tirupati l wednesday l july 08, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION Govt to ask refiners to cut lpg production to pre-war levels With the West Asia situation stabilising, the Centre is likely to direct oil companies to scale back domestic LPG production to pre-crisis levels move follows easing of supply pressures ceasefire helps restore lpg imports The move comes after supply concerns triggered by the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the US began to ease. According to sources, Indian refineries have started reducing domestic LPG production to 40,000 metric tonnes per day. During the peak of the crisis, both public and private refiners increased output to a record 54,000 metric tonnes per day ■ ■ Strait of Hormuz handles nearly 40% of India’s crude oil imports, 60% of its LNG imports and about 90% of its LPG imports LPG was the worst-hit fuel as India imports nearly 60% of its domestic requirement. With a ceasefire in place, shipping through the strategic waterway has resumed, restoring normal LPG imports | P10 33 crore households across the country use Domestic LPG 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 India, Indonesia expand strategic partnership Screengrabs from a CCTV footage showing people running for their lives as the landslide strikes Wayanad, Kerala | Express Landslip at Wayanad tunnel road site kills 3 L e s ly J o s e p h @ Meppadi a landslip at the twin-tunnel road project near Kalladi Meenakshi Bridge in Wayanad on Tuesday claimed three lives, left at least seven persons missing, and ignited a political and legal storm. While heavy monsoon rains triggered the initial slope instability, residents and local representatives termed it a “man-made disaster”, blaming corporate negligence and a complete failure of regulatory oversight. The victims have been iden- tified as Chandra Ban, an operator from Madhya Pradesh; Bikash Kumar, a civil foreman from Bihar; and Anmol, a worker from Jharkhand. The collapse occur red around 11 am, sending a massive torrent of liquefied mud, rocks and construction debris crashing onto the Meppadi– Chooralmala road. The deluge buried the Meenakshi Bridge, engulfed a private bus and flattened a roadside eatery where workers had gathered. Nine labourers were pulled from the sludge and rushed to hospital. Two of them are in critical condition. At the heart of the growing outrage is the dumping of tens of thousands of tonnes of excavated earth by the tunnel project’s contractor, Dilip Buildcon, operating under the supervision of the Konkan Railway Corporation. “I had a miraculous escape. I saw the massive soil sliding down and ran for my life,” said local resident Hamsa Manthikkara. “The company had piled up the excavated soil at the site. Though concrete retaining Jakarta to procure two batteries of BrahMos cruise missile system, Astra air-to-air missile A bus stuck in debris after falling into a rivulet near the Meppadi tunnel project site at Kalladi in Wayanad, where the massive landslide struck | Vincent Pulickal walls were built around the heaps, we had warned they were inadequate,” he said. Chief Minister V D Satheesan said a string of official warnings issued more than a fortnight before the landslip went unheeded. “On June 20, the district collector directed the contractor to remove the excavated soil. The disaster management authority issued a similar order, and the PWD minister also instructed the contractor to clear the soil. None of these directives was complied with,” the CM said. The Konkan Railway Corporation has ordered an inquiry but maintained that incessant rain triggered the collapse. Dilip Buildcon said the project complied with all engineering, safety and environmental norms, and protocols. Local leaders said the suspension of drilling work due to rains averted a bigger tragedy as more than 100 workers , were off the site. A 60-member team of NDRF, along with Fire Force personnel, is undertaking a block-byblock clearance of the mud. Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal’s WC quest ends at the hands of Spain while Belgium make lightwork of US. A look at what transpired in Monday’s games... HC upholds death for 38 in Ahmedabad serial blasts case Spain too good for Portugal @ Ahmedabad Ronaldo’s WC dream over as Spain, Belgium advance Spain hardly gave Portugal a sniff before scoring the game’s solitary goal in the stoppage time. Ronaldo, in his last World Cup, was hardly involved as the match appeared to pass him by without the 41-year-old influencing it in any way La Roja vs France in semis? If results hold, then the two European superpowers will face each other for a place in the final. But it won’t be straightforward for them as France face Morocco and Spain have to play Belgium in the last eight stages Belgium blow away US After a controversy over Folarin Balogun’s suspension of the red card, the 2018 semifinalists blew the co-hosts away 4-1 in a supreme show of strength. After the game, they also trolled FIFA for their role in the controversy. “Overturn this,” they posted on their socials express read BJP leader seeks action against Prakash Raj Anantapur: Senior BJP leader S Vishnuvardhan