CHENNAI  THURSDAY  NOVEMBER 26, 2020  `7.00  PAGES 14  VELLORE EDITION DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA. OCTOBER 1960-NOVEMBER 2020 The world of sports and the world in general suffered perhaps the shock of the year: Argentine football great no more DEATH CAUSED BY HEART ATTACK PEOPLE’S CHOICE: THE BEST PLAYER EVER Known the world over for leading his country to victory in the 1986 Mexico World Cup almost single-handedly, Maradona was suffering from various ailments for many years. The latest one saw him undergo brain surgery at a Buenos Aires hospital earlier this month. According to an unnamed source close to him, the cause of his death was heart attack. ■ ■ In a glittering and controversial career, his second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal is widely regarded as the best in the history of the international game. In a poll conducted by FIFA in 2000, Maradona was chosen Player of the Century, pushing Brazil’s Pele to the second spot. 34 GOALS IN 91 MATCHES FOR ARGENTINA. SET UP MORE THAN HE SCORED CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI IMD says even after landfall, the system is likely to maintain its intensity for about 6 hours Authorities said wind speed of 120130 kmph can be felt during the landfall around Puducherry Chennai Gale wind speed reaching 65-75 kmph very likely to prevail over interior districts Puducherry Cuddalore Nagapattinam As of 8.30 pm on Wednesday, the storm was moving northwest with a speed of 14 kmph Fire officials rescue people affected by the flood due to incessant rains at Velacherry in Chennai on Wednesday | ASHWIN PRASATH NO CALM BEFORE THE STORM 1.21 lakh people given shelter in 1,370 relief camps across Delta districts E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai IT has been a nail-biter, as the severe cyclonic storm Nivar kept shifting its movement and patterns throughout Wednesday, keeping public and disaster-management officials waiting in anticipation. It weakened and gained intensity on multiple occasions, and is expected to make a landfall post Wednesday midnight. At 8.30 pm on Wednesday, the storm was about 80 km east-southeast of Cuddalore, and about 160 km away from Chennai. It was moving northwestward at 14 kmph. Heavy to very heavy rainfall has been predicted in the Delta districts, northern parts of the State including Chennai, and in Puducherry . By 10.30 pm, according to the officials, the storm will intensify and wind speeds exceeding 120 kmph, Public holiday today in 16 districts of Tamil Nadu and in Puducherry gusting to 145 kmph, can be felt during the landfall. Cuddalore received the highest rainfall ahead of the cyclone, at 98 mm, followed by Puducherry at 82 mm, and Chennai and Karaikal at 69 mm each. Several areas of Chennai witnessed waterlogging despite hightechnology machinery being deployed to clear out blocks. Low-lying areas and former lake-beds that have now turned into habitations witnessed flooding. The airport was shut for 12 hours and small aircraft were moved to safer spots. Even before the actual storm hit, the city lost 80 trees to rain and strong winds. “A total of 1.21 lakh persons belonging to 34,389 families have been given shelter in 1,370 relief camps in Delta districts,” said minister RB Udhayakumar, who met the media late in the evening. “Two Naval ships have been roped in from Visakhapatnam, and are stationed off Tamil Nadu coasts, to deal with emergencies.” The minister said that 1.89 per cent of cellphone towers in the State have been affected by rains. “Of a total of 22,017 towers in the State, 286 have been affected. However, since there is no disruption caused to the Optical Fibre Cable netwo rk , c o m m u n i c at i o n channels remained open in all areas.” Of the 1,600 feeders of the electricity board, only 91 are under repair due to water stagnation and others are functioning well,” the minister added. In Nagapattinam, a district ravaged by cyclones, Gaja and Ockhi, in the recent past, the fishing community was immersed in worry and prayers for the storm to pass Under construction seawall in Nagapattinam struck by high tides with minimal damage. “We have not seen the waves rise this high ever before,” said Lakshmanan, a fisherman from Thirumullaivasam. “We faced severe losses during the last two cyclones and have just started rebuilding our lives. We cannot afford to lose once again,” he said. Most fishermen along the coast have brought their boats to the land using tractors, to minimize the damage. A rubble mound wall under construction at Tarangambadi was thrashed down by tides earlier in the day The locals made . an appeal to the State to increase the wall’s height