MONDAY 19 MAY 2025 www.thestatesman.com SINCE 1818 Pages 12 |` 5.00 X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR KISHOR LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN IN BIHAR MEHBOOBA ADVOCATES FOR SPECIAL SESSION ON ‘OP SINDOOR’ P5 PUNJAB KINGS INCH B’DESH FACES $770 MN HIT DUE TO INDIA'S CURBS CLOSER TO PLAYOFFS ON TRADE P8 P9 RAINFALL: 006.3 mm Death toll rises to 17 in Hyd fire tragedy RELATIVE HUMIDITY PM Modi announced ex-gratia of `2 lakh for the next of kin of those killed WEATHER Partly cloudy sky. Rain or thundershower accompanied with gusty wind very likely. Max. 92% Min. 58% TEMPERATURE Max: 36.2˚C (+0.4) Min: 25.6˚C (-1.1) SUN RISES 04:55 hrs MOON RISES 23:09 hrs SUN SETS 18:11 hrs MOON SETS 09:16 hrs New Moon on 27 May THUMBNAILS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE HYDERABAD, 18 MAY Devotees stand in a queue as they arrive to offer prayers at Rudranath Temple after its door opening, in Chamoli on Sunday. nANI Ashoka University professor arrested over social media post on ÂOperation Sindoor': Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Head of the Department of Political Science at Ashoka University, was arrested by the Police from his residence in Delhi over a social media post related to Operation Sindoor, police said. The arrest follows a notice issued by the Haryana State Commission for Women, which had taken suo motu cognisance of Mahmudabad's remarks. The notice, dated May 12, referred to “public statements and remarks” made “on or about May 7” by Prof Mahmudabad in connection with Operation Sindoor. S eventeen people, including eight children, were killed today in a devastating incident of fire in a three-storey building near Gulzar House Chowrasta in the Old City area of Hyderabad. The fire started in a jewellery shop on the ground floor of the old building, located in a congested area on the road leading to the iconic Charminar. The thick smoke caused the deaths due to asphyxiation in the residential quarters on the first and second floors. All the deceased belonged to the same family. Locals and firefighters said a single narrow entrance, blocked by two-wheelers and the presence of inflammable materials, hampered rescue. The family members blamed the delay in the arrival of ambulances and the lack of oxygen masks for the death of a seven-year-old child. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ex-gratia of Rs two lakh for the next of kin of those killed, while the state government announced Rs five lakh as compensation. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy ordered a thorough probe to unearth the root cause into the massive fire accident at Gulzar House in the Old City of Hyderabad. The Chief Minister stressed that preventive measures should be taken to prevent such fire accidents in the future and awareness should also be created among people. The fire started early morning and the fire department was informed at 6:16 am. However, local people were the first to enter the smoke-engulfed building after hearing the cries of women urging IMF slaps 11 more conditions on Pak, flags tensions with India as big risk AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 18 MAY The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slapped 11 new conditions on Pakistan for the $ 7 billion lifeline that it has extended and also flagged the rising tensions with India as a huge risk for the cash-strapped country. The new conditions that have been imposed include approval of a new Rs 17.6 lakh crore budget, increasing debt servicing surcharge on electricity bills and lifting restrictions on the import of more than three-year-old used cars, according to a report in Pakistani newspaper Express Tribune. The Staff Level report, which the IMF released on Saturday, also said that "rising tensions between India and Pakistan, if sustained or dete- riorate further, could heighten risks to the fiscal, external and reform goals of the programme". The report further stated that tensions between Pakistan and India have risen significantly over the past two weeks but so far the market reaction has been modest with the stock market retaining most of its recent gains and spreads widening moderately. The IMF has shown Pakistan's defence budget for the next fiscal year at Rs 2.414 lakh crore, which represents an increase of Rs 25,200 crore or 12 per cent. Compared to the IMF's projection, the government has indicated allocating over Rs 2.5 lakh crore, which is an 18 per cent increase after the conflict with India. The IMF has also imposed a new condition of securing parliamentary approval of the fiscal year 2026 budget in line with the IMF staff agreement to meet programme targets by end-June 2025. “The report revealed that the IMF has slapped 11 more conditions on Pakistan for the sake of just $7 billion lending, taking the total conditions to 50,” the Express Tribune report states. The IMF has shown the total size of the federal budget at Rs 17.6 trillion, including Rs 1.07 lakh crore for the development spending with an overall deficit of Rs 6.6 lakh crore. A new condition has also been imposed on the provinces where the four federating units will implement the new Agriculture Income Tax laws through a comprehensive plan, including the establishment of an operational platform for processing returns, taxpayer identification and registration, a communication campaign, and a compliance improvement plan. The deadline for the provinces is June this year. BJP govt to establish PACS in every panchayat by 2029, says Amit Shah STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 18 MAY Announcing that the union government plans to establish Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in every panchayat by 2029, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah today said India’s cooperative sector cannot be strengthened unless the benefits of the changes in this sector reach the grassroots level. Addressing a ‘Maha Sammelan’ on the “Role of Cooperatives in Building a Viksit Bharat”, organized by Gujarat State Cooperative Federation in Ahmedabad, he said we must strive to bring awareness, training, and transparency to all types of cooperative institutions. The minister, according to a