THURSDAY 03 OCTOBER 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR PRASHANT KISHOR LAUNCHES JAN SURAAJ PARTY POPE FRANCIS OPENS SECOND PHASE OF BIG REFORM PROJECT P9 WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 36 AND 26 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 92 % TEMPERATURE P5 Modi: JMM govt derails J’khand’s development The Jharkhand people have to fight to save Roti, Beti, Maati: PM NEW DELHI, 2 OCTOBER Min: 26.2 °C (+3) SUN SETS 18:04 hrs MOON SETS 18:19 hrs THUMBNAILS Devotees arrive at Har ki Paudi Ghat to take a dip in the Ganga river on the last day of the ‘Pitru Paksha’ month in Haridwar on Wednesday. n ANI Three killed in Manipur clash: At least three persons, including a Manipur Rifles trooper, were killed and 30 others injured in Manipur’s Ukhrul district on Wednesday when residents of two Naga villages clashed and even engaged in a gun battle over a boundary dispute, police said. There was tension in the area after the incident, and authorities bolstered security personnel in the area, along with announcing prohibitory orders and suspending internet mobile services. P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the biggest hurdle in the development of Jharkhand is the Congress-JMM-RJD coalition government of the state and Jharkhand will progress only when its present government goes out of office. Addressing a BJP rally in Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, he said while the BJP’s government at the Centre is working hard for the development of the state, its JMM-led government is trying to derail the development programmes. He said the current government has encouraged “infiltration” of outsiders in the state, particularly in the Santhal Pargana region, and this is threatening the tribal identity of the state. The JMM and the Congress are playing with the security of the country. The Jharkhand people have to fight to save “Roti, Beti, Maati identity of the state,” the Prime Minister said. In a few months, he said, when Assembly elections take place, Jharkhand will have a BJP government and “I give guarantee that when BJPNDA comes to power, Roti, Beti and Maati will be protected.” Mr Modi said Jharkhand will develop only when there is change in the State. That is why people are taking out “parivartan yatras.” These are not political yatras, they are to assert the determination to make Jharkhand developed and people are supporting them, he said. The Prime Minister said a beginning of the change had started today itself. At a function earlier, he had launched devel- PM urges people in rural areas to participate in ‘Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas’ Abhiyan STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 2 OCTOBER Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to rural residents and stakeholders across the nation to actively participate in the ‘Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas’ Abhiyan (People's Plan Campaign). In a letter dated 1 October, he emphasised the importance of enthusiastic and committed participation in the preparation of the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) for the year 2025–26. Drawing inspiration from the ancient Vedic verse which means “just as the world is complete in itself, so too should our villages be capable, empowered, and prosperous,” the PM stressed on the vision of creating self-sufficient and sustainable villages. He highlighted the significant role that each citizen and stakeholder plays in realising this vision through their contributions to the GPDP, which is central to the holistic and sustainable development of Grameen Bharat. His message calls for widespread participation, urging everyone to help transform their Panchayats into thriving centre’s of growth and progress. He also reiterated that the success of this initiative relies on collective effort, aiming to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth for all. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has requested all Panchayati Raj Institutions/ Rural Local Bodies to ensure this message reaches every corner of the country, inspiring everyone to take part in ‘Sabki Yojana Sabka Vikas’ Abhiyan – People's Plan Campaign for a stronger, self-reliant, developed and more prosperous India. Union Minister of Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh has emphasised the campaign's alignment with the vision of a developed (Viksit Bharat) and self-reliant India (Aatmanirbhar Bharat). He stressed the importance of unity in achieving the goal of holistic development and appealed to Sarpanchs, Panchayat members, and residents to participate enthusiastically. The Union Minister also highlighted that every voice and idea is significant in the development process. 2 October marks the nationwide rollout of the People’s Plan Campaign for the preparation of Panchayat Development Plans (PDPs) for 2025–26. opment projects worth more than Rs 80,000 crores for the State. These included Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan, 40 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), mobile medical units, electricity, water and solar energy schemes, which will transform lives of the tribal population and help them progress. The BJP shared the tribals’ dream of a separate state of Jharkhand, he said, and the dream was fulfilled under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The BJP had to fight the RJD for this. The RJD treated Jharkhand a place for exploitation and was looting its resources of “Jal-Jungle- Jameen.” The region was a safe house for criminals and mafias, he said. The RJD was getting protection for its deeds from the Congress at the Centre, Mr Modi said. The Congress was thus equally responsible for RJD’s sins. Today, the JMM has acquired the colour of the Congress and the RJD; it is not the same old JMM. The Congress has imposed its eco-system on the JMM. None could expect the JMM to loot the state, he said. Today, land mafia rules the state government; there is free loot of adivasis’ land, the encroachers did not spare even the Army’s land. Coal, sand, minerals are being looted by the ruling system, he said. The state has launched welfare schemes but even their money is being siphoned off, the Prime Minister said. Under the protection of the State government, paper leak gangs are operating. A paper is leaked for lakhs of Rupees; rights of the youth are being taken, money is reaching the higher-ups. Two pilots and engineer perish as chopper crashes in Pune; DGCA orders probe AGENCIES PUNE, 2 OCTOBER At least three persons including two pilots and an aircraft engineer were killed after a helicopter of Heritage Aviation, New Delhi, flying over the Bavdhan area, crashed in the hilly terrain, officials said on Wednesday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a probe into the tragedy that left Capt Paramjit Singh and Capt G. K. Pillai, besides an aircraft maintenance engineer Pritamchand Bharadwaj, dead this morning in the chopper crash near Bavdhan. According to officials the chopper, an Agusta 109-VTEW, had taken off from the Oxford Golf Club in Pune for a flight to Juhu Airport in Mumbai, at around 7.15 a.m. without passengers on board. En route, barely 20 kms away and