TUESDAY www.thestatesman.com 19 OCTOBER 2021 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |`5|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR P10 Partly cloudy sky. Mist/ shallow fog in the morning. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 29 and 19 degrees Celsius respectively. RAINFALL: 000.4 Mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Min: 91% TEMPERATURE Max: 23.9°C (-9) SUN RISES 06:25 hrs MOON RISES 17:21 hrs P7 P6 Rail roko: Services hit at 130 locations Nadda: Opp creating hurdles in Centre’s development work BJP national president J P Nadda on Monday charged the Opposition parties with throwing a spanner in the Central government’s efforts to implement various schemes and programmes in the country. Nadda’s remarks came during the meeting of BJP office bearers at party headquarters here. This was Nadda’s first meeting after assuming office and after the Covid-19 lockdown. Jagat Prasad Nadda said that the Opposition parties had been creating obstacles in the implementation of every development works being undertaken by the Central government. Nadda thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extending the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana for poor by one more year. The BJP president touched upon various Cen- Min: 20.1°C (+2) SUN SETS 17:48 hrs MOON SETS 05:55 hrs THUMBNAILS Farmers sit on the railway tracks during the 'Rail Roko Andolan' called by Samyukta Kisan Morcha demanding the resignation of MoS Ajay Mishra Teni, in Jalandhar on Monday. ANI STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 OCTOBER Sun rays stream through clouds over the Humayun’s Tomb after a heavy rainfall. In New Delhi on Monday. ANI Colin Powell, first black US State Secy, dies: Colin Powell, a US war hero and the first Black secretary of state who saw his trailblazing legacy tarnished when he made the case for war in Iraq in 2003, died on Monday from complications from Covid-19. The 84-year-old retired four-star general is one of the most high-profile US public figures to die of a breakthrough infection. (P10) Delhi records first dengue death this year: Delhi has recorded the first death due to dengue in 2021 on Monday morning, according to South Delhi Municipal Corporation report. The report says that total 720 dengue cases have been reported so far this year. (P2) Amit Shah chairs top-level security meet: l Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday presided over the National Security Strategy Conference through video conferencing to discuss the prevailing security situation in the country. NSA Ajit Doval, IB Chief Arvind Kumar and other officials were also present. PM to launch Kushinagar airport tomorrow The international airport will get operational this week to ease cumbersome travel of earlier times and facilitate the air travel requirements of international Buddhist pilgrims in India STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 OCTOBER Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Kushinagar International Airport on Wednesday. The international airport will get operational this week to ease cumbersome travel of earlier times and facilitate the air travel requirements of international Buddhist pilgrims in India. The inaugural flight will land at the airport from Colombo carrying 125 dignitaries and Buddhist monks, highlighting the convenience to Buddhists across the world to visit the Mahaparinirvan Sthal of Lord Buddha. The Airports Authority of India has developed the Kushinagar Airport with new terminal building spread across 3,600 sqm,at an estimated cost of Rs 260 crore in association with the Government of Uttar Pradesh considering the demand of the domestic and international visitors and pilgrimage. The new terminal is equipped to handle 300 passengers during peak hours. Kushinagar is an International Buddhist pilgrimage centre, where Lord Gautam Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana. It is also the centre point of the Buddhist circuit, which consists of pilgrimage sites at Lumbini, Sarnath and Gaya. P12 50 trains disrupted in Northern Railways network; no effect in New Delhi AGITATION WEATHER Max: 100% FATI’S RETURN HELPS BARCA TO VITAL WIN INTRODUCING THE UNIVERSE GAME ON IN PAKISTAN POLISH PM VOWS LOYALTY TO EUROPEAN UNION A gitating farmers today held a ‘rail roko’ agitation to register their protest against the three controversial farm laws and to press their demand for the removal of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Misra from the government over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. The minister’s son, Ashish Misra, is a prime accused in the case. The agitation, called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), concluded at Modinagar railway station in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad this evening after half an hour sit-in protest by the farmers on the tracks. The six-hour agitation aimed at halting