BHUBANESWAR  FRIDAY  NOVEMBER 29, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION TRAI ASSURES NO DELAY IN OTP DELIVERY AS NEW RULES TO KICK IN The regulator said the new regulations meant to improve message traceability and combat fraud will not affect the delivery of bank OTPs NEW REGULATIONS TO TAKE EFFECT ON DEC 1 The new norms, likely to take effect on Sunday, will require telecom service providers to trace the origin of bulk messages, including one-timepasswords. Some reports had said this would delay delivery of messages, including OTPs. “This is factually incorrect. It will not delay delivery of any message,” the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said in a post on X TRAI OCT DEADLINE PUSHED ON TELECOS’ REQUEST ■ ■ TRAI has directed telecom providers, including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, to implement traceability in their systems October 31 was initially fixed as the date for the new regulations to kick in. But this deadline was extended amid concerns raised by telecom operators about potential for service disruptions | P10 HAD PROPOSED TO INCREASE SCRUTINY OF USERS SENDING OVER 50 SMSes A DAY 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 Mahayuti leaders Capital under thick security blanket for PM visit discuss power-share formula with Shah A S I S H M E H TA @ Bhubaneswar Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar hold talks with Union home minister S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai 50:30:20 EIGHT days after the ruling Mahayuti’s thumping victory in Maharashtra, its leaders Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar held talks with Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi amid indications that the final call on chief ministership could be made in a day or two. The meeting is also expected to discuss cabinet berths. Highly placed sources said out of total 42 ministerial slots in the outgoing government, the BJP wants to retain at least 50% while giving the Shiv Sena 30% and the NCP 20%. Sources said the RSS wants a senior party leader elevated as chief minister, adding the message has been conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “RSS was silent in Lok Sabha polls, therefore BJP’s tally crashed from 23 to 9 in Maharashtra. But in the state polls, its cadre was active and that changed the final outcome. We have to promote a strong and young leader, therefore this is the best time to elevate Fadnavis as CM and later project him as the face of the BJP at the Centre,” s a i d s o u rc e s re q u e s t i n g anonymity . However, the BJP top brass is considering other names as well. “Fadnavis is a Brahmin. In the state elections, OBCs voted unitedly for the Mahayuti as did Marathas in large numbers. So, the BJP leadership is evaluating if they have a suitable OBC or Maratha candidate in the party for the top post, hence the delay in the final call,” said top sources. Ajit Pawar is certain to retain his position as deputy chief minister (DCM) and BJP proposes a 50:30:20 formula for portfolio sharing with Shiv Sena and NCP Ajit Pawar hoping to keep all plum portfolios he had in the outgoing government BJP uneasy with Shinde’s proposal on promoting his son as deputy chief minister WITH Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah all set to arrive for the high-profile DGP conference, Bhubaneswar was placed under a thick blanket of security on Thursday even as Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun threatened to disrupt the meet. The 59th DG and IG conference is being organised for the first time in Odisha. Besides, the PM and the HM, national security advisor Ajit Doval and a host of top officials of security agencies will attend the three-day conference starting on Friday Many of the sen. ior officers arrived in Bhubaneswar on the day . To keep an eye on the city, more than 70 platoons of police force and anti-terror agencies have been deployed across Bhubaneswar to ensure the pan-India event passed off smoothly . Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said anti-terror agencies and intelligence wing officials have been mobilised to handle threats posed by anti-national elements, if any . Singh’s statement came hours after Pannun issued a video message. Without commenting on the video issued by the Khalistani extremist, the Police Commissioner said they BANGLADESH Buzz on tough talk as Jaishankar meets PM P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi wants to keep the weighty portfolios he held in the previous government. He is pushing for finance, agriculture etc. Shinde wants Home and Urban Development if he is not made the chief minister. “Shinde proposed that his son Shrikant Shinde be elevated as DCM but the BJP is lukewarm, as it would weaken its campaign against dynasts. Shinde, however, argues that it is for the Shiv Sena to decide its DCM candidate, not the BJP The flux . has prompted many senior Sena leaders to enter the DCM ring,” said sources. Sources said many senior NCP and Sena ministers in the last government are unsure whether they will be part of the new dispensation. “Keeping everyone happy this time around will be tough because the number of MLAs is more. The massive mandate is good for stability but it is not easy to keep everyone in good humour,” said a senior NCP leader requesting anonymity . Starting Jan 1, state to have direct flights to five more cities A S I S H M E H TA @ Bhubaneswar BHUBANESWAR will have direct air connectivity to five more cities of the country from the start of the new year. Director of Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) Prasanna Pradhan said, flight operations will connect Indore, Dehradun, Lucknow, Jaipur and Kochi. IndiGo will start flights to Indore and Dehradun four days and thrice a week respectively from January 1. The flights for Indore and Dehradun are expected to depart from BPIA at 3 pm, he said. Similarly, Air India Express will commence flight operations to Lucknow and Jaipur thrice a week and to Kochi everyday from January 3. With the addition of the new destinations, BPIA will have direct flight operations to 34 cities including four international locations. On an average, 49 flights are currently arriving and departing from BPIA everyday with a passenger footfall of around 7,000. Apart from the new flight operations, BPIA officials have also planned to launch early morning flight services to Bengaluru due to high demand. An IndiGo flight is expected to arrive at Bhubaneswar by 12.20 am and leave for Bengaluru by 6.15 am from January 4. Meanwhile, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi met Civil Aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu in New Delhi on Thursday and requested him to start flight operations to Jammu, Surat and Visakhapatnam. She also urged the minister to sanction the construction of Terminal-3 at BPIA. AMID escalating tensions in Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the situation. There is speculation that Jaishankar may make a statement in both Houses of Parliament on Friday, if there are no disruptions. In response to this newspaper’s query on the possibility of the government making a statement on the issue, Jaishankar said, “We haven’t decided anything yet”. Sources said Jaishankar’s meeting with Modi lasted for 30 minutes. The meeting comes in the wake of the recent arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das and rising attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, MoS for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said it is the responsibility of the Muhammad Yunus-led administration to protect the minorities. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, he said New Delhi has expressed its concerns to Dhaka. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said officials of the foreign ministry will brief the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs on Bangladesh on December 11. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed concerns over the situation in Bangladesh but said she will go by the Centre’s decision. In a relief to ISKCON, the Bangladesh High Court rejected a petition seeking its ban. The plea was moved after a lawyer was killed in a clash between security personnel and supporters of Chinmoy who was earlier with ISKCON. P9 , Mild intensity blast in Delhi’s Rohini area, second in 40 days U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi A mild-intensity explosion at the entrance of a park near Delhi Police’s Crime Branch office in Rohini on Thursday cocked a snook at the security apparatus in the national capital at a time when Parliament is in session. This was the second blast in Rohini’s Prashant Vihar area in the past 40 days. On October 20, a mysterious blast had taken place near Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) school in Rohini. Its probe is still underway . Thursday’s blast took place just 2 km away from the site of the earlier explosion outside the CRPF school. It left the driver of a milk distribwution van injured. He was identified as Chetan Khushwaha, 27. There was no damNSG personnel at the site of the blast in age to his van, Delhi’s Rohini on Thursday | PARVEEN NEGI though. “He was taken to Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital from where he was discharged after first aid,” a senior officer said. A Delhi Fire Service officer said a call regarding an explosion near Bansi Sweet Shop, Prashant Vihar, Rohini was received at 11.48 am following which four fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Senior police officers also reached the site followed by multiple security agencies, including the bomb disposal squad of the National Security Guard (NSG) and National Investigative Agency (NIA). Investigators gathered fragments of ‘white powder’ from the site and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). They also recovered small wires, which indicate that they could have been used to detonate the bomb. Chemical cocktail Preliminary examination suggested traces of ammonium nitrate, hydrogen peroxide and some sulphur compounds. They were in a polythene bag It is probably similar to what was found last time outside CRPF school. Its composition will be examined thoroughly FSL official Carcade rehearsal being carried out ahead of PM’s visit, in Bhubaneswar on Thursday | DEBADATTA MALLICK are keeping a close vigil on every aspect and adequate security arrangements have been made to meet any challenge and ensure there is no law and order situation. Pannun who heads the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) outfit, in a video message, urged his supporters to “disguise and take cover in temples-hotels in Bhubaneswar to disrupt the DG-IG conference.” Sources said security has been heightened across the city including Raj Bhavan, Secretariat, state guest house, IPS mess and travel routes designated for VVIPs and other senior officials. As part of the security net, Central Reserve Police Force and Odisha Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel have been pressed into service in the capital city . Multiple areas of Bhubaneswar have already been declared as no-flying and no- drone zones. All vantage points on high-rise buildings along the routes to be taken by the PM as well as the HM have also been secured. While security drills were conducted at the Bhubaneswar airport and its adjoining areas where the PM is expected to receive felicitations from party workers and people, police also carried out carcade rehearsal on the day . A designated terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Pannun dared the PM to visit Ram Mandir in Bhubaneswar to meet devotees and urged “Naxals, Maoists, Kashmiri fighters to disrupt the DG-IG conference.” Odisha to have S Asia’s first elephant CSS S U D A R S A N M A H A R A N A @ Bhubaneswar IN a first-of-its-kind initiative that would support conservation of elephants in South and Southeast Asia, Odisha government has accepted a proposal for establishment a Centre for Species Survival (CSS) of Asian Elephants near Bhubaneswar. The centre will be set up at Chandaka wildlife division. A letter of agreement with the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCNSSC) and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) was signed by the Forest, Environment and Climate Change de- partment in this regard. The centre will not only enhance the protection of Asian elephants across 13 range countries in South and South East Asia including India but also be in line with Government of India’s ‘Act East Policy’ launched in 2014 to promote country’s economic, strategic and cultural relations with the Asia-Pacific region. Establishment of the species survival centre of elephants in India is also being seen as vital as the country is home to over 60 per cent of wild Asian elephant population. While India has emerged as a glo- bal leader in Asian elephant conservation, addressing challenges of securing ele phant cor ridors, mitigating human-wildlife conflict, training frontline forest staff, rescue and rehabilitation, creation of community-conserved areas, top sources in the Wildlife Wing said, the centre will facilitate integration of scientific and cultural knowledge and promote collaboration among different stakeholders including government agencies, forest communities and public to bolster conservation efforts for Asian elephants. CONTINUED ON P5