tadepalligudem l thursday l december 8, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION World Bank report warns of unsurvivable heat wave India could soon experience heat waves that break human survivability limit, the World Bank said in its latest report Extreme climate events rising in India 380 mn depend on heat-exposed labour The World Bank report titled ‘Climate Investment Opportunities in India’s Cooling Sector’ said severe heat waves, responsible for thousands of deaths across India over the past few decades, are increasing with alarming frequency. It said the country could become one of the first places in the world to experience such extreme climate events that can be fatal “Up to 75 per cent of India’s workforce, or 380 million people, depend on heat-exposed labour, at times working in potentially life-threatening temperatures,” the report said. India has the largest heat exposure impacts on heavy labour among South Asian countries, losing 101 billion hours a year, the report added 34 million Projected job loss in India by 2030 due to heat-linked productivity dip 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 Jagan seeks to push back TDP with an impassioned plea at BC Mahasabha E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Asserting his commitment to social justice, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday urged the backward classes (BCs) to rally behind him, going by his governm e n t ’s t r a c k r e c o r d i n empowering them socially eco, nomically and politically. Not just that, Jagan urged them to make 2024 elections the last for TDP and its chief N Chandrababu Naidu. Listing measures taken by his government not only for their welfare, but also their political uplift, the YSRC chief made a lengthy, impassioned plea, terming the BCs, not backward, but the backbone of his party and the State at large, in a clear and focused effort at consolidating their support. He was addressing the ‘Jayaho BC Mahasabha’ held at the Indira Gandhi Municipal Corporation Stadium here to which, more than 82,000 leaders from the BCs, right from ward members to Cabinet ministers and MPs, attended. The Mahasabha is Prasant Madugula Municipal Corporation of Delhi in AAP pocket Wins 134 wards, BJP manages 104; Congress reduced to single digit Finally, what AAP thought happened, not in the exact measure, but in its historical proportion. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party ended the BJP’s 15-year rule over the MCD, bagging 134 of the 250 seats, forcing the BJP to settle at 104 and Congress at a distant 9 seats. For AAP it is a wish fulfilled: , it now rules Delhi and the civic body whose unification from three separate bodies a few months back was thought to be a pro-BJP move. On Wednesday the BJP could , draw solace from a fragile fact: it has fared better than what was projected by exit polls. The results humiliated the Congress as it won only nine seats and, worse, 188 of its 247 candidates lost their deposits. An element of history joined AAP’s win. It is for the first time that the AAP has managed to wrest power from the BJP in any of the battles of the ballot since the party’s birth a decade ago. AAP has won two other elections — the Delhi Assembly (2015 & 2019) and Punjab (2022). In all these polls, AAP swept the Congress off, while it faced defeat in BJPruled states like Uttarakhand, Goa and Uttar Pradesh. In Delhi, AAP singularly targeted the city’s ever-rising three landfill sites, promising to remove the muck and squal- express read JSP chief gears up for State-wide yatra Vijayawada: Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan is gearing up for the proposed state-wide bus yatra, likely to start in January 2023, ‘Varahi’ is ready for Election Battle! - Pawan Kalyan tweeted on Wednesday along with pictures of the vehicle, that looks like an armoured military vehicle | P4 Six killed, 20 hurt in road mishap at Chittoor Chittoor: Six people were killed and 20 were injured when a tractor they were travelling in overturned at Lakshamaiahvuru of Puthalapattu mandal on Wednesday. The group was headed to Jettipalle for a wedding figures that matter gender break-up of councillors 69 49 02 05 AAP BJP Others Cong 250 Total wards AAP 1 3 4 7.18% 11.68% B JP 1 0 4 Co n g 9 Others Ot h e rs 3 42.05% 39.09% Men 65 55 01 04 AAP BJP Others Cong AAP Vote share Congress Mayor watch U j w a l J a l a l i @ New Delhi BJP Tenure of MCD mayor is 1 year Rules mandate that the first mayor is a woman while the third mayor has to be from the reserved category or from Delhi’s midst. The BJP got back at AAP by selectively leaking video clips on the socalled corruption cases, including the Delhi excise scam. In the previous elections, the BJP had trounced both the AAP and the Congress by winning 181 of 272 wards of the three municipal corporations. Kejriwal termed the “decisive victory” to be an affirmation for his party’s honest poli- significant politically as BCs are seen as the main support base of the TDP. No wonder, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was quick to tweet that “BCs are in the TDP’s DNA, and they are its heartbeat”. Jagan explained what his BCs don’t just have a place in the Budget, but have a special place in my heart. Everything in our household, whether it is a plate that we eat from, or a lamp we light, all of it is made by our BCs. My heart, wish and strength are BCs and their welfare — YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, CM In maiden speech, Dhankar raps SC S h r u t i K a kk a r @ New Delhi In his first speech as chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar on Wednesday took on the Supreme Court, describing its 2015 verdict that struck down the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) bill as a glaring instance of severe compromise of parliamentary sovereignty and disregard of people’s mandate. Dhankar said there is no parallel in democratic history where a legitimate Constitutional prescription was judicially undone. He underscored Parliament’s position as the exclusive and the ultimate deter- minative of the architecture of the Constitution. “Hon’ble members, there is no parallel to such a development in democratic history where a duly legitimised Constitutional prescription has been judicially undone. It’s a glaring instance of severe compromise of Parliamentary sovereignty the V-P said. ,” He pointed out that the NJAC bill had received unprecedented bipartisan support but was quashed on the ground that it was not in sync with the basic structure of the Constitution. Calling Parliament the custodian of the “ordainment of the people”, Dhankar also said it was duty bound to address the heavy eights Women AAP may field SC woman councillor for mayor If she wins, she’ll have tenure of about four months as new mayor is sworn in every April tics. “People of Delhi have now entrusted their son to clean Delhi and rid MCD of corruption. I won’t let them down,” he said at the AAP headquarters. Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said the people have given them almost 40% vote share along with 104 wards and responsibility as a strong opposition. As for the dispirited Congress, it claimed that the people have rejected the BJP . government had done for the BCs and contrasted it with Naidu’s contribution during the latter’s tenure in power. He advised each one of the BC leaders present at the meeting to start a door-to-door campaign at the ground level. The party leaders are already on the “Gadapa Gadapa ku Mana Prabhutvam” programme to gain feedback on the government’s schemes. Croatia 2018 finalists have been run-ragged a few times but are still fighting with an ageing but still world class team. You fear for them Netherlands Three-time finalists still searching for their first title. Have relied a lot on Cody Gakpo’s goals. Play a counterattacking brand of football Morocco They have based their performances around great defensive work and relyed on a fast break. Can they keep doing it? issue and expressed confidence that it would do so. Democracy blossoms and flourishes when its three facets — the legislature, the judiciary and the executive — scrupulously adhere to their respective domains, Dhankhar said, adding that the doctrine of separation of powers must be respected. “Any incursion by one institution in the domain of the other has the potential to upset the governance apple cart,” he said. Last week, speaking at an event in the presence of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Dhankar had said the power of the people reflected through the most certified mechanism on a legitimised platform, was undone. The prospect of an Argentina - Brazil semifinal looms large as the quarterfinal line-ups have been identified. A look at all eight teams... Modric van Dijk Saiss Thiago Messi Pepe England Another side that turned on the style in R-16. Have a well-rounded attacking unit where multiple players can chip in with goals Brazil Struggled for goals early on but turned on the style against South Korea. They are two matches away from reaching an 8th final & first since 2002 Argentina Stumbled early on but have grown into the tournament but almost let that Round of 16 match against Australia slip. Lionel Messi has been the difference maker Portugal Dropping Ronaldo gave their forward line a new lease of life. Will they stick to their new belief? Have the potential to go all the way France Looked a bit shaky at the back but when you have Kylian Mbappe, why worry? The midfield is a bit lightweight and can be a bit worrisome Kane Lloris Quarterfinals | Friday: 8.30 PM - Croatia vs Brazil. 12.30 AM (Sat) - Netherlands vs Argentina. Saturday: 8.30 PM - Morocco vs Portugal. 12.30 AM (Sun) - England vs France Cost of living to go up as RBI raises rate M O N I K A YADAV @ New Delhi YOUR cost of living has just gone up. And, it will continue to stay that way for quite some time, going by the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy statement released on Wednesday According to RBI, . the common man will continue to bear the brunt of price rise and high interest rates as the central bank’s fight against inflation is not over yet. Seeking to cool inflation, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday announced a 35 basis points increase in the benchmark interest rate. This, however, which will trigger another round of hike in’ lending rates. Banks are expected to raise interest rates of home loans and other loans linked to the repo rate (at which RBI lends to banks). Home loan rates are already at 9% or more. The burden on existing home loan borrowers could go up by `950-1,200 per EMI for an outstanding loan of `50 lakh with a tenure of 10-25 years. Loans are only going to be costlier in the coming months as RBI has given clear indications that the rate hikes are far from over. Experts see another 25 bps rate hike. Realtors say another rate hike could derail the recovery in the property market by making the affordable housing segment unaffordable. WHAT THE REPO RATE HIKE MEANS If you have taken a loan, or are planning to take one, you may have to shell out more as banks are likely to raise interest rates Parallelly, interest rates on deposits in banks