DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2024, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 NEXT STEPS FOR RESOLUTION OF BORDER AREA ISSUES TO FOLLOW, SAYS DELHI THE WORLD India, China reach agreement on patrolling along LAC, stage set for Modi and Xi meeting at BRICS Summit CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 At the venue of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia on Monday. The two-day summit starts Tuesday. Reuters PAGE7 MAKINGSIGNIFICANTheadway in efforts to resolve the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, India andChinahaveagreedtorestore patrolling rights to each in the Depsang Plains and Demchok region — these are areas where the problems are called legacy issues, predating the 2020 Chinese incursions. Moving to get 26/11 accused Rana before year-end, India holds talks with US officials CHENNAI, OCTOBER 21 At the funeral of Dr Shahnawaz Dar, who was among the seven persons killed in the terror attack in J&K’s Ganderbal district Sunday. He was laid to rest at his ancestral village in Budgam district on Monday. Shuaib Masoodi BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY 2gunmencamewearingshawlshidingweapons:Survivors GAGANGIR (SONAMARG), OCTOBER 21 AT FIRST, it sounded like firecrackersfromawedding.Within minutes,though,itbecameclear that anunprecedented terror attack was unfolding at the campsiteof amajorconstructionproject in Kashmir’s Gagangir. AdayafterSunday’sterrorat- tack, which left six men from outsideKashmiraswellasalocal doctor dead, security forces on Monday cut off all roads leading to the camp as top investigative agenciesdescendedonthescene to start a probe. Thecampsite,wheretheemployees were staying, is just below an approach road to the tunnel, and is surrounded by barren mountains on one side and the Srinagar-Lehnationalhighwayon theother.Acrossthehighwayisa villagesituatedonthefoothillsof a mountain with dense forests. The victims were employees of infrastructure company APCO Infratech, which is constructing the Z-Morh tunnel on the Srinagar-Sonamarghighway.Not onlyisthisthefirstmilitantattack on a key infrastructure project in J&K, it also comes in an area that has been relatively terror-free. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MUMBAI, OCTOBER 21 KHAR GYMKHANA, one of Mumbai’s oldest clubs, has cancelledthemembershipof Indian women cricket team’s leading batter Jemimah Rodrigues. According to gymkhana officials, the action was taken after some members objected to her father Ivan using the club premises for “religious activities” and PAGE 1 ANCHOR A 2023 photo of Jemimah (L) accepting Khar Gymkhana membership alleged that events were organisedto“convert”the“vulnerable”. The decision to cancel her membership was taken at Sunday’s annual general body meetinghere.Textmessagesand phone calls Monday to Jemimah and her father for comments remained unanswered. Confirming the action, Khar Gymkhana president Vivek Devnani told The Indian Express: “The honorary three-year CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SUKHBIR SIWACH CHANDIGARH, OCTOBER 21 DAYS AFTER the Supreme Court pulled up the governments of HaryanaandPunjabforfailingto prosecute farmers who burn stubble, contributing to air pollution in the Delhi National Capital Region, police in Haryana’s Kaithal district said Monday they had arrested 18 farmers in the last two days for burning crop residue. Kaithal SP Rajesh Kalia said the farmers were later released on bail. District administrations across the state have also blacklisted more than 400 farmers for allegedly burning stubble since theseasonstartedSeptember15, barring them from selling their crops at mandis for two years. Congress leaders and farmer organisations have criticised the government,labelling itsactions as “Tughlaqi firman”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Elderly up, fertility down: Why Andhra, TN are talking of kids THE AGEING SOUTH ■ 2021 RELATED REPORTS No. of elderly per 100 children ■ 2036 (15 yrs & lower) South:61.7 PAGES 8 & 13 Mumbai top club removes Jemimah Stubble burning: Haryana arrests 18 over her father’s ‘religious activity’ farmers, bars over 400 from mandis DEVENDRA PANDEY enumerated 16 forms of wealth —rangingfromcowsandlandto children and education. Referring next to a potential reduction of South India’s share in parliamentary seats due to lower population growth rates, Stalinjoked:“Whynotaimfor16 children?” On Saturday, Naidu warned 11.0 17.1 BASHAARAT MASOOD Why not aim for 16 children, the Tamil Nadu CM joked 11.5 17.2 J&K attack: Targeted men were working on key link to Ladakh A REMARK made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin in jest