HYDERABAD MONDAY JUNE 17, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 12 LATE CITY EDITION T20 WORLD CUP 2024: THE WHO, WHY AND WHEN OF SUPER 8S With the group stages coming to an end on Monday, a look at the teams that have progressed, what lies ahead and more... HOW ARE THE GROUPINGS MADE? While the top two teams from each group advanced, their seedings in Super 8s will be based on initial grouping. For example, Afghanistan will remain C1 even if they finish below West Indies in Group C as the former will be replacing New Zealand in the original grouping made by the global cricketing body before the tournament | P11 ■ THREE WHO WILL FACE INDIA AND WHEN? ■ India, who will be A1, are up against Australia (B2), Afghanistan (C1) and either of Bangladesh/Netherlands (D2). They will begin their Super 8s journey against Afghanistan on Thursday The other Super 8s group will feature England, both the tournament hosts — West Indies, United States — and South Africa MATCHES WERE ABANDONED DUE TO RAIN DURING GROUP STAGES SO FAR 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 Shah seeks Kashmir-like zero-terror plan in Jammu Says Centre committed to rooting out terrorism from the region M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi UNION Minister Amit Shah on Sunday asked security agencies to replicate their success in tackling terrorism in the Kashmir Valley in the Jammu division as well. Noting that the fight against terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is in its decisive phase, Shah directed security agencies to implement ‘area domination’ and ‘zero-terror plans’ in Jammu like they did in Kashmir. Chairing a high-level meeting to review the prevailing security situation in Jammu & Kashmir in the wake of recent terror attacks, Shah directed the security agencies to work on a mission mode and ensure quick response in a coordinated manner, officials said. Reiterating the Centre’s ‘zero-tolerance policy’ against terrorism, Shah said the government will root out terrorism from Jammu and Kashmir. The gover nment’s efforts have yielded great results in Kashmir with significant reduction in terror-related incidents and improvement in the law and order situation, which is “reflected in the record inflow of tourists in the Valley”, he added. National Security Adviser Home Minister Amit Shah during a high-level meeting to review security situation in Jammu & Kashmir and preparedness for Amarnath Yatra, in New Delhi on Sunday | PTI Ajit Doval, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Army Chiefdesignate Lt General Upendra Dwivedi, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, CRPF Director General Anish Dayal Singh, BSF Director General Nitin Agarwal, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police R R Swain and other top security officials attended the meeting, which was held in the wake of terror attacks in Reasi, Kathua and Doda districts. The attacks came within a span of four days last week, killing nine pilgrims and a CRPF jawan, and leaving several others injured. Later on Sunday, Shah chaired another meeting to re- AUCTION AT LEAST 6 MINERAL BLOCKS BY JUNE 30, CENTRE TELLS TG view the preparations for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, which is scheduled to begin on June 29. During the deliberation, the minister was given a thorough briefing on the measures taken to ensure a safe and peaceful Yatra, officials said. During his interaction with the law enforcement and security agencies, the Union home minister appreciated them for the successful conduct of the Lok Sabha elections in the Union territory, which witnessed record voter turnout compared with past elections. On Thursday Prime Minister , Narendra Modi had reviewed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and directed the “deployment of the full spectrum” of “counter-terror capabilities” P8 in the region. The Union mines ministry said that the Telangana govt failed to auction any mineral blocks in past nine years and asked state to put at least six mines on sale by June end | P4 Why teach riots? NCERT’s spin on lesson cuts EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi AMID furore over the omission of references to Gujarat riots and Babri masjid demolition in the Class 12 syllabus, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) director Dinesh Prasad Saklani sought to justify it saying such topics won’t benefit students. Such content can create ‘violent and depressed citizens’, he said in an interview to PTI. “Should we teach our students in a manner that they become offensive, create hatred in society or become victim of ha- tred? Is that education’s purpose? Should we teach about riots to such young children,” he said, adding that hatred and violence should not be the focus of school textbooks. The comments come at a time when new textbooks have hit the market with several deletions and changes. The revised Class 12 political science textbook does not mention the Babri masjid but refers to it as a “three-domed structure”. It has pruned the Ayodhya section from four to two pages and deleted details from the earlier version. It instead focuses on the Supreme Court judgement Dinesh Prasad Saklani, director of NCERT | PTI that paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the site where the