27082026-TTC-01.qxd 8/27/2026 12:51 AM Page 1 IRAN, OMAN REACH STRAIT PACT, BAR MILITARY TRANSITWORLD /thetribunechd 13 MAMDANI OPPOSES BHAGWAT VISIT TO NEW YORK BACK PAGE CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 10 NO. 236 | 18 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 thursday | 27 august 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com WATER FURY Torrential flashflood surges through Nepal’s Bhote Koshi river, hitting Rasuwa, Dhading dists on Tibet border LIKELY CAUSEPreliminary reports citing study of satellite pictures suggest flashflood occurred due to ice avalanche MASSIVE TOLL Devastation in towns, villages as bridges & roads washed away; more than 10 hydropower projects hit 160 dead in Nepal deluge, 133 Indians missing 37 NRIs, hundreds of other foreigners among 750 untraced | At least 77 from India were on Kailash Mansarovar Yatra Ujwal Jalali ‘Favouringtherich’: SCjudgeasksCJIto replaceRajActingCJ NEW DELHI: Accusing Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma of misusing his administrative powers and manipulating case listings to favour “rich litigants”, Justice Sandeep Mehta of the SC has urged CJI Surya Kant to replace him “with immediate effect” with a Chief Justice from another state. Justice Sharma has been working as the Acting Chief Justice of the HC since September 2025. BACK PAGE Mahacancelsdrug inspector selection over paper leak MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Public Service Commission has cancelled the recruitment process for drug inspector Group-B posts in the Food and Drug Administration Department following a preliminary inquiry into alleged malpractice in the screening examination conducted earlier this year. According to complaints, some candidates allegedly obtained the question paper or portions of it before the examination. The material was circulated on social media. INSIDE STARTING POINT INDIA BIHAR FLOODED AREA RIVER CORRIDOR Lhende river (Tibet) Bhote Koshi Trishuli Narayani Gandak (Bihar) Ganga EPICENTRE OF 9 AM CATASTROPHE The flashflood was traced to the Lhende river, about 20 km from the Tibet-Rasuwagadhi border. The flood surge was reported around 9 am, while a 4.4-magnitude earthquake, with its epicentre 47 km north of Gosainkunda in Tibet, struck around the same time HOW THE CALAMITY UNFOLDED A screengrab from a video shows a flashflood sweeping through a residential area and uprooting a bridge in an area near the Nepal-Tibet border. PTI UPBihar on high alert; evacuation ordered , Aksheev Thakur New Delhi, August 26 Initial assessments suggest an earthquake triggered an ice-rock avalanche on the Lhende Khola river, a Bhote Koshi tributary, that led to severe flooding in Nepal. The authorities in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are on high alert and have stepped up preparations to deal with a The outburst reportedly occurred in Tibet, triggering an approximately threemetre surge in the Bhote Koshi. The US Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 4.4 earthquake in the Tibetan territory at 8.37 am. Speaking to The Tribune, Prof Rijan B Kayastha, Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, continued on page 10 MODI TALKS TO BALEN AS INDIA RUSHES AID Tribune News Service A woman breaks down in Nepal. PM Modi spoke to his Nepali counterpart Balendra Shah and assured him of full support. India rushed 10 tonnes of relief material, including medicines, temporary shelters, blankets, hygiene kits and solar lamps. potential rise in the water level of the Gandak river. Directions have been issued to evacuate people from low-lying areas. The Lhende Khola river runs through both Tibet and Nepal. 1 2 3 4 An ice avalanche reportedly crashed into Tibet’s Lhende river, blocking its flow and causing water to accumulate upstream The temporary blockage created a natural dam, which eventually breached, sending a sudden surge downstream into Bhote Koshi A 4.4-magnitude earthquake in Tibet around the same time may have contributed to triggering the ice avalanche The resulting flashflood near the Nepal-Tibet border sent a surge through the Lhende, Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers Damaged houses near the swollen and debris-choked banks of Trishuli river after the flashflood in Nepal’s Nuwakot district. AP/PTI ‘Savedbyamango tree’:Howalabourer survived flashflood KATHMANDU: Nepali labourer Bibek Kumal was digging a toilet pit outside a newly built house in Bidur on Wednesday when a wall of water, mud and rock came roaring down. The 24-yearold, working downstream from worst-hit Rasuwa district near Nepal’s border with China’s Tibet, heard a hissing sound before four co-workers shouted at him to run. “I started running. The torrent swept me downstream, but luckily I got stuck in a mango tree,” he said. “Had there been no mango tree, I would have been washed away to death.” — PTI Keepingclosewatch: HM speaks to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh CMs NEW DELHI: The Centre is closely monitoring the situation arising from the flashflood in Nepal. Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken with the Chief Ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on the potential impact of the disaster in border areas. According to an advisory issued by the Central Water Commission, the floodwaters are likely to travel downstream into the Gandak river in India. The governments of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have initiated precautionary measures. — TNS 4 lakh Punjab staffers to Hard bargain for seats, CM post US halts visa process to observe ‘maha hartal’ on table for BJP-SAD pact talks weed out aid claimants Move amid immigration crackdown today over pending DA Saffron party likely to Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 26 Punjab is set for a massive employee-pensioner mobilisation on Thursday, with nearly four lakh government employees and lakhs of pensioners observing a “maha hartal” to pressure the AAP government to clear their long-pending dearness allowance (DA) dues. The strike is being observed in spite of the fact that the Joint Action Committee of leaders of various employee unions spearheading the strike has been called for a meeting with Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann at the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) complex, Jalandhar. Normal