CMYK SATURDAY 14 JANUARY 2023 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR 'YATRA HAS REVIVED CONGRESS CADRE' ‘DEVELOPED WORLD MUST HELP IN DEALING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE’ P4 WEATHER Mainly clear sky. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 25 °C and 17 °C respectively. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 91 % TEMPERATURE LISA MARIE PRESLEY, DAUGHTER OF ELVIS, PASSES AWAY AT 54 P7 P10 India entering robust phase of tourism: PM HOCKEY WC: INDIA BEAT SPAIN 2-0 IN THEIR OPENING POOL D MATCH P12 Budget Session of Parl to commence on 31 January ‘Public and private sectors need to leverage synergies’ Modi flags off world's longest river cruise MV GangaVilas in Varanasi Min. 62 % Max: 25.2 °C (0) Min:17.5 °C (+4) SUN RISES SUN SETS 06:19 hrs 17:12 hrs MOON RISES MOON SETS 22:37 hrs 10:20 hrs Full Moon on 22 January Today India has everything and a lot beyond your imagination PM NARENDRA MODI STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE VARANASI/NEW DELHI, 13 JANUARY rime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the world’s longest river cruise, and inaugurated a Tent City in Varanasi, as he said that India was entering into a robust phase of tourism as curiosity about the country was increasing with its growing global profile. The MV Ganga Vilas, the first cruise vessel built in India, will travel 3,200 kilometres in 51 days, from Varanasi to Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, sailing across 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh. The Prime Minister, who connected through video conferencing with the main programme organised in Varanasi, also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for several other inland waterways projects worth more than Rs 1,000 crores.In his address, the Prime Minister said: “India is entering into a robust phase of tourism as with a growing global pro- P THUMBNAILS A child is seen during heavy snowfall, in Srinagar on Friday.  ANI 10 pilgrims bound for Shirdi killed in accident: In a tragedy, 10 pilgrims were killed and 24 others were injured when a speeding private luxury bus carrying them to the famed Shirdi Saibaba Temple in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar, crashed into an oncoming truck near Patharde in Nashik district on Friday morning, police said.The accident took place around 7 a.m., when the bus, with around 45 pilgrims from Ambernath town in Thane, was speeding to Shirdi via Sinnar-Shirdi state highway. file, curiosity about India is also increasing.”This was the reason why various steps were taken in the last eight years to expand the tourism sector in the country, said the PM. Emphasising that strong connectivity was essential for building a developed India, he said out that the longest river cruise from Kashi (Varanasi) to Dibrugarh being flagged off today would bring places of tourism in North India on the world tourism map.Underlining the central role of river Ganga in the life of every Indian, the PM lamented that the area around the banks lagged behind in development in the postindependence period thereby leading to a massive exodus of population from the area. He elaborated on a twin approach to address this unfortunate situation. On the one hand, the campaign to clean Ganga was undertaken through Namami Gange and ‘Arth Ganga’ was taken up on the other. In ‘Arth Ganga’, steps have been taken to create an environment of economic dynamism in the states from where Ganga passes.Directly addressing tourists from foreign countries traveling on the maiden cruise, Mr Modi said, “Today India has everything and a lot beyond your imagination.” He added that India could only be experienced from the heart as the nation has welcomed everyone with open hearts irrespective of region or religion, creed or country and welcomed tourists from all parts of the world. Noting that the cruise would pass through 25 different river streams, he said this cruise has significant importance for those who have a keen interest in understanding the river systems of India. He added that it was also a golden opportunity for those who wanted to explore the myriad culinary and cuisines of India. “One can witness the extraordinary amalgamation of the heritage of India and its modernity on this cruise,” he remarked.“Not just foreign tourists but Indians who travelled to different nations for such an expe- rience can head towards North India now,” the PM said. He said similar experiences were being readied in other inland waterways of the country to give a boost to cruise tourism while keeping in mind the budget as well as the luxury experience. Underlining the situation of Waterways before 2014, the PM said, earlier, there was very little use of waterways in the country, even though waterways have thousands of years of history in our country. “Post 2014, India is harnessing this ancient strength to the cause of modern India. There is a new law and detailed action plan for developing waterways in big rivers of the country.”He noted that there were only five national waterways in the country in 2014; now, there are 111 national waterways in the country, with about two dozen already operational. Similarly, there has been a 3-times increase in cargo transportation via river waterways from 30 lakh metric tonnes eight years ago. The Prime Minister said that today’s events will help in making eastern India a growth engine for Developed India.This connects Haldia multimodal terminal with Varanasi and with the India-Bangladesh protocol route and North-east. This also connects Kolkata port and Bangladesh.This will facilitate business from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Bengal to Bangladesh, he said. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 13 JANUARY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 13 JANUARY The Budget Session of Parliament is set to commence on 31 January and will continue till 6 April, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said today. There will be a total of 27 sittings of the two Houses spread over a period of 66 days. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on 1st February. This will be the fifth Union Budget to be presented by Ms Sitharaman, and the final full-year budget under PM Narendra Modi's government before the general elections due in 2024. “Budget Session 2023 of Parliament will commence from 31 January and continue till 6 April with 27 sittings spread over 66 days with usual recess. Amid Amrit Kaal, looking forward to discussions on Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, Union Budget and other items,” Mr Joshi tweeted. