eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE When Love Stops Being Easy KOLKATA,LATECITY Long-married couples are now parting ways. What has prompted this and why are grey divorces on the rise? FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT JULY14,2024 12+4PAGES,`7.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA BYPOLL RESULTS AS SIGNIFICANT AS LS GAINS: MAMATA Bypolls in 7 states: INDIA takes 10 of 13 seats, BJP gets 2 ASAD REHMAN NEW DELHI, JULY 13 IN THE first big electoral battle after the Lok Sabha poll results last month, the INDIA bloc parties, which contested separately in West Bengal and Punjab, gained five seats to win 10 of the 13 Assembly seats across seven states where bypolls were held. The BJP, on the other hand, retained just two of its three seats in West Bengal, while ally JD(U) lost its seat in Bihar to an Independent. In the bypoll results on Saturday, only one of the three outgoing Independent MLAs whocontestedasBJPcandidates this time, retained his seat in Himachal Pradesh. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal saw thebiggest gain, retaining its seat while wresting three more from theBJP.TheCongress,whichhad two seats (one each in Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand), lost CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TMC makes a clean sweep, wins all four Assembly seats BJP a distant 2nd, Left-Congress candidates lose deposits in three of four seats SANTANU CHOWDHURY KOLKATA, JULY 13 THE TRINAMOOL Congress (TMC) on Saturday swept the AssemblybypollsinWestBengal after its candidates won all four seats in Maniktala, Raiganj, Ranaghat-Dakshin and Bagdah constituencies. The BJP came a distant second in all four seats, while the Left-Congress alliance candidates lost their deposits in three of the four seats. Hailing her party's victory in the Assembly bypolls, Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said that it is equally significant as the party's results in the recent Lok Sabha polls in the state, where it won 29 seats. In Kolkata's Maniktala constituency, TMC candidate Supti TMC supporters celebrate party candidate Madhuparna Thakur’s victory in North 24 Parganas on Saturday. PTI Pandewonbyamarginof 62,312 votes against BJP candidate Kalyan Chaubey. Pande received 83,110 votes and Chaubey bagged 20,798 votes. TrinamoolcandidateKrishna Kalyani, from Raiganj constituency in North Dinajpur district, won by a margin of 50,077 votes. While Kalyani got 86,479 votes, BJP candidate Manas Kumar received 36,402 votes. In Ranaghat-Dakshin constituency in Nadia district, TMC candidate Mukut Mani Adhikari wonbyamarginof 39,048votes. Adhikari bagged 1,13,533 voteswhileBJPcandidateManoj Kumar Biswas scored 74,485 votes. In Bagdah constituency in North 24 Parganas district, TMC candidate Madhuparna Thakur wonbyamarginof 33,455votes, bagging 1,07,706 votes. BJP candidate Binay Kumar Biswas got CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELATED REPORTS PAGE 3, 6 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM MUMBAI VISIT: INAUGURATES PROJECTS WORTH OVER `29,000 CR PM hits back at Opp: More jobs as pace of infra projects stepped up Aim to make state a financial powerhouse of world: Modi NAYONIKA BOSE MUMBAI, JULY 13 COUNTERING THE Opposition's attack on rising unemployment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whoinauguratedprojectsworth over Rs 29,000 crore in Mumbai on Saturday, said that every infrastructure project leads to job creation, and the increased pace of infrastructure development has led to increased employment generation. This was Modi's first visit to the city since his re-election last month. Among other projects, he laid the foundation stone for two underground twin tunnel projects. “With the construction of everybridge,roadormanufacturing of railway coaches, someone gets a job. With the increasing pace of infrastructure development,employmentgenerationis also increasing, and with higher investment, these opportunities will increase further,” he said. Saying that Maharashtra has Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Governor Ramesh Bais and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar in Mumbai on Saturday. Sankhadeep Banerjee propagated cultural, social and national consciousness in the country, Modi added: “We