CMYK MONDAY www.thestatesman.com 19 SEPTEMBER 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 ‘INDIA TO GET MORE CHEETAHS OVER THE YEARS’ SCARY DENGUE P6 WEATHER One or two spells of rain/thundershower very likely. Temperature likely to be in the range of 33-27 degrees Celsius. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max.95% TEMPERATURE P5 Murmu lands in UK for Queen’s funeral SNS & AGENCIES Max: 33.0 °C (0) Min: 25.6°C (0) SUN RISES SUN SETS 05:24 hrs 17:38 hrs MOON RISES MOON SETS 23:19 hrs 12:34 hrs New moon on 26 September THUMBNAILS Devotees participate in a Chehlum procession to commemorate the 40th day of Ashura (martyrdom) of Hazrat Imam Husain) in Chuchot village of Leh on Sunday.  ANI Amit Shah flags off Modi cross-country slum c run: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday flagged off Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cross-country slum run at Major Dhyan Chand National stadium in the national capital as part of "Sewa karyakram".More than 10,000 children and youth from slums will participate in the race. The party is observing on 21-day "Seva and Samarpan" campaign from September 17 (to October 2 during which various programmes are being organised. Blood donation camps, health check-up camps and other programmes are being organised as part of the campaign. Net Direct Tax kitty crosses `7 lakh cr: India's net direct tax collections have crossed ` 7 lakh crore so far this year, 23.33% higher than the same period last year, signalling a clear postpandemic rebound in the economy, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday.Net direct tax collections as on Saturday stood at `7,00,669 crore, compared to `5,68,147 crore as of September 17, 2021, with corporate taxes inflow constituting little over a half of the kitty at `3,68,484 crore. Personal Income Tax and the Securities Transaction Tax have yielded `3.3 lakh crore. `Pg8 resident Droupadi Murmu on Sunday offered tributes to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Hall in London where the queen's coffin is lying in state. “President Droupadi Murmu visited Westminster Hall London where the body of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II is lying in state. The President offered tributes to the departed soul on her own behalf and on behalf of the people of India,” Rashtrapati Bhawan tweeted. The President is on an official tour to the United Kingdom from September 17 to 19 to attend the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday and offer condolences on behalf of P President Droupadi Murmu at Lancaster House in London on Sunday.  ANI the Government of India. She arrived at Gatwick Airport in London to attend Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral at London's Westminster Abbey on Saturday. The presidential aircraft carrying Murmu and her entourage members, including foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra landed at London's Gatwick Airport at 20:50 IST from where she left for the hotel where she will be staying during this tour.On her arrival at the airport, the president was received by the High Commissioner of India to the UK. According to official reports, on Sunday, the president was scheduled to attend the Lying-inState of the Queen's coffin at the Palace of Westminster and sign a condolence book on behalf of the Indian government at Lancaster House near Buckingham Palace. Later in the day, she BIDDING ADIEU The sixth edition of the Japan-India Maritime Exercise, JIMEX 22 hosted by the Indian Navy concluded in the Bay of Bengal on Sunday. The two sides bidding farewell to each other with a customary steam past.  ANI Credit war breaks out on cheetahs, Congress says Modi not stating facts NEW DELHI , 18 SEPTEMBER AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 18 SEPTEMBER FACT FILE TOTAL CASES 4,45,28,524 ACTIVE CASES 46,848 NEW CASES 5,747 NEW RECOVERIES 5,618 TOTAL DEATHS 5,28,302 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. SUNDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2022 Bengal recorded 267 cases and one death will attend a reception hosted by King Charles III for the overseas leaders at Buckingham Palace in London before the funeral service on Monday at 11 am local time. The next day, she will attend the state funeral service at West Gate of Westminster Abbey and in the afternoon, she will attend the reception hosted by James Cleverly, UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. Queen Elizabeth II, 96, the former head of state of the UK and Head of the Commonwealth of Nations passed away on September 8. She will be laid to rest with full state honours at Westminster Abbey on September 19. One-day state mourning was observed across India on September 11 as a mark of respect to Queen Elizabeth II. See Pg10 LONDON, 18 SEPTEMBER Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav crosses 1L mark Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said that the number of volunteers who have donated blood under Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav has crossed one lakh. The Union Minister quoted his older tweet and wrote "Crossed 1,00,000...". Earlier on Saturday, the officials of the Ministry of Health informed that the country had created a world record by surpassing its previous best of 87,059 blood donations in 2014. Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav is a countrywide mega voluntary blood donation drive, which was kickstarted by Union minister for health & family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya by donating blood at a blood donation camp at Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi. The initiative has gained momentum and so far roughly 13.5 lakh TB patients have registered on the Nikshay portal, out of which 9.5 lakh active TB patients have given their consent for adoption. P10 President paid tributes to Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Hall Min. 65% A day after cheetahs were released in the Kuno National Park by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Sunday claimed that it was their government which initiated the process, and accused the PM of mis-stating the facts. The Congress on Sunday said that the process of induction was started by the UPA government and former Union Minister for environment Jairam Ramesh released a letter to prove his point."This was the letter that launched Project Cheetah in 2009. Our PM is a pathological liar. I couldn't lay my hands on this letter yesterday because of my preoccupation with the Tamasha orchestrated by PM is unwarranted and is yet another diversion from pressing national issues and Bharat Jodo Yatra JAIRAM RAMESH CONGRESS LEADER #BharatJodoYatra". The letter written to M.K. Ranjit Sinh on October 6, 2009 says, “Please go ahead and prepare a detailed roadmap for the reintroduction of the Cheetah which should include a detailed analysis of different potential sites.” “The analysis should be carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India in collaboration with other organiza- tions like BNHS and WTI. You may also like to take State Forest Departments as part of this study. I expect that the roadmap would be submitted to the MOE&F by the end of January 2010.” On Saturday, the Congress said that the 'tamasha' orchestrated by the PM was unwarranted and was yet another diversion from the pressing national issues, said Congress general secretary and in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh in a tweet.“PM hardly ever acknowledges continuity in governance,” he tweeted.He said further that when tigers were first translocated to Panna and Sariska during 2009-11, there were many prophets of doom, Ramesh said, adding that they were proved wrong. BENGALURU FC WINS FIRST DURAND CUP EU PROPOSES TO SUSPEND BILLIONS IN FUNDS TO HUNGARY Rahul to be chief: Chh’garh, Raj passes resolution SNS & AGENCIES P12 Chandigarh varsity video row: Mann orders probe, accused held STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE CHANDIGARH, 18 SEPTEMBER Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday ordered a high level inquiry into the incident at Chandigarh University in which a female student allegedly recorded about 60 girls taking baths in the girls hostel and shared them with a male friend who then posted the same on social media. “Daughters are our honour, dignity and pride and any such incident is highly condemnable,” the CM said. Protests by the university’s students that started on Saturday night over the incident continued into Sunday. The protests broke out on the private university’s campus located at LudhianaChandigarh road in SAS Nagar (Mohali) following rumour that eight of the female students, whose videos were allegedly leaked, tried to commit suicide and one of these had died. The police, however, denied that any of the female students tried to commit suicide or has died following the incident. Following the protests, a female MBA student of the private university was arrested by police on Sunday morning on charges of making an objectionable video.Mann said he is saddened to learn about the incident and has asked the district administration to investigate the incident thoroughly.The CM said strict action will be taken against the culprits. Mann said he is in constant touch with the district administration and monitoring the entire situation. The CM appealed to the people not to fall into the rumors being spread by antisocial elements. He warned that strict action will be taken against those spreading rumours regarding this sensitive issue.Addressing a Press conference, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mohali, Vivek Sheel Soni said so far, only one video has been found out and this video is of the Students gather inside the Chandigarh University campus demanding justice over the alleged 'leaked objectional videos' row, in Mohali on Sunday.  ANI Daughters are our honour, dignity and pride and any such incident is highly condemnable.A high-level inquiry has been ordered into the incident. Severe action will be taken against whoever is found guilty. I request everyone to avoid rumours BHAGWANT MANN - PUNJAB CHEIF MINISTER accused herself. “She (the accused) has not recorded any other video of anyone else. Electronic devices and mobile phones have been taken into custody and will be sent for forensic examination,” Soni said. He said no suicide attempt or death has taken place and clarified that the video of a student being carried towards an ambulance, was because she suffered from an anxiety attack. The SSP said an FIR under IPC section 354-C (voyeurism) and the IT Act has been registered in the matter and a woman student has been apprehended. Meanwhile, Punjab higher education minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said it is really saddening to know about the unfortunate incident at Chandigarh University. “Since this matter is very sensitive, it is my request not to forward any unsubstantiated news. There is no news of suicide by any girl student. I assure justice to University students, especially girls. The DC Mohali and SSP have been ordered to conduct a thorough enquiry into the entire incident. Guilty would not be spared,” he added. Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh urged the Punjab Police to take action against the guilty. “Deeply saddened by the horrific incident that happened in Chandigarh University. My heart goes out to the young girls and their families. Urge Punjab Police to bring all the guilty involved to justice at the earliest. Stay strong girls, we all are with you!,” he tweeted. The prime accused in the video leak row was arrested from the Himachal Pradesh capital on Sunday, police said. Chandigarh University in Punjab's Mohali district has been witnessing strong student protests since Saturday night after it was reported that a woman student leaked obscene videos of several occupants of the girl's hostel online. The student, who was earlier arrested by the police, had purportedly sent some nude images and videos to her male friend in Shimla and these were leaked.