31082026-TTC-01.qxd 8/31/2026 12:50 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 240 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 STATE TO RECRUIT 650 DOCS, INSTALL ~500-CR MEDICAL EQUIPMENT HP /thetribunechd GOVT TO RENOVATE 5K FLATS OF KASHMIRI MIGRANTS J&K AREA UNDER KHARIF US ENERGY DEAL WILL LAST CROP DOWN BY 18.91L 25 YEARS: VENEZUELA’S HECTARES BACK PAGE INTERIM PREZ WORLD monday | 31 august 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com India, Uzbekistan elevate ties, set $5-bn trade target by 2030 Condemn terrorism; PM welcomes progress on securing uranium supply Ujwal Jalali TOP UZBEK HONOUR FOR PM MODI Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 30 India and Uzbekistan on Sunday elevated their bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev agreeing to deepen cooperation in trade, defence, critical minerals, energy, technology and connectivity. India also welcomed progress in a long-term arrangement for uranium supplies from Uzbekistan, while the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in nuclear energy and critical minerals as part of efforts to build more resilient strategic supply chains. Notably, India had signed a long-term contract with Uzbekistan in January 2019 for the supply of 1,100 MTU of natural uranium ore concentrates during 2022-2026. India has also entered into similar agreements with overseas suppliers, including Canada, Kazakhstan and France, to secure uranium supplies for its civilian nuclear programme. The latest landmark continued on page 8 ■ Uzbekistan’s top honour ‘Oliy Darajali Do’stlik’ Order was conferred on PM Modi ■ Modi received the award from Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev ■ The PM dedicated it to the “enduring bond between India and Uzbekistan” ■ He said ‘Dostlik’ means friendship & signifies deep ties between the two sides President Shavkat Mirziyoyev confers Uzbekistan’s highest national award on PM Modi. ANI Modi-Putin talks in Bishkek today Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 30 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bishkek on Monday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, as India looks to deepen its engagement with Moscow amid a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape. Likely to meet Chinese Prez Xi Jinping The meeting will be closely watched for discussions on the India-Russia strategic partnership, including trade, energy, defence and regional and global developments. The two leaders are also expected to meet again during the BRICS Summit Wangchuk: CJP leaders no saints, have political plans Manikant Mishra Tribune News Service A still from documentary ‘From Satauj to Sansad’ on CM Bhagwant Mann. Ahead of polls, docu on Mann spotlights journey from village to CM’s office Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 30 A Discovery Channel India documentary on Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, portraying his journey from his village in Sangrur to the state’s top political office of Chief Minister, was released on Sunday night in seven languages, providing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with a carefully crafted political narrative ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. Titled “From Satauj to Sansad”, the film presents Mann not merely as a politician but as the quintessential “aam aadmi” who rose from humble beginnings, established himself as a successful satirist and entertainer and then gave up a flourishing career to enter politics, with the stated aim of changing the way Punjab was governed. The timing of the documentary is politically significant. With the AAP government entering the final stretch of its tenure and the Opposition seeking to regain lost ground, it seeks to reinforce one of Mann’s principal political assets — his connect with ordinary Punjabis — while putting his four-anda-half-year tenure in the context of his personal journey. The documentary begins by describing the 2022 Assembly election as a “historic mandate” given by Punjab to “a man who rose from the soil”. It repeatedly returns to the theme that Mann’s rise, from the stage as a comedian to the political stage and eventually to the Chief Minister’s office, remains rooted in his humble origins. “We never thought Bai ji (brother) would become CM,” says his sister Manpreet Kaur in the film, recalling the transformation of the comedian and performer she had known into Punjab’s Chief Minister. Mann’s close friends and former co-actors Binnu Dhillon and Karamjit Anmol also speak about his transition from the entertainment industry to politics. Dhillon describes Mann as someone who was once “the king of Punjab” in the world of comedy. “He was earlier a comedian, he was king of Punjab. He left it all because he had the inherent desire to change the way of governance in Punjab,” says Dhillon in the film. Karamjit, one of Mann’s childhood friends, stresses his humble social background as an important factor shaping his political outlook. “He rose from the lower economic strata of society,” he says, arguing that Mann therefore