FREEMASONRY: MAKING GOOD MEN BETTER 04 AUGUST 2024 www.thestatesman.com Twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd Facebook.com/thestatesman ROHIT DISAPPOINTED AT INDIA’S COLLAPSE IN FIRST ODI VS SRI LANKA KABIR SUMAN'S TRIBUTE TO PANNALAL GHOSH PAGE 15 PAGE 13 PAGE 12 India’s National Newspaper since 1818 PAGES 16 | `5.00 | LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WEATHER Generally cloudy sky with light to moderate rain / thundershower very likely to occur.Maximum and Minimum Temperature most likely be around 29°C and 26°C respectively. RAINFALL: 32.2 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 97% Max: 30.1°C (- 2.4) SUN RISES 05:9 hrs MOON RISES 03:45 hrs Wayanad landslides: Death toll over 360 AGENCIES All India Trinamul Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale and TMC MP Sushmita Dev visited landslide-hit Wayanad on the direction of Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday. Mr Gokhale stated that the human tragedy in Wayanad has been devastating and heartbreak- ing. Taking to X, Mr Gokhale said: “My colleague Sushmita Dev AITC & I are in Wayanad, Kerala, this morning on directions of our Chairperson Mamata Banerjee. The human tragedy in Wayanad has been devastating & heartbreaking.” “We're here to meet the affected families & let them know that we & Bengal are with them,” he stated. (See Page 3) are still missing based on Aadhaar records, tourist arrival data, and inputs from ASHA workers and the injured. Seventy-four unidentified bodies will be cremated in public cemeteries. Identification of the bodies is a tough task as most of them are disfigured. The relief workers recovered around 133 body parts from the landslide-hit spots and the Chaliyar river. The health officials have collected genetic samples of the body parts to identify the deceased A police officer in Pothukallu in Malappuram said that they are registering a first information report (FIR) for every body part found, considering them as individual dead bodies, which seems to have resulted in the media reporting a higher death toll. According to official sources, 215 autopsies have been completed so far and 146 bodies were identified. The identified bodies have been handed over to the victims' families after autopsies. Identification of bodies based on genetic samples is a time consuming process, but is considered essential to avoid bodies being wrongly claimed and ensuring monetary compensation. (See also Page 4) NEW DELHI, 3 AUGUST New Moon on 04 August THUMBNAILS A view of the temporary Bailey bridge in the landslideaffected Chooralmala of Wayanad district, on Saturday.  ANI ACHUTHANANDAN KUNIYIL KALPETTA, 3 AUGUST he rescue operations in the landslide-hit areas in Wayanad continued for the fifth day on Saturday with at least 218 people still missing. Rescue workers belonging to Army, NDRF, Fire Department and Navy personnel continued to extricate victims’ bodies and body parts from the debris and slush, strewn with large boulders and tree stumps. The death toll in the devastating landslides that hit at Chooralmala and Mundakkai in Wayand on Tuesday morning touched 360 on Saturday. At least 86 persons are undergoing treatment in various hospitals inWayand. T DG SSB Daljit Singh Chawdhary to hold additional charge of BSF: The Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal, Daljit Singh Chawdhary has been assigned the additional charge as the DG of the Border Security Force till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders. This development follows a day after the Union Home Ministry repatriated DG BSF Nitin Agrawal to his state cadre. According to an order of the Home Ministry on Saturday, Chawdhary, a 1990 batch Indian Police Services officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre will also command the BSF, after premature repatriation of Agrawal. PARIS, 3 AUGUST TMC MPs Saket Gokhale, Sushmita Dev in Wayanad Min: 25.8°C (- 0.8) SUN SETS 18:17 hrs MOON SETS 17:45 hrs A waterlogged street in Kolkata amid heavy rain.  IANS S S RAMASWAMY With search and rescue operations in their 5th day, 218 people are still missing Min.80% TEMPERATURE Manu narrowly misses 3rd medal, finishes 4th in 25m pistol event As many as 9,328 persons are now in various relief camps in the district. According to official figures, up to 215 people have been confirmed dead so far and 143 body parts have been recovered. The postmortem examination of 212 bodies and 140 body parts have been completed. Special teams have been formed to collect and analyse DNA samples from body parts and from dead bodies to identify the victims and match them to their nearest relatives. The bodies retrieved those of include 85 women and 29 children. Altogether 146 bodies were identified. The identified bodies have