KOHLI IS MASTER OF CEREMONY AT KOTLA Delirious fans screamed in excitement at the mere mention of his name as Virat Kohli’s unmatched aura dominated Ranji Trophy between Delhi & Railways. The DDCA opened the 6,000capacity ‘Gautam Gambhir Stand’ first but sensing that the crowd situation could go out of hand, they openned the 11,000-capacity ‘Bishan Singh Bedi Stand’ | P13 KALABURAGI  FRIDAY  JANUARY 31, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 14  CITY EDITION 67 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 KILLED in copter-jet mid-air crash Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Black Hawk Intended route Potomac river American Eagle 5342 Rescuers look for survivors near the wreckage site in Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia on Thursday | AP Tough law to rein in lenders, team to review Ordinance EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday decided to bring in a stringent law through an Ordinance soon to protect borrowers from the alleged harassment by microfinance companies. The cabinet, which held a detailed discussion on the draft Ordinance, favoured imprisonment of officials of errant microfinance firms, besides imposing penalties for allegedly harassing the borrowers. After the cabinet meeting, Siddaramaiah chaired a highlevel meeting with Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil, Home Minister G Parameshawara, Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna, Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa, Chief Secretary Shalini Rajaneesh, ACS LK Atheeq and other officials. They discussed the problems faced by borrowers, especially farmers. Increasing suicide cases involving borrowers and the alleged ill-treatment of women by officials of lending compaP5 nies were also discussed. AGENCIES ALL 64 people aboard an American Airlines aircraft that collided with an Army helicopter are feared dead in what appears to be the deadliest U.S. air crash since 2009, officials said Thursday . At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the midair collision Wednesday night when the helicopter, a UH-60 Blackhawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, flew in the path of the aircraft as it was preparing to land at the Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington. Rescuers said they did not believe there were any survivors, which would make it the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly 24 years. “We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation,” said John Donnelly the fire chief in the , nation’s capital. “We don’t be- PRESS INTAKE Vijayendra: No role in appointments | P4 HC stays proceedings against CT Ravi | P4 Uni-GAUGE, COMEDK UGET on May 10 | P5 lieve there are any survivors.” The plane was found upside-down in three sections of the Potomac in waist-deep water. The chopper was carrying three army soldiers. There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the aircraft coming from Wichita, Kansas, with U.S. and Russian figure skaters and others aboard, was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path. Passengers on Wednesday’s flight included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members returning from a camp that followed the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita. Two of those coaches were identified as Russian figure skaters Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who won the pairs title at the 1994 world championships, and competed twice in the Olympics. P11 EXPRESS READ Kejriwal says CEC indulging in ‘dirty politics’ amid EC nudge New Delhi: With EC expressing dissatisfaction with the response of Arvind Kejriwal to its notice over his claim that Haryana government was “mixing poison” in Yamuna, the AAP supremo accused Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar of getting P9 indulged in “dirty politics” HDK: Won’t privatise Vizag steel plant | P5 Greater Bengaluru Integrated Satellite Town in Ramanagara Man kills girl for not marrying him | P5 Bengaluru: In what could be termed a shot in the arm for DyCM DK Shivakumar, who also holds Bengaluru Development and Town Planning portfolio, the state cabinet on Thursday approved ‘Greater Bengaluru Integrated Satellite Town’ project in a cluster P4 of 10 villages in Ramanagara district ‘Red meat increases dementia risk, cognitive decline’ | P9 Don’t rush ‘1 poll’ plan, says JD(U) at all-party meet Stormy Parliament session to begin today P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi AT an all-party meeting convened by the BJPled NDA government on the eve of the Budget session of Parliament, key ally Janata Dal (United) flagged its concerns over the Centre’s ambitious ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill, saying it should not be ‘rushed through’ since it required wider consultations. The meeting was chaired by Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Kiren Rijiju, J P Nadda, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and L Murugan. Significantly, the JD(U) led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has always supported the idea of ‘one-nation-one-election’. In its memorandum submitted to the high-level committee last year, it said simultaneous elections are important to strengthen the architecture of good governance. The JD(U) added that it will reduce the financial burden associated with the frequent elections, as campaigning, logistics and security measures would be consolidated. The ‘One Nation, One Election Bill’ introduced during the Winter Session of Parliament, has been sent to a 39-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for scrutiny . Raising the issue at the meeting, JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha said the gover nment shouldn’t be in a hurry to implement the bill, which proposes simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies. It must hold wider consultations, said Jha. Besides, NDA allies Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and JD (U) joined Congress’ Gaurav Gogoi in questioning the seating arrangement in the Lok Sabha. The allies claimed it was decided without consulting the MPs. During the last winter session of Parliament, TDP member Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy had openly expressed unhappiness over his seat allocation. RAPS NEW UGC RULES Last week, the JD (U) had differed with the new UGC draft regulations saying it would limit the role of an elected state govt in the appointment of Vice Chancellors and also in the field of higher education OPPN’S DEMANDS The Opposition intends to corner the government on the proposed Waqf (Amend) Bill, the Maha Kumbh stampede, new UGC draft norms, the downward trend in the economy and other issues IRDAI puts 10% cap on hike in premiums for senior citizens D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi IN a bid to protect senior citizens from steep hikes in health insurance premiums, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on Thursday capped the annual increase on such premiums at 10%. In its order, IRDAI said insurance firms must consult it before proposing any increase that goes above 10%, adding that it must be duly informed in case of withdrawal of individual health insurance products offered to senior citizens. IRDAI’s move comes in the wake of widespread complaints of arbitrary increase in premiums as well as rejection of claims by senior citizens. The regulator also took note of the fact that health insurance premium is dependent on claims outgo, which in turn depends on amount charged by hospitals for various treatments and procedures. AD-HOC JUDGES TO CLEAR BACKLOG OF CASES Considering a backlog of over 18 lakh criminal cases, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the high courts to appoint retired judges on adhoc basis for 2-3 yrs | P9