- 4 months ago
The top focus of this episode of News Today is monsoon fury in North India, which has severely hit states like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and the Delhi NCR.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today. This is your prime time destination news, newsmakers, talking points. Tuesday night, this is where you'll get all the big stories and the news without the noise. Our big talking point tonight, North India is facing its worst ever floods and monsoon in decades. This is now a full blown climate emergency, this time being faced in the northern part of the country.
00:29That's going to be our big talking point, that climate emergency in North India. Is it getting worse? Among my guests will be climate change activists and someone who's an expert, Sunita Narayan will join us. Also, is the team drum shaken by the India, Russia, China, Troika? We'll have a voice from Washington joining us also on the show tonight. But as always, first, it's time for the nine headlines at nine tonight.
00:56The Yamuna River crosses the danger mark in the national capital. Water enters several low-lying areas along its banks, forcing people to move to safer places. India today reports from Delhi's flooded zones.
01:13Punjab reels under its worst floods in decades. Over 1,300 villages have been submerged, thousands impacted. Situation continues to remain grim in Himachal flash floods reported in Chamba district.
01:30A big win for the Maratha Kota protesters in Mumbai. The Maharashtra government agrees to give them Kunubi status for reservation under OBC's category. Activist Manoj Zarange Patel gets emotional, ends his hunger strike after that assurance from the Maharashtra government.
01:51No bail for Sharjee Ramam and Umar Khalid in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots case. Delhi High Court says can't permit conspiratorial violence under the garb of protests.
02:05The election commission serves a notice to Congress leader Pawan Kheda for being in possession of two epic card numbers. Kheda hits back says why was notice not issued to the 1 lakh duplicate voters of Madhepoora and Karnataka.
02:23Prime Minister Modi gets emotional, slamming the abuse against his mother from a Congress platform, calls it an insult to every mother, demands an apology. NDA calls for a Bihar band now on the 4th of September.
02:39A big semiconductor push for India. Prime Minister Modi receives India's first made in India semiconductor chip at the inauguration of Semicon India 2025 in New Delhi.
02:53Trouble mounts for actor Rania Rao in a gold smuggling case. DRI serves show cause notice to the actor in jail. Ask her to pay a fine of Rs. 102 crores or her properties will be attached.
03:12There's another earthquake in Afghanistan. Tremors of 5.2 magnitude felt in Hindukush region. Death toll after powerful jolt on Sunday rises to 1400.
03:23As rescue operations are underway.
03:34But tonight I want to start with the big images that have dominated what's been happening in the landscape across North India right through this monsoon period.
03:442025 will go down in history as arguably a year when North India has faced its worst ever flooding in decades.
03:55From Punjab to Uttarakhand to Himachal to Jammu and Kashmir to Delhi NCR.
04:01Large parts of North India have witnessed rains like never before.
04:05Hill sides have turned into rivers of mud. Plains into vast inland lakes.
04:12It is as if nature's fury has come to strike large parts of North India.
04:18A large part of this also according to some specialists is due to is man-made.
04:24Others are suggesting it's purely climate change.
04:27All of this will be discussed in detail at the top of the show today.
04:31Also whether urban infrastructure is capable of handling this level of flooding.
04:37But all of this starts with the state of Punjab.
04:40A state which is witnessing what it last did in 1988.
04:44Rivers, Ravi, Satlej, Bias all overflowing.
04:48Thousands of villages have been inundated.
04:51The question is Punjab's rivers are now turning into rivers of sorrow.
04:58Why?
04:59Take a look at our top story.
05:01Over 2.56 lakh people impacted.
05:23More than 15,000 evacuated.
05:312.32 lakh acres of farmland submerged.
05:39Punjab is suffering its worst floods in nearly four decades.
05:50Cities and villages are equally hit.
05:53Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Firozpur, Fazilka, Pathankot, Kapurthala and Hoshyarpur are the worst affected districts.
06:15In this village of Firozpur, a school has been converted into a relief shelter.
06:20Another village nearby is cut off, with the road linking it going underwater.
06:39Residents say they got no help for last four days.
06:43On Tuesday, the authorities were busy making arrangements for Chief Minister Bhagavan Maan's visit.
06:51Governor Gulab Chan-Katariya two visited relief centers.
06:54What stands out is the initiative of citizens.
07:18Common Man and Celebrities both standing up to serve.
07:28Vehicles taking food to flood-hit areas are hard to miss.
07:34Organizations are setting up relief camps and providing medical help.
07:38The crisis is making people wonder if it was a man-made one.
07:57It's a man-made disaster.
08:00And there's no reason that year after year, or let's say every two years in Punjab,
08:05there are floods in this way and there are so many devastation in Punjab.
08:09It's clear that we have not been bothered about the control of floods or the early warnings
08:16that we have not been able to do so many of them, but we have not been able to do so much in the future.
08:21The med department has issued red alert in many areas.
08:25The worst may not be over yet for Punjab.
