India and China will undertake coordinated patrolling in Depsang and Demchok in Eastern Ladakh to avoid face-offs as patrols are set to resume by month-end. Army sources said the disengagement which commenced on Tuesday is expected to be completed by October 29 to the situation as existed pre-April 2020 and patrols would resume after that.
“A general framework agreement was concluded first at the diplomatic level and subsequently a detailed agreement outlining the modalities of disengagement as well the patrolling was concluded at the Corps Commander level on Monday,” Army sources said on Friday. The current agreement pertains to only Depsang and Demchok, the two remaining friction points, and will restore the ground status to pre-April 2020, sources stressed.
The agreement, in-principle, means that Indian Army will be able to resume patrols upto the Patrolling Points (PP) 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 13 in the Depsnag area which it last managed to access in January 2020. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has been blocking Indian patrols from going beyond the Y-junction in the strategic Depsang plains.
However, the agreement also means that there is no resumption of patrols yet in the other friction points from where disengagement has already been undertaken. The buffer zones set up as part the agreement continue to remain in place. These areas include Galwan, North & South Banks of Pangong Tso, PP15 & PP17A in Gogra Hot Springs area.
Adequate measures have been taken to ensure that troops do not come face to face and avoid face offs. “Patrols will be spaced in such a manner that there would be no face offs. Patrols will be coordinated by both sides,” sources said, stating that there would be regular discussions at various levels on the ground in all sectors to build confidence and avoid any flare up of tensions.
Army sources, however, denied any ‘quid pro quo’ in Arunachal Pradesh in order to achieve disengagement in Depsang. However, there has been some understanding with respect to Yangtse which has been an area of friction and clashes having occurred on occasions.
Sources also acknowledged that the de-induction process is a long drawn process and will take time. “Discussions regarding resuming patrols at other friction areas are underway. There are talks going on in all sectors along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).”
One of the outcomes of the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was that the Special Representatives on the India-China boundary question “will meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquillity in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.”
In 2002, India and China exchanged maps of the LAC in the middle and western sectors. While middle sector happened smoothly, in the Western sector the Chinese said India was expanding its claims in the Depsang bulge area and there has been no further movement.
Cyclone Dana spares Odisha as it crosses coast with weakened intensity
The severe cyclonic storm Dana spared Odisha on Friday, crossing the coast in Kendrapara district with a much-weakened intensity. The anticipated destruction was significantly less than feared.
According to the India Meteorological Department, the cyclonic storm crossed Habalikhati Nature Camp in Kendrapara district with 100 to 110 km per hour between 1.30 a.m. and 3.30 a.m. on Friday. It weakened into cyclonic storm over north coastal Odisha. The maximum sustained win speed around the centre of cyclone was about 80-90 km per hour.
The cyclone caused heavy rainfall measuring 16 cm near Chandbali of Bhadrak and Rajkanika of Kendrapara. By noon, there was no sign of heavy rain in Kendrapara, Bhadrak, and most coastal districts. The storm surge was about one to two metres above the astronomical tide near low-lying areas of Bhadrak, Balasore, and Kendrapara district.
Apart from incidents of tree uprooting and minor damage to power infrastructure, there was no major destruction reported. In Kendrapara coast, where Cyclone Dana made landfall, roofs and walls of a few weaker thatched houses sustained damage. Crop damage was observed to be less than anticipated. Vehicle movement was disrupted in the early morning due to fallen branches blocking roads, but quick action by disaster response teams promptly cleared the obstructions. A similar situation was observed in the neighbouring Bhadrak district.
Supreme Court to examine plea to abolish special treatment for VIPs in temples
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine a plea to scrap the levy of ‘VIP entry charges’ and according of “preferential, selective and special treatment” to a certain class of people in temples while thousands of devotees, including senior citizens, women, children and persons with disabilities, waited for hours in queues for darshan.
