Vol. 67 No. 193 | TUESDAY | MAY 14, 2024 | 32 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in MEMBER: AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATION JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2023 EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2024 Noted Bollywood celebs to walk the red carpet from May 14 T BULLETIN INDIA TO RUN KEY IRAN PORT, BYPASS PAK I ndia and Iran on Monday signed a 10-year contract for the operation of a terminal at the strategically important Chabahar port in Iran, a move that will boost regional connectivity as well as trade ties. This is the first time India will take over the management of an overseas port; by leveraging Chabahar Port, India aims to bypass Pakistan and establish direct access to Afghanistan and beyond, into Central Asia. Kandla port in Gujarat is the nearest at 550 Nautical Miles while the distance between Chabahar and Mumbai is 786 Nautical Miles. Since 2019, it has handled container traffic of more than 80,000 TEUs and bulk and general cargo of more than 8 million tonnes. MARKETS WILL SPIKE AFTER JUNE 4: SHAH H ome Minister Amit Shah has told national affairs editor, NDTV, in an interview that the market will “shoot up” after the election results are announced on June 4, 2024. The Home Minister isn’t too worried about the recent fall though. “The market has fallen more in the past as well. Thus, linking market movements directly to elections is not wise. Maybe the fall was due to some rumours. In my opinion, buy before June 4. The market is going to shoot-up.” The nation voted for the third phase on May 7. Since then, Sensex and Nifty have fallen over 1.5%. While the NSE Nifty 50 is down 1.64% since May 8, S&P BSE Sensex has seen a decline of 1.71%. The market volatility gauge, India VIX -- which was at 17 points on May 8 – surged to over a 52-week high of 21.41 on Monday. SUSHIL KUMAR MODI DEAD F ormer Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on Monday night, sources said. The BJP leader was suffering from cancer for more than six months. He was 72. He is survived by his wife and two sons. He revealed about his disease on April 3 on X. Born on January 5, 1952, Modi served as deputy chief minister for three times. He was also elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2020 and was a convener, GST council group of ministers. Modi was also the leader of the opposition in the Bihar Assembly and finance minister. He was elected from the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha constituency in 2004. He was the product of the JP movement and had served 19 months in jail. R EVIEW PETITION ON EVM VERDICT: A review petition has been filed questioning the correctness of the recent Supreme Court decision to reject a plea seeking to tally every Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slip with votes cast through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). KNIVES OUT IN ODISHA BATTLE he first day of the work week went from sweltering to sombre in the space of a couple of hours in the afternoon. The sky turned ominous and it was hard to decipher whether there was a dust storm or a thunderstorm brewing in the distance. Shortly after, there were hellish gusts of dust, followed by heavy rain – the ferocity of both these events could be gauged from the tragic trail of death and disaster they unleashed in their wake. Eight people lost their lives, 74 others were injured, train and metro services were disrupted, trees fell and there were massive traffic jams across the city and extended suburbs. 61 of the injured have been admitted to Rajawadi Municipal Hospital, Ghatkopar east, while three have been admitted to the trauma care hospital at Jogeshwari. illegal outdoor hoardAn ing of Mini Max Pacific Digital Co (parent company - Ego Media), measuring 120'x120', near the Bharat Petroleum outlet on the Eastern Express Highway in Ghatkopar east) fell on the gas station, trapping at least 100 people, seated in cars or standing nearby . Even though the collapse took place at 4.15pm, it was 7pm by the time the bodies were extricated from the mangled metal. The disaster management team arrived only around 6pm, by which THE WAY TO A DUSTY DEATH time fire brigade and a 60the member team from the Metro 4 line at the Amar Mahal site, equipped with four hydra cranes, 500 MT cranes and four gas cutters, had already plunged into rescue operations. Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said the maximum size permitted for hoardings is only 40'x40'. The illegal hoarding was located on land owned by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and it is not clear on what basis the police gave permission for a giant hoarding. Late evening, an FIR was filed against the hoarding company at Pant Nagar police station under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder besides other sections of the IPC. The directors of the Mulund-based Ego Media are Janhavi Sonalkar, Bhavesh Bhinde and Karan Pujara. According to the BMC, there are three other hoardings, permissions for which were granted by the assistant commissioner of police (administration) of the railway police. A civic official said that neither the BMC’s nor the Railways’ permission had been sought for the hoardings. A few days ago, an FIR was filed against the hoarding company for allegedly poisoning the trees which were blocking the view of the billboards. CONTD. ON NATION 0 0 36 c. 29 c. Sunrise : 06:04 am Sunset : 07:06 pm DEAD AS ILLEGAL HOARDING CRASHES WITH FORCE OF SLEDGEHAMMER ON PETROL PUMP AN ILLEGAL HOARDING M unicipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said