23112020-TTB-01.qxd 11/22/2020 11:53 PM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.140 no.324 | 12 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 TRUMP CAMPAIGN SEEKS RECOUNT IN GEORGIA WORLD /thetribunechd EYE ON ’24 POLL, NADDA TO GO ON 120-DAY TOUR BACK PAGE MAKE LAWS FARMER-FRIENDLY INFOCUS /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com monday, november 23,2020 150-m tunnel possibly used by Jaish detected in Samba Jammu, November 22 A 150-metre long underground tunnel suspected to be used by four Jaish-eMohammed (JeM) terrorists for infiltration from Pakistan was detected by the BSF at the International Border in J&K’s Samba district on Sunday, DGP Dilbag Singh said. Dilbag Singh, who along with Border Security Force (BSF) Inspector General, Jammu frontier, NS Jamwal, and Inspector General of Police, Jammu range, Mukesh Singh inspected the scene near Regal village, said the tunnel was unearthed following investigation into the recent encounter near Nagrota. The four Kashmir-bound Pakistani terrorists were killed in a gunfight when the truck in which they were travelling was stopped for checking at Ban toll plaza on the Jammu-Srinagar highway on Thursday. A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the possession of the PAK ROLE CLEAR: DGP The material recovered from the slain ultras bore Pak marking. Now, the sandbags found in the tunnel were manufactured in Karachi. ❝ Dilbag Singh, J&K DGP DRONE SPOTTED Jammu: A Pakistani drone was sighted hovering in the skies near the LoC in the Mendhar sector of Poonch district following which the Army has launched a search operation, officials said on Sunday. PTI The well-engineered 2.5-metre wide and 30-metre deep tunnel found in the Samba sector. slain terrorists, who had come to execute a “big plan” to disrupt the upcoming District Development Council polls, the police said. “The police shared some vital inputs found from the encounter scene with the BSF , which managed to find the tunnel after hectic efforts,” said the DGP Jamwal termed . the anti-tunnelling operation as a “major success” and said continued on page 9 To quell spike, teams rushed to HP Pb , New cases overshoot recoveries after 50 days; fatality rate stable Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 22 Major signs of concern around India’s Covid-19 response and the impact of festive gatherings and winter on the pandemic surfaced on Sunday with daily new cases surpassing daily new recoveries after a gap of 50 days. India witnessed 45,209 new infections over the past 24 hours as against 43,493 recoveries. As daily cases continued to rise, the Centre on Sunday deputed high-level teams for Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The three-member teams will visit the districts reporting high cases and support the states in strengthening containment, surveillance and testing, and efficient clinical management of the positive cases. The Health Ministry had said recently that the full impact of festive gatherings was still to play out. A part of it became evident today as the gains of 50 days HIMACHAL GOVT TO TAKE CALL ON CURBS MORE RT-PCR TESTS THAN RAPID ANTIGEN New Delhi: Noting that for the first time the number of RTPCR tests in Delhi has exceeded the rapid antigen tests, officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs said, over 3.7 lakh people have been surveyed as part of the efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 infection in the national Capital. TNS (when daily new recoveries were outstripping daily fresh cases) were breached for the first time. Some positive signs, however, remain. As total cases rose to 90,95,806 with ACTIVE CASES IN PB UP BY 60% IN 3 WKS Shimla: The HP Cabinet on Monday is likely to decide on imposing fresh restrictions to tackle Covid-19 surge. Hinting at it, CM Jai Ram Thakur said, “The government will consider imposing a few curbs to avoid social gatherings and ensure that people take all precautionary measures.” TNS Chandigarh: After a decline in Covid-19 cases, it is clear from the data that the state is heading towards another peak as it witnessed almost 60 per cent increase in active cases in the past three weeks. The cases hit the peak in the state in mid-September. After a lull, the number has again started surging. At present, the number of active cases is 6,724. TNS COVID-19CASES INDIA COUNT 90, 95, 806 TOTAL RECOVERED DEATHS RECOVERED 85,21,617 FRESH FATALITIES 501 TOTAL DEATHS 1, 33,227 WORLD 5,86,70,817 4,06,16,166 13,89,216 85,21,617 recoveries which make up 93.69 pc of the total cases, the fatality rate remained stable at 1.46 per cent and active cases fell to 4,40,962 making up only 4.85 per cent of the total cases. However, the