rail traffic across the nation resulted in the cancellation and diversion of several trains in Punjab and Haryana. Train services were disrupted at 130 places. The farmers concluded their protest after submitting a memorandum to the local administration. During their protest, agitating farmers sat on the railway tracks and on a goods carrying train which was standing at the track and started shouting slogans to register their protest. Due to the Rail Roko protest of farmer organization, Delhi police had deployed its personnel at strategic points at Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in the national capital. Informing about the development, Deputy Commissioner of Police Esha Pandey said, “This is just a preventive action to deploy police personnel.” Adding further she stated that the steps have been taken as a precautionary step to avoid any mishappening keeping in view the farmers’ agitation call. The police can be seen deployed in heavy numbers inside and outside the premises of the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station that is located in the southeast part of Delhi. The farmers’ umbrella body~ Samyukt Kisan Morcha~ had given a call for sixhour-long Rail Roko agitation from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., demanding the ouster of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Misra Teni over the Lakhimpur Kheri violence which claimed lives of nine people including four farmers. “We wanted to put pressure on the Modi Government to take action against Ajay Misra Teni, instead of defending him and his son,” said a farmer leader. In a bid to counter any untoward incident, the police were seen patrolling on the platforms of the railway station. “It is peaceful here and so far no incident has been reported.” The agitation began at 10 a.m. and so far 30 locations in the different parts of Punjab and Haryana have been affected. Reports coming from other rail- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 OCTOBER The agitation called by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha concluded at Modinagar railway station in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad after sixhour protest. The farmers concluded their protest after submitting a memorandum to the local administration Delhi police had deployed its personnel at strategic points at Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station to prevent any untoward incident way stations in Delhi were similar. Delhi Cantonment railway station also witnessed a heavy presence of police personnel. “We have deployed an adequate number of police personnel and the situation is normal,” a police official said. In the Northern Railways network, as many as 50 trains were affected. In North-West region, rail traffic was affected in Bhiwani-Rewari, SirsaRewari, Loharu-Hisar, Suratgarh-Bathinda, SirsaBathinda, HanumangarhBathinda, Rohtak-Bhiwani, Rewari-Sadulpur and Sri Ganganagar-Rewari sectors. However, trains arrived at stations like New Delhi, Old Delhi and Ghaziabad on time, except a few trains which were only 15 minutes behind schedule. Farmers also held protests at Lalganj railway station in Bihar and Vijayapura railway station in Karnataka. tral government schemes and programmes in detail, especially the national free Covid vaccination initiatives being undertaken across the country. The vaccination is on the verge of touching the 100 crore mark, according to official reports. The party will also discuss a road-map suggested by the Prime Minister for carrying forward the vaccination initiative for the next three months, BJP vice president Raman Singh later said. Nadda also discussed the electoral strategy for the WHO expecting more data for Covaxin’s EUL ASIAN NEWS INTERNATIONAL GENEVA, 18 OCTOBER World Health Organisation, which is reviewing the data provided by Bharat Biotech for Emergency Use Listing of Covid19 vaccine Covaxin, said on Monday that it is “expecting one additional piece of information from the company today”. The WHO said a vaccine recommended by it for emergency use must be evaluated thoroughly. “Bharat Biotech ~ the manufacturer of Covaxin ~ has been submitting data to WHO on a rolling basis and WHO experts have reviewed these data. WHO is expecting one additional piece of information from the company,” it said. WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan had said on Sunday that WHO’s technical advisory group will meet on 26 October to consider emergency use listing (EUL) for Covaxin. The WHO said the timeframe for the EUL procedure depends on how quickly the company is able to provide the required vaccine data. Red alert for 10 dams in Kerala; rains Daily Covid-19 infections decline A total of 12,05,162 vacto intensify again; death toll rises to 35 cine doses were adminSTATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 OCTOBER STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 18 OCTOBER Though there is a