understands the problems faced by a small farmer or a labourer. The 45minute documentary, shot at his home and in the fields of continued on page 8 New Delhi, August 30 Activist Sonam Wangchuk has said the leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have political ambitions, but maintained that there was nothing wrong with aspiring to enter politics as long as the student movement they led remained free of political agendas. Wangchuk (59) said he formed this assessment while working closely with CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka during their nearly two-month protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, seeking the ouster of Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister. “As far as their political ambitions are concerned, I think they do have political ambitions. I have assessed them quite closely. And perhaps there is nothing wrong with that either. They did not tell me that they have political ambitions. This is my assessment of them. They are not saints who do not want anything out of this,” Wangchuk said in a podcast with a YouTuber. He said critics had pointed out to him that Dipke had previously worked with the Aam Aadmi Party when he joined the movement. continued on page 8 in New Delhi next month. Modi is also likely to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the margins of the SCO Summit. However, separate bilateral talks between the two leaders have not been slotted so far, official sources told The Tribune. Xi is attending the SCO Summit in Bishkek, making a Modi-Xi interaction one of continued on page 8 Nepal flood toll mounts to 788; India deploys forensic, tunnel rescue teams Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 30 The death toll from the devastating flashflood in Nepal rose to 788 on Sunday as rescue teams searched for more than 2,500 missing people and India intensified its assistance with specialised tunnel rescue and forensic teams. According to the Nepal Police, 788 bodies had been recovered by 3 pm on Sunday, with the highest number reported from Chitwan (264), followed by Nawalparasi East (194), Nawalparasi West (120), Gorkha (58), Nuwakot (52), Dhading (50), Tanahun (37) and Rasuwa (13). More than 2,500 people were still missing, while nearly 9,500 people were rescued, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. On Sunday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) shared on its X handle a list of 149 persons who had been rescued. The MEA on Saturday said more than 275 Indians remained missing in Nepal. The catastrophe, triggered by a glacier collapse and massive debris flow near the Nepal-Tibet border, has left thousands unaccounted for and caused extensive destruction across river valleys. People look for their belongings in mud and silt accumulated inside a house at Galchhi in Nepal’s Dhading. PTI The search has been particularly challenging at hydropower projects where workers are feared trapped inside tunnels. India has now deployed a specialised tunnel search and rescue team, which worked alongside the Nepali army on Sunday at hydropower tunnel sites in the Chilime and Langtang areas of Rasuwa, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava said. The team will continue search and rescue operations in coordination with the Nepali army. The Indian assistance has also expanded to the difficult task of identifying the dead. Indian forensic experts met their Nepali counterparts at the Nepal Police Central Forensic Science Laboratory and Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital to assist in analysing DNA samples of victims. continued on page 8 ConcernsoverChina’s Tibet media blackout NEW DELHI: As Nepal assesses the damage from the devastating flashflood near its border with Tibet, Beijing’s restrictions on access to the affected region have come under scrutiny, raising broader concerns over the availability of timely information and hydrological data to countries downstream. INSIDE Power failure disrupts 22-yr-old man hacked to death by NEET-PG at 2 Jaipur girl’s brothers in Pb ‘honour killing ’ centres; retest on Sept 5 Gurbaxpuri Aksheev Thakur Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 30 The NEET-PG 2026 examination was disrupted at two centres in Jaipur on Sunday due to an internal power supply failure, preventing 2,445 candidates from completing the test. The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) said it would re-conduct the examination for the affected candidates on September 5. A three-member committee has been formed to probe the power glitch. NBEMS sources said the disruption occurred at the iON Digital Zone centres in Sitapura, affecting 2,445 candidates. The NBEMS has constituted a three-member committee headed by Gayatri Rathore, Principal Secretary, Medical, Health and Family Welfare Department, Rajasthan, to investigate the power failure, the sources said. The committee also includes a Joint Secretarylevel officer from the Union Health Ministry and a senior engineering official from the Central Electricity Authority. “The committee has been