SCHOOL CHILDREN TIE

RAKHI TO SOLDIERS
School children tie ‘rakhi’ on the
wrists of soldiers as part of
Raksha Bandhan celebration in
Poonch district of Jammu &
Kashmir. Raksha Bandhan is
celebrated across the country
where sisters tie rakhi on their
brother’s hand as a symbolism to
protect them from evil | PTI

CHENNAI � WEDNESDAY � AUGUST 30, 2023 � `9.00 � PAGES 22 � LATE CITY EDITION

Government of India

Happy R aksha Bandhan to all

Raksha Bandhan is a festival to spread happiness in one’s family.
Reduction in gas prices will enhance the ease of living of my sisters. I pray to
the Almighty for a happy, healthy and prosperous life to all my sisters.
- Narendra Modi

LPG cylinder cheaper by Rs. 200 from today

75 lakh new Ujjwala gas connections

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the dignity and respect of
women has become the pride of the nation.
cbc 33101/13/0001/2324

• 4 crore houses have given boost to the • About 30 crore Mudra loans worth Rs. 11 lakh
self-esteem of sisters and daughters of the crore given wings to women’s entrepreneurial
country aspirations

• 9.6 crore Ujjwala gas connections have • 10 crore women are associated with women Self-
made the lives of sisters and daughters Help Groups
smoke-free • Over 3.6 crore Sukanya Samriddhi accounts
opened with total deposits worth Rs. 2 lakh crore
• More than 11 crore toilets safeguarding
the dignity of sisters and daughters • Paid maternity leave increased from 12 to 26
weeks
• Tap-water connections providing clean
• Dignity of Muslim women enhanced by putting to
water to 13 crore homes
an end to the practice of Triple Talaq
02 CHENNAI WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023
� � THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

All the news. In just a click. Log to www.newindianexpress.com


JAISHANKAR RUBBISHES CHINA MAP
THAT ADDS ARUNACHAL AS ABSURD
The external a�airs minister said China has an
old habit of putting other country’s territories in
its map, which doesn’t change anything
CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI
PRICE DROP PACKAGED AS RAKHI GIFT FOR WOMEN; TO COME INTO EFFECT TODAY
LPG price cut by Kharge is the
L200, Oppn sees front-runner for
hint of early poll INDIA convenor
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@New Delhi
THE Union Cabinet on Tues-
day decided to slash the price
of domestic gas cylinders by as
much as `200, a gesture that
was read by the Opposition as
an indication of early Lok Sab-
ha elections.
The hike in subsidy benefits
over 31 crore active LPG users.
While the decision has been
hailed by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and his cabinet
colleague as a Rakhi gift to
women, analysts saw in it a
move to blunt the Opposition’s
attack on price rise.
Bihar Chief Minister echoed
his West Bengal counterpart
Mamata Banerjee’s claim that
there were indications of the
Centre advancing Lok Sabha
elections. Besides, Rajasthan,
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,
Telangana, and Mizoram are
due for poll later this year.
Previously, too, the govern-
ment has frozen oil and gas
prices before elections. For in-
stance, in 2021, oil companies
refrained from updating prices
for over six months, despite a
significant rise in crude prices
in the international market.
A 14.2 kg LPG cylinder will
now cost `903 in Delhi, down
from `1,103 per cylinder. Cur-
rently, the cost of a domestic
LPG cylinder stands at `1,103,
`1,129, `1,102.50, and `1,118.50
in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and
HC suspends
sentence, but
Imran stays
in Attock jail
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
FORMER Pakistan prime min-
ister Imran Khan, serving time
in Attock jail in the Toshakha-
na corruption case, on Tuesday
got relief from a high court as
it suspended his three-year sen-
tence. But he couldn’t walk out
of jail as a different court or-
dered his detention on remand
in the cipher case.
A division bench led by Is-
lamabad High Court Chief Jus-
tice Aamir Farooq ordered his
release, triggering a guessing
game on whether he would be a
factor in the delayed general
elections or would he be ‘fixed’
in another case.
“All we are saying now is that
( I m r a n ’s ) r e -
quest (against
conviction) has
been approved,”
Justice Farooq
said and ordered
his release.
As for the ci-
pher case under
the Official Se-
crets Act, a special court wrote
to the Attock jail directing Im-
ran’s detention under judicial
remand and production for
hearing on Wednesday. The ci-
pher case pertains to a diplo-
matic document that is said to
have gone missing from Im-
ran’s possession. Imran had
dramatically alleged that it
contained a US threat to unseat
him when he was PM.
The Toshanakhana case was
about Imran unlawfully selling
state gifts during his tenure as
PM. The trial court sentenced
him to three years in jail, which
barred him from politics for
five years.
CHENNAI � WEDNESDAY � AUGUST 30, 2023 � `9.00 � PAGES 22 � LATE CITY EDITION
PETROL, DIESEL PRICE
The reduction in LPG prices is also
aimed at curbing retail inflation,
which reached a 15-month high of
7.44% in July this year. However,
it’s important to note that there
has been no change in the
prices of petrol and diesel in the
country so far
Chennai, respectively. The re-
duction will also be applicable
on LPG cylinders under the
Prime Minister’s Ujjwala Yoj-
na. After the current reduction,
cylinders under Ujjwala Yojna
will be available at `703.
The decision will take effect
from Wednesday. The total cost
of the move to the exchequer is
not yet fully known.
“Today on the pious occasion
of the Onam and Rakshaband-
han, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi has decided that the pric-
es of LPG cylinders will be cut
by `200 for all domestic con-
sumers,” said Anurag Thakur.
The government will com-
pensate oil marketing compa-
nies for selling LPG cylinders
at a reduced price.
STRIKING A POSE
School students on Tuesday perform Theyyam, a popular ritual art, in Coimbatore to celebrate Onam. Malayalees across
the country celebrate the harvest festival as the homecoming of King Mahabali | S SENBAGAPANDIYAN
VIP cars ‘account for’ 53% vehicles at TN toll booth dad to save her love affair
B A N B U S E LV A N @ Chennai
IN a startling disclosure, a CAG
(Comptroller and Auditor Gen-
eral of India) report has said
that about half of the vehicles
that passed through the Para-
nur toll plaza on Tambaram-
Tindivanam NH between Au-
gust 2019 and June 2020 did not
pay toll fee because they were
‘VIP vehicles’.
The toll operating agency
designated by the NHAI had
claimed that 62.37 lakh of 1.17
crore vehicles (53.27%) that
passed through the booth were
VIP vehicles and no fee was col-
lected from them as per rules.
Similarly, 36% vehicles that
SUCH STEPS HAMPER LAC RESOLUTION: MEA
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday gave it back to China.
“We have today lodged a strong protest through diplomatic channels with
the Chinese side on the so-called 2023 Standard map of China that lays
claim to India’s territory,’’ MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. Such
steps only complicate the resolution of the boundary question,’’ he added
S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I
@ Mumbai
The Opposition alliance, IN-
DIA, appears to be planning
to pit a Dalit stalwart against
the ruling BJP in the 2024 Lok
Sabha elections. The third
meeting of the Opposition,
scheduled to be held here on
August 31 and September 1, is
expected to decide on its con-
venor, and Congress president
Mallikarjun Kharge is the
front-runner for the post.
Kharge is a senior and ex-
perienced leader who can take
all regional parties along in
the fight against the BJP.
“Bihar Chief Minister Nit-
ish Kumar has conveyed that
he does not want to be conven-
er but will play a major role in
the alliance. Then, it was sug-
gested that since Congress is
the biggest party in the alli-
ance, its president Kharge
should be made convenor.
Kharge never projected him-
self as a Dalit leader, but he
can consolidate Dalit voters
that are in significant num-
bers in states like Uttar
Pradesh,” said a source who
is part of the INDIA, while re-
questing anonymity.
Another source said
Kharge’s name as convener
would be proposed by region-
al party leaders like RJD’s
Lalu Prasad, JD(U)’s Nitish
Kumar or NCP chief Sharad
Pawar. “If required, two co-
TN minor girl plots to kill
CAG AUDIT FLAGS UNUSUAL FREE RIDE
used the Athur toll plaza locat-
ed on the same road were re-
corded as VIP vehicles. Out of
88.92 lakh vehicles, 32.39 lakh
vehicles have not paid user fee
at the Athur toll booth.
The CAG report said on an
average, percentage of VIP ve-
hicles exempted from toll fee
INDIA FLAG, LOGO
Sources said the flag and logo of
INDIA will also be finalised. “On
August 31, an informal meeting
of all 60 invited leaders will
discuss matters on the agenda.
On September 1, the decisions
will be shared with the media,”
sources said
conveners could be chosen at
the Mumbai meet or later. The
co-conveners would mainly
be from regional parties,” the
source added.
This newspaper tried to
reach Kharge and Congress
general secretary in-charge
of media Jairam Ramesh for
their comments, but both
were unavailable.
Besides the convenor, the
meeting will pick a 11-mem-
ber panel that will be will be
empowered to take key deci-
sions regarding the alliance.
The panel will include Nitish,
Lalu, TMC head Mamata Ban-
erjee, NCP chief Sharad Pa-
war, AAP president Arvind
Kejriwal and DMK head M K
Stalin, the source added.
More ‘free rides’ mean
longer collection period
If the actual earning from a toll
plaza is not correctly accounted
for, the recovery of the road project
cost is delayed and toll operators
continue to collect the fee even
after the concessionaire
agreement period is over
was 6% at Kodai Road and a
few other toll booths managed
by private operators. The Tam-
baram-Tindivanam NH was fi-
nanced entirely through the
public exchequer, and user fee
is being collected at Paranur
and Athur toll gates located on
the NH since April 1, 2005.
CHINA MAP INCLUDES TAIWAN AS PART OF IT
■ On Monday, China released its 2023 map edition claiming Arunachal
Pradesh and Aksai Chin as part of its territory. Earlier this year, China
announced Chinese and Tibetan names for Arunachal Pradesh
■ The Chinese map includes Taiwan and a nine-dash line, claiming a
large part of the South China Sea as part of its territory | P11
TN FAULTS PANEL
K’taka may
give TN 5K
cusecs after
CWMA order
T M U R U G A N A N D H A M @ Chennai
MUCH to the disappointment of
Tamil Nadu farmers, the Cauvery
Water Management Authority
(CWMA) on Tuesday directed
Karnataka to release just 5,000
cusecs of water for the next 15
days. The direction was on the
lines of the Cauvery Water Regu-
lation Committee’s (CWRC) rec-
ommendation on Monday. Though
both states refused to accept the
order for different reasons at the
meeting held in New Delhi, Kar-
nataka late on Tuesday hinted
that it may comply with the order.
Tamil Nadu had demanded 24,000
cusecs of water for 10 days.
As Karnataka Chief Minister
Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK
Shivakumar held consultations
with senior officers from the wa-
ter resources department and the
state’s legal team, Shivakumar
told reporters in Bengaluru,
“Would you like to be pulled up by
the Supreme Court? We don’t like
to be pulled up by the court. We
are holding discussions with the
CM and legal team.” When asked
if the Karnataka government
would release water to Tamil
Nadu from Tuesday, Shivakumar
said the key is with the centre and
not the state government. “We are
taking advice from the advocate
general. Farmers also know the
reality. We will decide by tonight.
CWMA has ordered the release of
water from Tuesday night,” Shiv-
akumar said. P9
SULPHUR
DETECTED ON THE MOON
Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyan rover has
confirmed the presence of sulphur,
calcium, aluminium and titanium
on the lunar south pole | P11
Rumpus in Manipur House
P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati
THE Manipur Assembly called
to discuss the prevailing situa-
tion in the state, was adjourned
sine die in less than an hour af-
ter the opposition Congress
members created a ruckus
demanding a five-day ses-
sion. The session began
at 11 am and ended at
11.48 am, including a 30-
minute break, a
member said.
The Opposition
If the actual earning from a
toll plaza is not correctly ac-
counted for, the recovery of the
project cost is delayed and toll
operators continue to collect
the fee even after the conces-
sionaire agreement period is
over, sources said.
Interestingly, the Union Min-
istry of Road Transport and
Highways responded to the
CAG’s report by saying that
there was no loss to the excheq-
uer as the payment made by
toll operators to the NHAI was
predetermined as per the agree-
ment. Even if there is a drop in
collection, the NHAI will not
incur any loss, the union high-
ways ministry said. P9
4
NUMBER OF TERRITORIES OF OTHER
COUNTRIES CLAIMED BY CHINA
GOVT ASSURANCE
Full clarity on J&K
statehood timeline
tomorrow, SC told
S H R U T I K A K K A R @ New Delhi
AMID the Supreme Court’s prodding on a timeline for
restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta on Tuesday said he would make a
positive statement on it on Thursday.
The assurance came from before a Constitution bench
led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud. He added
that the Union Territory (UT) status of J&K is not perma-
nent although Ladakh would remain a UT.
The court had said although it was conscious about con-
verting J&K into an UT in “in lieu of national security”,
that status could not be permanent. “Without putting you
in a bind, you (SG) and AG (Advocate Gene-
gral) may seek instructions at the highest
level whether there is some timeframe in
view. Restoration of democracy is a very
important survival component for our
nation... We take your point that progress
has begun,” the CJI said.
Continuing with the hearing on pleas chal-
lenging the reading down of Article 370, the bench said,
“om the wide chasm between absolute autonomy as it ex-
isted on 26th January 1950 and complete integration
brought about on Aug 5, 2019, it was substantially bridged
by what was happening in between. So it was not a com-
plete migration from absolute autonomy to absolute inte-
gration. Substantial degree of integration had already
taken place in the between 1950 and 2019. So what was
done in 2019, was it really a logical step forward to achieve
that integration?”
Commencing his arguments, Advocate General R Venk-
ataramani said there is no fundamental difference be-
tween the integration process of J&K and the constitu-
tional integration process of the rest of the country.
members, led by former Chief a valley of death for us.” Im-
Minister Okram Ibobi Singh of phal is the state’s capital.
the Congress, said the one-day Meanwhile, two persons
session was insufficient to dis- were killed and seven injured
cuss the prevailing unprece- after police opened fire at
dented situation in the state. armed miscreants in the vil-
All 10 Kuki MLAs, seven lages of Naransena. The police
from ruling BJP, skipped and para military forces
the session. Earlier, brought the situation under
they had said, “Imphal control. Violence in the state
valley has also become has left 160 dead since May 3.
What a farce! There was simply no reason why with its huge
majority the ruling party could not have had the session for a
few days atleast — Jairam Ramesh on Twitter
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Theni Theni, and the minor girl. The
girl was produced before the
IN a shocking incident, a 16- Juvenile Justice Board and
year-old girl, her boyfriend and sent to a juvenile home in Ma-
two others were detained by durai on Monday.
the PC Patti police in Theni dis- Police said the girl, who was
trict on Monday for attempting studying in a private school,
to kill the girl’s father for op- was in a relationship with
posing her love. Muthukamatchi, a car driver,
The 55-year-old father of the for the past one year. She was
girl, who was attacked with residing with her father, 36-
sickles last Saturday, is in criti- year-old mother, and eight-year-
cal condition at a private hospi- old brother. Her father was into
tal in Madurai. The accused iron scrap business. A few
were identified as A Muthu- months ago, after getting wind
kamatchi (23) and of her affair, the man thrashed
M Selvakumar (23) of Thenka- his daughter, pulled her out of
rai in Periyakulam, A Kannap- school, and sent her to a rela-
pan (21) of Lakshmipuram in tive’s home. P9

