FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 15 No. 212 | BHOPAL | TUESDAY | JANUARY 13, 2026 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Nation Didi flags AI-driven errors in electoral roll revision P.8 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL MONEY Guardians liable if minors use Chinese manjha: HC Our Staff Reporter HC observed that despite existing ban, illegal use of deadly thread continues, posing threat to people In a stern warning ahead of Makar Sankranti festival, Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has made it clear that guardians will be held legally responsible if minors are found using the banned Chinese nylon thread (manjha), which has been linked to several deaths and serious accidents. A division bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi, while hearing a suo motu public interest litigation, directed strict enforcement of the ban on manufacture, sale, storage and use of Chinese manjha across Indore and adjoining districts. The HC took note of submissions made by amicus curiae Vivek Sharan, who warned that with Makar Sankranti on January 14, the risk of accidents could increase due to widespread kite flying. He urged the court to issue further directions for immediate precautionary measures and large-scale public awareness campaigns. The HC observed that despite an existing ban, illegal use of the dangerous thread continues, posing a serious threat to pedestrians, twowheeler riders and birds. With kite flying set to peak during Makar Sankranti on January 14, the court said accountability must extend beyond sellers CM: STAY AWAY FROM ADDICTION & JUNK FOOD Our Staff Reporter Minor changes in Class 10, 12 exam schedule Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL MP Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) has made minor changes in the exam timetable for Class 10 and 12. Hindi, Urdu, and Marathi papers will now be held in March instead of February. The Class 10 Hindi paper, originally scheduled for February 11, will now be conducted on March 6. Class 12 Urdu and Marathi papers, earlier set for February 9, are also rescheduled to March 6. Meanwhile, the Class 12 Hindi paper, previously planned for February 7, will now be held on March 7. MPBSE officials said the adjustments are aimed at better coordination and smooth conduct of exams. practical manner. Every day, one should take out at least half an hour for physical exercise and should play the favourite sports. Along with personality, character should be also built. He urged to share the feelings with family and friends and not get depressed, always remained filled with hopes. One should enjoy every sec- ond of the life. Shedding light on Yoga, he told that it is an integral part of Indian tradition. Surya Namaskar is not only physical exercise but it takes simple life towards excellence. He appealed to remain senstive towarsds elders, women and children. 4Continued on | P8 ACS declines to accept minutes of CM’s meet Rural Nal Jal Schemes get stuck Nitendra Sharma BHOPAL Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) (Finance) Manish Rastogi has declined to accept the minutes of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s meeting on operation and maintenance of the rural Nal Jal scheme. At a meeting with the Chief Secretary, Anurag Jain, Rastogi said he did not take these minutes into consideration. Afterwards, the policy of the Nal Jal Yojna got stuck. Yadav held a meeting with the officials on the policy of operation and maintenance of the rural Nal Jal Yojna on August 21 last year. In the meeting, it was decided that the rural Nal Jal Yojna policy prepared by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) for operation, maintenance, and management should be carried out for three years. 4Continued on | P8 Now, decision is in CM’s court, says Uike inister for the Public Health Engineering Department Sampatiya Uikey has said it was decided at the meeting on August 21 in the presence of the Chief Minister Mohan Yadav that PHED would do maintenance and operation of the completed Nal Jal Scheme. But it could not be put up before the cabinet, she said, adding that since the Panchayat and the Rural Development Department was not able to maintain the work, it was decided to hand it over to PHED. But if the officers do not agree with the policy, the Chief Minister will take a decision, he said. M The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that quashed the termination of a judicial officer who allegedly created a nuisance and urinated in front of the berth of a woman co-passenger onboard a train in 2018. Terming the civil judge's conduct as "disgusting", a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed that it was a "shocking" case and he should have been dismissed. It issued a notice to the judicial officer and the Madhya Pradesh government seeking their responses on the petition filed by the high court's administrative side against a May last year order of the high court's division bench that had quashed the termination order of September 2019 and had directed that the judicial officer be reinstated within 15 days. "You should have been dismissed," the apex court bench said. "Issue notice, returnable within four weeks. In the meantime, effect and operation of the impugned judgement shall remain stayed," MUMBAI E-paper Cinema THE GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS 2026 P.16 Two more die in Bhagirathpura TOLL 23 Our Staff Reporter INDORE Gor: No nation more essential than India PTI consequential global partnership of this century," Gor said while describing India as an "incredible nation". "No partner is more essential than India. In the months and years ahead, it is my goal as ambassador to pursue a very ambitious agenda. We will do this as true strategic partners, each bringing strength, respect and leadership to the table," he said. Gor, 38, also emphasised that the friendship between President Trump and PM Narendra Modi is "real" and will help in resolving "differences", which have resulted in the