BHUBANESWAR l tuesday l april 16, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION FBI opens criminal probe into U.S. bridge collapse that killed 6 The criminal probe will target the crew of the container ship Dali that crashed into a major road bridge in Baltimore on March 26 FBI suspects crew knew of ship’s faults FBI officials are presently conducting a court-authorised “law enforcement activity” aboard the ship which remains pinned beneath the wreckage. The agency will probe whether the crew knew the ship had serious systems problems and failed to report it. The ship lost power and rammed against a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the bridge to collapse ■ 30,000 Baltimore to launch legal action ■ Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott announced a partnership with two law firms to launch legal action to hold “the wrongdoers responsible” and mitigate harm to city residents, his office said Eight construction workers were carrying out maintenance works on the bridge when the vessel struck. Six of them died Vehicles used to ply over the Bridge each day 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 No interim relief; AK can sign two types of papers SC issues notice to ED; Tihar DG says CM can sign only legal or property documents Su c h i t r a K a lyan M o hant y an d U J W A L J A L A LI @ New Delhi Incarcerated Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday got no interim relief from the Supreme Court on his plea challenging his arrest in the Delhi excise policy scam. A twojudge bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna merely issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate to file its reply on the CM’s plea by April 24. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, told the court that the ED hadn’t named the CM in its chargesheet, adding the objective was disable him from campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. But the bench refused to yield. Later, a city court extended Kejriwal’s judicial custody in Tihar jail till April 23. At Tihar, Director General (Prisons) Sanjay Baniwal said Kejriwal can only sign two types of documents while in judicial custody, and they can’t be political in nature. “He or any inmate in judicial custody can only sign two types of documents, which can’t be political in nature,” Baniwal told this newspaper over phone. The two types of documents can be either a legal paper or some property related document, he added. His remarks came after AAP leaders reiterated that CM will continue to run the government from jail, and from next week he will call two ministers to Tihar every week and review their work. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accused Tihar officials of giving Kejriwal a terrorist-like treatment. “Kejriwal is given terrorist-like treatment in jail... There was a glass wall between me and him when we met today Mann said. But Tihar officials rebutted it, ,” saying “There is no distinction between a hardcore or a normal criminal.” Can write to family, friends As per the jail manual, undertrial and civil prisoners shall be granted all reasonable facilities to interview or write letters only to their family members, friends and legal advisers. “Prisoners should also be allowed to correspond with the counsel handling their cases.” If it is found that the prisoner is corresponding with undesirable persons, such letters, both incoming and outgoing, shall be withheld,” the jail manual says India to get above normal rains this yr When the people (of Tamil Nadu) were disappointed with the Congress, they moved to regional parties, now they are disappointed with these parties J i tend ra Ch ou b ey @ New Delhi Narendra Modi Modi says people’s anger against DMK to help BJP in Lok Sabha polls in TN RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi A day after unveiling the BJP’s Lok Sabha election manifesto, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took aim at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in an interview on Monday, saying Tamil voters’ resentment against the DMK will help the saffron camp in the upcoming elections. “Five generations of our party have been working in south India and the works are continuing. When the people of the state were disappointed with the Congress, they turned to regional parties. And now, the people are disappointed with these parties,” he told ANI in the interview. Amid this disappointment, Modi said the people of the state took note of the BJP mod- el of government at the Centre and in the BJP-ruled states. “The Tamils who live across India went to their home and said this is happening in the state where we live. Naturally, people started comparing,” Modi said. He said the DMK used “to make fun of us calling Panipuri-w allah”. “But when the people of Tamil Nadu came and saw Kashi, they said this is not what they used to hear. There is a lot of progress. And because of that, anger against the DMK has increased,” he said. Attacking the Congress, Modi said, “there are parties that have the mission: of the family, by the family and for the family”. Had party state president Annamalai gone to the DMK, he would have become a big name, Modi said. “But he did not go there and instead joined the BJP The people there think . if Annamalai has joined the BJP it is because he believes in , the party’s ideology. So it has become a source of attraction. Our party gives opportunity to every small and big worker who is capable,” Modi said. He said the Congress must also be questioned about its ally’s stance against Sanatana Dharma. “The Congress where Indira Gandhi used to wear a Rudraksha mala around her neck. The question should be asked to the Congress. What is your helplessness? Why are you sitting with the people who have so much hatred against Sanatana?,” he asked adding that the DMK must have been bor n out of hatred of Sanatana. @ Bhubaneswar At least five passengers travelling from Puri to Kolkata were killed after their bus fell off a flyover on National Highway-16 in Jajpur district’s Barabati area on Monday evening. Twenty five others suffered injuries and have been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. The Odisha Fire and Emergency Service personnel, police and Transport department officials rushed to the spot to rescue the injured. The accident occurred at about 9 pm when the driver of the bus possibly lost control and the vehicle swerved off the flyover, plunging onto the service road. Passengers who sustained serious injuries were shifted to SCB MCH, while those with minor injuries have been sent to Badachana community health centre. The district administration immediately engaged 16 ambulances and two advanced life saving ambulances to shift the i n j u re d p a s s e n g e r s f ro m Continued on P5 the site. Data from the 1951-2023 period shows India experienced above-normal rainfall in the monsoon season on all the nine occasions when La Nina followed an El Nino event, said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, the director general of IMD models suggest, La Lina conditions may set in by AugustSeptember,” Mohapatra said in a press conference here. Parts of the northwest, east and northeast India are expected to receive below-normal rainfall, he added. The normal monsoon range is between 96-104% of LPA. The range 104-110% of LPA is considered above