BELAGAVI TUESDAY MAY 28, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 12 LATE CITY EDITION CYCLONE REMAL LEAVES TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION IN BENGAL, FOUR KILLED Strong winds blew away roofs of huts and knocked down power poles, while accompanying downpour caused waterlogging in many areas RAINS TO CONTINUE TILL TUESDAY MORNING FLIGHT SERVICES RESUME AFTER 21 HOURS The cyclone ravaged adjacent coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh between Sagar Island and Khepupara after its landfall process began around 8.30 pm on Sunday. After a night of heavy rainfall, several areas of Kolkata remained inundated. More rainfall is on the cards, not only in the metropolis but also in other parts of the state till Tuesday morning, which may hamper relief works ■ ■ The deaths mostly occurred due to the collapse of roofs and walls of houses due to strong winds and relentless downpours. People have been urged to remain indoors as heavy rain persists in many areas Fight services at the Kolkata airport resumed on Monday morning after remaining suspended for 21 hours because of the cyclone |P9 135 kmph MAXIMUM WIND SPEED RECORDED AS THE CYCLONE TORE THROUGH BENGAL COAST 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 Will go before SIT on May 31: Prajwal in video E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru Below normal monsoon in east, northeast: IMD J I T E N D R A C H O U B E Y @ New Delhi IN its updated long-range forecast for the upcoming Southwest monsoon season, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday predicted above-normal rainfall over central and south peninsular India and normal rains over northwest India. However, eastern and northeast regions and some northern parts such as Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand may likely see belownormal rainfall. “The southwest monsoon seasonal rainfall is most likely to be ‘above normal’ over central India and south peninsular India (greater than 106% of the long-period average), ‘normal’ over northwest India (92108%) and ‘below normal’ over northeast India (less than 94%),” the weather office said. This means India’s core monsoon zone, where agriculture is mostly rain-fed, will get above-normal rains. The IMD has already predicted the onset of the monsoon over Kerala on May 31. In an unusual development, the Bay of Bengal branch of the monsoon may arrive earlier than the Arabian Sea branch due to cyclone Remal, which has pushed up monsoon wind. EXPRESS READ I.N.D.I.A will scrap Agnipath scheme: Rahul Patna: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the I.N.D.I.A bloc, if voted to power, will scrap the Agnipath scheme and deposit Rs 8,500 in women’s bank accounts every month. Kejri seeks extension of interim bail from SC New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sought extension of his interim bail by seven days from the Supreme Court to undergo a host of medical tests. HASSAN MP Prajwal Revanna, who is wanted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sexual abuse cases against him, posted a 2.57-minute video on Monday stating that he will appear before the SIT at 10 am on Friday (May 31). Prajwal fled the country on April 27, just a day before a sexual harassment case was registered against him at Holenarasipura Town police station in Hassan district. In the video posted from an undisclosed location, Prajwal tendered apologies to his grandfather and JDS supremo HD Deve Gow- da, his parents MLA HD Revanna watching news on YouTube. Subseand Bhavani Revanna, his uncle quently a notice was served against , and former chief minister HD Kume by the SIT and I had sought a maraswamy, people of week’s time to appear beKarnataka and JDS workfore it, through X and also ers for his actions. through one of my advoHe stated that his travel cates,” Prajwal said. abroad was preplanned “I went into a state of and he left immediately afdepression and isolation ter exercising his franafter many Congress leadchise in the Lok Sabha ers, including Rahul Ganelections on April 26. dhi, started discussing “When I left the country Video grab of Hassan this issue on open plat, neither a case was there MP Prajwal Revanna forms. Some forces in against me nor the SIT Hassan joined hands and was formed. After four started conspiring days of my stay abroad, I got to against me. I was shocked as all of know about the case against me them had meticulously planned to and the formation of SIT, while involve me in some cases as I am Lost faith in state machinery: Guj HC Roasts Rajkot civic body for not enforcing fire safety rules D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad THE Gujarat High Court on Monday hit out at the Rajkot Municipal Corporation and the state government, saying it has lost faith in the state machinery that turns a blind eye to illegal structures and wakes up only after innocent lives are lost. The sharp remarks came a day after the HC took suomotu note of the blaze at the TRP Game Zone in Rajkot on Saturday evening, which killed at least 28 people. The game zone did not have the fire NOC or other permissions for functioning. A special bench of justices Biren Vaishnav and Devan Desai asked the Rajkot civic body why it allowed the game zone to run. The bench was furious when it was told the operators did not apply for permissions. “Were you blind to the existence of this large structure? How do you explain that the entire zone has existed for the last twoand-a-half years? What fire safety measures were applied?” it asked. When a counsel pointed out that drastic actions must be taken to avoid such incidents in future, the bench said: “Who will take such drastic steps? Frankly we no longer , have faith in the state machinery This is the sixth incident in . four years after our orders and their assurances. They only act after lives are lost.” The HC posed a volley of questions to the corporation’s