HYDERABAD  FRIDAY  JANUARY 12, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 38  LATE CITY EDITION GOOGLE LAYS OFF HUNDREDS IN HARDWARE, VOICE TO CUT COST Google has laid off hundreds of employees working on its hardware, voice assistance, and engineering teams as part of cost-cutting drive AUGMENTED REALITY HARDWARE JOBS GONE LAYOFFS NEEDLESS, SAYS ALPHABET UNION The cuts come as Google looks towards “responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead”, the company said in a statement. “Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of organisational changes, which include some role eliminations globally,” it said. Most jobs gone are in augmented reality hardware team ■ ■ The Alphabet Workers Union described the job cuts as another round of needless layoffs. “We won’t stop fighting until our jobs are safe!” Besides Google, Amazon and Meta have already fired thousands of staffers. Meta’s stock price zoomed after it took away 20,000+ jobs. Last month, Spotify said it was axing 17% of its global workforce 12,000 OR 6% OF EMPLOYEES WOULD BE LAID OFF, GOOGLE SAID LAST YEAR 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 INDIA seat-sharing EAM calls Blinken, discusses Red Sea on rocks in Bengal, done deal in Bihar Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi TMC refuses to meet Cong negotiators, says offer of 2 seats final; Bihar pact soon: Nitish PREETHA NAIR AND RAMA S H A N K A R @ New Delhi / Patna THE Opposition-led INDIA bloc’s talks for seat-sharing among alliance partners hit a roadblock in West Bengal, while negotiations for Bihar are in final stage with a pact likely to be reached soon, according to sources. Dealing a major blow to the seat-sharing talks for Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress said on Thursday that its offer of two seats for the Congress is final and that it “doesn’t feel the need to travel to Delhi to bargain further”. TMC has offered the same two seats the Congress won in 2019 — Malda Dakshin and Baharampur. However, the grand old party is keen to contest 8-10 seats in the state, said a leader. Bengal has 42 LS seats. The development comes as the Congress’s national alliance committee led by Mukul Wasnik has made headway in seat-sharing talks with the AAP Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP SP , , , and RJD. On Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar claimed there were no differences among al- lies on distribution of seats in the state for LS polls. “Everything will be settled on time,” he said, hinting that the six constituents of the grand alliance are inching closer to a pact. There are 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. In 2019, NDA had clinched 39 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats when Nitish was part of the NDA. JD(U), which joined hands with grand alliance in August 2022, has already made it clear that it will not make any compromise on its sitting 16 seats, leaving the RJD, Congress, and Left parties with 24 seats. Senior RJD leader and MLA from Maner Bhai Virendra, who is considered close to the party chief Lalu Prasad, also claimed that the seats among the grand alliance constituents have already been distributed and a formal announcement will be made soon. Bihar Cong ress chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh said seats would be distributed among allies after ‘kharmas’ (inauspicious period) ends on January 14. “We are adopting a flexible approach. We will meet after January 12 to discuss the issue,” he added. GM MUSTARD GM YIELD FLAT AS AGAINST NON-GM ONES J I T E N D R A C H O U B E Y @ New Delhi CONTRARY to the Centre’s stand on making India self-sufficient in edible oil production through rapid cultivation of the controversial genetically modified (GM) mustard variety, the government’s own study shows that the GM crop has no yield benefits over traditional hybrid varieties. The documents also reveal that the government neither tested the impact of GM mustard on honey bees and other pollinators, nor did it have any expert in its committee to assess the crop’s fallout on health. The Centre on Thursday submitted documents related to field trials of GM mustard seeds — Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 or DMH-11 — to the Supreme Court. The report shows that the yield of a non-GM hybrid variety is actually marginally higher than the GM one. The non-GM hybrid DMH-1 yielded 2,195 kg per hectare, which was 0.09% more than the GM DMH-11 variety In oil yield, DMH-1’s output was a kg more . than DMH-11’s 837 kg per hectare. Another popular non-GM hybrid variety produced 24 kg more oil than DMH-11. It has long been argued that the GM technology could have unintended health impact on humans and other living beings. However, the documents show no health expert was part of the committee that monitored the trials. As for the failure to do systematic trials on honeybees and pollinators, the panel said they couldn’t be done due to time constraints. EXTERNAL Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday spoke to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the phone and discussed maritime security challenges in the Red Sea. “I had a good discussion this evening with my friend Secretary Blinken. Our conversation focused on maritime security challenges, especially the Red sea region,” Jaishankar said. “I appreciated his insights on the ongoing situation in West Asia, including Gaza. We also exchanged perspectives on de- velopments pertaining to the Ukraine conflict. Looking forward to realising our extensive cooperation agenda for 2024,’’ said Jaishankar. Attacks on ships in the Red Sea by rogue elements in Yemen in the last few months after Hyderabad among India’s