tadepalligudem 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 Free Sand Policy to come into effect today bench to take up NEET pleas today E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Transportation cost & seigniorage fee @ Vijayawada Supreme Court to hear batch of 38 petitions, including those seeking fresh examination SUCHITRA KA LYA N MOHA N TY @ 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- U G 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. Anakapalle murder Out on bail, accused held grudge against minor girl E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam A day after a 14-year-old girl was fatally attacked with a knife by a young man in Koppigondapalem village of Rambilli mandal in Anakapalle district, it was revealed that the accused had previously been jailed under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act for misconduct, involving the same girl and was released on bail just 10 days ago. According to police reports, the accused, identified as Suresh, harboured a grudge against the girl for his past imprisonment, which led him to commit the crime. On Saturday Suresh entered into the girl’s house , when she was alone. He allegedly gagged her with a cloth and stabbed her. The girl’s grandmother arrived at the house and repeatedly knocked on the door. Eventually, Suresh opened the door, pushed the elderly woman and fled the scene. The grandmother found the girl in a pool of blood and alerted the police. Elaborating on the case, Parawada DSP Satyanarayana said the accused, in his late 20s, lives with his grandparents next to the girl’s house. Suresh and the minor girl were in a consensual relationship. However, when the girl’s parents learnt about them, they filed a case with the police. Subsequently Suresh was jailed for 60 , days. In the police report booked earlier, the girl had stated that she no longer wished to continue the relationship. Upon his release on bail, Suresh harboured resentment towards the girl and P4 committed the crime, the DSP explained. 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 “Lacine 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 The State government is all set to re-introduce the Free Sand Policy starting Monday . People will now be able to purchase sand from the reaches by paying only transportation and seigniorage charges. The TDP government had implemented the Free Sand Policy during its 2014-19 tenure. However, when the YSRC formed government in 2019, the policy was scrapped. During the previous government, people had to pay a heavy price on a per-tonne basis to procure sand. Mining and sale of sand was entrusted to private companies, which used to pay `375 per tonne to the State government. This method made express read Six terrorists killed in twin J&K encounters Srinagar: Six terrorists were killed and two soldiers laid down their lives in twin encounters in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, officials said on Sunday. “The bodies of two terrorists were recovered from the Modergam encounter site while four bodies were recovered from the Chinnigam site on Sunday,” they said. The twin encounters in the two villages of Kulgam district began on Saturday. BSF deploys AI cameras on Bangladesh border Agartala: The Border Security Force has beefed up security along India-Bangladesh border by deploying AI-enabled cameras and facial recognition tools. The force has launched a crackdown on smugglers and touts enabling human trafficking, a senior official said. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha recently highlighted the recent spike in infiltration along the international border. Sand can be purchased from the reaches across the State by paying transportation and seigniorage charges. For first 10 days, the transactions will be offline, thereafter, the entire process will be online sand, an essential raw material for the building and construction sector, a premium commodity With the present . government re-launching the Free Sand Policy, people are set to get sand at a much more economical price. As sand mining is not possible during the rainy season, sand available at the stockyards across the State is being provided to the people under the revised policy The Mines Department . has identified a stock of 43 lakh tonnes, while the demand for the next three months (up to September) is estimated to be 88 lakh tonnes. The cost of the sand will vary between districts and sand reaches, depending on the distance from the sand reach to the stock point. “As the distance between the sand reaches and the 1 dead, many injured in stampede-like situation during Rath Yatra in Puri R a j k u m a r M o h a 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 critical. 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 Chariot of Lord Jagannath being pulled on the first day of Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha on Sunday | DEBADATTA MALLICK 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 dehydra- 9 trained jumbos to protect Nallamala forest from smugglers and poachers IV N P P r a s a d B a b u @ Ongole A herd of nine trained elephants will soon be deployed in the Nallamala reserve forest to protect the flora and fauna from external dangers. While the State Forest Department has made adequate arrangements to protect rare species of trees, wild animals and the ecosystem of the Nallamala forest from fire accidents, hunters and poachers by deploying a number of personnel, including rangers, striking forces and anti-poaching squads equipped with modern equipment, intruders often find news ways to carry out illegal activities. In this backdrop, the Nallamala reserve forest officials have requested the Karnataka State Forest Department to send a herd of nine trained elephants to safeguard the inte- rior parts of the reserve forest. It has been learnt that the Karnataka State forest officials have responded positively to the request. They have also agreed to provide mahout training to the forest personnel in Andhra Pradesh so that they can learn about the eating habits, habitation and movement of the elephants. They will also acquire skills to control the pachyderms in all situations. The Nallamala forest has been facing threats from hunters, poachers and smugglers P4 since a very long time. Paris Games village menu Indian cuisine: Madras prawn to lamb korma k a lya n i m a n g a le @ Chennai 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 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 . stockyard in NTR district is less in comparison to some other districts, sand would be cheaper here,” NTR district collector G Srijana observed. Under the policy, she explained that there will be no revenue share for the government. Only the cost of operations, along with statutory taxes and levies, will be collected. Cost of operations includes expenditure towards excavation, loading, transportation to the stockyard, ramp maintenance and administrative expenses. The Seignorage fee, DMF, MERIT, and GST will be charged as applicable. All sand reaches and stockyards were maintained by private entities in the previous government. Now, they will be under the control of the P4 Mines Department. 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. tion. 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. woman killed Sena leader held over son’s hit-and-run in Mumbai S u d h i r S u r a w a n s h 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 succumbed to her injuries,” Pradeep said, adding if Mihir Shah had stopped his car at his request, his wife would have not died. The 24-year-old Mihir was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. Mihir is absconding. The police said Mihir and his friend visited the bar and ordered beer and food worth `18,730. Maharashtra CM Ekanth Shinde has vowed strict against the guilty. “We will not protect anyone. All are equal before the law even though Mihir’s father belongs to our party Justice will be de. livered,” Shinde said. ‘Poison cans’ opened in Hathras, claims lawyer N AMITA B AJPAI @ Lucknow 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 that he would demand security for the witnesses who reached out to him with the revelation. So far, nine persons, including key accused Devprakash 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 `2 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.
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08-07-2024 of The New Indian Express-Tadepalligudem