China’s population declines for first time since 1961 China’s demographic crisis deepened in 2022, as its population declined for the first time since 1961 due to a plunging birth rate, the country’s statistics office said on Tuesday, amid a forecast that India is poised to overtake the Communist giant as the world’s most populous country. China’s population in 2022 -- 1.4118 billion -- fell by 850,000 from 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. bengaluru l wednesday l january 18, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION 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 J P Nadda gets a year more at BJP helm till LS poll road rage turns ugly as scooterist drags man for 600m 2 1 3 4 Aims for huge majority in general elections R a j e s h K u m a r T h a k u r @ New Delhi PUTTING to rest all speculation, the BJP on Tuesday extended party chief J P Nadda’s tenure till June 2024 after wider consultation at the National Executive Committee meeting. Apparently, the BJP’s defeat in the last Assembly election in Nadda’s home state Himachal Pradesh did not have any bearing on his extension. Announcing the decision, Union home minister and BJP’s principal strategist Amit Shah said the party under Nadda’s leadership got a better strike rate in Bihar and won elections in other states. Shah said Nadda helped the party grow in Telangana and West Bengal. Shah added that Nadda brought vibrancy to the party by connecting with the masses. “During the pandemic, our party has done signific a n t wo rk s u n d e r Nadda ji’s leadership, be it about providing food and rations to the poor or taking people to hospitals for check-ups and treatment,” he added. He expressed confidence that the BJP under Prime Minister , Narendra Modi and party chief Nadda, will win the 2024 elections with a bigger mandate than 2019. Advani had longest tenure as party prez Name Term Years A B Vajpayee 1 6 L K Advani 3 11 M M Joshi 1 2 Kushabhau Thakre 1 2 Bangaru Laxman 1 1 J Krishnamurthy 1 1 Venkaiah Naidu 1 2 Rajnath Singh 2 5 Nitin Gadakari 1 4 Amit Shah 2 6 J P Nadda 2 June’19-June’24 After the decision was announced, Nadda tweeted, “We have to form the BJP government in the next Lok Sabha elections with more than twothirds majority under the leadership of Modi ji.” Nadda’s tenure extension was expected in view of the upcoming elections in nine states and the general elections. On Monday, the first day of the two-day national executive committee meeting, Nadda himself had dropped hints about his extension by calling upon party leaders to gear up for elections in nine states. Nadda’s tenure was to expire on January 19. During the past 42 years, the BJP has elected 11 national presidents. Horror on bengaluru road, passersby saviours (1) Videograb of a 71-year-old man clinging on to the pillion grab handle of a running scooter. It dragged him for about 600 metres. The two-wheeler had rammed the elderly man’s car from behind, which triggered the confrontation. (2) Passersby on vehicles block the scooter. (3) The elderly man trying to get back on his feet. (4) A member of the public chiding the errant scooter rider Don’t donate to temples, help needy: Seer E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ Vijayapura Vishwa Prasannateertha Swamy of Pejawar Mutt has urged people not to donate money to temples and instead use it to help the needy. Addressing the media here on Tuesday he , said there are many reports of money donated to temples being misused or falling into wrong hands. “The best way to curb this exploitation is to stop donating money to temples and use it for people’s welfare. If people have the capacity to build even a small house for the poor, they express read State okays ‘One Nation, One Uniform’ for cops Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has given its in-principle consent to the ‘One Nation, One Uniform’ idea proposed by PM Narendra Modi recently. If implemented, all police personnel across India will have a common uniform | P4 Pak wants peace with India, says PM Sharif Islamabad: Pakistan wants to live in peace with India, its PM Shehbaz Sharif told a news channel on Monday. “My message to PM Narendra Modi is that let us sit down and have sincere talks to resolve our burning issues like Kashmir,” he said | P10 should do it,” he said. Responding to critics of the Ram Temple being built in Ayodhya who question what the nation will achieve if the temple is built, he said, “I suggest people to launch a campaign before the next Ram Navami to do something for the needy  P4 .” press Intake Kerala plans to cull tigers in Wayanad | P5 Meet with PM sparks talks of Yediyurappa’s poll role | P4 Govt can use Balabrooie for Constitution Club: HC | P2 Another sinkhole, leaking pipe to blame | P2 E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru In a shocking incident, a 71-year-old man was dragged for about 600 metres on the road by a scooterist after he clung on to the two-wheeler which rammed his car from behind. The 25-year-old twowheeler rider was chased by other commuters who forcibly stopped him. The youth was roughed up by the passersby before the police took him into custody. The incident took place in broad daylight on West of Chord Road in Bengaluru on Tuesday afternoon. The victim, Muthappa Shivayogi Thontapur, a resident of Sanjeevini Nagar in Heggana- halli hailing from Vijayapura, sustained bruises in the incident while the accused, identified as Sahil, a salesman, has been ar rested by the Govindaraja Nagar police on charges of attempt to murder. Thontapur, a publisher by profession, was going to Kuvempu Bhasha Bharati Pradhikara in Chandra Layout for some work in his SUV. Around 2 pm, he pulled over at Toll Gate underpass bridge as he got a phone call. He got down to answer the call when the accused rammed his scooter into the four-wheeler from the rear. Thontapur wanted to stop him but he tried to escape. But Thontapur, clung on to the pillion grab handle.  P3 Flier opens emergency exit of flight by mistake E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Chennai/New Delhi/Bengaluru An emergency exit of an Indigo flight was accidentally unlocked by a passenger last month while the aircraft was on the ground, delaying it for over two hours. The incident on Flight 6E 7339 from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli and was reported to the aviation regulator, DGCA, Indigo Airlines revealed in a statement on Tuesday . The statement came after allegations that the passenger in question was Tejasvi Surya, first-time MP from Bengaluru South and national president of the BJP Yuva Morcha. There was no word from Surya. The airline did not reveal the identity of the passenger, but went on to add that the flier apologised for the error. “The event was duly reported. It appears that by mistake the RH emergency exit got opened by a passenger while the aircraft was on ground. The crew took note and resultantly all appropriate airworthiness actions, such as reinstalling of door, pressurisation check etc., were carried out before the release of the aircraft for departure. No safety was compromised,” P4 the DGCA said.