kannur l wednesday l july 03, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Deuba, Oli strike power-sharing deal to oust Nepal PM Prachanda Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have inked a deal to form a new ‘national consensus government’ to replace the coalition govt led by Prachanda CHINA’s man OLI TO BE PM FOR NEXT 1.5 YRS pRACHANDA not to quit, face trust vote Under the deal, Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba (78) and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist chairman and ex-PM K P Sharma Oli (72) will share the PM post on a rotational basis. The two leaders will share the premiership for one-and-a-half years each. Oli, known for his pro-China stance, will lead the government in the first phase ■ Nepali Congress, the largest party in the House of Representatives (HoR), has 89 seats, while CPN-UML has 78 seats. Their combined strength is 167, which is sufficient for a majority of 138 seats in the 275-member HoR | P9 ■ Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda (69) has refused to resign, saying he will rather face a trust vote 13 Number of governments Nepal has had in the past 16 years 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 117 DEVOTEES dIE in U.P. stampede Scores injured in mishap at religious event in Hathras women, KIDS among dead fir REGISTERED AGAINST ORGANISERS NA M ITA BA J PAI @ Lucknow PAST STAMPEDES AT least 117 people, including women and children, died due to suffocation and fatal injuries after a stampede broke out at a religious congregation in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district on Tuesday afternoon. Officials said the toll may go up as scores of people were seriously injured in the melee. The accident happened in Phulrai village of Ratibhanpur locality under Sikandrau tehsil area of Hathras district around 3 pm on Tuesday . According to Etah SP Rajesh Kumar Singh, as soon as the satsang (prayer meeting) got over, people who were packed in a small hall rushed out. They fell over each other, leading to stampede. Aligarh Range IG Shalabh Mathur confirmed 117 deaths, while unofficial reports put the number at 130. Police officials say a huge gathering of around 15,000 people had thronged the venue to attend the satsang held by Bhole Baba, a popular preacher who has followers in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana. The venue was packed to the brim. “The number of attendees exhathras ceeded the administration’s permitted limit at the venue, leading to a stampede during Bhole Baba’s satsang,” a statement by the state government Uttar said. An FIR has been registered Pradesh against the organisers and the baba, Bodies of victims of the stampede lie in a bus, at Sikandra Rao in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday | PTI who is reportedly absconding. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi The district where Who is Bhole baba? Adityanath said the government will the satsang was A former official with the intelligence wing of Uttar Pradesh Police, thoroughly investigate whether it was being held Suraj Pal turned Narayan Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba took voluntary a ‘tragedy or a conspiracy’ and take acMy thoughts are with retirement to pursue his spiritual call. He conducts weekly prayer tion against those responsible. He also conthose bereaved in Hathras. meets at various places every Tuesday, attracting many. Not a follower stituted a probe team comprising Additional Prayers with the injured. The UP govt of any guru, he claims to have got divine vision straight from God Director General of Police Agra zone Anupam is working to assist those affected Kulshreshtha and Aligarh Divisional CommissionPrime Minister Narendra Modi er Chaitra V to ascertain the reasons for the mishap. Different versions on How it happened The CM has sought the probe report with 24 hours. The congregation was much bigger According to some reports, the tragedy may have happened when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an exthan what was permitted. In the devotees tried to get a glimpse of the Bhole Baba and collect some soil gratia compensation of `2 lakh to the family of the stampede, several women, children from around the baba’s feet. After the satsang ended, the baba got up deceased and `50,000 each to the injured. The Uttar and elders died to leave. The place where he sat is considered sacred by devotees. Pradesh government will also give similar compenMany devotees rushed to the spot to collect soil, leading to stampede sation to the victims. UP minister Chaudhury Lakshmi Narayan Patchy in June Monsoon covers India six days before schedule J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi The Southwest Monsoon on Tuesday covered the entire country six days early of schedule, taking the remaining parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab in its sweep. This is the third consecutive year that the monsoon covered the entire nation on July 2 instead of the normal date of July 8. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) reiterated its prediction that the country will receive above normal rainfall i.e. over 106% of long period average (LPA) between JuneSeptember. It is expected to boost sowing of Kharif crops and ease food inflation. The onset of the monsoon was early too. It arrived in Ker, ala on May 30, two days ahead of schedule. However, its journey so far has been haphazard. The country received 11% deficient rainfall in June, which was seventh lowest in the last 24 years. Its progression was normal in the first week of June but later it got subdued in the rest of the country except South India. During June, subdued rainfall was observed especially from June 10 to 18. Rainfall improved after June 19 and there was good precipitation from June 27 to 30. The delayed monsoon is in the range of 10-15 days in different parts of the East, Northwest and Central India. The Northwest recorded the highest deficit (-32.6%) in June followed by East and Northwest (-13.3%) and Central India (-13.2%). However, the Southern Peninsula received above normal rainfall (+14.2%). Aug 27, 2003: 39 dead during Kumbh Mela in Nashik Jan 25, 2005: 340 trampled to death at Mandhardevi temple in Maharashtra’s Satara Aug 3, 2008: 162 dead, 47 injured at Naina Devi temple in Himachal’s Bilaspur Sep 30, 2008 : 250 devotees were killed at Chamunda Devi temple in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur Mar 4, 2010 : 63 killed at Ram Janki Temple in UP’s Pratapgarh district Jan 14, 2011: 104 killed in a stampede when a jeep crashed into Sabarimala pilgrims at Pulmedu Nov 19, 2012: 20 killed as a makeshift bridge caved in during Chhath Puja at Adalat Ghat in Patna Oct 13, 2013: 115 killed during Navratri festivities in MP’s Datia district Jul 14, 2015: 27 died at a major bathing spot at Godavari river in Rajahmundry, AP Jan 1, 2022 : 12 died at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in J&K No energy duty on solar power generation E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ T’Puram In a major move to support generation of solar energy in the state, the government has decided to exclude solar power from energy duty on power production. The decision comes a day after the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) increased the rate of solar energy generated at home and sold to the electricity board. Finance Minister K N Balagopal announced the decision to exclude solar power from energy duty in the assembly on Tuesday while replying to the discussion over the motion to refer the Kerala Finance Bill 2024 to the subject committee. The government had in this year’s budget announced that the energy duty on own power pro- duction will be hiked from 1.2 paise to 15 paise. The move was expected to mobilise about `24 crore. However, the government decision invited wide criticism as it affected people who set up solar power panels at houses. The minister said the exemption for solar power generation will be made during the subject committee’s examination of the Bill. In a move intended to support solar energy producers in the state, the KSERC had on Monday fixed `3.15 per unit as the rate — Average Pooled Power Purchase Cost — payable to solar power producers for settling the surplus energy for the period ending on March 31, 2024. The new rate will see an additional 46 paise per unit being paid for home-generated solar energy. Previously, the rate was KSERC on Monday fixed Rs 3.15 per unit as rate payable to solar power producers for settling surplus energy for the period ending on March 31, 2024 `2.69 per unit. The increased rate, which will have retrospective effect from April 2023, ensures that producers are compen- all set to be freed Saudi court revokes Rahim’s death penalty E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e India’s sun-observing Aditya-L1 completes first ‘halo’ orbit around L1 On Tuesday, India’s Aditya-L1 solar observation spacecraft took 178 days to complete its first revolution around the L1 point Orbit around L1 is perpendicular to the Earth-Sun axis Lagrange Point-1 (L1) is between the Sun and Earth where the gravitational forces of both balance each other out through attraction and repulsion. It is 1.5 million km from Earth To maintain this orbit around L1, it needed three thruster firings. With the third firing on Tuesday, Aditya-L1 has begun its second revolution around L1 | P5 @Kozhikode In a remarkable turn of events, Kozhikode native Abdul Rahim, who has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for the past 18 years, is set to be released soon. The Riyadh Criminal Court on Tuesday revoked the 44-year-old’s death penalty in a case relating to the accidental death of his sponsor’s paralysed son in 2006. At Tuesday’s hearing, the victim’s family accepted Rahim’s apology and informed the court of their decision to grant him amnesty . Earlier, a ‘Blood Money’ of `34 crore — raised through crowdfunding — was handed over to the victim’s family The court is ex. pected to issue the release order soon. The news has brought relief to the lakhs of Malayalees who