04
Not mobile towers, sparse nesting sites hit sparrow population in urban areas
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Thoothukudi
STATE of India’s Birds, 2020, a
national-level assessment of
birds has classified 101 species
as “high conservation concern”
including 34 species which
were not considered threatened
globally by International Un-
ion for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) Red List.
The assessment was conduct-
ed by leading organisations
like ATREE, BNHS, Founda-
tion for Ecological Security
(FES), Nature conservation
foundation, National Biodiver-
sity Authority, National centre
for biological sciences Tata In-
stitute of Fundamental Re-
search, Sacon, Wetland inter-
national, Wildlife Institute of
India (WII) and WWF based on
1K doc vacancies
at govt hosps will
be filled soon: Min
MaSu says a critical care block, nurses hostel
to come up at Govt Stanley Medical College
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Chennai
THE health department is in
the process of filling around
vacancies of 1,000 doctors va-
cancies in government hospi-
tals in a couple of months, said
Health Minister Ma Subrama-
nian, adding the Medical Serv-
ices Recruitment Board (MRB)
was told to fill these
vacancies.
Speaking to reporters at Gov-
ernment Stanley Medical Col-
lege and Hospital, Subramani-
an said the board (MRB) was
told to prepare for the exam.
“The release of the result of
the exam conducted for 1,021
assistant surgeons posts in
April by MRB was delayed due
to court cases and due to the de-
mand for incentive marks for
doctors working in government
hospitals during Covid-19,” he
said, adding after the board
completes the recruitment,
Chief Minister MK Stalin will
give appointment orders to
around 3,000 doctors and health
care workers.
Subramanian said this in re-
sponse to reporters’ query
about shortage of doctors in
government hospitals. The
minister said now there are
around 20,000 govern-
ment doctors,
and vacancies
arise as sen-
i o r s re t i re
from the
service.
The gov-
ernment is
continuous-
ly taking
efforts to
P E T E R V I DA L
30th August: The Moon is about to move
from a quiet, diplomatic location to an
intense and emotional one. To me that
suggests a changeable period, one when
we can all make improvements in our
lives - just as long as we don’t let partners
down. I mean, we all stand
or fall together!
Solutions to Yesterday’s puzzle
CHENNAI
the data available with eBird, a
global online notebook for bird-
watchers. The eBird-India
holds over 10 million records
constituting a large database.
The report has compiled the
status of 867 of the more than
1,400 bird species in India. The
assessment is based
on three indices
fill vacancies, he reiterated.
Inaugurating various facili-
ties at the hospital, Subrama-
nian said soon critical care
Block with 300 beds at the cost
of `112 crore and a hostel for
nurses at a cost of `7crore will
be constructed at the hospital.
The health minister inaugu-
rated Sensory Integration
Therapeutic Park at the De-
partment of Social Paediatrics
set up for the autistic children
of north Chennai. The sensory
park is equipped with tactile
sensory pathway, water senso-
ry play therapy, pebbles and
sand sensory play therapy and
others. The minister also re-
leased a booklet on hyperten-
sion awareness highlighting
the risk factors, preventive
measures and treatment mo-
dalities. He also inaugurated a
waiting hall in the diabetology
block to accommodate around
50 diabetic patients waiting to
give blood samples.
According to the press re-
lease, the hospital has been
granted a five-year accredita-
tion for its renovated Animal
House from the National Medi-
cal Commission (NMC).
North Chennai MP Kalanithi
Veerasamy, Chennai Corpora-
tion Mayor Priya Rajan,
Director of Medical
Education and Re-
searc Dr R Shanthima-
lar, Dean of Govern-
ment Stanley
Medical Col-
lege Hospital
Dr P Balaji
and others
were present
during the
event.
EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION
ARIES
(Mar 21 - Apr. 20)
Today’s delicate
Moon could leave
you feeling
strangely dissatisfied, but
you won’t be able to put
your finger on just what it is
that’s bothering you. You
may let your imagination
roam and lead you where it
will! If you have doubts
about a particular
arrangement then, if you’re
lucky, someone else might
be poised to pull out.
SU DO KU EASY
TEST YOUR NUMBER
CRUNCHING SKILL WITH OUR
UNIQUE PUZZLE
� Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner
that every row, every column and every 3X3 box
accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any.
WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023� �
Long-term Trend which is over
25+ years and Current Annual
Trend, the prevalence of the
situation for the past 5 years
and the Distribution Range
Size.
Of the 261 species for which
long-term trends could be de-
termined, 52% have declined
since 2000, with 22% declining
strongly. In all, 43% of species
- showed a long-term trend that
was stable and 5% showed
an increasing trend, the
report found.
Whereas, of the 146
species for which
C u r re n t A n nu a l
Trends could be esti-
mated, nearly 80% are declin-
ing, with almost 50% declining
strongly. Just over 6% are sta-
ble and 14% increasing, the re-
port pointed out. The experts
(Left) Velankanni shrine in all its glory; Pilgrims at Annai Velankanni Shrine in Besant Nagar, Chennai | EXPRESS/ MONISH LINUS
FLAG HOISTED, VELANKANNI SHRINE
FEST OFF TO A COLOURFUL START
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Nagapattinam
THOUSANDS of devotees
thronged Velankanni in the
district to participate in the
annual festival of St Mary’s
Nativity which commenced on
Tuesday with the hoisting of
the festival flag atop the pole
near Shrine Basilica of Our
Lady of Good Health.
Tree on school premises
falls on two girls, 1 dies
Thanjavur: A 15-year-old girl
student died and her classmate
sustained injuries after a tree on
the campus of a government
aided higher secondary school
got uprooted following heavy
rains on Tuesday evening.
Sources, heavy rain accompanied
by wind lashed Ayyampettai and
Papanasam in the district on
Tuesday evening. In this, a tree
on the premises of the school at
Pasupathy Koil got uprooted, and
fell on Class 10 students, S
Sushmitha of Kandakarayam and
K Rajeswari (15) of Ganapathy
Agraharam. They were leaving
the classrooms. A grievously
injured Sushmitha died on the
spot while Rajeswari was
admitted to Government
Thanjavur Medical College
Hospital.
TAURUS GEMINI
(Apr. 21 - May 21) (May 22 - June 21)
It’s time for a The issues at
fresh start work, as well
socially, and as at home,
certain friendships may seem to have a lot to
require a new lease of do with authority. The
life. There’s no need for stars are not being
dramatic action, but the specific, but prefer to
odd phone call or kind pose questions such as
word will certainly help whether you are
you along. You may, if capable of handling
you wish, spend some current
time pursuing a few responsibilities. See to
pleasurable distractions, it that the answer is a
whatever others say. definite ‘yes’.
have managed to find the range
size of all but estimated for 6
species. Over 46 % have Moder-
ate range sizes, while 33% have
Large or Very Large range siz-
es, and 21% have Restricted or
Very Restricted range sizes. the
report reveals.
House sparrows
The assessment has renounced
the widespread notion that the
population of house sparrows
has greatly declined and has
classified it as Low Conserva-
tion Concern. The analysis sug-
gested that the house sparrows
have been fairly stable overall
during the past 25+ years. How-
ever, data from six metro cities
- Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi,
Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mum-
bai - indicated a gradual decline
of their abundance in urban ar-
The festival flag blessed by
former bishop Devadass Am-
brose and bishop in-charge L
Sahayaraj from Thanjavur
archdiocese was taken out on
a procession before being
hoisted on the pole around 6.30
pm.
The 11-day festival will wit-
ness the car procession on
September 7, when the footfall
is expected to be at its peak,
EXPRESS READ
Baby crocodile found in
swimming pool of house
Chennai: A 1.5-foot-long baby
crocodile was found in the
swimming pool of a house at
Nerkundram. House owner Balaji
Thangavel, a BJP functionary and
grandson of late actor TS Balaiah,
noticed the reptile while cleaning
the pool. Since the crocodile was
small, Balaji caught it, and was
later taken to Vandalur zoo.
CANCER LEO
(June 22 - July 23) (July 24 - Aug. 23)
You should give a The gentle
little extra space movement
to the religious of planets
dimension. It’s not a through your solar
question of dogma, but of chart has been nudging
following general ethical you towards a revision
principles and checking of joint financial
that what you, and other arrangements. Today’s
people, are doing, is for the planetary energies
best. If you attempt to indicate that you’ve
push yourself to the front reached a welcome
now, you may be forced to point, and that you can
take a back seat later, stop and check out the
when you least expect it. best step to take next.
Wednesday: 30/08/2023 Year: Shobhan Avani: Valar Pirai Nij Shravan: Shukla Paksha
Tithi: Chaturdashi till 11-00 hrs Nakshatra (Star): Dhanishtha till 20-48 hrs
Moon in Makar till 10-20 hrs. Today is Avani Avittam, Coconut Paurnima, Rakshabandhan
Rahukaalam: 12:00-13:30 Yamagantam: 07:30-09:00 Gulikakalam: 10:30-12:00
eas. The experts believe de-
creasing insect populations
and paucity of suitable nesting
sites have contributed to the de-
cline in the urban centres. They
renounced the popular theory
that radiation from cellular
towers is a factor for its decline,
stating it is not supported by
current evidence.
Due to lack of evidence for ei-
ther long-term or current coun-
trywide declining trend, the as-
sessment classified house
sparrows as Low Conservation
Concern.
The experts, following an
analysis, have categorised 101
species as High Conservation
Concer n which include 59
based on their range size and
abundance trends, and 42 based
on their IUCN Red List status.
Also, 34 species which were not
before drawing to a close on
September 8.
The district administration
has made elaborate arrange-
ments for the festival such as
deployment of police person-
nel, and the installation of po-
table water facility and toilets
for devotees.
The Coastal Security Group
also has taken measures to
prevent bathing in sea.
After 2 months’ delay, Adi Dravidar
schools told to fill teacher vacancies
S U B A S H I N I V I J AYA K U M A R
@ Chennai
MORE than two months after
the schools reopened, Adi Dravi-
dar Welfare Department has is-
sued circulars to fill the vacan-
cies of 120 bachelor of teaching
(BT) assistants posts and 50
postgraduate teacher posts in
higher secondary schools, high
schools and middle schools in
the state.
The vacancies have to be filled
through the school manage-
ment committees.
The department, in the circu-
lar, said preference should be
given to candidates belonging to
scheduled caste and scheduled
tribe communities, those who
VIRGO LIBRA
(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) (Sept. 24 - Oct. 23)
Today’s lunar You may
alignments devote more
could be attention to
something of an anti- improving working
climax, even if they are conditions, including
still special. The truth domestic chores. It’s not
is hard to gauge a matter of new gadgets
probably for reasons or processes, but of
which are comple-tely changing your deep-
topsy-turvy! The point seated attitudes, some
is that you shouldn’t of which have been too
expect to make sense resistant. You’ll know
of everything, or even when the time for
of anything! compromise draws near.
CROSS WORD
ACROSS
1 Break into a secret passage (6)
4 Mother’s returning on a vessel;
a Chinese one (6)
9 I’d back a face-saver
but it reduces dividends (7)
10 Church council in
controversy no doubt (5)
11 Swear there’s nothing
out of the way (5)
12 They’re rolled in rings (7)
13 Yet it might be something
in concrete (8,3)
18 Tower encountered
round about Iran (7)
20 Detect only a small amount (5)
22 Follow an exceptional trial (5)
23 Lacking siblings and
just twelve months old (4,3)
24 Gives encouragement to drink? (6)
25 An open-and-shut
case for the viewer? (6)
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS
Across: 1 Observe, 5 Libra, 8 Change of scene,
9 Radar, 10 Striker, 11 Spouse, 12 Burned,
15 Operate, 17 Depot, 19 Passenger list,
20 Runts, 21 Spotted.
ALMANAC TODAY MIN MAX Sunrise 05:58 am
26 C 33 C
0 0 Sunset 06:22 pm
Moonrise 05:10 pm
FORECAST
WEATHER Mostly Cloudy Moonset 04:57 am
ASSAULT ON MAN
Court quashes
considered globally threatened
by the IUCN Red List, have been
classified under High Conser-
chargesheet
vation Concern.
Among the species of high against 2 cops
concern, 48 species including
Indian Vulture, Nilgiris Sholak- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
ili, Great Indian Bustard, Nar- @ Madurai
condam Hornbill, Forest Owlet,
Broad-tailed Grassbird, Anda- THE Madurai Bench of the Ma-
man Green Pigeon, are endem- dras HC quashed a chargesheet
ics to the Indian sub filed against two policemen--a
continent. sub inspector and a head consta-
The report recommended an ble--for assaulting a man while
emphasis on the species of arresting him in Ramanath-
High Conservation Concern apuram in 2013. Justice P Dhana-
and to protect the habitats in- bal passed the order on a joint
cluding grasslands, scrublands, petition filed by the police per-
wetlands and the wester n sonnel- K Jeyabalan, who was
ghats., and support researchers the then SI of Kenikkarai police
and citizen scientists to con- station and N Murugan, the then
duct long-term monitoring of head constable of the same po-
bird population and related lice station - to quash the charge
studies. sheet filed at Judicial Magistrate
II of Ramanathapuram.
According to the petitioners,
the chargesheet was filed due to
a private complaint against them
by Kandavel. Kandavel had gone
to the police station to inquire
about the action taken on anoth-
er complaint given by him
against his neighbour G Sethura-
man for allegedly breaking the
glasses of his two-wheeler. He
claimed before the magistrate
court the two policemen regis-
tered a false case, assaulted and
arrested him, causing him inju-
ries. Though he complained of
Six pilgrims beat chest pain, the officials ignored it
man to death and remanded him to judicial
Mayiladuthurai: Six youth custody, Kandavel had alleged.
The petitioners claimed they
from Cuddalore heading to
Velankanni shrine were had registered the FIR against
arrested for allegedly Kandavel on November 11, 2013,
beating to death a man who
tried to steal their mobile
phones. The arrested are
only based on a complaint lodged
by Sethuraman.
Justice Dhanabal noted that
Vetrivel (18), Ponniselvan the magistrate, while taking cog-
(19), Balasubramaniyam nisance of Kandavel’s complaint
(21), Dinesh (20), Sugumar had failed to mention the offenc-
(19) and Muthukamalesh es. He also noted from the records
(20). While they were at that there is no evidence to show
Karuvizhanthanathapuram, that Kandavel suffered chest pain
around 5 am, D Ilangovan of as he had not even cooperated
Melaperumpallam tried to with the medical examination.
steal their mobile phones. The judge also took note of the
The group beat him up. He fact that a similar complaint
later died at a hospital. lodged by Kandavel before the
Human Rights Commission was
dismissed by the commission.
have passed the teachers’ eligi- forcing the schools to conduct
bility test (TET). It also said the recruitment in a hurry. “If we
volunteers of Illam Thedi Kalvi have to follow the process said
should be given preference in the circular dated August 28,
while recruiting BT assistants. it will take at least a week to
The circular said for PG complete. The quarterly exami-
teachers, those who nations are approaching.
cleared the TRB exami- The schools under the
nation and participated school education de-
in the certificate verifi- partment were asked to
cation should be given appoint temporary
priority. The candidates teachers at the begin-
from nearby areas of the ning of the academic
school should also be given year. The department,
priority. which was created for the wel-
The circular also said no ex- fare of the weaker sections of
tension will be given for the ap- the society, is denying them the
pointment process. opportunity to get proper educa-
However, the headmasters tion,” said a headmaster work-
and teachers working in the ing in an Adi Dradivar Welfare
schools said the department is School.
SCORPIO SAGITTARIUS CAPRICORN AQUARIUS PISCES
(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) (Nov. 23 - Dec. 22) (Dec. 23 - Jan. 20) (Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) (Feb. 20 - Mar 20)
A little If there’s a The best thing You would There’s a great
additional possibility of you can do do well to deal to sing and
creative changes for today is promote shout about, and
flare is required the better at home, move question your your business skills today’s the day to do it.
today. One factor in quickly, for the window of assumptions, change your at the moment. You Your planetary picture is
your chart indicates opportunity will soon be attitudes and improve do seem to be in with ninety-nine percent
that responsibilities closed again. In this your outlook. Otherwise a chance of changing favourable. Don’t expect
for children will sense your greatest you are likely to your monetary fireworks, but make as
supersede all others, failing of the day could be perpetuate an astrological direction for the many wishes as you want!
another that you complacency. If you take pattern which has left you better, and all you The general principle seems
should make a point your eyes off important worse off financially in the need to do is convince to be that the more you
of being more child- matters for a moment, past. Do the right thing others that your wish for, the more likely at
like, innocent and they might follow a now and you’ll turn a likely vision of the future is least something is to
naive in your actions. course that you don’t like. loss into a potential profit. the right one. come true!
JUMBLE UNSCRAMBLE THESE JUMBLES, ONE LETTER TO
EACH SQUARE, TO FORM FOUR ORDINARY WORDS.
BY DAVID L. HOYT
DOWN AND JEFF KNUREK
1 Conclude the meeting of
French and Italian leader (6)
2 Conceal or report a story (5)
3 Leave about a quarter
of the fruit course (7)
5 Could be Poe’s a
fabulous storyteller (5)
6 Girl in the dock may
be seen on a bicycle (7)
7 He doesn’t like to
assume anything (6)
8 Deal involves a constraint (11)
14 Some players take
a long time dressing (7)
15 To agree without reservation (7)
16 It makes one sick (6)
17 Cause a capital loss (6)
19 Man who may impose
a rigid measure? (5)
21 Everybody is about
to read ‘Coral Island’ (5)
Down: 1 Occur, 2 Stand to reason,
3 Regards, 4 Egoism, 5 Laser,
6 Breaking point, 7 Averred, 11 Stopper, Yesterday’s
13 Undergo, 14 Reigns, 16 Areas, 18 Toted.
 132 µg|m3
The PM 2.5 level recorded at Alandur NEWS UPDATE FROM TN
on Tuesday. Nitrogen dioxide level Twitter @ xpresstn
was at 99 µg/m3 against the
prescribed standard of 80 µg/m3 ‘TNIE Tamilnadu’ @ xpresstn

05 CHENNAI WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023

� �

Dy mayor, min’s Land acquisition on to widen Adyar river to make city rain-ready
relative booked
S G U R U V A N M I K A N AT H A N who occupy the mostly-barren the land acquisition procedure.
@ Chennai 17.7 acres of land along the The notice for the land acquisi-
river. tion was issued in August last
TO prevent flooding in the city In addition, preparations for year. The second notice was giv-

for usurping biz

CCB files case against 6 for taking over quarry
business of a deceased man by forging docus
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @Chennai
CHENNAI Corporation deputy
mayor and a minister’s relative
were among six booked by the
Central Crime Branch (CCB) of
the city police for taking over
the quarry business of a de-
ceased person through forgery
and fraudulent means.
The accused named in the
FIR are deputy mayor M Ma-
hesh Kumar, minister K R
Periyakaruppan’s rela-
tive P Gunasekaran, K
Balamurugan, K Di-
vakar, N Selvarajan
and district register of-
ficer Sathya Priya. The
a c c u s e d h ave b e e n
booked for criminal con-
spiracy, cheating, forgery, forg-
ing valuable documents and
data on electronic devices.
The complaint was filed by A
Esakiammal, wife of late S R
Mohan, the owner of the quar-
ry. Mohan, who was suffering
from prolonged illness, died in
and Balamurugan brought in
deputy mayor Mahesh Kumar
as the director of the business.
Without providing proper com-
pensation to Esakiammal and
her children, the men took over
the quarry business,” said a
senior police officer.
The FIR states that the ac-
cused had forged documents
belonging to Mohan and
changed the ownership of the
quarry while claiming that
he was alive. The registra-
tion was done at the dis-
trict register office lo-
cated in Nandanam
where Sathya Priya
registered the company
under the name of Ma-
hesh Kumar. Esakiammal
in her complaint stated that
Priya was obligated to inform
her about the changes but did
not.
The CCB registered a case on
August 18 following directions
from the Saidapet court. Esaki-
ammal’s petition in court stat-
during the monsoon, the Water
Resources Department (WRD)
is planning to widen the Adyar
river between Thiruneermalai
and Anagaputhur before the
arrival of the North East mon-
soon, at an outlay of `70 crore.
WRD is awaiting completion of
land acquisition on the 2.5km
stretch along the river to in-
crease the width to 360 feet,
from the current 100 feet. The
department has issued notice
to residents of Kundrathur
strengthening embankments
along the river is underway as
the tendering process for the
project has concluded.
“Adyar river’s map reveals
that the ideal width should
range from 200-600 feet. How-
ever, the current width meas-
ures less than 100 feet between
Thiruneer malai and Ana-
gaputhur. This disparity makes
it difficult to control floods
when the river swells,” a senior
WRD official told TNIE.
The water resources department is planning to widen the Adyar river near between
Thiruneermalai and Anagaputhur to prevent flooding | MARTIN LOUIS
“The 17.7 acres of land in
question is mostly unoccupied.
We will also need to take posses-
sion of a house located near
Anagaputhur bridge. Revenue
officials are actively overseeing
Perungalathur railway
gate closure postponed
N A S I YA K J @Chennai
THE decision to close the level-
crossing (LC) gate at Perun-
galathur railway station has
been postponed following stiff
resistance from locals, who
have been demanding a foot
overbridge or subway at the
same location. Traffic conges-
tion is a regular affair on GST
road owing to closures at the
crossing during peak hours.
After the third arm of the
en a couple of weeks ago. We
have urged revenue officials to
complete the transfer of land by
the first week of September,”
another WRD official said.
Adyar river, originating at
Adanur near Tambaram, me-
anders through Mannivakkam,
Varadharajapuram, Mudichur,
Thiruneermalai, Anagaputhur,
Kattupakkam and Manappa-
kkam before ultimately empty-
ing into the sea. This river’s
total course spans 42 km.
Motorists and pedestrains near the
level-crossing gate at Perungalathur
railway station | NASIYA K J
northern end of Perungalathur

FLORAL CARPET FOR MAVELI

April 2021. Mohan was running
the business with a few part-
ners, said the police. “The part-
ners including Gunasekaran
WHILE PLAYING
Man kills friend’s mom, steals gold ornament; held
ed that the police were reluc-
tant to register a case since the
deputy mayor was included in
the complaint.
flyover from Sreenivasan Na-
gar to GST road was opened in
Keralites celebrating Onam festival at Mahalingapuram Ayyappan Temple in Nungambakkam on Tuesday | ASHWIN PRASATH June, the state highways de-
partment and traffic police pro-
posed closing the LC gate. How-
ever, residents said that it will
inconvenience and affect the
safety of pedestrians who use
station, originally designed for
crossing tracks, has fallen into
disrepair and is considered un-
safe by residents.
“We are willing to support
the gate’s closure if a subway
or skywalk is built underneath
it. Otherwise, pedestrians will

Baby drinks E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai bourer, who got acquainted house. After dinner, Bhangaru gold nose ring was stolen. On
the crossing.
Official sources from the
state highways and Southern
need to take a detour of one km
to cross the tracks,” said N Si-
varam, a resident.

mosquito A 36-year-old man was arrested

with Lakshmi, 85, after he be-
came friends with her son
went to his house, while Ashok
stayed at Lakshmi’s house. The
Monday, police arrested Ashok
who confessed to the murder
Railway said Srinivasan Ra-
ghavan road is very narrow for
“The construction of the fly-
over has not yet been completed

repellent,
by Mappedu police for killing Bhangaru a few months back. next morning, when Bhangaru and the theft. He told the police constructing a limited-use sub- and closing the LC gate at this
his friend’s mother and stealing Bhangaru was unmarried and went to his mother’s house, he that he tried to steal the nose way. Officials have assured that stage will cause inconvenience
a four-sovereign gold nose ring lived in a house next to his found her strangled to death ring, but when the woman tried once the work on the flyover is to all,” said Jayashangari, a col-

dies in city that she was wearing. The po-

lice identified the accused as
Ashok Kumar, a daily wage la-
mother’s house.
On Saturday night, Ashok vis-
ited Bhangaru at his mother’s
and Ashok missing.
During probe, it was found
that Lakshmi’s four-sovereign
to raise an alarm, he strangled
her. After an inquiry, Ashok was
remanded in judicial custody.
complete, the possibility of a
mini-subway will be explored.
The existing subway at the
lege student.
(With inputs from B
Anbuselvan)

