chennai l friday l may 31, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 40 l late city EDITION T20 World cup: New York to beef up security for India-Pakistan game With the arch-rivals set to play their first match on June 9, the NY state has said that security will be beefed up for the high-profile encounter Increased measures for Nassau County As Nassau County gets ready, ‘elevated’ security arrangements have been made to ensure fans’ safety. This comes after reports of threats linked to ISIS in April and more specific threats on the event now. “In preparation for @cricketworldcup, my team has been working with federal & local law enforcement to keep attendees safe,” governor Kathy Hochul wrote on X 34,000 expect largest security for match ■ Nassau County police acknowledged the threat and reportedly said this is “largest security we’ve ever had to do in this county’s history and the safest place will be inside the stadium” ■ While the governor wrote that “there is no credible threat at this time”, security measures have been elevated to ensure safety of all capacity of stadium where eight matches will be held from june 3-12 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 monsoon arrives in Kerala; north continues to bake Red hot day Punjab Delhi Ludhiana 45.6 Patiala 46.2 Haryana Rohtak Narnaul 47.5 47.5 Safdarjung Palam Ridge Ayanagar odisha 45.6 46.4 46.7 47.0 Jharsuguda 47.0 Sambalpur 46.2 bihar Gaya 45.2 Dehri 46.0 Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan Ganganagar Bikaner Jaipur Churu Jaisalmer 48.3 46.8 45.3 47.0 46.1 Vidarbha Brahmpuri 46.9 Wardha 45.0 unbearable heat in the north, west Madhya Pradesh Sidhi Datia Khajuraho Gwalior Satna Damoh Shivpuri 48.2 45.8 47.0 45.1 45.7 45.0 46.0 Lucknow Bareilly Bahraich Varanasi Hardoi Orai Hamirpur Jhansi Moradabad Sultanpur Churk 45.1 45.1 45.4 47.8 45.5 46.4 45.2 47.4 45.0 45.0 45.6 (Figures in degrees Celsius) Heat wave to severe heatwave conditions prevailed over many parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, East MP; parts of UP and Odisha. Many parts of Punjab, West MP, Chhattisgarh, parts of Bihar, Gujarat and Vidarbha and isolated pockets of Himachal Pradesh, too, witnessed heat wave to ease gradually Heat wave to severe heat wave conditions over parts of Northwest and Central India are likely to reduce gradually, the Met office said A woman carries a pipe to fetch water from a tanker amid the ongoing heat wave, at Chanakyapuri in New Delhi on Thursday | PTI While most of India continued to bake in the ongoing extreme heat wave, the Southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala two days ahead of schedule on Thursday, the India Meteorological Department announced. The monsoon set in over Kerala and Mahe and advanced into most parts of the Northeast. The normal day for the monsoon’s arrival in Kerala is June 1. The earliest arrival of the monsoon in Kerala were on May 18 (1990), May 22 (1999) and May 23 (1974). The IMD forecast this monsoon season (June-September) is likely to be above normal — 106% of the Long Period Average (LPA). It will be above normal over Central India and South Peninsular India, normal over Northwest India, and below normal over Northeast India. Experts say the monsoon’s progression is likely to be on the slower side due to unfavourable Madden-Julian Oscillation – an oceanic-atmospheric phenomenon defined as eastward moving clouds, rainfall, winds and pressure at regular intervals. However, it will accelerate over eastern and northern parts after June 15. “Slow progression of monsoon towards north India may lead to further extended heat wave period,” said Dr Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, former Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences. Above normal rainfall is good news for agriculture and food security. Around half of the workforce in the country is still dependent on farming for their livelihood. Last year’s deficit (6% of LPA) and uneven monsoon had impacted food production and the overall agrarian economy. The acreage and production of kharif crops such as pulses, oilseeds and cotton was reduced, which pushed agricultural growth below 1% and raised food inflation. Experts expect better monsoon this year would address the challenge. World’s first rocket with fully 3D printed engine launched E X P R E SS N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai The world’s first rocket powered by a single piece 3D printed engine was launched from Sriharikota on Thursday by Agnikul Cosmos, a start-up incubated by IIT-Madras. The test flight of Agnibaan Sub-Orbital Technology Demonstrator (SOrTeD) on Thursday took place at 7.15 am without any live streaming at the Sriharikota launch pad located within the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The launch was witnessed by luminaries including Dr S Somanath, Chairman, Indi- Agnibaan launched by Agnikul Cosmos at Sriharikota on Thursday | Express an Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, Rajeev Jyoti, Director (Technical), IN-SPACe, and A Raj Rajan, Director of SHAR. ISRO chairman Somanath Final chance to protect Constitution, former PM tells Punjab voters J ite n d ra Ch o u bey @ New Delhi said the launch is a success of many firsts, including 