08:29With Aman Bhardwaj, Kamal Jeet Sandhu and Navjot Randhava, Bureau Report, India Today.
09:08Absolutely, Rajdeep.
09:10This year is devastating.
09:12It is catastrophic.
09:14And the point is, and that's what we have to understand, that this is about climate change,
09:20but this is also not about climate change.
09:23Because what we have to understand is that there is so much that we are doing wrong
09:29with the way we are doing development, whether it is the fact that we are destroying drainage in Punjab,
09:34or that we are building like no tomorrow in the Himalayas, which means that the mountains are more and more vulnerable.
09:44And on top of that, you're getting intense, frequent extreme weather events, and that is linked to climate change.
09:53So you have to understand, we're sitting on a precipice, and then you get this extreme weather events, and that's what's driving this human, massive human tragedy that we are seeing unfolding in front of our eyes.
10:10These floods are not about water, they're about the devastation of people's lives, homes, property, development assets, roads, highways, everything getting destroyed.
10:25You know, let's break what you said into the two parts.
10:31I want to start with the man-made nature of this tragedy.
10:35We've seen this in Himachal Pradesh, encroachments right on the hillsides on the Himalayas.
10:40We've seen it in Wayanad last year, where there was this terrible devastation that took place again with landslides.
10:46And we've seen it this year again in Punjab, this time encroachments along the floodplains, poor maintenance of embankments, clogged drains in our city.
10:57So are you saying that part of this is man-made, and part of it is just the nature of what climate change is doing to weather patterns?
11:08See, Rajdeep, climate change is a reality. Let's be absolutely sure about that.
11:14If you look at this year itself, you are seeing from all government data, you are seeing something very unusual that has happened this year,
11:23which is increased frequency of Western disturbances during the monsoon period.
11:30We always had Western disturbances, but not of the number that we are seeing this year.
11:34Now, what that is doing is that you have an active monsoon, you get the Western disturbance, you get this collision happening, and then you get this massive rainfall.
11:44You're also getting our own data. We have been tracking the cloudburst.
11:49Just in the last two months, you have got as many as 21 cloudburst instances over the two, three Himalayan states.
12:02Now, just think about that. That intense frequency and intensity is climate change.
12:09When I talk about the Western disturbance, Rajdeep, why is this happening?
12:13It's happening because it is linked to a global phenomena, which is the Arctic jet stream,
12:19which is the Western disturbances are winds that come from the Mediterranean all the way to India.
12:25The weakening of the Arctic jet stream because of climate change means that these systems are getting more and more erratic.
12:34And that is linked to climate change. So this is not something you and I can do anything about today.
12:40We need to fight it. But clearly, we are not cutting emissions at the scale that we can turn this around.
12:47But what is adding to it and what is exacerbating this is the fact that we are doing development so badly, Rajdeep.
12:56We have to understand that this is going to happen.
12:59So if you look at the flooding in Gurgaon, it's not because Gurgaon has got excess rain only.
13:05It's also because every drainage system has been deliberately, willfully destroyed.
13:11We have not planned for the rains. Now, you can argue you can never plan for this quantity of rains.
13:17But we have to start planning and executing. We are doing everything wrong.
13:23We are clearing roads in the Himalayas. We are building more and more.
13:27My worry, my worry, sorry to stop you for a moment. My worry, you know, Sunita, is that all of this that you are saying you've said before.
13:37Experts like you have been banging your heads on the door saying, for God's sake, wake up and smell the rain, if I may use that word.
13:46But the truth of the matter is, there is very little happening on the ground.
13:50Punjab this time has been completely caught in a way, unawares, you could argue.
13:54But we have seen that in other states as well. Himachal Pradesh is a disaster now every year.
13:59So is Uttarakhand. Last year it was Kerala.
14:03I mean, everyone knows the problem. You cannot have encroachments on eco-sensitive areas, on hillsides, on floodplains.
14:11It's all known. But do you see anyone moving for a national plan at all?
14:17You know, Rajdeep, I think, you know, frankly, I've stopped going on television for this reason, saying, what can you keep repeating?
14:24You know that this is happening.
14:26The fact is, we have climate change, but that we can do nothing about, but at least you can start accepting the fact that every year extreme weather events are going to increase.
14:39You have to accept the fact that the Himalayas are the world's youngest mountain range.
14:44They are the most vulnerable. You cannot, you have to start planning for it.
14:49Our forecasting systems are down. We do not have enough good forecasting systems.
14:56Preparedness has to be improved. Drainage has to be improved.
15:00And we cannot build in floodplains, allow encroachment at the scale.
15:05Rajdeep, it's, I'm only sharing with you my anguish once again, my sense of frustration to say,
15:12we have to understand something is changing in our world and each year it will get worse.
15:19You are seeing it. You and I each year are seeing it happen.
15:24Do you believe though that the planning, Sunita must, do you believe the planning must be at the state level or the center?
