DHARMAPURI l Monday l June 03, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft lands on Moon’s less explored far side Equipped to collect and return samples The Chang’e-6 mission is tasked with collecting and returning samples from the Moon’s far side, the first endeavour of its kind. Its landing site is at an impact crater known as the Apollo Basin, which is relatively flatter than other areas on the far side and is, therefore, conducive to landing. The probe is scheduled to complete sampling within two days Chang’e-6 lunar probe launched on May 3 successfully landed on the far side of the Moon on Sunday, the Chinese state media reported ■ 2030 Previous mission found traces of water ■ China’s earlier mission, the Chang’e 5, brought samples from the Moon’s near side. After analysing the samples, China said they contained water in tiny beads embedded in the lunar dirt Last year, India became the first country to land near the lunar south pole with the successful touchdown of the Chandrayaan-3 lander When China is planning a manned lunar landing 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 S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Actor Raveena Tandon was allegedly attacked by a mob that accused her driver of rash driving and injuring a pedestrian. In a video that has gone viral, the actor could be seen arguing with a crowd of people near her residence in Bandra on Sunday . As per the police, Raveena’s car had just entered her residence compound when a crowd gathered outside demanding that the driver come out and speak to them over claims that the vehicle hit a woman. Fearing that the mob may attack her driver and watchman, Raveena got out of the vehicle and tried to speak to the crowd. She was allegedly pushed and hit. In the viral video, Raveena is heard saying ‘please don’t hit me’. In the same video, a man and woman claimed that they were assaulted by the actor and her staff. The man in the video said the incident happened when he was walking with his mother, sister, and niece near Raveena’s house. As per the police, the CCTV footage of the said incident showed the actor’s car did not hit the woman in question. The police said the mob was trying to enter the actor’s residence. Deputy Commissioner of Police Raj Tilak Roshan said no case has been registered as the police have not received any written complaint from either side. He said Tandon was returning home and her car was reversing. “A woman who walked past got angry at her driver and told him to drive carefully The car did not touch . the woman, but a verbal spat ensued. Raveena got out and joined the 0argument. We don’t have written complaints from either party, so there is no case,” Roshan said. PIC: Parveen Negi Kejriwal Surrenders at tihar jail The interim bail granted by the Supreme Court in the excise policy case ended on June 1. After surrendering, a Delhi court on Sunday sent him to judicial custody till June 5 Govt formation talks in Itanagar to begin on Tuesday, says Chief Minister Pema Khandu BJP keeps power SKM landslide in in Arunachal with Sikkim leaves thumping victory Oppn with just 1 P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati Party positions The BJP on Sunday retained power in Arunachal Pradesh by winning 46 of the state’s 60 seats. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP), which is a BJP ally, bagged five seats to emerge as the second largest party The Nationalist Congress . Party won three seats, People’s Party of Arunachal two, Congress one while one seat went to an independent candidate. Earlier, 10 BJP candidates, including Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his deputy Chowna Mein, had won unopposed. The other prominent winners include ministers Mama Natung, Kamlung Mossang, former Union minister Ninong Ering (all from BJP), Kumar Waii (Congress) and Thangwang Wangham (NPP). Ering, who had won the last election on a Congress ticket, joined the BJP a few months ago. Former chief minister Gegong Apang (Arunachal Democratic Front), former minister Taba Tedir, MLAs Nyamar Karbak, Lombo Tayeng, Kaling Moyong, Kumsi Sidisow (all from BJP) were among the prominent losers. In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati Arunachal Pradesh The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) on Sunday swept the polls, winning 31 of Sikkim’s 32 seats in the state. The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), which is the state’s principal opposition party won , the only other seat. The winner here, Tenzing Norbu, was with the SKM earlier. He had joined the SDF after being denied a ticket by the ruling party . The BJP, Congress and the newly-floated Citizen Action Party drew a blank. In 2019, the SKM had won 17 seats as against the SDF’s 15. The SKM is a BJP ally and a constituent of the NDA but they had separately contested the polls. Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) contested from Rhenock and Soreng-Chakung seats and won both. Pawan Kumar Chamling, who had served as chief minister for 25 years, contested from two seats — Namcheybung and PoklokKamrang. He lost both. “The victory is a testament to your belief in the SKM. We will give our best in the next five years,” Tamang told a crowd. Ahead of the polls, former ace footballer Bhaichung Bhutia had merged his Hamro Sikkim Party with the SDF. Some National People's Party: 5 BJP: 46 Indian National Congress: 1 Independent: 3 Actor Raveena Tandon, driver assaulted over ‘carelessness’ total 60 Nationalist Congress Party: 3 People’s Party of Arunachal: 2 Strength of parties in outgoing assembly Arunachal (60 seats) BJP + allies: 59 | Congress: 1 BJP workers for their hard work. Chief Minister Pema Khandu expressed gratitude to the people. “It is a historic day for the people of the state and the BJP We had won 41 seats in . 2019 and 46 this time. In politics, there will be anti-incumbency but when the BJP is in power, there will be pro-incumbency,” he said. He added that the win was a reflection of Modi’s development initiatives. Talking about government formation, he said, “All winning candidates will reach Itanagar on June 4 and the party leaders will also come from Delhi. Once the formalities are over, we will stake our claim.” Party positions Sikkim Krantikari Morcha: 31 Sikkim total Sikkim Democratic Front: 32 1 Ganja case acquittals reveal a pattern of police goof-ups Strength of parties in outgoing assembly SKM: 19 | BJP: 12 | SDF: 1 SKM leaders had also deserted the party and joined the SDF. These developments gave rise to a perception that the SKM will face a stiff challenge in the polls. The results belied that perception. The trend in Sikkim is people give a party at least two terms in power. It started with Nar Bahadur Bhandari’s Sikkim Sangram Parishad in 1985. It continued with the SDF and now with the SKM. The SDF always tried to corner the SKM with charges of corruption but they boomeranged in the wake of last year’s glacial lake outburst. The SKM managed to convince the voters that substandard work in the hydropower project carried out by the previous SDF govern ment had caused the disaster. S i d d h a r t h P r a b h a k a r @ Chennai While Chennai police is intensifying its drive against ganja peddling in the city TNIE’s analysis of 41 trial court , judgements from March, April and May shows that a majority of these cases end in acquittal because of similar goof-ups by cops in documentation and compliance to legal procedure. Specifically, ‘cooked up’ documents and absence of the accused’s signature on the seizure mahazar have been the main reason for most of these cases to end in acquittals. While Chennai cops target peddlers who carry 1-5kg of ganja, the state unit of the Narcotics Intelligence Bureau (NIB) targets those higher up in the chain, seizing consignments of up to 20kg and more. The central agency Narcotics Control Bureau , (NCB), targets wholesalers and individuals with links to kingpins who handle massive quantities, 300kg and above. TNIE analysed the verdicts of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances court in Chennai on 41 ganja cases registered in various city police stations delivered in March, April and May this year. Only three of these cases ended in a conviction. P5 Exit polls ring anti-incumbency Narikuravars refused movie tickets, warning bells in Andhra, Odisha tahsildar takes them to matinee E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada/ Bhubaneswar If exit poll verdicts are anything to go by anti-incumbency , is hemorrhaging the ruling parties in Andhra Pradesh and O d i s h a i n t h e a s s e m bly elections. In Andhra, the ruling YSR Congress appears to be on a slippery slope. Most pollsters predict the wresting of power by the TDP-led alliance, which includes the BJP and actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party . India Today-Axis My India’s exit poll projected the TDPBJP-JSP win with 98-120 seats as against the YSRC’s 55-77 seats. It also predicted that the TDP would emerge as the single largest party in the state with 78 to 96 seats. Andhra Pradesh has a total of 175 Assembly constituencies and the halfway mark is 88. People’s Pulse’s prediction gave the YSRC 45-60 seats and the TDP alliance 111-135. On the other hand, Hyderabad-based AARAA’s exit poll b a g a l a v a n p e r i e r b @ Cuddalore Exit poll projections Andhra Pradesh Pollster India Today-My Axis India People’s Pulse Chanakya.com Aaraa TDP+ 98-120 111-135 110-120 71-81 YSRC 55-77 45-60 55-65 94-104 Cong 0-2 0 0 0 Odisha India Today-My Axis India BJP 62-80 BJD 62-80 Cong 5-8 People’s Pulse BJP 58 (+/-14) BJD 81 (+/-12) Cong 8 (+/-2) predicted that the YSRC would retain power with 94-104 seats. Likewise, Partha Das’ Chanakya.com projected that the YSRC was comfortable at 110120 and the TDP alliance at 5565 seats. As for Odisha, the exit poll by India Today-Axis My India released on Sunday suggested both the BJD and the BJP would get seats in the range of 62-80. The poll predicted 42% vote share for both the parties. It could mean a hung assembly and indicates either party is ca- pable of a simple majority . While the projections will be a big