3D printed semi-cryogenic engine and flight control systems, and it demonstrates the prowess of indigenous design and innovation. “It motivates ISRO to support space start-ups and non-government entities for innovation and Atmanirbharata to create a vibrant space ecosystem,” he said. Prime Minister Modi lauded the launch and termed it a “momentous occasion” for India’s space sector. Modi, in a post on ‘X’, said, “A remarkable feat which will make the entire nation proud!” P7 Campaign ends, Modi holds over 200 rallies PM offers prayer at Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanniyakumari on Thursday | PTI PM’s 45-hr meditation at rock memorial begins E xpre s s New s Servi c e @ Kanniyakumari Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his 45-hour-long ‘dhyanam’ (meditation) scheduled to go on till June 1 at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanniyakumari district around 7 pm on Thursday . The PM’s helicopter from Thiruvananthapuram landed at the helipad at the Tamil Nadu state guest house at 5.10 pm. After staying for a brief while at the guest house, the PM visited the Bhagavathi Amman temple located 200 metres from the guest house and offered worship. Clad in a white dhoti and shawl, Modi prayed at the temple and circumambulated the ‘garbhagriha’. Priests performed a special ‘arthi’ and he was given temple ‘prasad’ that included a shawl and a framed photograph of the pre- siding deity of the temple. Later, he reached the rock memorial by a ferry service operated by the Tamil Nadu governmentowned shipping corporation. Immediately after entering the memorial, the PM showered flowers on the portraits of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and mother Sri Sarada Devi. He also paid floral tributes to the life-size statue of Swami Vivekananda kept on a pedestal at the mandapam before commencing his meditation. Following the culmination of the hectic Lok Sabha election campaign in which he addressed a multitude of rallies and after vociferous protests by the opposition, the PM will be meditating in an ambience of quietude. Over 2,000 security personnel have been deployed in the district and fishers of three villages have been barred from fishing for three days. P7 Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended his Lok Sabha poll campaign with a rally in Hoshiarpur. The count of his rallies and roadshows reached 206, going past the close to 145 such events in the 2019 polls The BJP thinks that the value of patriotism, bravery and service is only four years. This shows their fake nationalism Manmohan Singh’s swipe at the Agniveer scheme P reetha Nair @ New Delhi In an emotional appeal to Punjab’s voters ahead of the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Thursday said it’s their final chance to ensure that “democracy and Constitution are protected from the repeated assaults of a despotic regime trying to unleash dictatorship in India”. In a three-page letter shared on X by the Congress, Singh came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “indulging in the most vicious form of hate speeches, which are purely divisive in nature”. “People of India are seeing through all of this. This narrative of dehumanization has now reached its peak. With folded hands, I appeal to each one of you to give love, peace, fraternity and harmony a chance in In, dia,” he said. Mounting a sharp attack on the PM, he said that Modi is the first prime minister to lower the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of his office, adding no PM in the past had targeted a specific section of the society or the opposition in this manner. In his first response to Modi’s allegations of Singh’s politics of Muslim appeasement, the former PM said that he never singled out one community from the other. “No prime minister in the past has uttered such hateful, unparliamentary and coarse terms, meant to target ei, ther a specific section of the society or the opposition. He has also attributed some false statements to me. I have never in my life singled out one community from the other. That is the sole copyright of the BJP said the senior Con,” gress leader, who led the UPA government for two consecutive terms from 2004-2014. As for Modi, he kept up his attack on the Congress at his rally in Hoshiarpur, rebuking it for ranting about the Constitution when it was the one that ‘strangled’ it during Emergency He also . blamed it for the anti-Sikh pogrom in 1984. 22 killed in J&K bus accident Faya z W a n i @ Srinagar AT least 22 pilgrims were killed and 57 others injured after a bus carrying them fell into a 150 ft deep gorge in Akhnoor area of Jammu district in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday . The accident took place when the driver of the bus, which was on its way to Shiv Khori shrine in J&K’s Reasi district, lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a blind curve. Jammu district magistrate Sachin Kumar Vaishya said the passenger bus was carrying pilgrims from Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. President Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha expressed grief over the loss of lives while the local administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry to ascertain