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

@ Chennai
�������������
A two-year-old girl died af- ���������� ��������� ��������� ������������� ��� ������������ ����
ter she accidentally con- ����������� ������������ �������� �������� ���� ���� ���� ����������
sumed mosquito repellent ������ ���������� ����� ������ ���������� ��������� ���������� �������
liquid at her house near �������� ���������� ������ ����� ���� ����� ��������� ��������������
Manali on Monday. The ���������� ��������������������������� ����������������������������
Madhavaram Milk Colony �����������������������������������������������������������
police have registered a ����� ����� ������ ������� ������������ ���� ������� ��� ���� �����
case of unnatural death. ���������� ���� ���������� ����� ���� ������ ����� ���������� ��������
According to the police, ������ ���� ���� ����� ��� ����� ��� ���� �������� ��� ���� ������
B Lakshmi was the young- �������������� ������� ��������������������� ��������� ����� ��
est daughter of R Balaji ��������������������������������������������������������������
(35) and his wife Nandini. �������������
She has an elder sister Sak- ���
thi (4), the police said. The �������������������
family of four, along with ����������������������������������������������
Balaji’s father Ramadoss, �������������������������������������
were living in a house at
Chinna Mathur near
Manali.
The police said that on
Monday, Balaji left for work
and Ramadoss had gone ������
out for an er rand. As
Nandini was taking a show-
er, Lakshmi and Sakthi
were playing alone. Nandi-
ni came out of the shower
and saw Lakshmi with a
mosquito repellent con-
tainer in her mouth.
Nandini rushed Laksh-
mi, who was frothing at the
mouth, to a nearby hospi-
tal and was referred from GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
t h e re t o G ove r n m e n t MINISTRY OF FOOD
Stanley Hospital, where
she died. PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Panchsheel Bhawan, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi-110049
Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India,
EXPRESS READ invites applications under various component schemes of
PRADHAN MANTRI KISAN SAMPADA YOJANA (PMKSY) for
VAO, assistant held applicants from SC/ST categories and North-East Region. The
guidelines dated 08.06.2022 and other details are available on
for bribery in Ranipet www.mofpi.gov.in.
Ranipet: The anti-bribery 2. Only online applications submitted at https://sampada-
unit of the district police
mofpi.gov.in/ shall be accepted.
arrested a Village
Administrative Officer (VAO) 3. Last date for submission of online applications is 20.09.2023.
and a village administrative CBC 16101/11/0001/2324
assistant from Ranipet for
allegedly accepting bribes on
Tuesday. The accused were
identified as Sathish and
Rajalingam. Dasharathan
(48), a resident of
Selvamanthi village near
Arakkonam, was involved in a
land purchase transaction in
for his brother in June 2023.
Seeking a patta change as PARADIP PORT AUTHORITY
part of the process, he PARADIP-754142, ODISHA (INDIA)
approached VAO Sathish who (An autonomous body under Ministry of Ports, Shipping
asked for a bribe of `4,000. & Waterways, Govt. of India)
Dasharathan, however, No.AD/RSC-III-21/3/2011/1860 Dated, the 24th August, 2023
lodged a complaint and �������������
presented marked currency
to Sathish who redirected Application are invited from Indian Nationals for advertisement for the 02 nos.
him to Rajalingam. They were of Assistant (Legal) on contractual basis in Paradip Port Authority.
caught red-handed and were For further details, visit our website https://paradipport.gov.in/career.aspx.
taken to Vellore district court. Sr. Asst. Secretary
PPA/PR/43/2023-24 Dt.25/08/2023 Paradip Port Authority
 ‘`10L-CR Coimbatore: TN BJP president K Annamalai on Tuesday said he would
release details of funds allocated by the Union government to Tamil Nadu
FOR TN’ under various schemes on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters in Perur,
Annamalai said the union government has released `10.76 lakh crore to TN

06 CHENNAI WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023

� �

HC refuses to quash cases against H Raja

TO TAKE EFFECT FROM SEPT 13

18 TN MPs appointed
to parliamentary panels
‘Petitioner has the proclivity to make irresponsible and damaging comments and that is why he gets into trouble’

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

@ Chennai
“This court does not find any
ground to interfere with crimi-
nal proceedings initiated
PMK plea seeking nod to hold meeting EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Chennai
liamentary standing commit-
tee for education, women, chil-

in Cuddalore on Aug 30 turned down

THE Madras High Court on against the petitioner.” dren, youth and sports.
Tuesday refused to quash cases The court also took cogni- A total of 18 MPs from Tamil Lok Sabha MPs K Navaskani
filed against former BJP na- zance of multiple FIRs filed for Nadu, including P Chidambar- (IUML) and DVN Senthil Ku-
tional secretary H Raja by the the same offence. “The same am and Tiruchy Siva, have been mar S (DMK) have been ap-
police. incident has resulted in three EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE mission for the meeting to be the NLC issue. selected as members of various pointed members of the health
“The petitioner has the pro- proceedings and the petitioner @ Chennai held either at Vadalur or Kul- “This court must strike a bal- parliamentary standing com- and family welfare committee.
clivity to make irresponsible cannot be independently made lanchavadi, 25 km form Ney- ance and take into considera- mittees. Siva has been desig- P Chidambaram (Congress),
and damaging com- to undergo trial in all THE Madras High Court on veli, both of which had been tion the right of the political nated as chairperson of the NR Elango (DMK) and Dayani-
ments and that is the the cases. According- Tuesday refused to issue direc- declined by the police. party to conduct a political committee on industry. dhi Maran (DMK) have been
reason why he gets ly, all the three pro- tions to Cuddalore police or the Opposing the petition, Addi- meeting, and at the same time, According to a Parliament chosen as members of the
into trouble,” Justice ceedings will have to district administration in con- tional Public Prosecutor A Da- this court cannot close its eyes bulletin, in consultation committee on home
N Anand Venkatesh be consolidated into nection with a petition filed by modaran, said, “PMK cadre to the ground reality and with Lok Sabha Speak- affairs.
observed while dis- a single proceeding,” PMK for conducting a public had caused damage to ve- turn a deaf ear to appre- er, the Chairman of Ra- MPs TRVS Ramesh
posing of petitions the order copy read. meeting on August 30. hicles and other proper- hensions that have been jya Sabha has reconsti- (DMK), Su Thiruna-
filed by Raja seeking Justice Anand The petition was filed by ties. The meeting is be- raised by the respond- t u t e d e i g h t vukkarasar (Congress)
to quash the cases. Venkatesh also di- Muthukrishnan, PMK Cud- ing planned only to ent police,” Justice N department-related par- and Vijaykumar alias
The police filed rected to consolidate dalore district secretary, after rake up the NLC issue Anand Venkatesh said. liamentary standing com- Vijay Vasanth (Congress)
cases against Raja for multiple proceeding the district police refused per- and police anticipate The court also im- mittees. This reconfigura- have been named members
posting defamatory into a single proceed- mission for meeting in Neyveli law and order problem.” posed several conditions tion is set to take effect from of the committee on industry.
tweets against former ing and ordered to to celebrate the 35th anniver- Taking note of the objec- on the petitioner, including September 13. MPs P Wilson (DMK), B Man-
chief minister M transfer the cases to sary of the PMK. Police had tions raised by the police, Jus- not to make any provocative DMK member Pon Gautham ickam Tagore (Congress) and A
Kar unanidhi and This court does not special court for MP/ refused permission citing law tice N Anand Venkatesh direct- statements and to conduct the Sigamani has been appointed Raja (DMK) have secured roles
Thoothukudi MP find any ground to MLAs. order concerns in the wake of ed the petitioner to conduct the meeting between 6 pm to 8 pm. as member of the parliamen- as members in the committee
Kanimozhi on Sep- interfere with Accordingly, the violent incidents that took meeting outside Cuddalore, ei- “We are not going to apply for tary standing committee for on personnel, public grievanc-
tember 17, 2018 and criminal proceedings case for making scan- place in Cuddalore on July 28. ther in Villupuram or Kallaku- permission for public meeting commerce. Kanimozhi NVN es, law, and justice. DMK MP SS
Periyar EV Ramasa- initiated against the d a l o u s re m a rk s Advocate K Balu appeared richi. The court also told the in any other district,” Balu said Somu (DMK), M Thambidurai Palanimanickam has been
petitioner
mi on March 6, 2018. against HR and CE for the petitioner, seeking per- petitioner not to speak about following the judgement. (AIADMK), TR Paarivendhar made member of committee on
Another case was Justice N Anand of ficials case has (DMK) and S Venkatesan (CPM) transport, tourism and
also filed against Venkatesh been transferred to have made members of the par- culture.
R a j a fo r m a k i n g Srivilliputhur special
Senthil Balaji moves bail petition Disproportionate assets case hearing
“scandalous remarks” against trial court, and the case for
before principal sessions court against ex-min deferred to Sept 26
Hindu Religious and Charita- making defamatory remarks Chennai: Minister V Senthil Balaji filed a bail petition Pudukkottai: AIADMK ex-minister and Viralimalai
ble Endowments Department against Periyar, Karunanidhi
officials. and Kanimozhi has been trans-
The cases were filed at police ferred to special trial courts in
before principal sessions court on Monday in the ED
case filed against him. The minister, who is currently
lodged in Puzhal prison, was produced before the
MLA C Vijayabaskar and his wife Ramya appeared
before the Principal District Court on Tuesday in
connection with a disproportionate assets case filed
DROs, RPF personnel
to be called for inquiry
stations in various districts, C h e n n a i a n d E r o d e special trial court on Monday when the ED by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption
and Raja had moved petitions respectively. chargesheet was furnished to him. The special court (DVAC) against the duo. The DVAC alleged that the
before the High Court to quash The high court also ordered has directed the minister’s counsel to move the bail two amassed wealth to the tune of D35.79 crore
the cases. the special trial courts to com- petition, and accordingly Balaji filed a plea. disproportionate to their known sources of income.
Dismissing the petitions, plete the trial within three Advocate N.R Elango, appearing for Balaji, urged the Principal District Judge Poorna Jeya Anand deferred E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Madurai
Justice Anand Venkatesh said, months. court to list the bail petition for urgent hearing. the hearing to September 26.
IN connection with the death of nine pilgrims in Madurai,
AM Chowdhary, Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS),
Southern Circle, Bengaluru, will issue summons to all divi-

Open spinning VISHWAKARMA sional railway officials and RPF personnel for interroga-
tion. Chowdhary has been inquiring with pilgrims, tour

mills reiterate DK to stage agency staff and railway officials among others for the past
two days.

protest against
Further, the commissioner said he will interrogate rail-

demand for way officials and RPF personnel, who failed to inspect the
coach. Officials from Lucknow will also be called for inter-

power tariff cut artisan scheme, rogation, he added. When TNIE contacted Chief Public Rela-
tions Officer B Guganesan, he said it is a routine procedure

calls it casteist
to send summons and that no notice has been sent yet.

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

@Coimbatore
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
A delegation of officebearers @ Chennai
of Open End Spinning Mills
Association (OSMA) called on IN a bid to protest against the
electricity minister Thangam Union government’s proposal
Thennarasu on Monday and to implement the Vishwakar-
submitted a petition reiterat- ma scheme and allocation of
ing their demand for withdraw- `13,000 crore for the purpose,

NO COVER
al of peak hour charges and Dravidar Kazhagam has called
fixed demand charges. for a protest on September 6.
Speaking to TNIE, OSMA Talking to reporters on Tues-
Road users were caught unawares when heavy rain lashed Madurai on Tuesday evening | KK SUNDAR
president G Arulmozhi said the day, DK president K Veeramani
minister informed that he had said, “Under the guise of sup- Move comes in the wake of IRCTC coach fire tragedy in Madurai | EXPRESS

Tahsildar suspended over injury

taken up the issue with chief porting traditional artisans
minister M K Stalin and that he and craftspeople of rural and
would announce a favourable urban India, the scheme could EXPRESS READ
decision soon. “We are spend- potentially compel young indi-

ing from our pockets to install
solar panels, and TANGEDCO
levying Rooftop Solar Network
charges is not fair. Currently,
we are charged 96 paise per
unit for HT electricity connec-
tion and `1.36 per unit for LT
electricity. The government
must stop collecting these
charges.”
“The HSN code for spinning
mills was announced about 20
years ago. The OE mills were
clubbed with regular spinning
mills’ HSN code and it is yet to
be changed,” he added.
Apart from the electricity
minister, the team met hand-
loom textiles department com-
missioner Vallalar and princi-
pal secretary of the textiles
department Dhar mendra
Pratap Yadav. They put forth
demands including subsidies
and schemes for OE mills &
yarns, separate HSN (Harmo-
nized System of Nomenclature)
Code for OE mills, and stop col-
lecting Rooftop Solar Network
charges for solar panels.
during eviction drive, staff livid
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Kallakuruchi
ABOUT 300 members of Tamil
Nadu Revenue Officials Asso-
ciation members were detained
by police after they staged pro-
test in front of the collectorate
on Tuesday. They were demand-
ing to revoke the suspension of
a special tahsildar in the dis-
trict. Association president Mu-
rugaiyan said the protest would
continue on Wednesday in oth-
er districts.
According to sources, Kan-
nan from Rishivandhiyam had
filed a case in Madras High
Court in 2009, seeking access to
the path to his land i that was
encroached. On June 16, the
court directed the encroach-
ments to be cleared. On August
9, special tahsildar Manoj Mu-
niyan cleared the encroach-
Revenue officials trying to enter
Kallakurichi collectorate | EXPRESS
ments. During the process, 3
residents sustained injuries.
They lodged complaints against
Manoj and collector Shravan
Kumar suspended him.
Protesting the suspension,
members of Tamil Nadu State
Revenue Officials Association
from Kallakurichi staged a
demonstration on August 14.
On the same day, the affected
residents also held a protest
outside the collector’s office.
“The tahsildar acted without
adhering to protocol and failed
to report the incident to higher
officials. A committee compris-
ing the district revenue officer
and additional SP will investi-
gate the complaints against
him,” said Kumar. He added
that he had met the association
functionaries and explained the
situation ton Tuesday.
“He didn’t even notify the re-
spective taluk tahsildar, a man-
datory step. Even the police of-
ficials advised him to clear the
encroached area according to
the court order, but he proceed-
ed to clear all 10 houses and
parts of five houses without
prior communication, causing
damage to residents’ belong-
ings and injuries to three indi-
viduals,” another source said.
viduals to follow their family’s
traditional professions, conse-
quently reinforcing caste and
trade hierarchy. So, to create a
casteless society, this scheme
should be opposed. To strongly
condemn this, the DK and other
democratic and progressive
forces will stage protest on Sep-
tember 6 in Chennai. The next
course of protest will be an-
nounced after consultation
with democratic forces.”
The scheme, which would be
launched on September 17,
would be implemented by three
ministries — MSME, Skill De-
velopment and Finance. Skilled
workmen will be given training
for 4-5 days to upgrade their
skill, following which they will
become eligible for loan.
Girls give bus a push, 4 staffers get it
CM’s Onam wish with a
political message
Chennai: Chief Minister and DMK
president MK Stalin on Tuesday
sent out a political message while
greeting Keralites on the occasion
of Onam. In a brief Malayalam
video message on Twitter, Stalin
said, “I wish equality and unity
prevail in our country just like
they were prevailing during the
reign of mythical king Mahabali.
A union government that treats
all alike should be formed. To
achieve that, let us stand united.
My heartiest Onam greetings to
my dear Keralites.” The INDIA
alliance of Congress, Left parties,
DMK and others has emerged as
the challenger to the BJP-led NDA
in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Kanniyakumari
Hike incentive for paddy
procurement, says PMK
Chennai; PMK has urged the state
to provide `500 as incentive for a
quintal of paddy. In a release,
party president Dr Anbumani
Ramadoss appreciated the
state’s move to begin
procurement from September 1.
However, Anbumani expressed
concern regarding adequacy of
the incentive provided for
procured paddy. He said farmers
have been requesting a
procurement price of `3,000 per
quintal of paddy, while the
Centre’s declared procurement
price stands at `2,203. Hence, the
state government should come
forward to provide `500 per
quintal of paddy.

TNSTC Nagercoil suspended

Call for farmers to besiege Raj Bhavans on Nov 26
E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Tiruchy
WITH Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi having reneged on his
promises to farmers, let us this
time, instead of Delhi, converge
before the Raj Bhavans in all
states in protest, farmer leader
Hannan Mollah told the gather-
ing at the state conference of
Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM)
held in Tiruchy on Tuesday.
“Two years ago, farmers
waged a battle against the Un-
ion government’s three black
farm laws. Promises by Modi at
that time, including the intro-
duction of minimum support
price for all agricultural prod-
on agricultural products in our
everyday life, yet farmers strug-
gle. If a farmer gets hospital-
ised, he has to avail of a loan.
He needs one to even organise
a household function. It is this
that drives farmers’ suicide.
There are no laws that help
farmers. All their profits go to
middlemen.”
AIKS member Vengaiyah
Former MP Hannan Mollah and leaders of United Farmers Front participating in a rued that the Union govern-
state conference in Tiruchy on Tuesday | M K ASHOK KUMAR ment’s fund allocation for agri-
culture and farmers was on the
ucts and the repeal of Electric- nor’s office on November 26,” decline. SKM’s Tamil Nadu co-
ity Bill, were not fulfilled. This Mollah said. ordinator K Balakrishnan and
year, instead of ‘Delhi Chalo’, Nagammal D of All India organisation’s district coordi-
let’s occupy all state capitals by Kisan Khet Majdoor Sangathan nator Ayalai Siva Suriyan were
agitating in front of the gover- (AIKKMS) said, “We all depend present.
four staff, including the driver
and conductor of a bus, on
Tuesday. Sources said, a video
went viral on social media, in
which a group of college girl
students are seen pushing a sta-
tionary bus from behind in the
Nagercoil area.
A senior TNSTC official said
the incident happened a few
days back, following which, the
Nagercoil TNSTC authorities
suspended the bus driver and
conductor of the bus, besides
an electrician and night super-
visor of the depot in
Nagercoil.
A charge memo was also
served to two officials, the offi-
cial said, adding that if the
staff took care of the vehicle,
A video went viral on social media, in which a group of girl students were seen this incident could have been
pushing a stationary bus from behind in Nagercoil | VIDEOGRAB avoided.
 MAN A 38-year-old driver, who was out on bail in a one-year-old
murder case, was hacked to death near Tharuvai village on
HACKED Monday. The deceased was identified as Ganesan, a native
of Cheranmahadevi, who is working in Chennai

07 CHENNAI WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023

� �

Rope car facility at Anuvavi Villagers demand arrest of 4 for attacking youth
will affect wildlife: Activists
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE on Tuesday. incident yelled at the four, they manding their arrest.
@ Virudhunagar According to sources, on Mon- fled the spot,” sources said. Officials from the Revenue
day evening, a dispute arose be- Later, the villagers staged a and Police Department held a
TENSION prevailed in Ra- tween Amarnath (22) and three protest demanding the arrest of series of talks with the villag-
japalayam after 300 residents of his friends Kartheeswaran, the four persons stating that the ers. However, since no amicable
The temple has reduced darshan timings to prevent human-animal conflict from Somaiyapuram and Ma- Arunkumar, and Selvam with a residents’ safety was under solutions were reached, around
layapuram villages staged a few youth in Malayapuram over threat. Rajapalayam North Po- 15 protestors were arrested and
protest on Mudangiyar road on careless driving. Following the lice arrested the four under then lodged at a private wed-
S S E N T H I L K U M A R @ Coimbatore If rope car is introduced, nearby residential areas all Tuesday morning, demanding dispute, the youth fled to the vil- various sections 341, 294 (b),324, ding hall.
wildlife movement, time since Periya Thadagam the arrest of four persons who lage. Meanwhile, Amarnath and 506 (ii), following which the vil- “Since the protest lasted from
THE HR&CE department re- especially elephants, will (Anaikatti south) is already af- attacked a youth at Ma- his friends attacked Sathish, a lagers dispersed. The four were 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., the public
visit nearby residential
cently announced plans to build areas all the time
fected due to the frequent intru- layapuram on Monday and later resident of the Somaiyapuram later produced before a magis- was deeply affected, and several
rope car facility at Anuvavi sion of elephants. Even during entered the village with sickles, village. “They also went to Ma- trate and were granted bail on educational institutions in the
Subramaniya Swami temple at Member of Wildlife and Nature the afternoon, there were re- threatening them. Owing to the layapuram and threatened us- Monday night. Knowing this, locality declared a holiday,”
a cost of `13 crore at a height of Conservation Trust ports that wild elephants are situation, several educational ing sickles. After the residents the villagers again staged a pro- sources said adding that the
420m. Wildlife activists oppose frequently crossing the steps institutions declared a holiday in the village who witnessed the test on Tuesday morning, de- protestors were then released.
HR&CE department’s proposal hills or hillocks. This practice and the staff is being engaged
saying the place is part of an should not be violated. If such to divert the animal. Not only
elephant corridor.
They added that Anuvavi is
among the 150 elephant corri-
technology is introduced, there
is chance of more devotees vis-
iting and it would increase hu-
wild elephants, free movement
of gaur, spotted deer and even
wild boar would also be affect-
Seeman: Cong refusing water
dors identified by the Ministry
of Environment Forests and
Climate Change in Anaikatti
man-animal conflict. Intro-
ducing rope car will
create huge negative
ed,” the member added.
Sources added that
Anuvavi is a haven for
to TN, DMK must quit INDIA
South range. According to impact to the wildlife birds and the forest de-
sources, based on Coimbatore and also damage partment had proposed E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Erode nataka has refused to release
forest department’s advice, the nature.” introducing bird watch- Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
temple has reduced darshan A member of Wildlife ing near the temple. DMK should exit the INDIA al- So, the DMK should leave the
timings to prevent human-ani- and Nature Conservation A recent survey conduct- liance, in which Congress is a alliance.”
mal conflict. Trust (WNCT) on the condition ed by bird watchers in western partner, as Karnataka is refus- He further said if Prime
K Kalidass, who is a member of anonymity told TNIE that ghats revealed presence of 415 ing to release Tamil Nadu’s Minister Narendra Modi con-
of State Wildlife Board and there is no necessity to set up bird species, including share of Cauvery waters, tested in the Lok Sabha elec-
founder of the NGO Osai, said rope car facility in Anuvavi as migratory birds like Asian Naam Tamilar Katchi chief tions from Tamil Nadu, he
“HE&CE minister Sekar Babu the temple has only 560 steps brown fly catcher and India Seeman has said. would contest against him.
and officials should realise that unlike the Palani temple and Pitta. Addressing media persons “Naam Tamilar Katchi will

DEFT TOUCH
temples located inside forests devotees can easily climb those Sources in the Coimbatore in Erode on Tuesday after a contest the parliamentary
are different from the ones lo- steps. forest division said they are yet party meeting, Seeman said, elections alone. Otherwise, we
cated outside. For ages, Tamils “If rope car is introduced, to decide the next course of ac- Ahead of Krishna jayanthi, a craftsman applying finishing touches to an idol at “Though DMK and Congress will form alliances with par-
have been climbing steps to wildlife movement, especially tion regarding the HR&CE de- Samathanapuram in Tirunelvel | V KARTHIKALAGU are in the same alliance, the ties that accept our ideology,”
worship in temples located atop elephants will start visiting partment’s proposal. Congress government in Kar- he added.

