16052022-TT-01.qxd 5/15/2022 11:00 PM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 142 NO.134 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HIMACHAL PRADESH FINLAND FORMALLY ANNOUNCES IT WANTS TO JOIN NATO WORLD /thetribunechd COPS PROBE TERROR ANGLE IN KATRA BUS FIRE INCIDENT J&K MAINSTREAMING PASTORALISM FOR GROWTH INFOCUS PM IN NEPAL TODAY, FOCUS ON BOOSTING BILATERAL RELATIONS BACK PAGE monday | 16 may 2022 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Smashing! India win maiden Thomas Cup title Vinayak Padmadeo Tribune News Service Indian team members pose with the Tricolour after winning Thomas Cup title in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday. PTI New Delhi, May 15 The Indian badminton team led by the experienced Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy created history as they beat 14-time winners and defending champions Indonesia to win their maiden Thomas Cup in Bangkok on Sunday. The 3-0 aggregate win belies the fact that the Indians were making their first appearance in the final of this prestigious team championship. Sunday’s historic win was built After wheat export ban, Centre extends procurement deadline Experts call it ‘knee-jerk’ reaction| Govt also mulls bonus for farmers Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 15 After imposing a ban on exports, the Centre today asked wheat producing states with procurement closing dates expiring early to continue purchases till May 31. The Ministry of Food and Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs also asked the FCI to continue procuring wheat under the central pool. The extended period would benefit farmers, it said. The need to control domestic prices of wheat and flour besides meeting international commitments may have necessitated yet another tweak in the government poli- REVISED DATES MAY 31:PUNJAB, HARYANA, DELHI, J&K JUNE 10: RAJASTHAN JUNE 15: UP, MP, GUJARAT, HP JUNE 30: UTTARAKHAND JULY 15: BIHAR cy, sources say. Not very hopeful of the move having “much effect”, experts say the government is trying to show that “it is taking all steps to control IN BRIEF Pillai first Indian layman to be declared saint VATICAN CITY: Devasahayam Pillai, who embraced Christianity in 18th century, has become the first Indian layman to be declared a saint by Pope Francis at a canonisation ceremony here. BACK PAGE 3 more FIRs against actor over posts on Pawar MUMBAI: Three more FIRs were registered against Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale for allegedly sharing an objectionable post on social media about NCP chief Sharad Pawar, police said on Sunday. PTI 3 die in Assam landslides, 25,000 hit by floods GUWAHATI: At least three persons were killed in landslides in Dima Hasao district of Assam, an official bulletin said. Nearly 25,000 people are affected by floods across five districts of the state. PTI 2 hurt in firing during Kapurthala kabaddi match JALANDHAR: Two persons were injured as armed assailants opened fire during a kabddi match at a Kapurthala village on Sunday. One of the men was hit on his thigh and the other on shoulder. TNS India adds record 88 lakh jobs in April: CMIE report Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 15 In one of the largest expansions in the labour market since the beginning of the pandemic, 88 lakh people joined the country’s workforce in April, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has said. The jobs that became available were inadequate compared to the demand as there was a fall of 12 lakh jobs in the previous three months, it said. India’s labour force increased by 88 lakh to 43.72 crore in April, one of the largest monthly increases since the beginning of the pandemic, said CMIE Managing Director and CEO Mahesh Vyas. The labour market was at 42.84 crore in March, he added. Most of the increase in employment in April was in the prices”, but the “harm has already been done”. Wheat procurement under the central pool has been less during the rabi marketing season (RMS) 2022-23 as compared to RMS 2021-22, because traders offered prices higher than MSP to farmers. Official sources, meanwhile, added that due to increasing prices in the domestic and international markets, several farmers/ traders did not bring their grain to the markets. Due to the sluggish pace of wheat arrivals in recent days, a request was made to allow premature closure of mandis, they added. The Centre is also contemplating a “bonus” over and above the MSP to encourage farmers, they said. So far 16.83 lakh farmers continued on page 9 Edit: Ban on wheat export on two back-to-back gritty performances by Lakshya Sen and the doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. In the tie’s first match, the 20-year-old Sen outsmarted Anthony Ginting 8-21 21-17 21-16 to give India the lead. Shetty and Rankireddy then saved four match points to beat Muhammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 