BHUBANESWAR  THURSDAY  NOVEMBER 28, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION GUNS SILENT AS ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH TRUCE TAKES EFFECT IN LEBANON The ceasefire, brokered by the US and France to end 13 months of fighting, appeared to be holding on Wednesday LEBANESE ARMY MOVES TO HEZBOLLAH’S TURF The ceasefire deal, which calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting, requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops are to return to their side of the border. With the deal taking effect, the Lebanese military started reinforcing its presence in the country’s south, where Hezbollah fighters have long held sway | P9 HUNDREDS OF REFUGEES HEAD HOME TO SOUTH ■ ■ Hundreds of displaced south Lebanon residents headed home from Beirut and other cities, ignoring warnings from the Lebanese military that Israeli forces were yet to complete withdrawal from some areas With its ally Hezbollah silencing the guns, Hamas on Wednesday said it is ready for ceasefire and prisoner-exchange talks with Israel 3,760 PEOPLE KILLED BY ISRAELI FIRE IN LEBANON THE PAST 13 MONTHS CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Maha power end game in sight Shinde drops out of the CM race, says any call by Modi, Shah will be acceptable to his party TALKS WITH SHAH S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai CARETAKER Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday appeared to withdraw from the leadership race of the new gover nment in Maharashtra, claiming he was not an obstacle, adding any decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah will be acceptable for him and his Shiv Sena. The statement came after the BJP top brass in Delhi requested him to yield. “Shinde was told that they cannot disappoint the BJP rank and file who want to see their leader as chief minister, since the party was just 13 short of a simple majority in the assembly Shinde was . STORMY SESSION Oppn steps up heat on Adani row, disrupts Parliament P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi THE Adani row continued to rock Parliament on Wednesday as neither the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha could transact any business. Both Houses were adjourned till Thursday . As soon as the House met for the day, Opposition members were on their feet demanding discussion on bribery charges against the Adani conglomerate, Manipur unrest, and the recent violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal. Several Opposition members including Congress’ Manickam Tagore K C Venugopal and Manish Tewari moved adjournment motions to discuss the Adani controversy As the mem. bers resorted to sloganeering, Speaker Om Birla asked them to allow the Question Hour, adding they can discuss their issues later. With the Opposition refusing to relent, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon amid the ruckus. As the protests continued after the House was reconvened, the Chair adjourned it for a day . Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged the government is protecting Adani, and reiterated his demand that the industrialist be arrested. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Opposition will furnish evidence against the Adani group if the government demands it. Speaking to this newspaper, Congress MP Suresh Kodikunnil said his party will demand a JPC probe into Adani’s indictment in the US. The Upper House also witnessed sloganeering after Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar rejected 18 notices under Rule 267 of the House. Amid the din, the House was adjourned for the day . Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar persuaded to look at the larger picture,” a source said requesting anonymity . Clearing the air at a press meet in Thane, Shinde said, “I spoke with the prime minister and Union minister Amit Shah and informed them that whatever decision is taken by them will be acceptable to me and my party Even if I am not made ... CM, I will not be unhappy .” Reacting to Shinde’s an- Shinde, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar are expected to fly to Delhi to meet Shah to discuss modalities of government formation. The new CM may continue to have two deputy CMs nouncement, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said, “We in the Mahayuti have always made decisions together. A few people had doubts, which Shinde ji has clarified. Soon we will meet our leaders and make the decision.” Shinde, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar are expected to fly to Delhi to meet Shah. While Fadnavis is the frontrunner for heading the government, it might not be done deal, claim sources. Consider this: NCP and Shiv Sena have elected Ajit Pawar and Shinde as their legislative party leader respectively, but BJP has yet to take that call. “The top brass is exploring other options as they want to break the Vidarbha versus Western Maharashtra matrix. They are looking to promote an alternative leadership from North Maharashtra,” the source said. Its