MANGALURU l thursday l july 02, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION Indigo launches ‘lite fare’ for flyers with only cabin baggage IndiGo has introduced an entry level lite fare for passengers traveling on both domestic and international flights with only cabin baggage Available when booking directly with airline weeks after Air India’s ‘basic fare’ launch Lite fare can be availed when booking tickets directly with the airline including the website, mobile application and contact centre. The low fare option will be applicable across both domestic and international, non-stop routes for both adult and child passengers, the airline said in a statement. It will be available only for economy class passengers | P12 ■ ■ “Customers will enjoy a lower base price with an auto-assigned seat at no additional cost, and a cabin bag allowance of up to 7 kgs,” the airline, operated by InterGlobe Aviation, said in a statement It comes weeks after Tata Group’s Air India introduced its own basic fare, where it gave the option to opt out from complementary meal 2,100 Flights operated daily by Indigo, which is India’s largest airline 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 Mbappe show in NYNJ At the rate Les Bleus are going, the others may as well stop bothering right now. Against Sweden, they dazzled with Kylian Mbappe adding two more goals to his tally. He’s now level with Lionel Messi with six. Michael Olise also sparkled with two more assists Mexico break knockout curse In front of a heaving Azteca, Mexico were all over Ecuador like a rash and scored the goals to take them to the last 16. It was their first knockout win at the World Cup in 40 years and the residents emptied out on to the streets to celebrate the landmark. With them playing the last 16 game also at the Azteca, there’s promise of more glory Bleus is the warmest colour Bill to axe arrested CM may be back Controversial Constitution Amendment Bill may figure in the Monsoon session Mbappe embraces coach Didier Deschamps following France’s progress | AFP | P13 R a j esh K umar T hakur @ New Delhi Today’s matches: Spain vs Austria: 12.30 AM*, Portugal vs Croatia 4.30 AM*, Switzerland vs Algeria 8.30 AM* ( IST Friday) be ready K’taka cabinet to decide on bus fare hike today E x p ress N e w s S er v ice @ Bengaluru Thursday’s cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is likely to take a decision on the hike in fares of state-run buses. BMTC has proposed a 44 per cent hike and KSRTCs have sought 33 per cent hike, claiming they were incurring loss of Rs 40crore every month. Transport Minister Byrati Suresh said that since fuel prices, especially diesel, have increased four times in the past five months, a fare hike is inevitable. “Officials were calculating how much should be hiked. However, the fare needs to be increased in a way that does not cause much loss to lossmaking transport corporations, and also does not burden the common man,” he stated. He said he would put forth the proposal before the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues at the meeting for a decision. He informed that payment of Rs 5,500crore is outstanding for Road Transport Corporations due to the Shakti guarantee scheme, and hoped that CM Shivakumar would release the amount at the earliest. Similarly the decision to release salary , arrears of employees of the corporations will also be taken after reviewing the financial situation, the minister said. Toddlers abused at IT firm daycare, FIR against 5 women E x p ress N e w s S er v ice @ Bengaluru In a horrific incident, toddlers were allegedly subjected to physical abuse at a daycare centre located inside an IT company campus in HAL police limits. The caregivers allegedly placed children inside a washing machine, sprayed water into their mouths using toilet jet sprays, and locked them inside a washroom for crying or creating a disturbance. According to the FIR registered at HAL police station on June 29, based on a complaint filed by an official of the District Child Protection Unit, Bengaluru East, the incident occurred at Society General Baby Care, a daycare facility operating on the Capgemini Technology Services India campus in Brookefield, where employees of the IT company leave their children during working hours. The complaint stated that the Child Helpline received videos allegedly showing children being subjected to mental Video grab of a toddler being placed in a commode and another locked inside a bathroom at at Society General Baby Care in Brookefield and physical abuse by daycare caregivers Manjula, Vijayalakshmi, Bhavani, Sindhu and Bindu. Mangaluru: Three people, including two children and a woman, died when a 15-foot retaining wall collapsed on a row of tiled-roof houses at Nagori in Kankanady, Mangaluru, in the early hours of Wednesday, following incessant