31102022-TTC-03.qxd 10/31/2022 12:47 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 6 NO. 300 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2021-2023 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 PROBETRUSS’ PHONE HACK CLAIM, DEMAND UK LEADERS WORLD /thetribunechd WEAPONS DROPPED BY PAK DRONE SEIZED; 2 ARRESTED J&K TRANSGENIC MUSTARD CAN BE AN ECONOMIC BOON INFOCUS SOUTH AFRICA BEAT INDIA BY 5 WICKETS IN T20 WORLD CUP SPORT monday | 31 october 2022 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com J&K youth: Make the Gujarat cable bridge falls, 60 dead PM toof new possibilities most After repairs for six months, was reopened to public just 4 days ago Morbi, October 30 At least 60 persons (81 according to Reuters) were killed after a century-old suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi city collapsed on Sunday evening, officials said. The bridge, which reopened four days ago after extensive repairs, was crammed with people when it collapsed at 6.30 pm. “At least 60 persons have died,” minister Brijesh Merja said. Eyewitnesses said there were several women and children on the British-era “hanging bridge” when it snapped, plunging them into the water. Some people were seen jumping on the bridge and pulling its big wires, an eyewitness claimed. Due to the Diwali vacation and being a Sunday, there was a rush of FITNESS CERTIFICATE NOT ISSUED ■ Morbi MC’s Chief Executive Officer SV Zala said the bridge was reopened to the public without a fitness certificate ■ He said a pvt firm given the contract for renovation and maintenance might have got a fitness certificate from the engineering company, but it was not submitted to the MC authorities ■ “The company, without informing the civic body, reopened the bridge to the public,” he alleged People cling on to the collapsed suspension bridge in Morbi, Gujarat, on Sunday night. PTI tourists on the bridge. A private operator had carried out the repair work for nearly six months before the bridge was reopened to the public on the Gujarati New Year day on October 26. A fire official said boats were being used to rescue the people. Three NDRF teams were rushed to the spot. “There are 40-50 people in PM ANNOUNCES ~2 LAKH RELIEF the river,” he said. Prime Minister Modi, who is currently in Gujarat, spoke to the CM and officials. — PTI Tribune News Service 3,000 youngsters handed over job letters New Delhi, October 30 Noting that Jammu and Kashmir has been the pride of every Indian, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a “rozgar mela” through video-conferencing, today said it was time to leave behind the old challenges and take full benefit of the new possibilities. Highlighting the need for working with a new approach and new thinking for fast-paced development, PM Modi said, “We are committed to taking the benefits of development equally to all sections and citizens.” He said, “This decade of the 21st century is the most important decade in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. Now is NEW CHAPTER This decade the ❝ century is theofmost 21st important decade in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. It is our youth who will write a new story of development in Jammu and Kashmir. Narendra Modi, PRIME MINISTER the time to leave the old challenges behind and take full advantage of the new possibilities.” Congratulating 3,000 youngsters, who received appointment letters to work with the government at 20 places in Jammu and Kashmir, the PM said these youngsters would get opportunities to serve in various departments such as the PWD, Health, Food and Civil Supplies, Animal Husbandry, Jal Shakti and Education-Culture. continued on page 9 Musk plans massive Construction ban in Gurugram brings 3K projects to halt downsizing: Report TOXIC AIR Admn, civic body set up raiding teams Punjab agri officials feel the heat, 4 suspended New York, October 30 Elon Musk has planned to begin laying off employees at Twitter, according to a media report, days after he completed the USD 44-billion acquisition of the social media company. Citing people with knowledge of the situation, the report said some managers were being asked to “draw up lists of employees to be fired.” Ahead of Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, reports were circulating that he would cut headcount, with some reports saying 75 per cent of the workforce could be laid off. “Musk, who completed a USD 44-billion deal to buy Twitter on Thursday, has ordered the cuts across the company, with some teams to be trimmed more than others,” The New York Times report said, adding the “scale of the layoffs could not be determined” at the company, which has around 7,500 employees. The report said the layoffs 280-CHARACTER TWEET LIMIT TO GO ■ Elon Musk has said