FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS VOL. XXXX NO. 274 | INDORE | MONDAY | MARCH 11, 2024 | PAGES 14 r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; `3 r RNI No. 38281/83 QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in - WORLD ‘BUT...WHY DID ARUN GOEL QUIT?’ NATION NETANYAHU IS HURTING ISRAEL MORE THAN HELPING IT: BIDEN WEATHER EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE 32.20c. 16.40c Sunrise : 06.39 Sunset : 06.34 TEST CRICKET IS HARD: DRAVID SPORTS HIGH FIVE! Cheetah Gamini gives birth to five cubs in Kuno Man kills bro with axe There are now 13 cubs and 13 adult cheetahs OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in A wave of happiness swept through the Kuno National Park when South African female cheetah 'Gamini' gave birth to five cubs on Sunday. South African male cheetah Pavak is father of the cubs. Gamini and Pavak were kept inside the same enclosure for mating and this experi- ment proved fruitful. Union Minister for forest and climate change, Bhupender Yadav took to his "X" account (former twitter) to say that female Cheetah Gamini, age around 5 years, brought from Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa has given birth to 5 cubs today (Sunday). This takes the tally of the Indian born cubs to 13. This is the fourth litter on Indian Soil and the first litter of cheetahs brought from South Africa. "Congratulations to all, especially the team of forest officers, vets and field staff who have ensured a stress free environment for cheetahs which was led to successful mating and birth of the cubs. The total number of cheetahs includes cubs in Kuno National Park is 26," he said. Field director of Kuno National Park, Uttam Ku- mar Sharma said to the Free Press that with the birth of five cubs (littered by Gamini), there are now equal numbers of adult cheetahs and cubs. "There are 13 cubs and 13 adult cheetahs in Kuno" he said. The sources in Kuno National Park said that after being recaptured from the wild conditions, Gamini and Pavak were on either side of the enclosures. From time to time, they were released into each other enclosure for mating. It was in last monsoon season that they were cap- tured along with other free ranging cheetahs and were kept inside the enclosures. This is the fourth cheetah litter on Indian soil and the first litter of cheetahs brought from South Africa. In March last year, cheetah Jwala (Namibian name Siyaya) had given birth to four cubs but only one managed to survive. Jwala gave birth to her second litter of four cubs in January this year, which was followed by cheetah Aasha delivering three cubs. for turning off music OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in SATNA : A man allegedly hacked his brother to death with an axe after the latter turned off the music and stopped him from dancing at a family function in Satna district, police said on Sunday. The police have arrested the accused, Rajkumar Kol (30), for the murder that occurred at Mauhar village under Kothi police station limits on Friday night, an official said. Rajkumar's brother Rakesh (35) had organised a function at his house, during which music was being played on a sound system, said Rupendra Rajput, in-charge of Kothi police station. The victim later turned off the music, and the accused wanted to continue dancing, he said. CONTD. ON P6 PM inaugurates new terminal Didi leans on jaded stars of Gwalior Airport virtually Cricketers Yusuf Pathan, Kirti Azad and actor Shatrughan Sinha will pad up for the Lok Sabha elections ARITRA SINGHA / KOLKATA It has been constructed in 16 months for Rs 498 cr CM’S GIFT TO WORKERS OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the new terminal of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Gwalior Airport on Sunday. He said that Gwalior has presented the example of fast working by completing the airport construction work in 16 months. When PM was virtually inaugurating the new terminal, Governor Mangubhai Patel, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia were present in the programme held at Gwalior Airport. PM inaugurated various projects across the coun- PM Narendra Modi virtually inaugurates new terminal of Gwalior Airport, on Sunday try including the new terminal of Gwalior airport at a programme held in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. PM said that development in country is going on continuously. "We are running at a great speed to turn country into a developed nation by 2047," he said. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed his gratitude toward Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia for expanding air connectivity in Madhya Pradesh. Jyotiraditya Scindia said that by dedicating and laying foundation stones of 15 airports simultaneously in country, PM made Sunday a historic day in aviation field. He added that along with country, air services are also being expanded in Madhya Pradesh. Gwalior's connectivity CM announced that Rs 40,000 would be given to workers for buying EScooter. Moreover, he announced increasing the wage of unskilled workers to Rs 11,450, semi-skilled workers to Rs 12,446, and landless labourers to Rs 9,160. The part-time workers will be connected to Sambal scheme. Meanwhile, he disbursed Rs 678 crore to 30,551 labour families with a single click under Mukhya Mantri Jan Kalyan Sambal Yojana 2.0 in the programme. He also increased financial assistance from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 4 lakh given to workers on becoming handicapped, or to their families following their death. with main cities of the country has been ensured. Gwalior Airport has been expanded on 144 acres of land and it is now the biggest airport in the state. In Jabalpur, an airport measuring 1 lakh square feet is also being inaugurated. Airports will be constructed in Rewa, Satna, and Datia as well. Air stripes will be expanded to Ujjain, Guna and Shivpuri. With this, the state will now have ten airports. Now, around one thousand aeroplanes are arriving per week in the state. Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar said inauguration of new terminal of Gwalior airport will give a new dimension to Gwalior city. Notably Gwalior Airport terminal has been constructed at the cost of Rs 498.50 crores and it has been constructed in just 16 months. The terminal can handle 1400 passengers, parking facility for 700 vehicles, 16 check-in counters, 4 lifts etc. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Sunday put an end to speculation over seatsharing in Bengal for the Lok Sabha elections by releasing a list of candidates for all the 42 seats in the state. The party undertook a major overhaul by dropping seven sitting MPs and introducing numerous new faces. While 16 of 23 sitting MPs were retained, the TMC opted not to renominate seven incumbents, notably excluding Arjun Singh from Barrackpore, who left the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) two years ago to join the TMC. Nine sitting MLAs, including two ministers from the West Bengal cabinet Partha Bhowmick and Biplab Mitra, have been thrust into the Lok Sabha battle. “Those who have not been renominated will be accommodated during the Assembly polls,” TMC leader Mamata Banerjee said at a massive rally at Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata. One of the new faces in the TMC list is former Test cricketer Yusuf Pathan, who has been nominated from the Baharampur constituency, which is currently held by Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury The TMC . has also nominated former Test cricketer Kirti Azad from the BardhhamanDurgapur constituency . CONTD. ON P6 Brijendra Singh Deepak Singh becomes Indore Comm LoP demands cancelling Lokayukta’s appointment IAS officers joins Congress 6transferred REVERSE SWING IN HARYANA RAJESH MOUDGIL / CHANDIGARH NEWS BRIEF Man-eater tigress dies during rescue RISHIKESH: A man-eater tigress captured in July 2022 died at a rescue centre in the Corbett Tiger Reserve, an official said on Sunday. The 11-year-old tigress died of old age at the Sanwaldeh rescue centre on Saturday night, the Reserve's Deputy Director Diganth Nayak said. It was declared a man-eater after it killed several persons including bikers in the Panod Nala area, he said. Omar Ayub Pak LoP ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's PTI and the Sunni Ittehad Council have jointly nominated his party leader Omar Ayub Khan as the leader of the opposition in Pakistan's National Assembly. Hisar MP Brijendra Singh dealt a blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections by resigning from it on Sunday “due to compelling political reasons” and joining the Congress. The MLA’s father, Birender Singh, is also set to join the Congress soon, after making an announcement in this regard, party treasurer Ajay Maken said. Brijendra Singh, who joined the Congress in the presence of party president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi, is the great-grandson of eminent Haryana Jat leader Chhotu Ram. His mother Premlata was also a BJP MLA from Uchana seat in Haryana in 2019. His father Birender Singh, a five-time MLA, had joined the BJP in 2014 after a 42-year association with the Congress. He was thrice a minister in Haryana government and was also a minister twice in government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi till 2019. Brijendra Singh had secured the ninth rank in the civil services examination but the 1998batch IAS officer took voluntary retirement after 21 years. Like his father, the former bureaucrat has also been vocal on various issues. He openly opposed Agniveer scheme, supported the demands of the farmers and also supported the wrestlers in their fight against the then Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations. CONTD. ON P6 OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Six IAS officers were transferred in state late on Sunday night. Deepak Singh, commissioner Gwalior division has been moved as commissioner Indore Division. Mal Singh Baydiya, Indore