been handed over to the victims' families after autopsies. The district administration estimates that 218 people Young Haryana pistol shooter Manu Bhaker narrowly failed in her endeavour to scoop up a third bronze from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games today when she finished fourth in the 25 metre women’s pistol event. Manu lost to her Hungarian rival Veronika Major 3-4 in the five-shot bronze shoot-off after both competitors were tied at 28 points each after the eighth series (five shots in each series) in the elimination stage of the competition held at the Chatearoux range. The 22-year-old Jhajjar-born pistol wielder missed the third and fourth shots in the five-shot ninth series shoot-off while her Hungarian opponent missed only the third shot. Manu, thus, was credited with a total score of 28 in the final while Veronika took the bronze with a tally of 31. Yang Jiin of Korea clinched the gold by winning the title-deciding fiveshot shoot-off against France’s Camille Jedrzejewski after both were tied at 37. Manu’s sequence of scores in the first three series of stage 1 were 2, 4 and 4. In the elimination stage, the Indian came up with scores of 3, 5, 4, 4 and 2 leading to the shoot-off with the Hungarian. Indian shooter Manu Bhaker finishes fourth in the Women's 25m Pistol Shooting event at the Olympic Games 2024.  ANI Manu will now return home with the two bronze medals she won in the 10 metre air pistol individual and mixed pair (with Sarabjot Singh) events. She had qualified for today’s final in second spot with a tally of 590 with 24 inner tens yesterday, behind the eventual Korean gold medal winner. Even today after the first stage comprising three series of 5 shots each, Manu stayed in second spot behind the Korean. But she slipped to sixth after series 4 and then recovered poise to move up to third after series 5 and moved up to second after series six and maintained it till series seven. She fell behind the Korean and eventual silver medalist Camille after the eighth series to be level with Veronika with whom she then had to fight for the bronze medal through the shoot-off. After showing steely nerves in the 10m distance, Manu felt the pressure while hunting for her third medal of the Games. “The match was a roller coaster for me. The beginning was not so great but eventually I caught up with the others. (But) the nerves got the better of me. Things did not go my way,” said Manu, who has won gold medals in the World Championships, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. Although she did not get a medal, it was better than not making it to the finals, according to Manu. “Unfortunately it was a fourth (spot) finish, which is better than not making the final. There’s always going to be a next time. I have two medals. And lots of motivation to work on for the next time. I will work hard and try to give a better finish to India next time,” she declared. In another heartbreak for an Indian medal hope, archer Deepika Kumari suffered a defeat against Suhyeon Nam of South Korea in the quarterfinal match of the individual women's archery event on Saturday. Deepika lost 4-6 (2-0, 0-2, 2-0, 0-2, 0-2) against her South Korean opponent in the quarterfinal match at the Les Invalides. Indian farm-diversity hope for achieving global Centre to move two battalions of Assam food security: Modi inaugurates 32nd ICAE Rifles to J&K after increased terror attacks STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 3 AUGUST Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE) and said the challenges of sustainable agri-food systems can be met through international cooperation in a holistic approach. The triennial conference, organised by the International Association of Agricultural Economists at the National Agricultural Science Centre (NASC) Complex, has a theme of “Transformation Towards Sustainable AgriFood Systems” in the face of global challenges such as climate change, natural resource degradation, rising production costs and conflicts. Mr Modi said India is promoting chemical-free natural farming in a big way to strengthen sustainable farming. This has produced good results. During the current financial budget of the gov- ernment, there is a big focus on sustainable farming and climate resilient farming. India is developing an entire eco-system to support farmers, he said. Research and development is being done for the climate resilient crops. In the last 10 years, India has given to its farmers 1900 new climate resilient varieties. India has some rice varieties which require 25 per cent lesser water than the traditional varieties. Black rice has emerged as a superfood, he said. Black rice grown in Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya is being appreciated for its medicinal