DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES SC asks Delhi L-G to file affidavit, seeks full disclosure on tree felling ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 16 THE SUPREME Court on Wednesday sought an affidavit from Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), on the controversy surrounding the alleged illegal felling of trees for widening the approach road to the under-construction Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Medical Sciences in Southwest Delhi’s ridge area. A three-judge bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud issued the direction while hearing a contempt plea against DDA ViceChairman Subhashish Panda for the tree felling without prior sanction of the top court. The bench, also comprising CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GUJARAT NAVEED IQBAL & BASHAARAT MASOOD SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 16 NATIONAL CONFERENCE (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday took oath as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territoryof JammuandKashmir. Fiveotherministersalsotook oath, three of them from Jammu division and two from Kashmir, as the NC government sought to balance political representation for both provinces of the UT. Surinder Choudhary, who won from Nowshera in Rajouri district of Jammu, was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister. In his first comments after taking oath, Omar said, “We will not let Jammu feel that they do not have a voice or representation in the current government. WehavebroughtinaDeputyCM CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELATED REPORT PAGE 12 J&K L-G Manoj Sinha greets CM Omar Abdullah after the oath-taking ceremony in Srinagar Wednesday. Shuaib Masoodi Cong stays out of govt, but keeps option open BASHAARAT MASOOD & MANOJ C G SRINAGAR, NEW DELHI, OCT 16 HOURSBEFORENationalConference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah took oath as the new Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress said it wouldstayoutofthegovernment and provide outside support. J&K Congress chief Tariq HameedKarrasaidthepartyhas been demanding restoration of statehood to the Union Territory from the Centre, and Prime MinisterNarendraModihadalso promised the same several times, but to no avail. “We are unhappy, therefore we are not joining the ministry at the moment,” Karra said, adding that the Congress shall continue to fight for statehood. In the evening, after participating in the swearing-in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Strategic link to northern outpost among 5 Ladakh stretches cleared Wildlife board gives go-ahead to Defence Ministry plan Ladakh THESTANDINGcommitteeofthe National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)hasclearedfivekeyroad stretches—fourpassingthrough the Karakoram Wildlife Sanctuary along the Line of ActualControl(LAC)—including on a route to Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), the country’s northernmost military outpost in Ladakh andlocationofitshighestairstrip. Theroadstretchesclearedby NBWL include a link road from Chushul-Lukung to Thakung PAKISTAN NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 16 DEMOLITIONSINGIR SOMNATHDONEON GOVTLANDABUTTING WATERBODY:STATE TOSUPREMECOURT P3 India, Pak open window: Cricket on table, Ministers hold talks Jaishankar, Dar speak twice in 24 hours, PCB chief joins them Deputy CM from Jammu among 5 ministers to take oath; Centre will work closely: PM NIKHIL GHANEKAR TOXIC FUMES FROM SLUDGE TANK LEAVE 5 DEAD AT PLANT IN KUTCH PAGE 4 ON THE SIDELINES OF SCO MEETING IN ISLAMABAD Karakoram Pass Daulat Beg Oldie Galwan Srinagar J&K Saser La Leh Durbuk post; a link road between Durbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DS-DBO) and Saser-BrangsaGapshan; DS-DBO to Track Junction; DBO to Karakoram Pass road; and upgradation of the Leh-Chalunka road. The 5.8- EXPRESSINISLAMABAD SHUBHAJIT ROY OCTOBER 16 IN THE first direct conversation between Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan since 2015, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar spoke twice in less than 24 hours, and therewereindicationsthatthese talksexploredtheideaof resuming some form of cricketing ties between the two countries, The Indian Express has learned. Sources,however,underlined that these conversations, which tookplaceonthesidelinesof the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting of Council of Heads of Government, are very preliminary and “need to be thought through” on both sides given that ties between the two countries have remained frozen for years. But the talks do open a window and a possible first step could be the Champions Trophy CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar being received by Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif at the venue of the SCO meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday. ANI RELATEDREPORT,PAGE12 E E X P L A I NE D BY UNNY Omar takes charge as J&K CM, says won’t let Jammu feel they don’t have a voice CHINA BUSINESS AS USUAL `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Alleyeson Champions ● Trophy THE PCB, which will host the Champions Trophy in February next year, has been urging India to travel to Pakistan for the matches. If India do go, it will be the team’s first visit across the border in 17 years. A bilateral series will require massive tweaks in their busy calendars. Both India and Pakistan teams have packed schedules at home and abroad. Territorial integrity to terror, Jaishankar takes swipe at China, Pakistan SHUBHAJIT ROY ISLAMABAD, OCTOBER 16 IN A thinly-veiled reference to Pakistan and China, External AffairsMinisterSJaishankar said on Wednesday that “if trust is lacking or cooperation inadequate, if friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address”. Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) headsof governmentmeetingin Islamabad, Jaishankar listed the key challenges that the organisation was committed to combating — terrorism, separatism and extremism. Addressing the gathering that included Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang, hesaid: “If we fast-forward from CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 km long Chushul-Lukung to Thakung post road upgradation is part of the India-China Border Roads (ICBR)-III project and will pass through the Changthang cold desert sanctuary. A total of 35 km of road stretches have been cleared on the new route to DBO, which runs parallel to the LAC. Crucial among these is the 7.75 km-long DSDBO to Saser-BrangsaGapshan linkroad,whichwillbe built at an altitude of 17,000 feet. The wildlife nod is a shot in the arm for the Ministry of Defence which has expedited CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Trade deficit at 5-month ICC report on doctor’s complaint against MS low as textile exports surge, gold imports dip ‘stolen’, complaint filed RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 16 AMARGINALincreaseinexports, driven by textiles, engineering and electronic goods that compensated for lower petroleum exports, alongside a sharp decline in gold imports, helped India’sgoodstradedeficiteaseto a five-month low of $21 billion in September, compared to a ten-month high of $30 billion in August, official data released on Wednesday showed. Amid several geopolitical challenges, India’s exports managed to register a slight increase in September, reaching $35 billion compared to $34 billion last September. A consistent rise in engineering goods exports to Russia and Europe, where military spending is increasing, and export of electronic items such as mobile phones to the US, added to total exports. In a sharp reversal of trends, India’s textile exports recorded a 17 per cent surge in September, asgarmentordersbeganshifting partiallytoIndiafromconflict-hit Bangladesh. Over the last two years,garmentandtextileexports have struggled due to a slowdown in demand from the West. India’s chief export promotion body, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said that ongoing CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Report returned after nursing orderly who took it tracked; 4 months on, no FIR MALLICA JOSHI NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 16 A REPORT of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), which upheld a sexual harassment complaint filed by a doctor against the Medical Superintendent (MS) of a government hospital in the Capital, was “stolen” from the Delhi Secretariat office of one of the ICCmembers,andonlyreturned days later after a nursing orderly who allegedly took it was tracked through CCTV footage, The Indian Express has learnt. A senior health department official, who was part of the ICC, filed a police complaint about the incident on June 5 this year, expressing concern over the “connivance of the office staff and outside interference in obstructing the inquiry/ its outcome”. Over four months later, an FIR is yet to be registered. Thematter relatestothe sexual harassment complaint filed bythedoctorinOctoberlastyear, accusing the MS of inappropriate behaviour, messages and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Gujarat, MPs, MLAs sweat it out as BJP sets target to enrol 2 crore members PAGE 1 ANCHOR PARIMAL DABHI, KAMAAL SAIYED & ADITI RAJA GANDHINAGAR, VADODARA, SURAT, OCTOBER 16 ASPARTof itsongoingSadasyata Abhiyan (membership drive) in the state, the Gujarat BJP has set anambitioustargetof nearlytwo crore – its highest so far which, if achieved,willbeclosetonearly a third of Gujarat's population. As on October 14, the party Cabinet minister Babariya with two newly inducted members. Source: X had registered over one crore members,and theprocesstoenrol active members began on Wednesday. The pressure to meetthetargetisespeciallyhigh inthestate,wherethebasecriteria to become a sakriya sadasya or active member of the party is to have at least 100 referrals, compared to other states where it is 50. A party leader told The Indian Express the bar was high because "Gujarat is a gadh (bastion) of the BJP”. Union Minister for Jal Shakti and state party president C R Paatil launched the drive on September 3, when the party already had 1.19 crore primary members, all of whom are required to renew their membership. On overdrive Ministers, MLAs and MPs are finding their own ways of enrolling members. For instance, BJP MLA Rivaba Jadeja from Jamnagar North began by first enrolling her husband – cricketer Ravindra Jadeja. Targets for MLAs have been setataminimumof 5,000members each, while MPs have to enrol at least 10,000. The party also wants to ensure that it gets more members than the votes it got in 2019 Lok Sabha elections – 1.97 crore across Gujarat. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Ahmedabad