dark horses from North Maharashtra include Girish Mahajan and Radha Krishna VikhePatil. While Mahajan is close to Fadnavis, Vikhe-Patil has a good equation with Shah. “The names of some women leaders are also in circulation.” WOMEN WILL BE RECRUITED AS FIREFIGHTERS SOON: CM MAJHI EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar CHIEF Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday said plans are afoot to facilitate recruitment of women as firefighters and necessary amendments will be made to rename the post of fireman as “Agni Yodha”. The announcement was made by the chief minister at the state-level firemen recruitment event organised by Odisha Fire Service following a request from deputy chief minister Pravati Parida for providing opportunities for wo m e n t o j o i n t h e f i re service. Appreciating Parida’s suggestion, Majhi said the move aims to provide women with equal opportunities of employment in the field of firefighting. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi with DG, Fire Service Sudhansu Sarangi in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday | EXPRESS Congratulating the new recruits, the CM said serving the public and keeping them safe is a great opportunity. While every government employee receives salary, not everyone gets the opportunity to save lives and earn spiritual merit. Majhi said filling up of 826 firemen and 115 driver posts will strengthen the fire service wing, enabling it to better prot e c t p e o p l e ’s l ive s a n d properties. The Home department will soon fill around 10,000 posts, including existing vacancies and new positions. In the next five years, the CM said, the state government aims to fill up 1.5 lakh vacant positions in different departments. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, the government is working tirelessly to create employment opportunities in various sectors. There are 346 fire stations in the state and the government has allocated `394 crore from the Disaster Response Fund and `201 crore from the 15th Finance Commission to strengthen the fire service. Both the central and state governments are committed to empowering the fire service, he said. Deputy CM Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo also spoke. OPPN, BJP ON SAME PAGE Waqf Bill JPC to seek extension till Budget Session P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi WITH BJP members of a Joint Parliamentary Committee scrutinising the Waqf Amendment Bill joining the extension chorus, the panel will request Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to extend its tenure until the Budget Session, 2025. The panel was scheduled to submit its report by the first week of the ongoing session of Parliament. This paper was the first to report on November 10 that the Modi government, under pressure from allies Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and JD(U), may buy more time to table the revised Waqf Bill in Parliament and that the panel may seek more time to submit the report. On Wednesday, amid Opposition protests, BJP members Nishikant Dubey and Aparajita Sarangi urged panel chairman Jagadambika Pal to request the Speaker to postpone the submission of the committee report until the Budget Session. This came after the Opposition members boycotted the meeting saying the chair man w a s ke e n t o close proceedings by the November 29 dead- line in a hurry . Later speaking to the media, Pal said, “Nishikant Dubey and others said since we have to invite and hear some other stakeholders and state officials, we need an extension. I will consider this and then we will bring a resolution before Lok Sabha tomorrow or the day after.” Earlier, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, DMK’s A Raja, AAP’s Sanjay Singh and TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee said the panel chairman was keen to wrap up the proceedings by the November 29 deadline without following due process. “The Speaker had indicated the committee could be given an extension, but it appeared that some “big minister” was directing Pal’s actions,” alleged Gogoi. Sanjay Singh said the panel hasn’t heard the governments of Delhi, J&K, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. “States that have maximum Waqf property weren’t called, including Delhi. Seven people died in Sambhal for Waqf property They are . not taking things seriously said ,” Kalyan Banerjee. You read it first here on November 10 VAISHNAW BATS FOR STRICTER LAWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA, OTT Information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday sought to make existing laws more stringent to curb vulgar content on social media, saying absence of editorial oversight has led to “uncontrolled expression” on such platforms | P7 Rescue works underway at the ancient site of Lothal after a pit dug to collect soil collapsed | SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT IITian dies as research pit in Lothal caves in D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahemedabad A IIT-Delhi