Twitter may soon expand or even get rid of the 280-character limit ■ He confirms the company under him will look into increasing length of videos too “would take place before” the November 1 date when employees were scheduled to receive stock grants as part of their compensation. Such grants typically represent a significant portion of employees’ pay. By laying off workers before that date, Musk may avoid paying the grants. — PTI IN BRIEF EC likely to announce Guj poll dates this week NEW DELHI: The EC is likely to announce schedule for the Gujarat Assembly polls this week. Citing convention followed in 2017, it had not announced the schedule when it came out with HP poll dates. TNS Telangana withdraws general consent to CBI HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government has withdrawn general consent given to the CBI. The move follows BJP's demand for a CBI probe into TRS MLAs poaching claim. BACK PAGE ‘Save democracy’, Mamata urges judiciary KOLKATA: Urging the judiciary to ‘save democracy’, WB CM Mamata Banerjee claimed democratic powers were being seized by a section of people planning presidential form of government. BACK PAGE Union Minister violated poll code: BJD files plaint BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Sunday lodged a complaint with the EC alleging Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu violated model code of conduct while campaigning for BJP candidate in Dhamnagar bypoll. PTI Will leave country if justice not delivered: Singer’s father Mansa, October 30 Punjab singer Sidhu Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh Sidhu today gave an “ultimatum” to the Punjab Police, saying if justice in his son’s murder was not delivered by November 25, he would withdraw the FIR and leave the country. He said he had sought time from the state DGP in this regard. He claimed his son was murdered in a planned MOOSEWALA KILLING way, but the police wanted to show it as a result of some gang war. “I want to tell the government that if they want to link my son with gangsters, I will make their work easy. I will withdraw the FIR and leave the country. continued on page 9 Gurugram, October 30 Following directives from the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), the Gurugram administration has imposed the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), Stage 3, which bans all construction and demolition activities. The ban on construction activities is aimed at curbing dust pollution in the city in line with the directions issued by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). Instructions have been issued for strict compliance with the directives. The ban will impact over 3,000 THOUSANDS OF WORKERS LEFT JOBLESS ■ The ban on construction is aimed at curbing dust pollution in the city ■ Specific infra projects and projects of national importance exempted ■ The ban has left thousands of daily wage construction workers in the lurch we are banning all polluting ❝ The NCR air is toxic;and demolition activities are activities. Construction banned till further orders. Nishant Yadav, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ongoing projects in Gurugram. These include residential, industrial, commercial and small-scale construction and demolition works. continued on page 9 Chandigarh, October 30 Officials of the Agriculture Department are now feeling the heat of stubble-burning as the government today suspended four officials, including the Chief Agriculture Officer of Chief Minister’s home district Sangrur, for failing to checking farm fires in their respective areas. As per the orders issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Agriculture) Saravjit Singh, the four officials have been suspended for dereliction of duty while dealing with stubbleburning. Those who have been NO LET-UP IN FARM FIRES 1,761 incidents on Sunday 323 of these in Sangrur alone 13,873 total cases this season 10,000 incidents in one week suspended are Chief Agriculture Officer, Sangrur, Harbans Singh and agriculture officers Satish Kumar from Samana in Patiala district, Harpal Singh from Chohla Sahib in Tarn Taran and Bhupinder Singh from Patti in Tarn Taran. According to a press note issued by the government, following directions from CM Bhagwant Mann, Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal placed the four officials under suspension with immediate effect. During the period of suspension, they will have to be present at the headquarters and will be given subsistence allowance. The government said it had adopted a zero tolerance policy towards stubble-burning. — TNS Blinken, EAM discuss Ukraine conflict, terror 70.7% turnout in Haryana Ph-I panchayat elections Washington, October 30 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a