15:33Because we've seen part of the problem is that there is absolutely no coordination between the center and states on these critical issues.
15:40Now, is decentralization the way forward making states and even further down districts responsible in a way for this kind of planning?
15:51Because the truth of the matter is corruption. A lot of these encroachments, let's be honest, is plain and simple corruption, a brazen violation of all regulations.
16:00So it's not more laws, it's implementation. And who does that? Center or states?
16:05No, it has to be the state. But Rajdeep, I think we have to go beyond words now.
16:09I'm so tired of all these fancy conferences, meetings, discussions on adaptation, resilience, talking about planning for the Himalayas.
16:18We have just cleared, in principle, the Char Dham road across the most vulnerable part of the Himalayas, where deoda trees are going to be cut.
16:29Across Deiradun, I'm getting plea after plea from people saying we are cutting more and more trees.
16:36Now roads are needed. Communication is needed. But surely we need to plan better.
16:42We need to keep understanding that these are vulnerable regions. This has to be the onus of the state.
16:48The state has to understand with each flood, every development dividend is being lost.
16:54Today, Rajdeep, the situation is we are building roads and the roads are getting wiped away with every flood, every landslide.
17:03We have to understand that this is revenge of nature. And nature is telling us that this is going to get worse every year.
17:13And we have to start, as you said, smell the rain. We have to start understanding that this is not going to get better unless we make it better.
17:26Whether it's done at the center or state, I don't know. I only know that it's beyond words and conferences and fancy documents. We need it translated on the ground.
17:38It's a human tragedy.
17:43Sunita Narayan, strong words from you and I appreciate you joining us. Always good to have you on TV.
17:50These are the voices that we need to hear and hopefully those in power are listening.
17:55Enough of your summits in air-conditioned hotels in the national capital.
18:00It will go to the ground and make sure there is implementation of the laws that are put in place, particularly in the eco-sensitive zones of this country.
18:09Sunita Narayan, joining me on the climate emergency, thank you very much for joining me here at the top of the news today.
18:15Now, I want to turn from there to a city which really represents all that's gone wrong.
18:21It's branded as the Millennium City, the city with the highest net worth individuals in the country per square kilometer.
18:28But every year, year after year, in Gurugram, in the national capital region, the situation is getting worse.
18:35Even the slightest amount of rainfall leads to waterlogged streets, large traffic jams and a complete civic collapse.
18:43Let's take a look at just why Gurugram should now be renamed not the Millennium City but the Crumbling City.
18:52Take a look.
18:58Gurugram needs no introduction, but we still give it one.
19:07The Millennium City is where every time it rains, streets resemble rivers or drains, depending on which area you happen to be in.
19:19Where you will see widening income inequality, but also see it levelling out when it rains.
19:29Billionaire or not, no one can escape waterlogging here.
19:35This was a common sight on Monday.
19:38People rolling up trousers and walking in knee-deep water.
19:42The Millennium City is where long traffic jams like the one seen Monday night, though distressing, are never surprising.
19:50The administration, as expected, got down to the business after Monday's heavy downpour.
19:59They advised the corporates to keep workers at home on Tuesday if possible.
20:05They advised schools to keep children at home for online classes.
20:10The remaining stepped out Tuesday morning, wondering what the day would be like.
20:17What you see is that knee-deep water.
20:20And we have also seen the drainage system collapsing to the extent that water was actually outflowing from the drainage which is supposed to take out, drain out the water from these roads.
20:32On the right-hand side is the bus stand road, which is again in knee-deep water.
20:37The local MLA Mukesh Sharma's office is in fact located on that particular lane itself and that is also inundated.
20:45The police are doing so well.
20:48The police are doing so well.
20:50The police are doing so well.
20:51I have seen that people are standing on the streets.
20:53They are swimming in the rain.
20:55The government departments are doing so well.
20:58The government departments are doing so well.
21:00My office is here.
21:01Yesterday, it was about 4 hours.
21:03When I was there, it was 5 hours.
21:05So, today, we are thinking that we are going fast.
21:07But the auto is still here.
21:10And now, I'm thinking about how I'm going home.
21:12Why does Gurugram get flooded?
21:17Experts say unplanned urban growth is the primary factor.
21:21Rapid urbanization has turned farmland and natural drainage areas into concrete buildings.
21:28Natural water channels like Najafgar drain, Ghatajil, Barshaapur drain that once carried excess rainwater have been encroached upon or have narrowed.
21:39Gurugram lacks an integrated stormwater drainage system.
21:43The city mostly relies on surface drains which get clogged with plastic, silt and construction debris.
21:51Many drains are interconnected with sewage lines.
21:55During heavy rains, both overflow.
21:58Add to all of this, the lack of coordination between multiple authorities like Huda, Municipal Corporation, NHAI and private developers, the recipe for chaos is complete.
22:11Every year, real estate records are broken in Gurugram.
22:18Just a few months ago, a penthouse in the city was sold for 190 crore rupees.
