hyderabad l tuesday l february 25, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION U.N. rejects U.S. resolution that urged end to war in Ukraine In a win for Ukraine, the US failed to get UN approve a resolution urging an end to the war without mentioning Moscow’s aggression File photo big setback for trump administration india abstains from both proposals The UN General Assembly approved a European-backed Ukrainian resolution demanding Russia withdraw from Ukraine. This is a setback for the Trump administration in the 193-member world body, whose resolutions are not binding but are seen as a barometer of world opinion. Ukraine’s resolution passed 93-18, with 65 abstentions including India ■ ■ The United States had tried to pressure the Ukrainians to withdraw their resolution in favour of its proposal, but Ukraine refused A draft amendment by France replaced ‘Russia-Ukraine conflict’ in the US-tabled text with ‘full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia’, which was adopted 93-8, with 73 abstentions including India | P9 27 all members of european union supported ukraine’s resolution 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 Slush, seepage slow down ops Amgen of US to April timeline for investor magnet 40 metres of mud, water and machine parts separate rescuers and workers Jupally says chances of workers’ survival ‘very remote’, Venkat says he is praying E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e invest `1,600cr in TG this year @ Hyderabad E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e Rescue teams hoping to save the eight workers trapped inside the collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel since Saturday are not only battling against time, but also the slush and seepage. The continuous seepage has turned the earth inside the tunnel into slush, slowing down the rescue teams. Transport Minister Jupally Krishna Rao had on Monday morning told a news agency: “To be honest, the chances of their survival are very, very, very, very remote. Because, I myself went up to the end, almost just 50 metres short (of the accident site) ... Mud has piled up to 25 feet.” While the fate of trapped workers remained unknown, officials say that the tunnel boring machine (TBM) has a safe chamber and the workers would be safe if they had entered it. As many as 14 rathole miners and sniffer dogs too were pressed into service on Monday However, the sniffer . dogs could not go inside the tunnel due to the water. The rat-hole miners are in addition to the 584 experts from NDRF, SDRF, Army, Navy and the National Highways Author- Reiterating the state government’s goal to make Hyderabad the world’s “China Plus One” destination, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday said: “Telangana’s vision is clear — it is to be a $1 trillion economy. We want to transform Hyderabad into one of the world’s greatest cities.” The chief minister, along with IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu, inaugurated the innovation site of Amgen, a leading American biotechnology company, at its premises in Hitec City on Monday . As part of its expansion, Amgen will invest $200 million (`1,600 crore) this year, according to a release. The company plans further investments in the coming years and to create job opportunities in the biopharma sector. Addressing the gathering, the chief minister said that Amgen chose Hyderabad for its world-class talent in medicine, life sciences, data sciences and AI. The company has a mission to serve patients in India, he stated. Telangana has been a pioneer in life sciences, pharma and biotech, he noted, adding that the new facility will enhance Amgen’s digital capabilities.  continued on P4 @ Hyderabad Indian Army personnel at the mouth of the collapsed SLBC tunnel on Monday ity of India, as well as from JP Associates and Navayuga, who are involved in the rescue operations and have inspected the tunnel seven times in the last 50 hours. For the rescuers, it’s literally “so near, yet so far”. They are barely 40 metres away from the TBM — 40 metres of frustratingly difficult distance blocked by water, slush and scattered parts of the machine.  CONTINUED ON P5 Polls for 5 Council seats Election for Five Council Seats – March 20, 2025 The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for elections to five seats in the Telangana Legislative Council under the Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) quota Election Schedule Seats up for election Notification Issue Date: March 3, 2025 Last Date for Nominations: March 10, 2025 Scrutiny of Nominations: March 11, 2025 Last Date for Withdrawal: March 13, 2025 Polling Date: March 20, 2025 (9 AM – 4 PM) Counting of Votes: March 20, 2025 (From 5 PM) Completion of Election Process: Before March 24, 2025 The five seats are to be vacted by n Satyavathi Rathod (BRS) n Subhash Reddy (BRS) n Mahmood Ali (BRS) n Yegge Mallesham (BRS) n Mirza Riyaz-ulHassan (AIMIM) Polling will be conducted if required, and the election process will be concluded by March 24, 2025 So near, yet so far 3,000 to 4,000 litres of slush and water enter the tunnel every minute Over 584 personnel from NDRF, SDRF, Army, Navy and private firms involved 100 HP pumps being used for dewatering Push cameras and mine detection robots from IITChennai deployed for live visuals AquaEye equipment used for locating the trapped workers Rat-hole miners and sniffer dogs deployed, but dogs could not enter due to water Express Read AP to pause drawing Krishna water Hyderabad: Telangana scored over Andhra Pradesh at the KRMB meeting on Monday with AP agreeing in principle to stop further drawing of water. Telangana has been insisting that AP exceeded its quota of water from the Krishna river | P5 ED