FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Tuesday, 04 November 2025 SPORTS WORLD BUSINESS India, New Zealand kick off 4th FTA talks Page 10 BRIEFLY AI flight lands in Mongolia over suspected tech issue: DCNS urges cooperation against Indian Ocean threats Page 9 ‘Hospitalisations under Swasthya Sathi hit 1 cr’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE C hief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday wrote on her X handle that the total hospitalisations under "Swasthya Sathi", the state government’s own health insurance scheme, achieved the one crore mark on 31 October. In a social media post, Banerjee also said that till that date, cashless health care benefit of Rs 13,156 crore has been provided to the citizens of West Bengal entirely from the state budget. "Any resident of West Bengal is eligible to avail the benefits of 'Swasthya Sathi', if not covere d by any other state-sponsored scheme. More than 8.5 crore residents of West Bengal are covered under the scheme," she said in her post. According to her, a robust IT platform and time-bound payment to hospital partners have ensured faster and reliable service delivery to its b enef iciaries. "The Government of West Bengal is always with you in your difficult times," the chief minister added. Her claims come at a time when the West Bengal government has come under frequent criticism for not allowing implementation of the national health insurance scheme, "Ayushman Bharat", just to promote "Swasthya Sathi". The Trinamul Congress had argued that any citizen of West Bengal could avail the benefit of the "Swasthya Sathi" scheme without any precondition of financial background, unlike the "Ayushman Bharat" scheme, which had some preconditions attached to it. Meanwhile, on the eve of a state-wide protest march Death toll rises to 19 in T’gana bus-truck collision STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Hyderabad, 3 November In a heart-wrenching tragedy, 19 p e ople were kille d, including a ten-month-old infant, when a gravel-carrying tipper collided head-on with a Hyderabad-bound state-run bus (RTC) from Tandur on the Hyderabad-Bijap ur National Highway today morning. The majority of the victims were women, including college students. Although a busy road, this was a narrow stretch, and the lo cal MLA blame d environmental activists for stalling the road-widening project due to a row of more than 100-year-old banyan trees. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 Lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to the next of kin of the dead while the state government has announced Rs 7 lakhs. The accident took place at 6:15 am near Indirareddy Nagar, and the tipp er, overloaded with gravel, was going from Shadnagar to Vikarabad’s Chittampalli Gate. The bus carried around 70 passengers. According to eyewitnesses, “the tipper was travelling at a high speed, overtaking several vehicles, and suddenly steered to the right, colliding head-on with the RTC bus coming from the opposite direction.” Both drivers were killed in the collision along with 17 passengers. The bus was carrying 72 passengers at the time of the accident. Some of the passengers were trapped under the gravel and had to be rescued. Both drivers are among the deceased. The conductor, Radha, said at the last moment, bus driver Dastagiri veered the steering wheel and it saved her life along with those sitting on the opposite side of the driver’s seat. Three college-going sisters died in the accident, while two children who survived the accident lost their parents. Ordering an inquiry transport minister Ponnam. Chief minister A Revanth Reddy spoke to the chief secretary and DGP after the horrifying accident and directed them to make all possible efforts to save the injured, d e p l oy i n g ambulances, medical staff a n d p r ov i d i n g o t h e r emergency medical assistance. He also expressed deep sorrow over the bus accident at Chevella mandal. After five World Cups, countless scars, Harmanpreet’s wait finally ends in glory TRIDIB BAPARNASH New Delhi, 3 November Having made her international debut back in 2009, Harmanpreet Kaur had waited 15 long years before finally laying her hands on an ICC World Cup silverware. On Sunday night in Navi Mumbai, that wait, filled with heartbreaks, near-misses and unfinished stories, came to an end. The India skipper, featuring in her fifth Women’s World Cup campaign, stood centre-stage at the DY Patil Stadium, overwhelmed and almost unable to process the magnitude of what she had achieved. She was one of only five players at this edition to feature in a fifth World Cup, having first worn India colours at the 2009 Page 12 NATION Kolkata, 3 November New Delhi: Air India on Monday said that its flight from San Francisco to Delhi, via Kolkata, made a precautionary landing in Mongolia, after the flight crew suspected a technical issue. The airline said that the incident occurred when flight AI174, on November 2, operating from San Francisco to Delhi via Kolkata, "made a precautionary landing at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, after the flight crew suspected a technical issue en route". I’ll take those 45 sleepless nights any day for winning the WC: Mandhana Page 5 Trump says Russia, China, Pak among nations testing N-weapons tournament in Australia, a debut that came in a 10-wicket win against Pakistan. Since then, every campaign has carried hope, and every exit has deepened the hurt. The painful memory of the 2017 final loss at Lord’s still lingers in Indian cricket’s collective consciousness, so it was fitting that when the final wicket fell in Navi Mumbai, sealing India’s 52-run win over South Africa, Harmanpreet’s first reaction was not joy, but disbelief. “I'm just trying to express what I'm feeling. I'm numb, I'm not able to understand,” Harmanpreet said. “It's just that there were ups and downs, but the team had self-belief. I've been saying this since day one. We weren't looking to the left or right. We were only looking at our main end goal.” The triumph belonged to the players on the field, but it resonated just as deeply with the icons who paved the way. Soon after the final, a host of India greats, including Mithali Raj, Anjum Chopra and Jhulan Goswami walked onto the turf to embrace the newly crowned world champions, turning the outfield into a meeting point of eras. The celebrations unfolded before a roaring crowd of nearly 40,000, a sight unimaginable two decades ago for the women’s game. There was also a deeply personal moment shared by Harmanpreet and her deputy Smriti Mandhana, two of the most defining faces of modern Indian cricket, who have lived through repeated heartbreaks together. The turnaround, Harmanpreet revealed, began with a venue change, something the team viewed not as a logistical shift, but a sign. Towards the end, Harmanpreet also said that this win was special in many ways as it marked the start of a new journey, filled with a lot of belief. She insisted that once her team broke the jinx, the next goal is to remain consistent and make winning a habit. over the Special Intensive Review (SIR) issue, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday released a self-composed song on X, describing it as a reflection of her party’s stand against what she called the BJP’s “conspiracy to snatch away people’s voting rights.” “Before tomorrow’s rally, please listen to this song written and composed by me. It embodies our voice and our cause,” she wrote. The song, sung by minister and singer Indranil Sen, appeals to citizens not to succumb to fear amid growing concerns over voter list deletions during the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The ruling TMC has accused the BJP and the Election Commission of working in tandem to exclude genuine voters—especially the poor, minorities, and refugees—from the electoral rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Re-elect NDA: PM in Bihar IMRAN MOJIB Patna, 3 November Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged the people of Bihar to re-elect the NDA in the upcoming Assembly elections to sustain the state’s momentum of progress. Addressing election rallies in Saharsa and Katihar, he said in the Bihar Assembly elections, one side represents the NDA, which is committed to building a developed Bihar, while on the other side are those associated with ‘jungle raj’ (lawless rule). “In the past few years, Bihar has picked up the pace of development. Now, together, we must make this pace even faster. Every single vote of yours is extremely precious to keep Bihar’s momentum of progress going. Therefore, the RJD and Congress must be defeated in such a way that they never even think of harming Bihar again,” Modi said. EAM reiterates support for Gaza peace plan STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 3 November External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday reiterated India's support for the Gaza peace plan, which, he hoped, would lead to a lasting and durable solution. He was co - chairing a meeting of the fifth India-Bahrain High Joint Commission with Bahrain's Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani in New Delhi. The minister noted that the two countries have also seen a steady growth of bilateral trade and investments.