data updated at 8 am on Tuesday. The Covid-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.7 per cent. According to the data, there are 8,83,697 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprise 20.65 per cent of the total caseload. India’s tally of coronavirus infection crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, reached 30 lakh on August 23 and went past 40 lakh on September 5. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the number of tests conducted for detection of COVID-19 in India has reached 5,06,50,128 with 10,98,621 samples being tested on Monday. Of the fresh deaths, 423 were reported from Maharashtra, 141 from Karnataka, 89 from Tamil Nadu, 70 from Andhra Pradesh, 61 from Punjab, 58 from West Bengal, 56 from Uttar Pradesh, 32 from Delhi, 23 from Haryana, 17 each from Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, 15 each from Chhattisgarh and Gujarat, 14 from Rajasthan and 13 from Jharkhand. Twelve fatalities were reported from Kerala, 11 each from Bihar, Puducherry and Telangana, 10 each from Assam and Odisha, nine from Goa, seven from Uttarakhand, three each from Chandigarh and Tripura, while Himachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have registered one fatality each. Of the total 72,775 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 27,027 followed by 7,925 in Tamil Nadu, 6,534 in Karnataka, 4,599 in Delhi, 4,487 in Andhra Pradesh, 3,976 in Uttar Pradesh, 3,620 in West Bengal, 3,120 in Gujarat and 1,923 in Punjab. So far, 1,589 people have died of COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,151 in Rajasthan, 906 in Telangana, 829 in Haryana, 801 in Jammu and Kashmir, 761 in Bihar, 556 in Odisha, 482 in Jharkhand, 395 in Chhattisgarh, 370 in Assam, 359 in Kerala and 348 in Uttarakhand. Puducherry has registered 325 fatalities, Goa 245, Tripura 152, Chandigarh 74, Himachal Pradesh 56, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands 50, Manipur 38, Ladakh 35, Meghalaya 17, Nagaland 10, Arunachal Pradesh eight, Sikkim five and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu two. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to Cong favours joint Opp candidate for RS deputy chairman’s post SNS&PTI NEW DELHI, 8 SEPTEMBER The Congress on Tuesday decided that the opposition will put up a joint candidate for the post of Rajya Sabha deputy chairman and it will reach out to various parties in this regard. The decision comes ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament starting 14 September and was taken at the Congress Parliamentary strategy group meeting chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi. The post had fallen vacant after Harivansh’s term ended. He has since been re-elected to the Upper House as a mem- ber from Bihar. The meeting was attended by party's leaders in both houses including Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Congress deputy leaders in both houses and chief whips and party's whips also attended the virtual meeting. This was the first time that some of the letter-writers, who had demanded an overhaul of the party, came face to face with the Congress leadership after the CWC meeting. The Congress strategy group decided to raise the issue of restoration of the Question Hour in both houses during the session. The Congress also decided to raise the issue of the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the wake of rise in daily number of cases and India taking the second spot in total cases in the world, besides the effect of lockdown. The party will also raise in both the Houses the issue of Chinese aggression at the border and the current situation there. The meeting started with an address by Sonia Gandhi who sought the suggestion of leaders on the issues to be raised in the upcoming session. 42,80,422 Delhi sees sharp Covid-19 spike, highest-ever tests SNS NEW DELHI, 8 SEPTEMBER 8,83,697 75,809 73,521 72,775 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. TUESDAY 08 SEPTEMBER 2020 comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website. Delhi today recorded 3,609 fresh coronavirus (Covid19) cases ~ its highest single-day Covid spike in 76 days ~ which pushed the c i t y ' s Cov i d t a l l y t o 1,97,135. The city recorded 19 coronavirus fatalities that took its Covid death toll to 4,618. The total number of Covid tests conducted in the national capital today rose to a record figure of 45,797 -- its highest so far since the outbreak of the pandemic. The cumulative total of recovered Covid patients climbed to 1,70,140, with 1,756 patients getting recovered over the last 24 (SEE P2) hours. P12 Rhea arrested in drugs case, NCB gets 14 - day judicial custody PRESS TRUST OF INDIA MUMBAI, 8 SEPTEMBER Fresh tensions in Ladakh: China hopes for disengagement as soon as possible PRESS TRUST OF INDIA WHY BARTY WON’T DEFEND HER TITLE IN PARIS P10 Chinese troops carried rods, spears & clubs: Govt sources NEW DELHI, 8 SEPTEMBER TEMPERATURE Max: 35.3°C (2) SUN RISES 06:04 hrs MOON RISES 22:52 hrs P5 SNS&PTI Min: 57% COVID VACCINE LATEST FLASHPOINT IN WHITE HOUSE CAMPAIGN An IAF ‘Hercules’ military transport plane prepares to land at an airbase in Leh bordering China, on Tuesday. AFP manifold along the LAC in eastern Ladakh after the Galwan Valley clashes. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. According to an American intelligence report, the number of casualties on the Chinese side was 35. The border situation deteriorated again after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the southern bank of Pangong Lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30. India occupied many strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions. China has strongly objected to India's move. However, India has maintained that the heights are on its side of the LAC. India has also rushed in additional troops and weapons to the sensitive region following China's transgression attempts. Following China’s fresh attempts to change the status quo in the southern bank of Pangong lake, India has further bolstered its military presence in the region. After days of intense speculation and three days of tough grilling, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday arrested Rhea Chakraborty in connection with its ongoing probe to unravel the drugs nexus in the film industry, officials said. She has now been sent to 14-days judicial custody. Rhea has been charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act for her alleged role in the drugs angle that has emerged during investigation into the June 14 death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. As the 28-year-old actor was about to be produced before a court through video