VIJAYAWADA SATURDAY JANUARY 06, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 12 LATE CITY EDITION 2024 MEN’S T20 WORLD CUP SET TO GET UNDERWAY ON JUNE 1 IN THE US The marquee ICC tournament, to be held in United States & West Indies, will begin in Dallas with co-hosts USA taking on Canada. A look England won the 2022 T20 World Cup that was played in Australia | AFP BIGGEST WORLD CUP IN THE HISTORY OF SPORT The 20-team, 55-match event that will begin in Dallas on June 1 is the biggest World Cup in the history of the sport. As many as nine associate nations will feature in the World Cup that will be played across three venues in the United States of America and six venues in West Indies. The final will be played in Barbados on June 29 ■ 16 INDIA-PAKISTAN ON JUNE 9 IN NEW YORK ■ The Group A clash of India-Pakistan will be played in Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York on June 9. Canada, the USA and Ireland are the other teams in the same group along with India Top two teams from each group will advance to Super 8s and from MORE ON P11 there the semifinalists will be selected MATCHES WILL BE PLAYED IN THE US WHILE 41 GAMES ARE IN WEST INDIES 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 Drama on high seas as Navy rescues hijacked ship SANITISATION OPS The Navy’s Marine Commandos carry out a sanitisation operation onboard cargo ship MV Lila Norfolk in northern Arabian Sea Govt estimates GDP to grow by 7.3% in 2023-24 M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi THE government expects the GDP to grow 7.3% in FY24, much higher than most estimates. This growth outlook is even higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s prediction of 7% for the current financial year. In FY23, the real GDP growth was estimated at 7.2% but this figure may change after the revised estimates are released on February 29, 2024. Most estimates had pegged the GDP to grow at 6.5-7% in FY24. The government’s higherthan-expected growth is driven largely by investment growth, though private consumption continues to trail the overall GDP growth rate. Gross fixed capital formation, or investments in asset creation, is estimated to grow at 10.3%, while private consumption may expand 4.4%. The government’s final consumption expenditure is expected to grow at 4.1%. On the supply side, agriculture growth has slowed down to 1.8% in FY24 as against 4% in FY23. Industrial sector and manufacturing sectors are estimated to grow at 7.9% and 6.5%, respectively, in FY24. Construction has emerged as one of the key growth drivers with a 10.7% growth in the current fiscal. THE Navy’s marine commandos on Friday boarded a Liberianflagged merchant vessel that was sought to be hijacked by armed pirates in the northern Arabian Sea off Somalia’s coast and rescued 21 crew members, including 15 Indians. The commandoes then started sanitising the ship. “The Indian Navy’s marine commandos present onboard the Mission Deployed warship boarded the merchant vessel and have commenced the sanitisation operation,” the Navy said. The merchant vessel MV Lila Norfolk had sent a message via the United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO) portal on Thursday evening indicating that approximately five to six unknown armed personnel had boarded the ship. Responding swiftly the Navy di, verted its frontline warship INS Chennai from its anti-piracy patrol to assist the ship in distress. The Navy also deployed maritime patrol aircraft P8I and Predator MQ9B drones, which kept a close watch on the ship. “The aircraft overflew the vessel on the early morning of (Friday) and established contact with the vessel, ascertaining the safety of the crew,” the Navy said. In an update on Friday evening, the UKMTO said, “Military forces have now boarded the vessel and conducted a thorough search. No unauthorised persons were found on board, all crew are safe and accounted for.” The latest incident comes days after two merchant vessels, MV Ruen and MV Chem Pluto, came under attack recently in the Arabian Sea. MV Ruen was hijacked on December 14 while MV Chem Pluto was hit in a drone strike on December 23. 4 officials assaulted while raiding TMC leader’s house in West Bengal; Guv warns Mamata govt Horror as mob attack leaves ED team bleeding P R A N A B M O N D A L @ Kolkata FOUR Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers were brutally assaulted and left bleeding allegedly by Trinamool Congress workers when the ED team attempted to search the house of TMC leader Sheikh Shajahan at Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas district on Friday morning. The vehicles of the ED sleuths were also damaged and the violent mob even chased away personnel of the Central Armed Police Force who were accompanying the ED team. The unprecedented attack evoked a sharp reaction from Governor C V Ananda Bose, who warned the Mamata Banerjee-led government that Constitutional options will come into play if the ‘barbarism’ continues, while the opposition demanded President’s rule in view of the breakdown of law and order. Condemning the ghastly attack, Governor Bose said such ‘pre-election violence’ TDP to replace Nani in LS seat, asks him to stay away from party affairs development comes just a cou@ Vijayawada ple of days after the followers of Nani and his younger brother VIJAYAWADA Lok Sabha MP Kesineni Sivanath (Chinni) Kesineni Srinivas (Nani) on Fri- clashed at Tiruvuru during the day revealed that the TDP has TDP’s coordination meeting on decided not to give him Tuesday . a ticket for contesting On his future course in the 2024 elections. of action, the two-time In a post on FaceMP said he will take an book, Nani said, “On appropriate decision at the directions of TDP an appropriate time. He supremo N Chandrabaadded that he will hold bu Naidu, former mindiscussions with his ister Alapati Rajendra followers and wellPrasad, NTR district wishers before taking a party president Nettam decision. As of now I am Raghuram and former Further, he reiterated with the TDP and MP Konakalla Naraya- he (Naidu) is my that he will contest na Rao met me on boss. I will abide from Vijayawada Lok Thursday (January 4) Sabha seat for the third by his decision. evening and informed consecutive time and The boss is me that the party has emerge winner. “I will always right. Hitler was also appointed another percontest in the 2024 elecright until son as in-charge for tions, even if I have to Germany was Naidu’s meeting scheddo so independently,” completely uled to be held in Tiruhe asserted. destroyed vuru on January 7.” Speaking to reportNani added he was ers, he maintained, “As Kesineni Nani, Vijayawada MP also informed that the of now I am with the party was going to give TDP and he (TDP suVijayawada Lok Sabha premo N Chandrababu ticket to another candidate. “I Naidu) is my boss. I will abide assured them that I will follow by his decision.” the directions of the party suFurther, Nani quipped, “The premo in letter and spirit,” he boss is always right. Hitler was said. also right until Germany was P4 It may be pointed out that the completely destroyed.” EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi will end soon. “This is the beginning of that end,” he said. Sources said the governor has summoned the chief secretary and home secretary to the Raj Bhavan for an urgent meeting. The ED search was in connection with the multi-crore ration scam. Sheikh is a close aide of former food supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallick, already arrested by the ED in connection with the same case. According to sources, the ED officers were taken aback by the attack and had to run. They left behind their damaged vehicles and escaped in autorickshaws and two-wheelers. The CAPF personnel were outnumbered and fled the scene when the mob manhandled them. Later, the ED sleuths reached a riverine route and left in a police boat. Sources said supporters of Sheikh, a local TMC leader, turned violent when the ED team tried to break open the locks of the door to go inside the house. EXPRESS READ APSRTC to run 6,795 spl buses for Sankranti Vijayawada: APSRTC has deployed 6,795 special bus services across the State to meet the passenger rush during Sankranti. As many as 1,600 buses will be operated to Hyderabad, 250 to Bengaluru, 300 to Vijayawada, 290 to Vizag & 230 to Rajahmundry from Jan 6-18 | P3 Suspension of MPs to be examined next week New Delhi: The Privileges Committees of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha will meet on January 12 and 9, respectively, to examine the suspension of 14 members during the winter session of Parliament over alleged “unruly behaviour” | P7 CM disburses `97 cr to more than 68,000 beneficiaries left out of welfare schemes E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Vijayawada 1 Explaining the events leading to the attack, an ED official said the four-member team reached Sheikh’s house around 7 am. “The gates were locked from inside. We pressed the bell for 30 minutes, but there was no response. So, we decided to break in. Sheikh’s followers started assembling when the CAPF personnel started breaking the locks. The crowd suddenly attacked us. One of our officers sustained a deep a head injury. We had no other option than fleeing.” The ED has filed a complaint with the local police for registration of an FIR. Meanwhile, the TMC said the ED should have informed the police about the raid. “If they wanted secrecy, they could have informed the chief secretary,” said minister Shashi Panja. 2 1) A seriously injured ED official after the attack. 