02032025-TTB-01.qxd 3/2/2025 12:47 AM Page 1 123 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 60 | 20 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 TRUMP EXHIBITED ‘GREAT RESTRAINT’, SAYS RUSSIA WORLD /thetribunechd JAMMU-SRINAGAR NATIONAL HIGHWAY REOPENS J&K INDIA’S FIRST FASHION CHESS PRODIGY GUKESH WEEK MARKS SILVER CLIMBS TO THIRD SPOT JUBILEE SPECTRUM IN FIDE RATINGS SPORT sunday | 2 march 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Radardetects4 trapped inside tunnelinT’gana A rescued worker being shifted via a helicopter from the Mana avalanche site to Joshimath for medical care in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. PTI 4 BRO workers dead, hunt on to save 5 MANA AVALANCHE 46 rescued| Drone system to detect buried objects on way Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 Four labourers have been found dead by rescue teams while the search is on for five others still buried under the snow following an avalanche that hit a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp near Mana in Uttarakhand on Friday. The Army said 55 labourers were trapped in the incident. In the search operation launched by the Army and GST collections rise 9% to ~1.84L cr, hint at economic revival NEW DELHI: The gross GST collections increased by 9.1 per cent to about Rs 1.84 lakh crore in February, boosted by domestic consumption and indicating potential economic revival. According to the official data released on Saturday, on a gross basis, the mop-up from the central GST stood at Rs 35,204 crore, the state GST at Rs 43,704 crore, the integrated GST at Rs 90,870 crore, besides a compensation cess of Rs 13,868 crore. — PTI PaytmgetsEDnotice for FEMA violation in acquisitionof2firms NEW DELHI: The ED has sent a notice to fintech firm Paytm owner One97 Communications for alleged violation of FEMA rules by the firm in relation to the acquisition of two subsidiaries. One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand, informed the BSE that it had received a FEMA violation notice from the ED on February 28 for its subsidiaries Little Internet Private Ltd and Nearbuy India Private Ltd. — PTI the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), 50 labourers were rescued, but four of them died on Saturday. These labourers were part of a BRO team engaged in an infrastructure project. Mana is the last village on the India side and is close to the Line of Actual Control with China. A drone-based system to detect “buried objects” was being sent by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for deployment in the search and rescue operations. The Army is continuing its search to save the five missing persons despite bad weather conditions. As a 20 km stretch of the road between Joshimath and Mana was still under the snow, six helicopters — three from the Army Aviation, two of the IAF and a civilian helicopter hired by the Army — were deployed to evacuate the rescued persons. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today visited the site and took stock of the rescue operations. Central Army Commander Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta also visited the avalanche site. In a video put out by the command, Lt Gen Sengupta said: “All resources, including unmanned aerial vehicles and radars, will be pressed into service once the weather and road conditions are conducive. The casualties are being shifted by the aerial route.” Army doctors on site performed continued on page 6 9 yrs on, ex-IG says clerical mistake made in judge’s name in statement Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune news service Chandigarh, March 1 Nine years after former Chandigarh IGP Rajesh Kumar testified in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in the 2008 cashat-judge’s-door case, the officer today submitted that a CASH-AT-JUDGE’S DOOR clerical error had been made while mentioning the name of a judge in his statement. The prosecution had called the former IG for re-examination to remove alleged ambiguity surrounding words “Nirmaljit Yadav” mentioned in his statement recorded in 2016. In the statement, the former IG had said: “He (accused Ravinder Singh) gave me a telephone call saying money was meant for another judge of the High Court with the same name, Nirmaljit Yadav.” Today, the former IG told the court continued on page 6 No fuel for vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi from April 1 PunjabinvitesSKM for talks ahead of March 5 protest Ujwal Jalali PATIALA: Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 The Delhi Government on Saturday announced a series of measures to curb air pollution, including denial of petrol or diesel to vehicles older than 15 years at fuel stations across the national capital. BJP leader Manjinder Sirsa, who recently took charge as the Environment Minister, said the directives would come into effect after March 31. Minister Sirsa, after holding a meeting with officials, said the BJP government would take COMPENSATE GRAP-HIT The SC has directed the governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh & Rajasthan to pay compensation to workers hit by the closure of construction activities due to the implementation of GRAP measures in Delhi-NCR. INSIDE stringent steps to curb vehicular emissions in the city. “We are installing gadgets at petrol stations to identify vehicles older than 15 years. No fuel will be provided to them after March 31,” Sirsa said. Teams would be formed to continued on page 6 Ahead of their planned protest in Chandigarh on March 5, Samyukt Kisan Morcha (All-India) leaders Balbir Singh Rajewal and