22:24The deal made newspaper headlines.
22:27The city, which is home to billionaires, IT companies and auto firms, accounts for over 60% income tax generated from the state.
22:36But all that money, it seems, just not enough to get the city proper drainage.
22:43With Amit Bharadwaj, Hero Report, India Today.
22:47Okay, let's put the big questions.
22:53Gurugram drowning.
22:54Why is India's urban infra crumbling?
22:57One year, Bengaluru.
22:58Next year, Gurugram.
22:59The so-called millennium cities.
23:01Can we make metros monsoon-proof?
23:04Can someone pay attention to drainage?
23:07Is this a climate emergency or a man-made crisis?
23:10Let me go to our guest now.
23:13We are joined by Arunaba Ghosh.
23:15He joins us at the moment.
23:17Appreciate your joining us, Mr. Arunaba Ghosh there.
23:21I am also joined at this moment.
23:23Arunaba is founder, CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water.
23:27And by Vivek Menon, urban planner.
23:30Appreciate both of you joining us.
23:32Arunaba, to you first.
23:33I mean, are we surprised by what we've seen?
23:36Or is it simply getting worse every year?
23:38The complete lack of planning has led to the collapse of Gurugram.
23:42And now it's too late?
23:45We shouldn't be surprised by what we are seeing.
23:48Because this is...
23:49Arunaba.
23:50Can you hear me?
23:53Can you hear me?
23:54Yeah, yeah, go ahead.
23:56Thank you, Rajdeep.
23:57We shouldn't be surprised by what we are seeing.
23:59Yes, yes.
24:00Because it's a combination of a worsening monsoonal pattern,
24:05combined with, which is compounded rather by,
24:08poor urban planning.
24:11See, across country, we have 4,500 odd tehsils.
24:1664% of those tehsils, that's nearly two thirds,
24:20have seen an increase in the frequency of heavy rainfall days
24:25over the last decade compared to the previous three decades.
24:28That means we are...
24:31We have already entered a world where our cities are faced
24:35with non-linear climate risks.
24:38Means what was an extreme event yesterday
24:41is becoming more and more normal today.
24:43This is what we are already encountering.
24:46And we have to understand that as we build and plan for new cities,
24:51we have to plan for a very different climatic environment
24:56in which we live in.
24:57That being said, we are compounding this with many of the things
25:01that your reporter mentioned in his report.
25:03Rapid urbanization.
25:05In Delhi alone, the built-up area has gone up at 35%
25:09over the last 15 years.
25:11We have built, in Gurgaon or in Delhi,
25:14we have built over natural drainage areas.
25:17We have built over water bodies, et cetera.
25:20So you're preventing the water from seeping into the ground.
25:24What is called...
25:25We have to create sponge city.
25:27And if we build over it, if you concretize it,
25:29you're not going to be able to do that.
25:31Second problem is that you have inadequate drainage infrastructure.
25:34The drainage infrastructure is built for average rainfall intensity
25:38of 12 to 20 millimeters per hour.
25:41Now, that is very different from these intense rainfall patterns
25:46that we're repeatedly identifying and have pointed out
25:49through our reports at CEW.
25:51And then you have the mix of the sewage drains
25:54and the floodwater drains, which when they're clogged up,
25:57again, because of our negligence, not just as governments,
26:00but as citizens, then you have a backflow
26:03both of the stormwater as well as the sewage.
26:06What we are seeing is tragic, terrible, but also entirely predictable.
26:16Let me bring in Vivek Menon.
26:18You know, Vivek, the question is, is it too late now?
26:21You build this millennium city in Gurugram.
26:24We've seen the same with the IT city in Bengaluru.
26:27You build these large concrete structures.
26:29You take away from water bodies.
26:31Do you believe it's too late now to fix the problem, particularly of drainage,
26:36when you're building on areas which were once water bodies?
26:40Well, actually, I don't think so.
26:42I think it's never too late to start the planning process
26:45or to at least change the design narrative that we have today.
26:48I mean, I've been designing, you know, urban infrastructure across the world,
26:53especially in the United States for the past 25 to 30 years.
26:56And I lived in Houston for the longest time.
26:58And we have, you know, significant amount of rainfall as well as, you know,
27:01hurricanes that come through there.
27:03The bottom line is that, unfortunately, our infrastructure planned by our agencies,
27:08these agencies that are responsible for maintaining both the, you know,
27:12the primary, secondary and tertiary systems,
27:15have absolutely no intellectual capabilities within themselves.
27:19I see that in Bangalore over here, we've got several agencies,
27:22and we've got one too many, I believe.
27:24And none of them takes responsibility for, you know, how all of this is planned.
27:28You know, my previous speaker just mentioned that, you know, I mean, Bangalore,
27:32we estimate about, you know, 40 to 55 mm of rainfall per hour.
27:37Now, of course, you know, Kerala, I design projects in Kerala
27:40where we usually extrapolate that to about 70 to 90 mm per hour.