Coimbatore police help 173 dropouts rejoin school EXPRESS READ

Udhaya inspects
Elephant found dead in Kadambur forest
footwear park E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Erode inspection at the spot. Sources add-
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE women and children, and Law As part of the drive, children ed that the elephant did not have
@ Coimbatore & Order units took coordinated were categorised under differ- Perambalur: Minister for AN 18-year-old female elephant was any injuries. “Frontline staff de-
action to help the dropouts con- ent categories including chil- Youth Welfare and Sports found dead in Kadambur forest tected foul smell in the area during
COIMBATORE city police have tinue studies. dren having abusive parents, Development Udhayanidhi range under Sathyamangalam Ti- patrolling. So it is possible that the
put back 173 dropouts in school “A survey of 141 government, dropouts, differently-abled stu- Stalin on Tuesday ger Reserve (STR) on Tuesday. For- elephant died a few days ago. There
in the last two months under 46 government-aided and 170 dents and children who con- inspected the Phoenix est officials said the elephant died were no injuries on the elephant,”
their Operation Reboot initia- private schools in the city re- tacted Childline 1098. Kothari leather and of natural causes.According to officials added.
tive. On Tuesday, commissioner vealed that 324 students In the first phase held be- footwear park at Eraiyur in sources, frontline staff of Kad- Forest officials added that two el-
of police V Balakrishnan felici- dropped out in the current edu- tween March and April, police Perambalur district. Chief ambur forest range spotted the car- ephants came out of the forest area
tated the students who rejoined cation year. We met them and admitted 91 dropouts in schools. Minister MK Stalin had in cass during patrol duty on Tuesday in Kongarpalayam and entered a
schools. Speaking on the occa- A student speaking at a programme their family and observed their Of these, some of them needed November 2022 morning the near Matheswaran farmland on Monday night. “More
sion, Balakrishnan said Opera- organised by the city police to felicitate reasons for leaving their stud- assistance for paying fees and a inaugurated the Sipcot Temple in Arigium village. Sathya- than 50 banana trees were dam-
tion Reboot is aimed at identi- dropouts who rejoined schools in ies. They were given counsel- few had expected medical as- Industrial Park spread on mangalam DFO Sudhakar held an aged” a forest officer said.
fying dropouts and preventing Coimbatore | S SENBAGAPANDIYAN ling. We then took steps to ad- sistance for family members. 243.49 acres in Eraiyur
them from taking to crime. mit 173 dropouts back in schools The assistance was provided to in Perambalur, where he
According to sources, per- since June first week. Person- in the city. Twenty other stu- them through Kavasam trust, also laid the foundation
sonnel from 20 police stations nel from the Juvenile Aid Po- dents were put in schools in which is a joint venture of po- stone for the Phoenix
in the city identified 324 school lice Unit (JAPU), a special unit their native places,” lice and industries, sources Kothari leather and
dropouts and met 250 of them that prevents crime against Balakrishnan said. said. footwear park. ENS

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08 CHENNAI WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023
� � THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

PARADIP PORT AUTHORITY

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA By E_Mail/e-Despatch : E-Mail ID : serwcbaripada@gmail.com, e-TENDER CALL NOTICE
No: EM/PED-29/2023
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER Ph - No - 06792 - 261343 /261344, Gangraj, Baripada
No.: EM/PED/TECH-26/2023/337
RURAL WORKS CIRCLE: SUNDARGARH OFFICE OF THE CHIEF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER
Date: 25.08.2023
AT/PO-SANKARA, SUNDARGARH-770020, E-mail address- serw_sundargarh@yahoo.com RURAL WORKS CIRCLE, BARIPADA Name of the Work: Providing
No. Tender Online - RWCCESNG - 24 of 2023-24 Letter No. 2408 / Dtd. 28.08.2023 “e” Procurement Notice for Bridge Work
O-820 e-Procurement NOTICE LT Power supply to CB-I & CB-II.
Identification No.- Online Tender- Bridge N.C.B. No. 305 for 2023-24.
1. Type of the Work: Bridge (BSY) O-813 Letter No. 4149 / Date: 28.08.2023 // Es�mated Cost: Rs.2,42,60,283/-,
2. Class of Contractor: As specified in the column-6 of the Annexure 1. Name of the work :- Bridge work under Biju Setu Yojana in the District of Mayurbhanj Last date & �me of submission of
3. Time of Completion: As specified in the column-5 of the Annexure 2. Total No. of work :- 03 Nos. (Three) bid : dt.18/09/2023 up to 17:00 Hrs.
4. Detail Projects: As per Annexure attached 3. Estimated Cost :- Rs.409.03 lakhs to Rs.728.70 lakhs (approximately). Refer our website for details h�ps://
5. Estimated Cost : As specified in the column-4 of the Annexure 4. Eligible Class of Contractor :- As per annexure.
6. Other details: eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app
5. Period of Completion :- As per annexure.
Sd/- Execu�ve Engineer (E), (PED-I)
Availability of Tender Last Date & Date & Time of opening 6. Other details :-
on-line for bidding of tender Paradip Port Authority
Procurement Officer BidtionIdentifica- Time of Seek- Last Date Date & Time of Opening of
Availability of tender On-line PPA/PR/44/2023-24 Dtd.25/08/2023
No. ing Tender Technical Financial Bid Identifi- & Time of Tender in O/O C.C.E.R.W.
From To Clarification Bid Bid Procurement Officer for bidding
cation No. seeking Tender Circle, Baripada
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 From To Clarification Technical Bid Financial Bid
Chief Construction Will be 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Engineer, Rural Works RWCCESNG- 01.09.2023 15.09.2023 14.09.2023 16.09.2023 intimated Chief Construction Bridge On- Dt. Dt. Dt. 14.09.2023 Dt. Will be
Circle, Sundargarh 24 of 2023-24 11:00 AM 5:00 PM 5:00 PM 11:00 AM separately
Engineer, Rural Works line N.C.B. 01.09.2023 15.09.2023 up up to 5.00 16.09.2023 at intimated
Further details can be seen from the website www.tendersodisha.gov.in Circle, Baripada No. 305 at 11.00 A.M. to 5.00 P.M. P.M. 11.00 A.M. later
Sd/- Chief Construction Engineer, Rural Works Circle, Sundargarh OIPR- 25133/11/0034/2324 ������������������������������������������������www.tendersodisha.gov.in.
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Sd/- Er. S.K Raut, Chief Construction Engineer,
R.W. Circle, Baripada OIPR- 25130/11/0036/2324

GOVERNMENT OF TELANGANA
ROADS & BUILDINGS DEPARTMENT
NOTICE INVITING TENDERS ‘E’ PROCUREMENT NOTICE (e-procurement-Open Category -EPC Turnkey System)
E-in-C(R&B)(SR&CRN), E-NITNo:27/Plan/E-in-C(R&B),
SR&CRN/SE(D&P)-II/EE(SR)/DEE-I/AEE-3/ 2023-24, Dt:28.08.2023�
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�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������‘Investigation,
Design & Build and Maintenance’�����������������������������
SI Approximate Period of
Description Approximate Length
No. Cost Rs in Crores completion
� ������������������������������������������������������ ����������������������������� 139.13 ����������
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Estimated Contract Value / Internal Bench Mark 139.13
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������������������������������������������������������������������������for Engineer-in-Chief (R&B) State Roads & CRN

09 CHENNAI
Minor girl had
plotted to kill
father a month
ago, say police
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1
BUT the girl continued her re-
lationship. Agitated over this,
he met Muthukamatchi’s car
owner and persuaded him to
expel him from his driver job.
Aggrieved, the minor plotted
a conspiracy a month ago along
with her lover and two of his
friends to kill her father, police
said. She also promised to pay
`2 lakh to Muthukamatchi’s
friends.Police said the minor
had earlier filched `1 lakh from
her house and bought a motor-
cycle for Muthukamatchi with
the money. As per her plan, the
girl expressed apology to her
father for her conduct. Believ-
ing her words, Venugopal
brought her back home last
week and got her admitted to a
private school. On Saturday,
around 8.15 pm, the man came
out of his house to purchase
socks for his daughter. The girl
immediately called up her lov-
er and told him about it.
The gang, which was waiting
for her call, launched a deadly
attack on the man when he was
driving on a desolate road on
his motorcycle. Muthukamatchi
and his friends pushed the man
from his vehicle and attacked
him with sickles, leaving him
grievously injured, and escaped
from the spot, police said. Some
passersby rushed him to Gov-
ernment Medical College Hos-
pital in Theni. He was later
moved to a private hospital.
Speaking to TNIE, Theni su-
perintendent of police Dongre
Pravin Umesh said CCTV foot-
ages and deep wounds on the
man’s head proved that it was a
murder attempt but police were
clueless about the perpetrators
and their motive. During in-
quiry, police found an aban-
doned motorcycle. They then
nabbed Muthukamatchi as the
motorcycle was registered on
his name and based on his con-
fession, detained his two aides.
Based on their statements, the
girl was detained, the SP said.
BACK TO START LINE
Rajinikanth paid a surprise visit on Tuesday to BMTC’s Jayanagar Bus Depot in
Bengaluru, where he had worked as a conductor before becoming an actor. Rajini,
along with his longtime friend Raj Bahadur, who originally had pushed him to take
up acting, visited the place where they had worked during the early 1970s | EXPRESS
Security strengthened in and around KRS dam
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1
"BUT we need to look into the
pros and cons of this,” he said.
To ensure that there are no un-
toward incidents, police secu-
rity was being strengthened in
and around KRS and across
Mysuru and Mandya regions.
Meanwhile, TN water re-
sources minister Duraimuru-
gan reiterated that the CWMA
has failed to discharge its duty
by not finalising the distress-
sharing formula for sharing
water during monsoon deficit.
The authority has been func-
tioning in a lethargic manner
and we have put forth the charge
before the SC, the minister
said.
Sources said during the
CWMA meeting in New Delhi
on Tuesday, Karnataka declined
to accept the CWMA order say-
ing the state was not in a posi-
tion to release any more water
for various reasons, including
poor storage level, deficit rain-
fall, and requirement of water
The CWMA has been lethargic. It has failed to discharge its duty by not finalising the
distress-sharing formula for sharing water during monsoon deficit
Duraimurugan, TN water resources minister
WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023
� �
MANDYA FARMERS STAGE PROTEST NEAR KRS
Mysuru: Farmers in Mandya staged a massive protest and even blocked
the Mysuru-Bengaluru access controlled highway for a while after the
Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) passed an interim order
directing Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for
the next 15 days. The farmers by blindfolding themselves on Tuesday
protested in front of the Cauvery Irrigation Corporation office near the
Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir in Mandya. A few farmers tried to block
the highway. Sources said that officials are awaiting orders and may
release water after they get the order from the irrigation authorities.
for drinking and irrigation pur-
poses. Tamil Nadu, on the other
hand, refused to accept the or-
der contending that 5,000 cusecs
was too low and it won’t be
enough to save the standing
crops in delta districts. TN re-
quested at least 10,000 cusecs for
the next 15 days but the request
was rejected by the authority.
During the meeting, TN offi-
cials urged Karnataka to re-
lease at least 25 tmcft of water
against the shortfall of 49 tmcft
and said this could be realised
if Karnataka releases 24,000
cusecs for the next 10 days. But
Karnataka officials rejected it
FISHERS Ten fishers from Nagapattinam arrested by the Sri
Lankan Navy earlier this month returned home on
RETURN Tuesday after they were repatriated. The fishers
were apprehended by the SL Navy on August 6
Naidu may join hands with BJP EXPRESS READ
Possible early polls: ECI
to visit Odisha on Sep 13
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Vijayawada
On forming an alliance with
the saffron party in Telangana,
Bhubaneswar: AMIDST talks of
an early election, a team from the
Naidu said the TDP will contest Election Commission of India
TELUGU Desam Party supre- alone as there is no time to hold (ECI) is scheduled to visit Odisha
mo and former Andhra Pradesh discussions on the matter. The on September 13 to review the
chief minister N Chandrababu TDP has constituted a commit- poll preparedness in the state.
Naidu has once again hinted at tee to finalise the candidates, The ECI team will hold review of
joining hands with the Bharati- he added. all poll-related issues with the
ya Janata Party (BJP) for the Launching a scathing attack district collectors on the day.
2024 Assembly elections. against Andhra Pradesh Chief Chief electoral officer (CEO)
Speaking to reporters in New Minister YS Jagan Mohan Red- Nikunja Bihari Dhal told
Delhi after winding up his two- dy, the TDP chief accused the mediapersons that Odisha has
day visit to the national capital, the Special Category Status, the YSRC government of de- received electronic voting
the 72-year-old politician did which he termed a sentiment stroying the Amaravati capital machines (EVMs) as per the
not rule out an alliance with for the people of Andhra city in a bid to have three capi- requirement along with voter-
TDP’s former ally, but main- Pradesh. Stating that the state tals. Terming the Polavaram ir- verifiable paper audit trail
tained that any development on needs the Centre’s support for rigation project as the lifeline (VVPATs) for nine districts. All the
the front will be announced development, Naidu explained, of Andhra Pradesh, he alleged EVMs and VVPATs will be
only at the time of elections. “My intention is that we (TDP) that the government ruined it examined from October 1 to
Further, he clarified that he should be involved in the devel- too. November 15, he said. Dhal said
had exited the National Demo- opment of the nation. Only “The state will prosper only state's preparedness has nothing
cratic Alliance (NDA) just be- time will tell how that will hap- after the YSRC government fac- to do with early polls. However,
fore the elections in 2019 due to pen. The TDP has had a natioal es a poll debacle,” the former informed that election can be
differences with the Centre on ideology since its inception.” chief minister asserted. held only after November 15.
Paranur is BJP model toll gate
98.77 tmcft against the 30-year corruption, says Madurai MP
average inflow of 196.338 tmcft,
which is just an average deficit C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 1 people always evade fee as
of 49.69 %. The rainfall deficit Paranur and Athur toll plazas
in the catchment upstream of DUE to the agreement between have been functioning even af-
Billigundulu was just 22 %, but NHAI and the contractor, the ter the contract period.
the flow realised at Billigundu- original quantum of toll col- Su Venkatesan, Madurai
lu was only 37.73%, the TN team lection in Athur and Paranur Lok Sabha member, tweeted
pointed out. toll booths have not been re- saying that Paranur toll plaza
TN officials also made it clear corded for several years, sourc- stands as symbol of modern
that they would not agree to the es said. corruption that can be called
deficit percentage worked out As per the National Highway “BJP model toll gate”.
and said due to deficit rainfall, by CWRC and CWMA based on Fee (Determination of Rates A TNIE report dated Octo-
the inflow into key reservoirs the inflows recorded at the four and Collection) Rules, 2008, toll ber 4th, 2021, had exposed huge
has dwindled and southwest major reservoirs of Karnataka. fee has to be slashed by 60 % on disparities in toll collection at
monsoon has almost come to an They pointed out that the stand- realisation of the project cost. the Paranur toll plaza before
end in the state. The Karnataka ing crops that are in different TNIE contacted the NHAI and after the implementation
side also argued that they need stages of growth are water- Chennai Regional Office to of FASTag payment system.
water for drinking purposes till stressed. Storage in the Mettur seek clarity on the provision As per the data obtained by
next May. reservoir is only 19 tmcft and of “predetermined toll collec- TNIE through RTI, around 5.08
Sources said Tamil Nadu of- will last only for 10 days, they tion” for the Tambaram-Tindi- lakh vehicles passed through
ficials said as of Tuesday, the said. vanam NH that witnesses a the Paranur toll plaza in July
gross storage in the four reser- The CWMA will be submit- daily traffic of over one lakh 2019, resulting in a collection
voirs in Karnataka Cauvery ba- ting a report to the Supreme vehicles. But officials declined of `3.14 crore. In contrast, the
sin was 72.120 tmcft against Court within a few days on to comment. number of tolled vehicles went
their full capacity of 114.571 tm- quantum of Cauvery water re- Sources said a section of po- up by 7.39 lakh in July 2021
cft, which is 63% of their total leased by Karnataka so far and litical leaders and their sup- generating a collection of `8.83
storage capacity. The net in- the levels in the state’s dams. porters, advocates, journalists, crore. About 12.47 lakh vehi-
flows into the four reservoirs (With inputs from relatives of top government of- cles had crossed the toll gate
from June 1 to August 28 was Bengaluru and Mysuru) ficials and other influential after FASTag roll out.
Five star Business Finance Limited
Registered office New No.27,Old no 4, Taylors road Kilpauk Chennai 600010 Ph : 044-46106200
APPENDIX IV(see rule 8(1) POSSESSION NOTICE (For Immovable Property)
You, the under mentioned Borrower/Mortgagor is hereby informed that the company has initiated proceedings against you under the securitization and reconstruction od
financial assets and enforcement of security interest act ,2002 and that the notice under13(2) of the act sent to you by registered post ack ,Due for borrower/s has been
returned and undelivered . Hence you are hereby called upon to take notice and pay outstanding loan amount mentioned against the said account with interest accruing
there from within 60 days from the date of publications, failing which the company will proceed against you by exercising its right under Sub-Sec(4) of section 13 of the act
by enforcing the below mentioned security to realize its due with interests and cost .Its needless to mention that his notice is addressed to you without prejudice to any other
remedy available to the company.
Date of Demand
Name and the address of the Borrower/s & POSSESSION
Loan Amount Notice & Outstanding Description of the property/ Secured assest
Co-Borrower/s Date
amount
Loan Account No.FSTNLALONS000005013428
1. Mrs.Gomathi P (Borrower)W/o Premmartin,
No.333,1,Santhi Saraswathi Nagar,
Amana Pakam, Chengalpattu,
All that piece and parcel of land and building bearing
Tamil Nadu 603 002 9750537655
Plot No.60, Saraswathy nagar Situated in No:216,
Ammanampakkam Village, Vallam Panchayat,
2. Mr.Premamartin J S/o Jayaraj
Kattankulathur Panchayat Union, Chengalpet Taluk.
No.333,1,Santhi Saraswathi Nagar, Amana 17.05.2023.
Kanchipuram District. Comprised in S.No.146/1 Land
Pakam, Chengalpattu,Tamil Nadu 603 002 Rs. 37,70,729/-
Rs.15,00,000/- measuring an extent of 1350 Sq.Feet., and,Bounded
9750537655 (Rupees Thirty Seven
(Rupees Fifteen on,North by - 24 Feet Road.,South by - Kumari Plot 24.08.2023
Lakhs Seventy Thou-
Lakhs Only) No.37
3. Mr.Samsan Samuvel,S/o.Premamatin J sand Seven Hundred
East by - Plat No 59,West by - 30 foot
No.333,1,Santhi Saraswathi Nagar, Twenty Nine Only)
Road,Measurements:,East West Sides - 45 Feet,South
Amana Pakam, Chengalpattu,
North Sides - 30 FeetThe above property is situated
Tamil Nadu 603 002
within the Registration District of Chengalpet
99424 18476
andRegistration Sub-District of Chengalpet Joint-II.
4. Gomathi P & Premamatin J &Samsan Samuvel
No.37/76, Merrys Corner , Rajaji Street,
Chengalpattu,Tamil Nadu 603 002
99424 18476
All that piece and parcel of the house, ground and
premises bearing Plot No. 12, Varalakshmi Nagar,
Loan Account No. LA80851
Vengathur Village, Tiruvallur Taluk, Tiruvallur District,
1. Mrs.P.Kavitha (Borrower) W/o D.Prabhu,
25.03.2023. comprised in S.Nos.298/1 & 298/2, land measuring
No.91/3,Poonamalle High Road, Vengathur,
Rs.49,57,850/- 2402 square feet and ,Bounded on the,NORTH : Plot
Manavala Nagar, Thiruvallur-602 002.
Rs. 30,00,000/- (Rupees Forty Nine No.13
9445575900
(Rupees Thirty Lakhs Fifty Seven SOUTH:Plot No.11,EAST : 15 feet wide Road,WEST : 29.08.2023
Lakhs Only) Thousand Eight Plot No.7,Measurements,Northern Side - 54 Feet 9
2. Mr.D.Pabhu
Hundred and Fifty inches,Southern Side - 54 Feet 9 inches,Eastern Side-
No.91/3,Poonamalle High Road, Vengathur,
Only) 43 Feet,Western Side-44 Feet 9 inches,The above
Manavala Nagar, Thiruvallur-602 002.
property is situated within the Registration District of
9444028258
Kancheepuram and within the Registration Sub District
of Manavala Nagar.
All that piece and parcel of land and building bearing
Loan Account No. LA32429 & Old Door No.20, New Door No.35, 3rd Street, Situated
FSTNLALONS000005050142 in Brindavanam, Chetpet, Egmore Village, Egmore
Nungambakkam Taluk, Chennai - 600 031, District,
1. Mrs.Lakshmi C (Borrower) W/o Chandar, Comprised in S.No.451/134, land measuring 370 Sq.
No. 35/2,, Brindavanam, 3rdStreet, Chetpet Feet., undivided 5/6 Share Land, together with Building,
Rs. 10,00,000/- 17.05.2023.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu - 600 031, 97910 61469 and,Bounded on the,North by - S.No.451/133,South
(Rupees Ten Rs. 29,54,044/-
by S.No.451/144, Brindavanam 3rd Street ,East by
Lakhs Only) (Rupees Twenty
2. Mr.Chandar S/o Francis S.No.451/183, Brindavanam Main Road ,West by 24.08.2023
& Rs.4,00 000 Nine Lakhs Fifty Four
No. 35/2, Brindavanam, 3rd Street, Chetpet S.No.541/135
(Rupees Four Thousand Forty Four
Chennai , Tamil Nadu - 600 031, 97910 61469 Measurements:East to West on the North side -15
Lakhs Only) Only)
Feet,East to West on the South Side -14 Feet,South to
3. Mr.Ganesh C S/o Chandar North on the East side - 22 +4-26 FeetSouth to North on
No. 35/2,, Brindavanam, 3rd Street, Chetpet the West side-25 Feet
Chennai, Tamil Nadu - 600 031 The above property is situated within the Registration
97910 61469 District of Chennai - Central and within the Registration
Sub-District of Periamet.
Date: 30.08.2023 For M/s. Five-Star Business Financial Limited,
Place: Chennai Authorized Officer