Reddy on Tuesday lodged a complaint at the Kadiri Police Station, seeking legal action against actor Prakash Raj over his alleged remarks, which he claimed were aimed at creating unrest in the State | P4 SIPB clears `9,076 cr investments of 11 projs Vijayawada: The 19th State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday, cleared investment proposals to the tune of `9,076.11 crore related to 11 projects, which are expected to generate 10,531 jobs | P4 Meta blog on child abuse after govt slaps notice New Delhi: Meta on Tuesday published a detailed blog outlining measures it has taken to combat child sexual abuse material across its apps, after the government slapped a notice on it over reports of Instagram ads promoting such content stake sale by centre expedited The government will raise `2,000 crore following its 5% minority stake sale in Cochin Shipyard. It’s the latest disinvestment process for the current financial year | P10 D I L IP SI N G H K SHAT RI YA THE Gujarat High Court on Tuesday upheld the Ahmedabad Sessions Court’s ruling in the 2008 serial bomb blasts case, confirming the death sentence for 38 members of the banned Indian Mujahideen and life imprisonment for 11 others. A division bench of Justices A Y Kogje and Samir Dave rejected the appeals filed by the convicts against the capital punishment awarded by the lower court in February 2022. The HC directed the Gujarat government to pay `10 lakh to the family of every deceased victim, `5 lakh to each seriously injured survivor, and `1 lakh to those who suffered minor injuries. The compensation must be paid before March 31, 2027. The verdict comes 18 years after 21 coordinated blasts at 20 locations ripped through Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, killing 56 and injuring more than 200 people. The case remains one of India’s biggest criminal prosecutions. Out of 78 accused who faced trial, the trial court convicted 49 persons, acquitted 29, sentenced 38 to death, and awarded life imprisonment till natural death to 11 convicts. The probe into the serial blasts was unprecedented in scale. Police registered 35 FIRs, filed 548 charge sheets, produced around 6,000 documentary and material exhibits, and examined 1,163 witnesses. The Sessions Court’s judgment ran into nearly 7,000 pages, while the complete paper book exceeded 7.88 lakh pages, making it one of the larg est criminal case records in India. Lawyers representing the accused said they would challenge the HC’s decision in the Supreme Court after reviewing the full judgment. J aya nt h J a c o b @ New Delhi India and Indonesia on Tuesday significantly expanded their strategic partnership, with Jakarta agreeing to procure two batteries of India’s BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system in a deal worth about $200 million, alongside Astra air-to-air missile systems, as the two countries unveiled an ambitious roadmap covering defence, maritime security, critical minerals, technology digital connectivity and , resilient supply chains. The agreements were announced after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta during the first leg of Modi’s three-nation Indo-Pacific tour, which will also take him to Australia and New Zealand. The defence component marks another milestone in India’s push to become a major exporter of indigenous military hardware. A BrahMos battery typically comprises four launchers and 12 ready-to-fire missiles, along with commandand-control systems, support equipment and specialised vehicles, though configurations vary depending on whether the system is deployed for land attack or coastal defence. Sources said Indonesia has also decided to procure India’s Astra beyond-visual-range airto-air missiles following their operational performance during Operation Sindoor. The agreements also envisage wider collaboration in defence manufacturing and technology transfers, reflecting a shift from a buyerseller relationship towards long- Govt puts in place plan to mitigate El Niño impact Y B r a h m a j i @ Vijayawada With Andhra Pradesh staring at a weak southwest monsoon under the influence of El Niño, the State government has activated a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan, placing all departments on high alert to minimise its impact. Backing its preparedness with substantial financial support, the government has released `479.01 crore under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for the current financial year while earmarking `521.17 crore for long-term disaster mitigation projects, reinforcing its focus on protecting lives and livelihoods through Home Minister V Anitha holds a review meet on impact of El Niño | Express advance planning, coordinated response and timely public alerts rather than reacting after disasters. It should be noted that the rainfall situation has emerged as a major concern. Andhra Pradesh recorded a 25 per cent rainfall deficit in June, while the shortfall has crossed 40 per cent in July so far. The current projection indicates that the monsoon could conclude with an overall deficit of around 27 per cent, raising the possibility of widespread drought conditions across several districts. The government has already identified 105 mandals that are likely to face severe drought, and another 208 mandals that m ay w i t n e s s m o d e r at e drought. Sri Sathya Sai, Anantapur and Annamayya districts are expected to bear the maximum impact, while parts of Kurnool, Nandyal, Chittoor, Kadapa, Tirupati, Prakasam, Markapuram and Nellore may face considerable water stress.  