HYDERABAD TUESDAY OCTOBER 22, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 18 LATE CITY EDITION GOLD PRICE SOARS, SILVER MOVES CLOSER TO `1 LAKH / KG MILESTONE Gold price on Monday surged `750 to hit `80,650 per 10 grams (99.5% purity), while silver zoomed `5,000 to `99,500 per kg in the national capital DIWALI, GEOPOLITICAL FACTORS PUSH DEMAND PRECIOUS METALS SHINE IN FUTURES TRADE Bullion traders attributed the jump in gold prices to pick-up in buying by local jewellers to meet increased demand in the festive and wedding season. According to experts tracking the commodities market, the price escalation is also driven by the rising tensions in West Asia and uncertainties related to the US elections, prompting investors to pool their money into safe-haven assets ■ ■ ■ Further, a positive trend in the overseas markets as well as a fall in equity markets boosted the gold’s safe-haven appeal, experts said In futures trades on the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold contracts for December delivery jumped `493 or 0.63% to `78,242 per 10 grams Silver contracts bounced `2,822 or 2.96% to hit a high of `98,224 per kg `1,00,564 PRICE OF 1 KG SILVER ON MCX ON MONDAY FOR MARCH 5, 2025 DELIVERY CONTRACT 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 CHINA SIACHIN GLACIER DAULAT BEG OLDI INDIA, CHINA IRON OUT WRINKLES SC: Secularism part of statute’s KARAKORAM PASS AKSAI CHIN Y JUNCTION, DEPSANG Both sides arrive at patrolling agreement on the LAC Y E S H I S E L I & M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi INDIA (LADAKH) DEMCHOK The fine print The pre-2020 situation was that the Army was patrolling till its line of perception in Demchok and Depsang. “Whether we can return to those areas will be clear in the fine print,” sources said RG KAR IMPASSE Medics call off fast after 2-hr talks with Didi FOREIGN Secretary Vikram Misri’s primary briefing on Monday was about the upcoming 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, but what was casually mentioned became the story of the day — that India and China have arrived at a patrolling agreement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. The jaw-dropping announcement of the thaw in eastern Ladakh came in response to a question from this reporter on the buzz on the possibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi having a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jingping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. PRODUCT OF PATIENT DIPLOMACY: JAISHANKAR “There are areas which for various reasons after 2020, they blocked us, we blocked them. We have now reached an understanding which will allow patrolling as we did till 2020... It is a positive development and I would say it is a product of very patient, very persevering diplomacy,” Jaishankar said At a different event later in the day, foreign minister S Jaishankar indicated that both sides had effectively gone back to the pre-2020 situation. “With that we can say the disengagement with China has been completed. Details will come out in due course,” he said. It was in 2020 that 20 Indian jawans died after a brawl with PLA soldiers in the Galwan valley along the LAC. Bilateral ties became frigid ever since. “Over the last several weeks, Indian and Chinese diplomatic and military negotiators have been in close contact with each other in a variety of forums. As a result of these discussions, an agreement has been made for patrolling arrangements along the LAC leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020. We will be taking the next steps on this,’’ Misri said. Sources indicated that there is a strong likelihood of the ModiXi bilateral. The prime minister will also have bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian. The announcement came days after the US law enforcement department unsealed the second indictment in the alleged murder-for-hire attempt against Khalistani radical Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, in which a former RAW officer was named and shamed. The two sticking points on the LAC that had defied resolution for this long are at Depsang and Demchok. Multiple military sources said that things will take time to get clear as “not much has changed on ground”. Troops continue to be stationed in the vicinity of the 832 km LAC on P9 Eastern Ladakh. NO MAJOR HICCUPS ON 1ST DAY OF GROUP-I MAINS A A R T I K A S H YA P @ Hyderabad S U L A G N A S E N G U P TA @ Kolkata PROTESTING doctors in West Bengal called off their hunger strike on Monday following a two-hour meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. They also cancelled their proposed strike across hospitals in the state on Tuesday . The decision was taken after a general body meeting of the doctors in the wake of their meeting with Banerjee in the state secretariat. The doctors had launched the fast-unto-death protest on October 5 in response to the horrific rape-murder of their colleague at RG Kar Hospital in August. Their demands included safety and security within hospitals, systemic reforms in the healthcare sector, and removal of West Bengal’s health secretary . Banerjee assured the doctors of her resolve to address their concerns but she refused to remove health secretary Narayan Nigam without evidence against him. Dr Debasish Haldar, speaking on behalf of the junior doctors, said they were not fully satisfied with the government’s assurances but decided to call off stir out of respect for the RG