20042024-TTB-01.qxd 4/20/2024 12:17 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 109 | 24 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  DELHI KAAM CHALU HAI: OF POTHOLES AND GAPS THAT SHOW REVIEW G7 PLEDGES SWIFT AID FOR UKRAINE, SEEKS TO CALM WEST ASIA WORLD /thetribunechd MARKETS REBOUND US VETOES RESOLUTION AFTER FOUR DAYS TO RECOGNISE PALESTINE OF SLUMP BUSINESS STATE BACK PAGE saturday | 20 april 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Phase-1 sees62%turnout;violence N-sites ‘fully safe’: Iran plays down ‘Israeli drone attack’ marspollinginWest Bengal,Manipur Air India suspends flights to Tel Aviv till April 30 Tripura leads with 80% |Bihar at bottom with 48.5% |Eastern Nagaland boycotts poll Sandeep Dikshit Animesh Singh New Delhi, April 19 Iranian troops activated air defences around a major air base and a nuclear site in the Persian heartland of Isfahan early on Friday morning bringing down three drones but no official in Tehran acknowledged the possibility of Israel having launched the attack. Israel also did not comment on social media handles reporting loud explosions near Isfahan which, however, briefly spooked the stock markets in India and sent gold and silver, known as safe haven assets, to record highs. Air India also announced suspension of flights to Tel Aviv till April 30 on grounds of safety. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said at a G7 meeting that the US had received “last-minute” information from Israel about the attack. However, Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 19 Over 62 per cent polling was recorded across 102 seats in 21 states and UTs in the first phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections by the time voting ended at 6 pm today amid reports of sporadic violence in West Bengal and strife-torn Manipur, while no voting was recorded in eastern Nagaland after a shutdown call given by a separatist group, the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO). Tripura recorded the highest voter turnout of 80 per cent, while Bihar witnessed the lowest turnout of 48.5 per cent. West Bengal recorded 77.5 per cent voting with violent incidents reported from Cooch Behar, which was among the three seats from the state which went to the polls on Friday apart from Jalpaiguri and Alipurduars. In Manipur too, which has been in the throes of ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities since May last year, violent incidents were reported from several booths. With the first phase of polling culminating on Friday, the oneand-a-half-month-long exercise began to elect the 18th Lok Sabha. The elections will be held in seven phases with the counting of votes set to take place on June 4. Election Commission of People wait in queues to cast their vote during the first phase of elections at a polling station in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar on Friday. PTI WEST BENGAL RECORDS SEC0ND-HIGHEST VOTE STATE/UT POLLING %AGE Andaman & Nicobar 56.87 Arunachal Pradesh 67.15 Assam 72.10 Bihar 48.50 Chhattisgarh 63.41 Jammu & Kashmir 65.08 Lakshadweep 59.02 Madhya Pradesh 64.77 Maharashtra 55.35 Manipur 69.13 Meghalaya 74.21 India sources said the polling percentage was likely to go up once the final figures arrived by Saturday. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged voters to exercise their STATE/UT Mizoram Nagaland Puducherry Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal POLLING %AGE 54.23 56.91 73.50 56.58 69.47 65.19 80.17 58.49 54.06 77.57 franchise in record numbers. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked voters to cast their ballot carefully and wrote on X that “the fight to protect our Constitution and democracy begins today”. GADKARI, RIJIJU, MEGHWAL’S FATE SEALED ■ Union ministers Nitin Gadkari (Nagpur), Kiren Rijiju (Arunachal West), Arjun Ram Meghwal (Bikaner), Bhupendra Yadav (Alwar), Sanjeev Balyan (Muzaffarnagar), Jitendra Singh (Udhampur) were in fray ■ So were ex-CMs Biplab Kumar Deb (Tripura), Nabam Tuki (Arunachal) Tribune News Service Sangrur, April 19 As many as 12 students of a private school sustained injuries after the bus they were travelling in hit a truck near Dhanaula in Barnala on Friday morning. The bus driver and a woman helper were also injured. The bus was on its way to Green Field Convent School, Dangarh (Barnala), after The bus damaged in accident. picking students from different villages in the area. The injured were rushed to Gov- ernment Hospital, Dhanaula, from where three students, who sustained critical injuries, were referred to the Civil Hospital, Barnala. Inspector Kirpal Singh, Station House Officer (SHO), Dhanaula, said the driver, Buta Singh, rammed the bus into the truck from rear. The police had registered a case of negligent driving against him under Sections 283, 427 continued on page 7 Had mangoes only 3 times, Kejri tells court SC seeks Centre, Assam’s reply on fresh plea on CAA Court to examine if CM adhering to diet newdelhi, April 19 The Supreme Court on Friday sought replies of the Centre and the Assam Government on a fresh plea challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, meant to operationalise and regulate the process of grant of citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 31, 2014. — PTI Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 19 A Delhi court on Friday reserved its order on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea to allow him to take insulin in jail and consult his doctor through video-conferencing every day for 15 minutes. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court in an oral observation said the court would examine if the CM was following the courtapproved diet chart while consuming home-cooked food in judicial custody. continued on page 7 cent voting with incidents of violence reported from Cooch Behar ■ Incidents of shooting, damage to EVMs, threats to voters and agents reported from Manipur 63.41% TURNOUT IN NAXAL-HIT BASTAR; CRPF MAN KILLED A FIRST: SHOMPEN TRIBE MEMBERS VOTE IN ANDAMANS STAFF TREK 40 KM TO REACH LONE ARUNACHAL VOTER INSIDE Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also appealed to voters to open “mohabbat ki dukaan” in every corner of the country. Meanwhile, in Nagaland, which has one parliamentary constituency, polling person- tion of Child Rights has also issued a notice to safety regulator FSSAI ■ A Swiss NGO claimed Nestle baby products sold in India had higher sugar con“We have written to the FSSAI to take cognisance of the report on Nestle’s baby product,” said Consumer American officials declined to go on record about the attack