NEW DELHI 17 NOVEMBER 2024 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard Lighting Up the Stage https://epaper.morningstandard.in The Fitness Guide to Less being More PLUS: 12 PAGES VINO, VIDI, VICI IN THE MOUNTAINS MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE VOICES Pushpesh Pant Ravi Shankar Devdutt Pattanaik’ Neha Sinha FEELING AT HOME E J A Z K A I S E R @ Raipur IT’S WRONG, SAYS ISLAMIC SCHOLAR FAROOQI IN what is decidedly the first such directive anywhere in the country the Chhattisgarh State , Waqf Board in the BJP-ruled state issued a circular to the Mutawallis (caretakers) of all mosques asking them to get the sermons they deliver every Friday afternoon before the prayer vetted by it. Waqf boards are bestowed with the authority to manage and protect Waqf properties in thir respective areas. “There should not be any po- “The circular is wrong. What does the Waqf Board have to do with the khutba or sermons given by imams in mosques? Are they going to be punished? One will never hear any reference of politics in the speeches,” asserted Qazi-e-Shahr Maulana Mohammed Ali Farooqi 2 JAWANS HURT Five Maoists shot dead in Chhattisgarh encounter E J A Z K A I S E R @ Raipur FIVE cadres of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), including two women fighters in uniform, were gunned down by security forces in an encounter on Saturday in the north Abujhmad area located along the edgy inter-district borders of Narayanpur-Kanker in Chhattisgarh. Two jawans — Heerman Yadav and Khileshwar Gawde — sustained bullet injuries in the gunfight and were shifted to a hospital where they were said to be stable and out of danger. “Based on an intelligence input about the presence of Maoists in the north Abujhmad (meaning unfamiliar land) region, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and Border Security Force (BSF) left on the planned operation during the intervening night of 15-16 November. As the search campaign moved ahead, an encounter began around 8 am after the Maoists opened fire on the forces that came close to their hideout location. So far, five bodies of Maoists have been recovered from the encounter site,” said a police officer in Bastar. Security forces also recovered INSAS and Self Loading Rifle (SLR) besides a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the Maoists. The dead Maoists are yet to be identified. Intermittent firing continued in the area while the troops have intensified their search operations in the region, the officer added. As many as 197 bodies of Maoists have been recovered after they were neutralised by security forces in separate encounters across the conflictridden south Bastar zone so far this year. litical colour in the speeches given ahead of the Jumma namaz every Friday At times, fatwas . are issued from the mosques or support is extended to some political party. Mosques should confine themselves to religious preaching or practices and not become a siyasi adda (political nest). Imphal valley on boil, mob storms houses of ministers Speculation rife on some BJP MLAs submitting resignation today Actress Kasthuri, who made a remark on the Telugu-speaking people of Tamil Nadu that stoked a row, was arrested in Hyderabad on Saturday, police said. Though the actor withdrew her remarks, complaints were filed against her. A Chennai police team traced her to a film producer’s house in Hyderabad and arrested her. 27-yr-old Jake Paul beats 58-yr-old Tyson The boos from a crowd wanting more action were growing again when Jake Paul dropped his gloves before the final bell, and bowed toward 58-year-old Mike Tyson. Paul won a unanimous decision over Tyson in a fight between the 27-year-old and the former heavyweight champion. LIFT AFSPA FROM SIX AREAS, SAYS GOVT P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati MASSIVE protests broke out in Manipur’s Imphal valley on Saturday after the bodies of six persons, believed to be of those reported missing from Jiribam district on Monday were recov, ered from a river close to the border of Assam’s Cachar and Manipur’s Jiribam districts. Miscreants also vandalised and burned down five churches and six houses in Jiribam on Saturday evening, the Indigenous Tribal Advocacy Committee claimed. In the wake of widespread protests, the state government temporarily suspended internet and mobile data services in the affected districts. The protesters attacked the houses of several MLAs and damaged properties at some places. They also stormed the houses of two BJP ministers. Vehicles were also set on fire. One of the MLAs, whose house was targeted, was R K Imo, who is the son-in-law of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. As the protesters are going for the jugular of the elected members for failing to control Massive protests were held on Saturday in Imphal after six bodies were found The Manipur government has written to the Centre requesting it to review its Nov 14 notification imposing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in six jurisdictions in the Imphal valley. The state cabinet discussed it at a meeting late Friday night and decided to request the Centre to review and withdraw the said declaration No reason was cited the escalating