BENGALURU  WEDNESDAY  SEPTEMBER 18, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 20  LATE CITY EDITION MODI TO ADDRESS THE SUMMIT OF THE FUTURE AT U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the UN summit on tackling key international issues during his three-day visit to the US from Sept 21 PM TO TAKE PART IN ANNUAL QUAD SUMMIT TO ADDRESS INDIAN DIASPORA ON SUNDAY The theme of this year’s summit is ‘Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow’. On its sidelines, Modi would also be holding bilateral meetings with several world leaders, the Ministry of External Affairs said. He will also take part in the Quad annual meeting along with leaders of the US, Australia and Japan to review the progress achieved by the grouping ■ ■ As per the itinerary, Modi will address the Indian community in New York on September 22. He would also meet CEOs of leading US-based companies to discuss possible collaborations with Indian firms His interactions with business leaders will focus on areas like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors, the MEA said 2025 WHEN INDIA WILL HOST THE SUMMIT OF THE FOUR-MEMBER QUAD GROUPING 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 CM-elect meets L-G Saxena, stakes claim to form next Delhi govt Kejriwal hands baton to Atishi A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi Atishi meets Lt Governor V K Saxena at Raj Bhavan in Delhi on Tuesday | PTI KEJRIWAL TO FOCUS ON GALVANISING PARTY Arvind Kerjiwal, who resigned as Delhi CM on Tuesday, is likely to focus on galvanising the AAP cadre and rebuilding trust among the people before the assembly polls, a senior AAP functionary said SHE WILL BE DUMMY CM, CLAIMS MALIWAL AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Tuesday said Atishi will be a dummy chief minister. “Today Atishi will become the chief minister, but we all know that she will be a dummy CM,” Maliwal said Road rage: Kids petrified as goons attack school van EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru IN a case of road rage, a group of men in an SUV attacked the driver of a private school van and smashed the windows of the vehicle, even as schoolchildren sitting inside the van watched in horror. The incident occurred between 3.40 pm and 3.45 pm on Monday near VRR Convention Hall in Maragondanahalli on Hulimangala Road. The police have arrested those involved in the incident. The accused, after overtaking the van, blocked its way pulled , the driver out and attacked him. They also smashed the van’s window with a blunt weapon. The schoolchildren who were inside the van were petrified even as hooliganism put their lives in danger. The van was enroute to drop children home after the school hours. The van belongs to a private school near Electronic City in Bommasandra. The van driver, 36-year-old James Dhon, filed a complaint at the Hebbagodi police station of Bengaluru Rural district, following which the accused were CONTINUED ON: P5 arrested. EXPRESS READ Govt exploring merger of Konkan & Railways Belagavi: Konkan Railways, which is spread across Karnataka, Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra, is likely to be merged with Indian Railways. MoS for Railways V Somanna said the Centre is mulling the merger to ensure better service to passengers | P7 SC seeks DKS’ reply on plea in DA case New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the response of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and the state government on a plea against withdrawal of consent to the CBI for probing the disproportionate assets case against him | P4 WITH Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal showing rare trust in a colleague by choosing Atishi as his successor chief minister, the latter on Tuesday met Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena and staked her claim to form the next government in Delhi. Earlier in the day Kejriwal submitted his res, ignation as CM. The day began with Kejriwal proposing Atishi’s name as his successor at the AAP legislative party, where he got unanimous support. A couple of days after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in the excise policy scam, Kejriwal made a surprise announcement on Sunday that he will demit office within a few days and name his successor. After Kejriwal’s resignation is accepted by President Droupadi Murmu, the L-G will invite Atishi to form the new government and suggest a date for the oath-taking ceremony, an official said. Along with Atishi, six other ministers are expected to be sworn in. She will then prove her majority in a special Assembly session. Atishi’s elevation is expected to help the AAP counter the claims that the party is antiwomen, especially after the alleged assault on its Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the CM’s residence. She has also been rewarded for her loyalty . “I come from an ordinary family Had I been in any other . party I would not have even got , an election ticket, but Kejriwal trusted me, made me an MLA, made me a minister and now has given me the responsibility of becoming the CM,” Atishi said. She condemned the BJP’s alleged conspiracy against Kejriwal. “It’s very sad moment that Delhi’s beloved leader resigned due to BJP’s conspiracy. By making false allegations of corruption, BJP filed a case against such an honest man and kept him in jail for 6 months,” she said. Atishi will be Delhi’s third woman chief minister after Congress’ Sheila Dikshit and BJP’s Sushma Swaraj. CABINET MEET `7.2K CR TO BE SPENT TO SUPPLY WATER TO BIDAR, KALABURAGI R A M A K R I S H N A B A D S E S H I @ Kalaburagi THE cabinet meeting in Kalaburagi, which was chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Tuesday