the maximum size permitted for hoardings is only 40'x40'. The illegal hoarding was located on land owned by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and it is not clear on what basis the police gave permission for a giant hoarding. A civic official said that neither the BMC’s nor the Railways’ permission had been sought for the hoardings. L filed against the hoarding company at Pant Nagar police station under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder besides other sections of the IPC. The owner of the Mulundbased Ego Media is Bhavesh Bhide. POISONING OF TREES an FIR few days ago, A was filed against the hoarding company for allegedly poisoning 41 trees which were blocking the view of the billboards. The BMC said that the railways had given the noobjection certificate. DUST STORM FORECAST The short-lived phenomena of a dust storm, gusty winds and showers is also expected on Tuesday, with maximum temperatures hovering between 32 degrees and 35 degrees Celsius. While a yellow alert has been issued for Thane and Palghar, an orange alert is possible in Kolhapur, Satara, Pune, Ahmednagar, Nashik, and parts of Vidarbha. TREE FALLS ON AUTO-RICKSHAW An auto-rickshaw driver was critically injured in Jogeshwari when a perilously leaning coconut tree fell on his vehicle near Meghwadi Naka. As per the video that went viral, a passenger alighted just before the incident even as small kids played on the road around it. CENTRAL LINE DISRUPTION The Central Railway’s suburban services faced severe disruptions after a signal failure at Thane station. The situation was exacerbated with rains throwing train traffic out of gear. While the official delay was of about 15-20 minutes, commuters reported a delay of nearly an hour. JAM ON JJ FLYOVER Traffic was thrown out of gear owing to the hoarding collapse in Ghatkopar and the multi-parking stack collapse in Wadala. An accident on Lalbaug flyover resulted in a jam on JJ Flyover till late in the night. A tempo overturned on the Eastern Freeway due to reduced visibility, resulting in a jam on the elevated stretch and P’DMello Road. FIRST PERSON / SLUGGISH RESPONSE HOARDING SMOTHERED THEM TO DEATH Jatin Singh, a resident of Ghatkopar, recounted the incident. "To escape the sudden downpour, people had scurried to seek shelter in the petrol pump. The billboard crashed at around 4:15 pm but the evacuation team was woefully sluggish and arrived after an hour. Multiple agencies – the Mumbai Fire Brigade, the Emergency Health Team and the Mumbai Police – were all late. Help came from local residents and travelers on the Eastern Express highway who took the lead in initiating the rescue operation, despite the daunting task of breaking the metal structure without any gear. Although cranes were eventually brought in, the absence of effective management was glaringly evident, when it was most needed." Abhinav Phalke, a resident of Ghatkopar's Naidu Colony, who participated in the rescue operation, said, "This petrol pump is one of the busiest in the area. It happens to be the only petrol pump between Sion and Thane on EEH. As heavy rain and gusty winds battered the area, many sought shelter beneath its canopy. The hoarding covered the entire span of the petrol pump’s roof. Like a shroud it enveloped the entire area, smothering those underneath. Most of them are in a critical condition as they were deprived of oxygen. Even the otherwise sturdy vehicles could not take the sledge-hammer blow and were crushed, leading to significant loss of lives.’’ IN SEPTEMBER 2022, THE FPJ HAD STARTED A CAMPAIGN AGAINST ILLEGAL HOARDINGS. IF THE BMC HAD KEPT ITS PROMISE TO ACT AGAINST THESE HOARDINGS, MONDAY'S TRAGEDY AT GHATKOPAR COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED. THE FPJ IS REVIVING ITS CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT MORE SUCH TRAGEDIES FROM RECURRING. SEE PAGE CITY AAP MP cries assault at Kejriwal’s house GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI In a mysterious case, the Delhi police on Monday claimed to have received distress calls from former Delhi Commission for Women chairperson and Aam Aadmi Party MP Swati Maliwal in which she allegedly told them that Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal assistant Bibhav Kumar had assaulted her on his directions at his residence. However, Maliwal, who later also visited the Civil Lines police station here, did not lodge a formal complaint in the matter and left stating that’s she would do so later. According to the Delhi police, two calls were received by it. As per the police register entry in the matter, the calls were made by a woman. The first call was received at 9-34 a.m. The entry QUOTABLE QUOTE WE’LL MAKE THEM WEAR BANGLES PM Modi on Monday launched a broadside against the INDIA bloc, calling its leaders "cowards" who were "scared of Pakistan's nuclear power". He was responding to a recent statement by former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abudullah that Pakistan was not wearing bangles, as it possessed atom bombs which could harm India. Modi without naming Abdullah said, "If Pakistan is not wearing bangles, we will make them wear bangles. They (Pakistan) do not have flour; they do not have electricity; now I have come to know that they even have a scarcity of bangles." DID SONIA INHERIT SEAT: said, “Lady caller is saying that I am at the CM’s residence. He instructed his PA to attack me.” The second call came in at 9.54 a.m. This time the woman, the police said, identified herself as Swati Maliwal and accused Kumar of manhandling her. She is learnt to have