tirupati l thursday l september 05, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION day after history, country’s paralympics medal rush goes on India won medal No. 21 at the ongoing Paris Paralympics thanks to shot-putter Sachin Khillari’s silver in the F46 final on Wednesday Mariyappan Thangavelu Harvinder Singh 2-3 for India in high jump on tuesday Late on Tuesday, India added two more medals in the men’s high jump T63 event. Tamil Nadu’s Mariyappan Thangavelu, who had won gold in 2016 and silver in 2021, added a bronze while Bihar’s Sharad Kumar took silver. Those medals meant India went past the tally for highest medals in a single campaign. Their previous best was the 19 they won in Tokyo FIRST harvinder in final of para archery ■ On Wednesday, Harvinder Singh became the first Indian archer to advance to the final in the history of the Paralympics ■ Bhavinaben Patel, a silver-medallist in table tennis (C4) in Tokyo, bowed out at the hands of China’s Ying Zhou in the last eight stage. Sonalben Patel (C3) existed in the round of 16 | P11 Mariyappan is the 1st indian to win medals in 3 straight paralympics 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 many as 100 fire engines are being readied to clear the accumulated mud in Singh Nagar once the floodwater recedes; Volunteers rescue an elderly woman and shift her to the safe place on Wednesday | Prasant Madugula last mile relief remains a task A QUICK GLANCE WAR OF WORDS OVER FLOODS CM says 91% of victims provided with food; 400 sanitation workers deployed to clear slush once floodwater recedes S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Despite the overcast sky and drizzling on Wednesday, floodrelief works continued for the fourth day in Vijayawada. While floodwater receded in a few parts of the city, last mile food delivery continued to be a challenge. According to statistics, total toll due to rains and floods mounted to 32 in the State. Of the total, 23 deaths were reported in NTR district and two people were missing. However, it is believed that the death toll could be much higher, as several bodies, reportedly found in flood-affected areas remain unaccounted for. As the floodwater receded, a few people, who had moved out of their homes following the deluge, visited their houses only to be devastated by the trail of destruction that the floods have caused. They picked up the pieces of what was left in the debris, before leaving for safer places. Accompanied by their little ones, many people were seen with a bag or a cloth sack on their head, painting a bleak pic- A kid along with her family members were being rescued from the flood affected Singh Nagar in Vijayawada on Wednesday | Prasant Madugula ture of untold sorrow. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu supervised the relief efforts on Wednesday as well and made field visits to boost people’s morale. Speaking to mediapersons after reviewing the situation with senior officials, he said works to remove slush and muck have commenced. A total of 400 sanitation workers have been engaged, with several of them being deputed from municipal bodies across the State. As many as 100 fire engines have been deployed to clear the slush in colonies af- fected by the floods. Stating that the flood has affected close to seven lakh people, Naidu said officials of all ranks, from the Chief Secretary to municipal sanitation workers, are engaged in relief works during the unforeseen crisis. “We are making every effort to reach out to the last man. By 11:30 am on Wednesday, 91 per cent of victims were provided with food. We are trying to reach out to places, where access has been hampered,” he explained. Further, he warned traders of strict action if they h ike p ric e s of essen t ial commodities. Meanwhile, a package containing 25 kg rice, one kg each of red gram, oil, sugar, onion and potato was distributed to the flood-hit families. Weaver and fishermen families were given additional 25 kg of rice. Elaborating on the relief measures, I&PR Minister K Parthasarathy said drinking water is being supplied in 182 water tanks, while municipal water supply has been restored so it can be used for other purposes. Toll in State mounts to 32, expected to rise further K K a lya n K r i s h n a K u m a r @ Vijayawada GGH chief has initiated measures to increase number of freezers, anticipating a further rise in fatalities once the floodwaters fully recede Dr Mahesh, Forensic Dept head GRIM PICTURE 32 Total toll NTR: 24 Guntur: 7 Palnadu: 1 22 Bodies at V’wada GGH With each passing day, deaths caused by the floods and rains in the State have been rising. Flood victims in Vijayawada have witnessed floating bodies in several areas over the past four days. As per government statistics on Wednesday the total toll in the State stands , at 32. It is expected to surge once the floodwater recedes completely . As several people remain missing, authorities have advised families to check for bodies at the mortuary in the Vijayawada Government General Hospital. Subsequently scores of people arrived at the GGH on Wednes, day However, identifying the deceased has become a . daunting task as the bodies have been soaked in floodwaters for four days. A particularly heart-wrenching scene unfolded when a mother from Payakapuram was seen weeping at GGH after learning about the death of her son. An auto driver by profession, the woman’s son went missing on Sunday after leaving home amid the flood to bring food packets for his family His body was found by the police . on Wednesday . A relative of the deceased told TNIE that the man was the sole breadwinner of the family, following his father’s death. He had recently tied the knot. The grieving mother urged the government to provide support P4 to the family  . 6,44,536 Population affected 45,369 People accommodated 214 344 158 Relief camps Pregnant women shifted to hosps Medical camps 50 NDRF & SDRF teams deployed SIX Choppers on ground Plugging breaches Ministers Nara Lokesh Nimmala Breaches at Rama Naidu Budameru monitor works to plug breaches Canal SIX More rains today Heavy to very heavy rains in isolated parts of State till Sept 8 Central team to visit flood-hit areas today A Union Inter-Ministerial team will visit the flood-affected areas in Krishna, NTR, Guntur and others districts in the State on Thursday N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister Gates of Velagaleru Regulator were lifted to avoid inundation of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s residence. He failed to alert Irrigation, Revenue and Home Departments in time and is now blaming the officials. He should apologise to the people. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, YSRC president In Brunei, PM takes swipe at China tdp office attack HC dismisses YSRC leaders’ bail petitions E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada The High Court of Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday dismissed the anticipatory bail petitions filed by YSRC leaders in the case related to the attack on TDP headquarters at Mangalagiri in 2021. The court further dismissed their petitions, seeking suspension of the orders to enable them to approach the Supreme Court for relief. The court also dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of former minister Jogi Ramesh and his followers involved in the case related to the attack on the residence of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu when he was the Opposition leader. YSRC MLCs Lella Appireddy and Talasila Raghuram, former MP Nandigama Suresh and party leader Devineni Avinash and several activists were named in the TDP office attack case. They had filed separate anticipatory bail petitions in the High Court. Senior counsels, representing the YSRC leaders, P Veera Reddy and L Ravichander informed the court that they would seek relief from Supreme Court and sought suspension of the orders. They also urged the court to extend its earlier orders seeking protection from arrest in the case. Relief & Rescue ops It is the peak of their (YSRC’s) arrogance and defiance. When there were floods in Budameru in 2005, we protested. Even after promising, the then CM YS Rajasekhar Reddy failed to act on it. When I became CM, I sanctioned `500 crore, but YSRC neglected the project. Had the previous regime plugged various breaches to Budameru, present crisis might have been averted. Scores of uprooted trees in Eturunagaram Wildlife Sanctuary in Mulugu district after a gale last Saturday | Special arrangement 1 lakh trees uprooted in Telangana forest due to rare weather event U M a h e s h & A a r t i K a s h ya p @ Mulugu/Hyderabad A rare weather phenomenon left waste thousands of trees — some estimates put the figure at over one lakh — across 200 hectares in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary between Medaram-Pasara and Medaram-Tadavi in Telangana. While there was no loss to fauna due to what was described by some environmentalists as a squall, the ecological damage was incalculable. Panchayat Raj Minister Danasari Anasuya alias Seethakka said they never expected around one lakh trees getting uprooted due to a heavy gale. According to forest officials, trees like neem, banyan, peepal and others bore the brunt of nature’s fury . Elusing Meru, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Protection and Vigilance) told this newspaper: “This is a very rare incident and very unlikely in a state like Telangana. This is probably the result of high winds and cloudburst.” Senior officials of the India Meteorological Department said, “This is a highly localised convective activity. We are ex- amining the exact nature and cause. Our preliminary observations are that it was an effect of thunderstorm activity and strong pressure deficiency giv, ing it a tornado effect.” Experts concurred. Environmentalist and public policy expert Donthi Narasimha Reddy said: “What has happened in Mulugu seems to be a squall, a localised storm or sudden gusty winds, a very unusual weather condition, due to heavy rains and thunderstorms.” diagonal wind flattened them? “From the extent of damage, the squall appears to be over 90 kmph. Besides, the winds must have been diagonal, unlike the regular horizontal winds. Horizontal winds do not have the potential to cause such massive destruction,” said environmentalist D Narasimha Reddy Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a swipe at China saying India supports a “policy of development, and not expansionism” as he concluded his two-day visit to Brunei Darussalam. Modi’s comment, which did not name any country at a banquet , hosted by Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah came at a time when an aggressive China is engaged in territorial disputes with the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, and Taiwan. “A code of conduct should be finalised in this region,” Modi said, adding: “We support freedom of navigation and overflight under international laws Express read Rahul more intellectual, Rajiv more doer: Pitroda New Delhi: Sam Pitroda, a close confidant of the Nehru-Gandhi family and a Rajiv Gandhi aide, on Wednesday claimed that Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, is more intellectual and more of a strategist than his father Rajiv. Pitroda, who heads the Indian Overseas Congress, described both as “custodians of the idea of India”. He made the remarks in an interview with a news agency ahead of Rahul’s visit to the United States of America next week. Sam Pitroda said Rajiv was a little more doer like UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)”. This was the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Brunei. According to a joint statement issued after the visit, India and Brunei have elevated their relationship to an ‘enhanced partnership’. After concluding his Brunei visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Singapore on Wednesday for a two-day official visit. This is PM Modi’s fifth visit to Singapore. His last trip to Singapore was in 2018. Modi kicked off his Singapore visit by meeting members of the Indian diaspora and then having dinner with Singapore PM Lawrence Wong. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, in Singapore, on Wednesday | PTI Congress tickets for Vinesh Phogat & Bajrang Punia? E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chandigarh / New Delhi Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia on Thursday met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi amid speculation that the duo might be given party tickets to fight in the upcoming assembly polls in Haryana. Sources said Phogat might fight from either Julana in Jind or Charkhi Dadri, while Punia might be fielded from Badli constituency in Jhajjar district. Deepak Babaria, AICC gen- eral secretary in-charge for Haryana, said clarity will emerge in a day or two whether both sportspersons will be given Congress tickets. “I don’t know what discussions they had with K C Venugopal. Whatever solution comes out, it will be acceptable to everyone. Ultimate goal is to defeat the BJP If possible, they . will contest elections,” he said. Sources in Delhi said Phogat is likely to get ticket, while Punia may be rewarded in some other way An announcement is . likely on Thursday .