hyderabad l friday l june 05, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 36 l late city EDITION Maruti Suzuki unveils India’s first flexible fuel vehicle can operate on any mix of petrol-ethanol The country’s largest carmaker said the vehicle, Wagon R Flex Fuel, features an advanced engine control unit that automatically adapts to varying ethanol blends, allowing customers to operate the car on any mix of petrol and ethanol. This comes a day after Hero MotoCorp launched India’s first flex-fuel motorcycles, the Splendor+ (pic) and HF Deluxe | P10 Maruti Suzuki on Thursday launched India’s first flex-fuel passenger vehicle capable of running on ethanol-petrol blends ranging from E20 to E100 all major automakers coming on board ■ ■ Flex-fuel cars will help meet India’s goal of cutting crude imports and reducing carbon emissions as dependence on imported crude can’t be an option, said Hishashi Takeuchi, MD& CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Major automakers, including Toyota Motor, Tata Motors and Hyundai Motor are also developing flex-fuel vehicles for the Indian market `1.84 L cr is forex savings by moving to ethanol since 2014, govt claims 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 Oppn churn as DMK will skip Monday meet P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Ebola scare: Sudanese man under watch m e g h n a n at h @ Hyderabad A 35-year-old Sudanese national was placed under observation in an isolation ward at Gandhi Hospital on Thursday after routine thermal screening at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad, detected a fever. According to airport officials, the traveller, who had recently visited Uganda and South Sudan, arrived in Hyderabad for a scheduled knee surgery. After recording a temperature of around 100°F during screening at RGIA, he was shifted to Gandhi Hospital for observation. Talking to TNIE, Dr Vamsi Krishna, nodal officer for Ebola preparedness at Gandhi Hospital, said, “The passenger was shifted to a separate isolation room as a precautionary measure. Medical teams collected blood, urine and swab samples and sent them to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) for testing and we are waiting for the report. Any positive or suspicious findings will be sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, for confirmation.”  NDA just 42 short The Opposition INDIA bloc appears headed for a major churn, with two of its key constituents — the DMK and the Trinamool Congress — grappling with challenges that could test the alliance’s unity and future. On Thursday, the DMK announced it would skip the INDIA bloc meeting on June 8, citing discontent over Congress “betrayal”. Long-time allies Congress and DMK are at loggerheads after the grand old party joined the Vijayled TVK government in Tamil Nadu following the DMK alliance’s defeat in the assembly polls. NDA currently needs just 42 more votes in the LS for any constitutional amendment. Any shift in Oppn strength could prove decisive for bills on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal and delimitation “While the DMK will not attend this meeting, it will continue, as always, to raise its voice on issues affecting the welfare of the nation that may be brought forward by the other parties participating in the meeting,” said a par ty statement. Incidentally, the DMK received approval from the Lok Sabha sec- Ponguleti: Land value hike to be between 50% & 100% Express News Service @ Hyderabad With the revised market value of lands coming into force from Friday, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said the gover nment has raised rates by 50% to 100%. Explaining the revision, Srinivasa Reddy said, “The minimum value of agricultural land in rural areas has been fixed at `2.75 lakh per acre, `5 lakh per acre in municipal corporations, `10 lakh per acre within the HMDA limits, and `15 lakh per acre within the ORR limits.” During an informal interaction with reporters on Thursday, the minister said the revision of land values would fetch the government an additional income of `1,400 crore per annum. He also clarified that the government has no intention of increasing registration charges in the state.  Continued on P4 U MAHESH @ Mulugu/Hanamkonda As the new academic year approaches and schools gear up for admissions, two gram panchayats in Telangana — Chinnaboyinapalli and Mupparam — have become the first in the state to adopt resolutions warning that beneficiaries of government welfare schemes could lose benefits such as subsidised rice and social security pensions if they choose to send their children to private schools. The move is aimed at strengthening government schools and boosting enrolment. In Chinnaboyinapalli, a village of 2,400 people, the campaign comes with an additional measure. The gram panchayat resolved that private school vehicles would not be allowed to enter the village to transport students. The move appears to have yielded immediate results. Following the resolution, 103 children were admitted to the DNT Upper Primary Government School. Speaking to TNIE, Chinnaboyinapalli sar panch N Nagarjuna wondered, “If they can afford private schools, why do they need gover nment welfare schemes?” Continued on P5 WITH THIS ISSUE CHENNAI’S BEST WEEKEND GUIDE 40 PAGES, INCLUDING 24 OF INDULGE (TABLOID) J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi, on Thursday | PTI Monsoon hits Kerala, TG gets rains BRAVING THE BLAZE A firefighter douses flames that broke out in a three-storey commercial complex at Ameerpet in Hyderabad on Thursday | Vinay Madapu Suspected ON THE SPOT Traffic impact: Disruption Shops gutted: At least 10, with cause of fire: Structures for over three hours affected: a shop owner Short circuit Firefighting response: claiming losses Three-storey 10 fire tenders and a commercial exceeding Fire alert firefighting robot deployed `1 crore complex received: 12.40 pm Duration of operation: Nearly five hours No casualties 13 in the Rajya Sabha, the TMC remains the third-largest party after the BJP and the Congress. The developments come amid speculation that the Centre is likely to reintroduce the delimitation bill during the upcoming Monsoon Session and has been engaging with the DMK and TMC to strengthen its position. In the previous Budget session, the constitutional amendment linking delimitation to the women’s reservation bill was defeated by the Opposition, though the NDA held 298 seats in the LS. With the DMK and TMC holding 22 and 28 MPs respectively, all eyes are now on the two parties. India, Venezuela agree to deepen ties Express Re a d Continued on P2 Villages’ diktat to parents: Opt for pvt schools, lose sops retariat on Thursday to sit separate from the Congress. Though TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are expected to attend the June 8 meeting, their party appears to be on the brink of an upheaval, with speculation on an exodus of its parliamentarians. The unrest follows a rebel faction backed by 58 MLAs claiming to be the “real TMC”. At least nine TMC Lok Sabha MPs and three Rajya Sabha members are said to be negotiating with the BJP. Besides, sources said at least two Lok Sabha MPs are in touch with the Congress. With 28 MPs in the Lok Sabha and Hyderabad: The southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala on Thursday, the IMD said. With this, meteorologists expect the monsoon to reach Telangana by June 9 or 10. Meanwhile, Telangana saw widespread rainfall with the highest recorded in Bhiknoor at 10.8 cm, followed by Sadasivanagar at 9.68 cm and Kamareddy at 9.33 cm | P2 India and Venezuela on Thursday agreed to deepen cooperation in energy and explore a broader economic partnership spanning critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, automobiles and mining, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez. The meeting came at a time when India is seeking to diversify crude oil supplies follow- Preferred energy partner Rodriguez said her country views India as a “preferred energy partner”. India imported around 427,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan crude in May, making it the second-largest buyer after the United States ing disruptions in global energy markets caused by the West Asia crisis, while Venezuela is looking to expand export markets and attract investment after years of the US sanctions-related isolation. The focal point of the talks was on long-term energy partnership, with both sides highlighting their natural complementarity “They see India as . a stable demander for many years to come. Therefore, there exists a perfect complementarity for India and Venezuela to work in the energy sector, in both upstream and downstream,” Secretary (East) in the External Affairs Ministry Rudrendra Tandon told reporters after the meeting.