Kar hospital victim’s parents, who asked them to end the fast. Six doctors had to be hospitalised due to health complications. While breaking the fast, Dr Rumelika Kumar said, “We are solely lifting the fast on request of the parents and the civil society We are not doing it because . of the government’s requests or we are intimidated by them.” Chances brighten for Modi-Xi talks Aspirants wait outside the examination centre at Government Degree College for Women in Begumpet, Hyderabad, on Monday | VINAY MADAPU SC REFUSES TO STAY GROUP-I MAINS EXAMS New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the Group-I mains examinations, being conducted by the TGPSC to fill up 563 Group-I posts in various government departments, saying that such an order will lead to “chaos” | P4 AFTER weeks of protests, political controversies and uncertainty , the Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC) Group-I mains examination was successfully conducted on Monday . A total of 31,383 candidates who cleared the prelims were slated to appear for the seven-day mains examination. The first exam, General English, a three-hour qualifying test, was held without any major issues, sources said. The TGPSC reported a preliminary attendance rate of 72.4% on the first day, with 22,744 candidates appearing. Complying with the directions of the high court, an additional 20 sports candidates were granted permission to write the examination. Candidates from across the state travelled to Hyderabad to take the exam, with the question paper receiving mixed reactions. K Anusha from Sangareddy found the question paper “very easy”, and said that she finished well within three hours. ‘No more controversies’ Meanwhile, many others found the paper moderately difficult and expressed hope that the remaining exams would proceed smoothly without any disturbances. P Lavanya, a candidate from Adilabad, told TNIE, “We were hoping the government would give us more time to prepare, as we only had four months to prepare for the mains. However, we are trying our best and hope the remaining exams and results proceed without any controversies.” CONTINUED ON P7 basic structure 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 Monday said secularism had always been held to be part and parcel of the basic structure of the Constitution. A two-judge bench of the court comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar made the observation while hearing a batch of petitions filed by former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain and others, challenging the insertion of the words “socialist” and “secular” in the Preamble of the Constitution. The addition came through the 42nd constitutional amendment moved by the then Indira Gandhi government in 1976. “This court has in a number of judgments held that secularism was always part of the basic structure of the Constitution. If one looks at the right to equality and the word ‘fraternity’ used in the Constitution, there is a clear indication that secularism has been held as the core feature of the Constitution,” the bench said. “When secularism was debat- Retrospective ed, there was only the French effect challenge model. The Supreme Court has Advocate Ashwini struck down statutes that go Upadhyay said he was against secularism. You may not against the words look at Article 25. For socialism, “socialist”, “secular” or we have not followed the West- “integrity” but was ern concept and we are happy against their insertion about it,” said Justice Khanna. into the Preamble in He said there were different 1976 with retrospective meanings of socialism and one effect from Nov 26, 1949 “should not take the meaning adopted in Western countries”. “Socialism can also mean there has to be a fair opportunity for all — the concept of equality Let us not take it as . a Western concept. It can have some different meanings as well. Same goes with the word secularism,” he said. Swamy submitted that the Preamble was a declaration made on November 26, 1949 and therefore, adding further words to it through a subsequent amendment was arbitrary . He said it was wrong to say that according to the present Preamble, the Indian people agreed on November 26, 1949 to make the country a socialist and secular republic. The Preamble cannot be altered, varied or repealed, he argued. The bench posted it for further hearing on November 18. Hoax callers to be put under ‘Mad forces’ behind idol desecration, says Revanth no-fly list: Rammohan Naidu EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi TO deal with the menace of hoax bomb threats to airlines, the Centre plans to amend rules to place the culprits in the nofly list and initiate criminal charges against them, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Monday He . said such threats will be made a cognisable offence, which will attract punishment and fines. Naidu said the government is considering amendments to the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982, to strengthen measures. “Even though most of them are hoax threats, we cannot take them lightly. The lives of passengers are important, the secu- rity situation is important, and protocol is important,” he added. These hoax bomb calls also caused financial loss to airlines that had to divert flights for safety reasons. An airline official said the financial loss due to frequent diversions ranges from a few lakh rupees to a couple of crores per flight, depending on the