rainfall. Six people were pulled out from the rubble, but three had succumbed to their injuries. Pawar Sr begins merger talks with both Cong, BJP Mumbai: Sharad Pawar has opened parallel talks with both the Congress and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as his NCP (SP) battles internal divisions amid alleged poaching of Opposition MPs and MLAs in Maharashtra. Sources said five MPs favour joining Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, while the remaining want to align with the BJP-led NDA | P10 Apart from the bill to disqualify PMs, CMs and ministers, the govt is expected to accord priority to a limited number of other bills during the Monsoon Session, including the Women’s Reservation Bill, indicating a focused legislative agenda on major policy initiatives Opposition boycott Members of main Opposition parties like the Congress, Trinamool Congress, SP, DMK and the Left boycotted the panel. However, the NCP (Sharad Pawar), AIMIM and other fencesitters such as the BJD, YSRCP and SAD participated in the committee The contentious 130th Constitution Amendment Bill on disqualifying prime ministers and chief ministers could be back in Parliament as its vetting by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is about to be over. The government is said to be keen on piloting the bill that was first introduced last year, for possible passage in the forthcoming Monsoon Session. The session is expected from July 20 but not later than July 27. As per the proposed amendment, offices of the PM and CMs would automatically fall vacant if the incumbent remains in judicial custody for more than 30 days without bail. The government maintains that the measure is intended to strengthen accountability and reinforce public confidence in the holders of high constitutional offices. Opposition parties, however, have expressed serious reservations, arguing that the proposal could have far-reaching constitutional and political consequences, particularly in cases where judicial proceedings remain unresolved. They have also questioned its compatibility with established constitutional principles, particularly the presumption of innocence till proved guilty . The bill was referred to a 31-member JPC chaired by former IAS officer-turnedpolitician and BJP MP Aprajita Sarangi. The panel is expected to finalise its report before the Monsoon Session. Led by the Congress, the Opposition boycotted the JPC, contending that participation would serve no meaningful purpose. The ruling NDA, however, rejected those objections and defended the JPC’s functioning, arguing that the bill was the need of hour. The bill is now expected to be tabled in the Lok Sabha. Sources indicated that it figures prominently in the legislative agenda for the upcoming session. More than two lakh students who took the May 3 NEET-UG did not appear for the subsequent retest held on June 21, according to the National Testing Agency’s initial estimates. A total of 22,05,035 candidates appeared for the first exam, while the retest had about 20 lakh candidates, a 9% dip. The National Testing Agency (NTA) officials said the exact figures are being compiled. Meanwhile, as many as 21 students took their lives in the period between the first test and the retest. Experts in the field of education pointed to the mental trauma of the paper leak and a lack of trust in the examination process owing to the leak. Sources at the NTA, however, cited changed circumstances or practical reasons. “A good number of aspirants also take up the JEE examination (decider for engineering colleges) and the JEE-Advanced exam for admission into IITs. If they did well in it, they could have decided to give up on the medical dreams,” an NTA source said. A few aspirants also apply to institutions abroad and could have decided to opt out, as studying abroad is viewed by most Indians as very prestigious, the source added. Another source said, after the answer keys of the original exam were released on May 6, some aspirants may have felt that they are just not cut out for this kind of strenuous exam.  P9 S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi The cabinet is also likely to decide on conducting the joint monsoon session of legislature in the third week of July. It would be Shivakumar’s maiden session as CM. Issues of scanty rainfall affecting sowing, and the impending drought situation are likely to be discussed. 