telephonic conversation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and discussed the ongoing Ukraine war, counter-terrorism and other regional and global issues. Jaishankar thanked Blinken for his “strong and clear message” on counter-terrorism as well as his call for holding those responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks accountable. “The two discussed regional and global issues, including counter-terrorism cooperation and Ukraine,” Ned Price, a State Department spokesperson, said. “Good to speak to US Secretary of State @SecBlinken. Thanked him for his strong and clear message yesterday on counter-terrorism and 26/11 accountability. Discussed the Ukraine conflict and other issues,” the EAM tweeted. —PTI Chandigarh, October 30 Nearly 70.7 per cent people cast their ballot to elect members of zila parishads and panchayat samitis in nine districts of Haryana during phase one of the elections to the panchayati raj institutions. The result will be declared on November 27 after the three-phase polling concludes. Panchkula recorded the highest voter turnout of 77.9 per cent followed by Yamunanagar at 76.2 per cent, while at 66.7, Jhajjar registered the lowest voting percentage. A total 35,09,333 of the 49,64,354 voters exercised their franchise in the elections across the state. While no untoward incident was reported from any of the nine districts where votes were cast, a case was registered at Pundri against a Zila Parishad candidate, Neha continued on page 9 SEOUL STAMPEDE TOLL 153 Police officers at the stampede site in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday. AP REPORT INSIDE SC to hear 232 petitions on CAA today New Delhi, October 30 The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear around 240 PILs, including a large batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), on Monday when it will reopen after a nine-day Diwali vacation. A Bench comprising Chief Justice UU Lalit and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi has listed for hearing as many as 232 petitions, Lead petitioner IUML says Act violates right to equality mostly PILs, on October 31 on the CAA issue alone. Earlier, the Bench headed by the CJI, who is scheduled to demit office on November 8, had said the pleas challenging the CAA would be referred to a three-judge Bench. The 2019 amended law, which seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain, and Parsi communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have come to the country till 2014, has come in for stinging criticism by Opposition parties, leaders and other entities over the exclusion of Muslims. The lead plea on the issue was filed by the continued on page 9 Women show their voter cards in Bhiwani on Sunday. DISTRICT-WISE TURNOUT PANCHKULA 77.9% YAMUNANAGAR 76.2% PANIPAT 72.4% NUH 72.2% MAHENDRAGARH 70.7% BHIWANI 70.1% JIND 69.1% KAITHAL 68% JHAJJAR 66.7% Marriages are made in heaven, and in research papers! Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 30 Once a quiet affair between two hearts, the act of marriage proposals is becoming increasingly public. Gone are the days when conventional modes of proposing were the norm. In the age of Twitter and Instagram, social media spaces and flash mobs have long emerged as perfect settings to pose the million-dollar question, but there also NEW WAYS TO BOND Marriages — so goes a popular aphorism — are made in heaven. But now researchers are discovering new ways where they can make them happen — in the acknowledgment section of a scientific paper! ❝ SP Kalantri, PHYSICIAN, MAHATMA GANDHI INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES appears to be another interesting addition to the list of settings where two people can pledge to bond forever. Physician SP Kalantri tweeted one such innovative proposal on Sunday instantly attracting the attention of social media users who greeted his post with stupor and warmth. The proposal, contained in the acknowledgments foot- note of a published paper in The Marine Biology, came from a researcher to his colleague of many years. “Marriages — so goes a popular aphorism — are made in heaven. But now researchers are discovering new ways where they can make them happen — in the acknowledgment section of a scientific paper!” noted SP Kalantri of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, as he captioned the heart-warming image that reproduced the part of the research paper where David Tamayo proposed to his friend and co-worker. The footnote features a series of acknowledgments for the research paper and goes on to add, “Finally Tamayo D wants to thank, in particular, the invaluable support from Muguruza, over the years. Will you marry me?” Though an old proposal, it scripted new social media responses today.