com- TAJ IN KASHMIR New ECs before March 15 OUR BUREAU / NEW DELHI I n a belated acknowledgement of the vacuum in the Election Commission — where matters precipitated on Sunday after the inexplicable exit of Arun Goel — the government has decided to fill up the two critical vacancies by March 15. Currently , Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar is the sole member of the poll authority . The first vacancy was created by the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey who  had demitted office on February 14 on attaining the age of 65 years. A search committee under Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and comprising the Home Secretary and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Secretary will first prepare two separate panels of five names each for the two posts. Later, a selection committee headed by the prime minister and comprising a Union minister and Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowd- missioner, has been appointed as secretary. Sanjeev Kumar Jha, principal secretary, Anand department has been appointed as OSD cum commissioner Chambal division. Dr Sudam Pandrinath Khade, commissioner, Health Services has been transferred as commissioner Gwalior division.Akshay Kumar Singh, collector Gwalior, has been posted as additional hury will name two persons for appointment as election commissioners. Sources said the selection committee could meet either on March 13 or 14 depending on the convenience of the members, and the appointments are likely to be made by March 15. It is understood that there were differences in perception between the two election commissioners, even though records of internal communication, minutes and decisions show no dissent was recorded by Goel. secretary. Ruchika Chauhan, additional secretary, has been appointed as collector Gwalior. 2 IPS transferred Rajesh Singh, Gwalior SP, has been transferred as assistant inspector general of police , Police Headquaters on Sunday. Dharamveer Singh, SP Khargone, has been appointed as SP Gwalior. Artists work to create a snow sculpture of Taj Mahal cum igloo on the foothills of Thajiwas at Sonamarg in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir Maldives gets drones from Turkey PTI / MALE Days after Maldives inked a defence deal to obtain non-lethal weapons from China, it has acquired drones from Turkey for patrolling its vast exclusive economic zone, according to a media report on Saturday. The drones are likely to start operations within the next week. However, the exact number of drones was not clear nor was there any official confirmation from the Maldives' Ministry of De- fence or Foreign Ministry. President Mohamed Muizzu, upon his return from China, indicated that the government was looking to acquire surveillance drones. CONTD. ON P6 OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar has objected to the appointment of Lokayukta and has asked the government to cancel the notification, claiming that it violates appointment norms. Meanwhile, it is being claimed by sources that prior information was sent to LoP about the appointment. On Saturday the state government issued notification of the appointment of Justice Satyendra Kumar Singh, as the Lokayukta. He will replace Justice NK Gupta. LoP Singhar in his letter stated that the state government has taken a one-sided decision and his advice was not taken. He also claimed that the advice of Chief Justice of High Court was also not taken. He claimed that according to the norms, the advice of the LoP and HC Chief Justice is mandatory for the appointment of the Lokayukta. He asked the government to cancel the appointment notification, restart the appointment process, and include his advice in the selection process. However, sources claim that on March 8th, a letter was given to LoP to participate in the selection process, but he did not respond. Even Chief Minister Mohan Yadav called and Justice Singh takes oath Former High Court Judge Justice Satyendra Kumar Singh was administered the oath of office as the Lokayukta of the state Madhya Pradesh, here on Sunday. Governor Mangubhai Patel administered the oath of office of Lokayukta to Singh at a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan Sunday evening, according to an official statement. The state government has issued the notification related to the appointment of Justice (retired) Singh as the Lokayukta on Saturday. Justice Singh worked as district judge in Ujjain, Bhopal and in Alirajpur. He was the principal secretary of law and legislative department. The tenure of the present Lokayukta NK Gupta ended in the October last year. His term was extend for a year because the state government was not able to appoint the new Lokayukta. His services were extended to a year citing an amendment in section 5 of the Lokayukta Act 1981. asked him to join the process, but now LoP is writing a letter with allegations. Sources also informed Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice has also been consulted.