2 kids among 3 killed as wall collapses on houses Legislative priority S L alitha @ New Delhi Road accident cases: SC firms up ITR yardstick for compensation Monsoon session E x p r e s s Re a d It is alleged that whenever the children cried or created a disturbance, the caregivers intimidated them by placing them inside a front loading washing machine, making them sit inside a Western-style toilet commode, forcefully spraying water into their mouths using the health faucet, locking them inside bathrooms, and subjecting them to other forms of physical abuse. According to the videos, more than 15 toddlers aged between two and four years were present at the daycare. The videos show children crying while the caregivers allegedly threaten them and lock them inside a washroom. HAL police registered the FIR against the daycare incharge and four caregivers under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act. Police are questioning the accused women and verifying the authenticity of the videos, when the incidents occurred, and how many children were subjected to similar abuse. Re-NEET had 2 lakh fewer candidates than first exam freed after 8 hrs A 22-year-old tusker, which got stuck in a rail barricade at Mugguru forest in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) near Kanakapura, was rescued by forest officials after an eight-hour operation on Wednesday. The elephant was trying to enter Muneshwara Betta from Mugguru when it got caught in the rail barricade | P6 To bring uniformity in motor accident compensation cases, the Supreme Court on Wednesday framed guidelines for determining annual income of the deceased or injured claimants based on their income tax returns (ITR). “ITRs are statutory records and carry a presumption of correctness. For salaried individuals, income does not fluctuate significantly making the latest , ITR the most accurate reflection. For self-employed persons, earnings vary, so a three-year average ensures a realistic assessment,” said a two-judge bench of justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh. The bench observed that while no straitjacket formula can be fixed for computing income under the Motor Vehicles Act, a distinction must be drawn — in these accidental claims cases — between the salaried employees and selfemployed persons when relying on ITRs for compensation. The verdict came on an appeal by an insurance firm chal- lenging a high court order that had fixed the deceased’s income by picking the highest ITR from the last five years. Disapproving the method, the bench said selecting the highest return in isolation would result in inflated awards and unfairly burden insurers. The court further said tribunals could deviate from ITRs if a particular year reflected exceptional income due to onetime gains or abnormal losses. Where ITRs are not filed, it said, courts may rely on Form 26AS, bank statements or salary slips, but must record reasons for doing so. The bench also said fluctuation in income of self-employed victims needs to be factored in. `1.95l CR HIGHER IMPORT REVENUE BUOYS JUNE GST NUMBERS GST collections rose 14% year-on-year to `1.95 lakh crore in June on the back of higher tax mop-up from imports as well as domestic supplies. GST revenues were over `1.94 lakh crore in May this year and `1.71 lakh crore in June 2025 | P12 Weak monsoon Water level in Almatti, Narayanpura reservoirs hits rock bottom F iro z R o z in d ar @Vijayapura Water level in the Almatti and Narayanpura reservoirs, the primary lifeline for drinking water and irrigation in North Karnataka’s five districts, has fallen drastically, raising fears of a severe drinking water crisis by the end of July if the monsoon does not pick up. The reservoirs supplying water to Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Yadgir, Kalaburagi and Raichur districts are witnessing critically low storage levels due to poor rainfall in the Krishna River basin. During the corresponding period last year, both reservoirs were more than half full, prompting authorities to release lakhs of cusecs of water downstream as a precautionary measure. This year, however, the reservoirs are nearing dead storage levels with virtually no inflow, creating concern among officials and residents alike. The Almatti reservoir, which has a total storage capacity of 123.081 tmcft, currently holds only 20.902 tmcft, of which only 3.282 tmcft can be used. The remaining is considered dead storage. Officials attributed the drop in water level to inadequate rainfall in both the Upper Krishna basin in Karnataka and the Western Ghats region of Maharashtra. Despite the onset of the southwest monsoon more than a month ago, inflow into the Almatti reservoir has remained almost nil.  P4 Contingency plan to tackle drought Almatti dam currently holds only 20.902 tmcft against its capacity of 123.081 tmcft Belagavi: Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara said Karnataka has prepared a comprehensive contingency plan to tackle a possible severe drought if the southwest monsoon remains weak in July. To meet emergency requirements, the state has already placed Rs 5 crore in the Personal Deposit (PD) account of every district exclusively for drinking water supply. Additional funds will be released wherever necessary, he added | P4