link following medical examination, a top NCB official said the agency would not seek her custody but will ask for judicial remand. “Rhea has been arrested under sections 27A, 21, 22, 29 and 28 of NDPS,” said K P S Malhotra, Deputy Director, NCB. After the arrest she was taken for medical tests including Covid-19 test to the civicrun Sion hospital in Central Mumbai. Before leaving for hospital in a vehicle with NCB officials, the actor, clad in black, waved at media persons. At the hospital, her antigen test for Covid-19 came out negative, officials said. She was then taken to the NCB office around 7.15 pm, where she was to be produced before the court through video conferencing. Speaking to media persons, Mutha Ashok Jain, NCB Deputy Director General, South West region, said the CCB arrests Kannada actor in drug case BENGALURU, 8 SEPTEMBER As the city police widened its probe into alleged drug abuse in Kannada film industry with the arrest of another actress, the Karnataka government on Tuesday said it would strengthen the legal system to ensure procedural lapses don’t allow those apprehended to escape the law. Central Crime Branch, probing the drug abuse in ‘Sandalwood,’ as the Kannada film industry is popularly known, arrested Sanjjanaa Galrani after raiding her Indira Nagar residence early on TuesSNS day, police said. central agency had enough evidence to arrest her. But no contraband was recovered from her and the NCB doesn't need her custody for interrogation and would be seeking judicial custody, hesaid. “(The Persons) with whom we had to confront her (Rhea) they were already in our custody. We are calling her for questioning for the last three days and after her interrogation we are satisfied,” he said. In a related development, Mumbai police have registered an FIR against Sushant’s sisters and others for abetment to suicide and criminal conspiracy by prescribing him medicines banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, an official said on Tuesday. Kangana to face ‘drug link’ probe; Bombay home under BMC lens SNS&PTI MUMBAI, 8 SEPTEMBER Already under fire over her remarks on Mumbai, trouble mounted for actress Kangana Ranaut as the Maharashtra government on Tuesday said the police will probe allegations that she took drugs, while alterations made at her bungalow here came under the civic scanner. Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said the Mumbai police will probe allegations by actor Adhyayan Suman that Ranaut took drugs. Talking to reporters here, Deshmukh said Adhyayan, the son of veteran actor Shekhar Suman, was once in a relationship with Ranaut and he had alleged that she used to take drugs. “The Mumbai police will investigate this matter,” the home minister added. Deshmukh said Shiv Sena MLAs Pratap Sarnaik and Sunil Prabhu raised the issue in the Assembly on Tuesday. “I replied that she had relations with Adhyayan Suman who has said in an interview that she took drugs and also forced him to take drugs. The Mumbai police will look into all this in detail,” he said. Speaking to reporters, Sarnaik denied that this was a political vendetta. Ranaut had crossed swords with Sena MP Sanjay Raut last week when he said that she should not return to Mumbai if she felt unsafe in the city. The 33-year-old, Himachal Pradesh born “Queen” star came under all-round fire after she likened Mumbai to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and made critical remarks against the city police. “The law is same for every- one. There is no political vendetta. Security is given to people who are looked upon as idols. If there are allegations of drug consumption against her and if they are false, the people leveling them should be thrown into jail,” Sarnaik said. The development comes in the backdrop of actress Rhea Chakraborty's arrest by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for alleged drug use. The NCB is probing the alleged drugs angle in the death of filmstar Sushant Singh Rajput. Meanwhile, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials on Tuesday posted a notice at Ranaut's bungalow here, pointing out many alterations undertaken in the building without the civic body's approval, a claim rejected by her. A BMC team went to the bungalow of the actor in the Pali Hill area of suburban Bandra and posted the notice there as nobody was present to receive it, a civic official said. ‘32pcint’lflyersatDelhiairportwithCovid-negativereportsnotquarantined’ PRESS TRUST OF INDIA NEW DELHI, 8 SEPTEMBER Around 32 per cent of international passengers who arrived in India between 8 August and 5 September were able to get exemption from the seven-day institutional quarantine requirement as each of them had a valid Covid-negative test report, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday. The Health Ministry had said earlier that from August 8, if any arriving international passenger has a negative report from an RT-PCR test done 96 hours prior to the journey, he or she need not undergo institutional quarantine in India. “At @DelhiAirport alone between Aug 8 - 5 Sept, 29,399 incoming passengers out of a total of 90,843 have been granted this exemption,” Puri said on Twitter on Tuesday. As per the health ministry rules, incoming international passengers need to undergo a seven-day institutional quarantine followed by a seven-day home quarantine in India. “We hope to be of help to more people who are travelling to India in the coming days,” Puri said. The Civil Aviation Ministry had last Wednesday said international passengers who have to take connecting domestic flights after landing in India will have the option of getting themselves tested for COVID-19 at the entry airports. If the RT-PCR test result is negative, the international passenger will be allowed to board his or her connecting domestic flight and he or she will not need to undergo any institutional quarantine, the ministry's order said. Delhi airport is likely to start this on-arrival testing facility from mid-September. An international passenger who does not have a COVID-negative result certificate from a test done not more than 96 hours prior to the journey, and does not opt for an on-arrival testing facility at the entry airport, will have to compulsorily undergo seven-day institutional quarantine followed by seven-day home quarantine. Scheduled international flights have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown. However, special international passenger flights have been operating in India under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under bilateral air bubble arrangements formed between India and other countries since July. Domestic flights resumed in India after a gap of two months on 25 May.