some four to five minutes after the take-off, the chopper suddenly crashed at around 7.20 a.m. near the HEMRL-DRDO factory, said a police officer speaking from the site of the tragedy near Bavdhan. Videos of the incident shot by some locals showed the helicopter apparently losing control and plunging almost headlong into a forested hilly region before going up in smoke. Despite repeated attempts by a news agency, officials of Heritage Aviation remained tight-lipped about the tragedy and stonewalled all questions on the victims and the possible causes of the tragedy. Last Mughal King’s court musician’s tomb in derelict state ANINDITA CHOWDHURY HYDERABAD, 2 OCTOBER The grave of Ustad Mir Baksh ‘Tanras’ Khan, the court musician of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II and a stalwart of Hindustani Classical Music, lies in a dilapidated state, away from the public eye in the Nampally area of Hyderabad. Known for his swift and effervescent ‘taans’, this luminary of the Delhi gharana had left the capital city for Gwalior following the Sepoy mutiny and exile of the emperor before finally settling in the Nizam’s court in Hyderabad. Today the final resting place of this maestro near Khamosh Shah Dargah in Nampally area lies in complete neglect and inaccessible to the common man and musicians. Music connoisseurs and musicians have urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to restore the grave and hold an annual music festival in his name to commemorate his legacy. Ustad Mir Qutub Baksh ‘Tanras’ Khan was a khayal singer of the nineteenth century. The last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar II, who himself was a poet and a devout Sufi, had awarded him with the title of ‘Tanras.’ He was not only the chief musician of the royal court but also the music teacher of the emperor. He excelled in both Qawwali and Hindustani Classical music and was considered to be one of the icons of the famous Qawwal Bacchon ka Gharana founded by none other than Amir Khusrau. He composed many khay- als, bandishes and taranas, still sung by the musicians of the Indian subcontinent. “Ab mori naiyya paar karo” in raag Todi is a popular and noted composition of Tanras. Hyderabad is also the final resting place of another musical giant, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana. Incidentally, the founder of the Patiala gharana, Mian Kallu, received his musical training from Mir Qutub Baksh ‘Tanras’ Khan. However, people are not even aware of his tomb near Khamosh Shah Dargah in Nampally. Musician and founder of Parichay Arts Foundation Jaywant Naidu went looking for the tomb of the great maestro during the pandemic and could locate it only after a long search. A simple marble plaque marked his grave, apparently put up by Qawwals Naj- BUMRAH REGAINS TOP SPOT IN TEST RANKINGS P6 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Min. 41 % Max: 37.2 °C (+3) SUN RISES 06:16 hrs MOON RISES 07:26 hrs FED’S DILEMMA muddin and Saifuddin, the sons of Qawwal Bahauddin Khan from Pakistan and descendants of Tanras Khan during a visit to Hyderabad. A branch of his descendants went away to Pakistan and continued his musical legacy while the rest chose to stay back. In view of this, Mr Naidu has sought Chief Minister's assistance to restore it to its former glory. “This is an appeal to the Chief Minister of Telangana, Sri Revanth Reddy, for bringing back lost glory of this tall personality in Classical music by providing a proper resting place and access to the ‘Tomb’ to the common public.” A festival of Classical and Sufi music in commemoration of Ustad Mir Qutub Baksh Tanras Khan should be annually organized on a grand scale to bring out his contribution in the field of art and culture, he added. P12 India concerned over situation in W Asia, advises its nationals to avoid travel to Iran STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Jaishankar discusses W Asia situation with Blinken NEW DELHI, 2 OCTOBER New Delhi on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the escalation of the security situation in West Asia and advised Indian nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to Iran. A day after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, said India is deeply concerned at the situation in West Asia and reiterates its call for restraint by all concerned and protection of civilians. ''It is important that the conflict doesn’t take a wider regional dimension and we urge that all issues be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy,'' the MEA added. While asking Indians to avoid all non-essential travel to Iran, the government also asked those currently residing in the Islamic nation to remain vigilant and stay in contact with the Indian Embassy in Teheran. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 2 OCTOBER ANI quoted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as saying in Washington that India is “very much” concerned at the possibility of a regional war in West Asia and that “any response by any country” has to take into account international humanitarian law. Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at the Israeli and Iranian embassies in New Delhi in the wake of escalating tension between the two nations. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the escalating security situation in West Asia, the Ukraine conflict and other key issues with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. ''Delighted to hold talks with @SecBlinken today in Washington DC. We followed up on the Delaware bilateral and Quad meetings. Our discussions also covered deepening bilateral cooperation, the situation in West Asia, recent developments in the Indian subcontinent, the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine,'' Mr Jaishankar wrote on social media platform X after the meeting. About 70 Indian nationals forced into cybercrime in Cambodia rescued STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 2 OCTOBER Following specific leads from the Indian Embassy in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian Police have rescued 67 Indian nationals who were trapped in the Southeast Asian nation in fraudulent job offers obtained through fake agents and forced into cybercrime. A team of Indian Embassy officials is now overseeing the repatriation process of these 67 Indian nationals in batches. The embassy in a press The embassy in a press release on Wednesday said 15 of these Indian nationals left for India on 30 September, 24 on 1 October and the rest will reach the country in the next few days. release on Wednesday said 15 of these Indian nationals left for India on 30 September, 24 on 1 October and the rest will reach the country in the next few days. It said it con- tinues to monitor the situation closely and remains committed to helping Indian nationals trapped in cyber crimes. It also advised Indian nationals to exercise extreme caution in taking up job opportunities in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian nations through suspicious agents and social media advertisements. ''Since January 2022, the Embassy of India in Phnom Penh has facilitated the repatriation of over 1000 Indian citizens with nearly 770 in the first nine months of 2024.