tirupati l wednesday l june 07, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur 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 | P11 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 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 ■ The reservoir created by the Soviet-era dam on the Dnieper River holds 18 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 BSF jawan killed in fresh Manipur violence 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. online betting Teen ends life after losing `78,000 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kakinada A 19-year-old allegedly died by suicide after he lost `78,000 in online games in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district on Tuesday The deceased, S Sad. v i k , w a s a re s i d e n t o f Ghantipallipalem village in Kothapeta mandal. According to Kothapeta SI V Mani Kumar, Sadvik’s aunt, who works as a house help abroad, used to send money to the teenager for his monthly expenses and to take care of his grandfather. Sadvik, who completed his intermediate, was searching for a job. “The 19-year-old’s grandfather was hospitalised recently . Sadvik’s aunt had sent him the money for medical expenses,” police said. Sadvik, however, used the same for betting on online games and allegedly lost all the money. “He lost `78,000 and was afraid that he might be admonished for using the money meant for his grandfather’s medical expenses, if his family came to know about it,’’ the police stated. A case has been registered and probe is on. Suicide Helpline OneLife: 78930-78930; Roshni, Hyderabad-based NGO: 04066202000 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 Reports said suspected Kuki miscreants resorted to indiscriminate 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, arson and firing 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. Security forces took adequate measures to prevent insurgents from breaking contact and running away to nearby areas,” it said. Officials believe the insurgents would have suffered some casualties. Internet ban extended till June 10 The Manipur government on Tuesday extended its ban on internet services till June 10. The suspension of mobile data services, including broadband, has been extended till 3 pm of June 10, an order issued by Commissioner (Home) H Gyan Prakash said. The ban was imposed on May 3 Two AK series rifles, one 51mm mortar, two carbines, ammunition and war-like stores were recovered during preliminary search. The forces will continue operations till the entire area is sanitised. Tuesday’s incident comes after combined teams of Manipur police and paramilitary forces destroyed two camps of the militants at Sugnu and Serou in the past two days. There have been several incidents in the two places since May 28 when the militants came down the hill and opened fire on villagers. Nearly 100 people lost their lives in the ethnic violence so far. Jagan reviews works at Polavaram project as Centre sanctions `12,911 cr E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The Union government on Tuesday approved to sanction over `12,000 crore to the Andhra Pradesh government for completing the works under phase-one of the Polavaram Irrigation Project. This comes close on the heels of the Centre disbursing `10,460.87 crore to the State as compensation towards revenue deficit for financial year 2014-15. The development came on the day Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy visited Polavaram village in Eluru district and reviewed works of the project on Tuesday Irrigation . department officials apprised him about the Centre’s decision and explained that the Union Finance Department has issued a memorandum sanctioning `12,911.15 crore. CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy inspecting ongoing works at the Polavaram irrigation project site | Express Director of the Union Finance Department (Expenditure Department) LK Trivedi on Monday wrote a letter to Principal Secretary of State Water Resources Department approving the funds. During his recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jagan had urged the Centre to sanction `10,000 crore for completing the construction of the dam. Officials informed Jagan that the Union government has decided to allocate an additional `2,000 crore for construction of the cofferdam which was washed away due to the Godavari floods. The Centre has reportedly directed the finance department to sanction the funds for the project as per the latest rates instead of the 2013-14 rates. It has also removed the department-wise restrictions on bill payments. Reviewing the progress of works, the Chief Minister conducted an aerial survey and examined the works being carried out at the upper and lower cofferdams, and the damaged diaphragm wall. He directed officials to develop the project site as a tourist destination by constructing a hotel and providing other amenities for visiP4 tors. CBI team begins questioning Rly officials at site 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... E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e India’s middle-order @ Vijayawada India head coach Rahul Dravid (left) during a practice session at The Oval Cricket Stadium on Monday | 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 CBI officials interact with RPF personnel near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore district | PTI 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. 3.00 PM, Star Sports Networks The Oval In the latest development in the alleged Amaravati land scam, the ACB court in Vijayawada on Tuesday refused to give immediate orders for attaching TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s guesthouse on Karakatta Road in Tadepalli. On May 12, the State government had issued an order authorising the AP Crime Investigation Department (CID) to attach the guest house of the former chief minister and the properties of former municipal administration minister P Narayana. Following this, the CID had filed a petition in the ACB court on May 15, seeking attachment of the property citing that real, tor Lingamaneni Ramesh gave the guesthouse to Naidu as quid pro quo for the gains he accrued from information he received regarding the master plan and the Inner Ring Road alignment. The court said it needs to interrogate the officer, who requested the confiscation, on whether there is sufficient evi- Lingamaneni Ramesh rented the guesthouse to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and did not obtain any undue favours from the previous government Counsels of Lingamaneni Ramesh dence to attach the properties before giving any orders. The ACB court also made it clear that it has the authority to enquire into attachment of a property sought by the investigating agency . When Lingamaneni Didi keeps up her mango diplomacy with gift hamper to PM 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 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. Ramesh’s counsel informed the court that the CID sleuths did not give them documents related to the case, the court directed the probe agency to hand over the case files to the realtor. Ramesh’s counsels Aswini Kumar and Somu Krishna Murthy argued that their client rented the guesthouse to Naidu and did not obtain any undue favours from the previous government. Further, the ACB court said it would issue orders on the attachment of the guesthouse on June 16. In an FIR filed by the APCID in connection with the case, Lingamaneni Ramesh was named as Accused no 3. The CID said its investigation revealed that Ramesh and others had sold some part of their land at higher prices compared to 2015 after learning about the masterplan. express read annual gesture P r o na b M o n d a l @ Kolkata E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E ACB court seeks to quiz CID sleuth before attaching Naidu’s guesthouse 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 NCB busts intl drug syndicate, seize 15,000 blots of LSD @ New Delhi A s i s h M e h ta an d A m i t M u k h e r j ee @ Bhubaneswar/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 DARK NET sale 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 . TDP supremo to begin three-day Kuppam tour on June 14 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 Vijayawada: TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is set to take up a three-day tour to Kuppam Assembly constituency from June 14. According to TDP sources, Naidu has set a target to win Kuppam with a majority of one lakh votes in the ensuing elections to counter the YSRC’s ‘Why not 175 Mission’ | P4 APCID quizzes Margadarsi MD for 10 hours on diversion of funds Vijayawada: Intensifying the probe into the alleged irregularities in Margadarsi Chit Fund Private Limited (MCFPL), APCID officials on Tuesday questioned the firm’s managing director Ch Sailaja Kiran for nearly 10 hours. The questioning focused on the diversion of funds collected from depositors | P4