Scribd
Upload
142 views128 pages

India Today 29 July - 2024

India Today July_2024

Uploaded by

gawaskar4u
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
142 views128 pages

India Today 29 July - 2024

India Today July_2024

Uploaded by

gawaskar4u
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 128
CGA UTTAR PRADESH Ort = CD Rad STEER) Oe As PARIS OLYMPICS 2024 a3 GOLD QUEST POTS os Pte ta Cos pay sree nerd Renard FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ports lovers across the lobe are agog as the ‘Olympics return to France’ beautiful eapital after one century. This promises to be a unique ‘The lucky ones will witness charming events like dressage— think of tas the equestrian equivalent ofallet—against the backdrop of the Palace of Versailles. It will feature Indias first= Anush Agarwalla. His horse, Sir Caramello ng to~Jai Ho"! Will that exuberant victory chant rub off on the whole contingent? We will know soon. This week, we celebrate Indias Quest for Gold with acurtain-raiser. After the Tokyo Olympics, Indias Olympie ambitions have ‘begun to soar. Tokyo 2020 was a watershed moment. We got ‘our highest-ever tally of even medalsand also marked adistinet change in trajectory—Neeraj Chopra javelin gold was the frst byan Indian ina track and fell event. India’s Tokyo contingent was the largest ever: over 120 athletes across disciplines. At 117, the Paris-bound ensemble is, actually atad smaller—it also looks puny compared tothe 6592)and China (388). Yet, India boasts a good crop of athletes who are really in the medal hunt; the optimists are counting the final tallyin the double digits. You will ind all the candidates, veterans as wel as fresh arrivals in our gall of profiles curated and written by Deputy Editor Tthas lavish, exclusive photo- Photo Editor, Bandeep Singh, that capture ll their outward flair and inner drama. Along with an event calendar, thisis your ‘guidebook to help you zero in on everyone with a realisable chance of getting up ontoan Olympic podium with the Indian anthem playing, eraj Chopra leads the order of precedence. When it comes toall-conquering performance, he hasbeen there, done that—and stayed there. He both the Olympic champion and the World champion But some of his competitors have breached the 90-metre bar- rier—his best was only whisperingly close, at 89.944 m. He also ‘came second in the Doha Diamond League in May. But the ‘country lad from Haryana knows how to keep iteool and letit ripon the big day. Next is SatChi'—the flamboyant badminton ‘doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty ‘who were World No.1 in October 2028. In the past two years, the Danish coach Mathias Boe, Olympic silver medallist and ‘with more range and durability without slowing them down. ‘Satwik still owns the Guinness record forthe fastest hit in badminton, a565kmph smash, Next is our galaxy of female stars from the power’ games: plenty of grit and guts hold up their potential for glory: Nikhat ‘Zarcen, the tough girl from Nizamabad who graces our eover, is not getting kid-glove treatment in Paris despite being a two- ‘time world champion in fly weight/light flyweight (2022, 2023) ‘ategories—the boxer is going unseeded and so faces a tough ‘dravs, But missing out on Tokyo has only whetted her appetite. uly 19,2021 ‘Nor has abronze at Tokyo sated the appetite of fellow pugilist Lovlina Borgohain—a World Championship gold in 2023 proves the Assamese hasit in her to go for more. Mirabai Chanu, the silver medalist at Tokyo, has long made pain her best friend. The Meitei weightlifter came out ofa carcer-threatening hip injury tolift well over three times her body weight of 49 kg to qualify ‘again. Among wrestlers, noone would blame Vinesh Phogat for ‘being unable to fully focus on training. The former World No.1 ‘was kept busy wrestling entities outside the mat, way beyond her ‘weight category. Now, she has changed hers tohave a shot at her first Olympic medal, even ifthe 50 kg draw will be more chal- lenging for her. Last but not least, there's Antim Panghal, 19, the yest Haryana wrestling sensation that Vinesh had to make way forin 53 kg. Peeing See tederenn which gin 1a medal at Tokyo after a gap of 1 years isin the hunt again— ‘with 1 ofthat samesquad. But our overall medal tally could hinge ‘on another posse. India has 21 shooters lining up for 27 events ‘at Chiteaurou in central France, three hours vay from all the noise in Pars. Ina game of probabilities, the more chances you. st thigh the chances fa medal Thee out fori Sift Kaur Samra, the 22-year-old ‘world recor holder from Fart wise attitude leans towards the Punjabi pop of Dit Dosaayh and camping in her