Sweden’s PM Magdalena Andersson HYDERABAD  TUESDAY  MAY 17, 2022  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION AFTER FINLAND, NOW SWEDEN CONFIRMS BID TO JOIN NATO Citing threats from Russia, Sweden said on Monday it will seek to join NATO, reversing two centuries of military non-alignment BEST THING FOR OUR SECURITY: SWEDISH PM Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said NATO membership is “the best thing for Sweden’s security”, a day after neighbouring Finland confirmed its plan to seek a berth in the alliance. The historic shift in Stockholm’s security policy comes amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has led to a rise in public support in Sweden for joining NATO 51% PUTIN WARNS OF CONSEQUENCES ■ President Vladimir Putin warned that the expansion of NATO military assets to these countries will provoke a Russian response ■ It may take about one year for the alliance’s 30 members to ratify Sweden’s application. NATO has assured Sweden of support in case it faces Russian aggression in the meantime | P9 PEOPLE IN SWEDEN SUPPORT NATO MEMBERSHIP, AS PER A POLL 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 Shivalinga? Gyanvapi area sealed Supreme Court to hear plea today challenging a Varanasi court-mandated survey of the mosque N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow Pricey fuel set to make flights costly A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi AIRFARES are likely to soar further as the government has hiked jet fuel prices by 5.29%, its 10th hike in the year so far. Fares have already shot up by 25-40% this year. The latest jump would only make flying costlier. Jet fuel rates account for about 40% of an airline’s running cost. Fares in many sectors have nearly doubled in the last two years or so. A quick search on any travel portal shows that a one-way flight in the busy Delhi-Mumbai sector is priced between `6,550-7,850 (May 23, non-stop, economy) while in the Delhi-Bengaluru sector it is `8,400-9,850. In the early 2020s, before Covid struck, a one-way DelhiMumbai economy class flight booked a week in advance was priced roughly at `3,500. For the Delhi-Bengaluru sector at that point in time, it was about `5,000. Multiple ticketing agents this newspaper spoke to said airfares in 2022 alone have shot up by up to 40% for tickets booked for flights that would take-off in 15 days, while it went up by up to 2530% if booked after 15 days. Rajiv Mehra, president, Indian Association of Tour Operators, said, “5-10% hike is absorbable but when the fares go up by 30-40%, it dents the tourism sector”. The price of jet fuel, also called aviation turbine fuel, was increased by `6,188.25/kilolitre, or 5.29%, to `1,23,039.71 per kl (`123/litre) in Delhi. The fuel cost has been raised by a cumulative 61.7% from January to May 16 this year. THE controversial court-mandated videography of the Gyanvapi mosque complex on Monday took a dramatic turn with a Varanasi court ordering the sealing of a pond after claims of having spotted a ‘Shivalinga’ in it, though the other side said it was just a defunct fountain. The pond is used by Muslim devotees for wuzu or purification rituals before offering namaz. The ongoing drama will shift to the Supreme Court on Tuesday where a bench of justices D Y Chandrachud and P S Narasimha will hear a plea filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid that manages the affairs of the Gyanvapi mosque, challenging the courtmandated survey . The Varanasi court’s order came even as the videography was on, as one lawyer Harishankar Jain, representing a plaintiff, left the survey team midway and filed a court application about the ‘Shivalinga’. “As it is a very important piece of evidence, the area should be sealed immediately for its safety,” he Policemen stand guard during the third and last day of the controversial videographic survey at the Gyanvapi mosque complex, in Varanasi on Monday | PTI said in his application. Jain also sought a ban on the entry of Muslims in that area besides allowing not more than 20 people to offer namaz at any given time. Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar, while directing the district administration to seal the area of the wuzu pond, ordered restricted entry of people into that part of the mosque premises, but did not put a figure to it. The judge, however, made the state chief secretary and director general of police responsible for the supervision of the sealing process and Report to be out today Varanasi District Magistrate Kushal Raj Sharma and courtappointed Advocate General Ajay Kumar Mishra neither confirmed nor denied the presence of the Shivalinga, saying it might be someone’s personal claim. Having concluded the three-day survey on Monday, they said the report will be submitted to the court on Tuesday PM USES BUDDHISM THREAD TO STRENGTHEN NEPAL TIES Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi CONNECTED by the noble thread of Buddhism, India and Nepal are deepening ties in many spheres, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during a day-long visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. “Today’s