MONDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘INDIA WILL BECOME WORLD POWER IN MODI’S THIRD TERM’ KAVITHA DECIDES TO SKIP CBI SUMMONS P4 WEATHER Sunshine along with some cloudy intervals. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 29 °C and 20°C respectively. RAINFALL: NIL RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 63% Max: 29.6°C SUN RISES 06:00 hrs MOON RISES 19:12 hrs Min: 20.3°C SUN SETS 17:38 hrs MOON SETS 07:01 hrs TEMPERATURE P5 Money will be deposited in bank accounts of job card holders from today he state government will disburse money to the deprived 100 days work job card holders under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme from tomorrow. This is for the first time that the state government has taken the initiative to clear the dues of the workers under projects funded by the Centre. The money will be deposited in the bank account of the workers from tomorrow. Chief Secretary BP Gopalika held a virtual meeting with all the district magistrates in this regard yesterday and instructed them to monitor the process. The state government will organise meetings across the state on 29 February and 1 March where those who have received the money are expected to attend. More than 24 lakh job card holders whose wages have not been cleared by the Centre will get their dues. Funds amounting to more than Rs 3,700 crore have been earmarked in the state Budget for 202425 for the purpose. T New Moon on 10 March THUMBNAILS People enjoying the pleasant weather at Kartavya Path in New Delhi. SUBRATA DUTTA INLD leader shot dead: The Indian National Lok Dal's Haryana unit president and former legislator Nafe Singh Rathee was shot dead in an attack by unidentified assailants in the state's Jhajjar district on Sunday, police said. Two party activists who were travelling with him have died while two other are critically injured. INLD spokesperson Rakesh Sihag said that Rathee, a two-time legislator, died after unidentified assailants opened fire at him while he was travelling in an SUV in Bahadurgarh town. The assailants were in a car, a police officer said.  More than 24 lakh MGNREGA job-card holders whose wages have not been cleared by the Centre will get their dues.  Funds amounting to more than Rs 3,700 crore have been earmarked in the state Budget for 202425 for the purpose.  Miss Banerjee has also announced that the state government will construct houses for 11 lakh rural poor if the Centre does not clear pending funds for the PM Awas Yojana within a month. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier announced that the state government would clear the dues of the workers. She had written to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention to clear the dues and also met him along with Trinamul Congress MPs in Delhi. But nothing has happened from the Centre's side. Miss Banerjee took part in a dharna on Red Road ear- With Akhilesh joining, BJNY in Agra becomes a Samajwadi affair STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE lier this month to press the demand. Previously, in October last year, Trinamul Congress national general secretary and the party's MP Mr Abhishek Banerjee had staged a protest in Rajghat in Delhi over the issue along with other party leaders and some deprived job card holders. They had also tried to meet the Union minister of Driverless train runs for 80 kilometres STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE AGRA, 25 FEBRUARY JAMMU, 25 FEBRUARY The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra reached the city of the Taj Mahal, Agra, where Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav joined it. The yatra, spearheaded by the Congress leader and his sister Priyanka Vadra, turned into a Samajwadi Party affair with the presence of Akhilesh Yadav. The brother-sister duo enthusiastically welcomed Akhilesh, reminiscent of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, when similar scenes were witnessed when the two parties had a pre-poll alliance. Extending a warm welcome to Akhilesh Yadav for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said: "Today is a very happy day when we all are united to fight for our country, for our democracy and to save our Constitution.” On the occasion, Akhilesh Yadav poetically targeted the BJP He said: “Agra is a city . of love. The message of love should go from here to the entire country." Akhilesh gave a slogan to remove the BJP and “Save the Constitution, Save the country.” He called the BJP a paper-leak party whose leaders work to spread hatred in the country. "The youth do not have employment. They are forced to burn their degrees. They bring black laws for the farmers. Now, BJP's departure is certain and the INDIA coalition government will be formed," the SP president pre- dicted. Akhilesh Yadav was scheduled to join the Congress yatra in Rae Bareli on 20 February, but the Samajwadi Party president gave it a miss owing to the delay in the agreement over the pre-poll alliance in the state with the Congress. The two parties subsequently reached a seat-sharing arrangment for Uttar Pradesh. The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which reached Agra via Aligarh, will now enter Rajasthan. A major rail mishap was averted on Sunday when a 53-wagon freight train ran at high speed for approximately 80 km on a busy track without a loco driver. It was a nightmarish experience for the railway staff who took emergency measures and shut all rail crossing gates on the route to prevent any accident. The train reportedly started running suddenly on its own from Kathua in the Jammu division and was finally stopped in the Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. The railways have ordered an inquiry into the incident. Authorities confirmed that the goods train was stopped at Uchhi Pind near Dasuya after applying emergency brakes while it was running at a speed of 100 km. A video of the train running without a driver went viral on social media. PM takes dive in Arabian Sea, prays at Dwarka site STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 25 FEBRUARY Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday