KOLLAM l Sunday l march 19, 2023 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l city edition Pak court lets Imran go without indictment in Toshakhana case Islamabad’s additional district and sessions judge allows ex-Pak PM to mark his attendance from his vehicle and leave the court premises Imran’s car surrounded by supporters as he leaves for Islamabad | AP Clashes outside the judicial complex Police storm Imran’s Lahore home Clashes erupted between security forces and Khan’s supporters outside the judicial complex in Islamabad ahead of his appearance before the court. Khan reached the court premises but his efforts to reach the courtroom were thwarted due to the deteriorating law and order situation. Following this the judge, who waited for hours for Khan, let him go without indictment ■ Parallelly, over 10,000 armed Punjab police personnel stormed Khan’s residence in Lahore on Saturday and arrested his party workers ■ The police personnel used a power shovel to remove the barricades and tents at the entrance of the residence and conducted a search at the house after demolishing its main gate and walls | P9 61 People were arrested from Imran’s house after police stormed it 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 The embers of Brahmapuram have died down, but its repercussions are far from over with NGT cracking the whip Kochi police seek NASA’s help to trace origin of fire A r u n M @ Kochi Nature Worship WITH THIS ISSUE PLUS 12 PAGES E X P RE S S RE A D Mar Joseph Powathil passes away at 92 Kottayam: Archbishop emeritus Mar Joseph Powathil, 92, former head of Changanassery Archdiocese, passed away on Saturday. The funeral will be held at St Mary’s Metropolitan Church at Changanassery at 10 am on Wednesday. P5 Kochi police have sought the assistance of American space agency the National Aer, onautics and Space Administration (NASA), to clear the air on the fire at the Brahmapuram waste yard. The city police have sent a letter to NASA through the India Meteorological Department for accessing satellite images to narrow down the location where the fire broke out. City Commissioner K Sethuraman said they will also seek the help of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority to ascertain whether there was any sabotage attempt behind the blaze, as there were allegations that the fire was set deliberately by the contractor tasked with waste treatment. “We have sent a letter to NASA to obtain satellite imagery that will help our probe. Earlier, in many cases they have provided such assistance,” Sethuraman told TNIE. “Besides, we will seek the assistance of KSDMA to get a clear picture of the entire episode,” he added. The fire that raged for more than 10 days was suspected to have broken out simultaneously in various locations of the garbage heaps at the waste treatment plant spread over around 100 acres. The Opposition has been up in arms, alleging lack of effective probe into the fire incident. The Infopark police have registered a case for unnatural fire occurrence based on the complaint of a member of Vadavucode-Puthencruz grama panchayat, where the Brahmapuram dumpyard is located. The inquiry by the special investigation team headed by Thrikkakara ACP P V Baby is mainly looking into the possibility of sabotage.  ● More on P2 The Principal Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed an environmental compensation of K100 crore on Kochi corporation for its failure in waste management, resulting in a major fire at the Brahmapuram waste dumpyard Major observations of NGT State of Kerala and its authorities have been an utter failure and have rampantly violated the statutory solid waste management rules and orders of the Supreme Court and Tribunal It is self-evident that good governance in the matter of waste management has been neglected for a long time to the detriment of environment and public health, and none has taken moral responsibility for the such gross failure of rule of law and damage to public health It’s difficult to understand the value of citizen’s right to life and safety with such an attitude of total neglect by government authorities. This calls for soul searching and high-level enquiry to determine culpability in the larger public interest No accountability for such serious failure has been fixed. Except for giving future plans, no fixing of accountability is proposed even now which is a matter of regret. hear us out, will appeal fine: Mayor E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi Kochi corporation will appeal the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order slapping a `100-crore penalty on the civic body for poor waste management, in the wake of the massive fire outbreak at the Brahmapuram dumpyard, Mayor M Anilkumar said. He said the current situation at Brahmapuram is the result of systemic failure that extends over a decade. The mayor said the corporation will have to face a huge financial burden if the penalty is imposed. “The NGT imposed the order without hearing us out and without considering M Anilkumar the financial implications. Brahmapuram ended up in this situation because of the failure of the previous administration. I kept silent for so long knowing that one day the truth would come out,” Anilkumar said at a press conference on Saturday . Minister for Local Self-Government M B Rajesh said the government will take the NGT order seriously . Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, he accused the previous UDF-led administration of the Kochi corporation of violating orders issued by the National Green Tribunal over the years. The minister also indicated about taking legal course of ● More on P2 action. Kunhalikutty’s writ still runs large in IUML M P P r a s h a n t h @Kozhikode The proceedings of the state council of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) that met in Kozhikode on Saturday to elect new office-bearers left no one in doubt as to who is running the show in the party . IUML national general secre- P K Kunhalikutty P M A Salam tary P K Kunhalikutty emerged as the unchallenged leader af- Some people hurt by success of democracy, says PM Modi Ra j e s h K u ma r T h a k u r @ New Delhi Responding for the first time to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent ‘democracy under siege’ barb in London, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the success of India’s democracy and its institutions is hurting some people, which is why they are bent on attacking it. Taking an apparent dig at the Opposition, the PM quipped: “When something auspicious is happening, there is a tradition to apply kaala tika (black dot). So when so many auspicious things are happening, some people have taken the responsibility to apply this kaala tika.” India, he said, has shown the whole world that democracy K100-cr penalty on Tribunal did not Kochi corp The world realises India’s ideas and capabilities are for the global good, so it’s saying this is India’s moment can deliver. “I am confident that despite all such attacks, India will continue shining and move forward to meet its objectives.” Modi was addressing the India Today conclave. He said the world’s intellectuals are optimistically saying ‘This is India’s moment.’ Yet, some people are adamant in showing the country in bad light and hurting the moral of people and the country . Attacking the Opposition, the PM said earlier scams and corruption made newspaper headlines. But now, action against the corrupt are hitting headlines. Highlighting the government’s achievements, Modi said drone-driven surveys of 2.34 lakh villages have been completed and the PM Swamitav cards have been given to as amnay as 1.22 crore people. “Today India is number one in smart phone data consumption, is the second biggest mobile manufacturing nation and has the third biggest startup ecosystem,” Modi added. ter the meeting, completely outshining the joint fight put up by his detractors Dr M K Muneer and K M Shaji. The dust and din created by Muneer and Shaji outside the party forums had created an impression that Kunhalikutty will have a tough time to push his nominees. But contrary to the expectations, Kunhalikutty had a smooth sail in the state council meeting with not a single voice raised against him. His nominee P M A Salam, who has been holding the charge of the general secretary for the past two years, will continue in the post for four more ● More on P5 years.  Key suspect in fake videos on TN attacks gives up Rama s h a n k a r @ Patna The most wanted suspect in the fake videos that alleged attacks on guest workers in Tamil Nadu, surrendered at a police station in Bihar’s West Champaran district in a different case on Saturday . T he police described YouTuber Manish Kashyap as the kingpin of the hate videos, as he had allegedly produced and circulated them. Kashyap was on the Manish Kashyap run ever since the controversy snowballed but surfaced after a Bettiah court ordered attachment of his property in a another case. At least seven criminal cases are pending against him in West Champaran district alone. Kashyap has been taken to Patna for interrogation. Earlier, the Patna High Court had rejected his bail petition. B r e ak i n g ba r r i e r s o f g e n d e r & c as t e Mallika inspires Kalamandalam to keep in step with times M a n o j V i s w a n at h a n @ Kochi The winds of change are sweeping Kerala Kalamandalam. With eminent classical dancer and activist Mallika Sarabhai taking over as chancellor of the deemed university for performing arts, the institution has initiated steps to break barriers of gender and caste discrimination. And, female students acknowledge the fragrance of the newfound freedom has spread across the campus. “As a campus following the guru-shishya tradition, Kalamandalam had some unwritten rules of discipline. The girls were not al- lowed into the canteen. It was mandatory for them to wear a duppatta while stepping out of the rooms, even if they were wearing jeans and T-shirt. They were not admitted for certain courses. They were not allowed to move around on campus after 6pm. We have thrown out all these archaic rules. We have also started self-defence classes to improve their confidence,” Mallika told TNIE. “We have a 36-acre campus, but most of the female students have not seen the campus as we were not allowed to move around. Now, we can do so, accompanied by the warden. We have now been provid- interview: p4 ed access to the canteen and are allowed to go out along with a teacher once in a while. The dress codes have also changed. Though there was an internal complaints committee (ICC) in place, it was not functioning. Now, the panel has been reconstituted. For the first time, we celebrated Women’s Day this year. We feel liberated,” said P S Seethalakshmi a postgraduate student of koodiyattam. “I told the girls that they are free to do anything. We will shed all kinds of discrimination in the name of gender or caste. But, we will go about it slowly,” Mallika ● More on P5 said.  Muslim League communal but not extremist: RSS Kochi: Though the Muslim League is a communal party, it is a democratic organisation and they don’t support extremism, said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Pranta Sanghchalak K K Balaram and Pranta Karyavah P N Eswaran in Kochi on Saturday. P5 Crackdown on Khalistani leader Amritpal Ha r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh IN a major crackdown against radical Khalistani leader and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, the Punjab police on Saturday arrested 78 of his supporters but the radical preacher gave them the slip when his cavalcade was intercepted near Jalanadhar. The state government has suspended internet services till Sunday noon to prevent rumours. The police registered a case against Amritpal and his supporters on February 24 for attacking the Ajnala police station near Amritsar. His suppor ters brandishing swords and guns clashed with police in which six policemen were injured. Sources said the Dubai-returned Amritpal Singh preacher was on his way to Muktsar Sahib when he was stopped at the Shahkot-Malsian Road in Jalandhar district. Seven people were arrested on the spot but Amritpal managed to escape by shifting to another vehicle. Police officials said Amritpal’s associates are involved in four criminal cases relating to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on policemen and preventing public servants from doing their duty . Amritpal gained notoriety when a man approached police last month complaining he had been kidnapped and beaten up by the preacher’s supporters. Officials said the Union Home Ministry is “closely monitoring” the situation in the state.