Friday, August 29, 2025 | Vol. 68 No. 280 | 30 Pages Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL NATIONAL SPORTS DAY INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation GAMES NATION Tamil Nadu’s textile industry has been badly hit by US tariffs, says Stalin Cinema Stars welcome Bappa home, celebrate with devotion Three-time champions India eye World Cup berth with Asia Cup Hockey triumph Edit Can netas be entrusted with Mumbai’s infrastructure? Unauthorised Structure | Birthday celebration turns tragic as crash claims entire families; builder arrested 17 killed in Virar building collapse Megha Parmar PALGHAR What should have been a joyous evening to mark baby Uttkarsha Jovil’s first birthday turned into an unthinkable nightmare on Tuesday night. Within hours of cutting her cake, the little girl, her parents, and dozens of neighbours lay buried under the rubble of Ramabai Apartment in Virar (E). The collapse of the unauthorised structure has claimed 17 lives so far, reducing a family gathering into a mass funeral. Among the dead were oneyear-old Uttkarsha, her mother Arohi Omkar Jovil (24), and father Omkar Jovil (25). Their bodies, along with that of Rohini Chavan, were the last to be pulled out on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 17. The tragedy has left an entire community shaken, mourning lives that ended far too soon. District Collector Indu Rani Jakhar confirmed, “Seventeen people are dead. All bodies have been accounted for and debris clearance is on.” The Ramabai Apartment, built in 2012 with nearly 50 flats, gave way without warning on Tuesday night. Around a dozen flats collapsed in the section that caved in, trapping scores of residents under concrete and twisted iron rods. For over two days, teams from the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) fire brigade and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) worked relentlessly, clearing debris brick by brick, often by hand. Their grim task was punc- tuated by moments of both relief and heartbreak—pulling out survivors against all odds, and later, recovering lifeless bodies. So far, nine people have been rescued alive, but six of them remain critical. The injured include Prabhakar Shinde (57), his wife Pramila (50), their daughter Prerna (20), along with Pradeep and Jaishree Kadam, Mitali Parmar (28), Sanjoy Singh (24), Manthan Shinde (19). 4See also | city PIC: VIJAY GOHIL Jarange stir on today Ravikiran Deshmukh & Poonam Apraj MUMBAI The agitation for Maratha reservation looms over Mumbai, with activist Manoj Jarange-Patil set to reach Azad Maidan on Friday along with thousands of supporters. He has threatened to launch an indefinite hunger strike, demanding that all Marathas be categorised as Kunbis – a sub-caste of the community engaged in farming, which comes under OBC. Though the police have capped the participation of protesters at 5,000, the capacity of Azad Maidan, it is likely that close to 20,000 agitators could bring the city to a halt. Anticipating a massive turnout, Mumbai Police have deployed over 1,500 personnel, effectively converting Azad Maidan into a police camp. SEE CITY CM order on Tardeo OC Devashri Bhujbal MUMBAI The residents of the 17th to 34th floor of the Willingdon Heights in Tardeo vacated their apartments on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, Mumbai's guardian minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said that to ensure that the innocent residents do not suffer, CM Fadnavis has ordered the BMC to take immediate action and grant the occupancy certificate (OC) to the said floors if all compliances are met. Satish Mehta, one of the affected residents, said, “The builder's name is mentioned in the HC documents, but he has not been summoned or questioned. We are struggling to acquire documents.” SEE CITY India resets Canada ties India on Thursday named 1990-batch IFS officer Dinesh K Patnaik, current envoy to Spain, as High Commissioner to Canada, filling up the post nine months after row over Nijjar's kiling. Canada named Christopher Cooter as its envoy to India. BACKTRACK | RSS chief: No Sangh rulebook on age; volunteers serve irrespective of years BHAGWAT: NEVER SAID RETIRE AT 75 Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday sought to clear the air over his earlier comments suggesting that leaders should retire at the age of 75, stressing that he had never said he or anyone else should step down at that milestone. Speaking in Delhi at a press conference organised as part of the centenary celebrations of the RSS, Bhagwat underlined that there is no such rule in the organisation and that swayamsevaks are expected to serve as long as they are asked to, regardless of age. “In the Sangh, we are all volunteers. We do what we are told to do. If I am 80 and the Sangh asks me to run a shakha, I will do it. I never said I would retire, nor did I say someone else should,” he said. The clarification comes at a politically sensitive moment, since both Bhagwat and In the Sangh, roles are given, not sought. One has to accept them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will turn 75 in September. In July, Bhagwat had referred to remarks by late RSS ideologue Moropant Pingley at a book release in Nagpur, quoting him as saying that “when the shawl of 75 years is draped, it is time to step aside and let others take over.” That comment was widely interpreted as a suggestion that leaders should give way after 75, sparking speculation that it was directed at senior political figures, particularly Modi. Opposition parties had seized on the remark, framing it as a coded message from the RSS to the BJP. 4Contd on | nation Our replacement rate is 2.1, which is acceptable as an average, but when it comes to births, after two it should be three. If the RSS were deciding, would it have taken so long (Deciding BJP chief)? The Sangh can make suggestions, but the decision is always with BJP. We run Sangh, they run the government. Sangh has always stood with what the statute ensures. It won’t change. Hindu thought does not say Islam will not exist. We are one nation first. Religion is a matter of personal choice and should not involve allurement or force. Trump aides lash out at New Delhi FPJ News Service MUMBAI The Trump administration has turned up the heat on New Delhi, with two of President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers issuing blistering warnings over India’s purchase of Russian oil and its reluctance to open markets for American goods. Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Coun- Agencies The shooter who opened fire on Wednesday on school children attending a church service in Minneapolis, killing two students, had “kill Donald Trump” and “nuke India” written on his guns, a video on his now-deleted YouTube channel revealed. The attacker, identified as Robin Westman, 23, from Minnesota, opened fire inside the Annunciation Catholic School, killing two children aged 8 and 10 and injuring 17 others before allegedly killing himself. Videos circulating online showed Westman displaying a cache of weapons, ammunition and magazines. One of the rifles had “Nuke India” written in white, while magazines carried slogans including “Kill Donald Trump,” “kill Trump now,” “Israel must fall,” “Burn Israel,” “Where is your God?” and “for the children.” Names of previous school shooters were also scrawled on a magazine, some writings in Cyrillic script. At one point, Westman held up a smaller firearm and said, “This one is for me. In case I need it.” One of the videos, about 10 minutes long, also showed a letter addressed to Westman’s family apologising for the impact of the attack. 4Contd on | nation The Trump administration is moving to restrict the duration of visas for foreign students and media personnel in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a press release on Wednesday. In a separate move, the Trump administration is also planning to overhaul the H1B visa programme, widely used by Indian IT professionals, and make changes to the Green Card process. US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick confirmed the plans in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday. “I’m involved in changing the H1B programme. We’re going to change that pro- MUMBAI Delhi, Kolkata, Patna, Jaipur, Srinagar, Ranchi are the least safe, says NARI report that surveyed 31 cities Mumbai has emerged among the safest cities for women in the country, along with Kohima, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Aizawl, Gangtok and Itanagar, according to the National Annual Report & Index on Women’s Safety (NARI) 2025. The survey, however, ranked Patna, Jaipur, Faridabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Srinagar and Ranchi as the least safe. The nationwide index, released on Thursday, was based on a survey of 12,770 women across 31 cities. It placed the national safety score at 65 per cent, categorising cities as “much above,” “above,” “at,” “below” or “much below” this benchmark. The top-ranked cities were linked with stronger gender equity, civic participation, policing and womenfriendly infrastructure. On the other hand, cities like Patna and Jaipur fared poorly because of weak in- stitutional responsiveness, patriarchal norms and gaps in urban infrastructure. “Kohima, Vishakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Aizawl, Gangtok, Itanagar, Mumbai lead national safety rankings, often correlating with FPJ News Service TRUMP ON TRUCE NEW DELHI As India-US ties deteriorate, Western media reports claim China has been doing its best to fill the gap. A Bloomberg report said Beijing has been conducting a “quiet outreach” since March this year. Quoting a Ministry of External Affairs source, the report claimed President Xi wrote an “undisclosed” letter to President Draupadi Murmu that was then passed on to PM Modi. 4Contd on | nation Washington is also planning to overhaul H1B visa programme, widely used by Indian IT professionals, and make changes to the Green Card process gramme, because that’s terrible,” Lutnick said. He added that changes were also being planned for the Green Card process, which grants permanent residency in the US. If finalised, the proposed rule would end the long-standing practice of granting student visa holders admission for an unspecified period known as “duration of status.” 4Contd on | nation Mumbai rated among safest cities for women PTI I Ashwin Ahmad offgrid NEW DELHI nvestors eroded by nearly Rs 10 lakh crore in two trading sessions of sharp fall in the Indian stock markets, where the Sensex lost 1,555 points. The extra 25% tariff imposed by the US on Indian goods has dampened the investor sentiments. The Sensex tanked 705.97 points to settle at 80,080.57 on Thursday. “Investors can consider moving money from overvalued smallcaps to the safety of fairly valued large-caps with focus on domestic consumption,” analysts opined. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms fell by Rs 9,69,740.79 crore to Rs 4,45 lakh crore in two days. SEE MONEY ‘Gave 24 hrs, Modi did it in 5’ Agencies NEW YORK/WASHINGTON 4Contd on | nation 4See also | money D-Street: `10L crore down ‘Xi outreach led to thaw’ US school attack gun US to set curbs scribble: Nuke India on student visas NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: cil, told reporters at the White House that Washington’s punitive tariffs on Indian imports were “meant as pressure points” to stop Moscow’s war machine. He accused India of “intransigence” in refusing to ease entry for U.S. products and bluntly warned that President Trump was unlikely to soften his stance. higher gender equity, infrastructure, policing, or civic participation, while Ranchi, Srinagar, Kolkata, Delhi, Faridabad, Patna, and Jaipur scored lowest, correlating with poorer infrastructure, patriarchal norms, or weaker institutional responsiveness,” the report said. Overall, six in ten women surveyed said they felt “safe” in their city, but 40 per cent still considered themselves “not so safe” or “unsafe.” 4Contd on | nation US President Donald Trump has once again claimed that he personally averted a war between India and Pakistan, asserting that a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May brought the two sides back from the brink of a nuclear clash. Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump recounted how he confronted Modi during the height of hostilities. “I was talking to a very terrific man, Narendra Modi. I asked him what’s going on with you and Pakistan. The hatred was tremendous. I told him, I don’t want to make a trade deal if you are headed towards a nuclear war,” he said. Trump added that within “about five hours” of the conversation, the crisis was defused, though he claimed that he asked the PM to call him back within 24 hours. The President placed his remarks in the context of other international crises, recalling how he also claimed to have calmed tensions at the start of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Sitting beside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump said he threatened to impose punitive tariffs if India and Pakistan did not step back. 4Contd on | nation