counsel, asking why were the court’s earlier orders on fire safety norms not followed. During the hearing, the bench examined photographs showing Rajkot government officials being present at the gaming zone inauguration. “Who were these officers? Were they there for play? Can we not take judicial notice of that fact? For 18 months, what did the corporation do? Just sit on it?” the bench questioned. On Monday the Gujarat state , government suspended five officials from various departments, including two police inspectors, for negligence in the Rajkot fire tragedy . Debris being removed from the game zone site in Rajkot, where 28 died in a blaze | PTI Notice to past Rajkot officials The HC noted that every municipal commissioner starting from the establishment of the TRP Game Zone in 2021 up to the time of the incident “should be held responsible for the tragedy”. It instructed them to provide individual affidavits Jadavpur joust is on a razor’s edge S U L A G N A S E N G U P TA @ Kolkata THE Jadavpur parliamentary constituency is known for its cerebral power as it often sends luminaries to the Lok Sabha. For example, way back in 1984, current Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrested the seat on a Congress ticket from CPM stalwart Somnath Chatterjee. This time around, it could be a toss up between the Trinamool’s Saayoni Ghosh, the CPM’s Srijan Bhattacharyya and the BJP’s Anirban Ganguly because the race is that tight. All three are alumni of Jadavpur University . At 47, Dr Ganguly is the eldest of them. Saayoni and Srijan are 31. Saayoni became the Trinamool Congress youth wing head after Mamata’s nephew and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee vacated the position in 2021. An actor by profession, she got the moniker of a party streetfighter from Mamata. Srijan is member of the CPM’s West Bengal State Committee. He was the State Secretary of the Students’ Federation of India for just over six years till January last. As for Dr Ganguly , he is an academic and chair- man of the BJP’s Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation. While Saayoni parrots Mamata’s seamless connect with the grassroots, adding she introduced various innovative schemes for the upliftment of the poor, Ganguly hammers away at the TMC’s scams under Mamata’s watch and her attempts to shield her tainted party leaders. Saayoni models herself on Mamata’s brand of politics, saying: “I’ve learned that real politics is different from what’s in the textbooks. A true leader understands the people’s needs and struggles, just like Mamata. A leader must be accessible, and I am here for Jadavpur.” Her political From left, Srijan Bhattacharyya, Saayoni Ghosh and Dr Anirban Ganguly ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR journey began in February 2021 when she joined the TMC and unsuccessfully contested for the Asansol South assembly seat. In contrast, Srijan has been in politics for a long time. He promises to introduce more industries and bring back jobs to the state that were chased away by the current regime. He flogs the Singur example where the then CPM chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya invited the Tatas to set up their Nano plant, but they were driven away by Mamata’s activism. Ganguly is seen mobilising people from other districts for large road shows and rallies with posters and banners in a demonstration of strength across the constituency Sob. ha Rani Deb, a senior voter in Baghajatin area of Jadavpur is critical of Ganguly’s mobilisation. “This is an election, not a festival. Ganguly’s road shows often end up in creating traffic bottlenecks,” she rued. The Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency includes Baruipur Purba (Scheduled Caste), Baruipur Paschim, Sonarpur, Bhangar, Jadavpur, Sonarpur Uttar and Tollygunge assembly segments. It falls within the 24 Parganas district, which is the sixth-most densely populated in India. growing very strong politically. All these are being done to finish me politically Prajwal said. ,” Stating that he would cooperate with the investigating officers, the MP said he has faith in the judiciary. He expressed confidence that he would come clean in the cases registered against him. “I seek blessings from everyone, including gods and family members. Please trust me,” he added. On May 23, Deve Gowda warned Prajwal to come back and submit himself to the legal process. In a letter posted on X, the former PM told Prajwal not to MORE: P4 test his patience. ST Corpn official ends life, blames MD, 2 others FIR AGAINST 3 Vinobanagar police filed an FIR against JG Padmanabha, Parashurama G Durgannanavar, and Shuchismitha Ravul on Monday in connection with the suicide. The FIR was filed based on a complaint by Kavitha, Chandrashekharan’s wife. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Shivamogga SUPERINTENDENT of Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd (KMVSTDCL) P Chandrashekharan, 48, ended his life by hanging at his house here on Sunday. Chandrashekharan, who hailed from Shivamogga city , worked at the head office of the corporation (KMVSTDCL) at Vasant Nagar in Bengaluru. In a note, Chandrashekharan blamed JG Padmanabha, managing director of KMVSTDCL, and his associates Parashurama G Durgannanavar, accounts officer of KMVSTDCL, and Shuchismitha Ravul, an officer of a public sector bank’s branch on MG Road in Bengaluru, for his death. In the note, he stated that he got a direction (an oral instruction from the minister concerned) to transfer mon- ey from the corporation to an account in the public sector bank. Subsequently, Rs 25 crore was transferred to the account on March 4, Rs 25 crore on March 6, Rs 44 crore on March 21, Rs 43.33 crore from the state’s treasury account, and Rs 50 crore on May 21. Padmanabha used to exert pressure to transfer the money, he alleged. CONTINUED ON: P4
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