DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 TOP CHINESE OFFICIAL MEETS INDIAN ENVOY ChinaconfirmsLACtalksprogress:Able toreducedifferences,someconsensus 27/09/2024 91 119 146 Two sides agreed to reach mutually-acceptable resolution at early date, says Beijing military 75 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 26 7.90 % FOR 444 DAYS FD 1800 419 8300 (Toll Free) THE CHINESE Defence Ministry said Thursday that China and India have been able to “reduce differences” and build “some consensus” on disengaging troopsfromfrictionpointstoend the standoff along the Line of ActualControlineasternLadakh. It said they agreed to maintain dialoguetoreacharesolutionacceptable to both sides at an “early date”. TheChineseForeignMinistry said Li Jinsong, Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, metwithPradeepKumarRawat, India’s Ambassador to China. The Chinese Defence Ministry’s statement and the meeting with the Indian envoy came on the day The Indian Express reported that India and China had made “significant progress” in narrowing their gap on pending issues along LAC in easternLadakh.Thisincludedexploringthecontoursof apossible External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi solution that factors in their respectivepre-April2020positions while agreeing to address exist- ing issues in Arunachal Pradesh. Sourcessaidthismightimply thatIndiantroops,whoseaccess tocertainpatrollingpointsalong the LAC in eastern Ladakh were blockedeitherbyChinesetroops or due to the implementation of the buffer zones created in the backdrop of disengagement at specific friction points, might be close to accessing them again. In Beijing, Zhang Xiaogang, spokespersonfor the Ministryof National Defence, told a media briefing thatunder theguidance of their two leaders, China and Follow us @PSBIndOfficial BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Assets of only 13% of HC judges in public domain, most from three courts: Data 98 of 749 HC judges have assets in public eye — Kerala tops with 37 of 39 judges, Delhi has 11 of 39 CBFC panel for 13 changes in Emergency film, HC to hear matter Monday JUDGES’ ASSETS SHEET FROM 7 HIGH COURTS High Court Total Judges Assets in For others what at present public domain website states Delhi 39 11 File not uploaded Punjab & Haryana 55 31 No mention Himachal Pradesh 12 10 No mention Chhattisgarh 17 2 No mention Karnataka 50 2 No mention Kerala 39 37 No mention Madras 62 5 No mention Note: Total number of Judges includes Chief Justices of respective High Courts as well as Additional Judges. Source: Websites of all 25 High Courts and Department of Justice, as on Sept 18, 2024 A poster of the film SHYAMLAL YADAV OMKAR GOKHALE OF THE 749 judges currently shown as posted in the 25 High Courtsacrossthecountry,theassetsof only98areavailableinthe public domain through declarations posted on the official websites of these institutions — just 13 per cent of the total number, according to official data re- MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 26 THE REVISING committee of the CentralBoardofFilmCertification (CBFC) has cleared Kangana Ranaut’s film Emergency for a U/A certification, provided the filmmakers make 13 changes includingcuts,insertionsandmodifications,manyof whichpertain to scenes found objectionable by Sikh groups. On Thursday, the CBFC informed the Bombay High Court that its revising committee had suggested some cuts before the film’s release. The CBFC was responding to a plea by co-producer Zee Entertainmentwhichallegedthat CBFCwas“illegally”and“arbitrarily” withholding certification for thefilm.Itisdirectedandco-producedbyBJPMPKanganaRanaut who also plays the role of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. After the lawyer representing Zee Entertainment sought time to take instructions to decide whether the cuts should be CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 26 viewed by The Indian Express. Of these, three High Courts constituteover80percentof the assetdeclarations(seechart):the Kerala High Court tops with the details of 37 out of 39 judges available on its website; the Punjab and Haryana High Court has uploaded the information of 31 of 55 judges; and the Delhi High Court has posted details of 11 of 39 judges. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 First time since 2019, Erdogan skips mention of Kashmir in UN Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 26 FOR THE first time since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not mentioned the issue of Kashmir in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly. This comes at a time when Turkey is making a bid to be a part of the BRICS grouping. “We maintain our will to develop our relations with BRICS, which brings together emerging economies,” he said during the courseofhisspeechatthe79thUN GeneralAssemblyinNewYork. The founding members of BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, ChinaandSouthAfrica–decided CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 For aseat atBRICS TURKEY IS keen on joining the BRICS, which has India as one of its founding members. Erdogan is expected to attend the summit in Kazan, Russia next month. Raut sentenced to 15 days in jail in defamation case by Somaiya’s wife Court later grants bail, suspends sentence for a month EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 26 SHIV SENA (UBT) MP Sanjay Rautwassentencedto15daysin jail by a magistrate court on Thursday after being found guilty