27:44And everything is designed around that.
27:46So the storm drain systems that are designed around the roads are typically designed to ensure
27:52that we can actually absorb the water.
27:55The road is the secondary drainage structure, if you will.
27:58But the primary drainage structure has to be designed with roadside drains
28:03with adequate capacity for the water to enter the drainage system.
28:07And that is non-existent.
28:09I see road after road, highway after highway being built
28:13without a storm drain system that can actually absorb the water.
28:16The ponding height and the ponding width which we model.
28:19And, you know, there are enough of modeling softwares out there that can be used
28:22to basically model this entire thing to where the water actually drains off of the roads
28:28within five to seven minutes.
28:30And then, of course, it connects back to a secondary drainage system and a tertiary drainage system.
28:35Are you saying, are you saying, Vivek, are you saying this is possible if you had experts?
28:42You see, you have urban civic bodies with no real expertise focused only on drainage.
28:48Are you saying, for example, every major city now needs almost like a ministry of drainage
28:54which only singularly handles this right through the air and then can be held accountable?
28:59Today, I don't know in Gurugram who to hold accountable.
29:02Yeah, absolutely, Rajdeep.
29:04You know, let me compare this with what we do in the US.
29:08There we have what we call a flood control district.
29:11In addition to that, we have FEMA, which is the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
29:15that creates flood maps and these flood maps are updated on a year-to-year basis.
29:21So you know that if it's a hundred year flood that you're looking at
29:24or probably even today a 200 to 300 year flood,
29:27these maps are constantly updated to ensure that if any construction happens within these zones,
29:33then there are two things that you need to do.
29:35One is you need to provide detention within your own project.
29:38You cannot release the stormwater that you have created due to what we call as impervious cover.
29:44When you put concrete over a surface,
29:46you're preventing the water from actually seeping and infiltrating into the ground.
29:50And that's called impervious cover, which creates sheet flow.
29:53The sheet flow that comes off of it is what you're seeing on the roads currently.
29:56And if you can manage that sheet flow within your own project,
30:00if you have a hundred acre project, it's very easy to calculate the amount of detention that you need to provide.
30:05So you're not releasing the flood waters from your project into the government storm drains.
30:11And that then creates the capacity within the drains to basically drain off into a primary drain and probably into an outfall.
30:18You know, when I look at Gurugam, when I look at, you know, the Yamuna that flows not too far away from all of that.
30:23Right. I mean, in Noida, you have the Yamuna that flows there.
30:26If you can outfall into the Yamuna and I'm in fact actually doing two projects in Indirapuram.
30:31And we calculate all of this. We make sure that none of these, you know, private developments actually flood.
30:37So it's actually engineering. It's pure and simple engineering.
30:41And if you can do that the right way, I mean, I do this on project to project.
30:45I do it in Kerala where, you know, the rainfall is 2,300 mm per year.
30:50And the intensities are in the range of 80 to 100 mm per hour.
30:53And we have flood free communities.
30:56So it's not that you cannot do it. But unfortunately, none of the agencies today have urban planners.
31:02None of these agencies have a flood control district which controls the flooding and looks at specifically only flooding, detention, retention.
31:11So I think, you know, unfortunately, what's happening here, you know, obviously, urban growth has created, you know, compounded the problem of flooding.
31:18But there is no one who's actually taking that bull by the horns and addressing it.
31:22Even a city like Mumbai, which is at sea level, you can prevent flooding over there.
31:28If you create drainage tunnels and make sure that you detain the water, you can actually prevent flooding and you can keep the roads dry.
31:35So it is highly possible. It's pure engineering. That's about all it takes.
31:39Vivek, okay, let me leave it there.
31:44I have run out of time, but I appreciate both of you joining us.
31:48Arunaba will get you again.
31:50But bottom line is I think both Arunaba and Vivek are pointing out the nature of the crisis.
31:56The crisis has now reached a proportion where the buck simply can't be passed on to the citizens, certainly not, and not to developers.
32:06But the entire system which is headed by officials who are simply unaccountable in this country.
32:13Gurugram one year, Bengaluru the next.
32:16The so-called cities of the future are rapidly becoming sinking cities.
32:21Forget about smart cities. These are becoming sinking cities.
32:25Let's move to another city that's making the headlines, Mumbai.
32:29Because for the last few days, Mumbai has been in turmoil, not for any other reason but the Maratha reservation activists who swarmed across the city.
32:38Well today, some kind of a solution appeared to be found with the Maharashtra government almost conceding to the demand of the reservationists,
32:47saying that they will give them Kunbi OBC status.
32:51The leader of the Maratha agitation, Manoj Zarange Patil has called off his agitation for now.
32:58But the question remains, why was this agitation allowed in the first place to reach boiling point?
33:04Take a look.
33:05Mumbai's Azad Maidan erupted in celebration on Tuesday evening.
33:22As Maratha quota activist, Manoj Zarange Patil ended his hunger strike on the fifth day.
