THURSDAY 29 AUGUST 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ASSAM LAW TO MANDATE SIX-MONTH NOTICE BEFORE MARRIAGE T’GANA: FRESH TUSSLE BETWEEN CM & KT RAMA RAO P10 SENSEX 81,785.56p73.80 GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY. LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN/THUNDERSHOWERS. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 34 AND 23 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: 009.8 Mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY TEMPERATURE P4 25,052.35p34.60 P9 GOLD 73,250.00p220 ` vs $ 83.96 P12 SILVER 88,500 BRENT CRUDE (IN $) 77.17q0.76 Enough is enough, writes anguished President WEATHER Max. 100 % NIFTY HARMANPREET HOPES HER SIDE WILL EMULATE ROHIT SHARMA’S FEDS FILE NEW INDICTMENT IN TRUMP 6 JAN. CASE Min. 67 % Max: 34.0 °C (0) SUN RISES 05:58 hrs MOON RISES 2:09 hrs Min: 23.4 °C (-3) SUN SETS 18:46 hrs MOON SETS 15:57 hrs THUMBNAILS Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi takes a ride on a bus at Sarojini Nagar Bus depot in New Delhi on Wednesday. n ANI India calls for dialogue & diplomacy to resolve West Asia crisis: India on Wednesday conveyed to Israel its serious concern over the conflict in West Asia and called for restraint, dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis. The 17th India-Israel Foreign Office Consultations were held in New Delhi. The Indian side was led by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri while the Israeli side was led by Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yaakov Blitshtein. Refle cting on the strength of the India-Israel Strategic Partnership, the two sides discussed various issues of bilateral interest in depth and reviewed the entire gam- ut of bilateral endeavours. They also shar- ed views on the prevailing situation in West Asia and the Indo-Pacific, the MEA said. Qatar returns seized copies of Guru Granth Sahib to India STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 AUGUST The authorities in Qatar on Wednesday handed over two Saroops (copies) of the Holy Guru Granth Sahib to the Indian embassy in Doha, a step which was appreciated by New Delhi. The copies were seized from an Indian national in a case related to running a religious establishment without approval. “Qatar authorities have today handed over to our Embassy in Doha Sri Guru Granth Sahib (two Saroops) taken from an Indian national in a case related to running a religious establishment without approvals. We thank the Government of Qatar for the same,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. The MEA also appealed to all Indian citizens residing in Qatar or other countries to scrupulously follow local laws and regulations in all matters. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 AUGUST P resident Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday expressed anguish over the recent spate of crimes against women and said this should force honest self-introspection to uncover the roots of the malaise. In an article, “Women’s Safety: Enough is Enough” posted on the official X account of the President, she wrote: “The gruesome incident of rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata has left the nation shocked. I was dismayed and horrified when I came to hear of it. What is more depressing is the fact that it was not the only incident of its kind; it is part of a series of crimes against women.” She wrote that “even as students, doctors and citizens were protesting in Kolkata, criminals remained on the prowl elsewhere. The victims include even kindergarten girls. No civilised society can allow daughters and sisters to be subjected to such atrocities.” The President wrote: “The nation is bound to be outraged, and so am I. On the occasion of Women’s Day last year, I had shared my thoughts and hopes about women’s empowerment in the form of a newspaper article. I remain an optimist, thanks to our past achievements in empowering women.” “I consider myself as an example of that spectacular journey of women empowerment in India. But I myself feel deeply anguished when I hear about brutality against women in any part of the country,” she wrote. “More recently, I was in a unique predicament when some schoolchildren who had come to celebrate Rakhi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan asked me innocently if they could be assured that there would be no recurrence of the Nirbhaya type incident in future,” she wrote. She said: “I told them that though the State is committed to protect every citizen, training in selfdefence and martial arts is essential for all, particularly girls, to make them stronger. But that’s not a guarantee for their security as women’s vulnerability is influenced by many factors.Obviously, the full answer to that ques- tion can come only from our society. For that to happen, what is needed first of all is honest, unbiased selfintrospection. The time has come when we as a society need to ask ourselves some difficult questions.” “Where have we erred? And what can we do to remove the errors? Without finding out the answer to that question, the half of our population cannot live as freely as the other half. To answer it, let me explain it right at the beginning. Our Constitution granted equality to all, including women, when it was only an ideal in many parts of the world,” the President stated. She wrote: “The State then created institutions to establish this equality, wherever needed, and promoted it with a series of schemes and initiatives. Civil society came forward and supplemented the State’s outreach in this regard. Visionary leaders in all spheres of society pushed for gender equality. “Finally, there were exceptional, feisty women who made it possible for their less fortunate sisters to benefit from this social revolution. That has been the saga of women’s empowerment. Yet, this journey has (Turn to Page 4) Modi calls for timely completion of all projects for people's benefit ‘Bill for stringent anti-rape law to be tabled, passed in Bengal Assembly’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 AUGUST Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said a special session of the Assembly will be held next