FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 BRIEFLY US envoy presents credentials to Prez Murmu: New Delhi: Amid strain in India-US ties over a plethora of issues, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Wednesday formally presented his credentials to President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. A Rashtrapati Bhavan communiqué said President Murmu accepted the credentials of Ambassador Gor, and the envoys of Trinidad and Tobago and Austria Chandradath Singh and Robert Zischg. Mr Gor, 38, was sworn in as the US Ambassador to India in November last year after his appointment was confirmed by the Senate in October. Nipah-hit nurses critical, 82 quarantined: Burdwan: Eighty-two individuals who came into direct or indirect contact with the nursing staff affected by the Nipah virus have been quarantined in East Burdwan over the past 24 hours. Samples from 14 people ~ including physicians and nurses of Katwa Sub-Divisional Hospital and Burdwan Medical College and Hospital (BMCH) ~ have been collected and sent to AIIMS, Kalyani, for examination. More than 10 physicians and medical staff from BMCH and Katwa have been placed under home isolation, while 22 fresh samples from close contacts were sent to AIIMS, Kalyani. Meanwhile, the National Institute of Virology, Pune, has confirmed Nipah positivity in both samples taken from the two Barasat hospital nurses. The two nurses who tested positive for the Nipah virus are undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Barasat. Their condition is described as extremely critical, and both are on ventilator support. Page 3 | Pages 16 Chennai, 14 January Dayanidhi Maran is at it again. The former Union minister and DMK leader stoked a fresh controversy on Wednesday, saying that unlike in the Dravidian heartland, where girls are encouraged to study and pursue a career, their counterparts in north India are purportely raised to stay in the kitchen and bear children. “In Tamil Nadu, we tell women to study. But what is ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR ‘Zubeen Garg intoxicated, swam without life vest’ THE STRAITS TIMES/ANN Singapore, 14 January I ndian singer Zubeen Garg was “severely intoxicated” when he drowned while swimming in waters near Lazarus Island, a police investigator revealed on Wednesday. Garg, 53, had consumed alcohol and refused a life vest before jumping off a yacht in September 2025, said Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) David Lim, who was testifying on the first day of a coroner’s inquiry into Garg’s death. As his friends tried to convince him to swim back to the yacht, Garg suddenly became motionless and began floating face down, added Mr Lim, who is with the Police Coast Guard. The investigator said the singer was pulled back to the yacht where efforts were made to resuscitate him, but Garg was later pronounced dead in hospital. The cause of his death was drowning. The popular artiste from India’s Assam was in Singapore for the North East India Festival, a cultural festival organised by the Assamese community in Singapore. He was to have performed on 20 September. The coroner’s inquiry into the death of the singer was attended by Garg’s uncle and nephew, among others. ASP Lim said witnesses noted that Garg did not have any suicidal tendencies and was not subjected to duress or coercion before his death. “He did not wear a life jacket, despite repeated reminders by the yacht captain to wear one,” added the investigator. Garg had 333 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood in his system, which an autopsy report said would have impacted his coordination. In comparison, the current drink driving limit is 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. Garg and around 15 other individuals had boarded the yacht at Marina at Keppel Bay at around 2 p.m. on 19 September 2025. The captain of the vessel, who was called to testify, said he saw several passengers including Garg drinking alcohol before boarding the yacht. The singer was so unsteady, his friends had to hold on to his arms as he boarded the vessel, added the captain. Following Garg’s death, the Assam government had ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe and arrested several individuals, including the singer’s cousin. Last month, the SIT filed its charge sheet in the case at the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Guwahati. In the 3,500-page charge sheet, the SIT has charged four people, including the organiser of the festival in Singapore, Shyamkanu Mahanta, with murder. (With SNS inputs) | Thursday, 15 January 2026 Govt asks Indian nationals to leave Iran as unrest escalates STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 14 January Amid escalating unrest against the government in Iran and its increasing tensions with the United States, India on Wednesday advised its nationals currently in the Islamic nation to leave the country. In an advisory, the Embassy of India in Tehran said: “In continuation of the advisory issued by the government of India on 5 January and in view of the evolving situation in Iran, Indian nationals who are currently in Iran (students, pilgrims, business persons and tourists) are advised to leave Iran by available means of transport, including commercial flights.” The advisory urged all Indian citizens and PIOs to exercise caution, avoid areas of protests or demonstrations, stay in contact with the embassy and monitor local media for developments. The embassy said all Indian nationals should have their travel and immigration documents, including passports and IDs, ready to hand, and advised them to contact the Indian mission for any assistance. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi called Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar to discuss the existing situation. Through a post on his X account, Mr Jaishankar acknowledged the verbal communication over the phone. “Received a call from Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi. We discussed the evolving situation in and around Iran,” he wrote. • Related report: Page 11 Over 85 lakh pilgrims throng Gangasagar as Shahi Snan begins under tight security India, China commit themselves to advancing ties on normalisation path Wednesday, lakhs of pilgrims gathered along the Gangasagar coast to earn religious merit on the auspicious occasion of Poush Sankranti. Braving biting cold conditions, devotees from different parts of the country arrived in waves to take the sacred dip at the confluence. This year, the administration has introduced unprecedented technological measures to ensure pilgrim safety and effective crowd management. For the first time at the Gangasagar Mela, advanced water drones, also known as rescue drones, have been deployed by the NDRF and the state disaster management teams. These high-tech drones are being used for surveillance along the sea beach and to assist in swift rescue operations during emergencies. The discussions covered the progress made in stabilising and rebuilding bilateral ties with priority on business and people-centric engagements, and ways to take bilateral engagement forward. Ms Sun briefed Mr Misri on her impressions from the visit, including her interactions with Indian media, think tanks, and political parties. She also conveyed Beijing’s expectations to enhance exchanges under the MEA-IDCPC Programme. Mr Misri, on his part, noted the importance of increasing understanding between the people of the two countries in order to rebuild ties. The meeting comes close on the heels of the exchange of barbs between the two countries over the Shaksgam Valley in Jammu and Kashmir. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Gangasagar, 14 January Around 85 lakh pilgrims from several states had arrived at the Gangasagar Mela ground till 3 p.m. on Wednesday to take the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal and to offer prayers at the Kapil Muni Temple, state minister for power and housing Aroop Biswas said. The minister said that with the commencement of the holy bath for the 2026 Gangasagar Mela, the auspicious timing for the Shahi Snan (royal bath) began at 1.19 p.m. on 14 January and will continue for 24 hours. Devotees from across the country have been thronging the fairground in large numbers since early morning. “On Makar Sankranti, a massive influx of pilgrims has been witnessed at the ‘Unlike in TN, girls in north India told to stay in kitchen and bear children’: Dayanidhi Maran STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE | told in north India? They say girls should not go to work, should be at home, be in the kitchen and bear children. They are told that these are their jobs,” he said, participating in a function to distribute laptops for college students, under the DMK government’s ‘Ulagam Ungal Kaiyil’ (World in Your Hands). Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin presided over the function. “This is Tamil Nadu. This is Dravida Nadu. Our girl students should be proud. In this soil, progress of women is the progress of Tamil Nadu. It is not the case in north Indian states. Why are global companies coming to Chennai? Because, everyone here is educated, not only in Tamil, but in English as well,” he said and claimed that north Indian states do not promote English. “Holding a laptop, our girls should be confident and proud. That confidence is in Tamil Nadu. This is Tamil Nadu. This is Dravida Nadu. It is the land of Anna (CN Annadurai, DMK founder and former CM), Karunanidhi (late DMK patriarch and former CM) and Chief Minister Stalin, who is following the footsteps of Periyar (rationalist social reformer EV Ramasamy) who insisted upon women’s education and empowerment,” said Mr Maran, who is currently the Central Chennai MP. Emphasising the need for English education, he said, “placing stumbling blocks to learn English will be detrimental to growth. It will prevent the future of the students. Shutting the doors on English has always stunted growth and employment opportunities,” he maintained. This is not the first time that Mr Maran, brother of billionaire and Sun TV Network’s Kalanithi Maran, landed in a controversy. For, earlier, he had painted the north as superstitious and illiterate. Sagar Sangam. The Shahi Snan is being conducted under tight security arrangements and will continue till tomorrow,” Mr Biswas said. Amid the huge congregation, two pilgrims reportedly died after falling ill at the fairground. One of the deceased was identified as Mithu Mandal (51), a resident of Assam. Five other critically ill pilgrims were airlifted from the mela area and shifted to hospitals in Kolkata for advanced treatment. Alongside the ritual bath, long queues of devotees were seen at the Kapil Muni Ashram to offer puja. The temple premises were packed to capacity, leaving virtually no space to move. To manage the swelling crowd, several thousand police personnel and volunteers have been deployed across the mela area. From the early hours of ASHOK TUTEJA New Delhi, 14 January Amid efforts aimed at rapprochement, India on Wednesday impressed on China the need to take positive steps to create the right environment for improved bilateral relations. Chinese Vice-Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC) Sun Haiyan, who is on a three-day visit to India, met Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri this afternoon. Encroachments, illegal mining severely damaging Aravallis ecosystem: Report STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 14 January Deforestation, unsustainable land use, rapid urbanisation, widespread land degradation and desertification have put immense pressure on the Aravalli range, according to a report titled “Eco-restoration of the Aravalli Landscape”, released by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Wednesday at the National Conference on Eco-restoration of the Aravalli Landscape: Strengthening the Aravalli Green Wall. The report notes that encroachments, deforestation, illegal mining and the rapid expansion of urban infrastructure across the Aravalli ranges have severely affected groundwater recharge, biodiversity, air quality and climate regulation ~ factors that weakened the region’s ability to function as a natural green barrier, accelerating desertification and threatening the ecological stability of the northern plains. It also highlights that the diversion of forest land, particularly around the Sariska and Bardod wildlife sanctuaries prior to the 1980s, led to a sharp decline in native forest cover. The research by the Sankala Foundation also presents a scientific, community-driven and scalable framework to strengthen the Ministry’s Aravalli Green Wall Project under the National Action Plan to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation. It emphasises that restoration efforts must be landscape-scale, data-driven, community-anchored and multidisciplinary, noting that isolated interventions are no longer adequate given the scale of degradation and ecological pressures in the region. The Aravalli range acts as a vital natural barrier and life-supporting ecosystem for the National Capital Region and the Indo-Gangetic Plains. Mr Yadav said the government launched the Aravalli Green Wall Project as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and the government’s commitment under the UNCCD to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land. Under this initiative, 6.45 million hectares of degraded land in the Aravalli region has been identified, with greening work initiated over 2.7 million hectares across Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. Divisional Forest Officers from 29 Aravalli districts are implementing the project, focusing on plantations of native species suited to arid and semi-arid conditions, he said. Mr Yadav added that around 97 square kilometres of Aravalli revenue land, stretching from Naurangpur to Nuh in Haryana and heavily degraded, has been identified for afforestation and has also been declared a Protected Forest by the state for better protection and management. The conference brought together policymakers, forest officials, experts, practitioners and civil society representatives to deliberate on the ecological significance of the Aravalli range and explore pathways for its long-term restoration.