FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 213 | INDORE | THURSDAY | JANUARY 8, 2026 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Indian presenter denies BPL ‘Drop’, calls it personal opt-out P.12 RELIEF TO ALL, irrespective of statistics, declares CM Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said the death of any person is painful for him. Yadav made the statement at a press conference in Bhopal on Wednesday over deaths because of contaminated water at Bhagirathpura in Indore. When Yadav was asked a question about the differ- BHAGIRATHPURA WATER TRAGEDY ence in the number of deaths mentioned in the affidavit submitted by the administration and the actual figure of deaths, he said he was not going by the statistics. From the administration’s point of view, what generally happens is that those who have conducted the postmortem of the bodies have some other statistics, he said. The government decided to give relief to those whose deaths were registered within that circle of Nagar Nigam where the incident occurred, he said. 4Continued on | P8 Indore school timing revised In view of severe cold, classes from Nursery to 8 will start at 9.30 am in Indore. Collector Shivam Verma issued the order on Wednesday late night, applicable to all MP, CBSE and ICSE board schools and all anganwadis. The change will remain effective until further orders, though exams will continue as per the pre-fixed schedule. h Union Budget on Sunday, Feb 1 FP News Service MUMBAI The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs on Wednesday proposed presenting the 2026-27 Union Budget on February 1, although it’s a Sunday, reports said. If approved, this would mark a rare instance in recent years of the Budget being tabled on a weekend, as the government sticks to its February 1 timeline. The Budget Session will begin on January 28 and the Economic Survey will be tabled the next day. Census phase 1 starts on April 1 EDITIONS: INDORE MONEY The first phase of Census 2027 – houselisting operations – will be conducted from April 1 to September 30 across India during a 30-day window to be specified by the states and UTs, a government notification said on Wednesday. PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK Our Staff Reporter 4Continued on | P8 Cinema Hrithik’s fitness food mantra P.14 alling the issue a “serious environmental concern,” NGT issued notices to state government and relevant departments. It also formed a joint committee with senior officials from the Environment Department, Urban Development, Transport Department, State Pollution Control Board, MoEF&CC, and a former CPCB official to examine the issue and submit a detailed action report within six weeks. C FILE PIC CITY OF LAKES CHOKING IN SMOG MP LAGS WITH GRAP-LIKE PLAN GT observed that Bhopal, once celebrated as “City of Lakes,” now faces chronic air pollution instead of occasional smog episodes. Causes include vehicular emissions, stubble burning in Raisen, Sehore and Vidisha, construction and demolition dust, firecracker use, open waste burning and landfill emissions from sites like Bhanpur. espite Supreme Court directives on restrictions during severe AQI levels, regulation of polluting vehicles and firecrackers, enforcement by local authorities has remained weak. Unlike Delhi-NCR, which follows a structured Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) through the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), Madhya Pradesh lacks a state-level mechanism to respond effectively to pollution emergencies. N D HC opens nursing college jobs to male candidates The High Court has taken on record a revised advertisement for recruitment to Madhya Pradesh’s nursing colleges on various teaching and other posts, allowing male candidates to participate. Justice Vishal Dhagat disposed of a petition challenging the original advertisement, which permitted only women to apply. Following the HC order, nursing colleges have opened recruitment to male candidates. MP Employee Selection Board (MPESB) issued the re- vised advertisement, and informed High Court’s principal bench at Jabalpur on Wednesday. The petition, filed by male candidates, was resolved after today’s hearing. Previously, 100 percent of positions were reserved for women. This condition has now been removed. Male candidates can apply until January 13. Earlier, a recruitment advertisement issued on December 16, 2025, announced direct recruitment of 286 academic positions in government nursing colleges, including 40 Associate Professors, 28 Assistant Professors and 218 Sister Tutors. Open to military use in Greenland, says US Agencies WASHINGTON The White House has confirmed that President Donald Trump has been discussing “a range of options” to acquire Greenland, including the possible use of the military, describing the move as a “national security priority” for the US. In a statement to the BBC on Tuesday, the White House said: “The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US military is always an option at the Commander-in-Chief's disposal.” Immediateley, Denmark and Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, said they have sought a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, have requested the meeting in the near future, according to a statement posted on Greenland's government website.The White House comments came hours after several European leaders issued a joint statement expressing support for Denmark and rejecting US claims over the Arctic island. Trump has repeatedly said the US “needed” Greenland for security reasons, prompting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to warn that any attack by the US would spell the end of Nato. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers during a classified briefing on Capitol Hill on Monday that the Trump administration did not plan to invade Greenland. 