hyderabad l wednesday l april 08, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Open to all suggestions, says govt amid outcry over draft IT rules Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) on Tuesday met intermediaries and civil society groups to hear their concerns over the proposed amendments May extend April 14 deadline for feedback Call for withdrawal of proposal Speaking to reporters after the meeting, IT Secretary S Krishnan said that the ministry is very “open-minded” and will examine all suggestions. Krishnan also indicated that the government may extend the April 14 deadline for receiving feedback on the proposed IT rules amendments and will consider industry and stakeholder views before finalising any changes ■ Krishnan said the feedback received ranged from requests for more time to demands for outright withdrawal of the draft amendments The backlash comes in the wake of proposed amendments that significantly widen the ambit to include “news and current affairs content” posted by non-publisher users such as influencers | P10 ■ March 30 When meity proposed draft amendments to the 2021 IT Rules 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 Civilisational wipeout threat Trump warns he will bomb Iran back to the Stone Age if it does not make a deal; Tehran defiant; Hormuz resolution in UNSC shot down a g e n c i e s @ Washington/ Tehran IN an unprecedented escalation of his war of words, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Iran that a “whole civilisation will die tonight” if Tehran doesn’t make a deal with the US by the latest deadline set by him – Tuesday 8 pm EDT (Wednesday 3.30 am Tehran time). Iran rejected the threat, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying millions of Iranians, including himself, are ready to sacrifice their lives in the war. The Islamic Republic urged young people to form human chains around power plants and other targets. Trump’s major demands are reopening the Strait of Hormuz and handing over the uranium stockpile. “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen... We will find out tonight!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 91L names out, TMC’s minority base may take hit Strong Indian advisory in Iran J aya n t h J a c ob @ New Delhi A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will Donald Trump, US president day 39 In an equally threatening tone, US Vice President J D Vance said: “We’ve got tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use. The President of the United States can decide to use them, and he will decide to use them if the Iranians don’t change their course of conduct.” Vance’s comment, made during a press meet in Budapest, led to speculation about use of nuclear weapons. However, the White House later clarified that Vance did not mean a nuclear strike against Tehran. The developments come on a day when a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz was shot down after Russia and China vetoed it. Even before the deadline, USIsrael airstrikes hit two bridges and a train station, as well as the infrastructure on Kharg Island, a key hub for Iranian oil production. On Monday, Trump had threatened to blow up “every bridge and power plant” in Iran, an action the UN considers a war crime. “Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime,” UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk said. The Indian Embassy in Iran on Tuesday issued a safety advisory for its nationals, urging them to stay indoors and avoid military installations or upper floors of multi-storey buildings for the next 48 hours amid escalating US-Israel attacks. “In continuation of previous advisories, Indian nationals who are still in Iran must stay where they are for the next 48 hours, avoiding all electric, military installations and upper floors of multi-storey buildings, remaining indoors, and coordinating any highway movement strictly with the Embassy the advisory said. It ,” also urged hotel residents to be contact with embassy teams. “In view of the rapidly evolving situation in Iran, Indian nationals who are currently in Iran are advised to stay put where they are, shelter in place and avoid further movements,” MEA said. Any movement toward border crossings must be coordinated with the embassy . Emergency helplines have been provided: +98 912 810 9115, +98 912 810 9102, +98 912 810 9109, +98 993 217 9359.  