tirupati l monday l october 02, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION U.S. CONGRESS AVOIDS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN LAST-MINUTE DEAL The US government has avoided a shutdown of its services after both the House and Senate agreed on a short-term funding deal till Nov 17 New aid to ukraine blocked in the deal Zelenskyy’s Washington visit a nought President Joe Biden signed the short-term funding deal minutes before the deadline, by leaving out the new aid to Ukraine. A government shutdown would have meant govt staff will be on furlough (without pay) and various government services would be suspended. The Congress will need to fund the govt again in the coming weeks, which means the crisis is not yet over | P9 ■ ■ The loss of Ukraine aid was devastating for lawmakers of both parties vowing to support president Zelenskyy after his recent US visit The Senate bill had included $6 billion for Ukraine, which has now been dropped. However, Biden said the US cannot allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted and vowed to continue funding 2 million Federal govt staff would have lost pay if no deal was reached 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 JSP-TDP are Pandavas in Kurukshetra war: PK CBI arrests 4 for 2 Manipuri pupils’ murder E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada PR A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday arrested four persons, including two women, from Churachandpur in Manipur in connection with the abduction and killing of two Meitei students. “I’m pleased to share that some of the main culprits responsible for the abduction and murder of Phijam Hemanjit and Hijam Linthoingambi have been arrested from Churachandpur today Chief Min,” ister N Biren Singh posted on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter). “As the saying goes, one may abscond after committing the crime, but they cannot escape the long hands of the law,” Singh added. He said the government was committed to ensuring maximum punishment, including capital punishment, to the culprits for the heinous crime they had committed. It was learnt that the CBI team, assisted by the Manipur police and Army intercepted a , Bolero in which the four accused were travelling at the Henglep subdivision around noon. India’s Avinash Sable celebrates after winning the men’s 3000m steeplechase final on Sunday; (right) Tajinderpal Singh Toor won gold in men’s shot put event | PTI India on track for biggest Games Track and field athletes dominate show as India cross 50-medal mark in ongoing Asiad s w a r o o p s w am i nat h an @ Hangzhou ON China’s National Day India’s , hopes of surging towards the 100-medal mark received a major boost. Athletics was at its sublime best. It helped India accumulate 15 medals, their biggest in a single day They crossed . the 50-medal mark too. Even before Sunday dawned at Hangzhou, the day was heaving with promise from an Indian perspective. Aditi Ashok, the overnight leader, headed into the final day as the favourite. However, she tripped and only managed to win silver. Rohan Bopanna, fresh from winning the mixed doubles gold, was one of many interested onlookers. Even as she lamented about ‘los- ing gold’ to the media, the day of shooting, predictably gave India , its first gold of the day The trap . team of Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh and Prithviraj Tondaiman did enough to pip Kuwait. There was a bit of history too. The women’s trap team fetched silver. Rajeshwari Kumari, who was part of the team (Preeti Rajak and Manisha Keer were others), emulated her father and acting Olympic Council of Asia president Randhir Singh to win an Asiad medal. In the afternoon, most of Hangzhou’s roads seemingly led to the athletics Stadium or the badminton arena. China is on a week-long holiday (September 29 to October 6) as part of the Mid Autumn Festival and National Day In badminton, the at. mosphere was off the charts as the hosts fought back to complete a come-from-behind 3-2 win over India in the men’s team final. For roughly two hours of that final, the crowd had been forced to be quiet for vast swathes as India had taken a 2-0 lead. But, China are top dogs in the sport for a reason. In athletics, though, the newest darling of China’s track and field, Wu Yanni, was disqualified for a false start in the women’s 100m hurdles. India’s Jyothi Yarraji was also wrongly disqualified but she ran under protest and ended with a silver. Talk about mental toughness. GST collection in Sept zooms to `1.63 lakh cr E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ New Delhi THE Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in September rose 10% year-on-year to `1.63 lakh crore. This is for the fourth time that the gross GST collection has crossed the `1.60 lakh crore mark in 2023-24. In August this year, the collections had fallen below the `1.60 lakh crore mark to `1.57 lakh crore. The total GST collection in the first six months of the financial year has crossed `9.9 lakh crore, and if the trend continues, the full year collection could cross `20 lakh crore. In the first half (AprilSeptember) of the last financial year, the total collection had stood at `8.9 lakh crore. The average monthly GST collection this year (till September) has been `1.65 lakh crore, which is 11% higher than `1.49 lakh crore during the corresponding period last