active cases that had been witnessing a decline over the past many days today rose nationally by 1,215, indicating a surge, as anticipated during winter. edit: race for covid vaccine Oxford vaccine most suitable for India: PGI chief Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 22 PGI, Chandigarh, Director Jagat Ram today said the Oxford University-Serum Institute of India vaccine, which is in the final stages of development, was the “most suitable for Indian settings”. Speaking to The Tribune, he said the vaccine trials were progressing very well and early results were “very encouraging”. The PGI, Chandigarh, had already administered the second dose of vaccine to 100 volunteers as part of the ongoing phase 3 trials in India, he added. “Early phase trial results from the PGI showed strong safety outcomes in 149 participants continued on page 9 Tension as dera followers throng Salabatpura Integrated approach must to Sukhmeet Bhasin Tribune News Service Dera followers protest at Salabatpura in Bathinda on Sunday. IN BRIEF Bharti, husband in judicial custody MUMBAI: A Mumbai court on Sunday remanded comedian Bharti Singh and husband Harsh Limbachiya, arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau following seizure of drugs from their house here, to judicial custody till December 4. The court will hear their bail pleas on Monday. — PTI RBI Twitter handle gets million followers MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has become the first monetary authority in the world to have more than 1 million followers on its official Twitter handle. Despite much less monetary firepower, the RBI has beaten the world’s most powerful central banks — the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank — on Twitter by a wide margin. — PTI UAPA: Umar, Sharjeel charge-sheeted NEW DELHI: The police on Sunday filed a supplementary charge sheet against former JNU student leader Umar Khalid and JNU student Sharjeel Imam in a case related to the alleged larger conspiracy in the communal violence in Delhi in February. The charge sheet was filed under various Sections of the UAPA — PTI Bathinda, November 22 At least 2,000 Dera Sacha Sauda followers have descended on Salabatpura, the Punjab headquarters of the Sirsabased sect, to demand the arrest of the killers of prominent dera member Manohar Lal. The latter was shot dead at Bhagta Bhai Ka in Bathinda district on Friday. The dera followers say they will not cremate the body till their demand is met. Dera committee leader Harcharan Singh said they had met police offi- cials in this regard. Bhupinder Singh Virk, SSP said the , dera administration had raised certain issues which would be placed before the higher authorities. Cremation of dera activist only after killers nabbed, they say The followers today blocked the Barnala-Bhagta road and held a protest. Dera Sacha Sauda (Sirsa) senior vice-chairman Jagjit Singh and some political wing members too joined the protesters, who placed the body at the site. Tensions rising, the police have sought from the dera a list of its members with licensed arms. Meanwhile, the Sukha Gill Lamme group, which has claimed responsibility for the killing, in another FB post said: “He (Manohar Lal) committed sacrilege not once, but four times. We are not against dera followers or religion. Our enemies are those who are against the Sikh community and who disrespect our Guru.” Joe Biden picks US-Indian as policy director Washington, November 22 US President-elect Joe Biden has appointed Indian-American Mala Adiga as the policy director of his wife Jill. Adiga was a senior adviser to Jill and senior policy adviser for Biden’s poll campaign. She previously worked for Biden Foundation as director for higher education and military families. Adiga will work for the HAS ROOTS IN K’TAKA Mala Adiga belongs to the family of K Suryanarayana Adiga, founder of Karnataka Bank, and Aravind Adiga, who won the Man Booker prize in 2008. Her father Dr Ramesh Adiga (84), a vascular surgeon, had left for the US when he was 25. First Lady who intends to prioritise education and welfare of military families. Before entering government service, Adiga volunteered and worked for Oba- ma’s presidential campaign for nearly two years. She earned her JD (Juris Doctor) from the University of Chicago Law School and MPH (Master of Public Health) from the University of Minnesota. She graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa with BA in Spanish. The new announcements came just days after Biden revealed his first round of top White House staff. — PTI fight climate change: PM at G20 Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 22 Prime Minister Narendra Modi today exhorted the global