dived into the Arabian Sea off the coast of Gujarat and prayed at the site where the ancient submerged city of Dwarka is. PM Modi shared pictures of himself underwater, wearing scuba gear. PM Modi also paid homage to the ancient city, making an offering of peacock feathers~ a symbolic tribute to Lord Krishna who is believed to have founded the ancient city. Sharing his experience, PM Modi said that he felt connected to an ancient era of spiritual grandeur and timeless devotion. “To pray in the city of Dwarka, which is immersed in the waters, was a very divine experience. I felt connected to an ancient era of spir- P10 ASHWIN TAKES FIFER IN FOURTH TEST P12 TMC plans Brigade show MGNREGA: State to begin disbursing pending wages of strength on 10 March STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE VARANASI, 23 FEBRUARY Min. 54% YOGI WARNS OF ACTION AGAINST PAPER LEAK CULPRITS itual grandeur and timeless devotion. May Bhagwan Shri Krishna bless us all," the PM wrote on X. Earlier today, the Prime Minister inaugurated ‘Sudarshan Setu’, the country's longest cable-stayed bridge of 2.32 km, on the Arabian sea connecting Beyt Dwarka island to mainland Okha in Gujarat's Devbhumi Dwarka district. The bridge, previously known as the 'Signature Bridge', has been renamed 'Sudarshan Setu' or Sudarshan Bridge. Beyt Dwarka is an island near Okha port, approximately 30 km from Dwarka town, where the famous Dwarkadhish temple of Lord Krishna is situated. The bridge, spanning 2.5 km, holds immense significance for both residents and pilgrims visiting the revered Dwarkadhish Temple. Initiated by the Centre in 2017 with a groundbreaking ceremony, the bridge aims to simplify access for devotees commuting between Okha and Bet Dwarka. Before its construction, pilgrims had to rely on boat transport to reach the Dwarkadhish Temple in Beyt, Dwarka. The 2.5 km bridge has been built at a cost of Rs 978 crore. Later, the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 4150 crore in the city. The projects inaugurated by the PM, includes a pipeline project atVadinar involving the replacement of existing offshore lines, abandoning the existing pipeline end manifold (PLEM), and relocating the entire system to a nearby new location. In Rajkot, he inaugurated, dedicated to the nation, and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 48,100 crore, including Gujarat’s first All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Mr Modi also dedicated to the nation four more All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bathinda (Punjab), Rae Bareli (Uttar Pradesh), Kalyani (West Bengal) and Mangalagiri (Andhra Pradesh). CMYK state for rural development, Niranjan Jyoti at her office, but the minister did not meet the delegation. Miss Mamata Banerjee has also announced that the state government will construct houses for 11 lakh rural poor if the Centre does not clear pending funds for the PM Awas Yojana within a month. Under the MGNREGA project, it is mandatory for the Centre to clear the dues of the workers within 15 days. Bengal is the only state where the dues have not been cleared. A senior state government official said it will take four days to clear the dues of all the workers. The Trinamul Congress had set up camps across the state where the deprived workers had filled up forms. The forms were sent to the Chief Minister's Office. The district administration will monitor disbursement of funds from tomorrow. "It is a tremendous work. Money will be deposited in the bank account of 24 lakh workers," the official said, adding that the state government has already made arrangements to engage workers for 50 days under the state’s new Karmashree scheme. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 25 FEBRUARY After five years, Trinamul Congress is going to convene a mega gathering at Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground as it seeks to launch its campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. On Sunday, Abhishek Banerjee, national general secretary and TMC MP , announced the "Janagarjan Sabha" (people's roar meeting) at Brigade Parade Ground on 10 March during a speech at Maheshtala, Budge Budge. Mr Banerjee came to inaugurate the Budge Budge Trunk Road and a 40 million gallon drinking water supply project at Maheshtala. “A trailer scene will be unveiled on 10 March, and the people of Bengal will witness the entire cinema of the election," said Mr Banerjee. He said that issues of the Central government's negligence towards the people of Bengal will be highlighted at the Brigade rally. He said that the forthcoming election campaign will resonate against the central government. Mr Banerjee, the All India Trinamul Congress general secretary, said that the development in his parliamentary constituency The rally at Brigade on 10 March, led by TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee will address issues like Central negligence, demands for Bengal's rights, and atrocities by outsiders ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. of Diamond Harbour has been so remarkable that even Opposition members will have to acknowledge it while reading books on development. He defended the "certificate of development" he presented before the Lok Sabha elections, highlighting the significant progress in his constituency. He informed the audience that in the last ten years as a Member of Parliament, he has worked on projects totaling 5,580 crores. Kunal Ghosh, the party spokesperson and the state general secretary of Trinamul, confirmed that the rally at Brigade on 10 March, led by TMC chairperson and state chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee will address issues like Central negligence, demands for Bengal's rights, and atrocities by external ‘zamindars’ as part of the protest ahead of the upcoming elections. On July 21, 2011, following the party's ascent to power in the state, the Trinamul Congress held a massive rally at Brigade Parade Ground. Before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, leaders of the Trinamul Congress and its Opposition coalition had also gathered at Brigade once.