violence, speculations are rife that some of the BJP’s legislators could resign on Sunday . The influential Meitei organisation ‘Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity’ announced a civil disobedience movement from Saturday . The bodies of all six persons were taken to the nearby Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) in Assam’s Cachar district for post-mortem. Three of the bodies were recovered on Friday and the others on Saturday The state govern. ment in a statement issued earlier in the day confirmed that three of the bodies were of the missing persons. Three women and three children went missing from Jiribam following Monday’s gunfight in which CRPF and police personnel had gunned down 10 “militants”. Kuki-Zo organisations claimed they were “village volunteers”. Tension had been building across the Imphal valley since Friday night following reports about the recovery of three bodies. The protests intensified later in the day on Saturday when reports emerged about the recovery of three more bodies. Gory Games Begin, Again A S H I S H S R I V A S TA V A @ New Delhi POLLUTION CHECK Officials check a bus from Uttar Pradesh at Kashmere Gate ISBT following restrictions under Graded Response Action Plan-III on Saturday | PTI | P3 DELHI has made history with the inauguration of its first allwomen bus depot, with Sarojini Nagar being renamed the ‘Sakhi Depot’. The renaming of the oldest depot in the city is a tribute to women and a symbol of the changing time in a mainly male-dominated field. Unveiled by Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, the depot aims to “break barriers for women”. “The all-women initiative is not just about operating buses, but also about empowering women to take charge in a space where they have traditionally been underrepresented. The depot is just the SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS The True State of Being SAD PRESIDENTSHIP CONSTRAINED BY TAKHT, BADAL CALLS IT QUITS H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh EMBATTLED Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday submitted his resignation, drawing the curtain over two decades of dynastic rule in the second oldest political party in the country . His position in the party had become untenable after the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, declared him a tankhayia (guilty of religious misconduct) two-and-a-half months ago but did not announce his sentence and barred him from any political activity . Ever since his father Parkash Singh Badal became party president in 1995, it became a Badal family pocket borough, with the baton of presidentship being passed to Sukhbir in 2008. On August 29, Sukhbir had appointed senior party leader Balwinder Singh Bhundar as the SAD working president. SAD leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said Bhunder has convened an emergency meeting of the SAD Working Committee on Monday at the party’s headquarters here to consider Sukhbir’s resignation and chart out the next course of action, including initiating the process to elect his successor. The last organisational elections within the party was held on December 14, 2019. I thank the party rank and file for their unstinted support. They stood like a rock with me and extended cooperation throughout my tenure as SAD president Sukhbir Badal, outgoing SAD chief Sukhbir had recently suffered a fracture on his right foot and underwent a corrective surgery at the PGI in Chandigarh. His resignation comes three days after he approached the Akal Takht with a fresh appeal to Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh (High Priest) to convene a meeting of the clergy soon to pronounce his religious punishment. On August 30, Sukbir was declared tankhaiya for the mistakes committed by his party’s government from 2007 to 2017 when he was deputy chief minister and SAD president. The Akal Takht said he took decisions thst affected the party and caused damage to Sikh interests. On October 24, the Takht barred him from political activity . CLIMATE FINANCE TALKS MAKE NO HEADWAY AT COP29 COP29 at Baku has reached its midpoint. And talks on establishing the critical framework to provide financial aid to developing nations grappling with climate change impact have hit a roadblock over the target amount | P9 First all-women bus depot in capital EXPRESS READ Actor Kasthuri arrested for remarks on Telugus So, I have instructed all Mutawallis to apprise the Waqf Board regarding the contents of their sermons and get our consent,” Chhattisgarh Waqf Board chairman Salim Raj told this newspaper on Saturday . He contended that he has not overste pped his brief, as mosques and dargahs fall within the ambit of the Waqf Board. Raj said imams have also been asked to create awareness regarding the government’s welfare schemes, especially those meant for the minorities. The opposition Congress dubbed the directive as an infringement of the religious freedom of minorities. “The state Waqf Board has unjustifiably gone beyond its remit. The Board is meant to oversee the Waqf properties to ensure the Waqf deeds are fulfilled and not dictate terms to religious preachers or imams,” said Sushil Anand Shukla, chairman of the Congress’ media