kollam l wednesday l November 13, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION 35 killed, 43 injured after man rams his car into crowd in China Police said the 62-year-old driver, surnamed Fan, had been “triggered by (his) dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce” People at Zhuhai sports centre targeted Attacker seriously injured, hospitalised According to police, the disgruntled man drove his small SUV into a crowd of people exercising at a sports centre in the Chinese city of Zhuhai, which is hosting a major international military airshow this week. Terming it a “major vicious incident”, local police said the horrific incident occurred at 7:48 pm on Monday. The attacker tried to flee but the police nabbed him ■ ■ Responding officers found Fan in his vehicle attempting to self-harm with a knife. They swiftly intervened and sent him to hospital Fan is still receiving medical treatment as he was unconscious due to severe injuries to his neck and other areas and is not yet fit to be questioned by the police, state-run Xinhua news agency said Zhuhai 15th China Int’l Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition kicked off on Tuesday S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Pr a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati A day after he accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of being selective in its searches, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said he was subjected to checks for the second straight day on Tuesday, when he arrived in Latur district to campaign for the November 20 assembly polls. He said official searched his luggage, like they did on Monday after his helicopter landed at Wani in Yavatmal district. Tuesday’s inspection was carried out by the election officials after the former Maharashtra CM’s chopper arrived at a helipad in Ausa of Latur ahead of his rally scheduled to be held in Kasar Shirshi village. According to a video posted on X, Thackeray is heard asking the election staffers why he was being singled out for such searches. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged cash is being exchanged for votes at the behest of BJP-Sena-NCP leaders but the EC is not acting. “Our luggage, helicopter, private jet, cars... everything is checked. They search our homes also... We don’t have a problem if it is done impartially. But, where Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar, and Devendra Fadnavis are contesting, `25 crore have already reached...” he alleged. EC officials later confirmed that nothing objectionable was found in Thackeray’s bags. Three Meitei women and as many children from the same community have been missing from restive Manipur’s Jiribam since Monday’s gunfight in which 10 Kuki ‘militants’ were gunned down by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the police. In Imphal, 13 organisations jointly announced a 24-hour total shutdown in the Imphal valley from 6 pm of Tuesday seeking government intervention to secure the release of the six individuals. Talking about the Jiribam gunfight, Inspector General of Police I K Muivah said armed miscreants had attacked the Borobekra police station and also at a nearby CRPF camp at Jakuradhor on Monday afternoon. “The militants were using RPGs and other sophisticated weapons such as AK, INSAS, SLRs. A CRPF jawan was injured in the attack and evacuated to Assam for treatment,” Muivah said. The CRPF retaliated and the firing stopped after about 45 minutes. “About 10 militants were found dead. Two elderly persons were found burned to death while three women and three minor children were found missing,” the IGP said, adding the police are trying to trace the six missing persons. The two elderly persons were from the Meitei community . Protesting the “inhumane actions” of CRPF in Jiribam, the Kuki Students’ Organisation issued a “notice” stating that “no CRPF personnel shall be allowed to leave their camp premises.” It demanded a thorough and courtmonitored probe into the “fake encounter”. Canada consular event cancelled The Brampton Triveni temple in Canada cancelled a consular event after the police warned them of an “extremely high” threat level of violent protests | P8 Given the kinds of weapons recovered and the clothes they wore, we can say that they were either armed militants or armed miscreants I K Muivah, IGP Kuki fiat No CRPF personnel shall be allowed to leave their camp premises till they apologise, a Kuki student outfit said 42.18 10.99 9.69 9.51 7.43 6.94 4.87 3.65 Meat and fish Snacks, sweets Cereals and products Pulses and products Fruits 8.43 express read Egg What’s driving the price rise Oils and fats Two MeitEis charred to death, 6 missing Food and beverages Day after Personal care High drama as Uddhav’s bags checked again by EC officials Vegetables 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 3.17 Figures are inflation rates (%) of the items for October 2024 Inflation heat breaches RBI’s top tolerance level Retail inflation shoots up to 