kozhikode l Sunday l november 29, 2020 l `8.00 l PAGES 24 l city edition navy deploys marine commandos in ladakh The Marine Commandos (MARCOS) have been deployed at Pangong lake area in eastern Ladakh amid tensions with China to enhance Integration of special forces will conduct ops in pangong lake Air Force’s Garud operatives and Army’s Para Special Forces have been in eastern Ladakh since the June clash in the Galwan Valley. With the deployment of MARCOS, the government hopes to enhance the integration of the three services, according to reports. Besides, the Marine Commandos will also get exposure to extreme cold weather conditions ■ India has boosted its special force presence along the Line of Actual Control since the June 15 clash ■ In August, India used special forces to take control of a key piece of strategic land near Pangong lake’s southern bank ■ The MARCOS is expected to conduct operations in Pangong lake MARCOS has conducted operations in Kashmir’s Jhelum lake in the past 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 Shah steps in to quell farmers’ ire Says Centre ready to hold talks as soon as they vacate roads and move to designated site Youth who switched off water cannon booked H a r p r e e t B a j w a , G AYAT HR I MA N I & N a m ita B a j pa i @ Chandigarh/New Delhi/Lucknow Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the government will hold talks with the agitating farmers before December 3 if they vacate the roads and national highways and move to the Nirankari ground in Burari, north Delhi. Earlier, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had invited protesting farmers for talks on December 3. “If farmers’ unions want to hold discussions before December 3, then I want to assure you all that as soon as you shift your protest to the structured place, the government will hold talks to address your concerns the very next day Shah said in ,” Farmers from Punjab and Haryana shouting slogans against the Centre during their Delhi Chalo march at Singhu Border in New Delhi on Saturday | Shekhar Yadav Chandigarh: Navdeep Singh, a young farmer from Ambala who flung himself from his moving tractor trolley towards a police vehicle to turn off water cannon, has been booked by the Haryana Police on charges of attempt to murder, rioting and violation of Coivd-19 norms. The incident happened near the grain market at Ambala Cantt on NH-44 on November 25 during the farmers’ march towards Delhi. a video message on Saturday . Shah added the government had made all the arrangements for the farmers at the designated ground for their protest, including water, toilet and medical facilities. secretary Omkar Singh said the home minister’s offer would be discussed in the Sunday meeting of 30 farm unions. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh urged the farmers to heed to Shah’s appeal.  P7 However, the farmers turned down Shah’s offer with BKU (Ekta-Ug rahan) president Joginder Singh Ugrahan saying the protest will continue “till our demands are met”. BKU (Rajewal Group) general EXPRESS READ In 9 days, 8th hike in PM takes 3-city tour to review petrol, diesel prices Covid vaccine development J&K sees 52% turnout in first poll since Art 370 abrogation New Delhi: Petrol price on Saturday crossed the D82-mark in Delhi, and the rate of diesel surpassed D72 per litre. This is the eighth increase in rates since November 20, when oil companies resumed daily price revision after a hiatus of nearly two weeks. Srinagar: Braving the cold and the Covid-19 threat, 51.7% voters in Jammu and Kashmir cast their vote in the first phase of the eight-phase District Development Council elections, the first electoral exercise here after the scrapping of Article 370 and its bifurcation on August 5 last year. The turnout was an improvement from the 2019 LS polls, when 45% voters exercised their franchise. P8 New Delhi/Hyderabad/Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday undertook a whirlwind trip to Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune for reviewing the Covid vaccine development and manufacturing process by Zydus Cadila, Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India. The PM spent over an hour at each of the three facilities, met top executives and interacted with scientists. P7 Ganesh Kumar main culprit in solar case, says Saranya Manoj Vigilance raids KSFE. Untimely, says Isaac E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ T'Puram E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Kollam FORMER Kerala Congress (B) leader Manoj Kumar (Saranya Manoj) has reignited the sensational solar case by alleging that his relative and current LDF MLA K B Ganesh Kumar is the main culprit in the case. Speaking at a UDF election convention at Thalavoor in Kollam on Friday former , KC(B) general secretary Manoj, who is currently with the Congress, alleged that senior UDF leaders were implicated in the case at the behest of Ganesh. Manoj alleged that Ganesh, who resigned as minister due to a case filed by his wife against him, had thought he would get a chance to re-enter the cabinet after the case was disposed  of. However, as it didn’t happen, the Pathanapuram MLA turned against the UDF, Manoj added. “Ganesh was the main culprit in the solar scam and he influenced the accused woman in the scam to repeatedly change her statements in the case,” said ● More on P4 Manoj.  The vigilance department need not prescribe law to the KSFE which has been functioning in the state for the past 50 years. The state has a law department to interpret law Thomas Isaac, Finance Minister We dismiss the allegations made by the vigilance. Any investigation is welcome Peelipose Thomas, KSFE chairman THE Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) raided 40 branches of the KSFE on Saturday and found serious irregularities in 35 of them. While four branches were found to have committed fraud in sanctioning gold loans, 10 branches kept the pledged gold ornaments without proper security . Most branches failed to deposit the firstinstalment collection of new chitties in public sector banks or state treasury as prescribed in the rule. Some branches were found to have allowed customers to participate in auction though cheques for their previous instalments had bounced. Interestingly, the inspection by the vigilance, headed by CM Pinarayi Vijayan, comes days before the local body polls. Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, who described the raids as "untimely", dismissed the charges made by the vigilance department as "nonsense". The minister said he did not know who is the insane person behind the raid. He countered the sleuths observations that the branches violated the rule to park money in treasury . "Which law says so? The vigilance need not prescribe law to the KSFE which has been functioning in the state for the past 50 years. The state has a law department to interpret ● More on P4 law," he said.  WITH THIS ISSUE The Home Hub PLUS 12 PAGES