disputed structure once stood before it was torn down by Hindu activists in December 1992. The changes in textbooks have triggered a controversy Centre has taken note of NEET lapses, guilty to face serious action: Pradhan EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar AMID nationwide outrage over the NEET-UG fiasco, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said the Centre has taken note of two incidents of lapses in the test and those found guilty will face serious action. Pradhan also said that the Centre is mulling necessary reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA), an autonomous agency under the Education Ministry, tasked with conducting the nationwide medical entrance exam. “Two incidents of lapses pertaining to NEET has come to fore. Initial information was that some students were upset for getting less time in the exam and awarded grace marks. However, the government rejected it and on the recommendations of Dharmendra Pradhan the Supreme Court, ordered a retest of 1,563 candidates in six centres,” he said. He also said some irregularities have come to light at two places. “I assure students and parents that the government has taken serious note of it. All these matters will be taken to their logical conclusion and accountability will be fixed on those found guilty for the lapses,” he said. “No matter how senior official of NTA someone is, if lapses are found they will face strict action,” he added. The Union Minister said the NTA also needs a lot of improvement. “The NTA is an autonomous organisation. However, it needs reforms and the government has taken this into consideration,” he said while reassuring the students that the guilty will not be spared and will get the harshest punishment. Notably, allocation of grace marks and allegations of question-paper leak in the NEET-UG exam has muddied the testing system that selects students for the medical colleges. After the Supreme Court’s observation, the NTA has revoked grace marks awarded to the 1,563 students and has announced a retest on June 23. with critics accusing NCERT of promoting saffronisation of the school curriculum. Rejecting such notions, Saklani said: “If something has become irrelevant ... it will have to be changed. Why shouldn’t it be changed? I don’t see any saffronisation here. We teach history so students know about facts, not for making it a battleground.” Claiming that the NCERT’s curriculum is based on facts and evidence, Saklani said, “If we are telling about iron pillar in Mehrauli and saying Indians were way ahead of any metallurigical scientist, are we saying wrong?” INDIA bloc will support TDP if it fields Speaker candidate: Raut P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi SHIV Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the INDIA bloc will support the Telugu Desam Party if it fields its candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker. Election to the post of the LS Speaker is slated for June 26. Talking to reporters, Raut claimed the TDP wants to field its candidate. “If that happens, INDIA bloc partners will discuss the issue and try to ensure that all the INDIA alliance partners extend support to the TDP he said. ,” Raut alleged if the BJP gets the Speaker’s post, it will break the TDP, JD(U), and the outfits of Chirag Paswan and Jayant CONTINUED ON P7 Chaudhary . Babu transferred after demolition outside Jagan house E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad A day after the demolition of unauthorised structures in front of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s residence near Lotus Pond in the city, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Khairatabad Zonal Commissioner Bhorkhade Hemant Sahadeorao was transferred on Sunday. The demolition took place under the supervision of Hemant, a 2018-batch IAS officer. GHMC in-charge Commissioner Amrapali Kata issued orders transferring him “on administrative grounds .. with immediate effect”. The allegation is that the Khairatabad Zonal Commissioner did not inform higher officials about the demolition. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy holds the Municipal Administration portfolio. The talk in the GHMC corridors is that a minister from South Telangana, who passes daily through the road on which Jagan’s house is located, wanted a senior GHMC official to remove the illegal structure. The GHMC official is said to have brought it to the zonal commissioner’s notice, sources said. But neither reportedly informed the GHMC commissioner about the demolition. This is believed to have irked the higher officials and finally the zonal , commissioner was transferred. MAJOR BUREAUCRACY REJIG SOON? SERIES OF MISSTEPS Transfer of GHMC zonal commissioner was just the latest in a series of incidents where babus are said to have not kept the govt in the loop When the committee set up to probe Dharani irregularities wanted a copy of an agreement, Revenue officials did not respond and the CMO had to intervene, say sources Excise minister said no new brands of liquor were given permission to operate in Telangana. But authorities concerned had issued permits, allegedly without the minister’s knowledge B K A R T H E E K @ Hyderabad SIX months after assuming office, the Congress government in Telangana is still not finding it easy to