chennai l sunday l october 01, 2023 l `12.00 l PAGES 28 l late city EDITION RBI EXTENDS DEADLINE TO RETURN `2,000 bank NOTES TO oCTOBER 7 The Reserve Bank on Saturday extended the special drive to withdraw `2,000 bank notes from the system by another week, till October 7 96% of the notes have already COME BACK `2,000 note to remain legal tender The central bank said ever since it announced the decision to withdraw `2,000 notes on May 19, `3.42 lakh crore of such notes have been received into the system. That works out to 96% of the `2,000 bank notes that were in circulation, the RBI said. The earlier deadline to return was Sept 30. The RBI stopped printing `2,000 notes in financial year 2019 | P14 ■ ■ The RBI said the `2,000 currency notes shall continue to be legal tender even beyond October 7, but asked the public to deposit or exchange then without any further delay From October 8, the notes can’t be exchanged at banks. People have to visit one of the 19 offices of RBI to get it done, the statement said `20,000 per transaction cap does not apply for depositing in RBI 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 Northeast monsoon likely to be normal: IMD Express news service @ New Delhi THE northeast monsoon that brings rain to five meteorological sub-divisions of south peninsular India between October-December is most likely to be normal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday . The five states are Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, Kerala and south-interior Karnataka. Nor mal monsoon would mean the region may receive 88% to 112% of the long-period average of 334.13 mm of rainfall. The northeasterly winds normally set in over the Bay of Bengal and south peninsular India, resulting in the onset of northeast monsoon rains in October. Similar to the southwest monsoon that drenches India from June to September, the northeast monsoon is another major and permanent feature of the Indian subcontinent’s climate system. The northeast monsoon is significant for the government of Tamil Nadu where six districts of the state have been declared drought-affected. According to agriculture department officials, blocks where crop damage is more than 33% due to rainfall shortage are declared as moderately agriculture drought-affected blocks. There was insufficient rainfall in these areas from October 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. The state government has sanctioned 181 crore to provide input subsidy relief assistance to benefit over 1.87 lakh farmers in six southern districts of the state. According to the IMD, the southwest monsoon season has ended with India receiving “near normal” cumulative rainfall amid positive factors countering the effect of El Nino conditions. WITH THIS ISSUE Home Advantage PLUS 12 PAGES medal of honour: epic return and happy ending (From left) India men’s squash team won gold with a thrilling 2-1 win over Pakistan at the Asian Games; tennis stars Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale were the other big performers as they bagged mixed doubles gold; Ayhika Mukherjee and Suthirtha Mukherjee shocked reigning world champion duo of Chen Meng and Wang Yidi to enter the women’s doubles semifinals, assuring India a historic table tennis medal | pti | P15 canada fallout Indian High Stopped visa Commissioner service as to UK heckled diplomats felt by K-gang unsafe: Govt Yes h i S eli @ New Delhi Yes h i S eli @ New Delhi India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Vikram Doraiswami, was on Friday heckled by a small group of Khalistani radicals in Glasgow, Scotland, in what the Indian mission described as disgraceful. The Sikh Gurudwara Committee in a Glasgow Gurdwara had organised a community reception for Doraiswami. A group of Khalistani activists from outside Scotland turned up, physically intimidated the local Sikh community and tried to attack Doraiswami in his car. Some others tried to film this flare up and share it on their social media accounts, saying Vikram ‘he was not welcome’. Doraiswami The person who heckled Doraiswami, went on camera to say that they needed to protect their religious rights and were upset with what was happenThe ing in Canada. organisers “This interaction was to of the interaction discuss consular issues and were community issues,” read a threatened statement by the Indian High and abused Commission in London. The by these organisers, who included senelements ior community leaders and a Indian High member of the Scottish Parliament, were threatened by Commission, UK the three. To prevent the situation from escalating, Doraiswami left. “One of the extremists attempted to violently force open the HC’s (Doraiswami’s) car door,” the statement said, adding the timely reaction of an organiser helped avoid a bigger incident. “The vast majority of British Sikhs are amazing people but this tiny aggressive minority are not representative of them,” said Colin Bloom, former advisor to the British government. Threats to India’s diplomats in Canada and the risk in their going to the consulate offices was one of the reasons why India had to stop visa services for Canada, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. “We were left with no choice but to stop visa services for Canada. There was a campaign targeting our diplomats who felt unsafe travelling to the consulates. Thereby we had to stop. This was a law and order issue. Under the Vienna Convention our missions and diplomats had to be provided with a safe cover,” said Jaishankar, during a presser in Subrahmanyam Washington. Jaishankar Jaishankar, who had mentioned that Canada was discussed during his interaction with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, said there We have an was a difference of percepongoing tion in the way the US and In- problem with Canada which dia looked at Canada. revolves “When Americans look at around Canada they see something, permissivewe in India see something ness on else. It is important to talk it terrorism out. The US is close to Canada S Jaishankar, and a good friend of ours. They have our point of view, foreign minister we have taken a reasonable stance,” he added. India is a democracy and doesn’t need to learn from other people about the freedom of speech, he said. “We don’t think freedom of speech extends to incitement of violence. This is misuse of freedom,’’ Jaishankar pointed out. India’s point is that there is a climate of intimidation. Smoke bombs have been thrown at India’s missions, posters threatening violence have been put up. Woman, daughter die of suffocation after AC blast at house in Ambattur E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai A woman and her daughter died of suffocation in sleep after an air-conditioner unit at