madurai l monday l november 22, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Baloch fury against China’s CPEC reaches tipping point Gwadar port, keystone of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, is witnessing protests over worsening economic conditions No development, only more poverty Imran reaffirms commitment to China Thousands in Gwadar, a city in Pakistan’s poor Balochistan province, have been protesting for weeks over a dire lack of drinking water, hospitals and schools. In addition, the locals are angry over a wipe-out of livelihoods due to licences issued to Chinese trawlers. They say the government has failed in its promise to bring economic development through Chinese projects ■ ■ To protect economic interests, the government’s checkposts and movement restrictions have turned Gwadar into a security state Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has neglected the desperate pleas of those the projects were supposed to benefit, and instead said on Saturday that supporting Chinese firms is his priority | P9 $60 bn Estimated value of CPEC, the key part of China’s ‘Belt and Road’ 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 Brace up, coastal TN. Cyclonic circulation to bring more rains from Wed E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ Chennai A new weather system is heading towards Tamil Nadu, and is set to bring the coastal districts, including Chennai, heavy rains from Wednesday . The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday said a cyclonic circulation is over the South Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood at a lower tropospheric level, and is likely to move west-northwestwards towards Tamil Nadu in the next four or five days. The regional meteorological centre here has forecast heavy to very heavy rains over coastal TN, Puducherry and Karaikal on Wednesday and Thursday . On Monday, heavy rain is likely in Coimbatore, Krishnagiri, Erode, Pudukkottai, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Cuddalore, Karur, Tiruchy, and the delta districts. In the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Sunday Puducherry , received 10 cm of rainfall. Meanwhile, a three-member team from the Union government arrived in Chennai on Sunday and will tour the rain, Parts of State to get showers today  On Monday, heavy rains are likely in Coimbatore, Krishnagiri, Erode, Pudukottai and Ariyalur, among other places Devotees at Jalakandeswarar Temple in the Vellore Fort following heavy rains in the region | S Dinesh  Puducherry & Karaikal are set to get rains on Wednesday and Thursday affected districts of Kanniyakumari, Vellore, and Ranipet on Monday and Tuesday . The team — comprising RB Kaul, consultant, Ministry of Finance, R Thangamani, director, Ministry of Water Resources, CWC, and Bhavya Pandey, assistant director, Ministry of Power — will assess the damage due to the rains, and hold discussions with State officials on the relief requirements. The team was on Sunday shown a presentation on the damage due to the floods, and visited Ripon Building, where a photo exhibition on the impact of the rains in Chennai was set up. The team is scheduled to visit Kanniyakumari district on Monday . Sachin Pilots his way in Gehlot govt 6 demands in SKM open letter to Modi; Five of former deputy CM’s loyalists among 15 who took oath; ministry now more diverse R a j e s h A s n a n i @ Jaipur The long-pending cabinet reshuffle in the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government went off smoothly on Sunday afternoon, with dissident leader Sachin Pilot claiming it sent a positive message across the state. In all, 11 cabinet ministers and four ministers of state (MoS) were sworn in. The 11 cabinet ministers include three who have been elevated from MoS. As a result, only 12 new ministers were inducted. Three ministers — Govind Singh Dotasra, Harish Chaudhary and Raghu Sharma — who hold key positions in the party have been dropped. All others have been retained. The reshuffle exercise is a bid to pacify the Pilot faction, which had revolted against Gehlot last year and sparked off a major crisis for the Congress. Pilot, a former Rajasthan deputy chief minister, figures nowhere in the Cabinet. Only a respectable position for him will ensure long-ter m peace and harmony in the state party unit. The ministers who took oath as a part of the cabinet include Hemaram Chaudhary, Ramlal Jat, Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Mahesh Joshi, Vishvendra Singh, Ramesh Meena, Mamta Bhupesh, Bhajan Lal Jatav, Tikaram Julie, Govind Ram Meghwal and Shakuntala Rawat. Dalits, women and tribals Ashok Gehlot Sachin Pilot More Jat & Dalit representation Gehlot’s cabinet now has four Jat faces, as the Jats play a key role in about 50 seats. Three Dalit ministers, Mamta Bhupesh, Bhajanlal Jatav, Tikaram Julie, have been promoted from minister of state to cabinet rank got good representation in the revamped ministry . Among those sworn in on Sunday, Hemaram Chaudhary, Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena are regarded as integral members of the Pilot camp and took oath as cabinet Ministers. Singh and Meena had to lose their seats in the political crisis that erupted over the Pilot rebellion last year. Brijendra Singh Ola and Murari Lal Meena, who have been made MoS, are also Pilot loyalists. Gehlot also appointed five MLAs as his advisors, three of whom are among the 13 Independents supporting his government. Also, one of the exBSP MLAs who joined the Congress has been included. Policeman murdered in bid to nab goat thieves MS T h a n a r a j @ Pudukkottai