10 CHENNAI WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023
� �
I
n the context of the hearing in
the Supreme Court on the scrap-
INDIAN EXPRESS IS NOT AN ping of Article 370, a crucial
INDUSTRY. IT IS A MISSION. question that should have been
— Ramnath Goenka dealt with is the power of the In-
dian Parliament to convert a
state to a Union territory. The
emphasis in the elaborate arguments sen-
BIG RAINFALL DEFICIT ior counsels on both sides advanced in
the court was on the constitutionality of
MAY STOKE FOOD the changes made in Article 370 by Parlia-
ment. So, whether Parliament can convert
INFLATION FURTHER
a state to a Union territory has remained
unaddressed.
Article 3 of the Constitution defines the
W
powers of Parliament to effect changes in
hile national attention is focused on heavy rains in the states’ physical form and status. For exam-
North and the huge toll it has taken, the looming crisis ple, Parliament can enact a law to form a
of deficient rains and drought the rest of the country new state by separating a particular terri-
is facing seems to have gone unnoticed. After a very wet tory from an existing state, uniting two or
July, rainfall has been patchy, with a record 40% deficit more states or parts of states, or uniting
any territory to a part of any state. Parlia-
in August, a month traditionally associated with a strong mon- ment also has the power to increase or di-
soon. Weather experts have warned that with little rain seen minish any state’s area and alter a state’s
since August 21, this month could be one of the driest in history boundaries or name. Explanation 2 of Ar-
since 1913. Overall, the country might see the poorest monsoon ticle 3 clarifies that Parliament can also
in eight years. In Maharashtra, Opposition parties have demand- form a new state by uniting a part of any
ed the state be declared ‘drought-affected’. Marathwada and state to another state. Similarly, a part of a
Union territory can be united to another
many other regions face arid conditions, and the water levels in Union territory and form a new Union
the state’s over-900 dams have dropped to 30% of capacity. territory. Thus, Article 3 exhaustively
Meteorologists are concerned that the withdrawal of the mon- deals with the dimension of Parliament’s
soons for these long periods is a sure sign of the El Nino effect—a power to alter the physical form of a state
weather pattern generated in the Pacific that suppresses rainfall or Union territory.
and enhances dry spells. There is also concern that the El Nino The conversion of the state of Jammu
and Kashmir into two Union territories
impact may continue, and the lack of precipitation may spill
has brought into focus for the first time
over into September. India could end with a rainfall deficit of as the power of Parliament to convert a state
much as 8% this year—the worst since 2015. These are serious into a Union territory. There is an appre-
implications for a country where the monsoons account for 70% hension in some quarters that the Union
of the rainfall and water 60% of the sown area. government can, with its large majority
The immediate impact of a weakening monsoon will be lower in both Houses of Parliament, convert
farm produce and could make essentials such as sugar, pulses, any state into a Union territory and thus
take over the control of that state. After
rice and vegetables more expensive. As it is, for July, inflation Kashmir’s conversion, it is no longer an
rose to a 15-month high of 7.44%, mainly driven by high food impossibility. Moreover, there is a general
prices. The government, conscious of the inflationary spiral, perception that Parliament has all the pow-
banned non-basmati rice exports to ensure sufficient domestic er to change the status of a state in any
supply to keep prices in check. There has been heavy collateral manner it likes.
damage, though. With India being the world’s largest rice ex- It is, therefore, necessary to take a closer
look at the provisions of Article 3 of the
porter, prices in the international market have gone soaring. Constitution to understand the extent of
Back home, the export ban has come in the middle of the sowing Parliament’s power to change the shape
season, and farmers are switching to other crops, shrinking the and status of the Indian states.
acreage under rice by 5% or more. A closer examination of Article 3 would
While we count the falling dominoes, the immediate need reveal that Parliament does not possess
is to ensure food security and to mobilise drinking water the power to convert a whole state into a
Union territory. There are three points to
tankers, fodder camps and employment guarantees during pos-
validate this proposition. Firstly, Article 3
sible drought periods. In the longer term, ramping up our irriga- sets the limit on Parliament’s power to
tion systems to counter the increasingly erratic monsoon change the status of a state. It would mean
pattern is key.
FIGHT FAKE NEWS, BUT NO
HURTING PRESS FREEDOM A LAMP IN THE SKY
T I
n one of my favourite scenes
he Karnataka government’s declaration to set up a fact- from Satyajit Ray’s film Agantuk
checking unit to stop the spread of fake news has raised (1989), Utpal Dutt shows a magic
concern. The Editors Guild of India is apprehensive that trick to a bunch of kids in a park.
the government will misuse it and impinge on press free- He uses some coins to illustrate
dom. The Guild also sought clarity on the power and scope that the Moon is exactly as far
of the unit and who would govern it. The government plans to away from Earth to cover the
Sun precisely and entirely during an
form a team to monitor social media platforms and detect fake
eclipse. It’s a cosmic coincidence, valid only
news syndicates as part of a larger initiative to curb cybercrime. for the current life trajectory of our ever-
A senior police officer will be in the unit, which would function expanding universe. This scene brings to-
under the home ministry, and there will be penalties for the gether two of the most stimulating things
guilty. The IT/BT department would frame the laws. IT/BT Min- only humans can appreciate—fact and
ister Priyank Kharge claimed that the unit would work inde- magic or science and poetry.
Science and poetry, at least in their lit-
pendently without affecting the freedom of the fourth estate.
eral meanings, are two different worlds.
Justifying the need for such a move, he said a flood of misinfor- One rests on hard facts, analysis and tangi-
mation is being peddled online. He assured the Guild that the bles; the other has the licence to float in the
unit would be apolitical and unbiased. ether of the abstract and imaginative. The
While the government’s intention appears straightforward, left-brained scientist and the right-brained
there is a lurking doubt that such a setup can be misused to build poet have been tired but well-accepted ster-
a political narrative. The formation of such a unit is suspect in eotypes of modern human civilisation. But
you bring the Moon into the equation (or
a democratic country, which should uphold the liberty of verse), and the lines blur.
thought and speech. But considering the political atmosphere It’s difficult to say if the first humans fas-
today, there seems to be a need for the fake news buster, and cinated by the Moon were scientists, poets
many people are taking their own initiatives. Independent fact- or a bit of both. This spherical, shape-shift-
checkers are not encouraged by governments, which demand ing lamp hanging high up in the skies
they strictly follow IT laws. However, a blind eye is turned to must have been an object of great curiosity
for the early humans—a clear sign of the
organisations affiliated with the ruling dispensation.
cosmos telling them you are not alone. A
Both the BJP and Congress have active IT cells that are har- thing of immense beauty and mystery
nessing the vast reach of social media to influence voters. While watches over you.
the BJP is the master of this game, the Congress is fast catching It’s no surprise that some of the earliest
up. Opinion battles are fought on Facebook and X, tarnishing astronomers were poets, too. Greek astron-
reputations, spawning misinformation and creating mistrust omer Hipparchus wrote two books review-
ing poetry on celestial bodies by Greek
and hatred. Now, political parties are attempting to take control
poet Aratus. He was also the first to meas-
of this wild beast called fake news. ure the distance of the Moon from Earth
The Karnataka government also plans to take punitive action (3.84 lakh kilometres) using trigonometry.
against fake news spreaders, stating that it will not tolerate Imagine a literary critic from 2,500 years
such activities. Hopefully, the authorities will not target political ago spending his life calculating the
distance of the Moon from Earth using
rivals for selective punishment. Governments use discrimina-
early mathematics!
tory tactics with an agenda, and CM Siddaramaiah claims he
Eras passed, science advanced, and the
wants to ensure that “fake news does not disrupt the health 20th century brought a new human fascina-
of our democracy”. Civil society can only hope that he stands tion for weapons and wars. Discoveries in
by his intention. quantum mechanics and hydraulics—the
two most complicated fields of physics—
were used to kill more people. But after
Q U I C K TA K E the Second World War ended and the
world emerged bruised and broken from
INMATES’ CONJUGAL RIGHTS the fogs of destruction, the Moon retook
centre-stage. The two rich bullies, the USA
T
and USSR, decided to show who was the
he Delhi High Court takes note of a PIL on conjugal rights of most advanced by racing to the Moon. It
prisoners. Several HCs are seized of this issue today. A grow- was a war, but cold—and bloodless—like
ing consensus finds them rehabilitative. These are allowed in the Moon.
many countries. India is yet to decide, though courts allow them On December 17, 1903, the Wright broth-
in individual cases. Should the rights be subject to good behavior ers took the first-ever flight in human his-
and remorse for non-heinous crimes or available to all? Or, eli- tory—a 12-second burst covering 120 feet in
air. Less than 66 years later, on July 20, 1969,
gible prisoners could live with their families in open-air camps—
Apollo 11 flew for 103 hours, covering
halfway homes in a correctional process Rajasthan encourages. roughly 3.8 lakh kilometres. How did hu-
The rights lose their value if convicts construe them as recrea- manity achieve this miraculous leap? The
tion or a substitute for forced sex with fellow inmates. gravity on the Moon is one-sixth of that on
THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
Chairman of the Board: Manoj Kumar Sonthalia Editor: Santwana Bhattacharya
Resident Editor (Tamil Nadu): Anto T Joseph * Printed and Published by R K Jhunjhunwala on behalf of Express Publications (Madurai) Private Ltd., at Express Press, ‘Express Gardens’, 29, Second Main Road, Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai - 600 058. Chennai: Vol. 93, No. 206. RNI Reg. No. TNENG/ 1002/57.
Phone: 044-23457601, Fax: 044-23457619. * Responsible for selection of News under the PRB Act. Copyright: Express Publications (Madurai) Private Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.
There is an apprehension that the government can convert
any state into a Union territory and thus control that state.
After Kashmir’s conversion, it is no longer an impossibility
CONVERTING A STATE
OF INDIA INTO A
UNION TERRITORY
P D T ACHARY
that Parliament cannot change the status
of a state beyond what Article 3 permits.
Explanation 1 under Article 3 says that
the ‘state’ mentioned in that Article, except
the proviso, includes Union territory.
Thus, according to this explanation, Parlia-
ment can form a new Union territory by
separating a part of a state. This explana-
tion shows that Parliament can form a Un-
ion territory only by separating a territory
from an existing state. In other words,
Parliament cannot convert a whole state
into a Union territory.
If the Constitution makers had intended
VARUN
GROVER
Earth, but its magnetic pull for the curious
mind is enormous.
That brings us to the eternal curiosity
poets have about our satellite. Early hu-
mans measured months using the Moon’s
phases. Hence, one of the etymological ori-
gins of ‘Moon’ comes from the Latin meitri,
meaning time. So, before we had minutes
and seconds, we had Moon—a wristwatch-
shaped time-keeper in the skies.
PTI
Early humans measured months
using the Moon’s phases. Hence,
one of the etymological origins
of ‘Moon’ comes from the Latin
meitri, meaning time. So, before
we had minutes and seconds, we
had Moon, a wristwatch-shaped
time-keeper in the skies
The image of Moon as a constant guard-
ian is reinforced in multiple imageries like
Chanda mama door ke, puye pakaaye boor
ke—a famous lullaby making Moon our
blood relative, or Dum bhar jo udhar mooh
phere, o chanda—Shailendra’s words for
Awaara, asking Moon to turn its face away
and give privacy to the lovers.
Moon is probably the most versatile
metaphor for Hindi film lyrics, lending it-
self to all moods and allusions. In Chaand
phir nikla, magar tum na aaye (Majrooh
Sultanpuri in Paying Guest), it evokes a
sense of viraha (separation), in Chalo dil-
daar chalo, chaand ke paar chalo (Kaif Bho-
pali in Pakeezah), it’s a metaphor for libera-
tion, in Chaand churake laaya hoon (Gulzar
in Devata), it’s a precious stone stolen by a
lover, and in Tu chanda, main chandni
(Balkavi Bairagi in Reshma aur Shera) the
moon and its glow are symbols of the eter-
nal, sacred bond between lovers.
Former Secretary-General, Lok Sabha
SOUMYADIP SINHA
to confer on Parliament the power to con-
vert an entire state into a Union territory
or two, then Article 3 would not have used
the words “separation of territory from
any state”. These words make it abundant-
ly clear that a new Union territory can be
formed by separating a territory from a
state and not by converting the whole state
into a Union territory. If the whole state
were to be so converted, then this part of
Article 3 would become redundant, which
is not the constitutional scheme.
Secondly, Article 1 says that India shall
be a Union of States. Some judicial com-
Writer-filmmaker
Moon inspired Hindi film poetry to use
it in novel ways, beyond the predictable
stand-in for beauty (Ye chaand sa roshan
chehra). One of my favourite usages comes
in the underrated Jaidev-led score of
Jumbish (1986). Lyricist Mohammed Sala-
huddin Parvez uses various metaphors to
paint a picture of an evening in the song
Dheere dheere shaam aa rahi hai (the
evening ambles along). He writes, “Auratein
hatheliyon se chaand bunn rahi hain” (the
ladies are weaving a moon with their
hands), a stunning, surreal image turning
a mundane activity into a thing of beauty.
Years later, in Gangs of Wasseypur, Piyush
Mishra writes, “Ik bagal mein chaand
hoga, ik bagal mein rotiyaan” (Life is but a
hard choice between the Moon and daily
bread), indicating that dreams and reality
rarely match.
This fascination with the Moon in Hindi
film lyrics comes from a long tradition of
first Persian and then Hindustani poetry
obsessing over the Moon. Mirza Ghalib ex-
panded the metaphor to its physical at-
tributes in Persian couplets like:
Chun ba-Khabar ke na aaNast bakaahad
az sharam
maah yak chand babaalad ke jabeen-e-to
shaved
(When it thinks it is not that, then it di-
minishes in shame
The Moon waxes big so that it might be-
come your forehead) - English Translation:
Yusuf Husain
And then, while writing in Urdu, Ghalib
uses the Moon as a routine, daily occur-
rence with no better reason to exist than as
an excuse for his drinking addiction.
Ghalib chhuTi sharab par ab bhi kabhi
kabhi
piita huun roz-e-abr o shab-e-mahtab
men
(I promise I have quit drinking, except
on cloudy nights or when the Moon is
shining)
Though Ghalib makes light of it, the
Moon is an existential necessity for our
planet, not just to make tides and reflect
light or for scientific investigations into the
Big Bang—but as a fellow traveller through
space. A glowing sign on this lonely, dark
highway indicates a quaint diner open till
the early hours—a symbol of good things
and companionship.
As Anand Bakshi wrote so aptly in
Zakhm, “Tum aaye toh aaya mujhe yaad,
gali mein aaj chaand nikla.”
To dare is to lose one’s
footing momentarily. Not Soren
to dare is to lose oneself Kierkegaard
ments that India has an indestructible Un-
ion with a destructible State remain in
judicial records.
But it must be stated here that India can
remain only a Union of States. The de-
structible State does not square with the
idea of India being a Union of States. If
Parliament is empowered to convert one
state into one or two Union territories, logi-
cally, it will have the power to convert all
the states into Union territories. Then, In-
dia will be a Union of Union territories. Is
it possible under the Constitution? The
simple answer is that the Constitution
has not vested such power in the Indian
Parliament. The position under the Consti-
tution is that Parliament does not possess
the power to convert a whole state into a
Union territory.
Thirdly, although the Constitution of
India does not use the term ‘federation’,
India is called a federal country. Moreover,
the Indian federal system is a part of a
basic structure, which means Parliament
cannot amend the Constitution or pass
a law that would alter the Republic’s federal
character.
Converting a whole state into a Union
territory amounts to negating the federal
structure. We must not forget that the doc-
trine of basic structure propounded in the
Kesavananda Bharati judgment has saved
the constitutional system and parliamen-
tary democracy in India. But for this epoch-
making judgment, the Indian political class
would have changed the Constitution be-
yond recognition.
Article 368 makes it too easy for politi-
cians who control Parliament to amend the
Constitution. The facile argument that
since Parliament reflects the will of the
people it must have the absolute power to
change the Constitution ignores the fact
that Parliament is controlled by the major-
ity party that runs the government. Since
the members of Parliament are not free to
deviate from the party line, they approve
whatever changes the executive wants in
the Constitution without question. That
makes it possible for Parliament to approve
a bill that seeks to convert a full-fledged
state into a Union territory or a bill that
seeks to take away the essential powers of
a federal unit.
The Indian Parliament always reflects
the views of the executive. India’s parlia-
mentarians are not lawmakers, as this
term is understood in the West, but only
law-approvers because most of them ap-
prove what the draftsmen produce.
(pdt.achary@gmail.com)
Neeraj’s gold
Ref: Top of the worlds, Neeraj is the spark
Indian sports needs (Aug 29). Neeraj Chopra
deserves praise for winning the World
Athletics Championships gold medal. In a
country where javelin’s popularity is very low,
the talents should be nurtured and provided
with world-class facilities. Apart from cricket,
there’s a wealth of talent in other sports too.
We need to tap into this.
Sankaranarayanan, Chennai
Javelin king
Ref: Top of the worlds, Neeraj is the spark
Indian sports needs (Aug 29). Congratulations
to Neeraj on his superb performance. He has
made our country proud and really outdid
himself this time by achieving the prestigious
feat of being the first-ever Indian athlete
to win a gold medal in the World Athletics
Championships.
Habeel Aman, Thalassery
Shiv Shakti
Apropos of No room for row over naming
landing point Shiv Shakti: Isro chief (Aug 28).
These namings by PM Modi are not only a
recognition of the efforts and achievements
of our scientists but also inspire future
generations of the country. Finding faults
with the selection of names is just a reflection
of the opposition’s hate towards PM Modi and
won’t get any credence.
S P Ashta, New Delhi
Appreciate homemakers
Ref: India’s views on gender and work need
reforming (Aug 29). The role of a homemaker
is always underestimated in society. Even
women who look after both their homes and
professions are denied any appreciation. It’s
time to recognise their work.
Abhilasha Gupta, Mohali
Women’s ‘duty’
It is true that the work of a homemaker is not
respected in our society. It is seen as a wife’s
duty to cook food, clean the house, look after
the children, and take care of her in-laws. A
homemaker’s work never ends. This trend
pervades agriculture too. Women work in the
fields daily, yet their work is not monetarily
compensated. It is truly heartbreaking to be
part of a society where half the population’s
work is not acknowledged.
Tanishka Rajgariah, Coimbatore
Custodial deaths
Ref: Jump in custodial deaths points to need
for stringent legal provisions (Aug 29). It is
sad and disappointing that despite the Kerala
Police being trained, there are still custodial
deaths. The death of Tamir Jifri in Tanur
police station is shocking. The higher-ups
must stop such barbarous ways of handling
people in custody.
Dr Naveen Madhu, Bengaluru
13 CHENNAI WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023
� � THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