33:28Jarange Patil accepted the Maharashtra government's draft resolution on the implementation of Maratha quota on the basis of Hyderabad Gazette.
33:37Once implemented, it will grant Kunbi status to all Marathas from Marathwara region.
33:43Out of Jarange Patil's eight demands, six were accepted.
33:47He welcomed the resolution, calling it a victory.
33:50He also announced that protesters would vacate Azad Maidan once the government issues the official order.
33:57In 1918, Hyderabad Gazette, issued by the Nizam era government, documents several communities, including many from the Maratha community, in what is now Marathwara as Kunbis, a recognized OBC category in Maharashtra.
34:25Historically, the Maratha community held a strong presence in the Hyderabad state with representation in both administration and employment.
34:34The Nizam's government officially categorized Marathas as Kunbis, granting them reservation benefits in education and jobs through a formal order.
34:44The Gazette formally documents that the Maratha community has historically been socially and educationally backward.
34:52This is why Manoj Arange Patil is not only demanding implementation of the Hyderabad Gazette,
34:59but also recognition of similar records from the Satara and Bombay Gazettes.
35:04While the government has agreed to implement the Hyderabad Gazette immediately,
35:09it has asked for a month's time to process the Satara and Pune Aundh Gazette, citing legal hurdles.
35:16Additionally, the government has agreed to withdraw all pending cases filed against Maratha protesters during the agitations of 2023 and 2024.
35:27The demand for quota isn't without controversy.
35:34The demand for quota isn't without controversy.
35:56Some believe a faction within the current Maharashtra government supports Jarange Patil's movement and is actively pushing for Maratha reservation.
36:05On the other hand, some OBC leaders within the NDA are opposed to Maratha quota.
36:11Minister Chagan Bhajwal has objected to including Marathas in the OBC quota.
36:35While the truce marks the end of Jarange's hunger strike, the reservation battle is far from over.
36:45The existing 10% quota for Kunbis is already under challenge in quotes.
36:51Bureau report, India today.
37:00We'll wait and see how that agitation eventually plays out.
37:03Let's turn though to another top story.
37:05The Delhi High Court today denied bail yet again to Umar Khalid and Sharjeeel Imam among others.
37:12Activists who've been accused of being part of the larger conspiracy in the 2020 Delhi riots case.
37:19Remember, Umar and Sharjeeel have spent as many as five years in jail already.
37:25The trial also hasn't begun.
37:27Several witnesses have not even been questioned yet.
37:30Despite that, the court said that because of the nature of the charges against them,
37:35they could not be granted bail.
37:38Anisha Mathur tells us exactly what the court said while denying them bail yet again.
37:46It has been five years in jail for Umar Khalid, Sharjeeel Imam and the others accused in the larger conspiracy
37:53to commit terrorist activity in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots case.
37:59The Delhi High Court once again denying bail to all nine accused.
38:03And there are some specific points that the court has made regarding the allegations against each accused.
38:08But for a larger view of the court.
38:11First of all, the court has said that the right to protest is not absolute.
38:16The court in fact saying that they cannot be granted parity to the 2021 verdict in the Devangana Kalata case
38:22where the same High Court had said that protest is not terrorism.
38:25Here the court is saying that conspiracy to violence under the garb of protests cannot be permitted.
38:31Secondly, the court has said that the grant of bail on sole ground of delay in the trial or long incarceration
38:39is not a universally applicable rule in all cases.
38:43Thirdly, what the court has said is that the court's discretion in cases like these under the UAPA is already circumscribed.
38:50And therefore, the court only needs to look at the prima facie evidence and reasonable grounds to believe the evidence.
38:57And therefore, the court has taken note of the prosecution's allegations
39:01and the fact that protected witnesses are yet to be examined,
39:05that there are specific allegations against each of these accused in the larger conspiracy case.
39:10The Delhi High Court saying no bail will be granted at this stage.
39:14Okay, Anisha Mathur there reporting on that case.
39:21The big political story, it's all about slogans, now it's about slurs.
39:26Today the Prime Minister back in the country claimed that the Congress party was responsible for the abuse
39:32which had been hurled on him and his mother.
39:35Mr. Modi got emotional and said that this was a painful insult to every mother in the country
39:42and wanted an apology from the opposition in Bihar.
39:46The opposition for its part claims that the Prime Minister is working to a toolkit to gather sympathy.
39:53Listen in to both sides.
39:55My mother's daughter is war on him and was in return to death,
40:00I was unfortunately защituted by his mother,
40:02I was only against her death.
40:04My mother, the independence for her life,
40:10who gave her the power of her father as the power of her mother,
40:15theисthera became her mother,
40:17my mother,
40:22और जरी कांग्रेस के मंच से नॐन बदी भधी गालिया दी गई
40:31माताई भैने पिरे देख रहा हूं आपके चहरे आपको भी कितना दर्द हुआ हो
40:43est Italia कि मैं देख रहा हूं कुछ माता और के आंख में आशू मुझे नज़र आ रहे हैं एंधिति बहुत दुख देने
40:50The program of that stage had ended much before.