community to battle climate change with the same emphasis as it was trying to save people from the effects of Covid-19 pandemic. "Climate change must be fought not in silos, but in an integrated, comprehensive and holistic way," he said in a virtual address at the second session of G-20 on climate change. He said the progress on this front could gain pace if there was greater technological and financial support to the developing world. Modi said India was not only meeting its Paris Agreement targets, but also exceeding them. "Inspired by our traditional ethos of living in harmony with the environment, and the commitment of my government, India has adopted low-carbon and climate-resilient development practices," he said. "For humanity to prosper, every single individual must prosper. Rather than seeing PM Narendra Modi during G-20 Summit via video conferencing. PTI RESPECT DIGNITY OF EVERY WORKER For humanity to prosper, every individual must prosper. Rather than seeing labour as a factor of production alone, the focus must be on human dignity of every worker. Narendra Modi, PRIME MINISTER ❝ labour as a factor of production alone, the focus must be on human dignity of every worker," he added. US President Donald Trump, however, said the Paris Agreement was "not designed to preserve environment, but to kill American economy". Meanwhile, a draft G-20 statement pledged to pay for a fair distribution of Covid vaccines, drugs and tests so that poorer countries are not left out. It also called for extensive immunisation and asked private creditors to join the debt-servicing moratorium for poor countries. On climate change, the draft statement was similar to PM Modi's observations: "We recover from the pandemic, we are committed to safeguarding our planet and building a more environmentally sustainable and inclusive future for all people." North braces for big NH-44 blocked for hrs after ex-councillor’s body found chill as mercury dips Book ‘guilty’ policemen, demand angry protesters I Police resort to mild lathi charge Mukesh Tandon NewDelhi/Chandigarh, Nov22 Delhi residents woke up to the chilliest November morning in the last 17 years on Sunday, with minimum temperature clocking a low of 6.4 degrees Celsius. Maximum and minimum temperatures hovered below normal limits in Punjab and Haryana too. Ambala recorded a high of 22.2 degrees Celsius, down five notches and Hisar 22.8 degrees Celsius, six degrees below normal. Amritsar recorded a high of 20.8 degrees Celsius, down six notches, while Ludhiana registered a maximum of 22.2 degrees Celsius, down five notches. The department has forecast a heavy rain and snowfall in Himachal on Wednesday, while cold wave continued to sweep several districts. — PTI Tribune News Service COLD SETS IN CITY MANALI MINIMUM TEMP 0.2 SHIMLA 5.1 AMRITSAR 5.4 DELHI 6.4 NARNAUL 6.4 (IN DEGREES CELSIUS) Panipat, November 22 The body of former Panipat councillor Harish Sharma was fished out from the Delhi Parallel Canal by an NDRF team on Sunday following which hundreds of protesters blocked the national highway (NH-44), demanding that criminal cases be filed against police officials, including Panipat SP Manisha Chaudhary, for allegedly driving Sharma to “take the extreme step”. The traffic, held up for at least three hours, was finally cleared at 8 pm. Stuck in the jam on the elevated flyover, harried commuters alleged that the police did nothing to lift the blockade. It was a two-hour ordeal for truck driver Mohanjeet Singh of Ludhiana, who was Hundreds of protesters in Panipat blocked National Highway-44 for over three hours on Sunday evening. on his way to Surat in Gujarat. “The police could have opened alternate routes to allow the traffic to flow,” he remarked angrily. Delhi resi- dent Vikas Kumar, who was on his way to Chandigarh with his family, accused the police administration of “total failure”. As soon as the body of the former councillor was brought home at 5 pm after a postmortem examination at the General Hospital in Sonepat, the family mem- bers of the deceased and hundreds of residents gathered near the Tehsil Camp turn on NH-44, bringing the traffic to a halt. The cops on duty tried to divert the traffic through the flyover, but were obstructed by the protesters, who arrived there in large numbers. Refusing to budge and raising anti-police slogans, they demanded that the ‘guilty’ officials, including the Panipat SP a DSP and ASI , Mahavir Singh, be booked immediately. The protesters, who later gathered near the underpass, were lathicharged by the police. Several of them were injured. The former councillor is believed to have jumped into the canal on Thursday morning. His family alleged that he was being harassed by the police.