meeting with PM @ SherBDeuba was excellent. We discussed the full range of relations between India and Nepal,” Modi tweeted. He also laid the foundation stone for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage besides visiting the famous Mayadevi temple along with his Nepal counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba. Both sides signed six pacts. Modi’s visit as cheered up Tibetans, many of whom hope it will help reduce China’s influence in Nepal. “China uses Buddhism for political reasons. We are glad that India and Nepal ties are strengthening again. Nepa- Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a gathering on the 2566th Buddha Jayanti and Lumbini Day in Lumbini | PTI lese leaders need to be mindful of Chinese political manoeuvres,” said Tenzin Lekshay spokesperson for the Central Tibetan Administration. For long China has sought to develop Lumbini and recently offered $3 billion to make it a World Peace City But China’s interest . in Nepal through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is making people wary . “I have always told my friends in Nepal that you are second in line after Tibet to be occupied by China. Nepal seems to have understood China’s objective and has pushed back in India’s favour,” Lekshay said. PIC: VINAY MADAPU Sister city pact India and Nepal agreed in principle to establish sister city relations between Lumbini and Kushinagar, that are among the holiest sites of Buddhism, a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said PIC: RVK RAO TWO SIDES OF A COIN Monks light candles on the occasion of Buddha Purnima at Ananda Buddha Vihara in Mahendra Hills, Secunderabad on Monday; (right) With neither devotees nor officials turning up to celebrate the occasion, the Buddhist gallery at State Museum, Hyderabad wears a deserted look IN HIGH SPIRITS Post Covid, TS folk guzzle record quantity of beer E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad TELANGANA is witnessing record beer sales this summer and wine shop owners couldn’t be happier. Citizens who were sticking to hot water kaadhas during the Covid-19 waves apparently feel that reaching out for a glass of chilled beer won’t do them any harm. As a result, beer sales have reached prepandemic levels. Excise department sources say that the sale of beer cases in April and May 2022 reached , the 2019 level of 50 lakh cases per month. Around 50 lakh cases of beer were sold in April, 2022. In May , the beer sales may touch 60 lakh cases. However, from April 1 to May 16, the State recorded a sale of 77.88 lakh beer cases. From April 1, 2021 to May 16, 2021, around 36.41 lakh beer cases were sold in Telangana. Between April 1, 2020 to May 16, 2020, 78 lakh cases of beer cases were sold. From April 1, 2019 to May 16, 2019, a total 81.80 lakh cases of beer were sold. “At present there is a shortage for beer in the State due to non-availability of water. Unlike in the past, there is a quota on beer supplies from depots to wine shops,” representatives of Telangana Wine Shop Dealers Association said. The total liquor sales per month, including beer, is around `2,000 to `2,500 crore. 77.88 lakh cases of beer sold from April 1 to May 16 the work done by the district magistrate, commissioner of police and the CRPF for the execution of the order. The Muslim side was shocked that the court ordered the sealing without hearing it. “The other side is misguiding the nation by calling a defunct fountain a Shivalinga,” said Raees Ahmad Ansari, the lawyer of Anjuman Intenzamia Masjid. Abhay Nath Yadav, representing the Muslim side, said everyone should wait for the submission of the survey report and subsequent court verdict without jumping to conclusions. District Magistrate Kushal Raj Sharma said after receiving the order, the wuzu pond area was isolated and sealed, adding alternative arrangements for wuzu were being made to ensure that Muslims did not face any problem in offering namaz. Other lawyers accompanying the court commission during the survey termed it a ‘historic day’ saying the evidence they collected would play a key role in all cases related to Gyanvapi in different courts. TELANGANA Fresh cases MAY 15 MAY 16 28 28 Recoveries 44 62 Deaths 0 0 Set up CCTVs at SSC exam centres, orders Sabitha E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad EDUCATION Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy on Monday , , directed her department officials to set up CCTVs at each of the 2,881 exam centres for the upcoming SSC exams to curtail the practice of cheating. The Minister was speaking at a review meeting held in the city regarding various measures to be deployed for the smooth conduct of the SSC exams which will be held from May 23 to June 1. A total of 5,09,275 students will be writing these examinations. Education department officials have decided that even invigilators will not be permitted to carry mobiles or other electronic devices to ensure transparency and curb cheating at exam centres. Phone numbers of District and Mandal Education Officers will be displayed at all centres to allow students to seek help if they face any inconvenience.