values. India is ready to share its experiences with the world on this crop, the Prime Minister said. Welcoming agriresearchers, economists and scientists from 75 countries of the world, Mr Modi said he was delighted that the ICAE is taking place in India after 65 years. He said India has 120 million farmers, more than 30 million women farmers, 30 million fishermen and 80 million animal keepers from India. “You are in the land which is home to more than 500 million livestock. I welcome you to the agricultural and animalloving country of India,” the Prime Minister said. He said the Indian Council of Agriculture Research has more than one hundred research institutes. There are 500 colleges in the country teaching agriculture and related subjects. India still follows the six seasons pattern in its agriculture, Mr Modi said. Each of the 15 agro-climatic zones has its own unique features. Farming changes every 100 kilometers; it is different in the plains, the Himalayas, deserts, waterscarce regions or coastal regions. These diversities help India give a ray of hope in achieving global food security, Mr Modi said. Recalling the ICAE that took place in India 65 years ago, the Prime Minister said that was a challenging time for India’s food security and agriculture. Today, he said, India is a food surplus country, the largest producer of milk, pulses and spices, and the second largest producer of food grain, fruits, vegetables, cotton, sugar, tea and farmed fish. He said India is today providing solutions to global food and nutrition security. Therefore, India’s experience is valuable for discussions on food system transformation and is sure to benefit the global south, he said. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE JAMMU, 3 AUGUST In a bid to strengthen the security grid in the Jammu region where Pakistani terrorists have heightened their attacks on security forces, the central government has decided to move two battalions of Assam Rifles here from the troubletorn Manipur. About 2,000 additional BSF personnel and 3,000 Army troops have already been inducted in the Jammu region for counter-terrorist operations. The decision to airlift two battalions of Assam Rifles here was taken by the Home Ministry following the spurt in terror activities in the Kathua, Doda, Udhampur, Rajouri and Reasi districts of the Jammu region that were declared terrorism-free nearly 20 years ago. There were reports that around 50 Pakistani terrorists trained in guerilla and jungle warfare have infiltrated and STRENGTHENING SECURITY  About 2,000 additional BSF personnel and 3,000 Army troops have already been inducted in the Jammu region for counter-terrorist operations.  There were reports that around 50 Pakistani terrorists trained in guerilla and jungle warfare have infiltrated and were hiding in different parts of the region to further escalate terror activities.  Serving or retired soldiers of the Pakistan Army may also have infiltrated alongside the terrorists, who are believed to be veterans of the Afghanistan conflict. were hiding in different parts of the region to further escalate terror activities on the directions of their handlers sitting across the Line of Control (LoC). Ten soldiers and a CRPF jawan lost their lives last month in ambushes by terrorists. Five soldiers were killed in an ambush in the hinterland of the Kathua district and four more soldiers, including a Captain, laid down their lives within the next few hours in the neighbouring area of the Doda district. There were reports that serving and retired soldiers of the Pakistani Army trained in jungle warfare have also infiltrated alongside the terrorists who had returned after fighting the US Army in Afghanistan. These war-hardened terrorists are carrying arms and ammunition, including the M4 rifles, which the US Army left behind while leaving Afghanistan. Several M-4 rifles have been recovered from slain terrorists. Taking advantage of a large chunk of the Indian Army having been moved from the peaceful Jammu region to Ladakh after the Indo-Chinese skirmishes in 2020, Pakistani agencies have again started pushing terrorists through the LoC and international border (IB) into the Jammu areas. Most of the infiltration was through the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts and the IB touching the Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts. Induction of additional troops and paramilitary forces was aimed at plugging the loopholes on the borders. Two battalions of CRPF will replace the Assam Rifles in Manipur, reports said. The Home Ministry had a few days ago airlifted about 2,000 jawans of BSF here from Odisha to strengthen security along the IB with Pakistan. Pakistani terrorists were also infiltrating through the IB in Punjab and then moving into J&K taking