decided to provide clean drinking water to all residents of Bidar and Kalaburagi districts, including those staying in villages and towns, by spending an estimated Rs 7,200 crore. After the cabinet meeting, Siddaramaiah said the cabinet decided to urge the Union government to share 50 percent of the total cost of the project. The cabinet took the decision considering that the residents of most villages in the two districts do not get clean drinking water. He said the cabinet discussed 56 subjects, of which 46 were pertaining to the Kalyana Karnataka region. The estimated cost of the works of 46 subjects which were approved is Rs 11,770 crore, he added. The CM said that as he had promised, the government has sanctioned Rs 5,000 crore to the Kalyana Karnataka region for its overall development. The cabinet passed a resolution to urge the Central government to allocate an equal share, he added. Acceding to the demands of the people of the region, the cabinet decided to constitute an exclusive ‘Secretariat’ with high-ranking officials for effective implementation of the amendment to Article 371 J, which accords P4 special status to Kalyana Karnataka, he said. CBI status report on RG Kar disturbing: SC S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Tuesday said it was disturbed by the findings recorded by the CBI in its status report on the rapemurder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar hospital in Kolkata, but refused to divulge its content. “What you are flagging is of utmost concer n. CBI has flagged it for us. We are ourselves disturbed by what we have read,” the court told a lawyer who claimed discrepancies in the seizure list and sketch of the crime scene. A letter was addressed by the father of the deceased was also shared. It expressed the genuine concerns of the parents, The West Bengal government on Tuesday appointed Manoj Kumar Verma as the new Kolkata Police commissioner, replacing Vineet Goyal, fulfilling one of the key demands of the protesters, who are yet to decide on rejoining work | P10 the bench was told. “Bearing in mind the genuine concerns, we are of the opinion that the inputs be duly taken by the investigating officer,” it said. For its part, the West Bengal government reiterated that no punitive action will be taken against the junior doctors who report for work. The agitating junior doctors, too, said they would not have any difficulty in resuming work if the confi- dence building measures agreed upon between them and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during their meeting on Monday are put in place. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud rejected senior advocate Kapil Sibal’s request to stop live streaming of the court’s proceedings, complaining that reputations of lawyers are being tarnished and they are being threatened. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta flagged Wikipedia’s refusal to remove the victim’s name and picture. The bench then ordered the social media platform to immediately take it down. The court perused an affidavit filed by the West Bengal health secretary explaining the steps taken to upgrade the duty rooms, toilet facilities, and CCTV cameras in the government medical colleges and hospitals across the state. “In areas where women rest at night in RG Kar, why cannot they have biometric access? The women who go to the seminar hall to rest can have biometric access,” it said. NO DEMOLITION SC red light on bulldozer justice till Oct 1 S U C H I T R A M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi Polling officials leave for their respective polling stations in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday | PTI Phase I polls today with J&K in grip of rare election fever F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar WITH J&K all set for voting for the first of the three-phase assembly elections on Wednesday the Union Territory in the , grip of a poll fever that is a novelty for entire generations. “This poll fever was never seen before in J&K, certainly not in the last 35 years. I am seeing it for the first time. Everybody is talking about the elections and every candidate is being scrutinised by the voters,” said 45-year-old Javed Ahmed, a resident of Pampore in south Kashmir, who would be casting his vote for the first time on Wednesday . The first Assembly polls in J&K after the reading down of Article 370 is completely different from those during the militancy era. Poll-time hustle and bustle was conspicuous by its FIGURES THAT MATTER 24 assembly seats to go to polls, eight in three districts of the Jammu region and 16 in four districts of the Kashmir Valley 23.27 lakh voters to exercise franchise in fray, 219 candidatesindependents including 90 absence in those lost decades. Unlike in the past, when militants and separatist groups would issue calls for poll boycott and shutdown, a few members of the banned Jamaat-eIslami and former separatist leaders have entered the fray . Every town and village in J&K at present is a beehive of political activity There is a fes. tive-like atmosphere in the city centre and elsewhere. The of- fices of political parties are decorated with buntings and banners and party flags. Vehicles fitted with public address systems blaring political messages and songs added to the general cacophony . Another first was of leaders and candidates accompanied by a large number of supporters in cavalcades going to file their nomination papers. “There is greater enthusiasm because people know this is a very important poll, as it will decide the future of J&K,” said former National Conference MP and candidate from the Pampore seat, Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi. Since