have to remember that goodwill (sadbhaav) and harmony (sauhard)areintrinsictothepath to prosperity (samruddhi).” Accusing the Opposition of creatingafalsenarrative,hecited a recent report released by the ReserveBankof Indiawhichsaid almost8crorejobshadbeencreated in the last three-four years. “With these projects which areworthaboutRs30,000crore, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL AANCHAL MAGAZINE & SOUMYARENDRA BARIK SHORTLY AFTER attacking a bus ferrying pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir’sReasionJune9,killing ninepeople,threeterroristsfrom Pakistan gave Rs 5,000 to a local residentforthelogisticalsupport he provided, it is learnt. With his help, central agencies have now prepared sketches of two more attackers. Investigation into the case had been transferred from the Jammu and Kashmir police to the National Investigation Agency, on the directions of the STATE-OWNED Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has sought funds from thegovernmentsinceitdoesnot have sufficient funds to pay interest on its debt obligations. With the date for paying interestonapartofdebtdueaweek lateronJuly20andmoreinterest payments to be made in coming months, any further delay may forcelenderstoinvokethesovereign guarantee accompanying the debt raised by the company. A section in the government NEW DELHI, JULY 13 INSIDE NEW DELHI, JULY 13 Nine people were killed in the attack on June 9. File Ministry of Home Affairs. OnJune20,theJ&Kpolicehad arrested Hakam Din, a 45-yearoldfromRajouridistrict.Heused to be a porter at Mata Vaishno CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, JULY 13 PAGE 7 E Managing long-term ● debt ONE OF the options MTNL had to ensure was an asset monetisation plan that would have helped it raise funds. But of the Rs 17,500 crore target fixed in 2019, it has monetised assets to the tune of only Rs 1,500-1,600 crore. is concerned since most MTNL debt is backed by a sovereign CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Army looking at ‘360-degree’ appraisal with inputs from peers, subordinates AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA AS J&K L-G GETS MORE POWERS, PARTIES CALL IT ‘ANTI-DEMOCRATIC’ EXPLAINED Reasi attackers paid MTNL on the brink local cattle trader for of debt default, knocks logistics, finds probe on Govt door for funds SEEKING TO bring in a more comprehensiveprocesstoassess the performance of its personnel, the Army is learnt to be considering the “360-degree appraisal” method which would include inputs from peers and subordinates too. Thisislikelytobeonthelines of theappraisalmethodlearntto be employed by the central government to assess the performance of civil servants, including officers from the All India ServicesandotherGroupAservices, for empanelment to the postof jointsecretaryandabove. Senior officials said the issue was discussed at the Army Commanders' Conference in May. The Army is learnt to have sought comments from all its Commands on the need for such an appraisal system. The Army, at present, follows a three-tier hierarchical model for performance appraisal of its personnel. The initiating officer (IO),whoistheimmediatesuperiorof thepersonbeingassessed, writes the Annual Confidential CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 As MP doubles down on cattle smuggling, officials busy with arrests and demolitions PAGE 1 ANCHOR ANAND MOHAN SEONI, JULY 13 MADHYA PRADESH has declared2024as‘GauvanshRaksha Varsh’ (Bovine Protection Year), doubled down on efforts to confiscate vehicles used in cattle smuggling,tripledthebudgetfor cowprotectionanddirectedsenior officers in every district to clamp down on cow slaughter. MP CM Mohan Yadav had directed state officials to take strict action on illegal transportation of cows. Anand Mohan SinceMohanYadavtookover asChief Ministersixmonthsago, the BJP government has made evident that cow protection and acrackdownoncattlesmuggling areamongitstoppriorities,forcing an already stretched government machinery — the district administration, police and prosecution—tomatchuptothetask. From January to June this year, police arrested 1,651 people in 731 cases related to illegal cattle transport in the state; the corresponding period last year saw 212 cases and around 400 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata