BENGALURU  TUESDAY  JUNE 7, 2022  `9.00  PAGES 18  LATE CITY EDITION ANAND NOW TAKES A SHOT AT RUNNING GLOBAL CHESS BODY AICF interim secretary Vipnesh Bhardwaj says it supports 5-time world champion’s candidature for FIDE deputy president MYSTERIOUS EMAILS BEFORE CONFIRMATION TOP OFFICIAL TOO BACKS ANAND Bhardwaj clarified his federation’s stand, saying former secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan has always unquestionably supported Anand’s candidature. Bhardwaj’s statement came after anonymous emails started circulating, saying Chauhan is the right candidate instead of Anand and the latter had sought support from the country’s chess fraternity for his role in FIDE ■ ■ Denying the allegations, Chauhan highlighted how the All India Chess Federation was the first to come out in support of Anand’s candidature for the International Chess Federation (FIDE) post Anand will be contesting for the post as part of incumbent FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich’s team ONE AS PER FIDE RULES, A FEDERATION CAN NOMINATE ONLY ONE CANDIDATE 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 Backlash from the Muslim world grows 7 more nations, including Saudi Arabia & UAE, criticise hate speech As the prickly situation over two ex-BJP leaders’ controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammed worsens, here’s a look at what’s at stake IN a span of one week, three people died and over 70 took ill reportedly after consuming contaminated tap water from different localities in Raichur city The deceased are hotelier . Abdul Gafar, autorickshaw driver Mohammed Noor and Mallamma, a homemaker, residents of Androon Quilla, Arab Mohalla and Indira Nagar, respectively . The first death was reported on May 29, the second on June 3 and the third on June 4. Over 70 people complained of symptoms similar to what were reported by the three deceased when they fell ill during the same period of time. Among them, three are being treated at a hospital and their condition is said to be stable. The remaining were discharged after being admitted for a day at t h e D i s t r i c t C iv i l Hospital. An official at the City Municipal Council (CMC) said, “Over 70 people with complaints of vomiting and diarrhoea were being treated at the District Civil Hospital since EXPRESS READ PM to lay Suburban Rail foundation on June 20 Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be laying the foundation stone for the much-awaited Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project on June 20. CM Basavaraj Bommai said on Monday that PM Modi will be in Bengaluru to formally launch the work of the long-pending project. Kengeri property owners made to pay tax twice Bengaluru: Due to lack of coordination between Urban Development and RDPR departments, property owners in Kengeri hobli on the outskirts of Bengaluru are forced to pay property tax twice, to BDA as well as to local panchayat, for no fault of theirs. P2 CID arrests ‘top scorer’, 3 others in PSI exam EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru THE Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Monday arrested Darshan Gowda, the highest ‘scorer’ in the controversial police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment scam. Gowda, according to infor med sources, had reportedly scored 141 out of 150 marks in the objective section. The CID registered three more FIRs and arrested four successful PSI recruits, including Gowda, on June 5 and 6. Gowda was called for questioning last month by the investigating officer (IO). Sources, meanwhile, refuted reports in a section of media that he is related to Minister for Higher Education Dr C N Ashwath Narayan. The CID has so far unearthed two fraudulent methods — tampering of Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets and use of Bluetooth — which were used by candidates to score high marks, reportedly in return for huge payments ranging between Rs P5 30 lakh and Rs 80 lakh. May 29, of whom three failed to respond and succumbed at the hospital. The remaining have been discharged. The areas falling under Wards 4, 7 and 32 are the ones most cases h av e b e e n r e p o r t e d from.” The local authorities pump water from Tungabhadra river and also supply water through two different water treatment plants to the city. However, the complaints were received from the areas where the water is being supplied P5 from Rampur plant. BIOCON, one of the biggest Bengaluru-based companies, is unhappy with the quality of roads in the state capital. Company’s executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Monday