2) Broken windows of the car in which the ED team travelled | PTI ED RAIDS FIRM LINKED TO SHARAD PAWAR’S GRAND NEPHEW ROHIT The Enforcement Directorate on Friday searched the premises of Baramati Agro, owned by MLA Rohit Pawar, the grand nephew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, and linked entities as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam. At least six locations in Baramati, Pune, Pimpri and Aurangabad, official sources said CHIEF Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday released `97.76 crore towards bi-annual disbursal of financial assistance, benefitting 68,990 beneficiaries who were left out of various welfare schemes from July to December 2023. The financial assistance was extended to eligible beneficiaries under YSR EBC Nestham, Jagananna Amma Vodi, Nethanna Nestham, Kapu Nestham, Vahana Mitra, Jagananna Chedodu, Kalyanamasthu-Shaadi Tohfa and Matsyakara Bharosa schemes. Releasing the aid virtually from his Camp Office in Tadepalli, Jagan said, “By conducting bi-annual exercises in June-July and December-January through social audit verification, the government has been taking steps to extend benefits to all those who missed the welfare bus for various reasons. So far, a total of `1,744.76 crore has been extended to the left out eligible beneficiaries. The exercise has been carried out five times since 2021.” He pointed out that the government has added 1,17,161 beneficiaries to the list of social pensioners, issued 6,314 health cards, rice cards to 1,11,321 persons and house site pattas to 34,623 additional beneficiaries who missed receiving the benefits between August and December 2023. P4 TTD to send 1L laddus for Ram Mandir inauguration E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Tirumala THE Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) will provide one lakh laddus, each weighing around 25 grams, for distribution among visitors during the inaugural ceremony of Sri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22, TTD executive officer AV Dharma Reddy announced on Friday . While participating in the ‘Dial Your EO’ programme in Tirumala, he said the TTD will organise Dharmic Sadas (religious conference) from February 3 to 5 with peethadhipathis from all over the country to propagate Sanatana dharma. Stating that the Hindu Dharma Prachara Parishad wing of the TTD will organise the Dharmic Sadas at the Asthana Mandapam, he said officials have been directed to make extensive arrangements for the smooth conduct of the three-day programme. Further, Dharma Reddy instructed the officials to invite pontiffs from across the country and provide them Srivari darshan, proper accommodation and transport facilities. He noted that suggestions and directives of the religious heads will be crucial P4 in pursuing Sanatana Hindu Dharma Pracharam. Handloom weaver M Naga Raju from Mangalagiri met CM Jagan and presented a silk saree that he had woven. He requested the Chief Minister to hand over the saree to YS Bharathi Reddy | EXPRESS IOA NAMES CEO RAGHURAM TO JOIN FROM JAN 15 In what was a long overdue decision, the Indian Olympic Association has named former Rajasthan Royals and RPSG sports CEO Raghuram Iyer as its Chief Executive Officer on Friday | P11 Dost dost na raha: Dhoni duped of `15 cr, files criminal case M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi FORMER India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has lodged a criminal case at a Ranchi Civil Court, alleging that he has been duped by his ex-business partners. He alleged that his partners — Mihir Diwakar and Soumya Das of Aarka Sports and Management Limited — cheated him of `15 crore in the name of opening cricket academies across India and abroad. Dhoni and Diwakar were longtime friends and played Ranji Trophy matches for Bihar and Jharkhand. Dhoni, in his complaint, alleged that Aarka Sports failed to adhere to the conditions specified in the agreement due to which he suffered a loss of `15 crore. According to Dhoni’s advocate Dayanand Singh, “An agreement was signed between Mihir Diwakar and Soumya Das of Aarka Sports and Management Private Limited and M S Dhoni in 2017 saying the company will open cricket academies in his name and pay him the franchisee fee. On that basis, Dhoni gave them an authority letter. The company paid the fees initially but stopped doing so later and also did not inform Dhoni about opening new academies.” Dhoni then revoked the authority given to the company on August 15, 2021. Dayanand added that despite sending a legal notice in 2022, the company continued opening academies and collecting m o n e y w i t h o u t D h o n i ’s knowledge. Dayanand said the criminal case was heard for the first time on Friday and the next hearing is slated for January 20. The case has been filed under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 468 (for- gery), 471 (fraud) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. As for Diwakar, he claimed innocence. He said he hasn’t violated any agreement, adding that after Dhoni sent a notice they stopped using his name. “I clarify that there is no dues/outstanding of MSD with me rather MSD has to pay certain amounts which has been collected from academies directly by Shri MS Dhoni,” he told this daily in a statement.