gone to Kejriw- al’s residence to meet him but was apparently not allowed a meeting by Kumar, which led to an argument between them. Subsequently a team , of the Civil Lines police station, to which the information was transferred, reached the chief minister’s residence. CONTD. ON NATION Nearly 63% turnout in Phase 4 A Says, India is the 3rd least indebted nation among low- and middleincome countries FIR evening, an FIR was FILED ate LAST WORD voter turnout of nearly 63 per cent was recorded on Monday in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections covering 96 constituencies in 10 states and Union Territories, with scattered incidents of violence reported in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. West Bengal recorded 75.94 per cent, the highest turnout among states/UTs in this phase. Srinagar constituency in Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 36.58 per cent voting in the first Lok Sabha election in the Valley since the scrapping of Article 370, CONTD. ON NATION INDIA'S DEBT: GDP RATIO IS MUCH LOWER THAN US, JAPAN, FRANCE, UK: FM BOLT FROM THE BLUE 8 RUCHA KANOLKAR / MUMBAI THE FP EDIT STATE AT 52% I n the fourth phase voting in eleven constituencies in Maharashtra, the turnout was 52.49 percent till 5 pm. The highest turnout (60%) was recorded in Nandurbar constituency On the other . hand, it was 43.89 % in Shirur constituency the lowest. Inci, dentally Shirur seat is a battle , of prestige for both Pawars – uncle and nephew. In Jalna, it was 58.85%; Beed 58.21%; Raver 55.36%; Aurangabad 54.02%; Pune 44.90%; Maval 46.03%; Jalgaon 51.98%; CONTD. ON NATION Union Home Minister Amit Shah questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's candidature from the Raebareli seat, which was earlier represented by Soinia Gandhi. Speaking to a TV channel, he said no one inherits a seat. ‘‘Did she (Sonia Gandhi) bring it from Italy? Then how could it be his (Rahul’s) mother’s seat?’’ Shah quipped. ‘AB JALDI KARNI PADEGI’: Addressing a rally in Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency for the first time after his nomination, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday faced a familiar query. When is he getting married (Shaadi kab karoge?). Soon, he assured. He was responding to a query from a well-wisher in the rally. Priyanka, who was present on the dais, did not come to her brother’s aid; rather, she prodded him to respond. Rahul, who will be 54 next month, kept his nerve and assured the gathering will have to be soon now. "Ab jaldi karni padegi," he said in Hindi. BAIL FOR REVANNA: Former minister and Janata Dal (Secular) MLA HD Revanna has been granted bail by a local court in connection with the alleged kidnapping of one of the victims sexually assaulted by his MP son, Prajwal Revanna. He, however, is likely to be released from the prison on Tuesday. Final Yr for CBSE Final Class 10, 12 pass rate improves FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI In what could possibly be the last outing for once-a-year final examinations for the CBSE, performthe ance of students at the Class 10 and 12 examinations of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) improved slightly this year, after a marked drop last year. The results of the two exams, held between February 15 and April 2 earlier this year, were declared on Monday . The pass percentage at the Class 10 board exam increased from 93.6 per cent last year to 93.12 per cent, while the Class 12 test success rate climbed from 87.33 cent to 87.92 cent. The per per turnaround comes a year after both Class 10 and 12 results dipped, by 1.28 per cent and 5.38 per cent respectively as compared to 2022, , when the annual board exam was split – with one being held in each semester – to make it relatively easier for schoolgoers who had suffered academic loss in the Covid-19 pandemic. CONTD. ON NATION TOPPERSPEAK S coring a perfect 100 in English, Maths, Social Science and French in Class 10 exams, Riyaa Ketan from Orchids The International School, Malad west, scored 99 cent. She per said, “I am thrilled to make my parents and school feel super proud of me. They always lifted my spirits and inspired me to work hard, whenever I felt low.” “My goal was to score above 97 per cent and now that I have scored 98.8 cent, my feet are above the ground per right now,” said Asmi More from DAV Public School, Thane. “During my board exams, I would not leave my chair because I was very clear that I could not get up until and unless I had finished the syllabus.” CONTD. ON NATION TAILPIECE Modi faces 70 contestants BISWAJEET BANERJEE / LUCKNOW A day before PM Modi files his nomination papers, the office of the Varanasi Collector witnessed utter chaos as more than a hundred individuals from various parts of the country arrived to file nominations. The influx of candidates created pandemonium, prompting police intervention and the closure of the office gates. Tensions escalated as clashes erupted between the aspiring contestants and law enforcement personnel. However, swift intervention by officers helped defuse the situation and restore order. By the end of the day approxi, mately 70 individuals had successfully submitted their nomination forms,. In the last election, there were only 26 nominations. Rajasthan's well known mimicry artist Shyam Rangeela encountered obstacles in depositing his nomination papers. “We are being deprived of our right to contest the elction. Initiallythey requested 10 proposers. Today I arrived with the required number but the situation was chaotic with hundreds of people vying to CONTD. ON NATION file nominations.