NAGAPATTINAM l wednesday l october 02, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION India tear up script, win Test & series against Bangladesh solid all-round performance With the added context of World Test Championship (WTC) points, the hosts knew they had to chase the win to get points, even if there were only 35 overs bowled across the first three days. After making light work of Bangladesh on the fourth morning, the batters broke several records before the bowlers turned up and did their thing again. They were also aided by some really good close-in catching After losing two days to rain and a dodgy outfield, hosts go on supercharged mode with both bat and ball to emerge victors in Kanpur ■ 18 A match over in seven sessions ■ R avindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin, three of India’s biggest bowling  match-winners, turned up on the morning of Day 5 to dent the visitors’ efforts. O nce they were bowled out in the first session, a target of 95 was never  going to trouble the Indians. India need to win three of their remaining eight matches in the current cycle to seal a place in next year’s final at Lord’s | P11 No. of consecutive Test series India have won in India 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 MUDA acts swiftly, cancels 14 sites allotted to Siddu’s wife E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Mysuru The Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) on Tuesday evening cancelled the sale deeds of 14 sites that were returned by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi, just 24 hours after her request was made public. These sites, granted under the 50:50 compensation scheme for acquisition of 3.16 acres of land owned by Parvathi, snowballed into a major controversy and the Lokayukta police filed an FIR against the CM and his relatives, following an order by a special court. Confirming the cancellation, MUDA Commissioner AN Raghunandan told this newspaper that Congress MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, on behalf of Parvathi, gave us a letter at 9.30 am on Tuesday. After consulting legal experts and following certain procedures and acts, we officially canceled the sale deeds. The local sub-re gistrar has been asked to cancel the sale deeds related to the 14 sites. Stating that it was a first-of-its kind case in MUDA, he said, “Since certain procedures and acts allowed us to do so, we cancelled the sites allotted to Parvathi.” Parvathi’s letter to the MUDA commissioner went viral on social media. The swift action of MUDA came as a surprise to the people. Senior and retired MUDA officials noted that the khatas (ownership documents) of the 14 sites were issued in Parvathi’s name long ago. “We thought this would complicate the process. Despite this, MUDA cancelled the sale deeds and took back the sites,” said a retired MUDA officer. This development seems to have brought some relief to Siddaramaiah. On whether the Lokayukta sought any documents from MUDA, Raghunandan said, “The agency had written to us seeking ourcooperation. We will extend it.” Caught in TN-centre row, no pay for 20K SS staff Situation in LAC S u b a s h i n i Vi j aya k u m a r @ Chennai Over 20,000 teaching and nonteaching staff associated with Samagra Shiksha (SS) scheme are staring at trouble as their September month salary has not been paid yet. Senior officials from the school education department said the centre has withheld the funds due to the stand-off with Tamil Nadu over the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the salaries would be paid only after the centre releases the fund. Usually all gov, ernment employees get the salaries on the last working day of the preceding month. I n J a n u a r y, t h e project approval board of the Union Ministry of Education sanctioned `3,585 crore to Tamil Nadu for SS for 2024-2025. The funding is as per 60-40 ratio, with centre contributing `2,151 crore and state `1,434 crore. For four months now, the state has been managing without the `573-crore first instalment usually released by June every year by the centre. Chief Minister M K Stalin, in his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had also mentioned that `249 crore from the previous year is pending. While some initiatives under the scheme in schools were earlier halted over lack of funds, the non-disbursal of salary has ex- 63.5% overall, turnout betters LS polls in J&K Highest voting in separatist bastion of Sopore in 30 yrs F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar The third and final phase of assembly polls in 40 seats in J&K on Tuesday witnessed 68.72% voter turnout, two percentage points more than the recent Lok Sabha elections. With the first and the second phases recording 61.38% and 57.31% polling respectively the , overall percentage was 63.45%, up from 59.65% in the Lok Sabha elections. Brisk polling was reported in all separatist bastions in north Kashmir while there was greater enthusiasm in the Jammu region, where the West Pakistan Refugees, Valmikis and Gorkhas got to exercise their franchise for the first time in the assembly polls. While counting of votes is scheduled for October 8, exit poll outcome would be known by October 5 (Saturday) evening, after elections conclude in Haryana. In all separatist bastions, including Palhalan, Pattan, Baramulla, Rafiabad and Sopore, voters made a beeline at polling stations. These and many other areas in north Kashmir used to witness low turnout in the past but this time there was enthusiasm among the voters who eagerly waited to exercise their democratic right. A woman shows her inked finger in Shadipora in Sumbal area of Bandipora district on Tuesday | Zahoor Punjabi In Sopore, another stronghold of separatists and militants, the polling was moderate. But it was for the first time that people in Sopore openly came out to vote. “This is the first time we are voting without fear. Earlier, there was hesitation and our family members used to prevent us from casting votes,” said retired teacher Abdul Aziz. The Sopore constituency recorded 41.44% turnout, which is the highest there in over three decades. Aijaz Guru, the brother of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, was in the fray in Sopore as an independent candidate. “We realised that change can be brought only through vote,” said young Obaid Ahmed at Sumbal in Bandipora district. Maximum polling in Samba district Samba district recorded the highest turnout at 73.45%, followed by Udhampur 72.91%, Kathua 