18062024-TTC-01.qxd 6/18/2024 12:34 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 168 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 NETANYAHU DISSOLVES WAR CABINET AFTER 2 MEMBERS QUIT WORLD /thetribunechd PROBE INTO REASI BUS ATTACK HANDED OVER TO NIA J&K SBI EXPECTS 14-15% SHAH VOWS MEITEI-KUKI CREDIT GROWTH IN ENGAGEMENT IN MANIPUR FY 2024-25 BUSINESS TO BRIDGE DIVIDE BACK PAGE tuesday | 18 june 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com NSA Doval, US counterpart talk critical tech cooperation Sandeep Dikshit Tribune News Service Rescue work underway after a collision between the Kanchanjunga Express and a goods train in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district on Monday. PTI 9 die, 41 hurt in WB train collision Goods train hits Kanchanjunga Express | ‘Signal failure’ protocol flouted Shubhadeep Choudhury Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 17 In a grim reminder of the Balasore tragedy that claimed 296 lives last June, nine persons were killed and 41 injured today after a goods train rammed into the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express from behind in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district. Among the deceased were the pilot of the goods train and the guard of the passenger train, a senior railway official said. The Agartala-Sealdah Kanchanjungha Express was hit from behind by the container train between the Rangapani and Chatterhat stations under the Katihar division. Following the collision, which took place around 8.45 am, four rear compartments of Kanchanjungha Express and five wagons of the container train got derailed, blocking train movement on the track for hours. Like the Balasore tragedy, the Kanchanjunga Express accident too resulted from signal issues. The automatic signalling system had stopped continued on page 8 edit: Bengal train tragedy ‘Kavach’ only on 1,500 km of 69,000 km rail network Tribune News Service CRS PROBE BEGINS Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has started a probe into the cause of the accident and added that steps will be taken to prevent a recurrence of the circumstances that led to the accident. New Delhi, June 17 The indigenously-developed automatic train protection system ‘Kavach’ is at present functional in 1,500 km of train route (in the South Central Railway Zone) only. Indian Railways manages a total route length of approximately 69,000 km. During the development phase, Kavach was implemented for a length of 264 km covering 25 stations across Wadi– Vikarabad–Sanatnagar and Vikarabad–Bidar sections in South Central Railway Zone. During 2020-21, the system was further deployed for additional 322 km covering 32 stations. In 2021-22, the system was implemented in additional 859 km covering continued on page 8 Priyanka settles for Punjab power demand soars, Wayanad seat for cuts likely to stop grid failure maiden poll plunge Yet-to-peak paddy transplantation adds to crisis Aman Sood Shubhadeep Choudhury Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Patiala, June 17 Punjab is on the brink of levying unilateral power cuts as well as putting “restrictions on certain power consumers” in case power demand in the state breaches the 16,000 MWmark, the tipping point that warns of grid failure. The demand this month is almost 40 per cent more compared to what it was last year in the same month. Following the current prolonged heat wave and advancement of the paddy transplantation date, the peak power demand in Punjab has touched an all-time high and is hovering around 15,500 MW since the past three days. Officials have warned that in case the demand crosses 16,000 MW, they would have no option but to “resort to power cuts” so as to prevent the grid from tripping and, as a worst-case scenario, even failing. A senior Punjab State Power Corporation Limited New Delhi, June 17 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will retain the Raebareli seat, while his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will try to make her debut in Parliament by contesting the Wayanad seat that will be vacated by Rahul. The decision came after top party leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, general secretaries KC Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi, held a meeting at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to decide which Lok Sabha seat Rahul Gandhi would retain. “Our leader Rahul Gandhi has won elections from two constituencies. Rules demand that he retains one constituency and vacates the other. We discussed the issue today since tomorrow is the deadline for making a decision in this regard. It was decided by the party that he should retain Raebareli since his family has a Rahul with Priyanka in New Delhi on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO NOT AN EASY DECISION Choosing between Raebareli and Wayanad was not an easy decision. People of Wayanad gave me energy to fight at a very difficult time. I will never forget that. Rahul Gandhi, CONG LEADER ❝ long association with the seat,” Kharge told mediapersons continued on page 8 HIGH CONSUMPTION DATE June 13 June 14 June 15 June 16 June 17 DEMAND 15,478 MW 15,725 MW 15,478 MW 15,030 MW 15,450 MW (PSPCL) official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Tribune that “although ample arrangements” had been made to meet the high demand, the extended heat wave and lack of rainfall meant that the 16,000 MW mark could, indeed, be breached. This, the official warned, would leave the state power corporation with no option “but to impose power cuts” across the board, from villages to cities. “We are keeping a close eye on the power demand, and anything nearing 16,000 MW