MONDAY www.thestatesman.com 06 JUNE 2022 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR POPE FUELS NEW SPECULATION ON FUTURE OF PONTIFICATE P10 WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY. HEAT WAVE CONDITIONS AT ISOLATED PLACES. STRONG SURFACE WINDS SPEED (20-30 KMPH) DURING THE DAY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 43 AND 27 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max: 58% Min: 14% TEMPERATURE Max: 44.2°C (+4) SUN RISES 05:23 hrs MOON RISES 11:05 hrs Min: 27.4°C (0) SUN SETS 19:17 hrs MOON SETS 00:31 hrs THUMBNAILS A man drinks water from a hosepipe on a hot summer day, at Taj Mahal, Agra on Sunday.  ANI Nadal drubs Ruud to claim record-extending e 14th French Open title and 22nd Grand Slam: Rafael Nadal put up a dominant show against Casper Ruud of Norway to win the men's singles final match 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 here at the Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday to clinch his record 14th French Open crown and his 22nd grand slam title racing ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. This shows why he is consid(P12) ered as the clay court king. Hapur blast death toll rises to 13: The death toll in the blast incident at a factory in Uttar Pradesh's Hapur has risen to 13 on Sunday. The police have booked two persons for culpable homicide in the incident. Meanwhile, the Kisan Mazdoor Sangh is holding a protest against the incident. State president of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangh Brahm Sing Rana has demanded a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the victims. Investigation revealed that there were 33 people working at the factory at the time of the incident, of which 13 were killed and the other 20 sustained injuries. SRK tests Covid positive STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, 5 JUNE P6 24,052 4,270 2,619 5,24,692 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. SUNDAY 05 JUNE 2022 Delhi recorded 343 fresh cases & 1 death P7 He was addressing a 'Save Soil' programme on World Environment Day STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 JUNE P12 P rime Minister Narendra Modi today blamed large modern nations for not only exploiting more and more resources of the earth but emitting maximum carbon while asserting that India was making multifaceted efforts to protect the environment even though its role in climate change was negligible. Modi noted that the average carbon footprint of the world was about four tonne per person per annum compared to just about 0.5 tonne per person per annum in India. India was working on a long term vision in collaboration with the International community on protecting the environment and established organisations like the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the International Solar Alliance, he said, reiterating India’s goal of ''Net-Zero by 2070''. The PM was addressing a 'Save Soil' programme organised by the Isha Foundation on World Environment Day. Appreciating the ‘Save Soil Movement’, he said that at a time when the nation was taking new pledges during the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, such movements acquired a new importance. He expressed satisfaction that key programmes of the last eight years have been designed keeping environment protection in mind. Modi informed that to save the soil, his government has focused on five main things: how to make the soil chemical free; how to save the organisms that live in the soil which are called Soil Organic Matter in technical language; how to maintain soil moisture and how to increase the availability of water; how to remove the damage happening to the soil due to less groundwater; and how to stop the continuous erosion of soil due to the reduction of forests. He said efforts were being made in the agriculture sector to alleviate the problem of soil issues. The PM said that earlier, the farmers lacked information about the type of soil, deficiency in soil and how much water was there. To overcome these problems, a huge campaign was launched to give soil health cards to the farmers in the country. Modi said the government was connecting the people of the country with water conservation through campaigns like ''Catch the Rain''. In March this year, a campaign to conserve 13 big rivers was also started in the country. In this, along with reducing pollution in water, work was also being done to plant forests on the banks of rivers. Estimates were that this would add a forest cover of 7400 sq km to the 20000 sq km forest cover in India that has been added in the last 8 years, he said. The PM noted that the policies related to Biodiversity and Wildlife that India was following today have also led to a record increase in the number of wildlife. Today whether it was tiger, lion, leopard or elephant, the number of all was increasing in the country. He said that in natural farming, there was a big solution to some