6.21% in October, dashes rate cut hopes MO N IKA YADAV @ New Delhi IIP TURNS POSITIVE THE spectre of inflation has come back to haunt the economy as retail inflation shot up to 6.21% in October, marking the highest level in 14 months, driven by a sharp spike in food prices. This surge was noted in the prices of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and cooking oils. Food inflation rose considerably to 10.87% in October, the highest in 15 months, up from 9.24% in September and 6.61% in the same month last year. In October, the rate of price increases exceeded the Reserve Bank of India’s upper limit for acceptable inflation (6%). Rural areas experienced a significant rise in inflation at 6.7%, while urban consumers faced a lower rate of 5.6%. The latest inflation numbers dash any India’s industrial production grew 3.1% with all three key sectors— mining, manufacturing, and power generation—demonstrating positive trends in September. This is a notable improvement as factory output had dipped to (-) 0.1% in August hope of an interest rate cut by the RBI during its monetary policy review in December. In October, food prices in rural areas increased 10.7%, while urban food inflation was even steeper at 11.1%. Meanwhile, inflation for vegetables surged from 36% in September to a five-year high of 42.2% in October. Additionally edible oil , prices rose 9.5%, the biggest jump in two years. Fruit prices rose 8.4%, while inflation for pulses decreased to 7.4%, ending a 17-month streak of double-digit price increases. On the other hand, spice prices fell 7%. Additionally in October, households , experienced an 11% increase in the costs of personal care products and services, up from 9% in September. For experts, core inflation remaining below 4% for 11th consecutive month is a big positive. “The surge in vegetable prices was due to uneven rains. Data for November suggests some moderation in vegetable prices. This, in addition to a favourable base, can lend some downside to vegetable inflation,” said Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist, CRISIL. Wayanad, Chelakkara go to polls today Kalpetta/Thrissur: The 14.71 lakh electors of Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency will vote to elect their new MP in the bypoll on Wednesday, six months after the general elections in April. Meanwhile, all arrangements are in place for the smooth conduct of the bypoll in Chelakkara assembly constituency. P4 Organ trafficking: NIA identifies recipients Kochi: The National Investigation Agency probing the Nedumbassery organ trafficking case has identified some of the recipients who travelled to Iran for kidney transplantation. NIA has turned these identified recipients and donors as witnesses in the case. Operations of the racket came to light after the arrest of a youth at Nedumbassery airport in May this year. P5 ‘Deliberate attempts to disrupt sports meet’ T’Puram: A day after the closing ceremony of Kerala State School Sports Meet was marred by protests, General Education Minister V Sivankutty said there were deliberate attempts to disrupt the event. P4 Carbon market deal done? Experts wary High Court quashes case S V Krishna Chaitanya EXPRESS IN BAKU T he United National Climate Conference (COP29) presidency has claimed early success with the adoption of standards for carbon credits, referred to as Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, a long-debated framework designed to help nations collaborate on reducing carbon emissions. But, critics say it was pushed without adequate scrutiny and would lead to greenwashing as there are not enough safeguards. Yalchin Rafiyev, COP29 lead negotiator, told the media, “This will be a game-changing Yalchin Rafiyev Game-changing tool: COP29 “This will be a game-changing tool to direct resources to the developing world and help us save up to $250 billion a year when implementing our climate plans,” said Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijan’s Dy foreign minister and COP29 lead negotiator tool to direct resources to the developing world.” However, Harjeet Singh, Global Engagement Director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, disagreed. “Fast-tracking carbon market rules at the start of COP29 sets a troubling precedent. Rushed rules open the door to weak, false ‘solutions’ that will only delay real climate action,” he told this paper. Article 6, offers two options for trading: countries can enter into bilateral agreements and set their own rules, or participate in a United Nations-supervised market open to all. This UN supervised carbon market, in which the credit price will be fixed by the market players but embedded with third party accreditation, has several loopholes. Critics argue that the benefits of Article 6 are far from guaranteed, as they could result in potential human rights abuses and ‘greenwashing’, in which polluters can claim environmental progress without genuinely reducing emissions. However, Martin Hession, Vice-Chair of the Article 