kozhikode l saturday l june 15, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz appeals to Kashmiri Pandits to return to J&K It is time to reconcile and rebuild the broken bonds of the past, Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Friday Call amid Mela Kheer Bhawani festival ‘Homeland awaits return of Pandits’ He made the appeal in his address at the Friday congregation at the historic Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area in Srinagar, where he also felicitated the Kashmiri Pandit community on the occasion of Mela Kheer Bhawani. Thousands of Kashmiri Pandits paid obeisance at the Mata Kheer Bhawani temple at Tulmulla in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on Friday ■ Mela Kheer Bhawani is an annual event at the Kheer Bhawani temple dedicated to Rangya Devi. It is also celebrated in other shrines and temples ■ “I would ask them (Kashmiri Pandits) to return to their homeland which awaits them and live here as they did in the past in our common and shared heritage. We owe it to our next generation,” Mirwaiz said 1990 When a large number of Kashmiri Pandits fled J&K due to militancy 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 Kochi airport turns mourning ground as hundreds gather to receive mortal remains of Kuwait fire victims CM, ministers and officials pay last respects to the deceased Pained Kerala grieves as bodies arrive home A NN A J O S E @Kochi Police officers offer guard of honour to the victims of the Kuwait building fire after their mortal remains were brought to the Kochi airport in a special Indian Air Force aircraft on Friday morning. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, ministers and other officials are also seen | A Sanesh Azadi SPEECH Delhi L-G nod to prosecute Arundhati Roy under UAPA A S HI S H S RIV A S TA V A @ New Delhi delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Friday gave his nod to prosecute author-activist Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain, former professor of the Central University of Kashmir, under the stringent UAPA in connection with a 2010 FIR, which accused the duo of “delivering provocative speeches in public”. Roy and Hussain had allegedly called for an independent Kashmir at a conference organised under the banner of ‘ zadi A — The Only Way’ on October 21, 2010 at LTG Auditorium in Delhi. The major topic of discussion was “separation of Kashmir from India”, Raj Niwas officials said on Friday . Arundhati Roy Last October, Saxena had granted prosecution of the duo in the same case under Section 196 of CrPC for commission of Sheikh Showkat offences punHussain ishable under different sections of IPC. The case against the two was registered after a police complaint lodged by a Kashmiri social activist Sushil Pandit. He also filed a complaint before the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi. An FIR was registered on November 29, 2010 in which Roy, Hussain, Kashmiri separatist leader Sayed Ali Shah Geelani, and former Delhi University professor Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani were booked for the offences of sedition, promoting enmity between dif ferent groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc with imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration. They were also charged with the act aimed at public mischief. However, Sayed Ali Shah Geelani and Abdul Rahman Geelani passed away during the pendency of the case. Talks, diplomacy path for Ukraine peace, says Modi Holds talks with Zelenskyy; also meets Pope Francis at G7 Summit Agencies Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks with world leaders at Italy’s Apulia on the sidelines of the G7 summit, but what caught the eye were his interactions with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Pope Francis. In his talks with Zelenskyy, Modi assured that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Ukraine war, adding the way to peace is through “dialogue and diplomacy”. He said India believes in a human-centric approach to the conflict. The upcoming Swiss peace conference for Ukraine also figured in the talks. Modi described the meeting as very productive and said India is eager to further cement bilateral relations. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra were part of Modi’s delegation at the talks. The Ukranian readout said, “The president spoke Prime Minister Narendra Modi embraces Pope Francis at Italy’s Apulia on Friday | X about the functioning of the Black Sea transport corridor, which makes it possible to increase exports of sunflower oil to India and turnover of o t h e r c at e g o r i e s o f goods.” Later in the day, Modi met Pope Francis with a warm embrace at the Outreach session of the G7 Summit and invited him to visit India. “Met Pope Francis on the sidelines of the @G7 Summit. I admire SC notice to NTA, Centre on petition for CBI probe S U CHITR A K A LYA N M O H A NT Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Centre on a plea seeking CBI investigation into allegations of question paper leak and other irregularities in the NEET-UG exam held across the country on May 5 this year. A two-judge vacation bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta sought the responses within two weeks and tagged the cases with other petitions raising similar issues. The batch of pleas will now be heard on July 8, when the top court will start functioning after the summer vacation. The development comes a day after the NTA and the Centre told the SC that the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates in the NEET-UG exam will be cancelled. They will have the option to either take a re-test on June 23 or forgo the compensatory marks awarded for the loss of time, the court was told. The petitioners alleged cheating happened in the medical entrance exam. “Cheating in entrance exams undermines the principles of meritocracy and equal opportunities which are essential for fostering social mobility and ensuring fairness in society,” the plea said.Responding to the submission for ordering a CBI probe, the bench said NTA’s reply was necessary before an order could be passed. his commitment to serve people and make our planet better. Also invited him to visit India,” Modi said in a post on X. Modi and the BJP have made several overtures to the Christian community before the general elections. Modi was seen in a light-hearted exchange with the 87-year-old head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Modi also held talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron. A father who lost his son, a man mourning the death of his brother, a group of youngsters waiting to receive the body of their dear friend, and a woman holding a newborn breaking into tears, looking lost. Close by, another group discussing funeral arrangements back home somewhere in north Kerala. The Kochi airport turned into a huge gathering of mourners on Friday as hundreds of people from across the state converged at the airport terminal to receive the mortal remains of the expatriates who died in the Kuwait building fire. The special Indian Air Force aircraft carrying the mortal remains of the 45 Indians landed at the airport around 10.25am. Thirtyone bodies — those of 23 Keralites, seven Tamils, and a Kannadiga — were brought out of the aircraft even as 30 ‘Several Keralites among 30 in hosps’ Kochi: Around 30 people — most of them from Kerala — have been admitted to various hospitals following the massive building fire in Kuwait that left 46 Indians dead, said Veena George, minister for health and family welfare. Veena said, according to reports, nearly four of the patients have been admitted to ICUs. ambulances were lined up outside the cargo terminal to take them to various destinations. Ta b l e s w i t h wh i t e clothes were arranged with names and photographs of the deceased printed over them— the airport terminal resembled a huge funeral ground with thousands in attendance, from Chief Minister Pinarayi Delimitation hurdle for women’s reservation Speaking to this newspaper, senior Congress leader and With its Southern allies in Lok Sabha MP Manickam play the BJP-led NDA govern- Tagore said the linkage with , ment may face roadblocks in delimitation could delay the implementing the Women’s implementation of women’s Reservation Bill, which hinges reservation, adding the BJP is on Census and delimitation. planning it for 2034. “The enWith the Telugu Desam Par- tire Opposition voted for the ty (TDP), the main ally of the passage of the bill and we want NDA, calling for consensus on it to be immediately impledelimitation, the BJP may face mented. But the government’s huge challenges real intention is Would it politically in implementing to delay it,” he help the govt at all? said. the bill passed A TDP leader, during Modi 2.0. The question is whether the on the condition The 33% quota for govt would go for of anonymity, women in the Lok delimitation after the BJP Sabha and state faced setbacks in states like told this paper assemblies will UP. “In 2019, the BJP swept that the party will not support come into force the Hindi heartland. Now after delimitation the landscape has changed. delimitation as o f L o k S ab h a Even if UP or Bihar get more the state will lose seats, scheduled seats after delimitation, it Lok Sabha seats. Echoing the for 2026. may not benefit the BJP,” view, noted econSeveral OpposiPronab Sen said omist and tion parties from the South have raised concerns former chief statistician