cleanest, secures 9th rank CHANGE GHMC SCORES BIG The Swachh Survekshan-2023 was based on the assessment of progress from April 2022 to March 2023 under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban (SBM-U) covering 4,416 cities. Cities with below and over one lakh population ranked separately  4281.90 (out of 4830) in service level progress category  2019.40 (2170) in citizen’s voice category  2300.03 (2500) in certification category FIVE-STAR PERFORMANCE GFC star rating aims at overall sanitation, solid waste management, garbage cleaning and enhanced citizen awareness  Greater Hyderabad wins five-star Garbage Free City (GFC) award  In GFC Star Rating-2023, three ULBs declared 7-star, 12 ULBs 5-star  In SS-2022, Hyderabad secured a three-star rating S B A C H A N J E E T S I N G H @ Hyderabad GHMC Commissioner D Ronald Rose receives the award from Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in Delhi on Thursday Greater Hyderabad declared ‘Water Plus’ by MoHUA  GHMC assessed through third-party inspection from December 9, 2023, for 10 days  Achievement partly due to the establishment of Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs)  For the Water Plus certification, a city needs to reuse a minimum of 25% of the treated water TOWNS MAKE TS PROUD  Siddipet, Gundlapochampally and Nizampet have bagged laurels at the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2023 in the Zonal Award category (South)  Gundlapochampally bagged the zonal award for the cleanest city in the south zone with less than one lakh population category  Nizampet bagged the zonal award for the cleanest city with a population between 25,000 and 50,000 category  Siddipet bagged the award for being the cleanest city in the south zone with a population between 50,000 and one lakh INDIA SET FOR BIGGEST-EVER SHOOTING TEAM IN OLYMPICS Rhythm Sangwan won India’s 16th Olympic quota in shooting with a bronze medal effort in the women’s 25m pistol event in the ongoing Asian meet in Jakarta | P13 Cops rescue kids from child labour across TS AT a time when children are on a crucial juncture between childhood and adulthood, 14ye a r- o l d A n u s h a ( n a m e changed) spent eight hours of her day picking stones and doing manual labour at the railway tracks of Shadnagar. For over a month, this teenager had grown accustomed to this routine. However, the Smile X team of the Cyberabad commissionerate rescued her along with four other minors on Wednesday . Operation Smile is a monthlong initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs, in collaboration with the police, Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, child welfare, labour, revenue and welfare departments to trace and rescue missing children and reunite them with their parents. With her parents engaged in manual labour, Anusha had few avenues left, especially when promised a daily payment of `280. Missing education was not high a priority as despite being a teenager she was earning. While the rules mandate that a child will be provided free and compulsory education as a fundamental right, it is only applicable till THE GHMC was ranked ninth in the Swachh Survekshan 2023, as per the announcement made by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). The awards were presented by President Droupadi Murmu and MoHUA Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in New Delhi on Thursday . Apart from GHMC, Gundlapochampally bagged the zonal award for cleanest city in the south zone category with less than one lakh population, Nizampet bagged the award for the cleanest city in the south zone category with a population between 25,000 and 50,000 and Siddipet bagged an award for the cleanest city in the south zone category with a population between 50,000 and 1,00,000. GHMC Commissioner D Ronald Rose and other officials received the award for the fivestar GFC protocol. The city received a total score of 8,601.03 out of 9,500 marks. Hyderabad registered its best-ever performance since 2016, a marked improvement compared to the 10th spot in 2022, 13th in 2021 and 23rd in 2020. The city also bagged an additional four awards — fivestar rated Garbage Free City in India; clean city in Telangana; first five-star rated city in Telangana of a population over one lakh and was re-certified as Water+ City (Water Plus city). A total of 18 ULBs — Nizam- pet, Medchal, Peerzadiguda, Narsingi, Ibrahimpatnam, Shamshabad, Dubbaka, Nagaram, Yellandu, Turkyamjal, Bollaram, Huzurabad, Armoor, Ieeja, Ameenpur, Boduppal, and Bandlaguda Jagir –- have secured the top positions in their respective zonal-level categories. These ULBs were declared winners based on an assessment of 90 parameters covering solid waste management, litterfree commercial areas, community-level composting, access to toilets, maintenance of PT/CTs, liquid waste management, citizen awareness, citizen engagement and innovations. AP does well, no TN city in top 100 Three cities from Andhra Pradesh secured spots in the top 10. While Visakhapatnam bagged the fourth rank, Vijayawada and Tirupati stood sixth and eighth respectively in , the cleanliness survey . However, no city from Tamil Nadu featured in the top 100. Tiruchy was the first in the state at 112 while the capital, Chennai, got the 199th rank. Additionally, Bengaluru came down to 125. The city ranked 43rd in 2022, in 2021, 28th, and in 2020, 37th. Of the 25 cities in the category of one lakh and above population in Karnataka, the BBMP stood third. The first and second positions were bagged by Mysuru and Hubballi-Dharwad. RELATED REPORT: P2 6 held for deaths of two tigers EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Adilabad SIX persons were arrested from Daregaon and other surrounding villages on Thursday for their alleged involvement in the deaths of two tigers in the Kagaznagar division of Kumurambheem Asifabad district. Additionally the district for, est officials have deployed 70 staffers to trace the missing big cats. In the last 10 days, two tigers were killed and at least another two, suspected to be poisoned, have gone missing. While it was initially said that the deaths were caused by territorial fights, official sources said poachers laced the carcass of cattle with pesticide to hunt the big cats. Whether the two missing tigers have died of suspected poisoning or crossed the division via the Pranahitha river into the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) remains to be seen, officials said, adding that they are coordinating with forest authorities from Maharashtra. EXPRESS READ Bio-Asia summit to be held from Feb 26 to 28 Hyderabad: The 21st edition of Bio-Asia, a marquee healthcare and life sciences event, organised by the state government, will be held at the HICC from February 26 to 28. Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu conducted a review meeting on the preparations here on Thursday. Over 3,000 people are expected to participate | P5 Cong will win 14 seats in LS elections: Uttam Hyderabad: After attending the first preparatory meeting for Lok Sabha elections convened by the AICC in Delhi on Thursday, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy exuded confidence that the grand old party would bag 13 or 14 seats. AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal convened the meeting | P4 GAMES HIGH No fresh orders, polyester weavers OPERATION SMILE S W E T H A V I M A L A M @ Hyderabad reasons that we are working urgently to forge a path of peace and security in the region,’’ said Blinken on Wednesday He added that the civilian . toll in Gaza is way too high, especially among children. He pushed for aid to reach Gaza more effectively . Before calling Blinken, Jaishankar dialled Senator Penny Wong of Australia. “Had the first conversation of 2024 with Senator Wong. Exchanged views on the state of the world and discussed our cooperation for the year, including through Quad,’’ Jaishankar said. SWACHH SURVEKSHAN 2023 SWEEPING  The civic body earned 8,601.03 out of 9,500 marks among three categories the Israel-Hamas war have impacted trade and jacked up the cost of transportation. The Houthi militia targeted merchant ships heading to India as well. There is growing concern among nations on ways to tackle this menace. The US seems to be trying diplomatically to calm down the situation. Blinken just finished touring West Asia, meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. “The immense human toll of this conflict is one of the main one attains the age of 14. “It was a private contractor, currently absconding, who employed her to work at the railway tracks. He had also hired three other girls and two boys aged between 14 and 18,” a subinspector, who is part of Operation Smile X, told TNIE. While Anusha stays with her parents, there are many who are forced to live away from their parents. “In the absence of parents, the Child Welfare Committee takes care of the children. They are rehabilitated in a shelter home and given opportunities to continue their education,” a senior AHTU ofCONTINUED ON P5 ficial said. UNSHACKLING INNOCENCE Children rescued: (Jan 1–10) Cyberabad 160 Vikarabad 39 Warangal 37 Rachakonda 35 Adilabad 32 Cyberabad: (Breakdown) Children rescued (Jan 1–Jan 10): 160 Boys Girls 151 9 FIRs registered: 107 Common places of work  Mechanic shops  Construction sites  Hotels  Brick kilns Where are these children from?  From across TS: 131  From other states: 28  From Nepal: 1 in Sircilla stare at a bleak future N A V E E N K U M A R TA L L A M @ Rajanna-Sircilla THE textile industry in Rajanna-Sircilla district is facing an acute crisis, which, if not resolved immediately, will spell doom for hundreds of families. Many of the polyester manufacturing units in the district may not resume operations post-Sankranti. At an emergency meeting convened by the Polyester Clothes Association, the organisation’s president Mandala Satyam officially declared the shutdown of power looms. One of the primary reasons cited for this decision was the absence of fresh orders for several months now. Satyam said warehouses are overflowing with lakhs of metres of unsold cloth. This surplus stock left polyester textile manufacturers in a precarious position as they are unable to purchase fresh yarn and sustain production. He said that without the pending dues from the cloth produced being cleared and new orders from the state government, the industry cannot afford to make further investments. The industry experienced a brief period of normalcy following the Bathukamma sarees order. However, the lack of fresh orders for a long time has left thousands of workers, who rely on weaving for their livelihood, without daily employment opportunities. Adding to the industry’s woes is the dissatisfaction among polyester textile manufacturers regarding a recent government decision. The government has indicated that it would allocate orders equally between a textile park equipped with 600 powerlooms and the Sircilla powerlooms, which currently operate around 25,000 units. This decision has created further uncertainty, casting a shadow of doubt over the future of the Sircilla textile industry . Notably, this is not the first time the powerloom sector is going to be shut down. During BRS rule, the polyester cloth industry was shut for a few days with workers demanding power tariff subsidies like those implemented in Maharashtra and Karnataka. However, the demand was later withdrawn after the then textile minister KT Rama Rao’s intervention.