Seorpio. twas Antwerp 1920 that hosted the first proper Indian Olympic team. Dorabji Tata was its moving spirit and chiefsponsor; he repeated the role in Paris in 1924. Looking back century later, we count only 35 medals in 24 editions Fthe Olympics. Official institutional support has been feeble historically. The Modi govern= :ment's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) does support aro 800 athletes now, but the ‘That’ over three years and across numerous sports. At Paris, India is competing in 16 disciplines out of 45 ‘Compare that to cricket. By some reported estimates, the taxes ‘the BCCI paid in 2022-23 were 10 times that! Training facili- ties still need to be world-class. Neeraj Chopratrains mainly abroad. So does Nethra Kumanan, the sailor whose dinghy will, bbe on view offthe Marseille coast. Bhajan Kaut, an 18-year-old ‘wunderkind, grew up training ina makeshift archery ra by her farmer-father near their wheat fields in Haryana, o pave his own ndees with little knowledge s still monopolise sporting federations. We Tatas of today if India has to do justice to its now boasts 200 billionaires. need the Dorabji ‘human potential. Ind more stepped up to add to our sporting glory. nst heavy odds. Kudosto them. Meanwhile, we wish them the best of ck. oe (Aroon Purie) JULY 29, 2024 INDIA TODAY | 3 INDIA TODAY www indiatoday.in [nem] “Sew ymacatoneocey UPFRONT JK: APRE-POUL DISASTERS PC 10 UNDERCUT 4 Od MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM 25 | CHIRAG & SATWIK BHAJAN KAUR, NIKHATZAREEN SIFTKAURSAMRA 57 | SREEJAAKULA NEERAJ CHOPRA SRIHARI NATARAJ NETHRA MIRABAICHANU 49 | KUMANAN Le erp eVanah Phage Barth Singh aah fale naeeacnamacinecescsnimant canna WHO TOWATCH WHEN 4 Cover Phozgraph by BANDEEP SINGH andr ae recoreenc! ole cece ais bor seg ney, ‘eur soaress ener corer alan oy aaroers ‘made by the aivertners of practs snd serdcen,Theprrter puta er ‘het ant ater! tek ey Gra patos sat behelne (ncommancn nweerto senders rrberetoaresiytw ase: fal ‘SCAN WERE TO FORSUBSCRIPTONASSISTANCE CONTACT: Castomercare, EWA @to; SUBSCRIBE ba Tdey Gro, 0-8 Sacto Nota UP) 20130. ‘cna weceresrtoday.com |Prone/Whatapy:+81800777078 [email protected] or (loner Friday Wao) logon éto in [rue nic story 2 UP BJP: A HOUSE DIVIDED ‘Who was to blame for the BUP's loss of ground in UP? After a bruising round of self-interrogation, the party is roiled by arift that puts even Yogi's future at stake Ait edMawinina fae 50 THE NEW DUNK! ROUTES Despite the horror ‘Stories around tho ‘dunkrrousto the Wiest, the prospect cfabetter ite ‘Continues tobe anoverwhelning InGuerae Bryob” in Gujrat, ural and other parts of thecountry 36 anew wor Ne A NEW WORLD OF WORK ‘The second chapter of the wo ‘Toor’ HR insights aimed at charting, the course ‘towards a modern workplace A UP doputy CM Keshay Prasad Maurya greets J.P, Nadda as CM Yor! Adtyanath looks on, Jul 14 ereUTS 6 GOLDEN MILESTONE Bhutan celebrates 50 years of ‘tourism with a range of special events, [mic Picture | ‘STARRY NIGHTS ‘TheUttarakhand Tourism Development. Board, in association with Starscapes, has launched Nakshatra Sabha’, a year~iong. ‘campaign devoted exclusively 6 promoting, ‘astrotourism In the stata [cover story J 16 CHASING THE MONSOON From Munnar to Kochi to Wayanad, ‘making the most of Kerala's wet season [ DESTINATION WEDDING | 8 6 PICTURE-PERFECT WEDDINGS We sure love our THE ROAD LESS 00 as TRAVELLED fyoucan'tbear the thought of geting wet, Nubra's precipitation-free, high-altitude desert setting may be ust the thing for you 1 02 HIT BY WANDERLUST Everyone's favourite Heeramandi heartthrob, ‘Taha Shah Badussha sharas his enchanting travel ‘experiences-from Cannes to monsoon getaways tres ayy COLLEGES OF INDIA Boy i Tae INDIA TODAY ON THE WEB ONTHE WEB Queries THEGOLD QUEST Seventeen of the brightest prospects in the Indian contingent ‘TOREAD THEFULL ISSUE LOGONTo: wwwindiatoday.in/magazine INDIA TODAY MAGAZINE ONINSTAGRAM KNOWITASITHAPPENS A go-to destination fornews breaks and views on politics, sports, films and more @indiatodaymagazine INDIA TODAY DAILY NEWSLETTER INDIA TODAY INSIGHT Sharp analysis on topical issues by the editors of India Today magazine www.indiatoday.in/magazine INDIA TODAY BEST COLLEGES YOUR CAREER GOLDMINE India Today 2024 Best Colleges Survey — je to higher education inthe country- tcolleges.indiatoday.in/ INDIA TODAY MAGAZINE Peay at Pea) Breed INDIA TODAY SPICE @indiatoday_spice INDIA TODAY HOME @indiatodayhome INDIA TODAY ADVANTAGE @indiatodayadvantage Dre sae NOTHINGBUTTHETRUTH | HEALTHISWEALTH RajChengappa | Sonali Acharjee ‘Aweekly podcast th dissects and simplifies anews story of significance hnttpsi//pedeasts.indiatod: ‘news/nothing-but-the-truth Aweekly podcast that promises toget you motivated about your health and well-being hitps://pedeast news/nothing-but-the-truth fiatoday.in/ JK: APRE-POLL ‘UNDERCUT PG 14 MAHARASHTRA: REALITY CHECK FOR MVA PG 16 HIMACHAL: ‘uxt KARNATAKA: SIDDA OM THE BACK FOOT 620, Intothe Bakra Riverinthe Siti block of Araria district, Juno 18 UNABRIDGED DISASTERS oliticians are always eare= fal not to burn bridges with thei electorate, but Bihar's collapsing bridges are making that unavoid- aable—one by one. Like video playing in reverse, these structural failures capture setbacks to the state’ infra- structure, anloing years of progress in just a matter of moments, Since Nitish Ku as chiet minister in November 2005, Bihar has built over 6,200 bridges, small and big, symbolising a significant sumed of 4 | INDIATODAY | JULY 29,2024 By Amitabh Srivastava leap forward in infrastructure. But the past month has unveiled a disconeert- ing reality—between Ju 8 and July t, atleast 19 bridges erumbled across the districts of Kishangan, Arar, Madhubani, Bast Champaran, Swan and Saran, Many ofthese bridges are fairly new or were under construction. Initial investigations in Siwan and Saran suggest deepe with some eases possibly exacerbated by the actions of inept depart Sources in the state water resourees department (WRD) acknowledge that steric flaws, nts, the unprofessional execution of the river-linking project under the Jal- Jeevant-Hariyal initiative may have ‘contributed to some bridge collapses Desilting operations as part ofthe ini= tiative inadvertently damaged struc= tures duc to technical oversights and inadequate coordination. For example, before the monsoon, the WRD init ated embankment-strengthening efforts to mitigate the impact of the ‘Chhoti Gandak river's overflow in the Gopalganj, Sivan and Saran districts This involved desilting approximately UPFRONT 170 km, However, sources sy the exe ction ofthe dredging compromised bridge stability nea and pillars, Poor inter-ageney coor dination, along with increased water ‘low resulting from the dredging, come pounded the issue Incidentally; the collapse of the Aguwani-Sultangan bridge in Ju last year, wherea 575-metre portion of the structure crumbled into the Ganga ‘lowing under, should bave served asa ‘wake-up call. Yet, it filed to trigger any stringent monitoring practices engineers to prevent further incidents Monitoring and maintenance lapses ‘may not be the only culprit. soetion of engineers tells sp1A-TODAS that structural failures often stem from, alterations to bridge designs and the he foundations The collapse of the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in June last year hasfailedtoserveasa wake-up call paso of substandard materials, includ. ‘ng lonestrength cement, end and conerete, and steol rods thinner th the approved specifi of construction violations and collusive monitoring negligence have also been reported (see Why They Crumble Often in accompanying graphie) Now in damage-control mode, the government has suspended 15 engi- neers including 11 from the WRD and four from the rural works department, for der of duty: Show-cause notices have been issued to the eonstruc= ‘tion companies concerned. T ‘minister has ordered the immediate mplementation of a monitoring: mechae nism with clearly defined roles and responsibilities forallinvolved, aiming for both remedial action and proactive measures through a newbridge main= tenance poliey see What the State Has Done). But he damage to the _government’ image? That seems to bea Dardge too far right now. jons, Instances hie 12 | INDIA TODAY | JULY 29, 2026 PILLAR TO PERIL Inunder a month, 12 bridges have collapsed in Bihar. It’s al down to technical ineptness, bad material and collusion Text by AMITABH SRIVASTAVA Graphic by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY ro A portion of 15-year-old bridge but CS cover the Gandakriverin Baniyapur Apillar of bridge over block falls the Boondrer bulk Cost: ‘with MPLAD furs in peas 2009-10, rumbles, Portions ofa bridge made in 2004 near eee JantaBazarinLahladpurblockcolanse | Sipe pre her ool ee bles in nan coloniahera bridge crumbles Reason: Non- Dandaspur Jangalvias Tola aa Current cost:Rs 10 lakh ‘overloading, and ilegal sand mining PE — Thoosnal brdaedorsoaleen Pay inthe district within 24 hours, the first a ‘over a Gandak river streamin Deoria ‘ATB-metre-longbridge panchayat. the second over the Dhamahi over the BhuthiBalan river at Nautan and the thd in Tewatha riverin Madhopur, being Total cost: Rs 26 lakh built by the rural works department under Reasons: Technical oversight during PMGSY, comes apart

You might also like