week where a Bill for a stringent anti-rape law will be tabled and passed. She was speaking at the foundation day observation of the Trinamul Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) on Mayo Road this afternoon. Miss Banerjee said the proposed Bill will be sent to the Governnor for his assent and he will have to sent it to the President. “You cannot sit on the Bill. Women are not safe in Raj Bhavan. I have made alternative arrangement for the woman who had been allegedly abused by the Governor. She is yet to get justice," Miss Banerjee said, adding “Trinamul women leaders will stage demonstration outside the Raj Bhavan if the Governor declines to give his assent,” she said, adding, “crimes like rape can only be stopped if the laws are stringent.” Criticising the CBI, she said: “ Two weeks have passed since the CBI took over the case of alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at the RG Kar Medical Colege and Hospital, but no breakthrough has been made as yet. We want a reply from the CBI about this inordinate delay.” Slamming the BJP, Miss Banerjee said: “I have never seen such an arrogant political party who conspire to malign and defame Bengal.” The party has influenced the CBI to delay the investigation, Miss Banerjee said. The cost of these projects totalled more than` 76,500 crore and relate to 11 states and UTs P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday impressed upon officials at the Centre and in states the need to complete projects in time, saying the delay not only leads to cost escalation but also deprives the public of the intended benefits. He was chairing a meeting of the 44th edition of PRAGATI, the ICT-based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, involving the Centre and state governments. This was the first PRAGATI meeting in the third term of the Modi government. In the meeting, seven significant projects were reviewed, which included two projects relating to road connectivity, two rail projects and one project each of the Coal, Power and Water Resources sectors. The cost of these projects totalled more than Rs. 76,500 crore and relate to 11 states and UTs viz., Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha, Goa, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Delhi. The PM said the “Ek ped Maa ke Naam” campaign can help safeguard the environment while undertaking project development. During the interaction, he also reviewed AMRUT 2.0 and public grievances related to Jal Jeevan Mission. These projects together inter-alia address water issues in urban and rural areas. Prime Minister emphasised that water is a basic human need and quality disposal of grievances at district level as well as state level must be ensured by the state governments. Adequate Operation and Maintenance mechanism of Jal Jeevan projects is critical for its success and the PM suggested the involvement of women self self-help groups where possible and skilling of youth in Operation and Maintenance works. He advised chief secretaries to personally monitor the works under AMRUT 2.0 and said the states should make plans keeping in mind the growth potential and future needs of cities. He said that while making drinking water plans for cities, peri-urban areas should also be kept in mind because with time these areas also get incorporated into the city limits. He said reforms in urban governance, comprehensive urban planning, urban transport planning, and municipal finance are critical needs of the hour, given the rapid urbanisation in the country. He added that one needs to take benefit of initiatives such as the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana to meet the growing energy needs of cities. The PM also recalled that many of these aspects of urbanisation and drinking water had been discussed in the Chief Secretaries Conference and the commitments given must be reviewed by the chief secretaries themselves. The PM further asked the chief secretaries and secretaries at the Centre to continue working on the Mission Amrit Sarovar programme. He said the water catchment area of Amrit Sarovars should be kept clean and desilting of these water bodies should be taken up as per requirement with the involvement of Village Committees. Centre issues directives to states, UTs to ensure safety of healthcare workers STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 AUGUST In the wake of the rapemurder of a woman postgraduate trainee (PGT) doctor in West Bengal, the Central government has issued directives to the states and Union Territories (UTs) to take immediate measures to ensure enhanced security and safer working environment for healthcare workers. In a letter addressed to the chief secretaries (CS) and directors general of police (DGP) of all the states and UTs, a copy of which was shared by the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday, Health Secretary Apurva Chandra wrote: “I am writing to draw your attention to the issue of violent incidents in medical institutions and the recent protest of resident doctors across the country following the incident of alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata.” “Taking a suo motu cognisance of the incident, the Supreme Court (SC) delivered its order on 20th and 22nd August. In the order dated 22nd, the apex court has inter-alia directed ‘the Secretary in the Union Health Ministry shall engage with the Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police so as to ensure that the State governments/UTs put into place certain basic minimum requirements pending the receipt of the report of the National Task Force (NTF) to assuage the concerns of the doctors over their safety at their workplaces,” the Secretary said. Mr Chandra said the court has also directed that the state governments shall take remedial and appropriate action in this regard. Stressing immediate measures to be taken in this direction, Mr Chandra called for the constitution of a 'hospital security committee' and 'violence prevention committee' involving senior doctors and administrative officers to strategise and implement appropriate security meas- ures. Besides, he stressed the need for ensure the safe movement of resident doctors/nurses within different blocks, hostel buildings, and other areas of the hospital while on night duty. Among others, the secretary asked for ensuring proper lighting inside all areas of residential blocks, hostel blocks, and other hospital premises and ‘routine security patrolling’ in all the hospital premises at night. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 28 AUGUST Employment boost: Cabinet okays ‘grand Kerala police book actor & AMMA ex-general necklace’ of 12 new Smart Industrial Cities secy Siddique for rape & criminal intimidation STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 28 AUGUST The Union Cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a major decision to develop 12 industrial smart cities on the country’s industrial corridors to boost manufacturing and employment in a big way. Briefing newspersons about the decision, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said India will soon wear “a grand necklace” of the 12 Industrial Smart Cities. They will be created under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) with an estimated investment of Rs 28,602 crore. The new industrial cities will be greenfield smart cities of global standards, built “ahead of demand” on the 'plug-n-play' and 'walk-towork' concepts, Mr Vaishnaw said. This approach ensures that the cities are equipped with advanced infrastructure that supports sustainable and efficient industrial operations. The selection of the cities was done with the help of Gati Shakti portal which provides suitable geographical and infrastructure features of the areas, the minister said. The state governments were also involved the city-selections. The decision is set to transform the industrial landscape of the country creating a robust network of industrial nodes and cities that will sig- nificantly boost economic growth and global competitiveness. Spanning across 10 States and strategically planned along six major corridors, these projects represent a significant leap forward in India's quest to enhance its manufacturing capabilities and economic growth, Mr Vaishnaw said. These industrial areas will be located in Khurpia in Uttrakhand, Rajpura-Patiala in Punjab, Dighi in Maharashtra, Palakkad in Kerela, Agra and Prayagraj in UP, Gaya in Bihar, Zaheerabad in Telangana, Orvakal and Kopparthy in AP and Jodhpur-Pali in Rajasthan. The NICDP is designed to foster a vibrant industrial ecosystem by facilitating investments from both, large anchor industries and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). These industrial nodes will act as catalysts for achieving $2 trillion in exports by 2030, reflecting the government's vision of a self-reliant and globally competitive India. The projects are aligned with the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, the projects will feature multi-modal connectivity infrastructure, ensuring seamless movement of people, goods, and services. The industrial cities are envisioned to be growth centers for transformation of whole region. The approval of these projects is a step forward in realizing the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ ~ developed India. By positioning India as a strong player in the Global Value Chains (GVC), the NICDP will provide developed land parcels ready for immediate allotment, making it easier for domestic and international investors to set up manufacturing units in India. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 28 AUGUST The Museum police in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday booked noted actor and former general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), Siddique after a woman actor accused him of raping her. The case was registered based on a complaint filed by the woman actor via an email sent to the state police chief on Tuesday alleging that Siddique (photo) had raped her at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in 2016. Siddique has been booked on charges of rape and illegally detaining and threatening the actress. The police later in the day recorded the statement of the woman actor who filed a complaint against Siddique. A police team led by a sub Inspector from the Museum police station recorded the actress’s statement. Siddique has been booked under Sections 376(rape) and 506(criminal intimidation)of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case was registered under the IPC as the offence allegedly occurred in 2016. Siddique on Tuesday filed a complaint with the state police chief alleging that there is an agenda behind the allegations against him. The case will now be transferred to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing allegations of sexual harass- ment in the Malayalam film industry. Meanwhile, the SIT on Wednesday recorded the statement of the woman actor who had filed sexual assault complaints against seven film personalities in the Malayalam film industry, including actors Mukesh, Jayasurya, Edavela Babu and Maniyanpilla Raju. In the wake of the release of the Justice Hema Committee report, seventeen cases of sexual harassment and rape have been registered in the state following complaints lodged by the victims. The release of the Hema Committee report emboldened the women in the Malayalam film world to come forward and reveal the sexual harassment they faced in the industry The growing sexual harrasment allegations being raised by women actors against high profile figures in the Malayalam industry are fast developing into a movement in Mollywood which is similar to Hollywood’s #MeToo which was triggered by allegations against Harvey Weinstein the powerful producer and cofounder of MiraMax Films,in 2017 Meanwhile, a group of 100 women activists on Wednesday called for the resignation of actor Mukesh from his position as Kollam MLA. The women group, in a statement demanded the resignation of Mukesh from his position as MLA, stating that he has no right to continue in the position, given the gravity of allegations levelled against him. So far, three women actors have come forward with sexual assault charges against him. Noted writers Sara Joseph, KR Meera,VP Suhara are among those who signed in the statement.