41:11And I told you the very same day that this toolkit of the BJP is out.
41:17They will first create an issue out of, they will first make an issue and then amplify
41:23the issue.
41:24And then the Prime Minister will make an entry and start crying, oh look, I have been abused
41:28again, I have been abused again.
41:29This toolkit does not work again and again.
41:33No leader or worker of any political party, be it the BJP, be it any other party or Congress
41:39of course, will ever insult anybody's mother.
41:42But the Prime Minister by saying he is non-biological.
41:46I think that was an insult to his mother and it was uncalled for.
41:48Why should he have insulted his mother?
41:51Okay, let's turn to the big international story.
41:55A day after the Tianjin Tango or the Tianjin Troika of Prime Minister Modi, Russian President
42:01Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
42:05Today, the United States once again doubled down on its attacks on India led by Peter Navarro,
42:10White House Trade Advisor, who claimed that Putin and Xi were biggest authoritarian dictators.
42:16And he was surprised that India's leadership had chosen to do a photo op with them, calling
42:22it shameful to see the country aligning with the likes of Putin and Xi.
42:27What exactly therefore is America up to and how does it see the meeting of Xi, Modi and
42:36Putin?
42:37I spoke to a leading voice from Washington a short while ago.
42:40Listen in.
42:41It was a shame to see Modi getting in bed as the leader of the biggest democracy in the
42:47world with the two biggest authoritarian dictators in the world in Putin and Xi Jinping.
42:54That doesn't make any sense.
42:56I'm not sure what he's thinking, particularly since India has been in a cold war and sometimes
43:03a hot war with China for decades.
43:11So what next then in Donald Trump's ever escalating war on tariffs against India?
43:17How should New Delhi now respond?
43:20My guest is from Washington, D.C., a special one.
43:23Harry Broadman is former Chief of Staff of George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers.
43:29Also served in the Clinton administration as an assistant trade representative.
43:33Knows a thing or two about trade talks.
43:35Appreciate your joining us, Mr. Broadman.
43:37You're joining us at a time when every day there is an ever escalating attack from the
43:42Trump administration.
43:43If not the president, then his trade advisor, Mr. Navarro, targeting India time and again.
43:49Make sense of this for us because from an Indian perspective, all we are seeing is America
43:55playing the role of big bully and thereby appending 25 years of a relatively strong, stable relationship
44:02between the two democracies.
44:06Well, India, unfortunately, is in good company because there are other countries that the
44:12president is being quite aggressive with.
44:15And I think, you know, the most important thing is to understand, you know, what his motives
44:21are and for him to understand, you know, what your motives are.
44:26And I think, you know, these are two great democracies and very large countries.
44:32Obviously, India much larger than ours by population.
44:35It's a pity that things stand where they are.
44:41But my guess is that we will figure out a way of navigating this path together because I think the U.S. needs India and India needs the U.S.
44:52This is always sometimes the case at the beginning of negotiations with Mr. Trump.
44:57I think when he finally sort of calms down and listens to what the proposals are back and forth, I think, you know,
45:04there probably will be a deal, but it's going to be rough going.
45:08But as I say, if there's any consolation, it's that he's been equally tough with other countries like India.
45:16But Mr. Broadbent, is there a rational explanation for what Donald Trump and Mr. Navarro are doing?
45:28Mr. Navarro in particular, very, very direct attacks on India day after day.
45:34I mean, is this some sort of arm twisting to get the two sides on the negotiating table?
45:41Or is there something that now goes well beyond that?
45:44And can it be explained at all?
45:50I, again, you're not alone.
45:54And I think, you know, I think don't don't get this made and don't I think don't don't respond to his attacks.
46:06Then you're just feeding the beast.
46:08I think important trade relationship.
46:10And I think both sides with with cool heads, you know, will navigate this.
46:16You know, I think, you know, as I say, this is part of Mr. Trump's way of doing business.
46:23It's it's a I think I grew up in New York.
46:25I watched him as I grew up.
46:27So I mean, I'm used to seeing this kind of conduct.
46:30And I think cooler heads will will prevail.
46:33I think we have a lot.
46:35The U.S. has a lot to gain by improving our trade relationship with India, just as India has a lot to gain improving its trade relationship with the U.S.
46:45You know, you're saying that cooler heads will prevail.
46:51But just look at the way Donald Trump is dealing with India, let's say, compared to a China.
46:56You know, he's given enormous amount of flexibility to the Chinese during trade talks given one extension after the other.
47:04He struck deals with the EU.
47:06With India, on the other hand, he seems to get up the rhetoric day after day.
47:11So could this spiral out of control or do you remain quietly confident that eventually Mr. Trump will calm down and we'll have a trade deal by the end of the year?