tweeted, “Frustrated and angry at the total lack of responsibility of our MLA, Panchayat and MP of Anekal Taluk and Huskur Gram Panchayat at the abominable condition of Huskur-Sarjapur Road. Why does the Govt build bus depot and quarters with no road to support it ? Shame on all the local politicians. Is brand Bangalore taking a beating? Is there no one to listen to the woes of the Bangaloreans?” Her statement echoes similar concerns raised by former chief minister SM Krishna who wrote to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai around three weeks ago. Krishna, who is considered the architect of modern Ben- 3,146 Saudi Arabia UAE  Exports  Imports  % of total 11,001 13,194 Source: DPIIT trade Iraq 7.00% 4.14% 3.32% Qatar Kuwait Oman 1.45% 1.18% REMITTANCES UAE 0.97% The state government has announced `5 lakh solatium each for the families of three people who died due to consumption of contaminated water in Raichur and has ordered a detailed probe, CM Basavaraj Bommai said. E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Mangaluru CONGRESS MLA from Mangaluru, U T Khader on Monday lashed out at pro-hijab protesters, asking them to visit Pakistan, Saudi Arabia or any other country like these two in order to realise India’s beauty and culture and advised them not to take the liberty they enjoy in the country for granted. “You will understand India’s beauty culture and , opportunities that it offers when you go outside. Here you have liberty to talk to anybody, hold press meetings and do anything,” he said, taking a jibe at some students of University College, Hampankatta and Government First Grade College, Uppinangady who have been demanding that , the authorities allow them to attend classes wearing hijab. Khader was addressing a press conference at Congress office in Mangaluru. He advised the protesting girls to give preference to their education and take the advice of their parents before making any hasty decision. “Lakhs of students are studying in the state. There can’t be a separate rule for 10-15 students. Court can’t make rules as per your whims and fancies,” he said. Claiming that he made efforts to resolve the issue by talking to agitating students over phone, he said, the students started disconnecting his calls. P4 I have taken up the matter with the chief minister to improve all the roads in all the 198 industrial areas across the state under the Azadi Ka Mahotsav celebrations Murugesh Nirani, Industries Minister 5.5% Oman 3.3% Sourec: RBI (2018) Source: Ministry of Commerce CM ORDERS PROBE, `5 LAKH SOLATIUM 6.5% Kuwait 0.19% 11.6% Qatar Iran 27% Saudi 1,451 463 1,242 3,148 6,840 Saudi 1,838 2,403 UAE Visit Pak to value liberty here, Khader tells hijab activists galuru, said, “The scenario in the city threatens ‘Brand Bengaluru’, which can hit investments eventually.’’ Frequent rain havocs would hurt the city and drive away investors. Farsighted programmes should be formulated for the development of the city he suggested. , Krishna had set up the Bangalore Agenda Task Force with former Infosys chief Nandan Nilekani as its chairman P5 in 1999. 12,225 Note: UAE is one of the top 10 FDI contributors in India. In the past three years, FDI worth $5.5 billion has come from UAE What’s this road! Angry Kiran slams govt B A N S Y K A L A P PA @Bengaluru Gulf carriers dominate India’s international operations. Besides, 60 foreign airlines from 40 countries are scheduled to operate 1,783 flights to and from India during this summer. These include 170 departures per week by Emirates, 115 by Oman Air, 110 by Air Arabia, 99 by Qatar Airways, 82 by Gulf Air, 80 by Etihad Airways, 63 by Saudi Arabian Airlines and 56 by Kuwait Airways (Since April 2000) ($ million) Figures for FY22 ($ mn) 3 die after drinking tap water in Raichur M A H E S H M G O U D A R @ Raichur Air connectivity FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT 31,927 34,100 Exports & Imports 8,758 ity has generated Arab interest about India. Developments in India are closely monitored and reactions follow immediately ,’’ said Bobby Naqvi, an expert on Gulf region. As for Pakistan, the MEA lit into it, saying: “The absurdity of a serial violator of minority rights commenting on the treatment of minorities in another nation is not lost on anyone. The world has been witness to the systemic persecution of minorities including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Ahmadiyyas by Pakistan.’’ MEA’s Arindam Bagchi said India accords the highest respect to all religions, which is quite unlike Pakistan where fanatics are eulogised and monuments built in their honour. In a similar withering remark, the foreign office said the OIC Secretariat has chosen to make “motivated, misleading and mischievous comments. This only exposes its divisive agenda being pursued at the behest of vested interests.” 44,833 A day after the BJP suspended a senior functionary and expelled another for hate speech against Prophet Mohammed, the Centre continued to find itself in the line of fire from the Muslim world with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Indonesia and Afghanistan sharing their indignation. On Sunday, Qatar, Kuwait and Iran had done likewise. Pakistan had joined in as did the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), but both drew sharp rebukes from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), as India calibrated its diplomatic response while emphasising its rejection of prejudice against symbols of Islam. At stake was not just India’s diplomatic ties but also trade with the Gulf besides sizable remittances from expats. All that had to be salvaged, which was why the MEA scampered to build distance between the government and the suspended BJP’s national spokesperson Nupur Sharma, calling her a fringe element. Yet, a Kuwaiti supermarket, Al Ardiya Cooperative Society , pulled out Indian products to register its anger. The size of India’s trade with the seven Gulf countries in 2021-22 was around $189 billion, which works out to 18.3% of the nation’s total imports and exports. For the 7.5 million expats living in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) now, it is important that peace prevails both within the GCC and India to keep themselves and their jobs safe. Besides, the remittances India receives are highest from the Gulf nations with UAE at 27%, Saudi Arabia at 11.6%, Qatar at 6.5%, Kuwait at 5.5% and Oman at 3.3%. On the positive side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has generated a lot of goodwill in West Asia and has made repeated and reciprocal visits to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations. “Modi’s popular- 28,044 Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi WHY GULF MATTERS JAB-O-METER June 5 2,57,187 doses TAKE June 6 12,09,480 doses YOUR TOTAL: 1,94,25,27,866 SHOT NATIONWIDE JUNE 5 JUNE 6 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 4,270 2,619 15 4,518 2,779 9 KARNATAKA JUNE 5 JUNE 6 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 301 146 0 230 203 1 `76k cr defence boost for domestic industry M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi IN a move aimed at lifting the domestic industry the Ministry , of Defence on Monday approved the procurement of military hardware worth `76,390 crore. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, which approved the proposals, also pushed for indigenisation of the aero engines. The Army , Navy and Coast Guard will benefit from these approvals. “For the Indian Army, the DAC accorded fresh AoNs (acceptance of necessity) for procurement of rough terrain fork lift trucks, bridge laying tanks, wheeled armoured fighting vehicles with anti-tank guided missiles and weapon locating radars through domestic sources with emphasis on indigenous design and development,” the defence ministry said in a statement. For the Navy, the DAC accorded AoN for procurement of next generation corvettes (NGCs) at an estimated cost of approximately `36,000 crore, the ministry added. “These NGCs will be versatile platforms for a variety of roles viz. surveillance missions, escort operations, deterrence, surface action group operations, search & attack and coastal defence,” the defence ministry statement read. AoN is the government stamp that the proposal from the forces is accepted. These NGCs would be constructed based on the new in-house design of the Indian Navy using the latest technology of ship building. The projects will be executed under ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ and ‘Buy (Indian-IDDM)’ categories. This will Digital Coast Guard DAC has also approved the Digital Coast Guard project under Buy (Indian). The aim is to build a pan-India secure network to digitise surface and aviation operations, logistics, finance and HR processes in Coast Guard provide a substantial boost to the Indian defence industry and cut foreign spending. Engines for aircraft are becoming the focus area for the government. “The DAC accorded AoNs for manufacture of Dornier aircraft and Su-30 MKI aero-engines by Hindustan Aeronautics with focus on enhancing indigenisation particularly in indigenising aero-engine material,” it added.