vijayawada l wednesday l september 04, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Bengaluru firm tests India’s first indigenous combat drone Armed with missile-like weapons Classified as a Medium Altitude (15,000 feet) Long Endurance Combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, FWD 200B is equipped with optical payloads for surveillance and missile-like weapons for air strikes and bombing, the firm’s founder-CEO Suhas Tejaskanda said. It has a wingspan of 5 metres, length of 3.5 metres, maximum take-off weight of 102 kg & payload capacity of 30 kg Flying Wedge Defence and Aerospace announced the successful maiden flight of indigenous unmanned bomber aircraft, the FWD 200B Can fly non-stop for 7 hrs; up to 800 km ■ The drone can fly at a cruise speed of 152 km per hour, with a maximum speed of 250 km per hour. Its runway requirement is just 300 metres allowing it to operate from shorter airstrips, the company said ■ With an endurance of 7 hours and a range of 800 km, FWD 200B doesn’t need frequent refuelling or landing, Tejaskanda said 12,000 sq ft Area of the firm’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bengaluru 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 As relief operations intensify, V’wada limps back to normalcy Naidu says losses will be enumerated & report will be sent to Centre to seek financial aid S g u r u s r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Relief and rescue operations were intensified on Tuesday as floodwater levels in areas hit by the Budameru deluge and inflows to the Prakasam Barrage receded. According to officials, 6,44,536 people have been affected due to the floods. As many as 190 relief camps have been set up and 44,041 people have been shifted to the camps. More than two dozen drones have been employed to drop food and medicines in the flood-affected areas that are inaccessible to boats and choppers. Besides NDRF and SDRF personnel, several volunteers also joined the rescue efforts. A total of 26 NDRF and 22 SDRF teams are engaged in the flood relief operations. Some Ministers also helped in carrying out the relief works. Five choppers, belonging to the Indian Air Force and Navy , operated several sorties to drop food and water, and rescued people stranded in the floodwater. Speaking to mediapersons late on Tuesday Chief Minister , N Chandrababu Naidu elaborated on the steps that will be taken as soon as the floodwater Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu interacting with flood-affected residents in Vijayawada on Tuesday | express 6,44,536 Population affected 42,707 People accommodated 18 TWO Total lives lost Persons missing Weather forecast isolated places today  No rain predicted for Rayalaseema  Tirupati and Tada receive highest rainfall of 5 cm on Tuesday is cleared. Stating that roads are being restored and vehicular movement will resume shortly, he said, “We will take stock of all losses. Once the enumeration is done, a report will be sent to the Centre for seeking assistance. We will shortly hold a meeting with bankers and insurance companies to settle claims. We will also formulate a strategy to assist small business which have Budameru Canal develops another breach Vijayawada: Budameru canal developed another breach at the Vijaya Durga Nagar railway bridge at Madhura Nagar on Tuesday. As a result water from Budameru canal has started to flow into Eluru Canal. It is being seen by many as a blessing in disguise, as water flowing into the Eluru canal from Budameru will help deplete the floodwater in Ajith Singh Nagar and other areas at a much faster rate than earlier. Floodwater is being discharged at the rate of 300-400 cusecs into the Eluru canal which has 1,400 cusecs discharge capacity. Nine more Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh Nine Maoists, including six women cadre, were gunned down in an encounter with the security forces at the PurangelAndri hilly terrain along the inter-district border of Dantewada and Bijapur in south Chhattisgarh on Tuesday . Acting on specific intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists belonging to the West Bastar Division committee and Peoples’ Liberation Guer rilla Ar my company number 2 in the area, a joint team comprising personnel from District Reserve Guards, Bastar Fighters and the Central Reserve Police Force launched a search operation. “Exchange of fire ensued around 10.30 am between the 193  Heavy rains in e x p r e s s r ea d E J A Z KAIS E R @ Raipur CM suspects foul play in damage to barrage gate, flays ‘negligent’ officials situation @ a glance security forces and the Maoists. Nine bodies of armed Maoists in uniform, including six women, along with weapons have been recovered,” said Sunderraj P, Bastar inspector general of police. A large quantity of weapons, including self loading rifle, 303 rifle, 315 bore rifle, BGL launchers, huge explosives besides other items of the Maoists were recovered. “The forces engaged in the operation are safe. The recovered bodies are yet to be identified. Since there is a possibility of the presence of several other dead or injured Maoists in and around the encounter site, additional reinforcement has been sent to the area,” said Gaurav Rai, Dantewada district police chief. Relief camps 194 Medical camps Deployments SDRF 22 NDRF 26 Choppers 5 Boats 228 Buses 167 Drones 25-30 suffered losses.” On the possibility of finding bodies after the flood recedes, the Chief Minister said the deceased will be identified and handed over to their families after post-mortem. Similarly, the veterinary department will take care of the carcasses of animals. He asserted that focus would be on sanitation and health as soon as the situation goes back to normal. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada A child was shifted in a tub from the flood-affected Singh Nagar on Tuesday | Prasant Madugula Further, he sought cooperation from people to prevent the spread of any diseases or epidemics. Pointing out that drones have been used efficiently, Naidu said more drones will be deployed over the next few days to assess and assist in relief operations. “Today we used some , 25-30 drones. We hope to use 3040 drones more on Wednesday ,” P4 he added.  Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu took strong exception to the lackadaisical attitude of some officials deployed for flood relief and rescue operations. Further, he warned them of serious action if they do not fall in line. Speaking to mediapersons on Tuesday afternoon, Naidu said he has been forced to suspect foul play following a series of incidents that have happened. “We will find out where the boats, which damaged the counterweight of gate 69 of the Prakasam Barrage, came from and who they belong to,” he said. Angry over the non-cooperation from certain officials, the after covid, Household savings on rebound B E N N K O CHUV E E D A N @ Mumbai AFTER sharply declining during the pandemic, India’s household savings are rebounding on the back of rising income levels, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Speaking at an event in Mumbai on Tuesday, RBI deputy governor Michael Debabrata Patra said that the rebound process has already begun, noting that households’ financial assets have increased from 10.6% of GDP during 2011-17 to 11.5% during 2017-23. And there is room to grow further because the level was 15% of GDP during the early 2000s till the global financial crisis. Household savings are the portion of income that is not spent on consumption and set aside for future use; these are usually deposited in banks or invested in other financial instruments. Because of their sheer size, household funds are considered a major driver of long- ter m economic growth. Explaining the reasons for the fall in the domestic savings level of late, Patra noted HOME TRUTHS Net financial savings of households halved from 2020-21 levels due to behavioural changes during the pandemic and shift towards physical assets such as housing. But with rising incomes, households are now rebuilding their financial assets Households will remain the top net lenders to the rest of the economy in the coming decades 11.5% Households’ financial assets have increased from 10.6% of GDP during 2011-17 to 11.5% during 2017-23 (excluding pandemic year) revival in capex cycle is likely to push up private sector’s borrowing needs, which could be partly met by households that the net household savings have halved, hitting a five-year low of 5.2% of GDP in fiscal 2024, but he attributed this to ‘behavioural changes’ during the pandemic, driven by shifts from financial assets to physical assets such as property . According to Patra, that phase is over and households are now rebuilding their financial assets. “Going forward, boosted by rising incomes, households will likely build back their financial assets,” Patra said while addressing a finance summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here on Tuesday . Concurrently households’ , physical savings have also risen in post-pandemic years to over 12% of GDP. These can rise further—these had reached 16% of GDP in 201011. Households are expected to remain the top net lenders to the rest of the economy in the coming decades, he said. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had earlier raised concerns over more and more household savings going into financial instruments such as mutual funds and stocks, saying this had led to banks facing a deposit drought. NEW sumit Advice from Neeraj, enduring back pain, Sumit wins gold E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai IT is as if winning gold has become a habit for Sumit Antil. The back pain that had been afflicting him for the last one-and -a-half year vanished. He was focussed on the job in hand — retaining gold at the Paris Paralympics. And he did it in style when he threw the javelin to 70.59 m — a new Paralympics record. It had not been easy. During a virtual interaction, he revealed that he felt more pressure in Paris than in Tokyo. Perhaps, it’s the burden of expectations on Monday in his F46 event. There are quite a few things that separate Sumit from the rest. He is one of those