of India's biggest problems. He noted that in this year's budget, the government has decided to encourage natural farming in the villages situated on the banks of Ganga which would make a huge corridor of natural farming.''This will not only make our farms chemical free but the Namami Gange campaign will also gain new strength,'' he said, adding that India was working on the goal of restoring 26 million hectare land by 2030. The Prime Minister further informed that India has Fourth accused in Hyderabad gang rape case arrested STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Another minor was apprehended by police in connection with the gang rape of a 17 year old girl in the posh Jubilee Hills of Hyderabad even as governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan directed the chief secretary and DGP to submit a detailed report on the incident within two days. A total of four persons have been detained by police so far including an 18 year old Shaduddin Malik while the other 18 year old is on the run. The minors have been produced before juvenile court. The police are also looking for evidence in the white Innova Car which the police claim was used by the accused while committing the sexual molestation after the driver of the Mercedes Benz didn’t want to drive. The car does not bear a number plate but the national flag on the bonnet indicate it was used for official purpose. Another rape Even as the state capital is reeling under the shock of Jubilee Hills gangrape anoth- 45 killed in massive B'desh container depot blaze INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE A massive blaze, followed by a powerful explosion at a private container depot in Bangladesh's Chittagong district has killed a total of 45 people, including seven firefighters, and injured some 500 others of which 10 of them were police personnel, authorities confirmed on Sunday. The devastating blaze broke out at about 10.30 p.m. on Saturday at the private BM Container Depot Ltd, a Netherlands-Bangladesh joint venture company, in Sitakunda.Authorities said that within 40 minutes of the raging fire, there was a massive explosion and the blaze spread from one container to the other due to the pres- expels Naveen Kumar Jindal STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 JUNE er incident of rape of an 11 year old came to light. The minor girl was abducted and raped by cab driver and his friend and both of them have been arrested two days after the incident. The girl who resided at Moghalpura with relatives decided to go to her parents who were in Pahadisharif. The cab driver offered to drop her at Pahadisharif but midway picked up a friend and the two of them sexually assaulted her. While she was reported missing by her relatives she was picked up by the police and after counselling at Bharosa centre narrated her horrifying experience. The police arrested the accused Khaleem and Luqman, two days later. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 5 JUNE ence of explosive chemicals. The Director General of Fire Service said none of the owners or directors of the company are available, and amount or type of chemicals stored or how many containers are there is not immediately known. As the fire is still raging which might take another 24 hours to be completely doused, it is not possible to go near the depot, the official added. So far 15 of the deceased have been identified, health officials said. (see page 9) achieved the target of sourcing 40% of its installed power generation capacity from non-fossil-fuel 9 years ahead of schedule. Solar energy capacity has increased by 18 times and policies like Hydrogen Mission and Circular economy related policies, scrappage policy were examples of the government's commitment to environment protection, he said. The PM disclosed that today India has achieved the target of 10 percent ethanol blending, 5 months ahead of schedule. Elaborating on the enormity of the achievement, he said that in 2014 ethanol blending was at 1.5 per cent. There were three clear benefits of achieving this goal, he explained. First, it has led to a reduction of 27 lakh tonnes of carbon emission. Second, it has saved foreign exchange worth Rs 41000 crore and thirdly, farmers of the country have earned Rs 40600 crore in the last 8 years due to increase in ethanol blending. He complimented the people, farmers and oil companies of the country on this achievement. Hours after stating that it respects all religions and strongly denounces insults of any religious personality of any religion, the BJP on Sunday suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal for their alleged controversial comments on Prophet Muhammad. In a letter to Sharma, member secretary, BJP Central Disciplinary Committee, Om Pathak said, “You have expressed views contrary to the Party's position on various matters, which is in clear violation of Rule 10 (a) of constitution of the Bharatiya Janata Party.” “I have been