are also expected to rise Experts feel the real estate sector will be the most hit as higher home loan rates will put off potential buyers On the bright side, there’s hope for savers as banks are likely to raise deposit rates. Inflation will, however, continue to pinch the common man as RBI has retained its inflation target for FY23 at 6.7% — with Q3 inflation at 6.6% and Q4 inflation at 5.9% — which is still higher than its upper tolerance level of 6%. High inflation and interest rates are weighing down the economy with RBI revising the growth rate for FY23 to 6.8% from its earlier projection of 7%. With global slowdown looming large amid high inflation and high interest rate, the common man faces uncertainty in the immediate future. Gaganyaan-1 First manned space mission strategically timed for LS polls K ARTHI K K K @ Mysuru INDIA’s maiden manned space mission, Gaganyaan-1, is likely to be scheduled in 2024, just before the Lok Sabha elections, sources told this newspaper. “There have been instructions from the Union government that although the Covid disruption forced delays in the project timeline, we have to try and complete the tests in 2023 so that the project is launched in 2024 before the Lok Sabha polls,” a senior scientist said. The original launch schedule was December 2020, but ISRO had to change the dates following the pandemic. Now, with preparations in full swing, the two major tests — Test Vehicle Demonstrations (TV-D1 and TV-D2) — are expected to be carried out in February 2023 and December 2023, respectively. While TV-D1 will be a high altitude abort test (which will test the crew escape system in case of anything going wrong), the TV-D2 will be an unmanned mission to test whether all parameters of the flight without a crew would work fine during the final mission. Only after that will the main manned space mission take place. The date of the final mission has not been fixed. But, senior scientists at ISRO and Defence Food Research Laboratory under Defence Research and Development Organisation confirmed the Centre’s 2024 fiat. mandous Heavy rains likely in four districts over next 3 days E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Tirupati The deep depression in the Bay of Bengal intensified into a cyclonic storm on Wednesday and is headed towards south Andhra Pradesh and north Tamil Nadu-Puducherry in 24 hours. The cyclone, christened Mandous, is likely to impact four districts in the State in the next three days. According to the IMD, Prakasam, Nellore, Tirupati and Kadapa will receive moderate rainfall on Thursday The four . districts are expected to receive heavy rainfall on December 9 and 10. The IMD said the cyclone may continue to move west-northeastwards towards North Tamil Nadu-Puducherry and adjoining South Andhra Pradesh coasts. Under its influence, Tirupati, Chittoor, Nellore, Kadapa, Annamayya, Prakasam and some areas in Bapatla, Krishna, and West Godavari districts and also a few places in Rayalaseema will receive moderate rainfall. The district administrations of Nellore, Tirupati and Chittoor have sounded an alert and warned fishermen not to venture into the sea. Nellore district collector Chakradhar Babu appealed to the public to contact 1077 toll free number for any assistance during rains. He directed the officials to open shelters and keep flood relief material ready . Officials were asked to keep excavators, generators and other equipment on standby to clear traffic during heavy rains. The Nellore Municipal Corporation has set up a round-theclock control room with numbers 18004251113, and 0861-2301541 to assist people. Administration of Chittoor has also announced a control room ‘94910 77356’ for assistance during rains. Collector M Harinarayanan said the district may witness heavy rainf all under the Cyclone’s influence. DPR for beach corridor project to be ready by March 2023: Gadkari E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam A Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the six-lane standard Visakhapatnam-Bhogapuram beach corridor project is under preparation and is expected to be completed in March 2023, the Centre said.   Similarly, the DPR for alternate connecting road from Gangavaram port to national highway would be comple ted by June 2023, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday . Replying to a query by BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao on the highway projects in Visakhapatnam, Gadkari said the six laning of 50 km Anandapuram to Pendurthi national highway-16 project taken up with `2,527 crore has been progressing. “The project was taken up on September 8, 2011 and is expected to be completed by February 2023,” he said. The development of a 3.548 km road from East Break waters to Convent Junction, taken up with `35.79 crore, is expected to be complete by the end of December. Gadkari pointed out that other proposed projects in Visakhapatnam include 2.5 km six-lane connectivity to Visakhapatnam Port road (Sabbavaram to Sheelanagar) of NH516C in the State, improvement works for Visakhapatnam Port Road (rehabilitation of Ambedkar Bridge and Nehru Bridge) on NH-516C3, construction of flyover/under pass at Vizag airport junction to ensure flow of container trailers to and from the Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) set up on NH-164, development of fourlane road to six-lane and fourlane dedicated port road for port connectivity road from Convent Junction to Sheela Nagar Junction section of NH-516C. BJP MP Narasimha Rao said he would coordinate with the ministry for expediting the national highway projects in Andhra Pradesh.