means we will have to resort to forced cuts to save the grid system,” the official said, adding, “If that happens, we will have to supply power to paddy fields at night and ensure minimal cuts for consumers during the day to meet supplydemand gap,” he added. The aforesaid senior official said that the paddy transplantation date, which last year took place in three phases from June 16 to June 21 for most parts of Punjab, had been fixed for June 15 this season. “This is the real reason for the sudden increase in addition to the scorching heat,” he added. The power demand of 15,400 MW in the past five days is many times more this year, this despite the fact that over 60 per cent of Punjab’s paddy is yet to be transplanted. As per Northern Regional Load Despatch Centre (NRLDC) data, power demand in Punjab was 15,478 MW on June 13, 15,725 MW (highest continued on page 8 Not thinking of succession plan yet, says Dalai Lama Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service Dharamsala, June 17 Keeping everyone guessing on who will be his successor, the 14th Dalai Lama on Monday said he was not “thinking” about reincarnation—a process to appoint the next Dalai Lama. Meanwhile, developments are being closely followed by Tibetans as the Dalai Lama is leading a fight seeking autonomy from China, which is trying to meddle in the appointment of a successor. Speaking to a select group of mediapersons from Delhi, MUST HELP PEOPLE I am not thinking of reincarnation (a process to appoint the next Dalai Lama). The important thing is as long as I am alive, I should use my energies to help as many people as I can. The Dalai Lama ❝ the Dalai Lama, who turns 89 in July, was asked how the Tibetan community would maintain the sanctity of reincarnation. “I am not thinking of reincarnation. The impor- tant thing is as long as I am alive, I should use my energies to help as many people as I can,” he said. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual head of the Tibetan gov- ernment-in-exile, headquartered in Dharamsala. Reincarnation is a traditional Buddhist method of anointing a successor. Before dying, a Dalai Lama leaves hints as to where his rebirth will be. These hints are followed by a religious committee to trace the child who is supposed to have been born as the next Dalai Lama. The present Dalai Lama was selected in 1940 when he was five years old. A senior official of the Central Tibetan Administration said, “His holiness (the Dalai Lama) has kept an element of surprise. He has maintained uncertainty since China is an unpredictable entity.” For years, the Chinese government has claimed that the Dalai Lama’s eventual reincarnation must comply with the Chinese law, which ignores Tibetans’ history of selecting the Dalai Lama without foreign interference. Tibetans want to keep China out. CTA spokesperson Tenzin Lekshey says, “The Chinese have never thought about Tibet, but only about themselves. Beijing has no legitimate right, and there was no need to consult them continued on page 8 c m y b New Delhi, June 17 National Security Adviser Ajit Doval today met his US counterpart Jake Sullivan to hold the first-ever review of the progress in joint work on critical technologies. The meeting took place against the backdrop of political discord between the two sides after India stayed away from a West-quarterbacked communique on Ukraine at a peace summit. A couple of days earlier, an Indian was extradited from Czech Republic to a Brooklyn jail for his alleged involvement in a plan to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. This was Doval’s first engagement with the Americans after taking over as the NSA for the third time and demonstrates his usefulness for Modi 3.0 despite an assas- NSA Ajit Doval with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan in New Delhi. FIRST ANNUAL REVIEW OF iCET ■ Doval’s first engagement with the Americans under Modi 3.0 comes amidst discord over Pannun, Ukraine issues ■ The NSAs discussed bilateral issues and reviewed the India-US partnership on regional and global issues of mutual interest ■ They also chaired the first annual review of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) sination in Canada that is unravelling with the arrest of four Indians and the extradi- tion to US of Nikhil Gupta, allegedly the linkman continued on page 8 Nikhil Gupta pleads not guilty in US court Bharat, India interchangeable in books: NCERT NewYork/Washington, June 17 Indian national Nikhil Gupta, accused of being involved in a murder-for-hire plot against a Sikh extremist on American soil, on Monday pleaded not guilty in the case at a federal court here. Gupta, 52, was extradited to the US from the Czech Republic on Friday. He was arrested in the Czech Republic last year at the request of the US government on the charges of being involved in a plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist New Delhi, June 17 Amid the raging row over revised political science textbook of Class 12, National Council of Educational Research and Training director Dinesh Saklani has said the words ‘Bharat’ and ‘India’ could be used interchangeably in the books. Saklani said the debate over these words was useless, as the Constitution upholds both of them. He added the NCERT had no aversion to using either ‘Bharat’ or ‘India’ in its textbooks. BACK PAGE Prague extradited Pannun case ‘suspect’ last week Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. Pannun holds dual American and Canadian citizenship. Gupta was produced before a federal court in New York on Monday, where he pleaded not guilty, according to his attorney Jeffrey Chabrowe. The Czech constitutional court last month rejected a continued on page 8