A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar decided to list the petition filed by Vijay Kishor Goswami and said the term ‘VIP’ or ‘Very Important Person’ was not defined in law. Usually, those who could afford to pay exorbitant amounts got to sail through while others unable to pay suffered long hours of deprivation to exercise their right to worship. The petition termed it “VIP culture”.
Goswami, represented by advocates Sarthak Ghonkrokta and Akash Vashishtha, said the arbitrary practice and discrimination solely on the basis of how deep a person’s pocket was amounted to the violation of the fundamental rights to equality, dignity and right to freely practise religion.
The petition said people of all castes, communities, classes and sections of society should be treated equally and provided a fair and an equal opportunity to pray and get darshan in all temples, religious structures and public places of sanctity.
The Union government, through the Ministries of Culture and Tourism and various States including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Assam and Jharkhand have been arraigned as respondents in the petition.
The petition said that with the growth of religious tourism and construction of new temples such as the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and expansion of several others, many Durga Shaktipeeths and Jyotirlingas (Shiva temples) may “imitate” these VIP charge/VIP entry practises.
The plea has also sought the constitution of a national-level board with a “multi-tier structural and functional framework for the redressal of complaints, grievances, issues and concerns of citizens related to the functioning and practices of temples and/or other religious structures or public places of sanctity, across the country”.
It has also sought the framing of Standard Operating Procedures to regulate and manage the entry of devotees and visitors in temples, religious structures or public places of sanctity.
Supreme Court bars Gujarat government from allocating Gir Somnath lands to third party for now
The Supreme Court on Friday barred the Gujarat government from transferring to any third party lands in Gir Somnath district where the local Muslim community says demolitions of its religious structures were carried out illegally.
A Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai said the lands should remain with the government till the next date of hearing on November 11.
The court however did not entertain a request made by Auliya-e-Deen Committee for interim relief of status quo with respect to the demolitions. The committee said the lands were Waqf property.
It argued that nine Muslim religious places of worship, graveyards and hutments, some of which were protected monuments, were razed by the authorities in spite of successive Supreme Court orders on September 17 and October 1 freezing “illegal demolitions” of a communal or retributive nature across the country.
The petition filed by the committee, through advocate Ejaz Maqbool, argued that the people concerned were not even given an opportunity to remove their personal effects.
Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, for the Gujarat government, said the petition was part of a “narrative-building” exercise. The land belonged to the government, he argued.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, for the committee, said the land was registered under the Waqf Act.
“The reason given for the demolition is that the lands were near the Arabian Sea and therefore, near a waterbody. Protected monuments were razed to the ground. Can your Lordships imagine?” Mr. Sibal submitted.
The court, meanwhile, said the proceedings pending in the State High Court would continue.
Supreme Court rejects CBI plea against Bombay High Court order quashing LOCs against actor Rhea Chakraborty, kin
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) plea challenging a Bombay High Court order that quashed the look out circulars (LOC) issued against actor Rhea Chakraborty and her family in the death case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
A Bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan termed the plea of the probe agency as “frivolous” while trashing it.
The Bombay High Court had on February 22 quashed the LOCs issued against Chakraborty and her brother Showik and their parents — Indrajit and Sandhya. The LOCs were issued against them in 2020.
Rajput was found dead in his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14, 2020.
While the Mumbai police registered an accidental death report and started a probe into the case, Rajput’s father had in July 2020 lodged a complaint with the Bihar police, alleging the actor’s purported girlfriend Chakraborty and her family members had abetted his suicide.
The case was later transferred to the CBI, which has been investigating it.
In 2020, both Rhea and Mr. Showik were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in a drugs case related to Rajput but were granted bail later.
In Brief:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are a matter of concern and India is ready to make every possible contribution for restoration of peace. His remarks came after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who called upon India to contribute to find a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for a long time. “The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are a matter of concern for both nations. India has always been of the view that war cannot be a solution to problems. India is ready to make every possible contribution for the restoration of peace,” Modi said after the 7th Inter-Governmental Consultations with the visiting German Chancellor.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
Published - October 25, 2024 09:17 pm IST