were anxiously awaiting the outcome of the case. Their efforts culminated in a successful crowdfunding initiative that played a crucial role in securing Rahim’s amnesty . The initiative raised a whopping 15 million Saudi Riyals (around `34 crore), which was handed over to the Riyadh governorate via the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia for transfer to the royal ● More on P4 court. sated fairly for their contributions over the past year. The decision comes in the wake of numerous complaints from producers about higher electricity bills and lesser charges for the solar power sold to the grid. One of the main points of disagreement has been the payment structure for solar energy. The solar power producers were of the view that they get a raw deal when the power generated at homes is supplied to KSEB’s grids after domestic consumption. Additionally, those who have installed solar panels have to pay the tariff amount to KSEB for the electricity used directly. This dual payment system led to higher electricity rates for producers. Modi rips Rahul with his balak buddhi barb P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi In a strong pushback against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s fiery speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the country would not forgive the Congress MP for centuries for his hurtful comments about ‘Hindus’. Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, the prime minister said, “People will not forgive them for centuries… Hindu is tolerant. A conspiracy was hatched to falsely accuse Hindus. It was said Hindus are violent. This is your character, thinking, and hatred.” Rahul had on Monday alleged that BJP leaders claim to be Hindus, but they talk only of violence and hatred. Many of his comments were later expunged by the Chair. In his more than two-hour-long speech, Modi repeatedly took potshots at Rahul and the Congress. Revised norms Asserting that the grand old party on oath taking delivered its third worst performance in the national elections and With AIMIM chief failed to reach 250-mark after the Asaduddin Owaisi’s 1984 polls, he said, “Country is tell- saying ‘Jai Palestine’ ing him that you are not up to it.” after taking his oath The Lower House saw utter cha- as a Lok Sabha os throughout the speech as the member, the Speaker Opposition staged protests and on Tuesday revised trooped into the Well, raising slo- the guidelines, barring MPs from adding any gans of ‘justice for Manipur’. Taking a swipe at Rahul, Modi words, expressions, called him balak buddhi (an adult prefixes or suffixes to with a child’s mind). “A new dra- the prescribed oath or ma has been carried out to gain affirmation in the sympathy. ‘I have been beaten’ Third Schedule | P7 etc.,” he said referring to Rahul’s charge that he was targeted in different criminal cases by the Central government. “The fact is he is on bail in a corruption case, was convicted for calling an OBC community thief, and had to tender an apology before the Supreme Court for speaking lies,” Modi said. This balak buddhi at times tries to hug someone in the House and sometime winks, he quipped. On the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG, Modi said his government is taking steps on a war footing to prevent their recurrence, adding the guilty will not be spared. Arrests are taking place across the country he said. , Woman’s body parts exhumed 15 years after she went ‘missing’ EX P RE S S NEW S S ERVI C E @ Alappuzha It sounds like an episode out of a crime thriller series. Acting on a tip-off, police on Tuesday exhumed body parts, suspected to be of a woman who went missing 15 years ago, from the septic tank of her husband’s home at Eramathoor, near Mannar. Police say 27-yearold Kala was killed by her husband Anil and confederates. Five of his accomplices have been taken into custody A spe. cial team has been constituted to investigate the murder. “The incident came to light after the Ambalappuzha police received an anonymous letter a couple of months ago. The letter claimed that Kala was stran- The septic tank at the house of Anil being opened, at Mannar in Mavelikkara. (R) Kala gled to death by her husband and relatives, and buried in the septic tank in his house. We started a covert investigation and got some clues,” District Police Chief Chaithra Theresa John said. “Later, we took five into custody and they have confessed to the crime. They confirmed the claim in the letter that Kala’s body was dumped in the septic tank,” she said. The exhumed body parts will now be sent for forensic examination and DNA test, and only after that it could be ascertained whether they were of Kala, Chaithra said. Anil, who was engaged in small-time construction works, and Kala, belonging to different castes, fell in love and got married braving opposition from his family After the mar. riage, she stayed at the house of Anil’s relative. After one year, she gave birth to a son. Later, Anil went to Angola for ● More on P4 employment.
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