Prothat the delimitation on the ba- nab Sen told this paper that the sis of population would lead to women’s quota will get stuck the states losing out in repre- because delimitation and censentation as they were success- sus have been written into the ful in controlling population. bill. “Why should the impleTo undertake the delimitation, mentation of the Women’s bill the government must conduct be connected to delimitation? the decadal Census, which has The government will face opbeen indefinitely postponed position from Southern states since 2021 because of the Cov- as well as from Maharashtra and Gujarat,” said Sen. id-19 pandemic. P r e e t h a Na i r @ New Delhi Vijayan to Union Minister Suresh Gopi and most of the state ministers. A resident of Keezhvaipur in Pathanamthitta, Babu was inconsolable as he waited at the airport to receive the body of his son, Cibin Abraham, 32. This is the third death in the family in recent months. He lost his wife Alice to cancer a few months ago while his mother-in-law passed away in January . Cibin was working in the same company where Babu worked for 18 years before returning home in 2022. “I stayed near this building. A few Tamils who passed away in the accident were my friends then. I didn’t know I would lose my son and friends, all at the same time,” Babu said. Cibin had gone back to Kuwait in February after the baptism of his daughter, Irene. ● More on P4 EXPRESS READ CM inaugurates Loka Kerala Sabha T’Puram: The skill and expertise of expatriates should be properly utilised for the welfare of all sections of society in the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said while inaugurating the fourth edition of the Loka Kerala Sabha in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. P2 Hepatitis B vaccine shortage hits hosps T’Puram: Hospitals in the state are facing a hepatitis B vaccine shortage that could potentially place the lives of newborns at risk. Though the shortage is acute in private hospitals, some government hospitals have also been affected. P5 SRINIVAS HEGDE, DIRECTOR OF CHANDRAYAAN-1, PASSES AWAY The former Isro scientist was the mission head of India’s first lunar mission that discovered water molecules on Moon. The 71-year-old was admitted in hospital after a heart attack 2 0 2 3 S ur v e y data Student migration from state nearly doubled in 5 yrs Exp r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ T’Puram Student migration from Kerala has nearly doubled in five years, from 1.29 lakh in 2018 to 2.50 lakh in 2023, showed the Kerala Mig ration Survey (KMS) 2023 released by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in T h i r u va n a n t h ap u r a m o n Friday . The KMS 2023 put the total number of emigrants from Kerala at 2.2 million. This was 2.1 million in the KMS 2018. Nine districts witnessed a considerable decline in the number of people moving aborad compared to 2018, indicating that international migration has reached saturation. A further decline was reversed by the significant rise in student migration. The number 2.2 million - total emigrants from Kerala Students’ migration increased from 1.29Lin 2018 to 2.50L in 2023 Students constitute 11.3% of emigrants 4.2 lakh instances of family migration 1.8 million return emigrants Most emigrants from Tirur taluk and lowest from Devikulam GOING PLACES of student migrants rose from 1,29,763 in 2018 to about 2,50,000 in 2023. Underlining a significant shift in emigration demographics, the report said there was an increase in the number of A2,16,893cr total remittances to the state Kollam got 17.8% remittances & Malappuram 16.2% The KMS 2023 was conducted by the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation with technical support from the International Institute of Migration and Development chaired by S Irudaya Rajan people leaving at a very young age, as early as 17 years. Students constituted 11.3% of total emigrants, indicating that a growing number of younger individuals are choosing to migrate, particularly for educa- tional opportunities, the survey said. According to KMS 2023, inward remittances to the state came in at `2,16,893 crores in 2023, a 154.9% increase from `85,092 crores in 2018. Average annual remittance per emig rant household rose to `2,23,729 from `96,185. In 2023, Kollam surpassed Malappuram in terms of household remittances. It received 17.8% of the share compared with Malappuram’s 16.2%. For the first time, the KMS 2023 estimated an outward remittance of `43,378 crore which is about 20% of the inward remittance. Two out of five households in the state had non-resident Keralites, the report said. The global Malayali diaspora is estimated to be 5 million ● More on P2 strong.
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