constituted to examine the 3-member panel to probe disruption circumstances leading to the power supply failure and ascertain the reasons for the disruption. The NBEMS has expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to the candidates and said the reexamination is being conducted to ensure a fair and equitable opportunity for affected candidates. The panel will submit its report within the stipulated time frame,” official sources said. A student said while the security was strict, the server crashed multiple times. “We faced trouble in Aadhaar verification. My computer crashed multiple times,” she said. In a statement, the Union Health Ministry said, “While the examination was successfully completed for the overwhelming majority of candidates nationwide, an unforeseen technical disruption occurred at iON Digital Zone iDZ Sitapura Centres, Jaipur (TC Nos. 41682 and 41683), where the examination could not be completed continued on page 8 allegedly abducted the girl from Naurangabad village nearly a Tarn Taran, August 30 month ago and married her In a case of alleged honour against the wishes of her family. killing, a man was brutally mur- Today, the girl’s brothers — dered today outside the Jaspreet Singh Jassa Tarn Taran bus stand and Harpreet Singh by a girl’s brothers Happy — surrounded who were opposed to Jagjit and allegedly their marriage. hacked him to death. The deceased has The victim was struck been identified as in the head and face Jagjit Singh Jeet (22), a with a sharp weapon, Jagjit Singh Jeet killing him on the spot. resident of Kadgil. According to DSP (HeadquarA City Police team led by ters) Jaspal Singh, Jagjit had SHO Paramjit Singh Virdi reached the scene and took the body into its possession. The DSP confirmed that one of the accused has been taken into custody, and a search is underway to arrest the other. Jagjit’s father, Tarsem Singh, claimed that his son had married the girl a month ago, but the accused had never expressed any resentment. In fact, the girl’s mother had visited their house earlier today to meet her. The police have registered a case under Sections 103 and 3(5) of the BNS. Duty to stand with what’s right:UPIAS officer resigns Punjab to move top court against HC order on DA dues Rewari, field administration often meant stepping beyond New Delhi, August 30 the office to meet people In a rare move on Sunday, an where their problems were. Uttar Pradesh-cadre But this same forthIAS officer of the 2013 right approach that batch, Divya Mittal, brought her closer to announced her resigthe masses she served nation from service, also placed her in the saying she had crosshairs of politirealised during her cians often. Mittal, Divya Mittal tenure that standing who said in her resigwith what is right is a duty nation letter posted online and not an option. today that she had received continued on page 8 For Mittal, from Haryana’s CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Government will move the Supreme Court this week against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order of August 3, directing it to clear the dearness allowance (DA) dues of its employees. Official sources in the government told The Tribune that the government is likely to move the Supreme court within the next one or two days. — TNS Manikant Mishra Tribune News Service Sirsa river turns cesspool at Ghanauli, puts Sutlej at risk THE TRIBUNE SPECIAL Lalit Mohan Tribune News Service The Sirsa river near Ghanauli village in Ropar district. TRIBUNE PHOTO c m y b Ropar, August 30 The Sirsa river carries a heavy pollution burden by the time it reaches Ghanauli in Ropar district. The water quality data presented by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) at the North Zone Council meeting reveals high levels of faecal and total coliform alongside violation of the prescribed PPCB data reveals alarming levels of faecal & total coliform biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) standards. The PPCB presented its data on the basis of a water sampling study from July 2025 to March 2026. The data reveals that in March 2026, the total coliform in the Sirsa river at Ghanauli touched 60,000 (most probable numbers) MPN/100 ml, while faecal coliform reached 17,000 MPN/100 ml. Under the designated best use criteria of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the water meant for organised outdoor bathing (Class B) should have a BOD of not more than 3 mg/L, dissolved oxygen of at least 5 mg/L and total coliform of not more than 500 MPN/100 ml. For primary bathing water quality, the CPCB prescribes 500 continued on page 8 Kalka-Shimla rail traffic hit as bridge washed away SOLAN: The UNESCO World Heritage Kalka-Shimla railway track suffered another major disruption after a bridge between Gumman and Taksal railway stations was washed away following heavy rain, leaving a section of the track hanging in the air. The damage occurred late Saturday night as torrential rain lashed Parwanoo and adjoining areas. Following the incident, the authorities cancelled all train services on the Kalka-Shimla route. INSIDE