Lakshya Sen MANGALURU  THURSDAY  AUGUST 1, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 14  CITY EDITION LAKSHYA AND KUSALE VICTORIES HEADLINE INDIA’S DAY AT THE GAMES CHANCE FOR ANOTHER MEDAL IN SHOOTING India’s third medal at Paris Olympics could also come in shooting with Swapnil Kusale qualifying for the finals of 50m rifle 3 positions. While Aishwary Pratap Tomar missed out, Kusale has a chance to add to India’s tally in the final on Thursday. Meanwhile, boxer Lovlina Borgohain (75 kg) advanced to the quarterfinals and is one win away from securing a medal Shuttler Lakshya Sen overpowered Indonesia’s world number 3 Jonatan Christie while Swapnil Kusale entered 50 m rifle 3 positions final LASKHYA, SINDHU ENTER ROUND OF 16 ■ Despite being in a must-win position, Lakshya Sen was not flustered. That he was up against World No 3 Jonatan Christie didn’t matter. In a contest that lasted less than an hour, Sen cruised past the reigning All England and Asian champion 21-18, 21-12 to enter the pre-quarters P V Sindhu, beat Kristin Kuuba 21-5 21-10 to reach last 16 | P13 ■ 2nd CONSECUTIVE GOLD FOR NEW ZEALAND WOMEN IN RUGBY SEVENS EVENT 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 Wayanad received 7% of its seasonal rainfall on July 30 J I T E N D R A C H O U B E Y @ New Delhi An aerial view of Chooralmala, part of which was wiped off in Tuesday’s landslides; rescue workers could be seen looking for signs of life beneath the slush | WAYANAD received extreme rainfall in the few days prior to Tuesday’s landslide, according to data released by India Meteorological Department. An analysis of the data shows that the district received as much as 7% of its entire seasonal rainfall in 24 hours (from Monday morning to Tuesday morning) and 21% of the total seasonal rainfall in the past two weeks. The district, which had been facing deficient rainfall since the arrival of the Southwest monsoon, dramatically jumped to the ‘normal rainfall’ category due to the extreme rainfall S SENBAGAPANDIYAN 249 AND COUNTING Elderly woman waits in despair for her loved ones K S H I V A K U M A R @ Meppadi (Wayanad) 1,500 RESCUED SO FAR; 240 PEOPLE STILL MISSING ALMOST 90% OF HOUSES IN MUNDAKKAI DESTROYED TOLL COULD GO UP AS TIME RUNS OUT FOR RESCUE The Centre had sent multiple warnings about floods and landslides, starting as early as July 23, but the Kerala government ignored them, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday in Parliament THERE WAS NO WARNING: PINARAYI Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said only an orange alert was issued and the actual rainfall was much higher than forecast. He said a red alert was issued after the landslides MUDA ‘scam’: Guv issues notice to CM? EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru IN a fresh political development, Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot is learnt to have issued a notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on July 27, seeking an explanation from him on the alleged irregularities in the allotment of sites to his wife by MUDA. Activist TJ Abraham met the governor on July 25 and sought his permission to prosecute Siddaramaiah. Accordingly, the governor issued the notice to the CM. To discuss this matter, Siddaramaiah has decided to hold a cabinet meeting at 11 am on Thursday The meeting will de. liberate on options, including passing a resolution against the next move of the governor, according to sources. Before the cabinet meeting, Siddaramaiah will have a “breakfast” meeting with his cabinet colleagues at 9.30 am. In fact, the CM discussed the matter with the high command in Delhi on Tuesday. After returning on Wednesday evening, he rushed to Energy Minister KJ George’s house. The governor too was in Delhi amid these developments. According to sources, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy had his role in these political developments. He had announced that JDS will not back BJP’s padayatra plan. By announcing this, he managed to pressure Union Home Minister Amit Shah to initiate legal action against Siddaramaiah, according to a source. M A N O J V I S W A N AT H A N @ Chooralmala FLATTENED houses, mangled vehicles, huge boulders, uprooted trees, and mud and slush everywhere. The twin Wayanad villages of Chooralmala and Mundakkai resemble graveyards after two landslides ripped through them in the early hours of Tuesday . According to sources, the toll has touched 249. And around 240 are missing. Their relatives wait in anguish as scores of rescue workers continue wading through knee-deep slush searching for signs of life. In Mundakkai, around 90% of the houses have been destroyed; they are filled with heaps of mud. The villagers were asleep when the mountains came crashing down, bringing torrents of mud, water and boulders. They didn’t have a chance to escape. The debris crashed into houses and buried them. The village, which was known for its scenic beauty and the green canopy is now filled with mud. , There is no trace of any greenery . The feet sink as one steps into the courtyards of houses. There are many open wells in the area that have been filled with mud, caution rescue workers. Death lurks around every corner and one reckless step can be costly . The Army, Navy, National Disaster Response Force, Coast Guard, Fire Force, Police, Civil Defence Force, and volunteers of NGOs are risking their own lives as they search for survivors in the slush. On Wednesday, the rescue workers brought 19 people who were stranded at a resort in Mundakkai to the relief centre and retrieved five bodies. In all, 1,500 people were saved from landslide-hit areas. However, their job is not over as many are missing and the task gets tougher as they reach remote areas. The rescue workers, most of them volunteers, are fighting inclement weather and hostile terrain. “My wife and eight other family members are missing,” said Soman of Mandapathil house in Mundakkai. “The house lies buried,” he said. Top: A mother and daughter at a relief camp; Above: People searching for their belongings | A SANESH / S SENBAGAPANDIYAN WAYANAD DELUGE JULY 31 JULY 30 JULY 29 JULY 17 KERALA GOVT IGNORED OUR ALERTS: SHAH -29% Deficit IN a major setback to the BJP-JDS alliance, Union Minister HD Kum a r a sw a m y o n We d n e s d ay slammed BJP over its proposed