overcouplesandchildren,onthe heels of his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu advising people to have moreoffspring,hasrenewedthe debate over delimitation and its impact on southern states with their lower population indices. Speaking at a mass wedding ceremony organised by the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments DepartmentinChennaiMonday, Stalin mentioned how blessings for newlyweds had changed over time, and went on to refer to an old Tamil saying from the book Manamakkalukku that Data of the Department of AgricultureandFarmers’Welfare show 327 farmers have received challans, FIRs have been registered against 93, and a total of Rs 8.32 lakh has been collected in fines. While 689 incidents of stubble burning were recorded aftertheharvestlastyear,655incidentshavebeenregisteredthis year until Monday. “Redentryhasbeenputinthe farm records of these farmers. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 North:38.9 Telangana CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E X P L A I NE D ARUN JANARDHANAN Tahawwur Rana lost plea for rehearing of extradition Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitinCaliforniahadaffirmed the District Court’s denial of Rana’s habeas corpus petition. It said India provided sufficient competent evidence to support the magistrate judge’s finding of probable cause that Rana committed the charged crimes. Now,Ranahasa45dayswindow to appeal against the extraditionrulingbeforethetopcourt. Afterthat,theextraditionmayat best get delayed by another 45 days, till the Supreme Court waives off his last ditch appeal. But this is rare, said the source. According to the US government's courts website on procedures, the Supreme Court accepts only 100-150 of the more than 7,000 cases it is asked to review each year, i.e., approximately only 2 per cent of the cases are accepted. Requests for comments sent to the US embassy in New Delhi did not elicit a response. Rana, 63, was a childhood friendof DavidHeadley.Headley, a US citizen who was born to an American mother and a Rekindling hope After Naidu, Stalin talks of larger families, links it to delimitation Karnataka INDICATING THAT the extradition of Canadian-Pakistani citizen Tahawwur Rana, who played a role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, could be imminent, the Indian government has started making preparations for him to be handed over by the United States, The Indian Express has learnt. Accordingtosources,Ranacould be extradited latest by the second half of December. Sources said officials — including those from Central investigative agencies and legal departments of both countries — recently held a meeting in this regard at the US Embassy in Delhi. “In the meeting, which lasted around three hours, Rana’s extradition was a key point of discussion. The talks focused on what preparations and logistics need to be in place by the Indian government to facilitate the extradition, as well as Rana’sjailarrangementsoncehe arrives,” a source said. The meeting follows the denial of Rana’s request on September 23 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for rehearing of his extradition case. Just the previous month, on August 15, the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 12.3 19.0 NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 ● THE pact has rekindled hopes of early restoration of diplomatic and bilateral political ties. These can happen if the two sides are able to implement the next steps towards de-escalation and de-militarisation. Sources said the two sides have agreed that patrolling in these two areas — the Depsang Plainsinthenorthof Ladakhand Demchok in the south — will be 16.5 22.8 MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL E CHINA NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 DepsangPlains Ladakh Daulat Hot BegOldie Galwan Springs J&K Leh Srinagar PangongTso Demchok Andhra Pradesh MORE THAN four years after Chinese incursions in eastern Ladakh triggered a military standoff along the Line of Actual Control and sent bilateral ties south, India and China have reached an agreement on patrollingarrangementsintheborder areas, leading to disengagement in areas where 50,000 to 60,000 troops are stationed on AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA & DEEPTIMAN TIWARY 13.7 20.8 NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 either side. The announcement on the agreement was made Monday by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in New Delhi, setting the stage for a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the two-day BRICS Summit starting Tuesday in Kazan, capital of Tatarstan in Russia’s southwest. External