47:24Oh, I think I think there I think there will be a deal whether whether it's ultimately, you know, the kind of deal that Mr. Modi wants or the kind of deal that Mr. Trump wants.
47:34I think that's that's that's that's to be determined.
47:38But I think, you know, there's there's an expression, don't feed the beast.
47:41And Mr. Trump's, you know, I'd say his his conduct is to make make it very personal.
47:47It's it's not just not just with respect to Mr. Modi, but other other leaders.
47:52And I think, you know, don't don't take the bait in some sense.
47:56I do think he is reacting, you know, to the recent meeting with Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi and others.
48:03I think that that sort of riles him.
48:06But again, I think don't try to rise above that as I think Mr. Moody is capable of doing.
48:13But but but with due respect, Mr. Broadman, why should why should the prime minister meeting Putin or Xi rile Mr. Trump?
48:22It was Mr. Trump, after all, who just a few days ago was meeting Mr. Putin for the Alaska summit.
48:28When we look at China, it's America's attitude replete with double standards.
48:33The fact is China is the biggest importer of Russian oil and yet India gets singled out and is accused of fueling the Russian war machine.
48:43So are these double standards that we simply have to live with if the American president is going to tell us who we should meet and who we should not?
48:54I think I think so. But again, I think Mr. Modi should should keep his calm, which I think he has the capability of doing.
49:03You know, it should have been no surprise to to Mr. Trump or those of us in the U.S. who are quite familiar with India and China and Russia,
49:13that this Shanghai cooperation organization meeting involved them all.
49:19And, you know, again, I think if we can stick to the basics, both the U.S. and India, I think there is a deal to be done.
49:27One of one of the things I think gets in his in his craw is the fact that we are running a trade deficit with India.
49:35Now, to an economist, the trade deficit is part of doing business.
49:39It just reveals comparative advantage between different countries on different goods and services.
49:45I'm not sure that Mr. Trump fully appreciates these.
49:50I wouldn't even call them subtleties, but stark reminders of the strength that India has in the world market.
49:57And I think, you know, I suspect that that, you know, when when tempers calm down on Mr. Trump's side, we'll find a way through.
50:07You referenced his meeting with Mr. Putin in Alaska.
50:13I don't think that meeting went very well for Mr. Trump because he didn't get what he thought he was going to get.
50:20And there's obviously, as people know from reading the newspapers or watching TV about Mr. Trump's relationship with Mr. Putin, you know, things, you know, are not as pretty as Mr. Trump sees in the beginning.
50:36And so, again, if there's any consolation in the Mr. Moody or not.
50:41That's Harry Broadman there telling us, stay calm is the best way to deal with Donald Trump.
50:51We'll wait and see.
50:52We started the show today with flood fury across North India.
50:55Let's end with it.
50:56Get Real India today comes from Himachal Pradesh, where the Kulu-Manali highway has been cut off from the rest of the country.
51:02Worst hit in the process are the famed apple growers of Manali.
51:07Aseem Bassi has tonight's Get Real India story.
51:11Cloud bursts, flash floods, landslides, relentless rains over the past weeks have damaged the Kulu-Manali national highway at multiple locations.
51:41With roads broken and no transportation available, the apple industry is feeling the pinch.
51:47In the orchards, farmers have stopped plucking apples.
51:53It was about 15 August.
51:56But, since the weather is late and the road is late, it's going to fall.
52:04It will fall and fall.
52:06It will fall and fall.
52:07It will fall and fall.
52:08At a nearby storehouse, apples are packed and ready.
52:14But there is nowhere to go, as buyers are staying away.
52:19Apples are a 6,000 crore industry in Himachal Pradesh.
52:25The Kulu-Manali region is a major contributor.
52:28Small farmers, who are heavily dependent on this industry,
52:31are in pain.
52:32The Kulu-Manali region, who are heavily dependent on this industry, are in pain.
52:33The Kulu-Manali region, who are heavily dependent on this industry, are in pain.
52:34The Kulu-Manali region is a major contributor.
52:39The Kulu-Manali region is a major contributor.
52:40The Kulu-Manali region is a major contributor.
52:41the Kulu-Manali region.
52:42Apples are a 6,000 crore industry in Himachal Pradesh.
52:46The Kulu-Manali region is a major contributor.
52:50The Kulu-Manali region is a major contributor.
52:54Small farmers, who are heavily dependent on this industry, are in pain.
52:59The orchard owners are demanding the intervention of both state and central governments to
53:29compensate apple growers.
53:59As I said, this is a climate emergency the country is facing and my simple thought that
54:07I leave you with, how often do we even discuss this, whether it's in parliament, in cabinet
54:12meetings or indeed on news TV.
54:15Wake up call after wake up call, the country is facing, my friends, a climate emergency.
54:21Wake up and smell the rain.
54:23Thanks for watching.
54:24Stay well, stay safe.
54:25Good night, Shubhra 3.
54:27Jai Hind Namaskar.
Be the first to comment