18-21 23-21 21-19 for a 2-0 lead. The doubles team was 17-20 down in the second game before mounting an incredible fightback. STRING OF FIRSTS ■ First Thomas Cup title for India since the tournament began 73 years ago ■ India’s previous best finish in the new five-match format was quarterfinals finishes in 2006, 2010 and 2020 ■ Kidambi Srikanth registered his sixth win of the tournament on Sunday, becoming the first Indian to win all matches in a single edition Then Srikanth stepped up to face Jonatan Christie and won 21-15 23-21. Victory was followed by the now customary bhangra moves that have been synonymous with the Indian team since they flew into Bangkok. Srikanth had hit form last year when he finished in the silver medal position at the World Championships. In the Thomas Cup as well, the Andhra shuttler had shown glimpses of his form and fitness, reminiscent of his form in 2018, when he became the world No.1. It only took him 19 minutes to wrap up the first game 21-15. He was comfortably placed at the Two Sikh traders shot dead in Peshawar, India tells Pak to act GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 15 In yet another case of targeted killing, two Sikh traders were shot dead in broad daylight by unidentified armed men in Pakistan. The deceased have been identified as Ranjeet Singh (42) and Kuljeet Singh (38). Both had spices and grocery business at Batatal Bazaar in Sarband area of Peshawar district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province. India has asked Pakistan to sincerely investigate the brutal killing of the Sikh traders and take strict action against those responsible for the “shocking and deplorable” incident. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India had registered its “strong SGPC, Punjab CM Mann condemn targeted killings Ranjeet Singh and Kuljeet Singh KILLINGS IN PESHAWAR SEPT 2021: Known Sikh ‘hakeem’ shot at his clinic 2020: News channel anchor Ravinder Singh killed 2018: Prominent Sikh community member Charanjit Singh shot 2016: PTI National Assembly member Soren Singh killed 15,000 SIKHS LIVING IN PESHAWAR protest” with Pakistan on the continued “targeting” of members of the minority community in that country. Talking to The Tribune on the phone, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) president Ameer Singh said the attack appeared to be a conspiracy to target the minorities. He said the deceased were at their shops when the miscreants came and opened fire on them. Both the victims were only earning members of their families. “In Pakistan, every Sikh shares integrity with Pakistan but such types of incidents have a negative global impact. I appeal to the KPK authorities to arrest the accused and take stern action. There are forces which attempt to harm the brotherhood of Sikhs and Muslims by indulging in such crimes,” he said. continued on page 9 Fire: Absconding Delhi building owner arrested ‘Must reconnect’: Cong padyatra from Oct 2 New Delhi, May 15 The Delhi Police today said it had arrested the owner of the building in the Mundka area of the national capital where a massive fire on Friday night claimed lives of at least 27 persons. “We received information that Manish Lakra was going towards Haridwar. We laid a trap and nabbed him from Ghevra Mod after conducting multiple raids in Delhi and Haryana,” said Sameer Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer). Lakra had been on the run since the fire incident, he added. The police said Lakra used to live on the fourth floor of the same building. He managed to escape to the adjacent premises along with his family members when the continued on page 9 Edit: The Delhi inferno Aditi Tandon CHINTAN SHIVIR Sonia ignores G-23’s demand for Cong parliamentary board revival Rahul says Congress alone, not any regional party, can defeat BJP & RSS Tribune News Service Udaipur, May 15 Calls to “unite India” emanated from the venue of Congress’ Udaipur shivir, which concluded here on Sunday with Rahul Gandhi admitting that the party had lost connection with the people and must hit the road to regain their confidence. Moments after Rahul’s clarion call for mass contact and hard work, Congress president Sonia Gandhi announced a Kanyakumarito-Kashmir Bharat Jodo padyatra beginning on Gandhi Jayanti and a public awareness campaign on people’s issues from June 15 while declaring the three-day conclave closed with the promise of “we will overcome.” There are no shortcuts, the only road forward for us is to mid-break interval in the second game, leading 11-8. Christie, however, came back strongly to lead 16-13, though Srikanth always had a measure of the Indonesian. Quick at the net, with some cross-court jump-smashes, he got back in the game. However, in the last twist, Srikanth saved a game point and then sealed the memorable win 2321. Summing up the win, Srikanth called it a team effort. “We all know that we will not get any prize money