tirupati l monday l september 21, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION Need community participation to tackle climate change: President A well-structured framework of policies and actions is needed to address the challenge of climate change, President Droupadi Murmu said health, livelihood facing risks: Murmu President Murmu said climate change is having serious repercussions on food security, health, and livelihoods. She said the framework to tackle climate change must ensure the participation of communities most affected by it, with special sensitivity towards needs of rural and forestdwelling communities, small farmers, women, and vulnerable sections ■ 17 puts Emphasis on traditional knowledge ■ Addressing the valedictory session of the international conference on ‘The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics’, Murmu highlighted the importance of traditional knowledge systems She called for people-centric and community-based climate adaptation approaches rooted in traditional knowledge countries sent representatives to the Conference held in Delhi 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 Tata boardroom Shooting stars shine bright in Nagoya tussle headed for courtroom Indraneel Das Tata Trusts hires Abhishek Manu Singhvi as counsel; Harish Salve to advise Tata Sons Dry weather: Bay system raises hopes for rain in AP U s h a P e r i @ Visakhapatnam Amid continuing dry weather and declining water levels in reservoirs and groundwater sources, farmers and the public across Andhra Pradesh are hoping that the developing weather system over the Bay of Bengal will bring much-needed rainfall to the State. The low-pressure area over the north Andaman Sea and adjoining east-central Bay of Bengal moved westnorthwestwards, and lay over the region as of 5.30 am on Sunday . According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the system is likely to intensify into a depression over the east-central Bay of Bengal on September 21, and further into a deep depression over the west-central Bay on September 22. The system is expected to continue moving west-northwestwards and reach the west-central and adjoining nor thwest Bay of Bengal, near the south Odisha-north Andhra Pradesh coasts, around the morning of September 23. The developing system has raised hopes of rainfall at a time when several parts of the State are experiencing dry conditions. Farmers, particularly those dependent on seasonal rainfall, are looking towards the system for relief as inadequate rains have affected agricultural a c t iv i t i e s a n d w at e r availability . However, the actual rainfall distribution and intensity will depend on the system’s further movement and development, with the IMD continuing to monitor it. The weather system is also expected to bring rough sea conditions. Squally winds of 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph, are likely over the Andaman Sea and adjoining east-cenP4 tral Bay of Bengal. B ENN K O C H U V EE D AN @ Mumbai Noel Tata-led Tata Trusts on Sunday doubled down on its challenge to N Chandrasekaran’s reappointment as executive chairman of Tata Sons, reiterating that the resolution passed at the company’s September 17 board meeting violated the firm’s rules and bylaws. The matter now appears headed for a legal showdown as Tata Trusts, which owns 66.6% in Tata Sons, roped in noted Supreme Court lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi to represent it in the corporate dispute. According to reports, senior advocate Harish Salve is advising Tata Sons. In a detailed statement issued on Sunday, Tata Trusts said that under Tata Sons’ Articles of Association (AoA), the board meeting requires affirmative support from a majority of Trust-nominated directors to pass a resolution. But this condition was not met in the case of Chandrasekaran’s reappointment, rendering it void ab initio (legally void from the outset). In the crucial board meeting held last week, Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata voted against Chandrasekaran’s reappointment while Venu Srinivasan, the other Tata Trusts nominee, supported the resolution. “Whether the result of the vote was 4:1, or any other figure, is irrelevant. A condition is either met, or it is not. In this case the condition was not met,” the Trusts said. The Trusts questioned the argument that Noel Tata’s opposition created a deadlock that needed to be removed through a casting vote. “It is now being suggested that a refusal of support amounts to a deadlock which would paralyse the Company and that the Chairman of the meeting was therefore entitled to resolve the position by a casting vote. There was no paralysis and there was no deadlock. The Board put a question, and the AoA answered it in the negative,” it said. In its latest statement, the Trusts also pointed out that Tata Sons had defended the same AoA during the litigation surrounding the removal of former chairman Cyrus Mistry . Noel Tata There are two Tata Trusts nominees on the Board of Tata Sons. Majority amongst two is two and not one Tata Trusts ‘Entering fray with sadness’ Sr advocate Abhishek Singhvi said he is entering the fray with “sadness and regret” adding the dispute should have been amicably solved. Calling for protecting the fundamental rights of shareholderowners, he said such “rights cannot be nullified” T Express @ asian games Nagoya he bus journey to the Toyota highlands itself is quite fascinating as the road winds up the hills through lush green coniferous forest and gushing