08072024-TTC-01.qxd 7/8/2024 12:36 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 8 NO. 188 | 16 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 BIDEN PROMISES TO STAY IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE WORLD /thetribunechd OPD AT AIIMS-JAMMU TO BEGIN IN 15 DAYS, SAYS NADDA J&K SINGHVI MAY BE FIELDED FOR RS SEAT FROM T’GANA NATION RAHUL TO VISIT MANIPUR TODAY, MAY PUSH FOR PREZ RULE BACK PAGE monday | 8 july 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com to tank for Dinner at Putin’s dacha, discharge 5 jawans ‘held ondrowning six hours’ before of Indians in Russian army on table Were part of unit crossing gushing Shyok in Ladakh AjayBanerjee Tribune News Service Modi heads to Moscow on two-day visit for 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit added Russia hoped India would not pursue an expanding relationship with another country, such as the US, “at the expense of Russia”. Along with the reinvention of the grander strategic partnership between the two countries, the PM is also expected to push for the discharge of Indian nationals fighting in the Russian army, including on the frontlines of its war in Ukraine. India’s ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar confirmed to this reporter that the Indian Embassy in Moscow is working on soon bringing back the mortal remains of Tejpal Singh, a young man from Amritsar recently killed in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, as well as another Indian national who was also killed in the fighting. “We have a list of around 50 Indian nationals who have joined the Russian army. Of the two Indians unfortunately killed in the war in Ukraine, including Tejpal Singh, we are in the process of bringing back their remains,” Ambassador Kumar told The Tribune. Jyoti Malhotra WEST JEALOUS, CLOSELY WATCHING VISIT: KREMLIN They (western politicians) are jealous… they are closely monitoring it (PM Modi’s visit). Their close monitoring means they attach great importance to it. And they are not mistaken, there is something to attach great importance to. Tribune News Service ❝ Dmitry Peskov, KREMLIN SPOKESMAN << PM Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin. FILE EFFORTS ON TO BRING BACK BODIES OF 2 INDIANS KILLED IN UKRAINE ■ Indian Embassy in Moscow working on bringing ■ Indian ambassador Vinay Kumar said, “We have back the mortal remains of Tejpal Singh of Amritsar and another Indian national recently killed while fighting for Russia in Ukraine a list of around 50 Indian nationals who have joined Russian army. Two have died in war. We are in process of bringing back their remains.” Each side has recognised that the commonalities in their geopolitical outlooks are more extensive than commonly recognised,” India’s former ambassador to Russia Venkatesh Verma told this reporter. A joint statement, still CJI-led Bench to hear today pleas seeking scrapping of NEET Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 7 Amid allegations of paper leak and other irregularities, the Supreme Court will hear on Monday petitions seeking scrapping of NEET-UG 2024 Examination held on the May 5 and conducting it afresh. There is another set of petitions, including the one filed by 56 Gujarat-based successful medical aspirants, seeking to restrain the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) from going for a re-test. Both sets of petitions, totalling 38 — are listed before a Bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra on July 8, when the court reopens after summer vacation. The top court has so far refused to stay the counselling of the successful candidates for admissions to MBBS, BDS and other courses. The Union Health Ministry on Saturday refuted reports of postponement of NEET-UG counselling, Centre, NTA opposed move saying it will be counterproductive saying the process was yet to be notified. Earlier, the NTA had told the top court that counselling would begin on July 6. However, now it’s learnt that counselling will begin in the third week of July as the process of issuing permission letters to a section of medical colleges was underway and additional seats were likely to be added. Both the Centre and NTA — which conducts the NEETUG — have opposed scrapping the exam. In an affidavit filed in the top court, the Centre said scrapping the entire examination would seriously jeopardise lakhs of honest candidates who didn’t adopt any unfair means. “In the absence of a proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in a pan-India examination, it would not be continued on page 9 being finalised hours before the PM’s departure — it may or may not be called a “vision document” — aims at giving the bilateral relationship “a vision of the development of our cooperation in the coming decade or so”, according to Zamir Kabulov, a senior official in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In an exclusive interview with this reporter in Moscow recently, Kabulov said that the Indian PM’s visit is not about signing “agreements, but about a roadmap” of future cooperation. He had RESCUE BOAT TOO CAPSIZED IN RIVER ■ Incident took place on June 