Joginder Singh Ugrahan have been invited by the Punjab Government for a meeting at 4 pm on March 3 at Punjab Bhawan. The SKM had earlier announced a weeklong dharna in Chandigarh in protest against the “antifarmer policies” of the AAPled state government and the Centre’s proposed National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing. INSIDE Calls bare police-miner nexus in Panchkula FILE Bhartesh Singh Thakur Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 1 Several police officers, including of the DSP rank, are under scrutiny as the investigation into the Panchkula mining scam has revealed that hundreds of calls were exchanged between them, middlemen, and illegal miners. WhatsApp groups were allegedly used to share information about vehicle registration numbers carrying illegally mined sand, so that these could be allowed to pass without being checked. The Punjab and Haryana WhatsApp groups were used to share information about illegal mining. High Court has not only issued strictures on the delayed investigation against police officers but has also directed the Commissioner of Police, Panchkula, to appear in person on March 3. The matter came to light on Today’s issue is of 20 pages, including six-page Spectrum. November 27, 2024. According to an FIR, which is based on source-based information, Deepak Sharma, a Home Guard, acted as a middleman for officers at police stations and posts in the Pinjore and Chandimandir areas, collecting bribes from illegal miners on their behalf. Initially, Amardeep of Batour village in Panchkula, Ramsharan of Raipur Rani and Aadesh Kumar of Saharanpur were arrested and seven tippers were seized. The arrest of Sahil Rana of Sultanpur village in Panchkula on December 4, 2024, led to more revelations, continued on page 6 Nagarkurnool (T’gana), Mar 1 In a breakthrough in the tunnel collapse rescue operation in Telangana that has been going on for a week, the whereabouts of four of the eight persons trapped have been traced, state Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao said on Saturday. Rao, who attended a meeting with officials involved in the rescue operation along with Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, said a lot of progress had been made in the rescue operation during the past couple of days. “In my view, the whereabouts of four persons have been traced through a radar,” he told reporters at the tunnel. He expressed the hope that they would be extricated by Sunday evening. The other four appear to have been stuck beneath the tunnel boring machine (TBM), he said. Asked about the condition of the four whose whereabouts had been traced, the minister recalled he had said on the first day itself that the chances of survival were remote. The 450 foot-tall TBM was being cut, he said. Personnel of 11 agencies were involved in the operation. Referring to criticism by opposition parties continued on page 6 Ensure free movement on Manipur roads: Shah Asks officials to complete fencing at entry points along IB Animesh Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 1 Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday directed security officials to ensure free movement of people on all roads in Manipur from March 8 and also called for strict action against those creating obstructions. He also instructed agencies to complete fencing work on both sides of the designated entry points along Manipur’s International Border at the earliest. Shah gave the directions during a security review meeting on Manipur, held for the first time after President’s rule was imposed there on February 13. The state has been in the throes of ethnic violence since May 2023, with the tribal Kukis and the majority community Meiteis clashing with each other, resulting in the killing of more than 300 persons and displacement of over 50,000. The violence has impacted free movement of people through the areas inhabited by Meiteis and Kukis. Shah said to rid Manipur of drugs, the entire network involved in the narcotics CHAIRS SECURITY REVIEW MEETING ■ The Home Minister issued directions on free movement during a security review meeting held on Saturday ■ The meeting was held for the first time after President's rule was imposed in the state on February 13 trade should be dismantled. The Home Minister chaired the meeting even as Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Friday extended the deadline for surrendering illegally procured weapons by various groups till March 6. Bhalla was present during the meeting. The review meeting was held just days after the Army’s Director General of Military Operations, Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai, had visited the strife-torn state. During his stay, the top Army officer reviewed the situation along the India-Myanmar border. General Ghai had also reviewed the status of ongoing border infrastructure development in the state. Focusing on the operational preparedness of the Army, the DGMO had carried out an assessment of the security situation along the Indo-Myanmar border and security dynamics in the state, including fringe areas. The discussions centred around the normalisation of the prevailing security situation in the state, particularly the need to enhance border management and strengthen security infrastructure. General Ghai had also called on Governor Bhalla, state’s security adviser Kuldiep Singh, Manipur Chief Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh and Director General of Police Rajiv Singh. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka and the Deputy Chief of Army Staff also attended the review meeting.