brief let-up in the heavy bout of rain in the main lands in Kerala on Monday, the water levels in 10 dams in the state are rising due to heavy rains in the catchment areas. Following this, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red alert to these dams and shutters of Kakki dam in Pathanamthitta and Sholayar in Trissur were opened on Monday In the wake of water levels rising in the dams across the state, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed an expert committee to monitor the water level and take a decision on opening dam shutters ,if needed. With the water-level Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has directed an expert committee to monitor the water level and take a decision on opening dam shutters, if needed in Idukki dam, Asia’s biggest arch dam, having risen to 2,397.34 feet on Monday,the authorities have decided to open two shutters of the dam at 11am on Tuesday “Two shutters of the dam will be raised to 50 cm. Onelakh litre water will be released from the dam per second,” said Kerala water resources minister Roshy Augustine. The full reservoir level of Idukki dam is 2,403 feet. Idukki district authorities have asked those who live near the dam to keep vigil.Idukki district collector has said that list Ram Rahim gets life term in manager murder case too INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE CHANDIGARH, 18 OCTOBER Self-styled godman and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is already serving a 20-year jail sentence for raping two of his disciples and a life term for a journalist’s killing, was on Monday sentenced to life imprisonment for murder of a former sect manager nearly two decades back. Special CBI court judge Sushil Garg in Haryana’s Panchkula pronounced the verdict in a jam-packed court, sentencing him and four others for murdering Ranjit Singh, in 2002. The CBI had sought the death penalty under Sec- tion 302 of the Indian Penal Code for Ram Rahim, while the dera chief pleaded for mercy, appearing via video conference from Rohtak jail, where he is serving sentence in two cases of rape and for the murder of a journalist. The others convicted for the crime were Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Avtar Singh, and Sabdil. One more accused in the murder case had passed away in October last year. The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 31 lakh on the godman. Victim’s son Jagseer said the family finally got the justice, though after much delay. “Today, after 19 years, my family can sleep in peace,” he said. of people who should be evacuated has been prepared. The water level at the Idamalayar dam touched 165.30 m on Monday . The pilgrimage to the famed Sabarimala temple has been put on hold as the Pampa river is flowing above flood level. In this connection, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has sounded a yellow alert across 11 districts from Wednesday The IMD said the state is likely to receive fairly widespread rainfall with isolated heavy downpour for three to four days starting Wednesday. The state received heavy rainfall on Friday and Saturday, which triggered flash floods and landslides in four districts. The death toll from flash flood and landslides in the state rose to 35. (See P4) India on Monday logged 13,596 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, lowest in 230 days while the active caseload declined to 1,89,694 even as 19,582 patients recovered from the disease during the same time span, according to Union Health Ministry data. The total tally of Covid-19 cases has risen to 3,40,81,315 and the active caseload in India now constitutes 0.56 per cent of the country's total positive cases. The case fatality rate was recorded at 1.33 per cent, the ministry said. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 13,596 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours. The daily new cases reported is the lowest in 230 days now. The active caseload has fallen by 6,152 and is now below the 2 lakh mark and is presently at 1,89,694, istered in the country in the last 24 hours. With this, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has reached 97,79,47,783 which is the lowest in 221 days. The death toll so far has climbed to 4,52,290 with 166 fresh fatalities, according to the data. The last 24 hours saw a total of 9,89,493 tests being conducted as cumulative tests conducted so far touched over 59.19 crores mark. The weekly positivity rate at 1.37 per cent remains less than 3 per cent for the last 115 days now. The daily positivity rate was reported to be 1.37 per cent. A total of 12,05,162 vaccine doses were administered in the country in the last 24 hours. With this, India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage 3,40,81,315 1,89,694 13,596 19,582 4,52,290 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. MONDAY 18 OCTOBER 2021 has reached 97,79,47,783 as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 