20 when tanks were crossing river ■ A Russian T-72 tank with 5 crew members got stuck due to sudden rise in water level ■ Soldiers stood atop sinking tank for almost six hours as rescue efforts failed ■ A rescue boat capsized due to the river’s heavy flow and its occupants barely survived quartered at Leh, in a statement on X on June 29, said the incident happened while the tank crew was de-inducting from a military training activity. “An army tank got stuck in the Shyok river, near Saser Brangsa, Eastern Ladakh, due to a sudden increase in the water level.” Rescue teams rushed to the location, but due to heavy water current, the rescue mission couldn’t succeed and the five tank crew members lost their lives, the Army had said. Giving details of the incident, the sources said the No moong purchase by govt in Punjab this year Mahua booked for ‘crude’ remark on womenpanelchief Private players buy crop at ~500-700/quintal below MSP | Scheme was launched with fanfare New Delhi: The Delhi Police have registered an FIR against TMC Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra over her “crude” social media remark on National Commission for Women chief Rekha Sharma, officials said on Sunday. The MP commented on a video posted on X that showed Sharma arriving at the site of a stampede in UP’s Hathras on July 4. BACK PAGE Ruchika M Khanna DISTRICT ARRIVAL/PVT PURCHASE PURCHASE BELOW MSP Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 7 Even as the moong season draws to a close, the government purchase of the crop in the state mandis is nil. Promoted with much fanfare by the government, as part of the state’s crop diversification plan, there has been no government purchase of moong this year so far. The result: Over 99 per cent of the purchase has been Amritsar Barnala Bathinda Faridkot Abohar ISTOCK Chandigarh, July 7 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dine with Russian President Vladimir Putin at his dacha (residence) located in the Moscow suburb of Novo Ogarevo when he lands in Russia on Monday afternoon, an “unusual and significant” gesture on Putin’s part that will give both leaders a private moment before their series of talks in the Kremlin the day after. Accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Modi’s visit is expected to reset the bilateral relationship that has been undergoing a partexistential crisis in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago. The Tribune had broken the story about PM Modi’s visit to Moscow on July 8-9. “The PM’s visit is timely as there are some inerasable durables in this strategic partnership. Despite global changes, the essential wellsprings of the strategic partnership are stable and solid. NewDelhi, July 7 The five Army men who recently drowned in the Shyok river in eastern Ladakh had battled the gushing waters for almost six hours before being washed away, Army sources said. A Court of Inquiry, which is currently underway, is looking at multiple angles behind the mishap. The incident took place at 1 am on June 20 when the Army men were crossing the river in a Russian T-72 tank as part of a drill to practice movement in exigency. The exercise was being held at a mountainous terrain at an altitude of more than 13,000 ft. The tank got stuck in the river due to a sudden increase in the water level. With their tank getting submerged and rescue efforts underway, the five stood on the top of it for almost six hours before the river washed them and the tank away, the Army sources said. The Shyok was flowing at almost 40 km per hour that night. The Army’s attempts to launch rescue missions failed with one rescue team barely surviving a mishap of its own. The Army’s 14 Corps head- Army had specialised boats on standby, called BAUT (boat assault universal type). One such BAUT was launched to rescue the tank crew, but it capsized in the fast-flowing river and the rescue team barely survived. Tanks have the ability to float in the water and keep moving forward. A column of tanks was crossing the fastflowing Shyok river as part of the exercise in the dead of the night. The five were in the last tank in the column. In Eastern Ladakh, the Army has identified spots where tanks can cross the Indus and some its tributaries. The Shyok that descends from the Eastern flank of the Rimo Kangri glacier is a rapidly flowing tributary of the Indus. There was a sudden increase in its water level due to the melting of snow. The terrain is tree-less and the water after the melting of snow at the mountain peaks rushes straight into the river running through the valley. The river is about 60-70 m wide and swimming in these conditions would have been impossible for the rescue team as also for the five who got washed away, the sources added. 