researcher who went to collect soil samples from the ancient Harappan civilization site of Lothal in Gujarat died after the cliff of a pit, dug to collect the samples, collapsed and buried four persons in a pile of soil on Wednesday . A team of researchers from IIT-Delhi and IIT-Gandhinagar descended into a 15-foot-deep pit dug using an excavator near an under-construction maritime museum at the archeological site, about 80 km from Ahmedabad. As they were collecting the samples, the cliff of the pit caved in burying them in soil. Surabhi Verma, a 23-year-old PhD scholar at IIT-Delhi died on the spot. Yama Dixit, a 45-yearold geologist, also from IIT-Delhi, sustained serious injuries and is under treatment at Bagodra government hospital. Bagodra police have launched an investigation into the incident. Situated near Sargwala village in Dholka taluka of Ahmedabad district, Lothal was a port town and a significant centre of the Indus Valley civilisation. This historical site was discovered in November 1954, and extensive excavations have since been conducted. Retirement benefits can’t be withheld due to pending Vigilance cases: HC E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Cuttack GUKESH HITS BACK D Gukesh converted his advantage with white pieces to restore parity at the ongoing chess World Championship in Singapore on Wednesday. The Indian teen controlled the game from start to finish. His opening preparation was more extensive than the Chinese world champion and it paved the way for the Indian’s first win | PTI | P11 THE Orissa High Court has held that pending criminal cases cannot serve as a valid reason to withhold the payment of retirement benefits, including gratuity, regular pension, etc. The court said mere pendency of clearance from the Vigilance wing cannot justify withholding release of pensionary benefits for an indefinite period. Hence, such action can be termed as arbitrary and invalid. The ruling came in the case of Bijaya Krishna Panigrahi whose pensionary benefits were not released on ground of pending Vigilance cases even as he retired nearly seven years back. Panigrahi joined as an inspector of Commercial Taxes under the Finance department in 1984. Though disciplinary departmental proceedings were initiated against him in 2010, no penalty was imposed on him. Later, two criminal cases were filed against him by the Vigilance and the cases were still pending when he retired as assistant financial advisor-cumunder secretary of School and Mass Education department on December 31, 2017. Disposing of the petition, the single judge bench of Justice SK Panigrahi said, “In the present case, the authorities concerned have withheld the petitioner’s regular pension and pensionary benefits without invoking any statutory provision. Consequently, their actions lack statutory backing.” CONTINUED ON P5 SHOWING THE WAY Amid low state-wide acceptance, tribal districts of Odisha lead in male sterilisation HEMANT KUMAR ROUT @ Bhubaneswar AMID low acceptance for vasectomy as an alternative mode of family planning in Odisha, tribal districts have led the way in terms of male sterilisation adoption as compared to more developed and literate coastal districts. Official sources said, districts like Koraput, Rayagada and Sundargarh emerged frontrunners in male sterilisation services in the state while Khurda, Cuttack, Ganjam and Balasore lagged behind. According to the latest data, the highest 307 vasectomy cases were recorded in Koraput, followed by 282 in Sundargarh and 264 in Rayagada in 2023-24. During the same time, Khurda reported 26 cases followed by Cuttack (28), Ganjam (69) and Balasore (80). Malkangiri and Nabarangpur performed better than some of the coastal districts with 54 and 31 cases respectively . Several districts such as Sambalpur, Nayagarh, Angul and Dhenkanal recorded vasectomy cases in single-digit while no men came forward for the procedure in Deogarh district. Although low as compared to other states, there has been a POOR SHOW 1,792 vasectomy cases in 2023-24 Koraput leads with 307 male sterilisation cases Zero cases in Deogarh district steady growth in vasectomy adoption in Odisha - from 719 cases in 2020-21 to 991 in 2021-22, 1,569 in 2022-23 and 1,792 in 202324. The number of tubectomy cases, which went up from 82,152 in 2021-22 to 92,529 in 2022-23, dropped the following year with the state reporting about 79,583 cases. Additional director of family planning Dr Muralidhar Padhi said the active participation of local health workers, ASHA and anganwadi workers in spreading awareness about the benefits of vasectomy significantly helped overcome cultural taboos in tribal areas. “Male sterilisation is low in many districts as people are shy and reluctant about it. If health workers can convince people in tribal districts for the procedure, why can’t coastal districts follow the lead? It is a matter of perception,” he said. Padhi informed that coastal districts performed better in the first half of this financial year due to concerted efforts by health workers. CONTINUED ON P5