streams all along. For Indian athletes and coaches, these are the ‘ghat roads’. It had been quite an ordeal for the shooters right after they landed in Nagoya for the Asian Games. They were made to wait at the airport, then at the hotel and finally when they came to the venue, they realised it was not 70 minutes as the Games organising committee had indicated. It was almost two hours. Not ideal for the shooters. No screen time or games on mobile phone, neck pillow for support during (From left) Vidarsa K Vinod, Sonam Maskar & Elavenil Valarivan rejoice after winning the women’s 10m air rifle team silver | PTI journey and light food before leaving. These were some of the logistical decisions the coaches and support staff took. On Sunday, three shooters managed to win India their first shooting medal in the team event and later, Elavenil Valarivan won her second in the individual silver. Two medals in a Advani, Jaishankar, Kejriwal, CBI chief get notices for SIR discrepancy A n up V e r m a @ New Delhi BJP veteran L K Advani, Union Minister S Jaishankar and his wife Kyoko S Jaishankar, CPM MP John Brittas’ wife, former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and BJP MLA Kailash Gahlot are among a list of 33 lakh people being issued notices for “discrepancies” in their details under SIR. The list includes CBI Director Praveen Sood and his family former Army Chief General , Upendra Dwivedi and his wife, and former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai and members of her family Foreign Sec. retary Vikram Misri, Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Principal Scientific Lal Krishna S Advani Jaishankar Praveen Sood Adviser to the Prime Minister Ajay Kumar Sood and Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava are among those listed as “unmapped with last SIR”. Former economist and Padma awardee Bibek Debroy who , passed away in November 2024, figures in Delhi’s draft electoral roll and has been flagged for “no mapping” with the previous SIR roll. The list includes several S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Reviewing the impact of El Niño in the State, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to implement the contingency plans effectively to protect the interests of farmers and control prices of essential commodities. During a teleconference with senior officials of various departments, district Collectors, and Rythu Seva Kendra (RSK) staff on Sunday he said the im, pact of El Niño could extend beyond agriculture, and called for coordinated action by all departments. He instructed officials to keep the prices of rice, onions, palm oil and red gram under control. Rice stocks in godowns should be assessed and released into the market wherever necessary to check AP CM Chandrababu Naidu with his Karnataka counterpart DK Shivakumar at the inauguration of The Earth Center in Bengaluru on Sunday | Express the price rise, he said. “Onions are being procured from different regions to control rise in prices. Onion culti- vation will be promoted in a big way in the State to meet the future demand. Concrete measures should be implemented to regulate the prices of palm oil and red gram,” he said. Naidu stressed the need for demand-based crop cultivation, and asked officials to ensure that farmers receive crop insurance compensation promptly in case of crop loss. He also underlined the need for promoting cultivation of pulses, millets and drought-resistant crops in the State, The State has recorded 50.7% rainfall deficit this season, with Prakasam, Annamayya and Sri Sathya Sai districts reporting the highest deficit. Against the Kharif target of 30.84 lakh hectares, cultivation has been taken up in 79% of the area. “The impact of El Niño is particularly visible on crops in Kurnool, Nandyal and Anantapur districts, while oilseed cultivation has remained low com- EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION pared with 7.96 metres (26.12 feet) on the corresponding date last year. The average BGL which was 9.52 metres (31.2 feet) in the first week of Au- gust, has slipped to 11.14 metres, a fall of 1.62 metres (5.3 feet). The State has received 270.86 mm rainfall this season against the normal 517.19 mm, registering a 47.63% deficit, limiting the scope for natural groundwater recharge. The decline comes during pared with pulses,” he said. Naidu said `190 crore had been allocated to protect horticulture crops in high-risk areas, and urged officials to utilise the funds effectively He also di. rected them to ensure no drinking water shortage in urban and rural areas. He called for promoting kitchen gardens through selfhelp groups to increase vegetable production, which helps control prices. The Chief Minister said `3,500 crore had been spent to ensure water flow into the Handri-Neeva canals within 100 days. He directed officials and public representatives to tour villages, create awareness among far mers about El Niño, and intensify the implementation of Jaladhara by integrating it with works under VB-G RAM G. IIT bombay Prof booked for abetment of suicide over student’s death S ud h i r su r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai An IIT Bombay professor was on Sunday booked for abetment of suicide over the death of a second-year engineering student on the campus. Sahil Ravindra Wakode was found dead at the Powai campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on Friday evening, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone and ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination. Professor