BENGALURU  THURSDAY  JULY 18, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 18  LATE 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 |P9 ■ ■ 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 After backlash, policy on job quota for Kannadigas on ice CM says final decision will be taken after discussion at cabinet meet EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru AFTER a backlash from the private sector, the Karnataka government on Wednesday night decided to put on hold its proposed policy providing reservation for Kannadigas in jobs in the sector. “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, recently got the cabinet’s nod. The bill proposes 50% reservation in jobs in the private sector 8 Indian crew of sinking ship saved, search on for rest Y E S H I S E L I & M AYA 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 . 12 Naxals dead in encounter with cops in Maha 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. in the management category and 75% in non-management category for Kannadigas. Industry bodies had urged the government to reconsider its decision. The trade bodies had stated that the proposed 100% reservation of Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ jobs for Kannadigas violated the constitutional provisions. Industries Minister MB Patil said the CM has taken due cognizance. “The bill is withheld until further consultations and due diligence. Industry leaders needn’t 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, executive chairperson and founder, Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited, 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. He termed it “discriminatory”, “regressive” and “against the Constitution”. P4 Farmer in dhoti denied entry, mall apologises EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE A farmer from Haveri, who went to GT Mall in the city along with his wife and son on Tuesday evening to watch a movie, was denied entry. For, the security personnel at the entrance to the mall deemed the 60-year-old farmer’s attire inappropriate. While the security personnel allowed his wife and son Nagaraj, they stopped Fakeerappa, who was wearing a white shirt, dhoti and turban. Despite pleading with the security for over an hour, he was not let in. “My father was Farmer Fakeerappa was denied entry to the mall for wearing dhoti told to wear trousers to gain entry Nagaraj told TNIE. ,” After a video of the incident went viral, members of farmers’ and Kannada organisations condemned the act of the security personnel and staged a protest in front of P5 the mall on Wednesday . ED: ST Corpn fund spent on liquor during LS elections E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru ‘Jobs for every Kannadiga’ Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said his govt wants every Kannadiga to get jobs in Karnataka. “We are a proKannada government,” he said. P4 PRESS INTAKE CM, DyCM meet city mins & legislators | P2 Docs: Beware of brain-eating amoeba | P2 @ Bengaluru `90 CR DIVERTED Double decker flyovers on future Metro lines: DKS | P3 PM, Shah discuss UP potboiler | P9 Buzz of Ajit homecoming as 4 MLAs join Sharad | P10 ENFORCEMENT Directorate, which is probing the alleged multi-crore scam in the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, on Wednesday stated that funds from the corporation were used to procure liquor during the recent Lok Sabha elections. In a press release issued here, it said approximately Rs 90 crore was diverted to 18 fake bank accounts in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from the corporation’s account. The central agency said that it has recovered incriminating documents from the premises of former tribal welfare minister B Nagendra and Raichur Rural MLA Basavangoud Daddal, chairman of the corporation, linking them to handling the diverted funds. Additionally, some high-end vehicles, including a Lamborghini, were purchased using the money transferred from the corporation. Associates of Nagendra were involved in diversion of funds. ED officials arrested Nagendra under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on July 5. He is now in ED’s custody . Meanwhile, the ED officials on Wednesday picked up Nagendra’s wife Manjula from her residence in Dollars Colony for questioning in connection with the scam. Work on clearing the NH-66 at Shirur of debris was temporarily stopped due to rain Rain stops rescue ops, many still under rubble SUBHASH CHANDRA NS @ Shirur (Uttara Kannada) SEVEN people died in Tuesday’s landslide at Shirur in Uttara Kannada district, while many are still feared trapped under the rubble. The search and rescue operation, which resumed on Wednesday morning at a snail’s pace, had to be stopped owing to heavy rain and minor landslides at the spot. “The hillock, part of which came down on Tuesday contin, ues to slide, posing a threat to NDRI and other rescue personnel. “Heavy rain is causing landslides and we cannot force rescue personnel to continue with the operation,” said an official overseeing the rescue work. Police personnel have been deployed to prevent people from going near the hillock. The soil from the hillock, which caved in on the four-lane highway, slid further into the Gangavalli river, affecting its flow. Local residents claim that the slush might have carried the bodies into the river. In support of their claim, they pointed out that four bodies were recovered from the river and not from under the rubble near the highway . With some let up in the rain, the rescue operation commenced on Tuesday evening. However, the operation was called off after a few hours because of rain. Although the operation resumed on Wednesday morning, it was stopped after 9 am. The rainfall is so heavy that work on clearing the mud from the highway had P4 to be stopped.