4,743 4,743 21,300 21,300 869 799 48 17 6 6 (All figures in metric tonnes) made at rates below the minimum support price of Rs 8,555 per quintal (announced by the Centre). Private play- ers are purchasing moong at Rs 7,800- 8,000 per quintal. Ever since the beginning of moong procurement in May- end, 26,966 metric tonne (MT) produce has arrived in the state mandis, all of which has been bought by private players. Of this, 26,865 MT moong (99.62 per cent) was bought by them at prices lower than the MSP During . the past two years, ever since the state government promoted the sowing of summer moong, MARKFED made some procurement on behalf of the Government of India. In 2022, MARKFED pro- cured over 5,500 MT moong after getting relaxed the norms as regards the fair average quality of produce. However, NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) refused to accept the entire stock and accepted only 2,500 MT. As a result, MARKFED and the Punjab Mandi Board incurred an estimated loss of around Rs 40 crore on that procurement. continued on page 9 In battleground Dehra, ex-minister queers pitch for BJP 2 more militants killed in Kulgam; Questions high command’s policy of ‘importing outsiders’ at cost of loyalists encounter toll 8 LalitMohan Tribune News Service Hoshiyar Singh at ex-minister Ramesh Dhawala’s residence. Dharamsala, July7 The BJP is making a lastditch effort to pacify its disgruntled leaders in hot seat Dehra, due for Assembly bypoll on July 10, the election having turned into a battle of prestige following the entry of Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s wife Kamlesh Thakur. Hoshiyar Singh, the BJP candidate whose resignation as an Independent legislator necessitated the Dehra byelection, called on party stalwart and former minister Ramesh Dhawala at his residence today. Though Dhawala welcomed Hoshiyar Singh, he didn’t join the BJP’s campaign. Dhawala was the BJP candidate from Dehra in 2022, but stood third after Hoshiyar Singh and Dr Rajesh Sharma of the Congress. The former minister had openly opposed the ticket to Hoshiyar Singh. Talking to the media after meeting Hoshiyar Singh, Dhawala claimed the “BJP workers were still unhappy”. “Nobody contacted me when the ticket was allotted to Hoshiyar Singh. The campaign has been underway for a month and when two days after left for voting, he comes to meet me!” said Dhawala, expressing his displeasure. Dhawala condemned the party high command’s policy of allegedly ignoring groundlevel workers and importing leaders from outside. He was all praise for Hoshiyar Singh’s wife, but said the BJP nominee “should be polite to people if he wants to succeed in politics”. “My family and I will vote for the BJP , but others are free to exercise continued on page 9 Srinagar: The death toll in the twin encounters in Kulgam district of J&K climbed to eight on Sunday as security forces recovered the bodies of two more terrorists, officials said. In all, six terrorists have been killed while two soldiers too were martyred. One of the slain soldiers was an elite para commando, officials said on Saturday. The police are yet to disclose the identity of the slain militants. INSIDE New LAC action: Buddha statues at 1962 battle sites Ajay Banerjee Lukung A statue of Lord Buddha installed at Lukung on the northwestern edge of the Pangong Tso along the LAC. New Delhi, July 7 As armies of India and China maintain their respective positions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, New Delhi, in an apparent psychological operation (psyop), has added an element of “faith” and “reverence” by installing statues of Lord Buddha at two LAC hotspots — Lukung and Chushul. The statues have been installed as part of the “developmental effort” under the INDIA Pangong Tso 2 UNVEILED, 2 ON CARDS CHINA Tribune News Service Chushul government’s “Vibrant Village Programme”. Both Lukung and Chushul stood witness to bloody battles during the 1962 IndiaChina war. The Indian troops held back the Chi- Today’s issue is of 16 pages, including four-page Jalandhar Tribune. c m y b ■ Statues showing Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudra were unveiled at Lukung & Chushul along the LAC last week ■ Two more similar statues will also come up; one of these at Demchok, while the location for the other is yet to be finalised nese at both these places. Similar statues are planned to be installed at two more locations. One of these will be installed at Demchok, while the location for the other one is yet to be decided, sources maintain. The statues at Lukung and Chushul were unveiled last week with Army officials and the local population in attendance. Indian Army’s 14 Corps put out a post on X yesterday with a video of the statues, besides mentioning: “Upholding essence of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family) to foster solidarity, preserve spiritual values and eternal peace in forward areas of eastern Ladakh.” The locations of the statues are significant. Lukung is on the north-western edge of Pangong Tso, while the statue at Chushul faces the Spanggur Gap, the border meeting point of the two armies. The Chinese garrison of Moldo is around 8 km from there. History of the Conflict with China-1962, a book released for “restricted” circulation by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in March 1993, tells how Indian troops held on in Ladakh, most notably at Rezang La in eastern Ladakh, 5 km southeast of Chusul hamlet. continued on page 9
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