P9 Earlier, on February 28, the ECI had published a list A whopping 91 lakh names of 63.66 lakh deleted voters, have been deleted from the including 58.25 lakh classiWest Bengal electoral rolls fied as absent, shifted, dead, following the special inten- or duplicate (ASDD). sive revision, which could Following the latest reviimpact the minority sion, the number of vote base of the ruling valid voters stands at Trinamool Congress 6,77,20,728, includin the state. ing the 32.68 lakh Late on Monday newly confirmed elnight, the Election igible voters. Commission of InWe s t B e n g a l 68% cut in dia (ECI) released a Chief Minister list categorising eli- Murshidabad and TMC supremo gible and ineligible Mamata Banerjee Murshidabad, voters from the 60.06 said her party will a district with lakh electors previfight for the 27 lakh over 70% Muslim ously marked ‘unvoters whose population, is the der adjudication.’ names have been worst hit. Out of Of this, 27,16,393 11,01,145 adjudicated d e l e t e d a f t e r voters have been de- voters, 4,55,137 are adjudication. clared ineligible to ineligible. In total, She alleged that vote in the upcom- 7,48,959 names have Muslims, Matuas, been deleted from and Rajbongshis ing Assembly polls, taking the total the district’s rolls – have been targeted 68% of the total number of deletions for deletion. to 91 lakh. On Monday, the Over 32.68 lakh voters Supreme Court had rejected have been marked as eligible the state’s demand for interin the final rolls. With this, im relief for certain excludthe number of valid voters ed voters, stating the matter stands at 6,77,20,728. should not be rushed. SU B HENDU MAITI @ Kolkata LPG shortage erodes earnings of auto drivers S i d d h a r d h a G at t i m i @ Hyderabad The ongoing conflict between the US–Israel alliance and Iran has pushed hundreds of autorickshaw drivers in Hyderabad into crisis, as LPG shortage eats into their incomes and disrupts their daily lives. The fuel crunch, triggered by disruptions in global supply chains, has left drivers grappling with long queues and mounting uncertainty . Sameer Shaik, a father of three, now measures his days not by the number of passengers he ferries, but by the hours he spends waiting in fuel qu eue s. For over a month, the auto driver has been caught in a punishing routine, standing in line for five to six hours each time his LPG tank runs dry Back home, . a family of seven depends on his daily earnings — but those e a r n i n g s h av e s t e a d i l y dwindled. “In February, I could make `1,000 to `1,500 a day. It was enough to run the household,” Sameer recalls while pushing his auto in the queue for gas on Tuesday . “Now, even earning `500 is difficult. Some days, I return home with nothing because I couldn’t get fuel.” For Sikander, an auto driver from LB Nagar, his day now begins with uncertainty. Every two days, he spends the night in a queue stretching 3–4 km, waiting for a chance to refuel. On those days, he tells his family not to expect him home. What was once a quick stop at a fuel station has turned into an overnight ordeal. “There are days when we wait for hours, only for the outlet to put up a ‘No Stock’ board,” Sikander says. “We just go back home with an empty tank.” He hops between outlets in Errum Manzil, Lakdikapul and Nagole, chasing shorter queues and better chances. The shortage has also driven up prices, widening the gap between public and private outlets. While LPG at public sector stations is priced at around `88 per kg, private operators are charging up to `125, pushing desperate drivers towards cheaper pumps and longer e n s @ Hyderabad The Telangana government has declared cancer a notifiable disease, mandating compulsory registration and reporting of all diagnosed cases across the state. The move is aimed at strengthening disease surveillance and improving the overall public health response. The order was issued by Health Secretary Christina Z Chongthu on Monday, against the backdrop of a rising cancer burden that has emerged as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality . Officials underlined the urgent need for a robust and systematic mechanism to capture reliable data on cancer incidence, prevalence and distribution across regions and population groups. Current estimates indicate that around 55,000 to 60,000 new cancer cases are reported annually in Telangana, raising serious concern among health authorities. Although the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has not yet classified cancer as a notifiable disease at the national level, several states have already introduced mandatory reporting. continued on p3 P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati A serpentine queue of auto-rickshaws seen at an LPG refilling station at Errum Manzil in Hyderabad on Tuesday | SRI LOGANATHAN VELMURUGAN queues. Just two months ago, rates were significantly lower — about `53 at public outlets and `73 at private stations. The sharp increase within such a short span has escalated operating costs for drivers already under strain. It is now considered