HYDERABAD  FRIDAY  OCTOBER 25, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 44  LATE CITY EDITION PAC MEET POSTPONED AS SEBI CHIEF MADHABI BUCH DOESN’T TURN UP The Sebi chairperson skipped a Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee meeting on Thursday, prompting panel head K C Venugopal to put it off BUCH CITES ‘EXIGENCIES’ TO SKIP MEETING FURORE OVER JPC HEAD VENUGOPAL’S FIAT Venugopal said the panel received a message from Buch at 9.30 am that she and her team wouldn’t be able to appear before it due to “exigencies”. The panel’s proceedings remained deadlocked even during its second sitting amid the NDA members’ demand that Venugopal allow a vote on agenda items like summoning heads of regulatory bodies, an idea opposed by Cong MPs ■ ■ BJP member Nishikant Dubey moved a motion to drop five of the 161 subjects picked by the panel for its annual agenda, and called for a vote With NDA members in majority, Venugopal didn’t allow the motion. BJP members accused him of not letting them air their views. They later met Speaker Om Birla to protest against Venugopal’s unilateral decisions Trai chairman BRIEFLY APPEARED BEFORE JPC BUT THE MEET WAS CALLED OFF DUE TO PROTESTS 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 Pullback begins from Depsang and Demchok Cyclone landfall keeps Odisha govt on its toes B I J AY C H A K I /A S I S H M E H TA @ Bhubaneswar Forces have moved away from stand-off points but remain in the vicinity, say sources NOW, SENIOR RAIL OFFICERS TASKED WITH SAFETY INSPECTION DUTY Amid a spate of derailments, the Ministry of Railways has decided to involve its senior administrative grade (SAG) officers to conduct inspections to enhance safety . From now on, SAG officers will carry out two night inspections per month at roadside stations, level-crossing gates, or on footplates. This is in addition to regular daytime inspections of maintenance practices across all departments, which may include monitoring crew operations and visits to running rooms. They also have been tasked with conducting “ambush checks” at unmanned level crossings in collaboration with the police to check if safety measures are in place. The decision follows a safety review meeting on October 8, where a system was suggested for assigning officers for night inspections and to monitor the inspections carried out by other nominated officers. The ministry directed General Managers (GMs) and Divisional R a i lw ay M a n a g e r s (DRMs) to implement this system and ensure daily oversight of night inspections. “A number of these accidents are avoidable as they are on account of failure of railway staff. It is essential that constant monitoring is done at all levels of the implementation of follow-up on laid down safety rules and procedures,” the ministry stated in its order. “It has been desired that all SAG officers at the headquarters of the departments eligible to be posted as DRMs/GMs (civil engineering, S&T, Electrical, Safety, Operating, Mechanical, accounts, Stores and also those working in Construction organisation) may be utilised to conduct inspections and look into allotted areas so as to effect improvement in safety in train operations.” Besides, the ministry mandated senior officers to inspect the functioning of vigilance control devices on locos as well as crew lobbies and surprise checks of crews using mobile breathalysers. State to decide on pending DA today KCR made decisions on Kaleshwaram: Former ENC to PC Ghose Commission E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad V V B A L A K R I S H N A @ Hyderabad THE state government formed a Cabinet sub-committee to address the issues and demands of employees. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced that a decision on pending DA w i l l b e m a d e by F r i d ay evening. On Thursday, the Employees Joint Action Committee, which includes both gazetted and non-gazetted employees, met with the CM to discuss their demands. Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will head the subcommittee, which includes ministers Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar, with Adviser K Keshava Rao as a special invitee. The sub-committee will meet representatives from each department after CONTINUED ON P4 Deepavali. THE then head of the government (read former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao) made key policy decisions regarding the construction of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, former engineerin-chief (ENC) Nalla Venkateswarlu told the Justice PC Ghose Commission on Thursday. The former ENC noted that the contracting agencies cond u c t e d i nve s t i g at i o n s t o change the locations of Annaram and Sundilla barrages. Venkateswarlu, who was removed from his position after the piers of Medigadda barrage sank over a year ago, deposed before the one-man Commission of Inquiry on KaleshwarCONTINUED ON P4 am. DEEPAVALI BASH KLIS REVELATIONS  Commission: After the DPRs were  Commission: The total cost of the approved, were there any modifications/ entire Kaleshwaram was estimated additions/deviations to approved DPRs? tentatively at `80,190 crore and Venkateswarlu: Certain necessary subsequently increased to `1.27 lakh modifications were done during the crore. Is this correct? progress of work. Venkateswarlu: Yes  Commission: What modifications  Commission: Is it not inappropriate were made? and in violation of basic principles to Venkateswarlu: In DPR, the WAPCOS construct a project at a different place by proposed main components like raft, piers, spending such a huge amount for creating abutments, guide bunds etc. But, no flood just 2 lakh ayacut? banks and diversion channels were Venkateswarlu: Besides, 2 lakh ayacut, a proposed. As farmers were unwilling to proposal of 18.81 lakh acres of stabilisation give up their fertile lands, certain of existing ayacut/proposed ayacut of modifications were made. already existing projects for SRSP, FFC, NSP  Commission: What is the Benefit Cost and Singur were proposed. Ratio of Kaleshwaram?  