In-step A viral picture of PM Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath taking a stroll in Lucknow’s Raj Bhawan on Sunday, set the tone for the state polls | pti A special sub-inspector (SSI) who gave chase to suspected goat thieves was allegedly hacked to death by them near Kalamavur village in Pudukkottai in the wee hours on Sunday . S Boominathan (50) intercepted two people carrying goats on a bike at the Navalpattu outpost early on Sunday, the police said, explaining that frequent goat thefts had been reported in the area. However, the duo zoomed past the outpost and continued towards Pudukkottai Road, the police added. Chasing them on his bike, Boominathan caught up with the duo near the Pallathupatti railway subway at Keeranur around 3 am. When he tried to apprehend the duo, one of them pulled out a machete and struck Boominathan on the head, leaving him to die on the spot, police said. The Keeranur police later sent the body to the Tiruchy GH for a post-mortem examination, and it was then sent to Boominathan’s house at Cholamadevi in Navalpattu. The last rites were performed in the evening with police honours. Cattle in custody keeps Kovai cops busy R K i r u ba k a r a n @ Coimbatore The Karamadai police have a unique problem. There’s a goat in their possession they don’t really want. The cops allegedly recovered the animal when it was being stolen, and are now trying hard to find its owner — so hard that they’re sending WhatsApp messages with a voice note and photo of the goat. “It’s difficult to maintain a goat at the police station. Since the chief minister is visiting Coimbatore on Monday, most personnel from the station will be on bandobust duty and won’t be able to take care of it. Hence, we have temporarily left it with a rancher nearby said a police ,” officer. As for how they got the animal, the cops said constable Siva Prakasam (37) found two people carrying it on a motorcycle around 2.30 am on Sunday and on being chased, , the duo abandoned the goat on the Onnipalayam Road and fled. The policemen then rescued the goat and brought it to the police station. They also alert- express read Mamata on a three-day ‘Team’s spirit great visit to New Delhi legacy from my time’ New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is in New Delhi for three days from Monday to possibly talk strategy with Opposition leaders ahead of start of the Parliament winter session on November 29. She may also meet PM Narendra Modi Chennai: In an exclusive interview with this daily, former head coach, Ravi Shastri, said the biggest legacy of his time would be the team’s “never-say-die attitude... no one could write them off. And if you did, it was at your own peril, as simple as that” | P11 ed their counterparts in nearby police stations about the situation. “We have sent a voice message asking if anyone has lost their goat. The owner can come to the police station and pick it up,” said a police officer. “It is difficult to find t h e ow n e r w i t h o u t knowing where the goat was stolen from. Since the thieves arrived from the western part of Karamadai, the goat may have been stolen from a village in that area,” the officer added. ‘Can’t keep it at police station’ “It’s difficult to maintain a goat at the police station. Since the CM is visiting Coimbatore on Monday... (we) won’t be able to take care of it,” a police officer said, adding that for now, the animal has been left with a rancher nearby Jab-o-meter Take your shot Nov 20 60,25,558 doses Nov 21 32,70,520 doses Total: 116,89,74,185 NATIONWIDE Nov 20 Nov 21 tamil nadu Nov 20 Nov 21 Fresh cases 10,302 10,488 Recoveries 11,787 12,329 Deaths 267 313 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 765 879 12 756 847 14 Cabinet to set ball rolling to nix 3 laws E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi/Chandigarh The formal process to rollback the three contentious farm laws promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi could begin on Wednesday when the Union Cabinet is expected to take up for approval bills seeking their withdrawal. These bills will then be introduced in Parliament after its winter session begins on November 29. At the Singhu border on Sunday a meeting of the Samyukt , Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions, reiterated its decision to go ahead with the planned march to Parliament to mark one year of their protests. It later wrote an open letter to Modi listing six demands: legally guaranteed MSP mechanism; withdrawal of draft bill on power sector reforms; withdrawal of measures to penalise farmers burning stubble around Delhi; withdrawal of cases against agitating farmers; sacking Union minister Ajay Mishra for his alleged role in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence; and compensation to the families of the 700 farmers who died during the course of the agitation as also land around Singhu border to build a memorial for them. SKM leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said, “The pre-decided programmes will continue: mahapanchayat in Lucknow on November 22; gatherings at all border points on November 26; and march to Parliament on November 29.” The next course of action will be decided on November 27. Sunday’s meeting also decided to seek the terms of reference of the panel the Centre will set up on MSP farmer leader Harind, er Singh Lakhowal said. Farmers urge PM to set up a talks with them In its open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, the SKM urged him to open talks with them on the six issues flagged by them. Till then all their agitational programmes will continue, it added