06092025-TTC-01.qxd 9/6/2025 12:30 AM 13 K’TAKA FOR BALLOT PAPERS IN CIVIC ELECTION NATION /thetribunechd Page 1 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 145 NO. 246 | 18 PAGES | ~7.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 saturday | 6 september 2025 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com THE TRIBUNE RELIEF FUND FOR J&K, PUNJAB & HP May’ve lost India, Russia to ‘darkest China’:asTrump MEA rejects Navarro’s statements misleading Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service An Appeal to our Readers The devastating floods that have ravaged J&K, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in the past weeks have caused unprecedented destruction, sweeping away homes, crippling infrastructure, taking away lives, displacing families and leaving countless people in need for urgent relief and rehabilitation. In the past years, during such calamities, be it the floods in Kerala, the landslides in Uttarakhand, the floods in Jammu and Kashmir, the cloudburst in Ladakh, the Orissa Cyclone, the Kargil War or the Gujarat earthquake, Tribune readers have always come forward to make their valuable donations. The Tribune Trust appeals to its readers to do so once again. Their contributions will provide invaluable support for reducing the anguish of the families of those who have lost lives and their homes. The names of all those who donate ~500 and above will be published in the paper. These donations shall also qualify for deduction under the Income Tax Act, in accordance with the applicable provisions. Donations should be in the form of crossed cheques or demand drafts in favour of the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund and sent to The Tribune Trust, Sector 29-C, Chandigarh160030, or to The Tribune offices in various cities. All donations received by us will be duly sent to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. — President and Trustees of The Tribune Trust, Chandigarh NewDelhi, September 5 US President Donald Trump on Friday triggered a controversy by sharing a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping walking together at a multilateral summit and sarcastically commenting that the western nation “may have lost India and Russia to China”. Trump released the image on his Truth Social account and captioned it as, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” The remark was widely read as a swipe at what Trump see as increasing alignment among New Delhi, Moscow and Beijing even as India continues to project “strategic autonomy” in its foreign policy. Modi, Xi and Putin had recently shared the stage at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China’s Tianjin and the images of the trio had sparked considerable attention in the West. PM Modi separately held bilateral talks with both Chinese and Russian Presidents. Asked for a response, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it had “no com- The bonhomie among PM Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin & Chinese President Xi Jinping at the SCO summit has drawn global attention. WILL CONTINUE BUYING RUSSIAN OIL: SITHARAMAN Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said India would continue to buy Russian oil, stressing that decisions would be guided solely by national interest. “Where we buy our oil from, especially it being a big ticket foreign exchange related item, is a call we will take based on what suits us best. So, we will undoubtedly be buying Russian oil,” she said. INDIA TO BE SORRY, SEEK DEAL: LUTNICK Terming India the “vowel” between Russia and China in BRICS, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said New Delhi will try to make a deal with President Donald Trump in a couple of months. “In a month or two, I think India is going to be at the table, and they’re going to say sorry, and try to make a deal with Trump,” he said. ment to offer at this time”. However, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal underscored the resilience of the India-US ties when pressed further with a series of queries. “As far as the India-US relations are concerned, this relationship is very important for us. Continued on Page 7 Illegal mining to blame for Punjab floods: Chouhan to brief Modi on losses today Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 5 Blaming illegal mining for Punjab’s worst floods in decades, Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said the Centre will draft a short, medium and longterm plan to bring relief and rehabilitation to the state. The minister is likely to brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi on ground losses in the border state on Saturday. A rough early estimate says nearly four lakh acres of the state’s farmland could be CM MANN HOSPITALISED, VITALS STABLE Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann was rushed to a Mohali hospital after he complained of exhaustion and low heart rate. The hospital said his vitals had stabilised. He was under observation. INSIDE PM TO VISIT PUNJAB, OTHER FLOOD-HIT STATES SOON New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon visit flood-affected states, including Punjab, and review the situation, government sources said on Friday. The Prime Minister’s visit to Punjab was still being finalised and the schedule would be announced soon. submerged with vast tracts of standing crops damaged. A final assessment of losses, top official sources told The Tribune, would, however, be made once the Centre’s inter-ministerial teams return after their field visits to the state. At present, two teams are touring Punjab. Meanwhile, Chouhan, who visited Punjab on Thursday to conduct a spot check of the situation for himself, today said floodwaters entered the villages across Punjab due to weakened embankments on account of illegal mining. The senior BJP leader recalled the construction of earthen embankments along major river banks of the state when the late Atal Behari Vajpayee was the PM and the late Parkash Singh Badal was the CM of the state. “When Vajpayee ji was the PM and Badal ji was the Punjab CM, we had constructed earthen embankments around Continued on Page 7 Himachal set to join elite India giving flood data to literacy league on Sept 8 Pak by diplomatic means Subhash Rajta Tribune News Service Shimla, September 5 After Goa, Tripura and Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh has now achieved the distinction of becoming fully literate. Education Minister Rohit Thakur, while participating in an award function on Teacher’s Day today, said the formal announcement in this regard would be made on International Literacy Day on September 8. “Currently, our literacy rate is 98 per cent. As per the central guidelines, the benchmark for any state to proclaim itself as fully literate is 95 per cent literacy rate. We have already crossed the benchmark,” said an official from the Education Department. The state will be declared fully literate as per the guidelines of ULLAS, a centrally sponsored scheme for literacy. The scheme targets individuals Continued on Page 7 Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 5 Amid rising water levels along the border areas, especially in Punjab, India has been sharing high flood data with Pakistan through diplomatic channels, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday. Asked whether the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) had impacted cooperation, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarified that the sharing of information was continuing, though outside the framework of the treaty. “We have been sharing high flood data with Pakistan through our High Commission in Islamabad and other diplomatic channels, as and when required. This is being done on humanitarian considerations, given the kind of rainfall and flooding that has been witnessed in the region,” Jaiswal said. Pakistan has Continued on Page 7 No desilting ever at Bhakra, capacity down 19% Lalit Mohan AWAITING HIMACHAL NOD FOR ACTION: BBMB Tribune News Service Ropar, September 5 As Punjab battles one of its worst floods in decades, it has come to light that the holding capacity of the Bhakra Dam, built upstream on the Sutlej, has reduced by about 19 per cent since its inception in 1963. The primary reason, officials say, is that the dam’s reservoir has never been desilted all these years. The revelation comes amid BBMB says it’s awaiting for more than a year HP Govt’s approval for desilting 33.61 39.01 7.4LAKH 6LAKH MILLION MILLION cubic metres of silt was expected in dam annually criticism of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) for “failing to hold back water” in the Bhakra and Pong dams when heavy rain CHINA BORDER DISPUTE KEY CHALLENGE: CDSBACK PAGE cubic metres the actual inflow of silt wreaked havoc across Punjab recently. The release of additional water from the two dams, which have the largest reservoirs in the North, is BILLION BILLION cubic metres was cubic metres the reservoir’s original current storage storage capacity capacity, down 19% being blamed for compounding the situation in the state. The Bhakra reservoir, known as Gobind Sagar Lake, Continued on Page 7 c m y b