tirupati l tuesday l june 18, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Fresh tensions as Chinese, Filipino ships collide in disputed waters The incident near the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea (SCS) comes amid rising tensions and dangerous military maneuvers by both sides Beijing, Manila point fingers at each other a major flashpoint in south china sea The Chinese coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered the waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, ignored warnings and dangerously approached a Chinese vessel, resulting in Monday’s collision. The Philippines says the shoal and the waters nearby fall within its exclusive economic zone and Chinese ships have no business being there — a claim disputed by Beijing | P9 ■ ■ Several incidents of near collision have been reported in recent months near the shoal, where Manila maintains a post aboard a World War II-era ship The incident comes at a time when China is aggressively pursuing its territorial claims in the SCS. Just days ago, a new Chinese law took effect that allows for detention of foreigners who enter SCS without permission 1,000+ km is the Distance between mainland china and the second thomas shoal 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 Damage massive, uncertain when Polavaram proj can be finished: CM S Guru Srikanth @ Polavaram (Eluru district) Rescue work underway after a speeding goods train rammed into the stationary Kanchanjunga Express near Rangapani railway station in West Bengal on Monday | PTI Goods train rams express, kills 9 Stationary Kanchanjunga Express hit in the rear by speeding goods train in West Bengal S u l a g n a S e n g u p ta & R a j es h T h a k u r @ Kolkata / New Delhi A fast-moving goods train rammed into a stationary passenger express from behind in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district on Monday morning, killing at least nine persons and injuring over 40 others. The toll may go up as some of the injured are said to be serious. According to reports, the goods train overshot the red signal at high speed and collided with the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express. The impact was such that four rear compartments of Kanchanjun- ga Express were thrown off track. The loco pilot of the goods train, which was on its way from Agartala in Tripura to Sealdah (West Bengal), and a guard of the passenger train are among those killed in the accident. The collision occurred near Rangapani station, 30 km from New Jalpaiguri station. The Kavach anti-collision system has not been implemented on the route, said an official. Local media reports quoting police sources pegged the toll at 15. While the Commissioner of Railway Safety has initiated a probe, conflicting versions emerged. Speaking to media persons in Delhi, Railway Board Chairperson Jaya Varma Sinha blamed the loco pilot of the goods train for the accident. “The collision happened because the goods train disregarded the signal and hit the Kanchanjunga Express,” he said. However, the loco pilots’ union said the automatic signalling system was defective since 5.50 am on Monday and the loco pilot had got written authorisation to go past the sig- Fresh peace talks with Meiteis & Kukis: Shah M UK E S H RANJAN @ New Delhi Rajahmundry railway station to get `250-cr makeover E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada Rajahmundry railway station is all set to be developed with a cost of `250 crore and would be equipped with facilities to cater the growing needs of the region. Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday reviewed the Rajahmundry Station Redevelopment Project and announced a comprehensive plan. The station is currently handling 86 halting, three originating, and three terminating trains daily and will be upgraded to meet the growing demands of the region. The redeveloped station will be designed to cater to the projected footfall of 9,533 people per hour and 95,328 people per day by 2071-72, making it a world-class transportation hub, a statement issued by the South Central Railways read. The project is part of the SCR zone’s efforts to modernise and upgrade its infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of the region. The redevelopment plan includes an iconic station building with facilities to cater the needs of people for another 50 years, spacious concourse/roof plaza connecting the terminal building, platforms having all essential facilities, including food court, retails, ATM, One Station One Product stalls, play zone for kids, pharmacy etc. The plan also includes integration of both sides of the city (station building on both sides of the tracks), and facilities for Divyangjan (physically-challenged) and senior citizens. P4 Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said the Centre would hold talks with both the Meiteis and the Kukis to bridge the ethnic divide in Manipur and restore peace and tranquility at the earliest. He made the statement at a highlevel meeting to review the security situation there amidst reports of fresh incidents of trouble in the state. Shah was given a detailed briefing on the situation by Security Advisor to the Manipur government Kuldiep S i n g h , D G P R a j iv Singh and Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi. The home minister assured that the head count of Central Armed Police Forces would be increased if required and directed them to ensure their strategic deployment. He also asked the officials to take strict legal action against those who indulge in violence, officials said. As for those at relief camps, Shah directed Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi to ensure proper health and education facilities for the displaced people and their rehabilitation. The home minister took stock of the situation a day after Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey called on him here. On June 10, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had expressed concern over peace eluding Manipur for over a year. There were reports of fresh violence in capital Imphal and Jiribam recently, the officials said, adding that the Centre is worried over the violence spreading to new areas like Jiribam, which has been by and large peaceful in the past one year since the ethnic clashes erupted in May 2023, the sources said. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande, Army Chief-designate Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi were present at the hour-long meeting. Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023 after a tribal solidarity march in the hill districts protesting against a high court order on Scheduled Tribe status to the Meiteis. nals. The document, called TA 912, was reportedly issued to the driver of the goods train by the station master of Ranipatra, authorising him to cross all red signals. However, officials said even with TA 912, the train should have moveed at 15 kmph. This speed limit seems to have been breached, said sources. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw rushed to the accident spot to take stock of the rescue efforts. He also announced `10 lakh ex gratia to the next of kin of the deceased. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the Rail ministry is not bothered about passenger safety . The Polavaram project is a case study on how wilful and ignorant decisions can adversely impact the larger interests of the State, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said following his field visit to the irrigation project site on Monday . This is Naidu’s first visit to the Polavaram project after becoming Chief Minister. Expressing dismay over the devastation caused to the Polavaram project, Naidu said given the extent of damage, it is uncertain as to how much time and money would have to be spent to complete the project. Deeming former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy unfit of being in politics, the 74year-old said, “It is saddening to see so much effort and so much of taxpayers money wasted just because of an ignorant and willful decision taken by the previous government.” The previous YSRC regime went ahead with changing executing agencies even after being advised against such a move by the Central Water Commission and Ministry of Jal Shakti, he pointed out. “Had the earlier executing agencies been continued, the <=-6.5°C -6.5 to -4.5 -4.4 to -3.1 -3.0 to -1.6 -1.5 to 1.5 1.6 to 3.0 3.1 to 4.4 4.5 to 6.4 >=6.5 Now, night ‘heatwaves’ Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inspecting the Polavaram project works, along with other officials, on Monday | Prasant Madugula Assembly session likely from June 24 A 3-day session of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly is likely to commence on June 24. Sources said TDP leader Gorantla Butchaiah Chowdary is likely to be the pro-tem Assembly Speaker project would have been completed by 2020. These agencies could have also been held responsible for any lapses that might have emerged,” Naidu said. He remarked that chang- As Rahul picks Rae Bareli, Priyanka set to make poll debut from Wayanad PR E E THA NAIR @ New Delhi Circled regions represent the places where warm nights were observed With the North continuing to bake, warm night to severe warm night conditions observed some parts of HaryanaChandigarh-Delhi and in isolated pockets of UP on Monday. Warm night conditions observed in isolated pockets of Punjab, Rajasthan and West Madhya Pradesh how it is classified Warm nights are those when the maximum temperature is at 40°C or above and the departure from normal is 4.5°C to 6.4°C. It gets categorised as a severe warm night if the departure is over 6.4°C Ending suspense, the Congress on Monday announced that former party chief Rahul Gandhi will retain the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make her electoral debut from the Wayanad seat. Rahul had won both Rae Bareli and Wayanad with a huge margin of votes. This paper was the first to report on June 7 that Rahul would retain Rae Bareli and let go of the Kerala constituency . On fielding Priyanka from Wayanad, Congress leaders said the party wanted to send out a message that it hasn’t abandoned Wayanad and Kerala. Political observers say that Priyanka’s entry is a strategic move by the grand old party ahead of the 2026 Kerala assembly elections. The decision came after the Congress top leadership met at party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s in the national capital. Speaking to the media, Rahul said he has an emotional India committed to boost Tiger struck by speeding car, strategic ties with U.S: MODI dragged for half km in Nellore Y es h i se l i @ New Delhi India is committed to strengthening its comprehensive global strategic partnership with the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday after meeting the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who is on an official visit to India. “Met US National Security Advisor @JakeSullivan46. India is committed to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership for global good,” Modi wrote on X. Sullivan briefed Modi on the progress achieved in various areas of bilateral cooperation, particularly under the Initiation on Critical and Emerging Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan Technologies (iCET). “PM expressed satisfaction at the speed and scale of the growing bilateral partnership in all areas and the convergence of views on regional and global is- ing agencies and transferring experienced officials during the execution of crucial works pertaining to the upper cofferdam created a gap in the project, which proved fatal during the floods in 2019 and 2020. “The gap in the upper cofferdam was to be filled before the flood season. However, due to change in agencies and officials, no work was done. In the subsequent floods, about 35% of the diaphragm wall was badly damaged at four different places. Even stability of the upper cofferdam is doubtful given the leakages observed,” P4 he added. sues of mutual interest,” a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said. Sullivan also met the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. “We had a comprehensive discussion on a broad range of bilateral, regional and global issues. We are confident that India-US strategic partnership will continue to advance strongly in our new team,” Jaishankar wrote on X. Earlier in the day, Sullivan and Doval co-chaired the second meeting of iCET where they reviewed the progress in implementing the ambitious initiative. The two discussed ways to bridge the innovation ecosystems in various sectors. E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Nellore A tiger reportedly sustained severe injuries to its leg after it was struck by a speeding car on the Nellore-Mumbai national highway near Kadirinaidupalle village in Marripadu mandal, Nellore district on Monday The . incident occurred when the tiger attempted to cross the highway in the Kadirinaidupalle forest area. The impact was so forceful that the car driver, identified as Srinivasulu, dragged the wild animal for almost half a kilometre before managing to halt the vehicle. Eyewitnesses said the tiger suffered noticeable injuries to its leg, yet it swiftly retreated As a result of the collision, the car’s front portion was damaged | Express back into the forest after the accident. While the front of the car was significantly damaged in the collision, all the five occupants, natives of Badvel, were unhurt. Upon receiving reports, forest officials promptly arrived at the scene to conduct an investiP4 gation. connection with Rae Bareli and Wayanad and both constituencies will now have two MPs. “Priyanka will contest from Wayanad, but I will also go there frequently and fulfil all the promises we made to the people. I have an old connection with Rae Bareli and I am happy to represent them, but it wasn’t an easy decision. The people of Wayanad supported me. My doors will be always open for them,” he said. For her part, Priyanka said she will help her brother in Rae Bareli and would be available in both seats. Apart from Rahul and Priyanka, Sonia Gandhi and senior leader K C Venugopal were also present in the meeting at Kharge’s house. express read Will curb ganja menace in 100 days: Lokesh Vijayawada: Minister for HRD, IT, Electronics and Communication Nara Lokesh asserted that steps will be taken to curb ganja menace across the State within 100 days. He said he has already held talks with Home Minister V Anitha and police officers to prevent sale of ganja | P4 Russian President Putin to visit North Korea Seoul: Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea for a two-day visit starting Tuesday, both countries announced, amid international concerns about their military cooperation. Putin is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for talks as they deepen their alignment | P9
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.