thrissur l wednesday l june 07, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Moscow, Kyiv blame each other as Ukraine dam partially destroyed Emergency evacuations underway Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the dam, while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian military strikes for its collapse. It was not immediately clear whether either side benefits from it since both Russian- and Ukrainian-held territories are at risk of flooding. Russia and Ukraine have both begun emergency evacuations. Neither side has reported any casualties so far | P9 The Nova Kakhovka dam in Russian-controlled Kherson region in southern Ukraine collapsed on Tuesday, endangering the lives of thousands Reservoir crucial for cooling n-plant ■ The reservoir created by the Soviet-era dam on the Dnieper River holds 18 million cubic metres of water. The dam also provides cooling water to the nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia, which is under Russian control ■ Kyiv says the Dnieper River has been contaminated with 150 tonnes of industrial lubricants after the breach and more oil is likely to be leaked 38,000 Estimated number of people evacuated from both Russian and Ukranian areas 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 rain till june 10; no word on monsoon The IMD has forecast moderate rainfall across the state for the next four days. Fishermen have been advised against venturing into the sea However, uncertainty prevails over the onset date of monsoon The emergence of a deep depression into a cyclonic storm (‘Biparjoy’) in the Arabian Sea is said to have an impact on the delay | P5 A fisherman runs to safety from an approaching high tidal wave at Shankhumukham in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday | Vincent Pulickal BSF jawan killed in fresh violence in Manipur E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Guwahati DASHING hopes of an early end to violence in Manipur, militants fatally shot a BSF jawan and injured two Assam Rifles personnel in the wee hours of Tuesday at Serou in Kakching district. The slain soldier, Ranjit Yadav, was from the BSF’s 163rd battalion. He was injured in the gunfight with suspected Kuki insurgents and was evacuated to a local hospital where he was declared dead. The exchange of fire between the two sides took place in a school in Serou, officials said. Reports said suspected Kuki miscreants resorted to firing on BSF troops deployed at the Serou Practical High School around 4.15 am. According to a defence ministry statement, additional troops were rushed to Serou and adjoining Sugnu following multiple incidents of violence in the past 48 hours. “As a result of extensive area domination operations by Assam Rifles, BSF and police, intermittent exchange of fire took place between security forces and the insurgents during the night of 05/06 June,” it said. Officials believe the insurgents would have suffered some casualties. India GDP GROWTH ESTIMATE TRIMMED TO 6.3% The World Bank has cut its FY24 growth forecast for India by 0.3 percentage points, against 6.6% it estimated in January. It, however, noted there is an unexpected resilience in private consumption Delay in registration, crane-mounted vehicles of KSEB lying idle for 2 months M a n o j V i s w a n at h a n @ Kochi Monsoon season is generally hectic for KSEB. The frequent outages due to snapping of power lines following heavy rain and strong winds often pose a headache for its employees. Though this year’s monsoon is expected to set in soon, most of the 25 mini trucks fitted with aerial work platforms, bought by the power entity two months ago, are lying idle due to the delay in getting the vehicles registered. These vehicles would have come in handy during the rainy season. The vehicles fitted with aerial work platforms supplied by Ensol Equipment Pvt Ltd, a Rajasthan-based firm, have been provided temporary registration as ‘goods carrier’ by the transport authority. But The mini truck fitted with aerial work platform lying idle at the Perumbavoor electricity circle office | Express this may pose challenges in operating the vehicle as the modification made to fit the aerial boom crane lift will not be approved by the transport authority If it is registered as a . goods carrier, the aerial boom will not get insurance cover, and it will lead to legal hurdles if vehicle gets involved in an accident. “The agency that delivered the vehicle has to produce a certificate from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) for the modifications made to install the aerial work platform. The ARAI issues the certificate after conducting safety checks. If we provide registration as goods carrier, it will lead to legal complications. In case the vehicle meets with an accident, the workers will not get insurance coverage. We have explained this to the KSEB authorities,” said Perumbavoor Joint RTO in-charge T A Joshy . The office of KSEB chief engineer (supply chain management) said the payment to the distributor has been blocked as the registration procedure has not been completed. As per the purchase agreement, the supplier has to provide all assistance for permanent registration of the vehicle.  ● More on P4 CBI team begins questioning Rly officials at site DARK NET sale A s i s h M e h ta a n d Am i t M u k h e r j ee @ Bhubaneswar/New Delhi @ New Delhi The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday began its probe into the Bahanaga railway accident, one of the deadliest of train crashes in the country that claimed 288 lives and left more than 1,100 passengers injured on June 2. A team consisting of about eight CBI officers visited the accident site at Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore district. It reportedly questioned a signalman and held discussions with Balasore GRP officers. The CBI officers collected information related to the mishap and shifting of dead bodies. The team spent more than an hour at the site. Sources pointed out that none of the railway staff on duty on the fateful evening are on the run and all will cooperate with the CBI. Earlier in the day the Special , Crime unit-I of the premier agency formally booked a case of criminal negligence based on the FIR registered by Government Railway Police (GRP). The GRP had not named any railway employee and said persons responsible for the accident will be identified during the course of investigation. The IPC charges filed by the CBI in the FIR include causing hurt by an act endangering life (Section 337 IPC), causing grievous hurt through rash or negligent acts endangering human life (Section 338), causing death India begin their latest quest to win a global cricket title since 2013. Standing between them and the holy grail is Australia, familiar foes. Here’s a look at the World Test Championships final from The Oval... India’s middle-order E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kottayam India head coach Rahul Dravid (left) during a practice session at The Oval Cricket Stadium | AP Full coverage: P11 Legacy question Lyon vs Jadeja For a country that prides itself on their red-ball nous, winning this final would bookend their bilateral domination against almost all nations in the last years. It will certainly be the crowning glory in the careers of several players who are in the autumn of their careers Nathan Lyon has enjoyed a lot of success against India on the surface with bite and turn. Against this team in Australia, he averages well over 30 at a strike rate of over 60. The surface itself may not help spin that much over the first few days but this is a battle that could decide several pivotal moments by negligence (Section 304A), acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention (Section 34), along with relevant sections of the Railways Act for endangering the lives of passengers through willful acts or omission (Section 153), rash or negligent acts (Section 154), and endangering the lives of government servants and the public (Section 175). Sources said the CBI team will examine all angles including negligence on the part of railway staff, mechanical error as well as conspiracy. It may meet DGP Sunil Kumar Bansal on Wednesday . This is not for the first time that CBI has been tasked to investigate a rail accident. In 2010, the Centre had ordered a CBI probe into derailment of Jnaneswari Express, which claimed 148 lives. The CBI had filed chargesheets against 23 persons for damaging tracks by removing pandrol clips. This had led to derailment. E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E THE Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday said it has busted a major drug syndicate operating through the Dark Net and seized 14,961 LSD ‘blots’ worth about `10 crore in the international market. Six persons have been arrested in this connection. ‘Blot’ is a small piece of paper, half the size of a postal stamp, which makes it hard for authorities to track. It is used by peddlers and addicts for discreetly carrying and consuming the drug. “This operation marks the largest-ever seizure of LSD blots in a single operation within our country. Six individuals in their mid to late twenties have been arrested thus far, and we are actively pursuing another cartel,” said Gyaneshwar Singh, deputy director general (northern region), NCB. According to sources, the six arrested individuals consisted of students and young individuals seeking to earn “easy money” while maintaining anonymity . NCB sources said the seized LSD originated from Poland and the Netherlands and the syndicate trafficked it across various states, accepting payments in cryptocurrency and through UPI. The contraband was shipped using courier and postal networks. The NCB is currently working to freeze the associated crypto funds. Student’s suicide: Protest escalates, Amal Jyothi engg college closed WTC Final: India’s big Test The last time India lined up with a 3, 4 and 5 of Pujara, Kohli and Rahane was in January 2022. Since then, Rahane was jettisoned off while the other two have struggled with inconsistency. Now, all three have scored some runs in different formats so there could be cause for some optimism CBI officials interact with railway police personnel