cell. Let the ‘The Ideas Never Stop Coming’ Anuja Chandramouli Prabhu Chawla Shankkar Aiyar Anuradha Goyal Get Friday speeches vetted: Waqf Board head Fighting the Kremlin ‘Sakhi Depot’ The ‘Sakhi Depot’ has a total workforce of 223 women, comprising 89 drivers and 134 conductors. It operates a fleet of 70 buses, including 40 AC and 30 non-AC buses, serving 17 routes. beginning; we will establish many such depots under the ‘Sakhi’ initiative,” he said. The ‘Sakhi Depot’ has a total workforce of 223 women, comprising 89 drivers and 134 conductors. It operates a fleet of 70 buses, including 40 air-conditioned and 30 non-AC buses, serving 17 routes across Delhi. The shift didn’t come without challenges, though. The government has tweaked steps such as revision in the height requirement for drivers. “The original minimum height requirement of 159 cm excluded many aspiring women drivers. In February 2022, the height requirement was reduced to 153 cm,” an official said. The government also has revamped the existing fleet of buses, equipping them with power steering and adjustable seats. Another hurdle was obtaining Heavy Motor Vehicle licences. The first batch of 11 women drivers successfully graduated from the programme in August 2022. Currently 89 women driv, ers are operating DTC buses. K’taka man kills 14-yr-old son for keeping bad company EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru A 14-year-old boy was allegedly killed by his father for being in a bad company and not going to school at Kashi Nagar in Kumaraswamy Layout police limits in Bengaluru on Friday The . deceased has been identified as R Tejus, a Class 9 student. His father Ravi Kumar, a carpenter, was arrested on Saturday morning. The boy’s mother works in a garment factory Te. jus was their second child. Kumar, an alcoholic, reportedly wanted Tejus to study well. But Tejus used to bunk classes and roam around with a group of boys. He was addicted to bad habits and always used to be on his mobile phone. After learning that Tejus had habits such as smoking and drinking, his father warned him not to do so. Tejus stopped going to school 20 days ago after his father neither got his phone repaired nor bought a new one. On Friday, Tejus did not go to school and was at home. He was also reportedly drunk when Kumar sought to know why he did not go to school that day. Seeing his son in an inebriated state, Kumar allegedly beat him up with a cricket bat and pushed him against the wall around 8.30 am. Later, Tejus developed health complications and collapsed. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead. Kumar and his family members then brought the body home and started making funeral arrangements. “Minutes before Tejus body was taken for cremation on Friday afternoon, locals informed police that they suspected foul play in the boy’s death. The police rushed home and took the body to KIMS Hospital for post-mortem. When the police questioned Kumar, he confessed to have killed his son,” a police officer said. ROW OVER 3-SECOND CLIP Real, not reel fight, as Nayan goes for Dhanush’s jugular in open letter EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai ACTOR Nayanthara took to Instagram on Saturday to address a legal dispute involving actor-director Dhanush, accusing him of obstructing the making of her Netflix documentary, Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale. She alleged that Dhanush demanded `10 crore as compensation for us- ing a three-second behind-thescenes (BTS) footage from their 2015 film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in the documentary . The documentary explores Nayanthara’s relationship with her husband Vignesh Shivan, a filmmaker, tracing it all the way back to the filming of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, which was produced by Dhanush, under his Wunderbar Films banner. In an open letter, Nayanthara expressed frustration over the legal notice sent by Dhanush demanding `10-crore compensation for the use of three seconds of BTS footage. She stated that the clips in question were captured using personal devices and had been publicly shared on social media in the past. She revealed that her team has spent two years attempting to obtain an No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the actor-director, who allegedly refused to approve the use of even photographs and lyrics from the film. “Cinema is a fight for surviv- al for people like me, who are self-made,” she said, accusing Dhanush of harbouring a grudge against the documentary and her personal life. She further stressed that his actions affected not just her and her husband but the numerous people who have worked on the documentary She concluded by . urging Dhanush to move past any resentment and allow her documentary to release without further conflict. In response, a number of actors, notably Dhanush’s previous collaborators, sided with Nayanthara, while others dismissed the matter, calling it a ‘marketing strategy’ ahead of the documentary’s release on November 18. Dhanush is yet to respond to the letter. Prior to Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, the two actors costarred in the 2008 film Yaaradi Nee Mohini, director Mithran Jawahar’s debut outing.