4Continued on | P8 All positions were reserved exclusively for women. Many eligible male candidates approached High Court. Advocate Vishal Baghel, appearing for petitioners, argued that 100% reservation for women violates the 50% maximum reservation limit set by Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney case, which bars total reservation exceeding 50%. He said that Article 16(2) of the Constitution prohibits denying a citizen government employment solely on basis of sex. Completely excluding male candidates, he said, is unconstitutional. India targets 7.4% GDP in FY26 Palazhi Ashok Kumar MUMBAI Real GDP has been estimated to grow by 7.4% in FY 2025– 26, higher than 6.5% in the previous fiscal year. Government forecasts resilient expansion driven by consumption, investment and services despite global trade pressures. India’s economy is projected to grow by 7.4% in FY25–26, reinforcing its position as the world’s fastestgrowing major economy amid rising global uncertainty. The estimates released on Wednesday by the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation underscore economic resilience. 4Continued on | P8 When will a stray dog bite? Can’t read its mind, says SC FP News Service NEW DELHI Expressing serious concern over non-compliance of rules and directions by civic bodies to curb attacks by stray dogs, the Supreme Court has said that no one can read the animal's mind when it is in a "mood to bite or not". "Prevention is better than cure", a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria said, questioning why dogs should be present in institutional spaces such as E-paper HC: No construction within 200 mts of Kshipra in Ujjain courts, schools and hospitals. The Bench heard the matter for the entire first half on Tuesday and continued detailed hearings on Wednesday. "The roads should be clear of dogs and stray animals. It is not only the dog bites but also the roaming of stray animals on roads that are proving dangerous and causing accidents. No one knows which dog is in what mood in the morning. Civic bodies have to implement the rules, modules and directions strictly," the bench said. During Tuesday’s hearing, the Bench focused largely on the issue of stray dogs in institutional premises, stressing that such spaces stand on a different footing from public streets, Bar and Bench reported. 4Continued on | P8 JCB machines are being pressed into service for excavation on the eastern and western sides of Kshipra river in view of construction of 29-km-long permanent ghat Our Staff Reporter / INDORE Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday issued a stern warning to the Ujjain district administration and the Ujjain Municipal Corporation (UMC) over noncompliance with its earlier directions concerning construction near the Kshipra River. Hearing writ petition by Satyanarayan, a division bench comprising Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi granted the State government a final opportunity of two weeks to submit a compliance report, which had earlier been directed to be filed by December 8, 2025. The court noted that despite sufficient time, the report had not been placed on record. The court made it clear that if the report is not filed on or before the next hearing date, it will order the personal appearance of the Ujjain collector and municipal commissioner. During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner alleged that despite interim orders of the court, authorities were continuing to grant permissions for construction of resorts and other structures within 200 metres of the Kshipra River, in violation of the Ujjain Master Plan 2025. 4Continued on | P8 US seizes 2 oil tankers, draws Russia protests FP News Service MUMBAI The US has sharply intensified its economic and military pressure on Venezuela, intercepting two oil tankers in international waters on Wednesday, including one sailing under a Russian flag. The operation has propelled the Bacteria found in four water samples, BMC restricts supply Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL NEW JOINT PANEL FORMED INDORE The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Central Zone Bench, has expressed serious concern over worsening air quality in Madhya Pradesh, declaring eight major cities — Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Dewas, Sagar and Singrauli — as “non-attainment” cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). During a hearing on Wednesday, an application filed by Rashid Noor Khan highlighted that these cities have failed to meet air quality standards for years, amounting to a violation of fundamental right to clean air under Article 21 of the Constitution. MUMBAI Edit SC stresses right to speedy trial P.6 Tax collection to rise, fiscal consolidation to continue FP News Service MUMBAI UJJAIN Chronic air pollution: NGT flags 8 MP cities BHOPAL/JABALPUR Briefs iii QUALITY @ VALUE TOXIC SKIES | NGT said that 8 cities consistently exceeded NAAQS for particulate matter for over 5 consecutive years, leading to their official non-attainment status under NCAP Our Staff Reporter fp ESTD-1983 crisis onto a more dangerous global stage, drawing protests from Moscow and raising fears of a prolonged confrontation. On Tuesday, Russia has deployed a submarine and other naval assets to the Northern Atlantic in order to escort the formally Guyana-flagged Iranian-linked sanctioned crude oil tanker, Bella 1 - now the Russianflagged, Marinera - to its apparent intended destination in Northern Russia, 4Continued on | P8 Bacteria have been detected in four water samples collected from different parts of the state capital, prompting the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) to impose restrictions on the use of these water sources. Officials said this is the first such case reported in the city this year. According to BMC officials, the contaminated samples were collected from Adampur Cantonment, Bajpai Nagar and Khanu village areas. All four samples were found to be from groundwater-based sources. Of these, two samples were taken from near Adampur Khanti, one from a hand pump in Bajpai Nagar and one from a well in Khanu village. BMC officials stated that the water supply from groundwater-based sources in these locations has already been discontinued. Residents living in the affected areas have been advised not to use water from these groundwater sources for drinking purposes. On Wednesday, a total of 250 water samples were tested across Bhopal, out of which four were found to contain bacteria. The civic body collected 308 water samples on Wednesday, bringing the total number of samples collected so far to 1,801. Of these, 80 samples were taken specifically from slum areas to ensure the safety of drinking water in vulnerable localities.