year. According to a finance ministry statement, revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) in September are 14% higher than revenues from these sources during the same month last year. Most large states saw double-digit increase in GST collection barring Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand and Haryana. Bihar saw a decline of 5% year on year. May June July 1,65,105 1,48,995 April 1,62,712 1,47,686 Tirupati: The Srivari temple in Tirumala will be closed for eight hours during the wee hours of October 29 on account of the partial lunar eclipse. The temple will remain closed on the night of October 28 and will be reopened on October 29. The partial Chandra Grahanam will be witnessed between 1:05 am and 2:22 am on October 29 | P2 1,59,069 1,43,612 Srivari temple to be closed on Oct 29 due to eclipse 1,00,000 1,61,497 1,44,616 express read 1,50,000 1,57,090 1,40,885 Prime Minister Narendra Modi participates in a special cleanliness programme Ek Taarikh, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath (Shramdaan) under ‘Swachchta hi Seva’ campaign ahead of the Gandhi Jayanti in New Delhi on Sunday | pti Monthly GST collection (in Lcr) 2,00,000 1,87,035 1,67,540 Clean India AUG SEPT 50,000 0 Total 2023-24 9,92,508 2022-23 8,93,334 Dasara launch likely for Vizag-Varanasi Exp E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam The proposed VisakhapatnamVaranasi Express is likely to be introduced from Dasara, BJP Rajya Sabha MP GVL Narasimha Rao announced on Sunday . GVL, who is also zonal railway users committee member, pointed out that he had urged Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to introduce the train before Dasara on October 15 or 22. An official notification will be issued in this regard in a couple of days, he said. It may be recalled that railway authorities had proposed to extend the services of Sambalpur-Banaras train to Visakhapatnam (18311/12). The demand from a direct train between Vizag and Varanasi has been a long-pending one as a number of pilgrims and nearly one lakh natives of Purvanchal settled in the Steel City travel to the spiritual capital of the country . GVL recalled that a special train was operated from Visakhapatnam/Vijayawada and Tirupati to Varanasi before the commencement of Gang a Pushkaralu following his request. In view of public demand, the BJP MP had approached the Union railway minister and even raised the issue of sanctioning a direct train from Visakhapatnam to Varanasi in Parliament. Now, the demand for the direct train has materialised, he said. Improved connectivity The train is expected to enhance connectivity between Sambalpur and Vizag, further benefitting people of Balangir, Bargarh, Kalahandi in Odisha Super Sunday Gold: Avinash Sable (men’s 3000m steeplechase); Tajinderpal Singh Toor (men’s shot put); Men’s trap team Silver: Harmilan Bains (women’s 1500m); M Sreeshankar (men’s long jump); Jyothi Yarraji (women’s 100m hurdles); Ajay Kumar Saroj (men’s 1500m); Badminton men’s team; Aditi Ashok (women’s golf); Women’s trap team Bronze: Kynan Chenai (men’s trap) Nikhat Zareen (boxing); Jinson Johnson (men’s 1500m); Nandini Agasara (women’s heptathlon 800m); Seema Punia (Discus throw) Tale of courage & grit Boxer Parveen Hooda puts aside her father's health concerns to secure at least a bronze medal and a spot at Paris Olympics | P11 Asserting that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will be defeated in the 2024 elections, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan said he was certain that the JSP-TDP allaince will come to power. The actor-politician was addressing a public meeting at Avanigadda in Krishna district on Sunday as he launched the fourth phase of his Vaarahi Yatra. This is the first time the JSP chief took part in a programme after he met TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu at the Rajahmundry Central Prison and announced that he would fight the 2024 elections in alliance with the yellow party He had hoped . that the JSP’s ally BJP would also come , on board to join hands with the TDP . Agreeing with Jagan’s comparison of the Assembly polls with the Kurukshetra war, Pawan likened the YSRC to the Kauravas and the JSP-TDP combine to the Pandavas. Elaborating on tie-up with the TDP he , reiterated that the JSP’s ultimate goal is to dethrone the ruling party and that it can be done only if a split in the antiYSRC vote is avoided. “Bidding adieu to Jagan and welcoming the JSP-TDP combine is necessary for the future of the State and its people,” he averred. Interestingly, after his alliance announcement, Pawan had maintained that he would not exit the NDA. However, during his rally he remarked that he can, not be a fence-sitter and has to make a choice in the larger interest of the P4 State.  I had differences with Naidu earlier, but they were on policy matters. There was nothing personal. I strongly believe that we don’t have differences now Pawan Kalyan, JSP chief Naidu will have to spend his entire life in prison, if an inquiry is initiated into his scams. Now, the former CM is surviving on court stays on the cases registered against him Perni Nani, YSRC leader Nara family on hunger strike TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu will stage a hunger strike in prison on Monday to protest against CM Jagan’s ‘unconstitutional’ rule. His wife Bhuvaneswari & son Lokesh will also observe a fast