para-athletes who previously competed against able-bodied athletes. One among the competitors was Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic sil- ver-medallist. During the interaction he revealed that he keeps speaking with Neeraj and the champion javelin thrower had given him an advice or two before the Paralympics. He said that he has been in touch with Neeraj but before the Parlympics he did not speak to him directly but through his manager. “I got a message from Neeraj bhai through someone and he told me that the atmosphere (in Paris) is good,” said Sumit. He also asked him to not try anything new. “I just took his advice and it was a really good experience.” Sumit also spoke about how he created a para world record while competing against able- To be under pressure is normal at such a big stage and we try not to get stressed due to pressure. I read very less book but I do meditation, watch movies — Sumit Antil bodied athletes in Patiala during a Grand Prix event in 2021. “I threw some 66.43 m and that time it was a record. I wanted to find out how it feels to compete with able-bodied athletes.” With gold secured, he has set sights on a three-peat at the LA Paralympics as his next target. But crossing 80 m too would be one of his dreams. Sumit is the second para athlete after shooter Avani Lekhara to defend their title. Lekhara on Tuesday P11 finished fifth in 50m 3P . no danger to prakasam barrage Irrigation expert and advisor to the State government Kannaiah Naidu inspected Prakasam Barrage gate number 69, where the counterweight was damaged. He confirmed that there was no danger to the barrage and advised removing of the boats before taking up repairs Chief Minister said during the five years under the previous dispensation, every system was rendered inefficient and ineffective. “Showcause notices have been issued to some, while one official in Jakkampudi has been suspended. I will not spare anyone. I will not hesitate to take action against my ministers if they do not work properly he asserted. ,” Reminding officials that both he and them are here to work for the people, as it is taxpayers’ money that is being paid as salaries, Naidu stressed, “It is our bounden duty to serve the people, more so in this hour of need.” Further, he told negligent officials not to lose their dignity by such conduct. Dismissing YSRC president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s visit to flood-affected areas as a ‘fiveminute show’, Naidu sought to know if the former Chief Minister gave even a single food packet to anyone or saved anyone or interacted with the afP4 fected residents.  Kolkata’s stunning Tahrir Square moment I t was Kolkata’s own Tahrir Square moment, its own Shahbagh. Actually let me , revise that. I watched Tahrir Square very closely on TV. I saw Shahbagh with my own eyes, having had the opportunity to report on that movement in Dhaka. But Kolkata today is perhaps even more extraordinary All of . Kolkata today became the hallowed ground of the most astonishing people’s protest ever. In the 77 years of its Independence, I dare say India has not seen anything like it. With a grating, metallic screech, the nine-foot-high metal barricades were dragged aside this afternoon by policemen on the narrow BB Ganguly Street. The road leads to Lalbaz a r, t h e Ko l k a t a Po l i c e headquarters. Rising over the cacophony were the strains of We Shall Overcome, the American civil rights song, and the Bengali anthem of protest, Kazi Nazrul Islam’s Karar Oi Louho Kopat Bhang — break down the iron gates of prison. The singers, all junior doctors who had been camping at the location through rain, shine and a hot muggy night for last 22 hours, gathered to demand justice for their colleague, raped and murdered in their hospital while she was on duty on the night of August 9. In the hands of the junior doctors who marched slowly forward singing those songs, Monideepa Banerjie Veteran journalist meaning every word in those powerful lyrics, were rajanigandhar malas — garlands of tuberose speckled with red roses. One doctor held aloft what must be the movement’s icon: a plastic replica of the human spine. These doctors have demonstrated over the last 24 days that their vertebral column is in place. Their unique protest exhorted everyone to keep theirs upright and straight. Especially the police. Just before heading into Lalbazar, the doctors’ delegation broke into a song again, signing off with Jana Gana Mana. Behind them, other doctors standing in a series of human chains joined in. Everyone stood still. Time stood still. After the meeting with the commissioner of Kolkata Police, the doctors said they were not satisfied with officer’s responses but they would end their sit-in demo on BB Ganguly Street. However, their protests would continue in other forms. Collectively Kolkata is today , a tsunami of righteous anger. An anger it has chosen to express with the red rose. Mahatma Gandhi would have P8 approved. Protesting junior doctors march towards the police HQ after they were allowed to meet the police chief, in Kolkata | PTI