directed to convey to you that pending further inquiry, you are suspended from the party and from your responsibilities/assignments if any, with immediate effect,” Pathak added. In another letter to Jindal, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said, “The view expressed by you on social media to incite communal disharmony is against the basic thought of the party. You worked against party ideology and policy. Therefore, your primary membership of the party is cancelled with immediate effect and you're also suspended from the party." Gupta told a news agency that there is no place for indiscipline in the party and no one is allowed to cross the party line. “It has come to our Views of fringe elements, India tells Qatar after envoy summoned STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE to his remarks that angered all Muslims around the world. In response to a media query regarding statement issued by Qatar MOfA on an offensive tweet in India, the Spokesperson of the Embassy of India in Qatar said, “Ambassador had a meeting in the Foreign Office in which concerns were raised with regard to some offensive tweets by individuals in India denigrating the religious personality.The Ambassador conveyed that the tweets do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. These are the views of fringe elements.” NEW DELHI, 5 JUNE Qatar on Sunday summoned Indian ambassador Deepak Mittal to the Foreign Ministry in Doha and conveyed its disappointment and its total rejection and condemnation over the controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad by now-suspended/expelled BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal. Qatar welcomed the statement issued by the ruling party in India in which it announced the suspension of the party's official from practicing his activities in the party due notice that Jindal has crossed the party line and tried to spread hatred and communal disharmony through his social media posts. We have cancelled his primary membership," Gupta said. Hours after her suspension, Nupur Sharma stated on Twitter saying she unconditionally withdraws her controversial comments, and added that “it was never her intention to hurt anyone's religious feelings”. In a tweet, Naveen Kumar Jindal also wrote, “I respect the faith of all religions but I question only those mindsets who spread hatred by using indecent comments on our deities. I just asked a question. It does not mean that we are against any religion.” Earlier in the day in a press statement, BJP national general secretary, Arun Singh said, “During thousands of years of the history of India, every religion has blossomed and flourished.The Bharatiya Janata Party respects all religions. The BJP strongly denounces insults of any religious personality of any religion. The Bharatiya Janata Party is also strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion. The BJP does not promote such people or philosophy.” Jindal also made insulting comments against Prophet Muhammad on social media. Odisha Cabinet reshuffle: 21 ministers, including 5 women, take oath STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE BHUBANESWAR, 5 JUNE Reinforcing his commitment toward women empowerment, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday inducted five women in his 21 member council of ministers while dropping as many as 11 ministers in the first reshuffle of his fifth term. The swearing-in ceremony of the 21 ministers ( 13 cabinet rank and 8 Ministers of state ) , was for the first time held at the conference hall of the Lok Seva Bhawan instead of the Raj Bhawan. Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal administered the oath of office to the ministers. Besides, the representation of women , the other dominant factor was that of western Odisha districts. Seven of the new team belong to the western parts of the state. The five women ministers are Pramila Mallik ( Revenue ), Tukuni Sahu ( Water resources, commerce and transport) , Usha Devi ( Housing and Urban Development), Rita Sahu ( Handloom& textiles) and Basanti Hembram ( Women & Child development, Mission Shakti). Among the new induc- tions were Rajendra Dholkia ( Planning & Covergence), Rohit Pujari ( Higher Education), Srikant Sahu ( Labour), Preeti Ranjan Ghadei ( Rural development, Skill Development), Aswini Patra ( Tourism and Excise). P K Deb ( Industries,Energy, MSME), Atanu S Nayak ( Food and civil supplies), Pramila Mallick ( Revenue), Pradip Amat ( Forest, I&PR, Panchayati Raj) staged a comeback as earlier they were ministers in the past. Several heavyweights like Pratap Jena with multiple portfolios like law, urban development, panchayati raj, Dr Arun Sahoo with agriculture , Revenue Minister Sudam Marandi, Energy, MSME, Home Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra, Forest , Parliamentary affairs Minister Bikram Arukha and Labour welfare minister Sushant Singh are among the 11 ministers dropped from the cabinet. Jena, Sahoo, Mishra were embroiled in controversies but the government had stood by them for almost two years. It is reliably learnt that some of them will be given important positions to lead the party for the 2024 general elections. 