press release, said it is the responsibility of all of us to expand the cooperative movement to every state and district. Additionally, the condition of primary cooperative societies in every state should improve, district-level institutions should be strengthened, and through them, the cooperative framework at the state and national levels should also be reinforced, Shah observed. The minister said that under the central government initiative started in 2021, two guiding principles – ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’ and ‘The Role of Cooperation in Viksit Bharat’ - were presented to the nation. The United Nations will celebrate the year of 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives. The word cooperative is as relevant today for the whole world as it was in the year of 1900, the minister, according to a press release issued here, said. He further stated that a fourth tier has been added to the long-standing global threetier cooperative structure, emphasizing that it is essential to expand cooperation across the entire country by strengthening national institutions related to every cooperative activity, state-level cooperative institutions, district-level institutions, and primary cooperative societies in every sector. We must utilize the International Year of Cooperatives to achieve this, the minister said. Talking about the campaign, Shah said that it’s based on three pillars - integrating cooperation into the mainstream of governance, bringing transparency and authenticity to the cooperative movement through technology, and accelerating the process of connecting more and more citizens with the cooperative movement. He further emphasized that the cooperative framework cannot be strengthened unless we strengthen Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). That is why the Modi government has decided to establish a PACS in every ‘panchayat’ of the country by 2029. Under this decision, 2 lakh new and dairies will be registered. He further said that the government has integrated around 22 different activities with PACS. Shah also mentioned that the government will soon introduce a policy for the settlement of PACS that have gone into liquidation, as well as for the establishment of new PACS. The minister said that we need to strengthen the cooperative structure by using the International Cooperative Year 2025 to spread awareness among all the people, setting new dimensions of transparency and conducting recruitments. them to save their family members. The fire services personnel rescued 4 people trapped on the first floor of the building. According to fire services, there were “access constraints” and 11 vehicles, one firefighting robot, 17 officers and more than 70 personnel were pressed into service and took two hours to bring the inferno under control. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated, “Deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to a fire tragedy in Hyderabad, Telangana. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs50,000.” Announcing Rs 5 lakh compensation for the next of kin of the deceased, deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu said “The fire might have been caused by a short circuit in the shop on the ground floor, and the smoke reached the first floor and the second floor, causing the death of the 17 people.” ISRO’s EOS-09 launch fails due to third-stage anomaly P12 CJI BR Gavai schools Maharashtra officials on protocol as they skip event SRIHARIKOTA, 18 MAY The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) faced a setback on Sunday as its 101st mission, PSLVC61 carrying the EOS-09 satellite, encountered a technical malfunction in the launch vehicle. Due to the malfunction, the mission failed, and the satellite could not be successfully deployed. The indigenously developed PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), designated PSLV-C61, lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota with the objective of placing the EOS-09 satellite into a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO). Dr. Narayanan said, "Today, we attempted the 101st launch from Sriharikota — the PSLVC61 carrying the EOS09 mission. The PSLV is a four-stage launch vehicle, and its performance was normal up to the second stage. The third stage motor ignited correctly; however, during its operation, an anomaly was detected, and the mission could not be completed successfully..." SNS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, 18 MAY Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, during his first public visit to Maharashtra since assuming the country’s top judicial post, voiced his disappointment over the absence of senior state officials, including the Chief Secretary, at a felicitation event held in his honour on Sunday. Speaking at the programme, CJI Gavai stopped short of terming the absence a breach of protocol, but emphasized that it reflected a lack of institutional respect. “It’s about one organ of the Constitution showing regard for another,” he said. “When the Chief Justice of India visits a state for the first time, the absence of key officials like the Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police, and the Mumbai Police Commissioner calls for introspection.” He stressed that this wasn’t about adhering to a new protocol, but about upholding the dignity and mutual respect that must exist among constitutional institutions. “These things may appear minor, but their symbolic value cannot be underestimated,” he remarked. Underscoring the importance of balance among the three pillars of democracy — the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive — the Chief Justice reiterated that each arm of the state must respect and acknowledge the role of the others. “The institutions are coequal. Mutual respect is essential for the healthy functioning of democracy,” he noted. CJI Gavai’s comments come amid growing concerns over friction between the judiciary and the executive. Recent developments, such as strong statements from Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and certain Members of Parliament, especially in the context of the Tamil Nadu Bills case, have highlighted alleged judicial overreach.