Commission: Consider the increased Venkateswarlu: 1:5 power costs, due to change of the  Commission: Were the parameters set location. by WAPCOS in the DPR approved? If so, Venkateswarlu: It is mathematically correct. who granted the approval? But, water is not available at Tummadihatti Venkateswarlu: It will be approved by the and the Maharashtra government has not head of the government. CM must sign the approved the construction of Tummadihatti file relating to approval. barrage at 152 m height. HC stays sale of Jubilee Hills housing society assets T G N A I D U @ Hyderabad IN interim orders on Thursday , the Telangana High Court suspended registration of new members in the Jubilee Hills Co-operative Housing Society and also a halt on any deals for its Phase-4 project in Manchirevula, Gandipet. Justice T Madhavi Devi was hearing a lunch motion petition from businessman Jyotiprasad Kosaraju, who raised concern about alleged irregularities within the society . Claiming that his complaints against the society had been ignored, Kosaraju urged the court to order a thorough investigation. He questioned the legality of registering new members and a real estate agreement with private entities that he argued violated the Co-operative Societies Act. The court directed the principal secretary and registrar of Cooperative Societies to issue notices to the society , asking them to file a counter by the next hearing on November 14. Advocate Y Rama Rao, representing Kosaraju, argued that the society was acting unlawfully by registering new mem- bers while an investigations were on. He pointed out that according to Section 19 of the Telangana Co-operative Societies Act, new members could only be admitted if plots were available, and unallocated plots must not exceed 10% of the total. Yet the society was promoting a new project requiring a `5 lakh booking fee for flats, counsel said. Rama Rao said that the partnership with a private firm was illegal and could cause irreparable harm to existing members, nearly 1,800 of whom were still awaiting plots. He noted that the district collector was unaware of the society’s actions, which lacked official approval. Counsel for the government stated that while the petition filed on September 24 had not been served, a complaint submitted on October 9 was under review. They requested additional time to gather details. After considering the arguments, Justice Madhavidevi suspended all new membership registrations and the real estate deal, effective immediately and , instructed the respondents to submit their counter arguments at the next hearing. DEALS IN SOCIETY FISHY: BIZMAN Businessman Jyotiprasad Kosaraju filed a lunch motion petition raising concern about alleged irregularities within the Jubilee Hills Co-operative Housing Society `7,000 CR RAILWAY PROJECTS TOTAL TRAIN ACCIDENTS, DERAILMENTS 55 Accident 48 40 35 40 36 27 *2024-25 (Up to August) 25 22 17 Derailments 18 Data based on a RTI reply *2024-25 @ New Delhi 2023-24 RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR 2022-23 Rajnath Singh, defence minister People brave gusting wind as they walk by the Dhamara fishing harbour ahead of cyclone Dana’s landfall in Bhadrak; and (inset) eye of the cyclone | DEBADATTA MALLICK 2021-22 The agreement includes patrolling and grazing in the traditional areas DAYS after India and China disclosed that an agreement has been reached to de-escalate the border tension, sources said on Thursday that troops from both sides have begun disengaging from the standoff points in Depsang and Demchok in Eastern Ladakh. The troops have moved away from the points near the Y-Junction in Depsang and Charding Nullah Junction in Demchok, it is learnt. “But the troops remain in the vicinity sources said, ,” indicating that both sides are treading cautiously . In other words, although troops have moved away from the standoff points, there is no real change in the overall troop deployment in the area. Broadly, the infrastructure also remains the same as only the temporary structures such as tents and shades have been dismantled. “The withdrawals are mutual. Patrolling may take some time to resume because it will depend on the removal of the structures which came up since the April 2020 clashes,” said an official. Speaking at an event in Delhi on Thursday Un, ion Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said a broad consensus has been achieved, which includes patrolling and grazing in traditional areas. This is the power of engaging in dialogue, he said. While grazing grounds are only towards Demchok with the nullah in the vicinity the landform , is rugged and rocky towards Depsang, where there are significant patrolling points. Monday’s agreement was about the two friction points, Depsang and Demchok. The strategic importance of Depsang is underscored by its proximity to the Y Junction, which is just 20 km from Daulat Beg Oldi airfield. Control over Y Junction enables China to obstruct India’s movements, which also serves as a link towards Siachen and the DBO airfield. The standoff at Depsang was significant, as the Chinese troops had blocked access to Patrol Points 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 13, covering an area of approximately 952 sq km. 2020-21 A broad consensus has been achieved by India and China on restoring the ‘ground situation’ along LAC, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh said M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi 2019-20 GROUND SITUATION ODISHA braced for impact as severe cyclonic storm Dana, packing strong winds, crossed the coast pelting heavy showers just around Thursday midnight. While the storm’s progress and landfall had kept weather experts guessing all day, the state government evacuated 5.84 lakh people to cyclone shelters as the tropical storm made landfall in the Paradip-Dhamra band, closer to Bhitarkanika national park in Kendrapara, impacting three districts with wind speed hitting past 100 km per hour. Though no major damage was registered, rain and strong wind uprooted trees in Kendrapara and Bhadrak districts. The NDRF, Odisha Fire and Emergency Service and other agencies quickly cleared the affected roads. Prime Minister Narendra Modi dialled Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and took stock of the preparedness of the government. Union home minister Amit Shah too discussed the preparedness with the CM. He assured all help from the Centre. Earlier, Majhi reviewed preparedness with collectors of various coastal districts. “Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts are likely to bear the maximum impact as predicted by the IMD,” he said. FOR NDA’S BIHAR, ANDHRA PRADESH|P5 EXPRESS READ Erigaisi breaches 2800 rating barrier Hyderabad: Arjun Erigaisi went past the 2800 rating barrier on Thursday. He is the 16th player in chess history and only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to cross 2800 in live rating. Erigaisi went past the milestone after a victory over Dmitry Andreikin while playing on the top board for his team ‘Alkaloid’ in the ongoing 39th European Chess Club Cup in Serbia.