kozhikode l monday l july 08, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Turnout in French elections highest in over four decades Voting began in mainland France on Sunday in pivotal runoff elections that could hand a historic victory to far-right or produce a hung Parliament Tactical move to stop the far right Opinion Polls predict hung parliament By Sunday 5 pm, some 61.4% of voters had turned out for the high-stakes poll —the highest number at that time since 1981. Far-right National Rally came on top in the first round of voting on June 30. However, since then many candidates from left and centrist parties have dropped out of the election to avoid splitting the vote against the National Rally | P9 ■ ■ The latest opinion polls forecast that the National Rally will fall short of the 289 seats needed for an outright majority in the 577seat French National Assembly, while still becoming the largest party This may allow Macron to possibly build a broad coalition against the National Rally. But it could also lead to political paralysis 50 Candidates reported being physically attacked while campaigning 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 Chandrachud-led bench to take up NEET pleas today Supreme Court to hear batch of 38 petitions, including those seeking fresh examination S UC H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, will on Monday hear a batch on the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam NEET-UG 2024, including those alleging irregularities and malpractices in the May 5 test and seeking a direction to conduct it afresh. According to the cause list for July 8 uploaded on the SC website, the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, is scheduled to hear a total of 38 petitions related to the exam. T hese petitions have been filed separately by both students and various educational institutions. Among the pleas is one filed by a group of 20 students seeking direction to scrap the NEET-UG exam and a Supreme Court-monitored probe by the CBI or any other independent agency into the alleged irregularities in the test. The SC had earlier stayed proceedings on similar pleas filed by students and others in various high courts. The National Eligibility-cumEntrance Test-Undergraduate is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country . The Centre and the NTA had filed separate affidavits in the SC, opposing the pleas seeking drastic steps. In its affidavit, the Union education ministry said the exam held on May 5 should not be cancelled as it would seriously jeopardise lakhs of honest candidates who attempted it. It added that it would not be rational to scrap the e n t i r e N E E T- UG exam in the absence of any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality . The NTA’s affidavit said, “The cancellation of the entire examination... would be hugely counterproductive and significantly harmful to the larger public interest.” Meanwhile, a group of students on Sunday staged a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against NEET irregularities. ‘neglect of quality’ Kerala’s higher education breeds mediocrity: Book R A J E S H A B R A H A M @Kochi Coming down hard on Kerala’s failure to improve the “awful state” of its universities and colleges, a new book has said “longtime neglect” of quality in higher education has built a “for-Kerala-by-Kerala” type of higher education, breeding mediocrity . The damning criticism of the higher education sector in the book ‘Kerala - 1956 to the Present: India’s Miracle State’ — co-authored by Tirthankar Roy professor of Economic History at the , London School of Economics, and K Ravi Raman, a member of Kerala State Planning Board — comes at a time when the state is facing an outflow of youngsters to foreign shores for higher education. Adding to the concerns, most campuses are battling murky student politics and violence. “The Kerala Model was good with primary education and an abject failure with higher education. The entry of private investment has not done much to improve the awful state of the universities and colleges,” the authors wrote. “Private investment in education has revived, as in other states. However, private investors in education rarely understand how to build quality and target quantity instead. Bureaucrats are not competent to perform the complicated task of improving the quality of educaThe cover of the book ● More on P4 tion, the book said.  express read Teen suffers shock atop train, dies Kochi: A 17-year-old boy who suffered severe burns after coming into contact with a highvoltage electric line while climbing atop a parked goods train at the Edappally railway station in Ernakulam district died on Sunday. Antony Jose, a native of Ponnekkara near Edappally, died while undergoing treatment at the ICU of a private hospital. The accident occurred when Antony tried to cross the train by climbing it after placing a wager with his friends, said a police officer. “Antony, who suffered 85 per cent burns, died around 8pm at the hospital,” the police officer said. Rice smuggling via Kochi port disguised as salt sparks alert T o b y A n t o n y @ Kochi Customs has seized shipments of long-grain white rice being sneaked out of Kochi port passed off as salt. Officers stumbled upon the ruse while inspecting purported salt shipments bound for the United Kingdom. In just the past month, they nabbed 230 tonnes of rice from 11 containers at Vallarpadam terminal. To curb the price rise in the domestic market, India imposed a ban on the export of non-basmati white rice and set a minimum export price (MEP) of $1,200 per tonne on basmati rice shipments two years ago. The MEP was reduced to $950/tonne last October. India, renowned as the world’s largest rice exporter, is famed for its premium long-grain varieties, including basmati, prized for their aroma. Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the United States are among the major destinations for the product. Globally, rice prices have surged due to ongoing conflicts and curbs by India, which accounts for nearly 40% of global rice exports. Exploiting this surge in demand, exporters are resorting to smuggling rice for hefty profits. “Most of the shipments origi- nated from exporters in Tamil Nadu. Attempts have also been made to smuggle white and basmati rice from Kozhikode. Anticipating more such attempts, we’re intensifying N A M I TA B A J PA I @ Lucknow Chariot of Lord Jagannath being pulled on the first day of Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha on Sunday | DEBADATTA MALLICK 1 dead, many hurt in stampede-like situation during Rath Yatra in Puri R aj k u mar M o ha n t y @ Puri The first Rath Yatra under the newly-elected BJP government in Odisha started on a tragic note as a male devotee was killed and several others sustained injuries when a stampede-like situation arose during the pulling of the chariots of the Holy Trinity on Sunday evening. While the deceased has been identified as Lalit Bagarti of Saintala in Balangir district, the condition of one of the injured is said to be criti- cal. The incident took place near the Hindi school, about 200 metres from Simhadwar of the Jagannath temple, when there was a mad rush to pull the Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Balabhadra — the first to roll. Eyewitnesses said, the tussle among the devotees to lay hands on the ropes and pull the chariot led to the situation. The deceased devotee fell down in the push and was trampled by others. At least, five others also fell down and sustained injuries. Volunteers shifted all of them to the district headquarters hospital where the doctors declared one dead. This apart, over 300 devotees were hospitalised due to various reasons including dehydration. Grand Road, the venue for Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra’s annual sojourn to Gundicha temple, the abode of their aunt, teemed with a sea of devotees as lakhs converged to take part in the festival with President Droupadi Murmu in attendance this year. IN a new twist to the July 2 Hathras satsang stampede, the lawyer of ‘Bhole Baba’ Narayan Sakar Hari alias Suraj Pal on Sunday claimed that witnesses told him some people opened cans containing a poisonous substance in the crowd. This, he said, caused panic among the crowd and triggered the stampede that killed 121 people, mostly women. Talking to media persons in Delhi, lawyer A P Singh also alleged conspiracy and criminal acts by some anti-social elements, who were upset about the baba’s ‘rising popularity’. “I have been told by the witnesses that there were 15-16 people carrying cans of a poisonous substance which they opened in the crowd. I have seen post-mortem reports of the deceased showing asphyxiation as the main cause of death and not the injuries,” said Singh. In his first reaction to the tragedy, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said the conspiracy angle could not be ruled out. Singh said, “There were vehicles parked at the site to help the men, who had released poisonous substance, flee. We have proof and we will submit it.” The lawyer also said he would demand security for the witnesses who reached out to him with the revelation. So far, nine persons, including key accused Devprakash CPM in fresh row: PSC membership for sale E x p ress Ne w s S er v i c e @Kozhikode Even amid plans for a course correction and an image makeover in an effort to regain its lost mass base, the CPM finds itself embroiled in a fresh corruption charge. Reports have emerged about a youth leader from Kozhikode being bribed for a term on the Public Service Commission (PSC). The youth leader, who operates out of the CPM area centre in Kozhikode, initially demanded `60 lakh as bribe to get the person the coveted position, but after several rounds of bargaining settled for Rs 22 lakh. The payment was made in full, sources said. Despite paying the amount, the person, who works in the health sector, did not get the post. Then, he was promised a high-ranking position in the Ayush department, which also did not materialise. Frustrated, he approached the CPM state leadership and filed a complaint against the youth leader, who is also the district in-charge of the CITU, the sources said. bribery deal CPM has received incriminating evidence that confirms the bribery deal. The party’s Kozhikode district committee is holding an urgent meeting on Monday to discuss the issue. The CPM state leadership held a confidential investigation. The probe found that youth leader took the bribe promising that all necessary party approvals through Public Works Minister P A Muhammad Riyas. Riyas has since de- Indian cuisine: Madras prawn to lamb korma From Chicken Tikka Masala to Lamb Korma and Madras prawn to Butter Chicken, Indian athletes will enjoy these delicacies at the Asian district lunch and dinner menu at the Games Village during the Paris Olympics. It is not just Indian dishes that are available for the athletes but there are vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free food options as well. In a novel initiative, the Indian Olympic Association has prepared a chart for Olympic-bound athletes to help A senior customs officer checks of containers carrying food grains and products,” a senior customs officer said. The modus operandi involves booking containers for salt transport. “The containers filled with rice sacks are topped off with a layer of salt sacks. Exporters assume that only basic checks are conducted at freight stations. However, we meticulously scrutinise every container to thwart smuggling,” ● More on P4 the officer said.  ‘Poison cans’ opened in Hathras, claims lawyer Paris Games village menu k alya n i ma n g ale @ Chennai We’ve observed that the price of basmati rice and long-grain white rice has tripled abroad since the export ban. All seized containers were bound for London them with their nutritional needs. The chart lists out cuisines available at the Olympic Games Village under different heads. The menu will be served on an eight-day rotational basis. The Indian contingent will be reaching the venue around July 18-20 for the July 26-August 11 event. “Most of the athletes are already working with their respective nutritionists,” Aradhana Sharma, IOAappointed chief nutritionist for the Paris Olympics, told this daily “I have been in touch . with those nutritionists and we have shared the menu with them and asked them to prepare the diet plan according to this menu because athletes will be eating in the village. For the other athletes whose personal nutritionists are not travelling, we will be supervising what the athletes are eating if they are sticking to the diet plan or not, or if there is any lastminute information they need about food or if anything needs to be replaced in their diet plans. We have shared this menu with most of the athletes and their nutritionists,” she informed. For this purpose, IOA has created “A Comprehensive Food & Nutrition Guide for Olympic Bound Athletes”, which will help the 120-strong contingent. The IOA, for the first time, has assembled a 13-member medical team headed by orthopaedic surgeon Dhinshaw Pardiwala, including two nutritionists, Dr. Sharma and Ms Mihira Khopkar. IOA believes if you bring professionals, you will get better services for the athletes. manded a thorough investigation into the entire episode. The minister had, almost a month ago, filed a complaint against a suspected caucus working in the party office in Kozhikode. The party has received incriminating evidence in the form of a voice mail that details the agreement and confirms the bribery deal. The CPM’s Kozhikode district committee is holding an urgent meeting on Monday, and state secretariat members are expected to attend. Then there were four With the semi-finalists identified, a look at how things stand at the European Championships... Spain, the team to beat Spain have been the best team. Their new-age wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams have also set the pulses racing three lions march on England have relied on individual brilliance to take them to another semifinal. It’s a 3rd semis across the last four major senior events for Gareth Southgate’s wards Semifinals Tuesday: Spain vs France Wednesday: Netherlands vs England Probe panel meets locals, witnesses The judicial panel formed by the Yogi Adityanath government on Sunday that it will grill anyone, including Bhole Baba, for its probe. The three-member panel on Sunday interacted with locals, officials and witnesses of the tragedy Compensation not enough, says Rahul Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has written to UP CM Yogi Adityanath, urging him to increase the compensation for Hathras tragedy victims. The state govt had earlier announced C2 lakh ex gratia to the families of the victims Madhukar, have been arrested in connection with the Hathras stampede. On Saturday, Hathras police said it was also probing into the suspected funding of the congregation by a political party and warned of the “strictest possible” action against it. Bhole Baba was not mentioned as an accused in the FIR lodged at the local Sikandra Rao police station. woman killed Sena leader held over son’s hit-and-run S u d h i r S u ra w a n sh i @ Mumbai A Shiv Sena leader was arrested on Sunday after a speeding luxury car, allegedly driven by his son, rammed a motorcycle killing a couple in the early hours of Sunday in Mumbai. A BMW sedan, allegedly driven by Mihir Shah, son of Rajesh Shah, rammed the twowheeler on which Kaveri Nakhawa and her husband Pradeep Nakhawa, both fisher folk, were traveling in Worli. Pradeep, who was riding the motorcycle, said when the car dashed them, he lost balance and they fell on the car’s bonnet. The driver continued to drive, dragging his wife along, while Pradeep fell onto the road. Pradeep said Mihir was driving the vehicle and he pleaded with him to stop the vehicle, but he kept driving. “He continued to drive his car and dragged my wife. I tried to run after the vehicle ... then I took the help of a taxi. We chased the car for more than a kilometer, but could not find Kaveri. So, I decided to go to Worli police station. Then we traced my wife and took her to hospital where she died,” he said. Mihir,24, was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. He is absconding.