with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stating, “I’m not going to ■ Israeli leaders also made comments hinting that the country had launched the attack ■ The attack came on Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 85th birthday speak to that, except to say that the US has not been involved in any offensive operation.” The air space continued on page 7 nel in six eastern districts of the state waited for nine hours in the booths, but not one of the four lakh voters of the region turned up following a shutdown call given by an continued on page 7 Hong Kong, April 19 Apple said it had removed Meta’s WhatsApp messaging app and its Threads social media app from the App Store in China to comply with orders from Chinese authorities. The apps were removed from the store on Friday after Chinese officials cited unspecified national security concerns. Their removal comes amid elevated tensions between the US and China over trade, technology and national security. The US has threatened to ban TikTok over national security concerns. But while TikTok, owned by Chinese technology firm ByteDance, is used by millions in the US, apps like WhatsApp and Threads are not commonly used in China. — AP 2 Indian students die at waterfall in Scotland LONDON: Two Indian students who were studying at a university in the UK died in a tragic drowning incident at a scenic waterfall in Scotland. In their 20s, both were from Andhra Pradesh. BACK PAGE Nalin Prabhat to head counter-terror force NSG NEW DELHI: IPS officer Nalin Prabhat has been appointed the chief of the counter-terrorism force NSG. A 1992-batch officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, Prabhat is presently working as the ADG, CRPF. PTI Advisory to reschedule Dubai visit amid flooding Hail covers procured wheat packed in sacks in Karnal’s Indri grain market following a storm. TRIBUNE PHOTO Harvesting at peak, hailstorm flattens wheat crop in region Tribune News Service Karnal/Ambala/Hisar, April 19 With harvesting of rabi crops at its peak, a western disturbance triggered thunderstorms, rain and hail in several parts of Haryana and Punjab this evening. Reports of light rain and thunderstorms were received from Karnal, Ambala, Jind, Kaithal, Kurukshetra and adjoining areas. The rain and hail caused damage to ready-toharvest wheat crop and also tent compared to European markets ■ Products analysed from India had 2.7 grams of added sugar per serving on average, shows NGO’s report; highest was 6 grams in Thailand Affairs Secretary and the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) chief Nidhi Khare. The National Commis- works, quoting unnamed US officials, said Israel carried out the attack ■ The New York Times quoted anonymous Israeli officials claiming the assault IN BRIEF CHILD RIGHTS PROTECTION PANEL TOO ISSUES NOTICE ■ The National Commission for Protec- ■ American broadcast net- After Beijing’s orders, Apple removes WhatsApp, Threads from App Store Punjab, Haryana farmers seek relief Damaged wheat near Amritsar to stocks of wheat lying in the open at grain markets, especially in Karnal, Ambala and Jind districts. In Karnal, rain and hail, accompanied by gusty winds, wreaked havoc on the wheat crop lying at the grain market and in fields of Indri block, leaving farmers in distress. “We had invested our time and resources in growing the crop, but nature’s fury has destroyed it,” said Ram Singh, a farmer. Jagbir Singh, another farmer, said farmers were already facing challenges due to various factors, including rising input costs. continued on page 7 Food regulator to probe if Nestle added ‘excess’ sugar to baby products in India New Delhi, April 19 Consumer protection regulator CCPA has asked Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) to look into the claim of a Swiss NGO, Public Eye and International Baby Food Action Network, that Nestle was selling baby products with higher sugar content in less developed countries like India. COINCIDES WITH KHAMENEI’S 85TH BIRTHDAY VOTERS, POLL AGENTS ‘THREATENED’ IN MANIPUR ■ West Bengal recorded 77.5 per Driver rams bus into truck in Barnala, 12 students injured Sushil Goyal Protesters raise slogans during an anti-Israel rally in Tehran. REUTERS sion for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also taken note of the report and issued a notice to the FSSAI. According to findings by the Swiss NGO, Public Eye and International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), Nestle sold baby products with higher sugar content in less developed South Asian countries, including India, Africa and Latin American nations as compared to markets in Europe. Nestle India had on Thurs- Today’s issue is of 24 pages, including four-page Delhi Tribune. c m y b day said it never compromised on compliance and it had reduced added sugar in baby food products in India by over 30 per cent depending on variants over the past five years. “The reduction of added sugars is a priority for Nestle India. Over the past five years, we have already reduced added sugars up to continued on page 7 ABU DHABI: The Indian Embassy in the UAE has advised passengers travelling to or transiting through Dubai to reschedule non-essential travel till operations normalise after the record rains. BACK PAGE Setback for Ramdev as SC upholds tribunal order: ‘Yoga fee taxable’ Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 19 The Supreme Court on Friday upheld an appellate tribunal’s ruling holding the Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust liable to pay service tax for charging an entry fee for organising yoga camps — both residential and non-residential. “The tribunal has rightly held that yoga in camps for a fee is a service. We do not find any reason to interfere with the impugned order. The appeal is dismissed,” a Bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said, refusing to interfere with the October 5, 2023, order of the Allahabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT). The CESTAT had held that yoga camps organised by Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust — which charges fee for participation — came under the category of “health and fitness serv- DISMISSES APPEAL The tribunal has rightly held that yoga in camps for a fee is a service. Don’t find a reason to interfere. SC Bench ❝ ice” and attracted service tax. Working under Ramdev and his aide Balkrishna, the Trust was engaged in providing yoga training at various residential and non-residential camps for which fee was collected from participants by way of donation, the tribunal had said. “Though this amount was collected as a donation, it was fees for providing the said continued on page 7