and width to avoid damage in the future. In Thanjavur and Tiruvarur, farmers got minor relief when the Met department announced that the storm was moving northward. They are hoping the damage caused to standing crop and stored produce would be minimal. CHEMBARAMBAKKAM OPENED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2015 @ New Delhi A Supreme Court bench on Wednesday vacated a media gag order issued by the Andhra Pradesh High Court on reporting about a first information report (FIR) filed by the state’s Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the Amaravati land scam case. The case became a hot potato as the FIR names former advocate general Dammalapati Srinivas and two daughters of a senior apex court judge. However, the bench did not lift the high court’s stay into the ACB probe. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan issued notice and slated the matter for final hearing in January last week. It also asked the high court not to decide on Srinivas’ writ petition till it (SC bench) adjudicates the matter. During the hearing, senior advocate Rajeev Dhawan, appearing for the Andhra government, argued that the interim high court order barring probe and gagging the media, couldn’t have been passed at all. The writ petition by Srinivas, Dhavan said, alleged malafide but offered nothing on record to corroborate it. “This was an entirely a political writ of NDRF pressed into action in TN, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh Indian Navy deploys 2 ships to assist relief works Level-9 warning issued at all 3 ports in Chennai 80 TREES uprooted in Chennai ahead of cyclone 3 trains partially on Thursday 10 boats with 60 fishers still at sea off Karaikal coast Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami overseeing release of water from Chembarambakkam lake on Wednesday; the outflow increased from 1,000 cusecs to 5,000 cusecs later in the day CHENNAI AIRPORT REMAINS SHUT FOR 12 HOURS Chennai: The city airport remained shut for 12 hours, from 7 pm on Wednesday to 7 am on Thursday, in view of the cyclone’s landfall. According to an airport spokesperson, all aircraft operations at the airport will remain suspended. A decision to this effect was taken considering the safety of passengers and the severity of the cyclone. The airport had earlier asked smaller aircraft also to be shifted to safer places, while cancelling 12 arrivals and 12 departures from and to Thoothukudi, Tiruchy, Kozhikode, Bengaluru, Mangalore, Hubli, and Vijayawada. SC lifts Andhra HC’s media gag order on Amaravati land scam reportage EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NDRF deployed in TN, 30 teams Pondy and AP to deal with cyclone aftermath ON WAR FOOTING Southern Railway cancels E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai AMID intense rainfall, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday inspected the Chembarambakkam lake, from where surplus water was released for the first time since the 2015 floods. Speaking to reporters after meeting PWD officials, Palaniswami said the inflow into the lake as of 12 noon stood at 4,000 cusecs while 1,000 cusecs was being released. The storage level currently is at 21.5 feet. At around 6 pm, the release has been stepped up to 5,000 cusecs. With heavy rainfall, the inflow into the lake stood at 4,980 cusecs. From the Adhanur Lake, 2,000 cusecs is being released to Adyar River. In all, around 6,000 cusecs of water has been released into the Adyar. “Since the Adyar river has a capacity to carry about 60,000 cusecs of water, people need not fear about flooding. The government has taken all precautionary steps,” he said. Water stagnation was reported from over 30 low-lying areas in the city and the Corporation has been clearing it using high-power pumps. , Meanwhile, the Chief Minister declared a public holiday on Thursday in 16 districts, that are likely to be affected by the cyclone. “All government offices, statutory corporations, boards, banks etc., will be closed on November 26. However, all essential services will function as usual.” Cuddalore receives the highest rainfall on Wednesday at 98 mm petition against the CM and this government,” he emphasised. Pointing to suspicious transactions involving Srinivas and others, Dhavan said, “Should such a complaint be investigated or not? This is the simplest question here.” Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the former A-G, said, “My client is targeted because he was appearing for the (former) CM. This case reeks of malafide. This is worse than Emergency CBI did not do . anything. My reputation is being damaged.” Continued on: P9 SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARILY SPECIAL? Media can be gagged only if there is real and substantial risk of prejudice. “Is there something extraordinarily special in the plea that such orders had to be passed?” Dhavan asked 50,000 PEOPLE MOVED TO RELIEF CAMPS IN CUDDALORE Schools to remain shut till Nov 28 in Puducherry E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Puducherry/Chennai WITH the cyclone just hours away from making a landfall on Wednesday 30 teams of the National Disaster Response , Force were pressed into action across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh to deal with eventualities. , Following a request from the Puducherry administration, a 100-personnel team of the Integrated Defence Staff was also sent to the UT from Chennai. About 50 km to the north and south of Puducherry may be affected during the landfall, and hence expert assistance has been sought, said officials. Ten helicopters are on standby, and will be deployed 600 fishermen as and when required, said Pu- moved to relief ducherry collector Purva Garg. camps in UT There were 10 boats carrying 60 fishermen from Karaikal still at Puducherry: Around sea on Wednesday evening. Offi- 600 fishermen and cials said that they had estab- their families were lished contact with them, and are moved to relief camps on their way to the Karaikal coast. after the rough sea In case of difficulty they have waves, about five to been advised to reach Nagapatti- six feet high, lashed nam, Jagadipattinam or other the coast, and were places. So far, 90 boats carrying being provided with over 500 fishermen have been basic amenities. Over brought back to shores. “Each and 75 fishing boats too every boat has been accounted were lifted using and there is none missing in the cranes and moved to sea,” said officials. Meanwhile, in safer places. Chennai, at least three rain-related deaths and 10 accidents were reported. The government has asked all ambulances plying in the State to be on high alert, and stationed at the nearest police station or healthcare facility to attend to emergencies. In Cuddalore, close to 50,000 people have been moved from vulnerable areas to over 233 relief camps in the district. The Cuddalore port has raised the danger level of the storm to 10 on a scale of 11. Several villages in the district plunged into darkness on Wednesday evening as officials disconnected power as a precautionary measure. Minister MC Sampath, along with monitoring officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi, also inspected relief camps here. EXPRESS READ Prefix ‘0’ to call mobile numbers New Delhi: Starting January 15, you will need to prefix ‘0’ to mobile numbers if you are calling from a landline. The move is to free up sufficient numbering resources for future use, the Department of Communications said ‘Jallikattu’ is India’s official Oscar entry Kochi: Malayalam feature film ‘Jallikattu’ has been selected as India’s official entry for the International Feature Film category at the 93rd Academy Awards, the Film Federation of India announced on Wednesday. Jallikattu was chosen from 27 entries across Hindi, Marathi and other languages | P5 Congress loses its best backroom crisis manager R I C H A S H A R M A @ New Delhi A H M E D P a t e l ’s d e m i s e couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Congress, which is struggling to deal with the revolt by a group of veteran leaders seeking radical changes in the party. His death could, however, pave the way for organisational and generational changes in the party . Patel, 71, who passed away in a Gurugram hospital on Wednesday following complications related to Covid-19, was known for his political acumen to take everyone, including the warring young and old guards, together. According to sources, he worked hard to settle the internal strife within the party till his last. When voices were raised against the party high command, Patel ensured to reach out to the dissenting leaders who wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot was candid to say that in the current situation, Congress AHMED PATEL AUG 21, 1949  NOV 25, 2020 will miss Patel even more. Senior Cong ress leader P Chidambaram said, “Whence do we find another like him?” When the Rajasthan politi- cal crisis was at peak, Patel was holding back-channel talks to manage the situation arising out of rebellion by Sachin Pilot. He was part of the three-member committee that looked into issues between Pilot and Gehlot. Patel was part of all major decision-making committees in the Congress. “The road to 10 Janpath (Sonia Gandhi’s official residence) passes through 23 Mother Teresa Crescent (Patel’s residence),” said a senior leader.