normal and above 110% is excess rainfall. Similarly ranging between 90-96% , is considered below normal and less than 90% is deficient rainfall. El Nino refers to the warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific, while La Nina refers to the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures. Monsoon to be below par in parts of Odisha E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Five dead after bus falls off NH flyover in Jajpur E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e There is a high probability that India will get above-normal rains this southwest monsoon season, the Indian Meteorological Department said on Monday . It said seasonal rainfall will be on the higher side of above-nor mal, with over 106% precipitation in the long-period average (LPA) of 87 cm. The weather office said favourable La Nina conditions, neutral Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)—which occurs due to differential warming of the western and eastern sides of the equatorial Indian Ocean—and lesser snow coverage over the northern hemisphere have brightened chances of a bountiful monsoon. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, IMD director general said La Nina conditions are likely to develop in the second half of the monsoon season. “El Nino conditions are prevailing at present. ENSOneutral conditions are expected in the first half of the monsoon season. Thereafter, What the data shows MAGENTA GLORY A man passes the Info Valley road lined with bougainvillea vines in Bhubaneswar, on Monday | DEBADATTA MALLICK AS Odisha reels under one heatwave after another, the monsoon forecast has not brought any cheer with the India Meteorological department (IMD) predicting below normal rains in parts of the state during the June-September season. In its long range forecast for the south-west monsoon season issued on Monday the IMD said some , parts of Odisha are expected to receive below normal showers. The national forecaster on Monday predicted the monsoon rainfall to be above The probabilistic normal, 106 per cent of the Long Period Av- rainfall forecast for the monsoon erage (LPA) across the country The LPA for suggested that . the entire country is 87 cm. parts of the The IMD’s probabilistic rainfall forecast state’s coastal, for the monsoon season suggested that northern and parts of the state’s coastal, northern and central pockets central pockets may receive rainfall which may receive 30-35 pc below will be 30-35 pc below normal. “The spatial distribution of probabilistic normal rainfall forecasts suggests that above normal sea- IMD DG sonal rainfall is very likely over most parts of the country except some areas over northwest, east and northeast India where below normal rainfall is very likely the IMD said. ,” IMD DG, Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told The New Indian Express that some parts may receive below normal rainfall. On being asked whether overall rainfall will be normal, he said the national agency has not issued state-specific monContinued on P5 soon forecast yet. Congress expels veteran leader and MLA Sharmila struggling in cousin vs cousin joust Suresh Routray for ‘anti-party’ activities S N a g a r aja Ra o @ Kadapa E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar The Congress on Monday expelled senior leader and Jatni MLA Suresh Kumar Routray for six years for indiscipline and anti-party activities. The action against the senior leader was taken following complaints that he was campaigning for his son Manmath Routray, who has been fielded by the BJD from the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency A show cause notice was . recently issued to Routray by the chairman of OPCC disciplinary committee Santosh Singh Saluja on the basis of the complaints. General secretary of the All India Congress Committee KC Venugopal stated in the expulsion order that the Congress For the last 50 years, I have been working for Congress. I am still in Congress and will remain forever in the party Suresh Routray, Jatni MLA president has taken note of the complaints of indiscipline and anti-party activities against Routray. “The Congress president has approved the expulsion of Suresh Routray from the party for six years with im- mediate effect,” he added. Routray, however, said that the party action against him was unjustified. The veteran leader said he will soon write to the high-command against his expulsion. “For the last 50 years, I have been working for Congress. I am still in Congress and will remain forever in the party he said. ,” Routray had announced his retirement from electoral politics during the budget session of Assembly in February How. ever, he was seen campaigning for his son Manmath in several parts of the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency after he was announced as the BJD candidate from the seat. Routray is a six time MLA from Jatni and has been associated with the Congress since over five decades. Kadapa is witnessing a legacy joust between two cousins of a politically influential family — one of whom is a first-timer — and a triangular contest in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Incumbent Y S Avinash Reddy belongs to the Y S Rajashekara Reddy family tree. He is the cousin of YSR’s son and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, who floated his own YSR Congress. The Congress pitted Jagan’s sister Y S Sharmila Reddy against Avinash. Ever since 1989, when Rajasekhara Reddy won the Kadapa Lok Sabha seat, the contest here has only been about the YS family’s victory margin. This is the first time two members of the YS family are vying for the top honours. One of the backward districts in the Rayalaseema region, Kadapa witnessed a spurt in development after Rajasekhara Reddy became CM as he ensured a steady flow of funds for the family pocket borough. The only time the TDP won the seat was in 1984 when D Narayana Reddy wrested it at the height of the N T Ramarao wave. Like Sharmila, TDP’s candidate Chadipiralla Bhupesh Subbarami Reddy too, is a , first-timer. However, he hasn’t been suddenly parachuted into Kadapa like her. Subbarami Reddy has silently been preparing the ground for the past several months. The downside for Avinash Reddy is that he is an accused in the murder case of his uncle and former minister Y S Vivekananda Reddy But he has the solid . backing of Jagan. Avinash has stayed put in the constituency since the past several months to ensure there is no dent in his influence. His victory margin last time was over three lakh votes. Speaking to TNIE, Avinash Illustration: Mandar Pardikar said spent his MPLADS (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) allocation and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) funds generated from various corporates for the development in all assembly segments falling under his constituency. “I also took the initiative to get funds from the state government for implementing various projects in all segments,” he said. As for Sharmila, she does not have any base here, as she has been living in Hyderabad all along. Hoping to wrest the YSR legacy, she claims her father was a tall Congress leader, but Jagan left it and floated his own regional party . However, the argument doesn’t seem to be cutting ice with the people. Continued on: P5
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