dharmapuri l sunday l january 14, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l city EDITION China-baiter Lai Ching-te WINS Taiwan’s presidential elections Ruling party candidate Lai Ching-te emerged victorious in Taiwan’s presidential elections on Saturday. His opponents conceded defeat Beijing candidate Hou Yu-ih trounced Other poll issues included economy At stake is peace and stability of the island that Beijing claims as its own and to be retaken by force if necessary. Lai and incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen reject China’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan, a former Japanese colony that split from the mainland amid civil war in 1949. Beijing was believed to favour Hou Yu-ih, candidate of the Nationalist party, KMT ■ ■ Domestic issues such as the sluggish economy and expensive housing also featured prominently in the campaign Lai, the current vice president, offered to speak with Beijing, which China refused, calling him a separatist. China described the poll a choice between war and peace. Beijing opposes Lai and his party 1.4% was the growth of Taiwan’s economy 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 Snowless hills take life out of winter sport CM says elevation of i n d r a n e e l da S @ Chennai For winter sports, heavily reliant on weather, climate change is posing a hurdle to its dear existence. Gulmarg, one of India’s best winter sports destinations, is facing such a threat. The snow-draped slopes have been replaced by barren brown ones. Sunday The skiing industry, that had seen a boom Deserted ski resort at Gulmarg in January 2024 due to lack of snowfall | PTI Special in the last three years after COVID, suddenly Rauf Tramboo, Winter even finalised the dates as Febhas been caught in this reGames Association of Jammu ruary 2-6. But because there has lentless fury of nature. It is the and Kashmir, who is the compe- not been enough snowfall, middle of January, yet the re- tition manager for the Games, Tramboo felt the hosting of the gion has not seen enough snow- explained the scenario. “We Games needs to be postponed. fall that would be conducive for have been hosting the Khelo In“In our recent meetings with the snow sport. This is set to dia Winter Games for the last the Sports Authority of India lead to the postponement of the three years. This year too we and the Sports Ministry and the biggest Winter Sports event in were planning to host chapter federation and our associations, the country — the Khelo India four of Khelo India in Febru- we have addressed these probWinter Games. ary,” he said, adding that they lems,” he said. Kharge named INDIA chairperson, Nitish playing hard to get Oppn meeting proposes JD(U) chief as bloc convenor, but party claims he is not in the race for the position P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was named chairperson of the Opposition INDIA bloc on Saturday after leaders of its 14-party coordination committee held a virtual meeting to discuss seat sharing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Though Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar’s name was proposed as convenor, a final decision will be taken after consulting all parties, sources told this newspaper. At least 10 leaders of the bloc met virtually and discussed various aspects of the alliance and the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections, due in AprilMay Trinamool Congress chief . Mamata Banerjee, SP head Akhilesh Yadav and Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Uddhav Thackarey skipped the meeting. Speaking to this newspaper, CPI general secretary D Raja said all parties were in agreement that the Congress should hold the position of chairperson since it is the largest party within the bloc, while the convenor post should go to a nonCongress leader. “All the leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi suggested Nitish’s name as convenor. It was unanimous,” said Raja, adding that the final call would be taken after consulting Mamata and Akhilesh. Apart from Raja, Sonia, Rahul, Kharge, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and CPM’s Sitaram Yechury and a few others attended the meet. According to a leader, JD(U)’s Sanjay Jha and Lalan Singh said leaders from other parties should be considered for the post of convenor as Nitish is not an aspirant. “Nitish suggested the name of RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav for the convenor post. Kharge will consult Akhilesh and Mamata and arrive at a decision soon,” said the leader. Nitish’s reluctance to accept the convenor post surprised many as the party had been pressuring the bloc for it. Speaking to the media, Pawar asserted that there was no dispute among the INDIA bloc over appointing its convenor, but said there was no need to project any face for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. According to Raja, allies were advised to conclude seat sharing as early as possible. “There is a sense of urgency as we are aware that time is running out. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said seat-sharing talks will be done in the state after Pongal,” said Raja. Though Kharge posted on X that “Everyone is happy that the seat-sharing talks are progressing positively,” fissures were apparent with the absence of the TMC and SP. Seat share in Bengal, UP rocky Trinamool sources said Mamata’s no-show was due to her prior engagements. Uddhav’s party had told the bloc about his unavailability. But on seat share, Cong, TMC, SP are on shaky ground Kejriwal meets Kharge AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal held a meeting with Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. In Punjab, Cong-AAP seat sharing may not take place, said sources | P7 Kejriwal gets fourth ED summons A n u p V e r m a @ New Delhi The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued its fourth summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to appear before the probe agency on January 18 for questioning in connection with the money laundering case related to the nowscrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22, officials said on Saturday . Calling the summonses illegal, Kejriwal ignored three of them so far. The latest one comes as he is set to begin his three-day visit to Goa on January 18 to take stock of his party’s preparations for the Lok Sabha polls. Asked if Kejriwal would appear before the ED this time, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said the party is consulting legal advisors and would act according to their counsel. Addressing a presser, Rai accused the BJP-led Central government of misusing the ED to stop Kejriwal from campaigning. “The ED is a constitutional body Its notice . was leaked to the media before it reached the chief minister. This is not the work of a constitutional body It is the . BJP’s work,” Rai charged. WITH THIS ISSUE Dweep Blue Sea PLUS 12 PAGES Land grabbers in TN a law unto themselves S a h aya N o v i n s t o n L o b o @ Chennai Pooling your life’s savings to buy a piece of land in Tamil Nadu may be easier than protecting it, as land grabbers have several tactics up their sleeve to usurp them. Several victims TNIE spoke to across the state said their land was illegally taken over or they were forced into protracted legal battles. One of the victims is K T Abraham from Nagercoil, a 64-year-old senior citizen who co-owns a property with his brother. On January 5, he noticed a group of men in front of his property . “A local man whom I’ve known for a while showed up on my property with five lawyers and five henchmen. They claimed that a portion of the land belongs to them. When I questioned them, they damaged the CCTV cameras, pushed me down and attacked me. They also damaged my manager’s phone,” says Abraham. “They threatened to kill me if I don’t do as they say I lodged a com. plaint at the Kottar police station. The police booked them under eight sections, but they have not been arrested yet.” In May 2022, then Tambaram police commissioner M Ravi had said they receive at least 20 complaints regarding land grabbing everyday. Sources from Chennai city police and Avadi city police said that they received at least 15 to 20 complainants daily now too.  P5 ‘Frequent visits help’ Regular visits, getting encumbrance certificates can keep grabbers at bay. Grabbing can be stopped by revenue offices, but as some staff are hand in glove with touts, tackling it has become difficult for owners, say police.  P4 Tramboo consulted the meteorological departments across J&K and even in the Centre and found out that snowfall is likely only in the third or fourth week of January. In his opinion, the Khelo India Games need to be postponed. Gulmarg is not alone. Other destinations like Solang Valley in Himachal Pradesh and Auli in Uttarakhand, too, are facing the same predicament. Ludar Thakur, president of the Winter Games Association of Himachal Pradesh, said it had been very bad this season. Some of the skiers were even forced to look for better venues out of the country. “Around 10 skiers have gone abroad for training,” he said. Apart from Europe, Kazakhstan is a favoured destination because of relaxed visa norms.  P11 e x p r e s s r e ad SIPCOT Melma protestors lose jobs Tiruvannamalai: The government’s move to invoke Goondas Act on the people who staged protest against the SIPCOT expansion project at Cheyyar has cost them their livelihood. Two protestors, both employees of a private leather factory at Cheyyar - N Chozhan and K Venkateshan - were sent off from the work after they were detained last November. Though the state government revoked provisions of Goondas Act after widespread condemnation, they both were shown the door by the employers | P4 Udhaya only rumours E X PRE S S NE W S S ER V I C E @ Chennai Chief Minister MK Stalin, on Saturday, brushed aside rumours about Udhayanidhi Stalin being offered the deputy CM post, stating this was the work of rumour mongers. In a letter to DMK cadres, he urged members not to fall for such misinformation campaigns aimed at diverting DMK youth wing state-level conference’s primary focus, which is themed on retrieving state rights. He said that after the rumours surrounding his health conditions were successfully thwarted, lies are being spread on social media that Udhayanidhi, his son, is going to be elevated as deputy CM. Social media and a section of media outlets, over the last week, had been claiming that Udhayanidhi was set to become Stalin’s deputy after the DMK youth wing conference. On Thursday , Udhayanidhi himself attempted to shoot down rumours by telling reporters, “ ministers in All the cabinet will assist the chief minister as his deputies.” In the letter to DMK cadre, Stalin shared Pongal greetings and reiterated the state government’s commitment to safeguarding citizens during natural disasters. He also criticised the cen- CM MK Stalin and MP Kanimozhi at the inauguration of Chennai Sangamam at Island grounds | Ashwin prasath tral government’s response to the state demands and failure to release funds for relief measures, and highlighted the state government’s efforts to provide comprehensive flood relief to all sections in Tamil Nadu. He urged the leaders of the party to celebrate the Pongal along with the masses in their respective areas as ‘samathuva Pongal’, and urged them to organise traditional games. He also asked the cadre to draw a samathuva Pongal kolam in front of their house and share the photos on social media. Meanwhile, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and CPI state secretary R Mutharasan also extended their Pongal wishes.