15 CHENNAI
Shehbaz slams SC chief Ukraine advances toward southern front
for favouring Imran Khan
Following HC’s order, PTI party demanded
the immediate release of the jailed leader
Lawyers and supporters of imprisoned Pakistani former prime minister Imran Khan
react after court decision in Islamabad, Pakistan on Tuesday | AP
ISLAMABAD
PAKISTAN’S former prime
minister Shehbaz Sharif on
Tuesday slammed Supreme
Court Chief Justice Umar Ata
Bandial for “favouring” Imran
Khan, saying his messages to
the lower courts led to the sus-
pension of the sentence of the
former premier and called the
verdict a “dark chapter” in the
country’s history.
The Islamabad High Court
(IHC) on Tuesday suspended
Imran’s three-year sentence in
the Toshakhana corruption
case and ordered his release
from jail.
Taking to microblogging site
X, Sharif said that the IHC had
been influenced by the Su-
preme Court’s leniency toward
the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) party chief.
Taking an indirect jibe at Im-
ran, Sharif said, “The favour-
ite’s sentence has been sus-
pended, not terminated. Chief
Justice’s message of ‘Good to
see you’ and ‘Wishing you good
luck’ reached Islamabad High
Court. If everyone knows what
the decision will be before the
EVACUATION
Florida braces
itself as storm
Idalia turns
into hurricane
MIAMI
STORM Idalia strengthened
into a hurricane on Tuesday as
forecasters predicted it would
intensify and become “extreme-
ly dangerous” before making
landfall in US state of Florida.
“Idalia now a hurricane. Ex-
pected to rapidly intensify into
an extremely dangerous major
hurricane before landfall on
Wednesday,” the National Hur-
ricane Center (NHC) said in a
public advisory.
Major hurricanes are usually
a Category 3 or higher on the
f ive - l eve l S a f f i r- S i m p s o n
scale—storms that the NHC
says can cause “devastating”
and “catastrophic” damage.
At the time of the advisory,
Idalia was about 600 km south-
southwest of Tampa, Florida,
and packing maximum sus-
tained winds of 120 kilometre
per hour. Florida Governor Ron
DeSantis warned the storm
could have major impacts along
the Gulf of Mexico, telling a
news conference on Monday
that evacuations would take
place and residents should
prepare.
US President Joe Biden spoke
with DeSantis earlier on Mon-
day and approved an emergen-
cy declaration for the state,
promising it would have his full
support, a White House spokes-
man said.
Residents along Florida’s
west coast were under orders to
evacuate on Tuesday ahead of
Hurricane Idalia’s arrival,
“There is a danger of life-
threatening storm surge inun-
dation along portions of the
Florida Gulf Coast... including
Tampa Bay and the Big Bend
region of Florida,” NHC said.
The NHC also expected hur-
ricane and tropical storm con-
ditions in parts of western
Cuba through Tuesday. Flash
and urban flooding may hit
parts of Florida and southern
Georgia into Wednesday. AFP
WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023
� �
decision comes, it should be a
moment of concern for the jus-
tice system.”
Alleging undue leniency by
the country’s courts to Imran,
Sharif said, “Be it May 9, be
it an attack on the judicial com-
plex, be it raining petrol bombs
on the police, everything is
forgiven.”
Also on Tuesday, Imran
Khan’s PTI party demanded the
immediate release of the jailed
PM. A video posted by the party
on X showed lawyers chanting
‘riha karo [release him]’ out-
side the IHC, Dawn reported.
“The high court has fulfilled
the requirements of justice. I’ll
tell you why: Aside from the
merits of the Toshakhana case,
which are baseless, the trial
judge did not allow Imran to
submit witnesses in his de-
fence. If witnesses in one’s de-
fence are not allowed, there is
no greater [example of a] mis-
trial,” PTI Barrister Ali Zafar
was quoted by Geo News.
PTI lawyer Shoaib Shaheen
said that Imran should be pro-
vided compensation for the
number of days he was kept be-
hind bars. PTI
INDONESIA
STRONG QUAKE
ROCKS BALI AND
JAVA ISLANDS
A powerful earthquake
and 2 strong aftershocks
rocked Indonesia’s resort
island of Bali and other
parts of the country early
on Tuesday, causing panic
but no immediate reports
of damage or casualties.
The US Geological Survey
said the quake had a
preliminary magnitude of
7.1 and was centred in the
Bali Sea 181 km northeast
of Gili Air, a tiny island
near coast of Lombok
Island, next to Bali. It
occurred at a depth of
513.5 km. Indonesia’s
Meteorology, Climatology
and Geophysical Agency
said there was no danger
of a tsunami but warned
of dangers from
aftershocks
Neurosurgeon plucks a worm from
woman’s brain in Australia
CANBERRA
A neurosurgeon investigating
a woman’s mystery symptoms
in an Australian hospital says
she plucked a wriggling worm
from the patient’s brain.
Surgeon Hari Priya Bandi
was perfor ming a biopsy
through a hole in 64-year-old
patient’s skull at Canberra Hos-
pital last year when she used
forceps to pull out the parasite,
which measured 8 cm.
“I just thought: ‘What is that?
It doesn’t make any sense. But
it’s alive and moving,’” Bandi
was quoted in The Canberra
Times. “It continued to move
with vigor. We all felt a bit
sick,” Bandi added. The crea-
ture was the larva of an Aus-
tralian native roundworm not
previously known to be a hu-
man parasite, named Ophidas-
CONVICTION, SENTENCE,
SUSPENSION
August 2022 National
Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz
Ashraf sent the Toshakhana case
against Imran to the Election
Commission of Pakistan (ECP)
September 19, 2022 The ECP
reserves judgment in the case
October 21, 2022 The ECP ruled
that Imran Khan made 'false
statements and incorrect
declarations' about the gifts and
disqualified him
November 21, 2022 The ECP
moved a sessions court in
Islamabad for criminal
proceedings against Imran Khan
May 10, 2023 The trial court
indicted Imran Khan
July 4, 2023 The Islamabad
High Court (IHC) overturned the
trial court's ruling on the
maintainability of the case
July 8, 2023 Judge Humayun
Dilawar declared the Toshakhana
case against Imran Khan as
maintainable
August 2, 2023 The trial court
rejected the list of witnesses
presented by Imran Khan
August 4, 2023 IHC Chief
Justice Aamer Farooq referred the
matter back to the trial court with
a direction to re-examine the
jurisdiction
August 5, 2023 Judge Dilawar
found Imran guilty of 'corrupt
practices' in the Toshakhana case
and sent Imran to jail for 3 years
August 7, 2023 Imran’s party
files plea in Supreme Court; seeks
retrial in Toshakhana case
August 25, 2023 IHC finds fault
in sessions court's verdict against
Imran in the Toshakahna case
August 29, 2023 The IHC
suspends Imran’s conviction and
three-year sentence
A S I A M AT T E R S
MALAYSIA
CITIZENS BID ADIEU
TO PANDA CUBS
Tearful Malaysians said goodbye to
two panda cubs on Tuesday as
authorities prepared to send them
to China after years of delays
because of the pandemic. Yi Yi and
Sheng Yi were to be transported as
part of an agreement between the
two countries to send cubs born in
captivity to China when they reach
two years of age
SQUIGGLY DISCOVERY
A parasite in a specimen jar at a
Canberra hospital in Australia | AP
caris robertsi. The worms are
commonly found in carpet py-
thons. Bandi and Canberra in-
fectious diseases physician
Sanjaya Senanayake are au-
thors of an article about the ex-
traordinary medical case pub-
lished in the journal Emerging
Infectious Diseases.
Senanayake said he was on
duty at the hospital in June last
year when worm was found.
67
people arrested in Nigeria for celebrating gay wedding, one
of the largest mass detentions targeting homosexuality
KYIV
UKRAINE said on Tuesday that
its forces had pushed deeper
into Russian defensive lines
near the village of Robotyne,
a day after claiming control
over the village on the south-
ern front.
Military spokesman Andriy
Kovalyov said Ukrainian forces
were edging further in the Za-
porizhzhia region, which Mos-
cow claims is part of Russia.
“Ukrainian forces had success-
es in the direction of Novodan-
ylivka to Verbove,” he said on
Tuesday, naming two hamlets
in the war-battered region. He
added that the troops were
holding captured territory and
attacking Russian artillery.
Ukrainian troops have also
UK foreign secretary to visit China,
human rights & Ukraine war on table
BEIJING
BRITAIN’S top diplomat, James
Cleverly, is set to visit China to-
day, as the two countries at-
tempt to shore up frayed ties.
It will be the first trip by a UK
foreign secretary to China in
more than five years. Both
countries confirmed the long-
awaited trip on Tuesday.
“The two sides will have in-
depth communication on Sino-
British relations and interna-
tional and regional issues of
common concern,” Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman
Wang Wenbin said. “We hope
the British side will work with
us to uphold the spirit of mu-
tual respect, deepen exchanges,
enhance mutual understand-
ing and promote the stable de-
velopment of Sino-British
relations.”
Cleverly’s visit is an attempt
to stabilise China-Britain ties,
which have sunk to their lowest
level in decades.
THAILAND
3 ACTIVISTS
ACQUITTED
OF LIBEL
Three activists were
acquitted on Tuesday of
criminally defaming a
Thai poultry company
with social media posts
that supported other
activists who had accused
it of abusive labour
practices, according to the
defendants and their
lawyer. They were charged
under a law that could
have led to a 42-year
sentence if convicted. The
company, Thammakaset,
said the defendants’
social media comments
linked to what it called a
defamatory video
produced by a the group,
Fortify Rights, containing
an interview with a worker
who claimed abusive
working conditions
The woman had been admit-
ted to the hospital after experi-
encing forgetfulness and wors-
ening depression over three
months. Scans showed changes
in her brain. A year earlier, she
had been admitted to her local
hospital with symptoms includ-
ing abdominal pain, diarrhea,
a dry cough and night sweats.
“This patient had been treat-
ed ... for what was a mystery ill-
ness that we thought ultimately
was a immunological condition
because we hadn’t been able to
find a parasite before and then
out of nowhere, this big lump
appeared in the frontal part of
her brain,” Senanayake said.
“Suddenly, with her (Bandi’s)
forceps, she’s picking up this
thing that’s wriggling. She and
everyone in operating theater
were absolutely stunned,” Sen-
anayake added. AP
Beijing 31 18 SNY Los Angeles 35 20 LC
Colombo 32 26 LC Melbourne 18 9 HR
Dhaka 34 27 SNY Moscow 21 9 HR
GLOBAL Dubai 41 31 SNY New York 24 20 LC
WEATHER Houston 37 27 SNY Singapore 30 27 SNY
LR: Light Rain HR: Heavy Rain SW: Snow Istanbul 31 22 SNY Toronto 21 14 LC
TDS: Thundershower LC: Light Cloud SNY: Sunny London 21 12 LC Washington 26 21 SNY
PUTIN SKIPS MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR PRIGOZHIN
St. Petersburg: A memorial service has taken place for mercenary chief
Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash last week, his
claimed to have re pelled
Ukrainian forces.
The Ukrainian ministry re-
sponsible for reintegrating oc-
spokespeople said on Tuesday in a statement on social media. “Those cupied territories announced
who wish to bid their farewell” to the 62-year-old mercenary leader an evacuation order in five set-
should go to the Porokhovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg, his tlements in the Zaporizhzhia
hometown, the statement said. Earlier, the Kremlin said President region, citing the uptick in
Vladimir Putin is not planning to attend a funeral for Prigozhin. fighting.
Some 54 children and nearly
been trying to surround the In the nearby Russian-con- 70 people accompanying them
easter n town of Bakhmut, trolled town of Gorlivka, its will be removed from the vil-
which was captured by Russian Moscow-aligned mayor said lages of Guliaipole, Stepno-
forces in May. Ukrainian shelling had killed girsk, Preobrazhenka, Yegoriv-
The Russian-installed head three civilians. ka, and Novopavlivka, it said.
of the Donetsk region, where Mayor Ivan Prikhodko de- The ministry also said that
Bakhmut is located, on Tues- scribed the fatal shelling on a the remains of 84 killed Ukrain-
day played down the Ukrainian milk production facility as ian soldiers had been recovered
push, after Kyiv claimed suc- “horrifying.” from Russia. “After identifica-
cesses. “The flanks are being Meanwhile, Kyiv also or- tion, the bodies of our defend-
held. The situation there is al- dered children to be evacuated ers will be handed over to their
ready stabilising,” Denis Push- from five settlements near the relatives for a dignified burial,”
ilin told Russian state media. focus of their assault, as Russia it said in a statement. AFP
global significance means they
cannot be ignored, but that
comes with a responsibility on
the global stage,” he said. “That Joe Biden | AP
responsibility means China ful-
To cut cost, US
filling its international com-
mitments and obligations.”
targets 10 drugs
He will meet with Chinese
Foreign Minister Wang Yi and
Vice President Han Zheng.
Cleverly’s visit was initially
expected to take place in July for Medicare
price talks
James Cleverly | AP but was postponed due to the
disappearance of Beijing’s ex-
Cleverly will discuss human foreign minister Qin Gang.
rights in Hong Kong and Chi- Conservative lawmaker and
na’s troubled Xinjiang and Ti- former party leader Iain Dun- WASHINGTON
bet regions, as well as cyberse- can Smith, an outspoken critic
curity, Russia’s invasion of of the Chinese Communist Par- THE Biden administration is
Ukraine and tensions in the ty, said Cleverly’s visit was the targeting the blood thinner Eli-
disputed South China Sea, the latest demonstration of ‘Project quis, diabetes treatment Jardi-
foreign office said. Kowtow.’ ance and eight other medica-
“No significant global prob- “The problem with our posi- tions for Medicare’s first-ever
lem—from climate change to tion right now is it smells ter- drug price negotiations as it
pandemic prevention, from eco- ribly of appeasement,” Duncan seeks to lower medical costs for
nomic instability to nuclear Smith said. “It’s like we want Americans.
proliferation—can be solved more business, therefore we The administration on Tues-
without China,” Cleverly said. don’t want to upset the Chinese day released a list of the 10
“China’s size, history and too much.” Agencies drugs for which prices will be
negotiated directly with the
manufacturer. The move is ex-
UK’s NHS to offer BP pected to cut costs for many pa-
tients, but it faces litigation
from the drugmakers and
check at barbershops
heavy criticism from Republi-
can lawmakers, and it could be
years before consumers notice
any savings.
LONDON ‘‘The enormous expansion in
“For many Americans, the
cost of one drug is the differ-
the number of blood pressure ence between life and death,
THE UK’s state-funded Nation- checks delivered over the last dignity and dependence, hope
al Health Service (NHS) an- year is thanks to the hard work and fear,” Biden said in a state-
nounced plans on Tuesday to of community phar macies ment. “That is why we will con-
expand blood pressure checks which have more than doubled tinue the fight to lower health-
to more locations within the the number of blood pressure care costs—and we will not stop
community, including barber- checks delivered, and the inno- until we finish the job.”
shops and places of worship, vation of local teams, going The drugs on the list an-
as part of a major drive to into the heart of commu- nounced on Tuesday accounted
prevent strokes and nities with mobile sites for more than $50 billion in
heart attacks.
The NHS said that it
that can visit places
like barbershops and
Medicare prescription drug
costs between June 1, 2022, and
would be using learn- dominoes clubs,’’ said May 31. Senior officials said on
ing from its Covid pro- David Webb, chief Tuesday that the 10 drugs se-
gramme and use local pharmaceutical officer lected for negotiation are
teams to reach out to neigh- for England. among the most costly to the
bourhoods to find potential The Health Foundation esti- Medicare programme.
health problems before they be- mates that 9.1 million people They said 8.2 million people
come serious. will be living with a major ill- with Medicare Part D prescrip-
It comes as latest figures ness by 2040, 2.5 million more tion drug coverage take them.
show that more than 1,300 heart than in 2019, which is why pre- Other drugs on the list in-
attacks and strokes were pre- vention and early intervention clude AstraZeneca’s diabetes
vented this year as a result of tools such as community blood and heart failure treatment
blood pressure checks offered pressure checks are key priori- Farxiga and three drugs from
at the pharmacies. ties for the NHS. PTI Johnson & Johnson. AP
UN warns thousands
in SE Asia forced
into online scams
The UN human rights office says criminal gangs
have forced hundreds of thousands of people
in Southeast Asia into participating in unlawful
online scam operations, including false romantic
ploys, bogus investment pitches, and File photo of police walking inside one of the offices they raided in
illegal gambling schemes Las Pinas, Philippines | AP
1,20,000
VIRTUAL VICTIMS SUBJECTED TO TORTURE
SLAVERY
Some victims have been subjected to torture, cruel
The report
punishments, sexual violence and arbitrary detention,
PEOPLE IN MYANMAR sheds new light
among other crimes, the report said
The Office of the UN on cybercrime
High Commissioner for scams that The rights office, citing the “enormity” of the scam
Human Rights, in a have become a operations, said the exact impact in terms of people and
new report, cites major issue in revenues generated is hard to estimate because of their
“credible Asia, with secrecy and gaps in governmental response, but it’s
sources” many of the believed to be in the billions of US dollars every year
that workers
1,20,000 trapped in OTHER AFFECTED PLACES
people in virtual slavery
Laos, the Philippines and Thailand were also cited
Myanmar and forced to
among the main countries of destination or transit for
and 1,00,000 participate in
tens of thousands of people
in Cambodia “may be scams
held in situations targeting Criminal gangs have increasingly targeted migrants, and
where they are forced people over the lure some victims by false recruitment—suggesting they
to carry online scams” internet are destined for real jobs
14 CHENNAI WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023
� � THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
 Market 79.22 MARKET
Sensex 65,075.82 H250
GOLD
24 carat (10 gm) H54,850 H200
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Per kg H77,100
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Watch 36.60 Nifty 19,342.65 H270 22 carat (10 gm) H59,820 H2 Per gm H771 Euro 89.62