7 out of 10 female workers seek remote working option DHAKA, 5 JUNE 4,31,76,817 JOE ROOT CROSSES THE 10,000-RUN MARK BJP suspends Nupur Sharma PM Modi blames bigger nations for climate change from primary membership, HYDERABAD, 5 JUNE Actor Shah Rukh Khan tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wished the Bollywood actor a fast 'recovery'. "Just came to know that our Brand Ambassador Shahrukh Khan has been detected covid positive. Pray for the fastest recovery for the superstar. Get well Shahrukh! Spring back asap!" Mamata Banerjee tweeted on Sunday. Fans of Shah Rukh Khan also expressed concerns over the actor's health on social media. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 cases in India have crossed the 4,000-mark for the second time in the past four days on Sunday, as the country logged 4,270 fresh infections in the past 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry. With this, India's current active Covid caseload stands at 24,052. WHO SHOULD BE THE CHANCELLOR? ERDOGAN'S NATO Following Covid, a global research conducted from Deloitte highlighted that, seven out of 10 female workers willing to quit their current jobs for flexible ones in case their employer takes away the remote working option. An effort to balance profession alongwith household chores from home, feelings of being overwhelmed and lack of work-life balance were common, with 40% of women citing significant consequences to their physical and mental well-being. Talking about the same, Dr. Dipti Tulpule, Associate Dean, Amity Global Business School, Pune said, “I was curious and started discussing with my close friends from all sectors. To my surprise, I got contradictory views. After two years of pandemic, women are showing keen interest to join back office. Being at home and managing work was leading to no personal life. Work-life balance had gone to a toss. Women working in leadership positions did mention challenges facing coordination and alignments of teams. I, being at a high level of management, found it challenging convincing people about their job roles and expectations by their organization to work from the office.” She said, “Organizations now want to be at normal and so they are taking a lot of innovative initiatives to encourage employees to join back. Organizations are working on flexi working hours, assistance to women to balance work and kids on campus. Talent development programs will fill up the pandemic gap.” While, Dr Nilam Panchal, Head - Department of Public Policy and Governance at Gujarat University, says, "The future of HR is changing due to the pandemic, and those who want to work can work from anywhere. Women could need more flexibility, simply for the mental satisfaction of taking care of work as well as family.”“I personally prefer to work from the office, because working from home can sometimes feel dull. Within two days at home, one can start feeling stagnant." Ireland-based trainer Chris Mcdonagh, who is the Conference Committee Chairman at International Federation of Training and Development Organisations (IFTDO), recounts that initially, when people started WFH during Covid19, because he was very traditional, he wanted people to get back to the office as soon as possible."But after a couple of weeks, I started to realize the benefits of hybrid work. What I discovered was the mental health and loneliness aspect of working from home. We brought in one day of compulsory working from the office to keep the team connected with optional social activities. I had a woman employee who specifically wanted to work from the office due to the isolation of WFH, so we shifted her to our headquarters. We have given people the option to come back," he said. Mcdonagh was among the speakers at the recently concluded IFTDO 2022 World Conference & Exhibition in New Delhi, which was inaugurated by the Speaker of Lok Sabha Om Birla and Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Housing & Urban Affairs. Closer home in the IT industry, the initial WFH challenges were to enable employees with office setup, share HR leader Sheetal Potdar, Senior Manager IT MNC. Indicating a general trend of resistance for return to the office, even resulting in attrition, she says that some women are preferring WFH option as “they save a lot of energy, time as well money due to long hours commuting and achieve the flexibility to balance personal and career life and complete all their duties”. She added, “Companies are encouraging women to start operating from the office for 1-2 days per week based on business – client needs and asks. Some women understand the importance of networking and operating from the office, however the general trend still is preference for WFH.”