30122024-TTC-01.qxd 12/30/2024 12:23 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 144 NO. 361 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 ELON MUSK VOWS TO DEFEND H-1B VISA PROGRAMME WORLD /thetribunechd SIANG DAM TO TACKLE FLOOD THREAT, SAYS ARUNACHAL CM NATION VALLEY LIMPS BACK TO NORMALCY AFTER HEAVY SNOWFALL J&K CONSTITUTION HAS STOOD TEST OF TIME, SAYS PM MODI BACK PAGE monday | 30 december 2024 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Logistic challenges: Centre justifies Dr Singh’s cremation at Nigambodh Minister Puri accuses Cong of creating controversy over ex-PM’s last rites Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service A passenger plane engulfed in flames at the international airport in Muan, South Korea, on Sunday. AP/PTI 179 killed as S Korean plane overshoots runway, crashes Jet hits fence after landing gear fails to work | Two pulled out alive Seoul, December 29 As many as 179 passengers were killed when a plane skidded off the runway and burst into flames after hitting a concrete fence at South Korea’s Muan International Airport, 290 km south of Seoul, on Sunday. Only two of the 181 passengers on board Jeju Air flight 7C2216 survived the crash — one of the worst in country’s aviation history. The landing gear of the 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 aircraft apparently failed to deploy as it AIR CANADA FLIGHT CATCHES FIRE ■ An Air Canada plane skidded down the runway and part of it caught fire during rough landing at the Halifax airport in Goffs, Nova Scotia province; the airport was temporarily shut ■ Passengers of Flight 2259, operated by PAL Airlines, claimed one of the tyres failed to deploy properly as it arrived from Newfoundland Island; those on board were evacuated INSIDE arrived from Bangkok. The plane was carrying 175 passengers and six crew. Among the dead were 85 women, 84 men and 10 others whose gender wasn’t immediately identifiable, its fire agency said. Emergency workers pulled out two people, both crew, to safety. Health officials said they were conscious and not in a life-threatening condition. Among the 177 bodies found so far, the officials had identified 88, the agency said. The passengers were predominantly of South Korean origin, besides two Thai nationals. The fire agency deployed 32 fire trucks and several helicopters to contain the blaze. Nearly 1,500 firefighters, police officers, soldiers and other officials were rushed to the site, the fire agency and transport ministry said. Footage of the crash showed the plane skidding across the airstrip at high speed, apparently with its landing gear continued on page 8 New Delhi, December 29 Rainy day, logistical challenges and a late-night request with hardly any time to form a Trust were among several reasons that have been put forth by the BJP as a defence to the Congress’ allegations of cremating former PM Manmohan Singh at Nigambodh Ghat. The Congress has been accusing the saffron party of disrespecting the two-time PM by cremating him at Nigambodh Ghat, a cremation place for commoners, instead of giving him a suitable place at Rajghat where former presidents and PMs have been cremated. Senior BJP leaders stated that Dr Singh was cremated with full military honours and the Congress was deliberately creating a “controversy out of nothing”. Union Minister Hardeep Puri said the government received a letter on Thursday, to which a reply was sent by the Home Ministry at three minutes past midnight. “I have the communication with me saying that a request has been received and we are agreeing to it,” Puri said. He said the government had to provide land to a Trust which would then undertake the construction of a memorial. “We will give land to the Trust at Re 1 rental. All that will be done. Locations have been identified. The cremation was held on a day when it was raining. On Rajghat, there is open land, whereas at Former PM Manmohan Singh’s ashes being immersed in the Yamuna at the Astha Ghat in New Delhi. ANI ASHES IMMERSED IN YAMUNA, ANTIM ARDAS ON JANUARY 3 ■ Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s ashes were immersed in the Yamuna river at Astha Ghat, near Majnu Ka Tilla gurdwara, on Sunday morning ■ Dr Manmohan Singh’s widow Gursharan Kaur and daughters Upinder Singh, Daman Singh and Amrit Singh performed the rituals; antim ardas will be organised at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib on January 3 Nigambodh Ghat, there are covered structures,” he said. Puri said the criticism by the Congress was unfounded and the party was deliberately creating a controversy. He also accused the Congress of disrespecting former PM PV Narasimha Rao who was cremated in Hyderabad as the party didn’t allow his mortal remains at its headquarters. IK GUJRAL’S SON NARESH ALSO WADES INTO CREMATION ROW ■ After the Cong raised a question mark over the cremation of ex-PM, SAD leader Naresh Gujral also asked the Centre why it made a departure from the norm in the case of India’s only Sikh PM ■ “It is baffling that a man who led the country’s economic transformation was not given 250 yards at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal where other former PMs have been cremated,” said Gujral, the son of ex-PM IK Gujral BACK PAGE Meanwhile, the ashes of Dr Singh were immersed by his family members as per Sikh rituals in the Yamuna near Majnu Ka Tilla gurdwara this morning. The Union Cabinet had, on May 16, 2013, given approval for the construction of a Rashtriya Smriti, a common memorial site near Ekta Sthal in New Delhi, for per- 11 kids rescued from Punjab potato farm Khaps ask Centre to BJP attempting to alter electoral rolls, claims Kejri Victims, belonging to Bihar, Nepal, held captive, forced to work 16 hrs a day New Delhi, December 29 The Aam Aadmi Party has accused the BJP of trying to manipulate electoral rolls data ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections. Speaking at a press conference, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal claimed the BJP was trying to win elections through “unfair means” after failing to present strong candidates or issues. “Operation Lotus has now reached my New Delhi Assembly constituency. This operation has been going on since December 15. In these 15 days, they (BJP) have filed applications for the deletion of 5,000 votes and the addition continued on page 8 Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Tribune News Service reach out to Dallewal Deepender Deswal Jalandhar, December 29 As many as 11 children, who were being forced to toil hard in a potato farm at Brindpur in Kapurthala, were on Sunday rescued by a joint team of the Punjab and Bihar police and Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a Bihar-based NGO. While eight of the rescued children belong to Sitamarhi in Bihar, the remaining are from Nepal. The raid was conducted in response to an FIR registered in Sitamarhi last month against two agents who had allegedly lured four persons and several children aged between 12 and 16 years from a village in Bihar to work at potato farms of Tribune News Service The rescued children at Brindpur village in Kapurthala on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Kapurthala at a wage of Rs 12,000 per month. The complainant, the parent of one of the rescued chil- dren, alleged Sonbarsa (Bihar) resident Bigan Rai and his brother Jinesh Rai had taken their children and relatives to Kapurthala where they were held captive, beaten up and forced to work in continued on page 8 Hisar, December 29 A khap mahapanchayat organised here today asked the Centre to resolve by January 9 the crisis surrounding farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s indefinite fast, failing which it threatened to “take strong decisions”. Representing 65 khap panchayats from across Haryana, the mahapanchayat said an all-khap congregation would be organised in Muzaffarnagar (UP) on January 9 to chart the future course if the Centre failed to resolve the farm agitation deadlock by then. The khap leaders present at the meeting, which was held at the grain market at PUNJAB FARMERS CALL FOR BANDH TODAY ■ Farm unions have asked farmers to suspend supply of milk, vegetables and other items to cities, besides blocking roads as part of the Punjab bandh on Monday ■ Commuters and residents have been advised to stay off roads and trains from 7 am to 4 pm across the state ■ The bandh is in response to the call given by the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha and the SKM (Non-political) INSIDE Baas village in Hisar district, expressed displeasure over the “lack of unity” among farmer organisations. continued on page 8 Two Kangra miniature paintings fetch ~31 cr at Mumbai auction Lalit Mohan Tribune News Service Dharamsala, December 29 Two Guler miniature paintings, one by legendary 18th century Kangra artist Nainsukh and the other by an unknown descendant, fetched a record Rs 31 crore at a recent auction in Mumbai. Dating back to 1750, Nainsukh’s masterpiece was sold for Rs 15 crore and it portrays Raja Balwant Dev hosting a musical soiree. The second artwork was created around 1775. It depicts a verse by the 12th century Sanskrit poet Jayadeva, showing Lord Krishna dancing with gopis in a lush green Vrindavan grove. Padma Shri awardee Vijay Sharma, a renowned Pahari miniature artist, told The Tribune that the unknown artist’s work fetching Rs 16 crore at the sale by Pundole’s, a leading auction house based in Mumbai, surprised the art world. Several rare Pahari paintings went under the hammer at the live auction held at Hamilton House. “Pahari paintings fetched a record price and attracted the attention of collectors and art lovers alike. Hardly has any Pahari painting gone for this high Nainsukh’s work (left) sold for ~15 crore while the painting of Lord Krishna by Nainsukh’s descendant fetched ~16 crore price in the past,” he said. The auction featured a private collection by the late NC Mehta, an Indian Civil Service officer and the first Chief Commissioner of Himachal Pradesh in the 1950s. An avid art lover, Mehta amassed a rich collection of paintings of the Chamba, Kangra and Mandi schools of art during his tenure. After Mehta’s c m y b death, his wife donated a part of his collection to Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum in Ahmedabad. “The treasure of paintings Mehta’s family held back was auctioned at Pundole’s,” said Sharma. He said evaluating the paintings was a complicated task, depending on rarity of the artwork and fame of the artist. “A few years ago, Britain declared a Nainsukh painting portraying musicians playing trumpet as a rare piece and banned its sale or export,” he said. Pahari paintings gained fame in the 1990s when Rietberg Museum, Zurich, organ- ised the “Pahari Masters” exhibition and scholars like BN Goswamy and Eberhard Fischer published books on top artists in the field. A painting themed on Rasamanjari, a 17th century collection of poems, was sold at Sotheby’s auction in London for about Rs 74 lakh. Within some time, a painting of Devi and the sage Chyavan in Basohli style was bought by Washington’s Freer Gallery of Art for Rs 1 crore. A Mandi-style painting depicting Lord Krishna taming the serpent ‘Kaliya’ fetched Rs 6 crore. forming the last rites of departed national leaders. “In the past, separate memorials to national leaders were created near Rajghat. In view of the Cabinet decision in 2000 that ‘henceforth, the government shall not develop any samadhi for departed leaders’ owing to the paucity of land continued on page 8 4 die of toxic gas at Guj chemical plant BHARUCH: Four workers died after inhaling toxic fumes following a gas leak at a chemical plant at Dahej in Gujarat's Bharuch district, the police said on Sunday. The company said all four were given immediate medical care but could not be saved. It has announced Rs 30 lakh ex gratia to the kin of each victim. The bodies had been sent for postmortem, an official said. — PTI Foodgrainoutputset to scale new peak NEW DELHI: India is poised to achieve new heights in foodgrain production in 2025, driven by favourable monsoon, though significant challenges persist in pulses and oilseeds production. The Agriculture Ministry’s projections paint an optimistic picture, with kharif production estimated at a record 164.7 million tonnes for the 2024-25 crop year ending June 2025. BACK PAGE J&K Dy CM meets Katra protesters JAMMU: J&K Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Sunday urged political parties to unite to support the ongoing protests in Katra against the proposed Rs 250crore ropeway project at the Vaishno Devi shrine. Choudhary visited Katra and met protesters. The Katra bandh entered the fifth day on Sunday after being extended for 72 hours on Friday. INSIDE