“All the rumours of objectionable videos shot of other girl students are totally false and baseless,” University’s ProChancellor R.S. Bawa said. IAF plans to revive ‘Project Cheetah’ , upgrade it under Make in India route RAIPUR/JAIPUR, 18 SEPTEMBER AGENCIES With the election of the Congress national president a month away, the Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committees have passed resolutions to make Rahul Gandhi the party's chief again. Talking to reporters, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel said he had moved the resolution for appointing Rahul Gandhi as the party’s president,which was seconded by PCC chief Mohan Markam, state Assembly Speaker Charan Das Mahant, ministers TS Singh Deo, Shivkumar Dahariya and Premsai Singh Tekam. See Pg5 With all major import deals being either put on hold or scrapped by the Narendra Modi government, the Indian Air Force is now planning to go ahead with its Project Cheetah under the Make in India route where Indian defence manufacturers would arm the Israeli Heron drones with strike capabilities. Under the ambitious Project Cheetah, the Indian Air Force wants to upgrade its existing fleet of Israeli-origin Heron unmanned aerial vehicles with better communication facilities and missiles which can target enemy positions from long range.As per plans, the project was to be com- NEW DELHI, 18 SEPTEMBER The IAF wants to upgrade its existing fleet of Israeli-origin Heron unmanned aerial vehicles with better communication facilities & missiles pleted with Israeli weapon manufacturers.“Now, the IAF is planning to go ahead with the upgrade of its drones by involving Indian defence firms under Make in India in defence,” government sources said. The IAF is the main lead in the project under which the Israeli drones in the Navy and the Army are also planned to be upgraded with strike capabilities and better surveillance and reconnaissance pods. The three services for a long time have depended upon IAF Israeli-made Searcher II and Heron UAVs for reconnaissance and snooping purposes.With the upgrade in snooping capabilities, the forces on the ground would also be able to get pinpoint intelligence about hideouts in areas where men have to be involved in operations.The upgrades would also enable the ground stations to operate these aircraft from far-off distances and control them through a satellite communication system. The surveillance capabilities of the UAVs planned to be upgraded would be similar to the ones that have been acquired by the Indian Army and IAF under the emergency acquisition powers granted to the forces by the government in wake of the ongoing military stand-off. After 32 yrs wait LG Sinha opens cinema halls in terror-hit Pulwama, Shopian STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE JAMMU, 18 SEPTEMBER Thirty-two years after terrorists forced shutdown of cinema halls across Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday inaugurated two multipurpose cinema halls in south Kashmir's Pulwama and Shopian districts that continue to witness terror activities. “Today is a historic day for J&K UT. Multipurpose Cinema Halls at Pulwama and Shopian will offer facilities ranging from movie screening, infotainment and skilling of youth”, said the Lt Governor. Terrorists had burnt and shut cinema halls as they claimed that such entertainment was un-Islamic. Mr Sinha also dedicated a 120 ft tall National Flag in Pulwama that has in recent past witnessed civilian killings by terrorists. “One nation, one emotion, one identity!” the LG tweeted. Students, youth and people from all walks of life gathered at the new multipurpose cinema halls at Drussu Pulwama and MC Shopian to witness the event that was nothing less than a wonder particularly for the younger generation in Kashmir that has never seen a movie theatre in the valley. Establishment of Cinemas at district headquarters has been undertaken by the Gov- Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha during the inauguration of Multipurpose Cinema Halls at Pulwama and Shopian; (R) the interior of the multiplex that is planned to be opened in Srinagar on Tuesday. ANI/SNS  The Lieutenant Governor will inaugurate a multiplex in Srinagar that is designed by INOX on Tuesday. The multiplex has three movie theatres with a combined seating capacity of atleast 520 people. ernment's Mission Youth Department in collaboration with the district administra- tion. Cinema Halls in Anantnag, Srinagar, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Doda, Rajouri, Poonch, CMYK Kishtwar and Reasi will be inaugurated soon.The Lt Governor dedicated the multipurpose cinema halls of Pulwama and Shopian to the people, especially the younger generation of Kashmir who have waited for a long time for this moment. The Lt Governor shared the government’s vision to establish similar multipurpose cinema halls in every district of the UT under the Mission Youth. Cinema is a powerful creative medium which reflects culture, values and aspirations of the people. It opens the door to the world of knowledge, new discoveries, enables people to get a better under- standing of each-other’s culture, observed the Lt Governor. J&K has a long association with the world of cinema. The new film policy and facilities created has once again made J&K the favourite shooting destination and brought back the golden era of film-making in the UT, the Lt Governor said. With the support of Mission Youth, district administration, Jadooz Group and the society, I am confident the timeless creativity offered by Cinema will be appreciated across generations, added the Lt Governor. Cinema has played a huge role in social change in our country; giving us role models, inspiring us to work for the society and for the nation, the Lt Governor further added. Reiterating the Government's commitment to make the youth empowered, the Lt Governor said, the government is ensuring that the talented youth of J&K get the right platform and modern facilities for education and skill development.The new cinema halls will generate employment for locals and also provide a vibrant space for training of youth and seminars. Meanwhile, the LG will inaugurate a multiplex in Srinagar that is designed by INOX on Tuesday. The multiplex has three movie theatres with a combined seating capacity of atleast 520 people.