the traditional jungle routes. People fed up of judicial processes, want to escape from it: CJI Chandigarh: Ex-Punjab Police officer shoots son-in-law at court complex PARMOD KUMAR NEW DELHI, 3 AUGUST The Chief Justice of India, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud on Saturday called for institutionalising Lok Adalats at the Supreme Court, stating that people are fed up of long delays in judicial processes and want to come out of it, agreeing for any settlement – even when they get less than what they are legally entitled to. CJI Chandrachud also cautioned that institutions are resistant to change, often questioning attempts to incorporate new elements in their working. However, he said, once a change is implemented it becomes an integral part of the system and called for institutionalising the Lok Adalats at the Supreme Court for dispensing justice. It should not remain a one-off Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud , Supreme Court Judge Justice PS Narasimha and Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law & Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, during the commemoration of the Special Lok Adalat Week organised to celebrate 75 years of the Supreme Court of India, in New Delhi on Saturday. ANI initiative, he said. “I hope that we will now institutionalize this process of dispensing justice through Lok Adalat … whatever we do as a court must be institutionalized. It should not be that it is just a one-off initiative, which is then forgotten for the future,….We must ensure that it becomes part of our processes and systems.” Speaking at the commemoration function of the Special Lok Adalat week that had commenced on 29 July and concluded on 2 August, the Chief Justice Chandrachud urged the participants to remember the human face behind each case. The five days long special Lok Adalat at the Supreme Court saw seven benches each panels having two judges, with the exception of CJI Chandrachud having three judges on his panel, and two members of the bar – one each from Supreme Court Bar association (SCBA) and the Supreme Court Advocate on Record Association (SCAORA) on each panel. The matters were heard every day from Monday to Friday in the post-lunch session. However, the only distinction was that unlike the Lok Adalat at the district courts level, the litigants were not personally present for the settlement of their cases at the special Lok Adalat at the Supreme Court. Dwelling on different aspects, the Chief Justice Chandrachud pointed to the agonising and tiresome judicial process that tempts the litigant to accept settlements even when it is less their legal entitlements. He cited an instance where top court judge, Justice Vikram Nath rejected a settlement offer of Rs. 1 lakh, and instead awarded Rs. 6 lakhs in addition to what was settled in the Lok Adalat with consent of the litigant. In an observation pointing to the frustration of the litigant with the long delays inherent in the judicial process, Chief Justice Chandrachud said: “Parties are ready to accept any sort of settlement because they want to get out of the system” as they get fed up with the system. AGENCIES CHANDIGARH, 3 AUGUST In a broad daylight killing, a retired Punjab Police officer on Saturday allegedly shot his son-in-law, who was an officer with the Irrigation Department, in a fit of rage at a mediation centre in the Chandigarh District Court complex. The victim, Harpreet Singh, was rushed to the PGI where the doctors declared him dead on arrival. The accused has been identified as Malwinder Singh Sidhu, a retired AIG of the Punjab Police. Responding promptly to the shooting, lawyers and visitors present on the scene apprehended Sidhu and locked him in a According to police, there was a matrimonial dispute between Harpreet (the victim) and his wife Amitoj Kaur. Their divorce proceedings were going on since 2023. room until the police arrived. Later, the police arrested Sidhu and seized his firearm. Senior officers, including UT SSP Kanwardeep Kaur, along with a forensic team have reached the crime scene to gather evidence. According to police, there was a matrimonial dispute between Harpreet and his wife Amitoj Kaur. Their divorce proceed- ings were going on since 2023. The couple had another litigation going on at Mohali, officials said. The matter was referred to the mediation centre and proceedings were being carried out by the court-appointed mediators. It was their fourth meeting in the mediation proceedings. The police said Harpreet along with his parents were present there when Malwinder Sidhu fired at him. Four rounds were fired out of which two hit Harpreet on the stomach and thigh, the police said. The victim was posted in the Irrigation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.