96,88,300 sessions. Delhi cases: The number of single-day Covid-19 cases came down sharply to 15 on Monday from 32 on Sunday, according to the Delhi government's latest health bulletin. ensuing poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur in early 2022. Appreciating the party workers for their work during the Covid 19 pandemic, Nadda exhorted the party workers to stay relevant in the changing times. “Change is constant and an ongoing process. I always say that only those who stay relevant succeed in politics.” The national office bearers meeting assumed importance as it was called to deliberate on the party’s strategy for the 2022 Assembly elections. Leaders were also assigned responsibilities for the upcoming polls. Among the party leaders, national general secretary(organisational) BL Santosh, national general secretary Arun Singh besides national secretaries Vinod Tawde and Harish Dwivedi were also present. India, Israel agree on mutual recognition of vax certificates External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid in Jerusalem on Monday. ANI NEW DELHI, 18 OCTOBER External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid on Monday agreed on the mutual recognition of the Covid-19 vaccination certificates. Jaishankar, who is on a three-day visit to the West Asian country has been holding meetings with government officials, business leaders, and the Indian Jewish community there. After the talks with Israeli Foreign Minister, Jaishankar said, he had a ‘very productive’ discussion on a wide range of regional and global issues. “Very productive talks today with APM and FM @YairLapid. Discussed a wide range of regional and global issues. Agreed to resume FTA negotiations next month. Agreed in principle on mutual recognition of Covid vaccination certification,” Jaishankar tweeted. “Last year, India and Israel have dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic, and we have helped one another amidst this crisis. This is how friends and partners behave”, Lapid said. IANS Shaken over killings, migrant labourers flee from Kashmir SP SHARMA JAMMU, 18 OCTOBER Panicked due to the unabated spate of targeted civilian killings and the ‘quit Kashmir’ threat issued by the United Liberation Front (ULF), a frontal wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a large number labourers from Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have started fleeing the valley. The ULF on Monday claimed responsibility for killing of eleven civilians in the past few days and issued a diktat to the non-Kashmiri workers to immediately leave the valley. Top brass of the central intelligence agency IB has reached Srinagar to assist the police in identifying the hybrid terrorists involved in the civil- ian killings. Panic has gripped the nonKashmiri labourers across the valley after killing of four persons from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the past two days. The police and security forces have given shelter to several labourers in their camps and also in schools. Several non-local labourers have been shifted to secure locations by authorities in various districts. But fear of being targeted by terrorists haunts them and has triggered an exodus of the workforce from Kashmir. Several labourers along with their families have already reached the Jammu railway station and were waiting on footpaths to get the ticket for journey back home. Many migrant workers were taking The ULF claimed responsibility for killing of eleven civilians in the past few days and issued a diktat to the nonKashmiri workers to immediately leave the valley trains from Baramulla, Srinagar and Anantnag to reach Banihal in the Jammu division and travel here by road. Yogendra Rishidev, who was among those shot dead last night, belonged to Araria in Bihar and had come to Kashmir about three months ago in search of work. He is survived by three children. A migrant labourer from Rajasthan said; “Situation is getting bad here. We’re scared, we’ve children with us and hence going back to our hometown.” Some Muslim labourers from Bihar said they were working in Kashmir for the past 20 years but the situation was never so bad. There is no point staying here to get bullets in the chest. The brick kiln owner where the group was working did not pay their wages, he complained. Narrating his nightmarish experience, a labourer belonging to Udhampur in the Jammu division said he wants to rush back home but his employer was not paying his remuneration. This is not the first time that labourers are fleeing from the valley. A large number of labourers had fled Kashmir in 2019 when security forces had started reaching the valley before abrogation of the Article 370. Besides, the valley has witnessed exodus of workers during disturbances in the past. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has vowed to avenge every drop of their blood by hunting down terrorists and their sympathizers.