16 CHENNAI WEDNESDAY 30 08 2023

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Retail may outpace other RIL businesses

A S I A N O M I C S

J A PA N
TO MONITOR BOJ POLICY IMPACT ON REGIONAL BANKS
The financial regulator of Japan will monitor central bank’s policy impacts Valuation after Qatar Investment Authority’s 1% stake buy for $1 bn surged to `8.28L cr from `4.28L cr in Sept 2020
on regional banks. The Financial Services Agency (FSA), in its annual policy
outlook released on Tuesday, said it will monitor potential changes in the ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU seen phenomenal growth over
financial markets and client situations that will affect regional banks’
profits and health. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) last month allowed interest
@ New Delhi VARIOUS VERTICALS OF RELIANCE RETAIL the last three-four years, with a
CAGR of 27% in revenue and
rates to rise more flexibly, a measure targeted to sustain easing but seen
by markets as a prelude to dismantling decades of stimulus. Higher interest WITH more than two dozen 48% in segment EBITDA over
rates could increase unrealised losses on domestic bonds held by Japanese brands, numerous sub-brands, FY18-FY23. RIL retail is now the
banks. However, such losses could be offset by stronger net interest margins partnerships and ever-growing GROCERY FMCG RETAIL only Indian retailer in the list of
from their lending business. In anticipation of higher yields, large banks labels under its giant wing, Reli- Fresh Signature, Campa Cola, Raskik and Tira, Reliance Digital and MyJio Store, top 100 globally, and ranks in the
have shortened the duration of their bond portfolios. However, analysts say ance Retail, the retail arm of Smart Superstore, Sosyo in the beverage Trends, Trends Woman, Trends Man, Trends top 10 most visited retail compa-
some smaller, regional banks do not have such flexibility. country’s largest listed company Smart Bazaar, category. Enzo, Glimmer, Footwear, Avantra by Trends, Azorte, Reliance nies,” said brokerage ICICI Se-
- Reliance Industries (RIL) - has Smart Point, Freshpik, Puric, Get Real and Centro, Reliance Jewels, Hamleys, and a curities in a report on Tuesday.
become a favourite among glo- Shree Kannan Dozo in the home and portfolio of more than 50 marquee It added, “RIL has seen higher
PHILIPPINES bal investors with its valuation Departmental international brands such as GAP, Armani, growth for its digital and new
personal care segment of
RAMPS UP EFFORTS TO CURB INFLATION doubling in just three years. store, 7-Eleven, the company Burberry, Diesel, GAS, Marks & Spencer, commerce channels aggregat-
Its valuation, following Qatar Jayasurya store, Superdry, Brooks Brothers, Steve Madden ing `50,000 crore in revenue
As the prices of rice continue to rise, the Philippine government is making
efforts to contain inflation. The country’s President Ferdinand Marcos on
Investment Authority’s stake Dunzo and PHARMA and more (20% of total retail). It has in-
purchase of 1% for $1 billion, Milkbasket vested $10 bn in this business
Tuesday ordered authorities to double efforts to hunt down rice hoarders and has surged to `8.28 lakh crore
Nedmeds DIGITAL COMMERCE CHANNEL: AJIO over last few years focusing on
take steps to curb soaring prices. It is one of the world’s largest importers
of the grain. Retail prices of rice climbed further this month. Some varieties from `4.28 lakh crore in Sep- building integration, growing
surged as much as 25% in certain markets in and around the capital. The tember 2020. Based on the valu- will emerge as RIL’s most rap- and FMCG, to home, personal the company recently.Analysts in-house brands, and improving
government said hoarding and crop losses from typhoons could be the ation, Reliance Retail is ranked idly expanding business and care, and general merchandise, tracking the company supply chain networks.” The re-
reasons for the high prices of rice. However, farmer groups blamed tight among the top 4 companies in the biggest contributor of rev- Reliance Retail caters to also maintain that for the Mum- tail business (with `2.6 lakh
supply during the local lean harvest season and higher costs of imports. Rice India and top 10 retailers glo- enues and EBITDA. Reliance over 90% daily needs of bai-based conglomerate, the crore revenue in FY23) is less
inflation in the country hit 4.2% in July, the highest since 2019. It has put bally. Mukesh Ambani, Chair- Retail reported a revenue of Indian households,” Mukesh retail business is going to be than half of its oil-to-chemicals
pressure on authorities to boost stocks ahead of potential supply challenges man of Reliance Industries, is `260,364 crore in FY23. Ambani said in his address in the growth engine. business, which generated `5.94
from El Nino dry weather in the coming months. The country’s rice import confident that Reliance Retail “From staples, food, fashion, the Annual General Meeting of “RIL’s retail business has lakh crore income.
between January and July was at 2.26 million tonne, which is 16% lower as

Jio Financial share

compared to the year-ago volume, according to the government data.
EXPRESS READ
S O U T H KO R E A Bandhan authorised to Tech Mahindra to ONGC to invest `2L cr to

rebounds on foray
FOCUSES ON FISCAL DISCIPLINE disburse civil pension launch Email amplifAIer achieve net zero by 2038
The government of South Korea is focusing on fiscal discipline and planning MUMBAI: Private sector lender MUMBAI: Tech Mahindra on NEW DELHI: Oil and Natural Gas
to rise 2024 spending to nearly $497 billion. However, the proposed rise is Bandhan Bank on Tuesday said Tuesday announced a Corporation (ONGC) is planning
the smallest in two decades as authorities prioritise fiscal discipline. Amid it has been appointed by partnership with Google to to invest `2 lakh crore to achieve

into insurance biz

weakening tax revenue due to slower economic growth, the government, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as launch Generative AI powered net zero by 2038. It will invest
in its annual spending plan released on Tuesday, set total government an authorised pension Email amplifAIer. Email the amount in phases, with the
expenditure for 2024 at 656.9 trillion won ($496.70 billion), which is disbursement bank on behalf of amplifAIer will serve as a one- first `1 lakh crore being invested
an increase of 2.8% from 2023. Tax revenue is estimated to drop by a the Central Pension Accounting stop solution to manage email by 2030 and rest over the next
record 8.3% in 2024 and bring down next year’s total government income
Office (CPAO) for the civil communication of contact eight years. While speaking to
by 2.2% to 612.1 trillion won. As the economic growth slows down, the
government seeks further tax cuts, especially for companies. According pensioners. The bank will soon center for enhanced customer media after Annual General ance sector. However, there are
E N S E C O N O M I C B U R E A U @ Mumbai
to the government forecast, economic growth will weaken to a three-year be integrating with the office of service, it said.Email amplifAIer Meeting, Chairman Arun Kumar reports about hiring going for
low of 1.4% this year after expanding 2.6% in 2022 and 4.3% in 2021. The CPAO, Ministry of Finance, to will bring power of generative AI Singh outlined scopes to gain SHARES of Jio Financial Serv- insurance vertical,” an analyst
government expects the economy to grow 2.4% in 2024. operationalise the disbursement to provide unified visualisation returns on the energy transition ices (JFS) received a big boost with a brokerage firm told this
process, it said in a release. ENS and automation technique. ENS investment. ENS after Mukesh Ambani an- newspaper. “The penetration of
nounced the entry of the com- insurance product is very low
pany into insurance sector. and given the big size of mar-

Maruti plans to double Hero eyes bigger share in premium JFS shares surged 5% on the ket, there is vast opportunity
stock exchanges on Tuesday, a for new players such as JFS. In-
day after the Reliance Indus- surance is a long term play, suit-

car production by 2030, segment, launches Karizma ZMR tries’ Chairman told sharehold- ed only for companies with deep
ers that the recently demerged pockets and long term vision
entity of RIL will offer life, gen- and JFS has both- long term vi-

to infuse `45,000 crore

eral, and health insurance sion and capital,” he added.
products. The Indian insurance market
E N S E C O N O M I C B U R E A U @ NewDelhi Shares closed at consists of 55 players,
`221.7 apiece, higher with 26 life insurance
VA I T H E E SWA R A N B @ Chennai HERO MOTOCORP, country’s 4.7 percent, on the p rov i d e r s a n d 3 1
largest two-wheeler maker, is Bombay Stock Ex- general insurers, in-
AFFORDABLE carmaker Maruti Suzuki shifting its focus on premium change (BSE) on The market was cluding five stan-
plans to infuse nearly `45,000 crore and dou- motorcycles as it aims to have a Monday. expecting some dalone health insur-
ble its annual capacity to 40 lakh units in the complete portfolio of ‘premium’ Addressing the 46th finer details about ance providers. Total
next eight years. products in its line-up and in- AGM of RIL on Mon- how Mukesh premiums written by
Ambani plans to
The company has reached 20 lakh units in crease its share in a segment day, Mukesh Ambani grow in the
Indian life insurers
production and sales through 40 years and where it has a small presence. said that JFS plans to insurance stood at `8.14 lakh
aims to double that in the next eight years, Currently, Hero MotoCorp enter the insurance in sector crore, while those
according to Maruti Suzuki chairperson RC has a market share of 4-5% in partnership with glo- written by general in-
Bhargava. He was speaking with sharehold- the segment. Rival automakers bal players and the An analyst with surers was at `2.65
To produce ers at the 42nd Annual General Meeting such as Royal Enfield and Bajaj company will use pre- a brokerage firm lakh crore in FY23.
additional (AGM) on Tuesday. Auto are leading manufacturers dictive data analytics JFS was listed on
20 lakh units The company is targeting to add another 20 of premium motorcycles. The to create products, delivering to the stock exchanges on August
Firm is targeting to lakh units production capacity with 28 differ- Splendor and Glamour maker unique customer requirements. 21 after its demerger with Reli-
add 20 lakh units ent models in the market by 2030-31. Maruti expects its share in the category facelift to our current chain of of India business unit, Hero Mo- Although, the announcement ance Industries. The stock
production capacity Suzuki plans to strengthen its market posi- to go up following the launch of 500 (dealership) outlets over toCorp, said in just three months triggered rally in JFS shares, was listed at `265 apiece on the
with 28 models by tion with the introduction of six new electric Harley Davidson X440 and re- next eight quarters and will be they introduced three new pre- the analysts said that not much BSE and `262 per share on the
2030-31. Maruti vehicles to its portfolio, aligning with the con- introduction of iconic Karizma renaming them Hero 2.0 stores. mium motorcycles – Xtreme information was revealed about National Stock Exchange as
plans to strengthen sumer trends. The production of these vehi- ZMR. Hero has plans to launch We will be opening exclusive 160R 4V, Harley-Davidson X440 expansion of company into the compared to its discovered
its market position cles is expected from 2024-25, with the roll out a new premium product every premium stores over the next and now the Karizma XMR. insurance sector. price of Rs261.85 apiece. Since
with the of the first electric vehicle in the market by quarter for the next three to few quarters. All of this is not These products are reflective of “Nothing much was revealed its listing, JFS stock continued
introduction of six 2024-25. The company has sold around 2 mil- four quarters and give a facelift just a strategy involving new its focus on rapid growth and about future strategy of Jio Fi- to hit lower circuit limits for
new electric lion cars in the 2022-23 fiscal. to its stores. products but a 360-degree ap- market share gains in the seg- nancial Services foray into the consecutive sessions, on per-
vehicles to its The country’s biggest carmaker plans to “We are building a full portfo- proach that we have taken to ment, added Singh. Hero on insurance sector. The market sistent selling from institutions
portfolio, aligning open two new manufacturing facilities -- one lio in this segment in line with win in the premium segment,” Tuesday launched Karizma was expecting some finer de- who have to exit from the stock
with consumer at Kharkhoda in Haryana, which is under con- our strategy to win in the pre- said Niranjan Gupta, CEO, Hero ZMR at an introductory price of tails about how Mukesh Am- before it is removed from
trends struction and expected to be commissioned in mium segment. We are giving a MotoCorp. Ranjivjit Singh, head `1,72,900 (ex-showroom Delhi). bani plans to grow in the insur- the indices.
2025. It will have the capacity of 10 lakh units

Byju’s restructures businesses; three top executives resign

per annum. It is also looking for a location for
To open another facility with a capacity of 10 lakh ve-
two new hicles per annum. The company already has
facilities three manufacturing sites at Gurgaon, Mane-
sar at Haryana and plans to acquire Suzuki
Country’s biggest Motor Gujarat (SMG) facility in Gujarat from E N S E CO N O M I C B U R E AU @ Bengaluru we have undertaken a restruc- this reorganisation of busi- the edtech firm. and its auditor Deloitte
carmaker plans to parent Suzuki Motors, aiming to make electric turing of businesses and verti- nesses, Mukut Deepak, Pratyu- Former SBI chairman Ra- Haskins & Sells, the biggest
open two new cars. On the criticism that Maruti Suzuki is EDTECH company Byju’s has cals including the consolida- sha Agarwal and Himanshu jnish Kumar and former chief audit fir m, exited in the
manufacturing late to the EV party, RC Bhargava says though undertaken a restructuring of tion of four verticals into Bajaj will be moving on.” financial officer of Infosys same month due to the delay
facilities - one at the company is behind some companies in businesses and as part of it, two key verticals - K-10 This announcement TV Mohandas Pai recently in the filing of FY22
Kharkhoda in launching EV but that doesn’t mean it is late three top executives have re- and Exam Prep.” comes at a time when joined the company’s newly financial results.
Haryana, which is in the market. “When we launch in 2024-25, we signed from the firm. The spokesperson Baron Capital nearly constituted Advisory The edtech firm has been
under construction will have in no way damaged our ability to get Byju’s confir med the added, “At present, two halves Byju’s fair val- Council, which is playing witnessing a turbulent year
and expected to an adequate market share,” said Bhargava. development. very seasoned and sen- ue. Byju’s has been a keen role in advising and since the beginning of 2022-
be commissioned Maruti lost its dominance with its market In a statement to this news- ior leaders lead both making significant mentoring Byju’s Board and its layoffs, Enforcement Directo-
in 2025. It will share shrinking from 50% to 42% in 2022 due paper, a spokesperson from verticals - Ramesh Karra changes in businesses. CEO, Byju Raveendran, on cru- rate searches, valuation cuts
have capacity of to a host of changes including preferences of Byju’s said, “As Byju’s contin- leads the K-10 vertical, while Former head of HR at IT cial matters. by investors and a legal battle
10 lakh units per SUVs, slowdown in small car sales and onset ues to chart its path to profita- Jitesh Shah leads the exam major Infosys Richard Three key investor board with lenders over $1.2 billion
annum of electric vehicle era. bility and sustainable growth, prep business. And as a part of Lobo was recently roped in by members stepped down in June term loan B (TLB).

Govt proposes changes in pharma PLI allocation Amid economic headwinds, IT services
M O N I K A YA DAV @ New Delhi

IN a major development for the

pharmaceutical industry, the
Department of Pharmaceuti-
cals, Ministry of Chemicals
and Fertilizers, has submitted
a proposal to the Empowered
Group of Secretaries (EGoS)
for amending the production
linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
The proposed amendment
aims to introduce a revised
incentive allocation clause,
which will ensure sustainable
production throughout the
scheme’s tenure.
According to the sources fa-
miliar with the matter, the pro-
posed clause contains several
key highlights. Firstly, it man-
dates that applicants must avail
sector faces downward hiring trend
incentives for eligible sales dur-
ing the 5th and 6th years under
the scheme. This provision is
designed to encourage long-
term viability and stability in
production within the scheme.
The revised clause also sug-
gests a maximum annual in-
centive allocation ceiling. For
the first four years, the propos-
al recommends a maximum al-
location ceiling of 20% of the
total incentives over the scheme
period. However, the overall
maximum allocation is capped
at 74% of the total incentives.
Additionally, an allocation of
up to 33% in any one year be-
tween FY 2022-23 and FY 2025-26
may be made, subject to the
overall cap of 74%.
To provide flexibility to ap-
plicants, the proposal grants
them the option to forego in-
centive allocation in any one of
the first four years, based on
their specific production and
investment strategies. This pro-
vision allows applicants to
align the allocation of incen-
tives according to their individ-
ual needs.
Furthermore, the remaining
incentive allocation will be
made in the last two years of
the scheme’s tenure.
E N S E CO N O M I C B U R E AU @ Bengaluru
AMID macroeconomic head-
winds affecting the US and
Europe, IT services sector faces
a downward hiring trend
of 25-30%.
However, this situation has
opened up new opportunities,
with GCCs (Global Capability
Centres) ramping up talent ac-
quisition and projecting an es-
timated employee strength of
1.4 million, and it is likely to in-
crease by 10%, said Quess IT
Staffing CEO Vijay Sivaram.
Despite the challenges, Indian
enterprises are projected to see
a 5-10% rise in recruitment in
FY24, he added. In its recent re-
port, Quess Corp said techno-
logical adoption and industry
evolution are transforming the
global business landscape, par-
ticularly in India, where GCCs
are expanding their footprint
and seeking new growth and in-
novation prospects.
Meanwhile, Icra expects IT
services revenue growth to be
moderate 3-5% in USD terms in
FY24, lower than 9.2% YoY
growth in FY23 owing to persist-
ent uncertainty in key markets,
resulting in pauses and deferral
of non-critical projects and
slowdown in discretionary IT
spends by key sectors like BFSI,
retail, technology and commu-
nication. There has been a sig-
nificant reduction in hiring by
IT services firms in last three
quarters, given slowdown, cou-
pled with utilisation of consid-
erable excess capacity added in
FY2022 and H1 FY2023.