assert control over the bureaucracy . A highly placed source in the Congress government said that they had retained most of the IAS officers in the positions that they held in the BRS government as the bureaucrats had dealt with various subject matters for a long time, and also to get details about the alleged misgovernance during former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s regime. He said a major administrative rejig will follow soon in the light of a series of incidents in which officials were acting contrary to government policy . The most recent controversy arose when GHMC authorities on Saturday demolished permanent structures set up outside the residence of former Andhra chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s residence at Lotus Pond here. The GHMC transferred the Khairatabad zonal commissioner a day later. Higher officials were reportedly not informed about the demolition. In another incident after the Congress came to power, revenue officials did not cooperate with the committee appointed by the state government to look into alleged irregularities in the Dharani portal, sources said. The officials are said to have not responded to the requests of the committee asking for a copy of the agreement executed between TerraCIS Technologies Ltd, a private company that maintains the Dharani portal, and the state government. Sources said that the committee had to approach the CMO to get a copy of the said agreement. A few days ago, officials belonging to the District Cooperative Central Bank (DCCB) in Kamareddy erected red flags in a farmer’s field as a punitive measure after he failed to repay a loan. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had earlier asked banks to avoid harassing farmers. CONTINUED ON P4 FESTIVAL DESIGNS A girl getting henna applied on her hands on the eve of Bakrid, in Kozhikode on Sunday | E GOKUL EXPRESS READ Revise water sharing ratio between AP & Telangana to 50:50: Uttam Hyderabad: Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday asked Irrigation officials to request the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal to revise the water sharing ratio between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to 50:50. He also directed the officials to initiate a dialogue with their Maharashtra and Karnataka counterparts on the pending award of Brijesh Kumar Tribunal before the Supreme Court. Uttam reviewed the progress of inter-state issues related to Krishna water disputes with senior advocates CS Vaidyanathan and V Ravinder Rao and others who represent the state government | P5 Medak clash: 9 BJP leaders among 13 held Israel pauses fighting during daytime along key aid route E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Medak A day after communal violence in Medak over the alleged transportation of cows for slaughter, police on Sunday said they had arrested 13 persons, including nine BJP workers and four people belonging to a particular community in connection with the disturbances on Saturday Deputy . Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rajesh indicated that more ar- rests could be made as investigations continue. The arrested included Medak district BJP president G Srinivas, BJP Medak town president M Nayam Prasad and BJYM district president Sateesh. Inspector General of Police (IGP) AV Ranganath rushed to Medak on Saturday night to try to defuse the tension after the clash between members of two communities. The IGP has been in Medak since then, monitoring security arrangements. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar enquired about the Medak incident with police on Sunday . He said that cases should be filed against the culprits, not the victims, and urged the police to be impartial. A total bandh was observed in Medak on Sunday after a call by the BJP and its affiliates to protest against Saturday’s CONTINUED ON P3 incident. AGENCIES AMID warnings about dire shortages of food and other essentials in the Gaza Strip, Israel on Sunday announced it will pause fighting during daytime along a route in the southern part of the Strip to facilitate aid deliveries. “A local, tactical pause of military activity for humanitarian purposes will take place from 8.00 am (0500 GMT) until Palestinian children collect food aid in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip | AFP 7.00 pm (1600 GMT) every day until further notice along the road that leads from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Salah al-Din road and then northwards,” a statement by the Israeli military said. Overland access restrictions and the closure of the key Rafah crossing with Egypt since Israeli forces seized it in early May have made it tough to get essential supplies to those in need. The “tactical pause,” which applies to about 12 kilometers of road in the Rafah area, falls far short of a com- plete cease-fire that has been sought by the international community, including Israel’s principal ally the United States, , AP News reported. The United Nations welcomed the Israeli decision. “We hope this leads to further concrete measures by Israel to address longstanding issues preventing a meaningful humanitarian response in Gaza,” UN aid agency OCHA’s spokesman Jens Laerke P9 said in an email to AFP.
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