worst phase in the relations in the last two decades. "Real friends can disagree but always resolve their differences in the end," he said. 4Continued on | P8 ISRO’s PSLV-C62 rocket deviates from flight path, misses orbit India, Germany to boost defence, tech ties In a second consecutive setback, ISRO's PSLV-C62 rocket carrying 16 satellites, including a foreign Earth Observation payload, failed to place them in the intended orbit after encountering an "anomaly" in the critical third stage of the launch on Monday. "Disturbances in the rocket and later deviation from the flight path were observed when strap-on motors were providing thrust during the flight's third stage to propel the vehicle to the intended altitude", space agency chairman V Narayanan said, adding a detailed analysis has been initiated to identify the cause. The mission to place the satellites in the intended orbit could not be achieved, and all 16 satellites were lost in space, ISRO sources told PTI, adding that this was the second consecutive PSLV mission failure during the third stage. A similar, previous attempt in May 2025 (PSLV-C61-EOS09) also did not succeed due to a "motor pressure issue," and there was a fall in the chamber pressure of the motor case. Among the satellites lost were DRDO's Anvesha, a strategic super-eye to unmask military camouflage from nearly 500 km, AayulSAT, India's first in-orbit fuelling satellite, and CGUSAT, 4Continued on | P8 SC raps judicial officer over urination in train PTI NASHIK 4Continued on | P8 nuisance NEW DELHI INDORE and users to guardians of minors involved in the activity. The court directed district collectors and police chiefs of Indore, Ujjain, Dewas, Dhar, Khargone, Badwani, Alirajpur, Jhabua, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Shajapur and Rajgarh to ensure zero tolerance against violations. It ordered authorities to register criminal cases under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, against offenders. Emphasising preventive action, the court also ordered large-scale public awareness campaigns through print, electronic and social media, SRIHARIKOTA Chief Minister Mohan Yadav urged youths to remain at bay from addiction and junk food. “Junk food takes body towards deformity hence it should be eaten in minimum manner,” he told. He was addressing students during the state level mass Surya Namaskar Programme organised at Subhash Nagar Excellence School to mark birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand on Monday. Surya Namaskar programme were also organised across the state. Along with students, CM performed all 12 methods of Surya Namaskar and also did “Pranayam”. He asked students not to get limited till education but to understand the life in PUNE Bhagirathpura area witnessed two deaths within a span of less than 12 hours, further intensifying the contaminated water crisis gripping the locality. One death was reported during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, while the second was confirmed on Monday morning, taking the total death toll due to suspected contaminated water consumption to 23. The latest victim has been identified as Bhagwandas, son of Tukaram Bharne (64), who had been undergoing treatment for nearly 10 days. He was initially admitted to a private hospital and later referred to Bombay Hospital. Hospital general manager Rahul Parashar said Bhagwandas suffered a cardiac arrest at the time of admission. PTI BHOPAL PRESS Edit Centre’s war against drugs P.6 ‘Online shopping in future will be AI-driven’ STRING OF DEATH | Court directs strict enforcement of ban on manufacture, sale, storage and use INDORE UJJAIN the top court said while posting the matter for hearing after six weeks. The judicial officer was appointed to the post of Civil Judge, class-II, in March 2011, and it was alleged that in June 2018, when he was travelling in a train, he misbehaved, harassed the copassengers in a drunken state and undertook certain obscene activities. 4Continued on | P8 NEW DELHI Signalling an intent to rebuild strained ties, President Donald Trump's new ambassador to Delhi said on Monday that no country is as essential as India to the United States, and asserted that both sides are actively engaged to firm up a trade deal. In his arrival speech, Sergio Gor also announced an invitation to New Delhi for a US-led strategic alliance, known as 'Pax Silica' on critical minerals and artificial intelligence. Gor said the next call between the two sides on the trade deal is scheduled for Tuesday. The US and India are bound not just by shared interests, but by a relationship "anchored at the highest levels", he said, hoping President Trump would visit India in the "next year or two". The comments made just hours after he began work are seen as a welcome outreach by the Trump administration, which has mounted pressure on India in recent months over tariffs and H1B visas. "You and I have an incredible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redefine diplomacy. What it can accomplish could be the most Agencies GANDHINAGAR India and Germany on Monday finalised a set of agreements across a wide range of sectors, including defence, technology, health, energy and human resources, during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's two-day official visit to India. The Ministry of External Affairs said the two sides concluded 19 agreements and announced several measures to intensify engagement across strategic, economic and people-to-people pillars. One of the key outcomes was a Joint Declaration of In- tent to boost bilateral defence industrial cooperation. Speaking at the India-Germany CEOs Forum, Prime 4Continued on | P8 Minister Narendra Modi said, "This will provide clear policy support to our companies for co-innovation and co-production in defence. New opportunities for cooperation will also open up in the space sector." To strengthen the economic partnership, India and Germany also decided to establish a CEO Forum to be integrated into the Joint India-Germany Economic and Investment Committee. 4Continued on | P8