KANNUR l thursday l july 18, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Railways rescued 84,000 at-risk children from trains and stations The Railway Protection Force rescued 84,119 children who were at risk in stations and trains since 2018, the Union railways ministry said 70% of children had run away from home more than 4,600 rescues this year Close to 70% of the children rescued under ‘Operation Nanhe Farishtey’ had run away from their homes for various reasons including parental abuse and poverty. Among the rest, some had been kidnapped and others were left behind by their parents or got lost. The ministry said the RFP is raising awareness about the persistent issue of child runaways ■ ■ So far this year, the force has rescued more than 4,600 children. About 3,400 of them have been identified as runaways The railways has established child helpdesks at over 135 railway stations. When a child is rescued, they are handed over to the District Child Welfare Committee, which hands them over to parents 17,756 Children rescued in 2022, the highest since operation Nanhe Farishtey was launched 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 gadchiroli 12 Naxals dead in encounter with police S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai At least 12 Naxalites, including a Senior Divisional Committee Member (DVCM) were killed by police at Wandoli Village on the MaharashtraChhattisgarh border on Wednesday . The Gadchiroli police received information about 12-15 Naxals camping near the Wandoli village. An operation was launched around 10 am on Wednesday and C-60 commandos led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (Operations) was sent to the area. Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police said a heavy exchange of fire broke out in the afternoon between the commandos and Naxals in Wandoli village, which continued for six hours. A police sub-inspector of C-60 and a jawan were injured. “The injured persons include a sub-inspector of C 60 and one jawan. They are out of danger, evacuated from the spot, and s h i f t e d t o N a g p u r, ” t h e SP said. The C-60 is a special unit of the Maharashtra police formed to counter Naxal violence in the Gadchiroli district. After the encounter, the police found 12 bodies of Maoists at the spot. They also recovered seven automotive weapons, including 3 AK-47s, 2 INSAS rifles, a carbine and an SLR, an official said. One of the slain Naxals was identified as DVCM Laxman Atram alias Vishal Atram, incharge of Tipagad Dalam. Maharashtra Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis has declared a `51 lakh reward for C60 commando teams and Gadchiroli Police, Nilotpal said. Further identification of Maoists and area search is continuing. K’taka job bill on ice after uproar Business leaders pan Karnataka govt’s move to impose reservation for locals in pvt firms E X P RESS NEWS SERVICE What’s in the bill @ Bengaluru days after clearing a controversial bill to provide employment reservation for Kannadigas in private companies, the Kar nataka gover nment on Wednesday night decided to put it on hold following backlash from corporate leaders. “The bill is still in the preparation stage. A final decision will be taken after a comprehensive discussion at the next cabinet meeting,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said. The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories & Other Establishments Bill, 2024 proposes 50% reservation in jobs in the private sector in the management category and 75% in non-management category for Kannadigas. After the Cabinet cleared the bill, industry bodies including K’taka CM posted on X that 100% C and D grade posts would be reserved for locals. He later deleted the post Nasscom had urged the state government to reconsider its decision. They pointed out that the proposed 100% reservation of Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ jobs for Kannadigas violated the constitutional provisions. Industries minister M B Patil, who is currently abroad, said the CM has taken due cognizance of the matter. “The bill is withheld until further con- The bill says 50% of the posts in the management category must be reserved for Kannadigas. This will be 70% for non-management jobs The bill defines Kannadigas as those staying in the state for at least 15 years and capable of speaking, reading and writing Kannada. There will be a test sultations and due diligence. Industry leaders need not panic. The government is committed to creating more jobs, and furthermore for Kannadigas, however, in a more amicable manner,” the minister said. The government’s decision to withhold the bill came after concerns expressed by many industry leaders. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder of Bio- 8 Indian crew of capsized ship rescued, search on for others Y e s h i S e l i & Maya n k S i n g h @ New Delhi Eight Indian and one Sri Lankan crew of an oil tanker that capsized off the coast of Oman three days ago were rescued on Wednesday . “Search and rescue operations to find the remaining crew members will continue in the area,” a source said adding that those rescued are recovering at a hospital in Muscat. The ship had 16 crew members, including 13 Indians. The Indian Embassy in Oman is in constant touch with the authorities there. “Search and rescue operation for the seafarers, coordinated by the Oman Maritime Security Center (OMSC) is on,” a source said. The Indian Navy’s warship INS Teg and maritime patrol aircraft P81 have joined the search. The Comoros Flagged vessel, M T Falcon, which was heading to a port in Yemen, sent a distress call on Sunday night. It capsized 25 nautical miles southeast of Ras Madrakah in Oman’s Wilayat Duqm on Monday . Rough seas The Indian Navy said on Wednesday night that the search and rescue operations are progressing amid challenging weather conditions. The area being searched is experiencing rough sea and strong winds EXPRESS READ Sidharthan’s death: Panel finds lapses on part of ex-VC T’Puram: An inquiry commission appointed by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has found major lapses on the part of M R Saseendranath, the former VC of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, in the death of J S Sidharthan, a student at College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Wayanad. P5 Waxed Elegance Oommen Chandy’s wife Mariamma Oommen, his daughter Maria Oommen and grandson Ephinoah get emotional when the former CM’s wax statue is unveiled at Sunil’s Wax Museum in East Fort, Thiruvananthapuram, on Wednesday, the eve of Chandy’s first death anniversary. Sculpted by Sunil Kandalloor, the statue will be displayed at the late leader’s tomb at Puthuppally church | B P Deepu | P4 Holiday for edu institutions in Wayanad from Thursday in view of rain. Model Residential Schools to stay open. P3 S e c u r i t y c o v er Indian canines on Paris Olympics duty Exp r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi In a first-of-its-kind cooperation with France, 10 speciallytrained commandos of the Central Ar med Police Forces (CAPFs) along with a sniffer dog squad are in France to provide security cover to various venues of the Paris Olympics that will begin on July 26. Following a request from France, the government deputed 10 Indian K9 (canine) teams that will undertake sniffing and patrolling at various venues of the Paris Olympics. The entire squad was given a special 10-week training before leaving for Paris, officials said. K9 teams along with their handlers have been drawn from the CAPFs like the Central Reserve Police Force, the Sashastra Seema Bal, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the Assam Rifles and the National Security Guard. The K9s are from the sturdy Belgian Malinois breed, which undertakes infantry patrol and anti-sabotage sniffer tasks to detect bombs, impro- vised explosive devices and trouble makers in Naxal-affected areas, the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir. The handlers of the canines have undertaken refresher physical training apart from a special capsule of basics of the French language for this assignment. CRPF’s canines Vast and Denby, along with three handlers, in Paris on Wednesday | X Belgian Malinois The Belgian Malinois are the most preferred combat dogs by security forces. They shot to fame after news broke on them assisting US special forces in locating Osama Bin Laden’s hideout in Pak. The CRPF sent two canines trained in its dog school in Taralu near Bengaluru con, said: “As a tech hub, we need skilled talent and whilst the aim is to provide jobs for locals we must not affect our leading position in technology by this move. There must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy .” Former chief finance officer of Infosys Mohandas Pai said the bill should be junked, terming it anti-Constitution. Brand specialist Harish Bijoor posted, ‘’We don’t want recruitment Raj in Karnataka. Government’s work is God’s work! This is not!” Meanwhile, labour minister Santosh Lad said the proposal won’t be imposed on firms. Information Technology Bio, technology and Science & Technolo g y Minister Priyank Kharge said the government will consult industries to ensure a favorable environment for investments and job creation for locals. Raindists, yellow: 4 alert Orange: 10 IMD predicts widespread rainfall with heavy to very heavy showers. Rainy conditions to persist until July 21 | P5 4 months’ salary not credited, CM’s ‘fellows’ find the going tough A n u K u r u v i l l a @Kochi The government’s ambitious programme to further the development plans of the state by promoting research in various domains seems to be as shortlived as a soap bubble. The Chief Minister’s Navakerala Postdoctoral Fellowship (CMNPF) announced in the 2021-22 state budget has failed miserably, as around 200 people who joined it as fellows are struggling to make ends meet since they have not received their salaries for four months. “The state gover nment launched the programme with much hype and hoopla, calling it the lone fellowship in the country that gave out the biggest amount,” says Mathew (named changed), who was a lecturer with a prominent college in the state, before he joined the programme. The situation is such that fellowship holders are forced to work part-time on daily wage or borrow money. “The state government announced fellowships ranging from `50,000 to `1 lakh per month for two years. The first batch had 75 research fellows and ‘Only they are to be blamed for delay’ Rajan Gurukkal P M, vicechairman, Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) said the senior fellows were to be blamed for their own plight. “The senior fellows have not received fellowships as many of them are yet to submit their progress reports. Evaluation of the first batch of fellows is yet to be completed. Only they are to be blamed for the delay. Then there is also the fund crunch issue,” he said. the second batch had 100,” said Ramesh (name changed). “Now, the selection list of the third batch has been announced. How does the government plan to disburse fellowships to the new batch when it has not been able to pay the dues of the previous batches,” he wondered. Through the Navakerala Fellowship, the government aimed to promote research in areas like eco-diversity ag, riculture, digital technology, genetics, climate change and the indigenous culture of Ker● More on P4 ala.
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