Travel insurance for railway counter bookings from Tuesday Passengers booking reserved train tickets through offline counters can purchase the optional travel insurance policy starting Tuesday. It comes days after the Supreme Court directed the Railways to extend the optional travel insurance facility to those booking tickets through the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters at railway stations. kozhikode l sunday l october 25, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l city EDITION 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 Anti-dam stir: Arunachal mob on the rampage Sets NHPC office on fire, vandalises homes of three politicians, including two MLAs p r a s a n ta m a z u m d a r @ Guwahati WITH THIS ISSUE Married to Menace PLUS 12 P AGES THE proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) turned a massive flashpoint on Saturday as anti-dam protesters in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang district set fire to an office of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and scores of vehicles parked on the premises of a police station, then vandalised houses of three politicians, including two MLAs, and later clashed with security forces that left several injured. The incident took place around 11 pm on Friday after a 12-hour bandh to protest ag ainst the hydropower project was over, Pasighat Deputy Superintendent of Police Tony Tatak said. The agitators vandalised the residences of BJP state unit president and former MLA Kaling Moyong, and Pasighat West le gislator Ninong Ering, he said. The office of the Adi Bane Kebang, the apex body of the Adi community, was also ransacked, the officer said. Later in the night, violence broke out again in Pasighat town and adjoining Mebo in A damaged police station in Pasighat | ANI East Siang district, where clashes left several people injured. Pasighat remained shut on Saturday. The violence erupted hours after a bandh in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts to protest against the proposed hydropower project was over, a senior police official said. The Union government had proposed SUMP, expected to generate 11,000 MW power, as a counter to a 60,000 MW Chinese project. The protesters are demanding scrapping of the hydro power project, withdrawal of armed forces from the region, deployed allegedly in connection with pre-feasibility report (PFR) or survey, release of 10 arrested activists and reinstatement of some suspended village chiefs. Sindhu in pristine touch, storms into French final i n d r a n e e l d a s @ Chennai AT 31, badminton players usually start thinking about sipping a hot beverage within the confines of their homes watching their favourite movie or sport. The challenges of courts would not be as enticing as it would have been five years ago, especially if one is a multiple Olympic and world championships medallist. P V Sindhu is one such player who has a cabinet full of medals; most players would be envious of. She has won Olympic medals, Worlds gold and different medals and numerous other BWF Tour titles. Yet, when she should be slowly walking into the sunset, she is still conjuring wins like a regular top player. There is no sign of age slowing her down or mental fatigue due to along career. At the French Open on Saturday, post a middling Asian Games campaign, she again showed vintage Sindhu signs. She had been struggling in the final games but not against Hina Akechi as she won 21-10, 20-22, 21-16. She will face World No 1 An Se Young in the final. There was some criticism when she lost the Asian Games in the quarterfinal but she can be excused for losing in her third match in less than 24 Mudslides bring Nilgiris to its knees; bus buried, driver killed S S e n t h i l K u m a r @ Coimbatore The driver of a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus was killed after being trapped for more than eight hours when a landslide buried their vehicle at Burliyar on the Coonoor-Mettupalayam ghat road in the Nilgiris in the early hours of Saturday . The conductor, who was also on board, was rescued. All passengers had alighted earlier after the bus developed a flat tyre. The driver, Janagaraj of Katteri, and conductor Kesavan of Kotagiri were looking for a suitable place to stop after the tyre went flat. The bus was travelling from Coonoor to Coimbatore when a tree fell across the road, forcing the driver to reverse. Another tree fell at around 10.30 pm, further restricting their movement, before a landslide sent trees, rocks and silt crashing down on the vehicle. He is undergoing treatment at the Mettupalayam Government Hospital. 241 Keralam students stranded on ghat road rescued A group of 241 students and 25 teachers from Keralam, who were on a trip to Ooty, were stranded in seven buses due to the disruption of traffic on the MettupalayamCoonoor ghat road caused by heavy rains. Personnel from the Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force, the Fire and Rescue Services and the police helped them reach safety, using minibuses and ropes to negotiate stretches affected by slush. Rescue personnel from the Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force (TNDRF) and the Fire and Rescue Services Department rescued Kesavan at around 7.30 am on Saturday. Janagaraj was found dead around 11.10 am. The bus was severely damaged, with debris entering the vehicle and trapping the two occupants. According to IMD data, Burliyar recorded 250 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 7 am on Saturday the highest in the Nilgiris , district during the period. hours. The gruelling schedule was cruel. Despite such a long career, one big positive was her fitness. She has remained relatively injury-free. Something which she said was because she understood her body and played accordingly “It is important to . know your body she had said ,” at the Asian Games. “We use gadgets and know where we are straining, and when we need to take it easy and when we can give more than 100 per cent. We need to preserve ourselves.” P11 Effluents from Surat’s industrial hubs to be dumped into Arabian Sea J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi THE empowered committee of Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, as part of India’s largest deep-sea disposal project, has recommended dumping 650 million litres per day (MLD) of treated industrial wastewater from the textile and chemical hubs in Surat in deep sea near the Gulf of Khambhat in Arabian Sea. The effluents are proposed to be carried through pipelines to the landfall located near Danti Village in Navsari, and extend to the outfall point offshore in the Ubharat and Vansi regions of the Arabian Sea. The project vehicle, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, said the onshore pipeline network will extend approximately 67.5 km, while the offshore pipelines will range between 15 km and 17.9 km from the landfall point to the respective marine diffuser locations. Under the chairmanship of M S Negi, chief of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ), the proposal has been recommended for CRZ clearance in line with the CRZ Notification of 2019, at a meeting on October 8, 2026.