in a defamation case filed by Medha Somaiya, wife of former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya. Raut was, however, granted bail by the court and his sentence was suspended for a month to allow him to file an appeal before the sessions court. Judicial magistrate Aarti KulkarnifoundRautguiltyunder section 500 (defamation) of the IndianPenalCode.Thecourtalso directed Raut to pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 to Medha. The case dates back to 2022 when Medha, a professor of organicchemistry,approachedthe court alleging that Raut had de- famed her. In her plea, she said that an article in Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ accused theSomaiyasof a“toiletscam”in the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation. She said the allegations in the article were without proof and made with an intention to malign her reputation. HercomplaintalsosaidthatRaut had addressed the media on April 15, 2022 and then again on CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Buried in Bengal hospital waste: Mismatched data, grey market PAGE 1 ANCHOR JAY MAZOOMDAAR KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 26 BEHIND THE corruption allegations surrounding the disposal of bio-medical waste from government hospitals in West Bengal — a key strand being probed by the CBI in the R G Kar Hospital case — is a booming grey market, with unauthorised commercial reuse, according to an investigation by The Indian Express. Experts estimate that on an average,ahospitalgenerates100 g of plastic waste every day per bed — from surgical gloves to saline bottles, IV tubes, syringes etc. Once used, discarded, sterilised and shredded, this fetches Rs 5 at Rs 50/kg from a recycler and when sold illegally and repackaged, each item finds its way back to the market with a total price tag of Rs 75-100 – almost a 20-fold spike. Discrepancies in state government data point to glaring gaps in the way waste is treated. Consider these: ■ In 2014, according to Central Pollution Control Board MEDICAL WASTE IN WEST BENGAL Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Beds 1.03 1.03 1.06 1.15 1.17 1.26 1.28 1.33 1.45 1.68 Waste 42.2 32.8 26.9 29.8 34.1 41.6 43.5 42.3 38.9 43.1 Treated 22.7 23.6 All 29.9 All All All All All All Beds in lakhs, Waste & Treated in Tonne/day (CPCB) records, 47% of bio-medicalwastegeneratedbyhospitals went untreated in West Bengal. Barely two years later, despite the number of beds remaining about the same at 1 lakh, the waste generated, curiously, fell by as much as 36 per cent. And the share of untreated waste fell to zero. ■ In the nine years between 2014 and 2023, there has been a 63% increase in the number of hospital beds (private and government)inthestate–from1.03 lakh to 1.68 lakh. In that period, the quantity of bio-medical wastehasincreasedbybarely2%. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 India have maintained communicationwitheachotherthrough diplomatic and military channels including between the two Foreign Ministers and China’s Foreign Minister and India’s National Security Advisor and through the border consultation mechanisms. BothChinaandIndiathrough talks were “able to reduce their differences and build some consensus besides agreeing to strengthen dialogue to accommodate each other’s legitimate CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HIMACHAL GOVT SAYS NO DECISION YET Eatery to display owner ID: Minister leaves Cong red-faced, summoned MANOJ C G & SAURABH PARASHAR NEW DELHI, SHIMLA, SEPTEMBER 26 THE HIMACHAL Pradesh government has distanced itself from the statement by its Public Works Department and Urban Development Minister Vikramaditya Singh that a decision had been taken that every eatery and food stall in the state mustdisplaytheowner’sIDcard. Vikramaditya’sstatementon Wednesday came as a surprise CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu; Vikramaditya Singh as the Himachal Congress governmentseemedtobefollowing the lead of the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, which had issued similar orders a day earlier. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 LS POLLS IN MAHARASHTRA Low vote transfer from NCP led to BJP’s poor performance: Fadnavis EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 26 BARELY TWO months ahead of theMaharashtra Assembly elections, BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra FadnavisonThursdayattributed low vote transfer from Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party(NCP)asoneof thekeyreasons for the BJP’s poor performanceinthe2024LokSabhapolls. Thecandidadmissioncomes amid talks of growing unrest among the alliance partners ahead of the state elections, likely to be held in November. Speaking at the India Today conclave in Mumbai on Thursday, Fadnavis said, “It is true that BJP’s core voters disapproved of the alliance with NCP as we have been traditional ri- Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis vals. But now, we have succeeded in convincing our stand to 80 per cent.” He also said that the party has been able to impress upon RSS about the purpose behind such alliance. “While vote transfer did not happenfromallies,theBJP,being a well-established party with a strongcadre,wasabletotransfer its votes to allies,” Fadnavis said. Attributingthelowvotetransfer to NCP’s “settling phase”, the Deputy CM said, “For the Shiv Sena, it was easier to transfer its votes to the BJP because of their CONTINUED ON PAGE 2