padayatra’s timing and involvement of a prominent leader from that party who worked against former , PM HD Deve Gowda’s family during the recent elections, in it. The BJP has decided to organise the padayatra from Bengaluru to Mysuru to protest against the ruling Congress over the alleged scams in MUDA and ST development corporation, For the first time after joining the Modi-led NDA government, Kumaraswamy has spoken against BJP and now, the padayatra looks uncertain. “Who is Preetham Gowda?,” Kumaraswamy questioned, referring to BJP state general secretary Preetham Gowda’s involvement in planning the padayatra. “I am hurt as they (BJP leaders) involved Preetham, who wanted to destroy Deve Gowda’s family in planning the pa, dayatra. He is the one who had distributed pendrives in Hassan. Now, BJP leaders want me to join hands and share dais with him,” he told Hamas’ political chief Haniyeh assassinated AGENCIES Ismail Haniyeh TWIN STRIKES 27 July: A rocket strike in Israelannexed Golan kills 12 children 30 July: Israeli strike on Beirut targets Hezbollah leader blamed for Golan attack 31 July: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Israeli attack on Tehran, says Iran IN the most significant blow to Hamas since the start of the ongoing war in Gaza, its political chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday . Iran said Israel was behind the predawn airstrike that killed him. Israel is yet to comment. Just a day earlier, Haniyeh had attended Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration in Tehran. The assassination follows an Israeli attack on Beirut targeting a Hezbollah commander, who is said to have ordered a rocket attack that killed 12 children in Golan Heights. The attacks on two regional capitals have heightened fears of a wider conflict. “We consider it our duty to seek revenge for his blood,” Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. There are also concerns that the attack may derail Gaza ceasefire talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting of his security cabinet on Wednesday to discuss potential blowbacks, The Times of Israel reported. As political head, Haniyeh played a key role in shaping Hamas’ foreign policy, but was less involved in its military affairs, Michael Milshtein, FULL COVERAGE: P11 a Hamas expert, told AFP. 857.9 mm 1,210 mm -23% 1,185.5 mm Deficit 1,529 mm -15% 1,349.8 mm Normal 1,580 mm -15% 1,367.1 mm Normal 1,603.3 mm Actual rainfall Normal rainfall Note: IMD data for each day is on cumulative rainfall in 24 hours ending 8.30 am HDK slams BJP, says won’t join padayatra E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru in the 24 hours between July 29 and July 30. For example, on July 28, the district received only 9 mm rainfall, which was 73% lesser than that day’s normal (32.9 mm) rainfall. The next day on July 29, , it received a whopping 141.9 mm of rainfall, which was 493% above the daily normal rainfall. Wayanad’s annual average rainfall is 2,800 mm while the Southwest monsoon’s seasonal average rainfall (June-September) in the district is 2,464.7 mm. It means, the total precipitation from July 29 morning to July 30 morning was 6% of the annual precipitation and around 7% of the seasonal precipitation. reporters. Preetham is a former BJP MLA from Hassan. On Tuesday, the JDS core committee headed by senior MLA GT Devegowda suggested that BJP postpone the padayatra in view of heavy rain and landslides in the state. People from the Old Mysore region are busy with agricultural activities and BJP had finalised the padayatra without consulting local JDS leaders, he said. Kumaraswamy said, “We decided to step back as this is not the right time to take out the padayatra. Who will benefit from it when people are facing several issues.” P5 Infy gets `32K cr GST notice shock U M A K A N N A N @ Bengaluru INFOSYS, the second largest IT services company in the country has been slapped , with `32,403 crore GST evasion notice by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI). The pre-show cause notice is for non-payment of GST from July 2017 to March 2022 towards expenses incurred by its overseas branch offices. The company in a BSE filing said Karnataka State GST authorities first issued a notice. Subsequently , Infy received a notice from DGGI. According to the notice viewed by this paper, “Infosys Ltd, Bengaluru is liable to pay IGST (Integrated Goods and Services Tax) under reverse charge mechanism on supplies received from branches located outside India to the tune of `32,403.46 crores for the period 2017-18 (July 2017 onwards) to 202122.” In its filing, Infosys said, “The Company believes that as per regulations, GST is not applicable on these expenses. Additionally , as per a recent Circular issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on the recommendations of the GST Council, services provided by the overseas branches to Indian entity are not subject to GST.” All its GST dues cleared, the company added. MAHADEVI, 75, who hoped to spend her twilight years happily with her grandchildren, now finds herself in a relief camp here anxiously waiting for news about her family members who went missing after the landslide a few days ago. Whenever she hears the siren of an ambulance, Mahadevi rushes out to see if her loved ones are brought to the camp. Mahadevi, who hails from Ukkalagere village in T Narasipura taluk of Mysuru district, moved to Meppadi in Wayanad district a few years ago along with her family members. At Meppadi, her family members worked as daily wagers and used to visit Ukkalagere village during off-season. However, tragedy struck Mahadevi’s family when the landslide swept away nine members of her family.The body of Shreya, her 19-year-old granddaughter, has been recovered. But the fate of Mahadevi’s sons Gurumalla, 60, Shivanna, 45, and Siddaraju, 42, her daughters-in-law Savitha and Savithri, 40, and her grandchildren Ashwini, 13, Rakshith Krishna, 10, and Divya, 30, is not known. With so many of them losing their loved ones, uneasy calm prevails at the relief camp. Mahadevi, however, manages to keep her grandchildren, aged between 6 and 10, engaged without giving them a hint of the tragedy . Mahadevi’s relative Mahadeva and her daughter from T Narasipura are now at the relief camp to help her take care of her grandchildren.