size of the plane. The minister also announced the extension of affordable regional air connectivity scheme, UDAN, for 10 more years. Around 1.5 crore passengers have benefited so far. Meanwhile, CISF and BCAS brass met Home Secretary Govind Mohan on Monday. Sources said the threats originated overseas but their exact location could not be traced so far. @ Hyderabad STATING that certain forces, driven by emotions and madness, are creating disturbances by vandalising places of worship, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy urged the people of Telangana to remain vigilant against such incidents, terming the recent idol desecration in Secunderabad “alarming”. He highlighted that the police have sent a strong message by arresting those involved in the attack, making it clear that no one will be spared. “Some forces are trying to take law into their hands. The police are ready to punish the culprits in such cases,” he remarked. Revanth praised the police for their sincere efforts in maintaining law and order, especially during festivals like Muharram, Bakrid, Christmas, Vinayaka Chavithi and Hanu- On the occasion of Police Commemoration Day, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy pays tribute at the Police Martyrs Memorial in Goshamahal on Monday | VINAY MADAPU man Jayanti, despite limited facilities. He advised the police to be tough on criminals and remain friendly with victims, emphasising that law enforcement should not show leniency towards wrongdoers. The chief minister paid tribute to the police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty On Monday during the po. , lice commemoration parade at FROM TOXIC TO TRANQUIL GOVT WILL GIVE 150 SQ YARD PLOTS FOR MUSI DWELLERS: PONGULETI The state government will provide house plots of around 150 square yards to people living along the Musi river near the ORR in Hyderabad in addition to the R&R package, which includes cash and 2BHK housing. A decision on this is expected at the Cabinet meeting on October 26. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy shared this at an informal chat with reporters during the study tour in South Korea. He noted that the total land required would be 600 to 700 acres. Housing will be provided to all Musi residents, regardless of the type of structure they currently live in, the minister said, adding that this is being done to persuade the dwellers to support the riverfront project. The government has identified 13,000 houses along the Musi riverfront. EXPRESS READ Seoul river transformation holds lesson for Musi rejuvenation B K A R T H E E K @ Seoul A view of the walkway along the Cheonggyecheon in Seoul, South Korea ONCE a heavily polluted river stream, Cheongg yecheon, which flows through downtown Seoul, the capital of South Korea, now runs with treated and crystalclear water. It has transformed into an eco-friendly zone, fostering biodiversity and contributing to the fight against climate change. Additionally, it serves as a flood-receding channel. This turnaround from a polluted to a pristine river is a revolution in riverfront develop- the Goshamahal Police Stadium, he highlighted that the 140 crore people of India sleep peacefully because of the strong policing system in the country. He also pointed out that no state can attract investments without maintaining law and order, praising the sacrifices made by police personnel in upholding peace and security . The police commemoration day programme, Revanth said, instilled confidence in the families of police martyrs, reassuring them that the government stands by them. He remembered officers like KS Vyas, Pardesi Naidu, Umesh Chandra and Krishna Prasad, who laid down their lives and inspired others to maintain peace and security The state govern. ment, he added, continues to honour the policemen who sacrificed their lives in the line of CONTINUED ON P4 duty . m e n t a n d s e r ve s a s a n inspiration for many polluted rivers worldwide, including the Musi river in Hyderabad. As the Telangana government plans to embark on the Musi riverfront development, aiming to rejuvenate and revitalise the river, it becomes crucial to examine and lear n from global examples. A delegation led by ministers Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and Ponnam Prabhakar, along with MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalaxmi and Mu- nicipal Administration & Urban Development (MAUD) principal secretary Dana Kishore, among others, studied riverfront development in South Korea. Interestingly, the challenges faced by the Cheonggyecheon and Musi riverfront developments are quite similar. Despite loss of jobs and commercial activities during its construction, South Korea managed to create this ‘man-made river’. T he demolition of the Cheonggyecheon Expressway was met with strong opposition at the time. CONTINUED ON P2 Pawan summoned over remarks on TTD laddu Hyderabad: The City Civil Court, Hyderabad, on Monday summoned Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan over his comments that adulterated ghee was used in the making of Tirupati laddu. He was directed to appear in person on November 22 | P7 Israeli air strikes on Hezbollah financier Beirut: Israel, on Monday, conducted air strikes hitting a Lebanese association linked to the Hezbollah and accused it of financing the group’s weapons, as it expanded the scope of its raids beyond military targets | P11
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