P4 J’khand bank’s KYC delay kills 75-yr-old I watched them disappear M U K E SH RA N JA N @ Ranchi IN a tragic incident that has s p a rk e d o u t r a g e a c r o s s Jharkhand, a 75-year-old ailing man died after being repeatedly denied access to his own pension money due to pending KYC formalities at a rural bank. Ratan Lakra, a resident of Bargarh village in Garhwa district, passed away on Monday after struggling for months to withdraw funds from his account at the Bargarh branch of Jharkhand Gramin Bank. The money, primarily his govern- ment pension, was needed for urgent medical treatment. His family maintained Lakra had been making repeated trips to the bank for three months at the manager’s insistence to complete the KYC process. Even after he was brought to the branch in an auto-rickshaw, officials allegedly turned them away. His daughter-in-law, Phoolmani Lakra, said that on one occasion, the manager ordered a peon to drag them out. “My father-in-law was ill and could not get the required treatment because the bank didn’t give him his own money she said. ,” Heartbroken family members and villagers staged a protest by placing Lakra’s body at the rural bank’s entrance, refusing to cremate him until action was taken. Chief Minister Hemant Soren promptly ordered an investigation. In a post on X, he directed the Garhwa Deputy Commissioner to “promptly investigate the matter, take strict action, and inform.” DC Pashupati Nath Mishra directed the Sub-Divisional Magistrate to conduct a detailed probe, and warned of action against those found guilty . one by one, recalls fisherman U s h a Pe r i @ Visakhapatnam “I survived, but I don’t know how. I watched my brother, my nephew and other family members disappear one by one in front of my eyes. We kept swimming, hoping someone would rescue us, but there was no one,” recalls Kari Chinna, the lone survivor among the seven fishermen whose boat capsized off the Visakhapatnam coast, leaving six others missing. Still shaken by the experience, Chinna says the physical struggle to stay afloat through the night was matched only by the emotional trauma of watching his family members vanish into the rough sea, powerless to save them. The seven fishermen had set out from the Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour aboard mechanised fishing boat IND-APMM-V5-83 on July 1. After spending three days fishing in the Bay of Bengal, they be g an their retur n journey on July 4 as sea conditions deteriorated under the influence of a low-pressure P4 system.  Pic: PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi being conferred Indonesia’s highest civilian honour by President Prabowo Subianto term industrial ties. Addressing a joint media interaction, Modi described the outcomes as a golden chapter in bilateral ties. “The growing trust between our two countries has strengthened cooperation in defence, security and the maritime domain,” he said. The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to a free, open and rules-based IndoPacific. President Prabowo echoed the sentiment. A major economic outcome was an agreement to deepen cooperation in critical minerals, with India set to invest in Indonesia’s steel, nickel and rare earth magnet manufacturing ecosystems, as New Delhi seeks to diversify strategic mineral supply chains. The two countries also agreed to jointly develop the strategically located Sabang Port near the Strait of Malacca and expand cooperation in the blue economy and maritime infrastructure. Modi announced that IIM Bangalore would establish a campus in Indonesia, while UPI will be integrated with Indonesia’s payment system to facilitate cross-border transactions. public service AP to integrate AI into core of governance E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Across India, States are experimenting with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve public service delivery. Andhra Pradesh, however, is attempting something more ambitious -- integrating AI into the core architecture of governance itself. Rather than deploying isolated AI pilots, the State is building an interconnected digital ecosystem that combines citizen services, real-time governance, data analytics and welfare delivery . The objective is to move beyond digitising government processes towards creating an intelligent, data-driven administration capable of anticipating problems, improving decision-making and delivering public services more efficiently . Highlighting the State’s vision, HRD, IT and RTGS Minister Nara Lokesh said, “AI is not just another technology for Andhra Pradesh; it is becoming the core of our governance operating system. Our goal is to make government faster, smarter, more transparent and citizen-centric through the responsible use of emerging P4 technologies.”