the cause of the accident. A joint rescue operation launched by the locals, police, and army men immediately after the accident helped save several trapped passengers. The injured persons were evacuated to a nearby hospital, where from 36 were further re- as 57-year-old Harsimrat Kaur Badal, daughter-in-law of Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch late Parkash Singh Badal, seeks her fourth consecutive win from Punjab’s Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency, the odds appear to be stacked against her. It’s a high-stakes multi-cornered contest this time as the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, both INDIA bloc partners, are fighting separately in Punjab. It is also the first Lok Sabha election after SAD broke away from the NDA fold in 2020. Among Harsimrat’s opponents is the formidable Gurmeet Singh Khuddian of the AAP The 61-year-old politician . is the agriculture minister in the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab. He had defeated the five-time CM and 11time MLA late Parkash Badal from his bastion Lambi in the 2022 Assembly election, which earned him the moniker ‘giant slayer’. Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu of the Congress, Parampal Kaur Sidhu of the BJP Bharatiya Janata Party, and Lakhvir Singh allias La- Harsimrat Kaur Badal (L) and Gurmeet Singh Khuddian kha Sidhana, 45, of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) are the Harsimrat’s other opponents. However, AAP wields the biggest threat as it represents all the nine Assembly seats under the Bathinda LS constituency, which has 16.48 lakh voters. With rivals trying to breach SAD’s Bathinda fortress, can Harsimrat hold it? SAD has been out of power in Punjab for the past seven years and the decision to leave the NDA has further dented its clout. So, keeping the Bathinda stronghold is crucial for its survival. Illustration: Mandar Pardikar Prajwal lands in B’luru, taken into custody E X P R E SS N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru Rescue workers at the accident site near Chouki Choura area of Akhnoor | pti ferred to the Government Medical College in Jammu for specialized treatment. The toll could go up as the condition of six persons is serious. “Pained beyond words to learn about the loss of lives in a bus accident in Akhnoor near Jammu. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I wish speedy recovery of the injured,” President Murmu said in her condolence message shared on X. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced compensation of `2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased and `50,000 to the injured passengers. J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha announced an ex-gratia of `5 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased and `50,000 for those injured in the accident. Harsimrat Kaur Badal fights against odds to defend Bathinda fortress H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh late-night Harsimrat’s husband and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, the party’s Ferozepur MP is sitting out this time but , is at the forefront of campaigning. This election, the first since the death of his father, also will be a test of his leadership acumen. In her speeches, Harsimrat highlights the development works done by her party while in power. The problem is, the BJP candidate too claims credit for all big projects, saying they happened because of the saffron party-led government at the Centre. But Harsimrat’s biggest at- tack is against the AAP and the Congress, saying they have not laid “even a brick of development”, and urges people to vote for actual performance not false promises. Khuddian, on the other hand, seeks votes on the Mann government’s good works. He highlights the government’s free electricity scheme and the setting up of over 800 ‘aam aadmi’ clinics across the state. As for the BJP’s Parampal Kaur Sidhu, she claims the other parties have betrayed the people. “Now people have expectations only from the BJP,” she says. JDS MP Prajwal Revanna, who left for Germany on April 27 after several women accused him of sexual assault, was taken into custody after he landed at Bengaluru from Munich. Sleuths of the Special Investigation Team and police personnel detained him soon aftter he arrived on a Lufthansa flight at 12.50 am on Friday . The Munich-Bengaluru flight, which was sschduled to take off at 12.05 pm (3.35 pm IST), took off after a delay of 23 minutes (3.58 pm IST). The business class flight ticket in the name of Prajwal was booked for Thursday . Prajwal had flown to Germany on April 27, a day after Karnataka voted in the second phase of polling. In a video message on Monday, he stated that he would appear before the SIT on Friday at 10 am. Since then, the SIT sleuths were on high alert. On Thursday, they coordinated with the local police, CISF personnel and immigration officials on taking the accused MP into their custody in a smooth manner. Three FIRs, including two for rape, have been registered against Prajwal, who is the BJP candidate from Hassan LS constituency . WITH THIS ISSUE CHENNAI’S BEST WEEKEND GUIDE 40 PAGES, INCLUDING 24 OF INDULGE (TABLOID)
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