or ranking points for playing continued on page 9 ANDREW SYMONDS DIES IN CAR CRASH Former Australia cricketer Andrew Symonds (46), one of the finest all-rounders, died in a car crash on Saturday. INSIDE Civilian killed during gunfight in Pulwama Srinagar, May 15 A civilian was killed during an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, the police said. According to the police, terrorists fired upon a joint patrol team of the CRPF and the police near a bridge connecting Litter Pulwama with Turkwangam in Shopian. During the exchange of fire, a civilian, identified as Shoib Ah Ganie of Turkwangam, was injured. The police said the civilian was referred to the District Hospital in Pulwama where he succumbed to his injuries. A case had been registered and a search was underway for the ultras, the police said. — PTI 10 killed in racist attack at New York supermarket Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is all ears as Rahul Gandhi addresses the party conclave in Udaipur. PTI go to the people, stay among them for months and break sweat, Rahul said in closing remarks to an over 400strong delegation that later adopted the Nav Sankalp Declaration (consisting of six resolutions on organisational, political, economic, agricultural, social justice and youth affairs) that approved several landmark reforms. These reforms include fixing retirement age for MPs, continued on page 9 Buffalo (US), May 15 A white 18-year-old wearing military gear and livestreaming with a helmet camera opened fire with a rifle at a supermarket in Buffalo (New York), killing 10 persons and wounding three others on Saturday in what authorities described as “racially-motivated extremism”. The gunman wore militarystyle clothing during the attack on mostly Black shoppers and workers at Tops Friendly Market. INSIDE Services deficient, Gurugram civic Himachal police fail to locate phones of body to take over 9 private colonies middlemen in constable paper leak case LOW-SCALE JOBS ■ Most of the new job additions are of daily-wagers and small traders ■ In previous fiscal, average monthly increase in labour force stood at only 2 lakh ■ India’s labour force increased by 88 lakh to 43.72 cr in April industry and in services. Industry added 55 lakh jobs and services added another 67 lakh jobs, as per the data. But employment in the agricultural sector fell by 52 lakh. continued on page 9 Geetanjali Gayatri Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 15 Residents of privately developed colonies in Gurugram, who were suffering deficient services, will now get relief with the Town and Country Planning Department pushing the developers to apply for completion certificates, paving the way for their transfer to the Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG). The private developers in Haryana had, so far, kept extending their projects indef- ~92.04 CR FINE SLAPPED COLONY Malibu Towne Ardee City Rosewood City Uppal Southend Mayfield Garden Vipul World Sushant Lok Sushant Lok-II Greenwood City PENALTY (IN CR) ~14.70 ~10.93 ~4.49 ~3.60 ~16.21 ~8.92 ~I 8.50 ~10.38 ~14.31 initely and took only part completion certificates, resulting in a flood of complaints from residents who were forced to suffer due to deficient services. The Town and Country Planning Department has now decided to transfer nine residential plotted colonies of private developers to the MCG after charging them Rs 92.04 crore on account of deficient infrastructure. With this amount, the MCG will create the required infrastructure. “We have been flooded with complaints of poor maintenance in colonies developed by the private builders. continued on page 9 Ambika Sharma Tribune News Service Solan, May 15 Cellphones of several middlemen in the constable recruitment paper leak case could not be recovered by the police so far even as a special investigation team (SIT) tries to crack the case. Besides hinting at deliberate disappearance of the evidence, the development also indicates that those involved in the scam are aware of the direction in which the SIT probe is progressing. MASTERMINDS AT WORK ■ Deliberate disappear- ance of evidence (cellphones) indicates accused abiding by instructions from masterminds ■ Also indicates those involved are aware of direction in which the SIT probe is progressing 4 EXAM TOPPERS ARRESTED FROM NALAGARH INSIDE While it will be difficult to establish a link between the middlemen and the masterminds of the scam, delay in probe cannot be ruled out. Investigators will have to secure details of cellphone data, including call logs, videos, etc., from the servers of respective service providers, which is bound to take more time. Officials probing the scam said though such miscreants would be booked under Section 201 of the IPC for causing disappearance of evidence, it was surprising to note that the cellphones of several middlemen went missing on the same day from various districts. continued on page 9