Affairs Minister SJaishankar,duringaninteraction Tamil Nadu BOMB THREATS TO FLIGHTS: GOVT TO CHANGE LAW FOR STRINGENT ACTION SC STAYS NCPCR MOVE FOR CLOSURE OF MADRASAS PAGE 7 SHUBHAJIT ROY PAKISTAN EXPRESS NETWORK Patrol rights in Depsang Plains, Demchok to be restored, will be closely coordinated Have arrived at arrangement leading to disengagement, says Foreign Secy; creates basis for pre-2020: Jaishankar Kerala BLINKEN HEADS TO WEST ASIA AS U.S. LOOKS TO START CEASEFIRE TALKS PAK LIMITS CHIEF JUSTICE’S TENURE TO 3 YRS PAGE 14 CentralIndia:27.8 Figures in % Source: India Ageing Report 2023 NIKHILA HENRY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 EXPRESSING CONCERN over the ageing population in the southern states, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu said last week that people in the state should have more children, and said his government was planning to bring in legislation to incentivise this. On Monday, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin quoted an old blessing, wishing people 16 children,whilepointingoutthat the South’s lower fertility rates couldtranslatetodiminishedpolitical power after delimitation. Asfertilityratesfall,Indiaasa country is ageing — with one in every five persons expected to beabove60yearsof ageby2050. But the effect will be even more pronounced in the southern states, explaining the concerns of Naidu and Stalin. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Three months into protests at RG Kar, patient count down by half ATRI MITRA & SWEETY KUMARI KOLKATA, OCTOBER 21 IN THE nearly three months that juniordoctorsatRGKarHospital in Kolkata struck work toprotest against the August 9 rape and murder of their colleague, services at the premier state-run hospital were severely paralysed, with patient footfall down by half and major surgeries down 91%, shows patient data between July and October. On August 9, the body of the juniordoctor,whowasrapedand murderedallegedlybyacivicvolunteer with Kolkata Police, was found in a seminar hall on the fourth-floorof thehospital.What followedwereprotestsbyjunior doctors seeking a law for the safety of their fraternity and the removal of top police and health department officials. While the government gave in to some of these demands, the faceoff continued with some of them starting a hunger strike. On Monday, after a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the junior doctors announced a withdrawal of their strike but said the “movement will go on”. Over the last three months, as the faceoff between the doctorsandthegovernmentcontinued, patient care at RG Kar, the epicentre of the protests, took a big hit. Data accessed by The Indian Express shows that while RG Kar saw a daily average of 5,106 patients in the out-patient department and 256 in the in-patient departmentinJuly,thenumbers for October fell to 2,362 (down 53%) and 122 (down 52%), respectively. Since July, the lowest footfallintheOPDwasinAugust, when merely 2,044 patients A team of junior doctors reach Nabanna to meet CM Mamata Banerjee for talks Monday. Partha Paul REPORT,PAGE8 walked into the OPD. Accordingtohospitalauthorities,intheweekbetweenAugust 1and8,atotalof 23,000patients — a daily average of 2,875 — visited the hospital's OPDs. However,thepatientcountinthe OPD fell to nearly 100 after the August 9 rape and murder, and fell to zero on the morning after August 14-15, when a mob attacked the protesters and vandalised the hospital. From August 22 — when the new principal Dr Manas Bandopadhyaytookover — until the end of that month, approximately 900 patients visited the hospital daily. Dr Bandopadhyay told The IndianExpress,“Patientvisitshave graduallypickedup.AsofOctober 18, the daily footfall has reached 3,995patients.Followingthedeployment of CISF security from August last week and the hospital'sannouncementof enhanced safety measures, patient visits have gradually resumed.” A senior official in the Health Department,however,admitted that the hospital has a long way to go before patient confidence is fully restored. “If you go throughthenumbersforIPDand majorsurgeries,youwillseethat even after the junior doctors returned to work (on October 5) and despite all this security, the confidence of the patients is still low. The crime of August 9 and the vandalism of August 14 have definitely affected the hospital.” Like in most hospitals, the 700-oddjuniordoctorsatRGKar form the backbone of the hospital. Emergency Medical Officer Tapas Pramanick said, “Junior doctors play a crucial role in OPDs and IPDs, including emergency and planned surgeries. They are very crucial to the running of these patient services.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2