jump for BJP, the ruling party BJD may be in for a rude shock. The Congress may bag 5-8 seats. As for vote share, it predicted 42% for both the BJP and the BJD with 10% accretion for the BJP and 3% slide for the BJD. The grand old party’s vote share was projected as 12%, a 4% drop. Similarly, Jan Ki Baat predicted the BJP’s tally as 58, BJD 81 and Congress 8. One fine morning filled with the simple anticipation of enjoying a new film, quickly soured into one of blatant discrimination for a group of Narikuravars in Cuddalore. On Saturday, 30 members of the Narikuravar community, including seven children, arrived at the New Cinema Theatre on Bharathi road in Cuddalore to watch the new Tamil film, ‘Garudan’. The group, which hails from Ladavaram near Arcot, was camping at Periyapattu in Cuddalore to sell beads and wigs. “We reached the theatre at 8 am for the 11 am show. The theatre staff asked us to wait until the showtime for tickets. But later they said the `60 tickets were sold out. When we asked for the `120 tickets, we got the same response. However, we could see tickets being sold at the box office while we were waiting at the entrance,” said R Karthick, one of the Narikuravars. Upset, the group went to the Cuddalore Tahsiladar A Balaraman handing over tickets to a matinee show of ‘Garudan’ to members of the Narikuravar community on Saturday | Express Cuddalore New Town police station nearby and reported the incident. Police, in turn, directed them to the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), and assisted them in drafting a complaint. Upon arriving at RDO E Abinaya’s office, they were asked to wait as she was out on work. Sometime later, A Balaraman, the Cuddalore tahsildar, arrived at the office and spoke to the Illegal bushmeat trade alive and well in Krishnagiri’s Sikkarimedu village S V KRI S HNA CHAITANYa Factsheet 79 species of monitor lizards are found in the world India is home to four: The Bengal Monitor, Common Water Monitor, Yellow Monitor and Desert Monitor @ Krishnagiri Ecological role Monitor lizards feast on insects, rodents, fish, bird eggs and crabs, thereby regulating their populations. The lizards are also scavengers and play a significant role in biomass decomposition and recycling An image of one of the two live monitor lizards with their legs tied | Express The age-old banned practice of hunting wild animals for meat and other body parts continues to be popular in Sikkarimedu, a tribal settlement in Krishnagiri that has a majority population of Narikuravars. On Saturday, TNIE visited the tribal village along with Antony Rubin Clement, a member of the state board for wildlife, who had received a tip-off regarding the alleged sale of bushmeat in the region. At 10 am, the team stopped another villager brought out near one Vijay Dhaba, near the two subadult monitor lizards, entrance to Sikkarimedu on whose legs were tied with copNH 44. Soon, an elderly man, per wire. who was seated nearby, apThe villagers offered to cut, proached and identified him- cook and serve the lizard meat, self as Sikkandar. and also provide E ve n t u a l ly, h e body massages uspress asked, in Tamil, if clusive ing oil extracted the g roup was from the reptiles. looking for an UdThey further umbu (monitor lizard), a Sched- claimed that drinking the lizards’ ule 1 species under the Wildlife blood was good for health, adding Protection Act, 1972. Upon re- that a popular Kannada actor is ceiving an affir mative re- a regular client of theirs. sponse, he escorted the team to Sikkandar told TNIE that the village. After 15 minutes, people from Bengaluru, Chen- nai and parts of Andhra Pradesh regularly visit Sikkarimedu for the bushmeat, especially on weekends. Demand for bushmeat is high among couples with infertility issues and people who are into fitness, due to its perceived medicinal value — a notion that experts have struck down as myth. Despite the Sikkarimedu villagers demanding a huge sum for the two live monitor lizards, Antony managed to convince them, acquire one of the lizards and then exited the village with TNIE. P5 Narikuravars. He took some of the adults and children to the theatre in his car, asking the others to follow. At the theatre, Balaraman issued the management a warning for refusing tickets to the Narikuravars before buying them tickets for the matinee show with his own money The . Narikuravars thanked him for his intervention and went on to watch the film. P5 e x p r e ss r e a d NHAI hikes toll at 34 TN plazas starting June 3 Chennai: As the Lok Sabha polls came to a close on Saturday, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has increased the vehicle user fees by `5 to `25 depending on vehicle category at 34 toll plazas in Tamil Nadu. The fee revision will take effect from June 3 and will be in force till March 31, 2025, according to official sources. Originally scheduled to be enforced from midnight on April 1, the revision was postponed after a directive from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways | P2
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