17 CHENNAI
Asia Cup begins today with Pakistan taking on Nepal, India play their first match against arch-rivals on September 2
RAHUL RIDDLE CONTINUES
F I R O Z M I R Z A @ Chennai
EVER since he was helped off
the field after tearing a tendon
in his right leg during an IPL
match between Lucknow Super
Giants and Royal Challengers
Bangalore on May 1 this year,
KL Rahul has not played a com-
petitive game of cricket. The
last time the Karnataka wicket-
keeper-batter donned India col-
ours was back on March 22
when he scored 32 off 50 in a
losing cause against Australia
in an ODI. Since then, India
have played 13 matches (3 Tests,
3 ODIs and 7 T20Is).
In the meantime, he under-
went thigh surgery and spent
days at the National Cricket
Academy (NCA) before being
included in the 17-member In-
dia squad for the Asia Cup.
Chairman of selectors, Ajit
Agarkar, though said at the
time of the announcement that
Rahul has a niggle, not his orig-
inal injury, but he is expected to
be fit if not at the start by the
second or third game.
Agarkar’s words seemed to
have come true as Rahul on
Tuesday was ruled out of the
first two matches, India’s Palle-
kele-leg of the tournament.
“KL has had a good week with
us. He is playing well. He is pro-
gressing really well but he will
be unavailable for the first part
of the trip,” India head coach
Rahul Dravid said at the pre-
departure presser.
The coach confirmed that
Rahul will stay back at the NCA
and a final call on his participa-
tion will be taken on Septem-
ber 4, a day before the BCCI has
to submit a provisional squad
of 15 for the World Cup.
The development has not
only put a question mark on
Rahul’s participation in the
Asia Cup but also thrown a
spanner on India’s preparation
for the World Cup, the marquee
event the country is hosting in
October-November. As Sanju
Samson is kept as a travelling
EXPRESS READ
Career-high ranking
of No 6 for Prannoy
NEW DELHI: On a high after his
maiden World Championship
bronze medal, India shuttler HS
Prannoy soared to career-high
world ranking of No 6. He rose
three spots with 72437 points. In
this period, he has won the
Malaysia Masters and finished
runner-up at the Australian Open.
In women’s singles, PV Sindhu,
who also made an opening-round
exit at the Worlds, moved one
spot to secure 14th rank.
Divya replaces Vaishali
in Tata Steel Chess meet
KOLKATA: Woman Grandmaster
(WGM) M R Vaishali, who is the
elder sister of Indian’s latest
chess sensation R
Praggnanandhaa, was on Tuesday
ruled out of the upcoming Tata
Steel Chess India championship
slated to be held here from
Thursday. Vaishali, who played a
key role towards Praggnanandhaa
becoming the youngest World Cup
runner-up at 18, will be replaced
by WGM Divya Deshmukh.
Mandhana to skip WBBL
for second year in row
NEW DELHI: India women’s team
vice-captain Smriti Mandhana’s
will skip the Women’s Big Bash
League for the second year in a
row as she has not put forward
her name for the inaugural player
draft, scheduled for September 3.
Almost all the top India players,
including captain Harmanpreet
Kaur, figure in the list of over 122
overseas players who have put
their names forward for the draft.
Chess meet: Rathina
makes winning moves
CHENNAI: Rathina Sabapathy of
St. Joseph’s College of
Engineering bagged the first place
in the 89th Bertram Memorial
inter-collegiate chess tournament
organised by Loyola College,
Chennai with 4.5 points. Shree
Ganesh of RKM Vivekananda
(four points) came second, while
Jeyanth R of Loyola College (four
points) came third. A total of 44
students participated.
WEDNESDAY
SCHEDULE
Group A: India, Pakistan, Nepal
Group B: Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh
Fixtures
Aug 30 Pak vs Nepal, Multan, Pakistan
GROUP STAGE
Aug 31 Ban vs SL, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sep 2 Pak vs India, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sep 3 Ban vs Afg, Lahore, Pakistan
Sep 4 Ind vs Nepal, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sep 5 Afg vs SL, Lahore, Pakistan
Sep 6 A1 vs B2, Lahore, Pakistan
Sep 9 B1 vs B2, Colombo, Sri Lanka
SUPER 4S
Sep 10 A1 vs A2, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sep 12 A2 vs B1, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sep 14 A1 vs B1, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sep 15 A2 vs B2, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sep 17 FINAL, Colombo, Sri Lanka
reserve, it will only be Ishan
Kishan who has to guard the
stumps in the continental event
in the absence of Rahul unless
the Kerala cricketer gets into
the squad of 17 due to some
compelling reasons. But that
could further aggravate the
problem for the team.
This indecisiveness, appar-
ently on the part of team man-
agement, especially ahead of
the World Cup, may cost dear
with players still not clear of
their roles and positions.
Dravid, however, blamed it
on unfortunate injuries sus-
tained by Shreyas Iyer, Rahul
and Rishabh Pant. “The No 4
and 5 spots are discussed a lot
and give the impression that
we didn’t have clarity on who is
going to be there. I could have
told you 18-19 months ago who
the three candidates for the two
spots were. It was always be-
tween Shreyas, Rahul and
Rishabh. There was no doubt.
Novak Djokovic, who played late on Monday, had missed last year’s edition | AP
Returning Djokovic puts
up ‘almost flawless’ show
A G E N C I E S @ New York
NOVAK DJOKOVIC is back at
the US Open and will now be
back at No. 1 in the rankings.
Djokovic made a winning re-
turn after missing the tourna-
ment last year, rolling to a 6-0,
6-2, 6-3 victory over Alexandre
Muller on Monday night.
The 23-time Grand Slam
champion had to wait through
Coco Gauff ’s three-set victory
to open the night session on
Arthur Ashe Stadium, followed
by an opening-night ceremony
marking 50 years of equal prize
money at the U.S. Open.
“Well, I knew it was going to
be a late night for me, late start
of the match,” Djokovic said.
“Nevertheless, I mean, I was ex-
cited to go out on the court. I
didn’t care if I started after
midnight because I was look-
ing forward to this moment for
a few years, to be out on the big-
gest stadium in our sport, the
loudest stadium in our sport,
playing the night session.”
Djokovic was not allowed to
travel to the US last year be-
cause he is not vaccinated
against Covid-19. Monday was
his first match in Flushing
Meadows since falling to Daniil
Medvedev in the 2021 final, a
loss that prevented the Serbian
from completing the first calen-
dar-year Grand Slam in men’s
tennis since 1969.
The No. 2 seed took the first
set in just 23 minutes and won
Mirabai will not lift at Worlds
but will attend weigh-in
30 08 2023
� �
We are hoping that it
should be only two games
that KL misses, and then
he should be available for
the later part of the tour
Rahul Dravid, India coach
It’s unfortunate that all
three had injuries in the space
of two months. What are the
odds of that happening? All
three guys pushing for those
two spots had serious injuries
and had to go under the knife,”
the coach said.
Unfortunately, it’s not Rahul
and Iyer, who are in the squad
and have been untested in the
50-over format. India’s pace
spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and
Prasidh Krishna too are mak-
ing a comeback after lengthy
absences. They might have
played T20Is against Ireland re-
cently but bowling 10 overs is
different when compared to rig-
ours of the shortest format of
the game.
First India-Pakistan final?
Rahul’s fitness could be a cause
of great concern for team man-
agement as well as Indian fans
but the tournament beginning
today (Wednesday) with co-
hosts Pakistan taking on Nepal
in Multan has enough ingredi-
ents to keep cricket connois-
seurs from the continent inter-
ested. Starved of India-Pakistan
clashes, fans from across the
border will hope for a final be-
tween the two sides, which
hasn’t happened in the tourna-
ment’s 39-year history. If that
happens, the two will play three
matches against each other in-
cluding the final.
Apart from them, the tourna-
ment will also witness gripping
SELECT RESULTS: Men (Rd 1): C
Ruud (NOR x5) bt E Nava (USA) 7-6
(5), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5); A Mannarino
(FRA x22) bt Y Watanuki (JPN) 7-5,
6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5; F Tiafoe (USA x10) bt
L Tien (USA) 6-2, 7-5, 6-1; A Zverev
(GER x12) bt A Vukic (AUS) 6-4, 6-4,
6-4; D Medvedev (RUS x3) bt A Balazs
(HUN) 6-1, 6-1, 6-0; N Djokovic (SRB
x2) bt A Muller (FRA) 6-0, 6-2, 6-3.
Women (Rd 1): O Jabeur (TUN x5) bt
C Osorio (COL) 7-5, 7-6 (4); P Kvitova
(CZE x11) bt C Bucsa (ESP) 6-1, 7-6 (5);
C Gauff (USA x6) bt L Siegemund
(GER) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4; E Rybakina (KAZ
x4) bt M Kostyuk (UKR) 6-2, 6-1; B
Haddad Maia (BRA x19) bt S Stephens
(USA) 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
the first eight games before
Muller finally got on the board,
raising his arms in triumph af-
ter cutting it to 2-1 in the second
set. “I think the performance
explains how I felt tonight, par-
ticularly in the first two sets. It
was kind of lights-out tennis re-
ally, almost flawless, perfect
first set,” Djokovic said. “I’ve
probably had the answer for
every shot he had in his book.”
Medvedev cruises
Third seed Daniil Medvedev
raced into the second round on
Tuesday with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 vic-
tory over Hungary’s Attila
Balazs. Medvedev, the 2021
champion in New York, pumped
41 winners past the unranked
journeyman Balazs in a one-
sided encounter lasting 74
minutes.
contests between Pakistan and
Afghanistan, the newest rival-
ry in cricket and co-hosts Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh, who
too share a fair bit of history,
especially after the infamous
‘Naagin Dance’ in 2018 by
Mushfiqur Rahim during Nida-
has Trophy. Lankan all-rounder
Chamika Karunaratne pulled
off the same moves in the dug-
out last year when his team
knocked Bangladesh out of the
Asia Cup.
Nepal, the sixth team in the
tournament, might be making
their Asia Cup debut but like
Bangladesh and Afghanistan
they can also build on the start
to emerge as a formidable unit
in the years to come.
National Sports
Day: Sports Min
lauds athletes
A G E N C I E S @ New Delhi
SPORTS Minister Anurag
Thakur on Tuesday compli-
mented Indian athletes on the
National Sports Day, lauding
their recent performances at
the global level. The National
Sports Day is celebrated every
year on this date to mark the
birth anniversary of hockey
wizard Major Dhyan Chand.
Several athletes including
boxing great MC Mary Kom,
former long jumper Anju Bob-
by George and members of the
men’s 4x400m relay team,
which finished fifth at the
World Championships were
present at the Jawaharlal Ne-
hru Stadium. “This is an unbe-
lievable phase for Indian sports.
In 60 years, there were only 18
medals at the World University
Games (China). This year itself,
we won 26 medals in the tour-
nament,” said Thakur.
Spinner Ajith stands out yet again
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
@ Chennai
RIDING on S Ajith Ram’s mag-
nificent bowling of 9/72 (match
haul of 16/168), TNCA Presi-
dent’s XI restricted Chhattis-
garh to 202 in their second es-
say on the third day of the
TAKE Sports - All India Buchi
Babu Invitation cricket tourna-
ment played at Coimbatore. On
Tuesday, Ajith Ram bowled 16
overs on the trot from the
pavilion end and took sev-
en wickets (he had taken
two wickets on Monday).
Set a target of 265, TNCA EXPRESS seventh centre in Tamil
President’s XI were 94/4
in 33.2 overs when rain in-
t e r ve n e d . S k i p p e r Vi j ay Zone, Coimbatore.
Shankar was batting on 35.
Brief scores: Chhattisgarh 270 & 202 in 64 ovs will be a state-of-the-art facility
(Anuj Tiwari 67, Aman Deep Khare 61 n.o, S
Ajith Ram 9/72) vs TNCA President’s XI 208 &
94/4 in 33.2 ovs (Vijay Shankar 35 batting, S floodlights. Cricket coaching
Mohamed Ali 30 batting, Sourabh Majumdar
3/14); Madhya Pradesh 440 & 17/0 in 9 ovs vs
Haryana 322 in 130.1 ovs (Ankit Kumar 105,
Shubham Sharma 5/24); J & K 285/9 dec. &
Teams Watch
They are the No. 1 ranked side in the world.
Considering they played in Sri Lanka as recently
as last week (ODIs against Afghanistan), that
might just give them an edge. More than
anything, the Babar Azam-led side has the
NEPAL
2023 has been a dream
year for the country in
cricket. They qualified for
Asia Cup for the first time
ever, made it to the ICC
ODI World Cup global
qualifier and took part in
the tournament in
Zimbabwe. And they will
be looking to make an
impression in their debut
over the next week.
INDIA
From the larger
scheme of things,
the event is a lot
more significant for
India than others.
They have players
who are coming back
from injuries.
KL Rahul is still
missing and they
have combinations
to figure out in the
middle-order. And
they have to do it in
six games. How Rohit
Sharma and Rahul
Dravid react will be
interesting to see.
7
India have won the
most number of Asia
Cup titles, including one
in the T20 format. Sri
Lanka have six in their cabinet.
TODAY’S MATCH: PAK VS NEPAL, MULTAN,
3:00 PM, LIVE ON STAR SPORTS NETWORK
Swimmer Aneesh ready for Asiad test
K A LYA N I M A N G A L E @ Chennai
ALONG with notable alumni
and some of the best courses
available in the country, Ben-
galuru’s Christ University is
famous for its strict regulations
regarding attendance. When
Aneesh Gowda, a member of
the Indian swimming squad for
the Asian Games and a second-
year LLB student, joined the
University, this was one of the
challenges for the young ath-
lete. But, things are changing
now.
“Christ University is known
to be a strict college with their
attendance,” Gowda told this
daily. “After I joined, I explained
to them that I could manage, I
just needed some holidays here
and there so that I could train
and go for competitions and
camps. I think they understood.
So after that, they have sup-
ported me,” he laughs.
And why wouldn’t one of the
best universities in the World
tweak a few rules for one of
144/2 in 46 ovs (Qamran Iqbal 54, Shubham
Khajuria 69) vs Mumbai 381 in 100.1 ovs (Pras-
ad Pawar 162, Sarfaraz Khan 72, Shivam Dube
41, Auqib Nabi 3/80, Abid Mushtaq 3/100);
CAB XI 193 & 241 in 68.5 ovs (Shashank Singh
59, Toufik Uddin Mondal 90, M Siddharth 4/87,
Jhathavedh Subramanyan 3/45) bt TNCA XI
228 & 138/9 in 46.1 ovs (innings closed; Ch Ji-
tendra Kumar was absent hurt due to injury)
(Toufik Uddin Mondal 4/37, Vaibhav Yadav
3/43). Result: CAB XI won by 68 runs. Points:
CAB XI 6 (6); TNCA XI 0 (7).
CSK academy in Coimbatore
The Super Kings Acade-
my of Chennai Super
LOCAL
Kings is set to launch its
Nadu with a franchise-
based facility at FE Sports
The Coimbatore academy
with eight pitches (4 turf, 2 mat-
ting and 2 Astro Turf) and
for boys and girls aged 6 to 23
will begin in December. The
academy will be located at
419/2A Villankurchi Village,
Mirabai Chanu will not heave the barbell at the World Championships
next week but in order to be eligible for the Paris Games, the star Indian
lifter will mark her attendance at the compulsory Olympic qualifying
event by completing the necessary formalities. Mirabai, who competes
in the 49kg weight class, has decided to prioritise the Asian Games.
newindianexpress com
With the 2023 Asia Cup beginning on
Wednesday in Multan, a look at all six
sides taking part in the tournament.
PAKISTAN Noah Lyles | AFP
Sprint king
Lyles’ remarks
near-perfect squad for subcontinental
conditions. They can pile on runs and
have the pace attack to run through
opponents as well. Easily one of the
irks NBA stars
top favourites for the tournament. A G E N C I E S @ Washington
BANGLADESH AMERICAN NBA stars
ripped world sprint king
When Bangladesh are playing in Asia Cup, Noah Lyles on social media
there will be no dearth of drama. That
for comments saying he is
Shakib Al Hasan will be
captaining the side in a offended when teams declare
tournament against themselves “world champi-
Pakistan, Afghanistan ons” for winning an NBA
and Sri Lanka means its crown. US sprint star Lyles
entertainment won the 100 and 200-metre
guaranteed. They titles and helped the US
also bring out their 4x100 relay capture gold at
best in this event and
the World Athletics Champi-
this edition should be
no different.
onships in Budapest.
But Lyles said he is offend-
SRI LANKA ed when US sports league
champions like those in the
They are the NBA declare themselves
defending
champions, and
“world champions” after
now, co-hosts. capturing a crown without
However, this series facing global rivals. “You
will be a litmus test know, the thing that hurts
for Dasun Shanaka me the most is that I have to
& Co considering Dushmantha Chameera, watch the NBA Finals and
Dilshan Madushanka, and Lahiru Kumara they have ‘world champion’
are ruled out and Wanindu Hasaranga, on their head,” Lyles said.
who is recovering thigh strain, is not
“World champion of what?
available as well. That said, in Asia Cup,
The United States?”
you can never rule out Sri Lanka.
The NBA fills rosters with
top talent from around the
AFGHANISTAN
world, and its one franchise
They might have lost the
outside US borders, the To-
series against Pakistan ronto Raptors, took the NBA
0-3, but pushed their
crown to Canada in 2019.
opponents in the second
and third games. Rahmanullah NBA players would argue
Gurbaz and Ibrahim that they compete in the
Zadran are the pillars of world’s best league. “Some-
the batting, while their body help this brother,”
spin bowling — Mujeeb wrote Phoenix’s Kevin Du-
Ur Rahman, Rashid rant, a two-time NBA cham-
Khan, Noor Ahmed, and pion and two-time NBA Fi-
Mohammed Nabi — are
nals MVP. “When being
arguably the best in the
tournament. Do not be
smart goes wrong,” wrote
surprised if they spring four-time NBA champion
a surprise or two. forward Draymond Green of
the Golden State Warriors.
Devin Booker of the Phoe-
nix Suns simply posted a
facepalm emoji.
this one in Hyderabad was im-
portant because it was the last
qualifying meet for the Asian
games. Everybody came and
they performed well. We had
lots of national records going.
I performed well from the start
but didn’t get selected. But on
the last day, I came second in
the 200m freestyle and I got into
the squad. After I found out
Aneesh Gowda | SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT about my selection, I was ec-
static and thankful to everyone
their finest athletes? For the who supported me along the
last few years, Gowda has been way.To know I’ll be going with
among the medals at the na- Team India to Asian games felt
tional events, including Na-
tional Swimming Champion-
ships and National Games.
like a huge thing,” he said.
In the same tournament that
helped Gowda secure his posi-
Now, with the Asian Games, tion for the Asian Games, Kar-
the 18-year-old will get an op- nataka bagged both men’s and
portunity to be part of the larg- women’s team championships,
est Indian swimming contin- dominating the event. Even in
gent. It was the Senior National the Asian Games squad, eight
Aquatic Championships in Hy- members are from Karnataka.
derabad earlier this year that Gowda believes the facilities
opened the door for him. and history are the motivation
“This was my third senior factors for the swimmers to
national, so I have been famil- come on top.
iar with the senior level. But Full story: newindianexpress.com
Opposite Guruswamy
N a g a r, T h a n e e r P a n d a l ,
VK Road, Peelamedu, Coimbat-
ore - 641004.
Sahil shines Atletico’s Antoine Griezmann (L)
Sahil’s 17 points came in handy celebrates after scoring | AFP
for Indian Army to beat Indian
Navy 88-70 in the 57th PSG Tro-
phy All-India basketball tour-
Atletico crush Rayo
nament played at Coimbatore.
Results: Semifinals: India Army 88 (Sahil 17,
in seven-goal rout
Jeethandar 17, Abhishek YP 16, HJaibir 12) bt A F P @ Barcelona
Indian Navy 70 (Mandeep 22, Rishabh 13, Ma-
hipal 13, AK Tudu 11); ATLETICO Madrid dismantled
Sumeet bags a hat-trick
city rivals Rayo Vallecano 7-0 in
Monday night with a ruthless
Sumeet Pal Singh’s hat-trick display and their largest ever
(34, 39, 53) enabled Indian Army away win in La Liga.
Red to beat CAG 3-2 in the 94th Antoine Griezmann opened
All-India MCC-Murugappa the scoring early on, before his
Gold Cup hockey tournament strike partner Memphis Depay
played at the MRC hockey sta- netted the second. Nahuel Mo-
dium here on Tuesday. Mean- lina slid home the third to kill
while, Central Secretariat beat the game before half-time. Sub-
Indian Navy 2-1. stitute Alvaro Morata netted in
Results: Central Secretariat 2 (Dharambir Ya- the 73rd minute and then again
dav 51, Aniket 58) bt Indian Navy 1 (Pratheek after Angel Correa grabbed the
Singh 24); Indian Army Red 3 (Sumeet Pal Singh fifth, with Marcos Llorente fin-
34, 39, 53) bt CAG 2 (Vishal 24, Abharan 51). ishing the rout late on.