Suryanarayan Dulla and two other unnamed persons were booked on Sunday . Sahil’s father alleged that the professor was responsible for driving his son to take his own life. He alleged Sahil faced caste-based abuse, threats and harassment at the campus for three months before his death. A case of abetment of suicide and joint liability has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. A case has also been registered under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 for intentionally insulting or intimidating a person with intent to humiliate a member of a SC/ST community . The case was registered based on a complaint filed by Sahil’s father. Meanwhile, a video of IIT Bombay Director Shireesh B Kedare has gone viral on social media, in which he is seen announcing his resignation, effective Monday . E x p r e s s Re a d AP’s groundwater level plunges by 10.43 feet in a year Causing concer n among farmers and households, Andhra Pradesh’s groundwater table has plunged steeply. The State’s average groundwater level has fallen by 10.43 feet in a year, with 5.3 feet of the decline recording in just over six weeks, indicating mounting pressure on underg round reserves. The average groundwater level stood at 11.14 metres (36.55 feet) below ground level (BGL) on September 20, 2026, com- prominent political and public figures. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, for mer CM Arvind Kejriwal and his family , former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and wife Sudesh Dhankhar, former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur, former Union Minister Kapil Sibal and wife Promila Sibal, former Union Minister Subramanian Swamy and historian Romila Thapar figure in the list. Cong ress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi is also on the list, though the column against his name specifying the reason for the discrepancy is blank. The Delhi CEO office said “issue of notices does not mean that their names will be deleted from the electoral rolls.” Implement contingency plans to mitigate El Niño impact: CM grave concern Y B r a h m a j i @ Vijayawada day. She will compete in the mixed team events next. Among the three, Elavenil was the most experienced and that was visible during the competition. The shooter with roots in Tamil Nadu was in pristine form throughout and managed to exorcise the ghosts of Paris Olympics. For the other two members, this is their first Asian Games. If Vidarsa K Vinod became the first from Kerala to win a shooting medal, Sonam Maskar repaid the sacrifices made by her father — he had to sell land for her to pursue the sport. Vidarsa is another fascinating story She . did not have a personal rifle until about recently According to . her coach Manoj Kumar, she bought it just a few months ago. Being part of the Asiad has been a surreal experience for her. “Let alone winning a medal, that I am part of the Asian Games team is a dream,” she told this daily after the win. For Elavenil, it was cathartic. On the day she ensured that the , process she trusted bore fruit. “I’m grateful that I was selected in the first place and this medal means a lot to me,” she said. Mixed Martial Arts gave India its first medal but it’s shooting that India would be banking on for a rich medal haul. the Kharif season, when farmers are dependent heavily on borewells to protect standing crops in the absence of adequate rainfall. With canals, tanks and other water bodies receiving limited inflows, farmers and households have increasingly turned to groundwater, mounting the pressure 492.39 TMC groundwater available for use in State Groundwater available for use in the State as on September 1, 2026, stood at 492.39 TMC, including 415.57 TMC in Coastal Andhra and 76.81 TMC in Rayalaseema. Markapuram, Kadapa and Annamayya districts have zero groundwater availability for use due to alarming depletion on aquifers. The lack of surface water is also affecting natural recharge. With fewer inflows into tanks and other water bodies, less water is available to percolate into the ground and replenish underground reserves. The impact is particularly severe in Rayalaseema, where the average groundwater depth increased from 9.15 metres to 14.48 metres in a year, a decline of 5.33 metres (17.5 feet). In Coastal Andhra, the level fell by 2.32 metres, from 7.48 metres P4 to 9.80 metres.  Nearly 80% liquor shops opt for renewal Vijayawada: The renewal process for A4 liquor shops for the 202627 excise year has gathered momentum in AP, with 2,931 of the total 3,650 shops, nearly 80 per cent, opting for renewal. With the deadline falling on September 21, the Prohibition and Excise Department is speeding up the remaining process | P4 Impart values in school education: Lokesh Kakinada: HRD Minister Nara Lokesh has said that combining moral values with high academic standards would help make AP’s school education system the best in the country. He said 1.10 lakh students had shifted from private to government schools this year, attributing it to improvement in the quality of education | P4 KGBV girls’ hair cut while asleep Visakhapatnam: Tension prevailed at the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) at Krishnapuram in Bheemunipatnam mandal after the hair of several Class IX girl students was allegedly cut while they were asleep, raising concerns over security at the school. The incident reportedly occurred on Saturday night and came to light on Sunday morning when a few girls complained that their hair had been cut | P3