near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore district | PTI NCB busts int’l drug syndicate, seizes 15,000 blots of LSD 3.00 PM, Star Sports Networks The Oval The students of the Amal Jyothi College of Engineering in Kanjirappally went on the warpath against the management on Tuesday over the alleged suicide of a 20-year-old female student of the institute. Police stopped the agitating students who tried to barge into the college campus, resulting in a minor altercation. Shraddha Satheesh, a second year Food Technology student, was found unresponsive in her hostel room on Friday night. Though she was rushed to a nearby hospital, her life couldn’t be saved. Alleging that emotional harassment by teachers and hostel warden had forced her to die by suicide, students launched a protest demanding action against the department head who seized Shraddha’s mobile phone and hostel warden, who allegedly misled doctors by giving false details in the hospital. It is alle ged that Shraddha took her own life after being reprimanded by college authorities for using a mobile phone inside the colle ge laboratory . As the protest g rew in Ministers to mediate Higher Education Minister R Bindu and Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan will visit the Amal Jyothi College of Engineering on Wednesday to hold talks with the agitating students and the college management. strength with major student organisations, SFI and KSU, taking up the issue, the management closed the college on Monday night and asked the students to vacate hostels the next day. However, students refused and continued their protest on Tuesday . Government Chief Whip N Jayaraj’s mediation bid between the management and agitating students failed. Shortly after the talks under the aegis of Jayaraj, who is also the local MLA, students closed the main gate of the college to prevent teachers and other staff members from leaving the campus, further escalating the tensed situation. Their demand was to permit the girls to stay back in the hostel. The management relented, easing the ten● More on P4 sion.  annual gesture express read Didi keeps up her mango diplomacy with gift hamper to PM App with hygiene ratings of hotels to go live today P r o n a b M o n d a l @ Kolkata Political sparring matches notwithstanding, there is a certain civility some top rung netas continue to observe. Take West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. If she does not miss any opportunity to go for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s jugular, she also does not forget sending him an annual gift hamper of the choicest of mangoes. A decorated 4 kg box, with the tagline, “Best wishes from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee”, comprising handpicked pieces of the king of fruits will be sent to the 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence of Modi in a day or two. Sources said the box will contain popular varieties like Himsagar, Fazli and Lakshmanbhog. Similar gifts from Mamata will also reach the doorstep of President Draupadi Murmu and Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud as well. Though the Didi, as she is popularly known, has been sending gift hampers to Modi every year, its timing this year soumyadip sinha is curious. For, less than 24 hours before the mango diplomacy she had launched a with, ering attack on the Centre for tasking the CBI with the probe into the recent Odisha rail accident that killed 288 passengers, alleging “this is not the time to suppress truth.” Mamata alleged that the accident took place because of railway negligence, adding had the anti-collision device — introduced during her stint as Union railway minister — been in place, the tragedy could have been averted. “The CM has launched a fullscale attack against the Centre. Let us now see if the national fruit can inject any sweetness in the state-Centre relationship,” quipped a senior Trinamool Congress leader. Another leader known for her mango diplomacy is Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina. She had sent 2,600 kg of the fruit two years ago as gift to Modi, Mamata and others. At an average production of 26 lakh metric tonnes, Bengal stands sixth in mango yield across the country . Nari Shakti Col Priyanka Singh assumed command of a frontline Divisional Army Service Corps Battalion in the Northern Command theatre on Tuesday, becoming the first Women Commanding Officer responsible for providing supplies and transport cover to soldiers T’Puram: The food safety department is set to launch a mobile application named “EatRight Kerala” where hygiene ratings and locations of restaurants will be made available. Health Minister Veena George will launch the app on the sidelines of the World Food Safety Day observation on June 7. P2 AI-cameras detect 49,000 traffic violations on 2nd day T’Puram: The MVD detected over 49,000 traffic offences using the AI-camera surveillance network on Tuesday. The MVD tabulated the numbers from the offences registered from 12 am till 5 pm. Thiruvananthapuram (8,454) recorded the most number of offences, while Alappuzha (1252) reported the lowest number. P5