SAMBALPUR THURSDAY AUGUST 29, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 12 CITY EDITION GOVT TO SET UP 12 NEW INDUSTRIAL CITIES TO BOOST MANUFACTURING PROJECTS EXPECTED TO CREATE 40 LAKH JOBS New industrial areas will come up in Kerala’s Palakkad, Andhra Pradesh’s Orvakal and Kopparthy and Telangana’s Zaheerabad and across eight more locations in seven states. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the projects would be completed by 2027 and would create about 10 lakh direct and 30 lakh indirect job opportunities | P7 The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved 12 new industrial cities in 10 states with an estimated investment of `28,602 crore THREE NEW RAILWAY PROJECTS GREENLIGHTED ■ ■ The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved three railway projects worth `6,456 crore covering Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to boost connectivity and line capacity The Centre also expanded the scope of Agricultural Infrastructure Fund to strengthen the farm-related infrastructure in the country 234 MORE CITIES TO GET PRIVATE FM RADIO AS GOVT TO HOLD THIRD BATCH OF ASCENDING E-AUCTIONS 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 REPORTS OF CLASHES IN VARIOUS DISTRICTS OF WEST BENGAL; THIN ATTENDANCE AT GOVERNMENT OFFICES, SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES PADAMPUR LINKED Bargarh-Nuapada railway line gets CCEA approval E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhubaneswar A clash between the police and BJP activists during the 12-hour Bengal Bandh, at Bowbazar in Kolkata on Wednesday | ANI Amid sporadic violence, bandh response mixed PREZ SAYS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, ASKS COUNTRYMEN TO PROTECT WOMEN R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi EXPRESSING shock and anguish over the alleged rape-murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital, President Droupadi Mur mu on Wednesday said, “enough is enough”. No civilised society must allow its daughters and sisters to be subjected to such atrocities, she added. “The nation is bound to be outraged, and so am I,” the President wrote in an exclusive signed article for news agency PTI. This is the first time that the President is sharing her views on the incident in Kolkata. Murmu said the time has come to introspect. “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 Droupadi Murmu half,” she wrote in the article titled Women’s SafeRapists to ty: Enough is Enough. Murmu blamed a ‘deget death in plorable mindset’ for fueltoughened ling crimes against womlaw: Didi en. “Social prejudices as well as some customs and West Bengal Chief practices have always opMinister Mamata posed the expansion of Banerjee on women’s rights. This is a Wednesday said an rather deplorable mindamendment to existing laws will be set. This mindset sees the female as a lesser human passed in the state assembly next week being, less powerful, less capable, less intelligent.” to ensure capital Those who hold such punishment to views see women as an obconvicted rapists. ject and it is this objectification that is behind the atrocities, she wrote. She concluded the article saying, “We owe it to our daughters to remove the hurdles from their path of winning the freedom from fear.” S U L A G N A S E N G U P TA @ Kolkata IMA suspends ex-principal’s membership The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Wednesday suspended the membership of former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Dr Sandip Ghosh. The suspension came upon requests from the IMA’s West Bengal unit Security measures Security audit of district hospitals, night patrolling and regulated access at large health facilities were among the slew of measures the Centre asked states to implement to prevent violence against medical professionals SPORADIC incidents of violence were reported from across the state on Wednesday during the 12-hour bandh called by the BJP against the police action on students who took part in a march to Nabanna, the state secretariat, the previous day . They were protesting against the horrific rape and murder of a PG trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Augest 9 and demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. While the bandh evoked mixed response, reports of BJP workers clashing with the police and the ruling Trinamool Congress activists poured in from several districts. Shots were fired at a local BJP leader at Bhatpara in North 24-Parganas, triggering violence. Former Barrackpore MP and BJP leader Arjun Singh and his TMC counterpart Somnath Shyam were involved in a showdown, with both leaders and their supporters standing face to face in altercation. A BJP supporter was later admitted to a hospital with bullet injuries. In Kolkata, councillor Sajal Ghosh was arrested from his residence after clashes between BJP and TMC supporters. DC (Central) Indira Mukherjee said Ghosh was arrested for making provocative comments. At Baguihati in the northern fringes of the city Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, , accompanied by former MP Debasree Choudhury and senior state party leaders, had an altercation with the police when they tried to stop him. Later, the Union minister blocked CR Avenue outside the state BJP headquarters along with party workers. Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari led a march in Nandigram. In Hooghly’s Konnagar, TMC and BJP workers clashed in the presence of the police. Tension erupted when BJP workers allegedly asked traders to down their shutters and TMC men prevented them, leading to a fight. Most offices, schools and colleges had thin attendance. EXPRESS READ 9 get lifer in Mahanga double murder case Cuttack: The court of Additional Sessions Judge, Salipur on Wednesday delivered its judgment in the sensational Mahanga double murder case, convicting nine of the accused and awarding life imprisonment to them. The court, however, acquitted one of the accused Arabinda Khatua due to lack of evidence. BJP leader Kulamani Baral and his associate Dibyasingh Baral were hacked by the convicted persons on January 2, 2021 | P4 No confirmed case of bird flu in humans: Govt Bhubaneswar: Samples collected from a suspected human case of bird flu in Puri district has turned out to be negative for H5N1, the Health department said on Wednesday. Amid rumours of a person from Pipili area was infected by bird flu after detection of the virus in the poultry farms, the Health department issued a statement saying no confirmed case of avian influenza in human beings has been detected from Odisha | P4 DONE DEAL Antitrust nod to mega RIL, Disney merger E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi THE Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday approved the $8.5-billion merger of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney Co’s Indian media assets, after the two parties offered to assuage concerns over their grip on broadcasting rights for cricket. The antitrust watchdog’s decision paves the way for the creation of India’s largest broadcasting empire in terms of reach and financial muscle. The CCI’s announcement came on the eve of RIL’s annual general meeting. Announced six months ago, the merger deal reportedly faced intense regulatory scrutiny And the green sig. nal has come after the parties proposed certain modifications to the original transaction structure. The CCI stated that its approval is subject to the compliance of the changes proposed by the parties. It, however, did not divulge the details. According to reports, Reliance and Disney proposed certain concessions, including assurances that they won’t jack up ad rates for streamed cricket matches. The merger will combine the entertainment businesses (along with certain other identified businesses) of Viacom18, part of Asia’s richest billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance group, and Star India Pvt Ltd, wholly owned by The Walt Disney Company . The JV expected to be completed by , the end of this year or early 2025, will be controlled by the Reliance group with Ambani holding 63% stake. Disney will have the remaining 37%. Nita Ambani will be the chairperson of the JV while former Disney executive Uday Shankar will come on board as vice-chairperson. THE much-awaited Bargarh-Nuapada new rail line via Padampur that led to a political slugfest between BJD and BJP during the 2022 by-election has finally got the nod of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday . The 138.3 km Bargarh-Nuapada line would be constructed at an estimated cost of `2,926 crore. It was among the two railway projects for Odisha that were approved by the CCEA - the other being the 37 km Sardega-Bhalumuda new double-line which would come up at a cost of `1,360 crore. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said of the three railway projects worth `6,456 crore cleared by the CCEA, two from Odisha will be developed at an estimated cost of `4,286 crore. “As promised earlier, the Bargarh-Nuapada new line would pass through Padampur and boost economic activities in the region. This will serve as a vital link and decongest the heavily saturated Jharsuguda-Raipur section by providing an additional route. The two projects will be fast-tracked and completed within five years,” he said. The broad-gauge rail line from Bargarh Road to Nuapada Road via Pad- PROJECT DETAILS BARGARH-NUAPADA NEW LINE Will span 138. 3 km, construction cost `2,926 crore Will connect Padampur and link Sambalpur and Jharsuguda districts Will have 13 stations, 2 junctions SARDEGA-BHALUMUDA DOUBLE LINE Will cover 37 km, construction cost `1,360 crore Will provide direct connectivity to Chhattisgarh ampur was initially announced in 2018. It was later shelved by the Centre for not being financially viable. The project was, however, granted in-principle approval in December 2021 after the state government assured to give free land along with the funding support of `300 crore. Odisha Rail Infrastructure Development Limited (ORIDL), a joint venture of the state government and the Ministry of Railways, was asked to prepare the detailed project report prior to the Padampur bypoll. “As the ORIDL failed to make progress, the Railways prepared the DPR and it was approved in a record time,” Vaishnaw CONTINUED ON P5 said. SIT to record complainants’ statements S H A N A S @ T’Puram THE special investigation team (SIT) probing the allegations of sexual harassment in Malayalam film industry will record the confidential statements of the complainants before a magistrate to ensure that they have evidentiary value, which will prove crucial during the trial. The SIT has so far identified 16 incidents of harassment as alleged by several persons before the media and on social media platforms. The allegations are being verified, Siddique said police sources. They said the police have so far received eight formal complaints, with cases registered in two. Notably, the SIT will record the testimonials of the complainants before a magistrate to rule out chances of their changing the statements during the trial stage and also to safeguard them from unwanted cross-examination. Meanwhile, the Museum police in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday registered a rape case against actor Siddique based on the complaint filed by a female actor. CONTINUED ON P5
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