their home exploded due to suspected power fluctuation emanating noxious fumes on Saturday in Ambattur. The deceased were identified as R Hasina Begum (50) and her daughter Nazriya (16) of Menamedu. Police sources said Hasina was working in a private school as a domestic help while her daughter was a Class 11 student of another private school near her house. Hasina’s husband Rahmath passed away a few years ago and the two were staying alone in the rented house. “After seeing smoke billowing out from the house, a few The AC unit was found completely gutted at the house in Ambattur | P Jawahar neighbours broke open the door around 5am on Saturday . The mother and the daughter were found lying unconscious on the floor and they were rushed to a nearby hospital. Hasina was declared dead on arrival by the doctors at the hospital,” a police officer said. Sources said doctors gave emergency treatment to Nazriya but she too died a few hours later. “The cause of death was suffocation. They may have inhaled smoke while sleeping and could have been immobilised before they could react,” a fire servP7 ices officer said. Coming in Dec, PM’s 2047 vision document D i pa k M ondal @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil a vision document for India in December this year, according to top government sources. The gover nment’s think tank Niti Aayog is believed to be working on it, which will draw a roadmap for resolving challenges India will face in the next few decades. “The challenges of the old century (roti, kapda aur makaan) have been resolved. The focus will be on how to address the challenges of the future. The PM’s Vision 2047 will outline strategies for the future,” said a top government official. According to sources, old gover nment schemes are reaching saturation. “We have taken electricity to all villages, and all houses will have tap water connections by next year. With Ayushman Bharat, a large part of the population has been covered by health insurance. Now, it is the time for India to close the door of the last century and pre pare for the problems of the next c e n t u r y, ” s a i d t h e official. The document may focus on digital infra, new ways of transportation and communication, green and renewable energy, and taking delivery of healthcare and education to a new level. One of the ideas is to provide people with access to expressways within 100 km from any part of the country. express read Water to TN: K’taka files review plea in CWMA Bengaluru: Karnataka on Saturday filed a review petition before the Cauvery Water Management Authority expressing inability to release 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu as directed by it. The state has also sought permission to build the Mekedatu dam | P7 NBWL says no to nat’l elephant authority CHENNAI: The National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) has decided not to constitute National Elephant Conservation Authority. The decision was taken at the 74th meeting of standing committee of NBWL held on August 29 | P4 8 killed, 49 injured after tourist bus falls into 50-ft-deep gorge in Ooty Express News Service @ Coimbatore At least eight people, including four women and a 15year-old boy died and 49 others , were injured after a tourist bus fell into a 50-foot-deep gorge near Marapallam on the Nilgi r i s G h a t Ro a d a r o u n d 5.45 pm on Saturday . Four more people under treatment are in critical condition. The deceased were identified as V Nithin (15), S Devikala (36), S Murugesan (65), P Muppidathy (67), R Kowsalya (29), Jaya (50), Thangam (40), and Elango (64), police said. According to A Saravana Sundar, DIG, Coimbatore Range, at least 59 people, including the driver and the Brake failure may have led to the accident, police sources said | Express cleaner of the bus, all from Tenkasi district, were on their way back home on Saturday after a trip to Ooty when the accident happened. According to sources, when the bus was near the ninth hairpin bend on the Coonoor-Mettupalayam section of the ghat road, the driver lost control of the vehicle due to a suspected brake failure and the bus fell into the gorge. Rescue teams that reached the spot immediately, found eight people dead. Fortynine injured were rushed to Government Hospitals in Coonoor and Mettupalayam.  P7 CHhattisgarh polls Born before freedom, they will vote for first time Ejas Kaiser @ Raipur PARADOXICALLY, the right to vote in India isn’t a fundamental right, though democracy is recognised as a basic feature of our Constitution. Here are three elders from Chhattisgarh —all born before Indian Inde pendence—who have never voted. Call it the will of democracy that they will vote in this assembly election for the first time. Shersingh Hidko (93), Shyamlal (88), Rabika Masih (84) belong to the Bhanupratapur assembly constituency in Kanker district, about 200 km south of Raipur. The three recently registered as voters during the special summary revision of electoral rolls. The Booth Level Officer (BLO) Rajendra Kosma during a door-to-door survey found the three had never used their voting rights. “We reached out to remote interior areas during summary revision and in the course of the survey were surprised to find Hidko, Shyamlal, Masih had never voted either in assembly polls or parliament elections. We are encouraging people to actively participate in the assembly elections due later this year,” said Pratik Jain, sub-divisional magistrate and electoral registration officer in Bhanupratapur. They were initially hesitant to enroll as voters but when informed about their role as Indian citizens, they said they would vote in the upcoming From left: Shyamlal (88), Rabika Masih (84) and Shersingh Hidko (93) Election-bound state Chhattisgarh has 90 MLAs and the assembly election may be held in Nov as it was in 2018. The Election Commission of India is yet to announce the date for polls polls. They have submitted their documents, including the Aadhaar card copies and photographs to the officer for inclusion of their names in the list of voters. “Being a registered voter is exciting. I never knew the importance of citizenship,” Hidko said. Shyamlal and Masih still do not know how the polls lead to democratic governance. Chhattisgarh chief electoral officer Reena Babasaheb Kangale said the Election Commission wants to ensure that no voter is left behind. “Efforts are also on to set up polling stations close to those habitats where villagers had to walk 10-15 km to vote. The move has motivated the locals, particularly across the Bastar region,” she said. For the first time in Chhattisgarh, senior citizens above 80 years of age and persons with disabilities (over 40%) will be allowed to vote from their homes through postal ballots, Kangale added.