life will, however, not be disrupted, with employees making it clear that roads will not be blocked and private businesses will run as usual. Even PRTC buses will run as usual, considering that the strike is just a day before the Rakhi festival. However, government schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and other Govt schools, offices won’t function; roads, biz to remain open healthcare facilities (other than emergency services), and government offices will not function on Thursday. The scale of the planned agitation presents a significant political challenge for the Mann government ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. With around 7.50 lakh employees and pensioners participating, the protest has the potential of influencing nearly 38 lakh voters when their families are taken into account. It is learnt that employees across departments will proceed on mass casual leave. They will stage protests outside government offices from 9 am. In Chandigarh, hundreds of employees are expected to assemble outside the main Secretariat and in Sector 17. Similar demonstrations will be held outside government offices across continued on page 10 New Delhi, August 26 A hard bargain on seats and issues of chief ministership and deputy chief ministership are on the table amid indications that estranged partners — the BJP and the SAD — are in talks to explore a potential pre-poll alliance in Punjab. Though the BJP’s official position, as reiterated by national general secretary (organisation) BL Santosh during his Punjab tour, is that the party will prepare for and push for 55 seats contest all 117 seats, the BJP is learnt to have unofficially kept a list of over 55 potential seats ready for discussions should a pact with the SAD mature. These seats include 45 Assembly segments where the BJP was ahead of the SAD in the 2024 Lok Sabha poll. In 2024, the BJP had an overall lead among all parties in 23 Assembly seats of Punjab; it was second in six seats and third in 16. This tally comes to 45 seats. The SAD was in overall lead among all parties on nine seats; it was second on five and third on five seats, totalling 19 seats. An internal BJP assessment about the benefits of a pact with the SAD (The Tribune has seen the note), says, “An analysis of the 117 Assembly constituencies in Punjab during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections shows that the BJP was leading in 23 constituencies, while the SAD was ahead in continued on page 10 Ujwal Jalali Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 26 The Trump administration has put immigrant visa processing on hold worldwide, leaving applicants in limbo, even as it prepares to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 2 lakh foreigners who have sought asylum in the US in what could become the largest mass visa revocation in American history. According to media reports, the State Department has paused immigrant visa appointments at US embassies and consulates globally as it rolls out additional “in-depth training” for consular officers on screening applicants, particularly under the “public charge” standard used to assess whether an immigrant is likely to become dependent on US government assistance. Interviews that had been scheduled are being rescheduled, while the administration continued on page 10 To check dummy admissions, Hry bans coaching in school hours Bhartesh Singh Thakur Institutes warned against issuing misleading ads Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 26 More than two years after the Haryana Registration and Regulation of Private Coaching Institutes Act, 2024, came into force, the state government has notified rules barring coaching institutes from conducting classes during school hours, while making registration compulsory. Under the rules notified on August 24, coaching insti- REPRESENTATIONAL PHOTO New Delhi, August 26 At least 133 Indian nationals are among hundreds of people reported missing after a sudden flashflood tore through Nepal’s Rasuwa district along the Tibet border on Wednesday, killing nearly 160 persons across seven districts and triggering a massive cross-border rescue operation. The figures remained fluid as communications were disrupted across the remote Himalayan region and rescue teams struggled to reach some of the worst-hit areas. Nepal’s Tourism Board said of over 750 missing persons, 403 were tourists, including 341 foreign nationals and 62 Nepalese. Indians constituted the largest group among the missing foreign travellers, with the latest preliminary count putting the number at 133. At least 37 NRIs are also among those missing. The death toll also rose sharply. Nepal’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported nearly 160 deaths across seven districts, with bodies recovered in Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Chitwan, Gorkha, Tanahu and Nawalparasi East. According to Nepalese media reports, the tragedy unfolded after a sudden surge in the Bhote Koshi river, which enters Nepal from Tibet, swept through Timure, Syabrubesi and other settlements in Rasuwa. The torrent destroyed homes, markets, bridges, roads and hydropower infrastructure before rushing continued on page 10 MAP NOT TO SCALE FLASHFLOOD ORIGIN AND RIVER FLOW Tribune News Service tutes will have to submit an affidavit undertaking that no classes will be held during Today’s issue is of 18 pages, including four-page Jalandhar Tribune. c m y b school hours. “This will help check dummy admissions,” a senior Higher Education Department official said. The institutes will also be required to disclose details of courses offered, infrastructure, teacher qualifications, student strength, fee structure and whether police verification of staff has been conducted. The rules also prohibit misleading advertisements and false claims regarding successful candidates. Every private coaching institute must apply for registration with the district authority under the deputy commissioner by paying a fee of Rs 10,000. The authority will scrutinise the application within 30 days. If deficiencies are found, the institute will be asked to rectify them within 10 days. Once found compliant, the institute will be issued a registration certificate valid for three years. The renewal fee has been fixed at Rs 5,000. Institutes are required to furnish continued on page 10