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said despite risks, the emerging global environment offers new and diverse opportunities in digitization, energy, health care and agriculture, and to seize these opportunities, public and private sectors need to leverage synergies and think out of the box. The Prime Minister made the observation at an interaction with economists and experts at Niti Aayog. The deliberations focussed on the theme “India’s Growth & Resilience Amidst Global Headwinds.” The meeting has come ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament, beginning this month-end.Mr Modi applauded the success of the India Digital story,the rapid adoption of fintech across the country and the potential for inclusive growth and development it promises. He underscored Nari Shakti (women's power) as a key driver of India’s growth and urged to continue making efforts to further enable and boost women’s participation in the workforce. In the ongoing International Year of Millets, the Prime Minister highlighted the need to promote Millets in view of their potential to transform the rural and agri sector, with their attributes such as being carbon neutral, conducive to natural farming, and affordable source of nutrition. The Union minister said during the Budget session, the recess will be from 14 February till 12 March to enable department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees to examine the demands for grants and make reports relating to their ministries or departments. During the first part of the Budget Session, the two Houses will have a detailed discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, followed by a discussion on the Union Budget. While the Prime Minister will reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, the Finance Minister will reply to the debate on the Union Budget. During the second part of the Budget Session, the major focus will be on the demands for grants of various ministries, apart from the government's legislative agenda. The Union Budget, a Money Bill, is passed during this part of the session. NIA, JKP to jointly probe targeted attack: HM PMAY irregularities: 5 Central STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE JAMMU, 13 JANUARY Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday announced that the National Investigation Agency and Jammu and Kashmir Police will jointly investigate the targeted terrorist attack in the Dangri village of Rajouri on 1 January in which seven persons were killed. Talking to mediapersons after concluding his day long visit here, Mr Shah said that the NIA and J&K Police will also investigate the subsequent IED blast in a house where two children were killed the next morning. Making the announcement after a high level security review meeting, the Home Minister said that the two agencies will also look into the terrorist strikes in the past 18 months in the Jammu division so as to provide 360 degrees security to the people of Jammu where attempts were being made to revive terrorism.Mr Shah said that some Union Home minister Amit Shah addresses a joint press conference with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, in Jammu on Friday.  ANI of those killed in Dangri were refugees from Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). He said Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and those sheltering and supporting terrorists will be identified and such modules smashed. Those involved in the killings in Dangri will soon be tracked down and brought to justice. The Home Minister said that he discussed all aspects with the security forces and intelligence agencies that Woman urinated on her own seat in AI flight, says accused SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI , 13 JANUARY Shankar Mishra, accused of urinating on a woman on board an Air India Flight from New York to New Delhi flight on Friday told a Delhi Court that he did not commit the offence and submitted that the complainant herself could have peed on her own seat. The accused through senior lawyer Ramesh Gupta submitted, "The complainant woman's seat was blocked. It wasn't possible for him (Mishra) to go there. The woman has a problem of incontinence. She urinated on herself. She is a Kathak dancer, 80 per cent of kathak dancers have this issue." Raising questions over the Delhi Police investigation, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta submitted that there must be someone else."She herself urinated. The seating system was such that no one could go to her seat. The passenger sitting behind the complainant did not make any such complaint," he added. On this, Additional Sessions Judge Harjyot Singh Bhalla observed that "It is not impossible to go from one side of the flight to the other. Sorry, but I have travelled as well. Anybody from any row can come around and go to any seat."The Sessions court later granted liberty to Delhi Police to re-approach the Magistrate Court to seek police remand with fresh grounds, if needed. have a high level of confidence and will work out a security grid for Jammu division and put it in place within three months.He said terror incidents and targeted attacks at minorities have decreased during the past three years after abrogation of Article 370. Mr Shah, who was scheduled to fly to Dangri village immediately after reaching here, was unable to do so because of poor visibility and bad weather.He talked over the phone with kin of the seven victims of the targeted attack by terrorists and assured them that those behind these killings would not be spared. Mr Shah said that he talked to kin of all the seven victims and shared their grief in the presence of Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha. During their phone conversation, Ms Saroj Bala, both of whose sons, Deepak and Prince were killed in the attack, urged Mr Shah to arm the villagers with automatic weapons to counter such terrorist attacks.She said that during her talk with the Home Minister, he assured her that the VDC will be strengthened and terrorists involved in these killings will be tracked down.Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha, chief secretary AK Mehta, Northern Army Commander Lt. General Upendra Dwivedi, DGP Dilbag Singh and top brass of Army, Police, BSF, CRPF, SSB, ITBP , central and state intelligence agencies attended the security review meeting. monitoring teams to visit state STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 13 JANUARY The Centre will send five monitoring teams to conduct a detailed enquiry into the complaints related to alleged irregularities under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme in 10 districts across the state. The Union Rural Development Ministry has sent a letter to the state government stating that it has received complaints in selection of applicants for the PMAY scheme and will depute five monitoring teams to inquire into the complaints. “The visit will begin with a meeting with the District Collector/ CEO Zilla Parishad/ other district level officials implementing PMAY-G. The District Magistrate/ District Collector/ CEO Zilla Parishad of the concerned districts may be requested to spare suf- ficient time to interact with the team during their visit,” read the letter issued by the Ministry. The five teams of National Level Monitors or NLMs, empanelled with the Rural Development Ministry will reportedly visit the districts of East Midnapore, Malda, West Midnapore, Nadia, South 24 Parganas, East Bardhaman, Murshidabad, Alipurduar, Darjeeling and Kalimpong. This is the second time this month that the Centre will send teams to Bengal. On 5 January, the Ministry had sent two teams for East Midnapore and Malda. Among these two districts, East Midnapore allegedly recorded the highest number of deletions. The Centre had sanctioned 11,36,844 houses under the PMAY for West Bengal and directed the state government to construct the houses within 31 March. However, as the Centre is yet to release funds, state government officials are unsure as to how to complete the work within the stipulated time period.“The scheme has already been delayed. We have sent names of 11 lakh beneficiaries to the Ministry and another list of 22 beneficiaries is lying with us. But the Centre is not giving us funds and is only busy in sending teams to our state,” said Mr Pradip Majumdar, panchayat minister. Last week, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had slammed the Centre for sending teams to Bengal. “BJP leaders have taken the money from PMAY despite having two or three storeyed building. For political reasons, Centre keeps sending A Team, B Team, A-Z Team. Whenever anything untoward happens, they will send a team from the Centre to probe the matter,” Miss Banerjee had then said. Slow subsidence up to 9 cm recorded in Joshimath: ISRO SNS & AGENCIES JOSHIMATH , 13 JANUARY Slow subsidence up to 9 cm is recorded in Joshimath town over a period of seven months, between April and November 2022, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) satellite-based report. National Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO said several reports over the last few days highlighted the subsidence occurring in Joshimath. Due to landslide-related creep, cracks have appeared in around 700 houses. Roads along with the hotels and hospitals present there have developed cracks, said NRSC. ISRO, in its observation, said, "Slow subsidence up to 9 cm within the Joshimath town is recorded over a period of 7 months, between April A subsidence zone resembling a generic landslide shape was identified (tapered top and fanning out at base). The crown of the subsidence is located near JoshimathAuli road at a height of 2,180 metre, said ISRO report and November 2022. Between December 27, 2022 and January 8, 2023 a rapid subsidence event was triggered." The region subsided around 5 cm within a span of a few days and the areal extent of subsidence has also increased. But it is confined to the central part of Joshimath town, said the space agency of India.A subsidence zone resembling a generic landslide shape was identified (tapered top and fanning out at base). The Crown of the subsidence is located near JoshimathAuli road at a height of 2,180 metre, said ISRO report. The identified subsidence CMYK zone was correlated with new Cartosat-2S satellite data acquired by ISRO. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that the Prime Minister is personally distressed about the land subsidence in Uttarakhand's Joshimath.He further added that the Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami is constantly working to bring the situation under control. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also enquired about the situation in Joshimath over the phone from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday. According to the Chief Minister's Office, the Home Minister assured all possible assistance to the Uttarakhand government for Joshimath.Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday chaired a meeting with all stakeholders on the Joshimath land subsidence issue.During the meeting, the chief minister interacted with the Army, ITBP NDRF and sci, entists from various establishments engaged in landslide investigation, district administration, police and districtlevel officers associated with essential services at Sunil ITBP camp.The CM said that the safety of the citizens is our biggest responsibility. He instructed everyone to ensure all arrangements for the safety of the people, a release from the chief minister's office said.The Chief Minister also interacted with the scientists of various establishments engaged in the investigation of landslides and inquired about the ongoing studies and research into the causes of landslides in Joshimath. ‘Want a free but balanced Press in India’: SC questions anchors’ roles NEW DELHI, 13 JANUARY The Supreme Court on Friday said the television channels are creating divisions in society, as they are agendadriven and compete to sensationalise news, and anchors who try to create divisions in the society through their programmes should be taken off air.It emphasised that a free and balanced press is wanted in India. A bench of Justices K.M. Joseph and B.V. Nagarathna orally observed that channels are competing against each other, they sensationalise things, and serve an agenda. Justice Joseph orally told a counsel, representing The News Broadcasters & Digital Association: "You (the news channels) create divisions amongst the society, or whatever opinion you want to create is much faster...". As counsel said they are guidelines for anchors, Justice Joseph asked: "How many times have you taken off anchors, have you dealt with anchors in a way you send a message, see ultimately who controls the content of the programme anchor and editorial... if anchor himself or herself are part of the problem." He added that the visual medium can influence much more than a newspaper and asked if the audience, are “mature enough to see this content?” On her part, Justice Nagarathna said: "We want a free and balanced press in India... free but balanced." Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, representing the Centre, contended that the government is contemplating a separate amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code and that is its stand in the matter.AGENCIES