70.53%, Jammu 66.79%, Bandipora 64.85%, Kupwara 62.76%, and Baramulla 55.73%. The Chhamb seat in Jammu district topped the list with 77.35% polling. Bishnah (SC) recorded 72.75%, Suchetgarh (SC) 68.02%, Bahu 57.07%. express read TN to get above-normal rainfall in NE monsoon Rajini stable, will be home soon: Hosp Chennai: The northeast monsoon will begin from the third week of October, and Tamil Nadu, especially the northern parts of the state including Chennai, is likely to receive above-normal rainfall. Additional Director General of Meteorology S Balachandran said that southern districts would receive normal to below-normal rain during the monsoon (October to December). Above-normal rainfall is defined as more than 112% of the Long Period Average | P2 Chennai: Actor Rajinikanth is stable and should be home in two days, the Apollo Hospitals said on Tuesday. Rajini, who was admitted on September 30, had a swelling in the aorta. It was treated by a nonsurgical method, the hospital said. Apollo Hospitals Director of Medical Services Dr R K Venkataslam said the stenting procedure went as planned | P2 Green push 1st hydrogen train to start trial run in Dec RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi india will soon become the fifth country to run hydrogenfuelled trains, after Germany, France, Sweden, and China. Indian Railways has awarded a pilot project for reto-fitment of hydrogen fuel cell in existing DEMU (diesel electric multiple unit) trains, along with the necessary ground infrastructure. The first prototype of hydrogen-fuelled train is set to run on the Jind-Sonipat section in Haryana under the Northern Railway zone by December 2024. A senior railway official said the integration of the prototype train is going on at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is personally over- seeing this eco-friendly railway project, sources said. After trials, the railway will introduce 35 hydrogen trains under Hydrogen for Heritage initiative, investing over `80 crore for each train and `70 crore for infrastructure development across various heritage and hill routes. Terming this a major move that will contribute to India’s target of achieving net zero carbon emissions, officials said using hydrogen as a fuel source offers significant benefits for green transportation. The railway has received approval for a hydrogen plant from the Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organization, and on-board hydrogen safety assessments are being conducted by leading agencies, including TUV-SUD Germany officials said. , Among the heritage routes targeted for the introduction of hydrogen trains are the Matheran-Hill Railway, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, KalkaShimla Railway Kangra Valley , , and Nilgiri Mountain Railways, officials said. Once these trials are successfully completed, the routes will be operational within the next three years, showcasing India’s rich cultural and natural heritage, they added. Why it’s important Being a clean fuel, hydrogen can transform the green transportation technology and support India’s zero carbon emission goals What to expect Initially, 35 H-powered trains will be launched, with each having a composition of six cars, on eight heritage routes acerbated the trouble with livelihood of thousands of employees at stake now. According to officials, those affected include staff from the state and district project offices, Block Resource Teacher Educators (BRTEs), part-time teachers, special educators, and other non-teaching personnel. The permanent employees – BRTEs and officials at state and district project offices – get their salaries on the last day of the month, while rest get it before fifth of every month. P5 With festivals in October, we’ve been requesting the state to provide us with salary advances, but now there is no clarity even on getting the September month salary Federation of PartTime Teachers’ Associations judges flag violations HC asks CBI to probe sexual assault of girl R S I VAKUMAR @ Chennai The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered a CBI probe into the sexual assault of a schoolgirl after finding that the Greater Chennai Police had violated procedures under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act while holding investigations. The court slammed the police for being insensitive to the nature of the offence, ill-treatment of the victim, beating up of her parents by a woman inspector, and delay in arresting the accused. A division bench of Justices S M Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam ordered the CBI probe while disposing of a suo motu case and a habeas corpus petition (HCP) filed by the mother of the nine-and-a-half-year-old Class 5 girl. Commenting the manner in which the case was registered and the conduct of the probe raised “serious doubts”, the bench said it endorses the contentions of the victim’s side of having lost confidence in the police. “We have no option but to transfer the investigation to the CBI,” the bench said. P5 remains sensitive, says Army chief MAYANK S I NGH @ New Delhi The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh is stable, but remains sensitive, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi said on Tuesday Though a ‘positive sig. nalling’ is coming out from the diplomatic talks between the two sides on resolution of the row, the execution of any plan depends on the military commanders on the ground, Gen Dwivedi said. He was speaking at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue event here. India and China held two rounds of diplomatic talks in July and August to find an early resolution of outstanding issues in their standoff on the LAC in eastern Ladakh. “But when it comes to the execution on ground, when it relates to ground per se, it is dependent on Gen Upendra Dwivedi | PTI the military commanders on both sides to take those decisions,” Gen Dwivedi said at the event organised by the Army in collaboration with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, a Delhi-based think tank. “We want the situation that existed pre-April 2020 restored, whether it’s ground occupation/ situation, buffer zones created or the patrolling that has been planned. Till the time that situation is not restored, the situation remains sensitive and we are fully operationally prepared to face any contingency he added. ,” On the Indian military’s overall approach towards China, he said: “You have to compete, cooperate, coexist, confront and contest.”