it is the first assembly polls in after Article 370’s abrogation, some even liken it to a referendum. J&K recorded 58% turnout in the general elections — highest in 35 years. NAMMA FOOTPATH-LESS BENGALURU W Chief Minister Siddaramaiah garlands a statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel after inaugurating the Kalyana Karnataka Utsava in Kalaburagi on Tuesday NEW KOLKATA POLICE COMMISSIONER E hear “Brand Bengaluru” and “Bengaluru Development” commonly these days. But have you wondered what is the one thing conspicuous by its absence in the city? Footpaths! Bengaluru is essentially a city without footpaths. A city without footpaths — or rampantly encroached wherever they exist in whatever form — does not assure “safe living”. The quality of foot- paths is the most valuable index indicating how much the government and its agencies care for their citizens. Pedestrians, especially the elders, women and children, are constantly at a risk as they are forced to walk on the roads due to poor or absent footpaths. Women wearing ornaments become easy pickings for bike-borne chain-snatchers. Elders, trying to take the safer albeit riskier route via footpaths, face the risk of tripping and falling, are vulnerable to fractures and resulting complications, if not worse. And for children — who are the most at risk due to lack of safe PART - 1 footpaths — the probable tragic outcomes can be unimaginable. Are we incapable of designing safe footpaths? TNIE highlights the issue through a P2 five-part series. THE Supreme Court on Tuesday directed authorities across the country not to demolish properties, including those accused of crime till October 1, without seeking its prior permission. “Till next date, there shall be no demolitions without seeking leave of this court. However, such an order would not be applicable for unauthorised constructions on public streets, footpaths, abutting railway lines, water bodies, or public spaces,” the court ordered. A bench of justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said that even if there is one instance of illegal demolition, “it is against the ethos of our Constitution”. It was hearing a petition by Jamiat Ulama-iHind and others seeking directions to various states to ensure no further demolition of properties of those accused in cases of rioting and violence takes place. During the hearing, the bench expressed displeasure over statements made by certain sections of the society after the September 2 hearing during which it questioned the bulldozer justice and said it would formulate guidelines. “After that order, there have been statements that the bulldozer will continue and it all depends on whose hands the steering is,” the bench said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said law has been complied with in all the demolitions. He said there was a petition before the court which alleged that because the person belonged to a particular religion, his property was demolished. He said a narrative was being built saying the government was targeting a particular community . To this, the bench replied, “Rest assured that outside noise is not influencing us.” GENERAL DISDAIN Days before Lankan presidential polls, Tamils in North couldn’t care less DILRUKSHI HANDUNNETTI Award-winning journalist and lawyer, founder and director of the Colombobased Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) JAFFNA: With a crucial presidential election just days away , Jaffna, Sri Lanka’s northern capital does not reflect South’s political frenzy. A record number of candidates have joined the fray 39 in all, includ, ing a common candidate from the North, Pakkiyaselvam Ariyanethiran, representing Sri Lanka’s largest Tamil political entity, Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK). The euphoric campaigning in the South is conspicuous by its absence in the North as people go about, doing their daily job while campaigning continues with less fanfare. Fifteen years after the protracted war ended in May 2009, the North of Sri Lanka contin- ues to reel under its multiple impacts, with normalcy, as known in the rest of the country still an illusion. The North , has long-unresolved issues, ranging from wartime disappearances, homes under military occupation, livelihoods, unemployment, infrastructure development and safety . At the tail end of the presidential campaign, frontrunners like incumbent and common candidate president Ranil Wickremesinghe, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa and Anura Dissanayake of the Marxist National Peoples’ Power (NPP) continuing to woo the Tamil votes. But for the people of Jaffna, there are other issues to grapple with. Chadrasekaran Haran (51) sells vegetables for a living. He treats the September 21 presidential race with both disinterest and disdain. “The result will matter to us only if the next president can consider the economic problems faced by the people. After the economic collapse in 2022, we fell from the frying pan to the fire,” he says. Transport costs have doubled in the past two years with fuel costs becoming unbearable for the average citizen. The sales have dropped due to price increases in vegetables, making people like Haran find it difficult to make ends meet. “We are barely surviving,” he says. The end of the war offered a window of opportunity to develop the tourism sector, particularly with curious local travellers looking for a glimpse of the former conflict zone as well as cultural tourists. “The economic meltdown brought an effective end. The fuel costs became unbearable, and people stopped visiting,” says Kamalmalai Thomas, 49. The immediate issues are clearly economic. CONTINUED ON: P9