6.4 of the Supervisory Body told this , newspaper, “there are enough safeguards to thwart greenwashing. Third party verification is integral. But, individual countries must also ensure the quality of credits. We are setting high quality standards.” On Article 6, India expects to conclude the deal. It hopes COP29 would be able to agree to a mechanism which uses market-based instruments (such as carbon credits) to incentivise low-carbon development. Expressions & Impressions The ‘Navarasas’ of Kathakali maestro Kalamandalam Gopi recreated on canvas by artist Mopasang Vallath adorn the walls of the Business Jet Terminal of the Kochi airport | P2 under Waqf Act against former postal dept staff E x p re s s N e w s Ser v i c e @Kochi The Kerala High Court has quashed a case registered against two former postal department officers on a complaint by the Waqf Board that they illegally took possession of Waqf property on which a post office was located. The officials had not obtained its sanction, the board alleged. The court said the department of posts was in possession of the property prior to the insertion of Section 52A in the Waqf Act. The post office was functioning from 1999 onwards. Section 52A was inserted in the Act in 2013. Hence, the prosecution against the petitioners was unsustainable, the court said. The Section states that whoever alienates or purchases or takes possession of, either permanently or temporarily any movable or , immovable property being a Waqf property without prior sanction of the board shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years. Justice P V Kunhikrishnan issued the order on the petition filed by K Sukumaran and K Prema, who were Senior Superintendent and sub post master respectively of Kozhikode divi- Section 52A The Section 52A of the Waqf Act states that whoever alienates or purchases or takes possession of, either permanently or temporarily, any movable or immovable property being a Waqf property without prior sanction of the board shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years. sion in 2018, seeking to quash the case. The Judicial First Class Magistrate issued summons to the petitioners based on the complaint alleging that the petitioners, who were the officials of the department of posts, had committed offences under Section 52A of the Act. Advocate Suvin R Menon, representing the petitioners, argued that the properties were in possession of the post office even before Section 52A of the Waqf Act was inser ted by way of amendment. The post office was operating in a rented building in Marikkunnu since September 1999. In 2005, it was moved to a new building of the same owner. But after 2014, the owner stopped accepting rent and demanded that it be vacated as the land belonged to Waqf Board. 37 years on Unfulfilled promises: Bus conductor hailed as hero for saving lives, then forgotten R a h u l R @Kollam The date, November 8, invokes a myriad of emotions in 76-yearold S Thulsidharan, a retired KSRTC conductor. It brings up a decades-old memory of a day of tragedy and heroism, and remains a haunting reminder of a promise unfulfilled. It was on November 8, 1987, that Thulsidharan faced a hor- rific accident, one that tested his courage. He was on duty as conductor on board a KSRTC bus from Karunagappally depot when it rammed a railway gate at Vavvakkavu, rendering it immobile on the tracks even as an express train approached. Amid the chaos and panic, Thulsidharan sprang into action. Giving no thought for his own safety, he managed to pull six passengers out of the bus moments before Jayanthi Express struck the vehicle, killing eight passengers, including the driver G Raghavan Pillai. Days after the accident, the state gover nment and the KSRTC spoke of honouring Thulsidharan for his bravery. The then transport minister Sankaranarayana Pillai even praised Thulsidharan’s courageous act in the state assembly . Thirty-seven years on, Thulsid- haran has received neither an award nor a mention. The man who was once hailed as a hero, has become a figure lost to time. “I had a bad feeling that day . Just before Vavvakkavu, the brakes of the bus failed. On one I pushed two young women off the bus, helped a young man, and carried two children out. Seconds later, the train hit, and I ended up in the hospital —S Thulsidharan side were shops teeming with people, and on the other, a canal. The driver’s last resort was the railway gate. However, we crashed through and got trapped on the tracks. Everyone panicked. We knew the train was coming. I pushed two young women off the bus, helped a young man, and carried two children out. Seconds later, the train hit, and I ended up in the hospital,” recalls Thulsidharan. He spent days recovering at Karunagappally taluk hospital, where the then Chief Minister E K Nayanar praised his bravery. Nothing happened after that. Despite his brave act, Thulsidharan was neither promoted nor formally recognised. In 2003, he retired from KSRTC without even a ● More on P4 commendation.