sheer luck to find a station that allows a full tank refill, Sameer says. “Even after standing in a long queue, we are often allowed to fill only `500 worth of LPG. With that, we can operate for barely 80 km before having to get back in line again,” he adds, highlighting the cycle that keeps drivers tied to fuel stations rather than the roads. continued on p4 Express News Service @ Kozhikode 363 mt auto lpg supplied in last 7 days: raveendra During the past week, a total of 363 metric tonnes (MT) of auto LPG was sourced and supplied across Hyderabad, as private marketing companies (PMCs) ramped up efforts to ease fuel shortages that had disrupted auto-rickshaw operations, said Civil Supplies Commissioner Stephen Raveendra. Addressing a review meeting on Tuesday, he said the increased supply helped restore operations at 17 previously nonfunctional (dry) auto LPG outlets, offering partial relief to auto drivers | P4 BLACK MARKETING HITS ROADSIDE EATERIES HARD | P4 Entry into Sabarimala part of denominational autonomy, says Centre SUCHITRA K ALYAN M O HANTY @ New Delhi Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy campaigns for Congress in Mavelikara; (right) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan speaks at a press conference on Tuesday his official letterhead, challenging him to a debate on development in Kerala and Telangana — signing off with the same refrain. “Revanth Reddy is the chief minister of a state. A person holding such a post is expected to uphold a certain decorum. He should introspect whether Now, cancer is a notifiable disease in TG Manipur on the boil again Revanth, Pinarayi war of words peaks In a sharp tit-for-tat, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday chose to retort in the same vein to his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy’s remarks, igniting a heated debate on the last day of campaigning in the state. “Dash Mone Revanth, a reply is coming,” Pinarayi retaliated at a press conference in Kannur to Revanth’s ‘Nee Po Mone Vijayan’ jibe. Campaigning for the Congress in Nemom on Monday, Revanth said Pinarayi’s “expiry date is over.” Echoing a dialogue from Mohanlal-starrer ‘Narasimham’, he quipped, ‘Nee Po Mone Vijayan’. He later wrote to Pinarayi on go issued his conduct matches the position. Anyway, as he has made the comment publicly I too am , giving the reply publicly,” Pinarayi said in Kannur. Pinarayi soon wrote an official reply to Revanth, detailing the achievements Kerala has made in the past 10 years.  continued on p5 With hearing commencing on a batch of review petitions challenging the 2018 Sabarimala verdict, the Centre on Tuesday supported traditional restriction on the entry of women of menstruating age into the temple, telling the Supreme Court that the issue falls squarely within the domain of religious faith and denominational autonomy adding it is beyond the scope of judi, cial review. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a nine-judge bench that if there is something unscientific, the remedy is with the legislature. Wondering why advocates for women’s entry into the Sabarimala temple invoke “patriarchy”, Mehta argued that the concept is not rooted in India’s societal framework.  continued on p5 Tensions flared in ethnic violence-hit Manipur on Tuesday after four persons, including two children, were killed in a bomb attack and a firing incident. The incidents sparked widespread protests, prompting the state’s BJP-led government to suspend internet services for three days in five Imphal Valley districts. A five-year-old boy and a six-month-old infant girl were killed and their mother was injured in a bomb attack at around 1 am in the Moirang Tronglaobi area of Meitei-majority Bishnupur district, which shares a border with Kuki-majority Churachandpur district. When news about the incident spread, locals vented their ire by setting fire to two oil tankers and a truck. Soon after, a mob stormed the camp of a central force, setting several vehicles parked inside on fire. The personnel opened fire to control the situation and five protesters sustained bullet wounds. People block a road after two kids were killed in Bishnupur district of Manipur | PTI Two of them later succumbed to injuries. Some other protesters sustained minor injuries. Protests later erupted in different parts of the Imphal Valley demanding , action against those involved in the bomb attack as well as the security personnel who had opened fire. Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh said the state government decided to hand over the case of the bomb attack to the National Investigation Agency The . decision was taken after detailed discussions with home minister Konthoujam Govindas Singh and other MLAs.