restitutes `6K cr Agri Gold assets Hyderabad: The ED has restituted properties worth over `6,000 crore to the victims of Ponzi schemes launched by Agri Gold group of companies. The market value of the properties at the time they were attached was calculated at `3,339 crore | P5 PM leads battle against the bulge R A JE S H KUM A R TH A KUR @ New Delhi THE battle lines have been drawn in India’s war on obesity, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching a nationwide campaign to promote healthy living and reduce the burden of obesity-related diseases. A day after expressing concern about the growing obesity epidemic in India in his Mann Ki Baat, Modi on Monday nominated 10 influential personalities to join the war against flab, spread awareness and inspire change. Those nominated include J&K CM Omar Abdullah, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra, actor Mohanlal, Bhojpuri singer-actor and former MP Dinesh Lal Yadav (Nirahua), actor R Madhavan, philanthropist and Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murthy shooting champion , Manu Bhaker, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and singer Shreya Ghoshal. Each of them has been asked to nominate 10 individuals to further the cause. Nirahua responded by inviting 10 others, including Yogi Adityanath, Chirag Paswan, Malini Awasthi, Dr Kumar Vishwas, Manoj Tiwari, Ravi Kishan, and Pawan Singh. “I’m very happy to join the campaign against obesity launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji,” Omar tweeted. He nominated Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Sajjan Jindal, Deepika Padukone, Sania Mirza, Irfan Pathhan, Supriya Sule, Kuldeep Handoo, Sheetal Archer, Iqra Rasool and Palak Kour Bijral. shirking responsibility Abandoned by selfish kids, elderly stay put in hospital A S e s h a c h a r y u l u @ Nalgonda Lack of awareness While some people leaving their elderly parents, and their humanity in old age homes has , long been known, of late, there has been an increase in the number of incidents of some abandoning their responsibility in government hospitals. While the reason could be financial constraints or plain selfishness, the fact is that this act of depravity is creating problems for patients reaching the Nalgonda district government hospital. The 600-bed hospital receives around 1,200 patients daily, of which 100 to 120 are admitted for treatment. Due to the high patient load, hospital authorities often arrange extra beds in available wards. However, some There is little awareness among the public about the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen Act 2007, (Senior Citizen Act) mandates adequate maintenance and effective welfare for elderly parents and senior citizens people admit their elderly parents and leave without even arranging an attendant for them, making it difficult for the already understaffed hospital to provide individual nursing care. Hospital authorities revealed that when they call the contact numbers provided at the time of admission, the children refuse to respond. In some cases, the children deny any relation and disconnect the call. Some sons pass the responsibility to their sisters, while daughters insist their brothers take care of the parents. Bhimanapalli Srikanth, Seva Bharati (a voluntary organisa- tion) coordinator, told TNIE that the elderly patients refuse to be discharged, fearing physical harm from their children if they return home. These abandoned patients survive by begging within the hospital premises and the free breakfast provided by the Lions Club. In Suryapet, an orphanage named Annapurna Anadha Ashram shelters such individuals, but they can be sent there only with police permission. These elderly patients are victims of their children in other ways too. An elderly woman from Domalapally village was abandoned by her three sons soon after she transferred her 21 acres of land to them. It took police intervention for the sons to take her back. CONTINUED ON P5 Five to eight such cases are reported every month. Many elderly patients recover but remain in the hospital as their families refuse to take them back Dr Aruna Kumari, hospital in-charge Modi, Yunus meeting likely Jayan t h Ja c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet the Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to Bangladesh interim government, on the sidelines of the 6th BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) summit in Thailand on April 3-4. April 4 will be the main summit day of the sub-regional grouping. Though the possibility of the meeting between Modi and Yunus is being explored, there is no official confirmation yet. Modi will travel to Thailand for the summit, which was earlier slated for on September 3-4 last year but got postponed due to domestic political developments in the host country . India is promoting BIMSTEC as a model regional organisation, after SAARC became largely inactive due to the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan. Ties between India and Bangladesh waded into choppy waters after the removal of Sheikh Hasina as the prime minister. Speaking at a public event on Sunday just days after his meet, ing with Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Touhid Hossain in Muscat, foreign minister Jaishankar expressed concern regarding the interim administration’s hostile approach towards India and violence against minorities. “What is especially concerning is the ongoing attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. This impacts Narendra Modi and Muhammad Yunus BIMSTEC model regional grouping, says India BIMSTEC consists of seven member countries: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. India is promoting BIMSTEC as a model regional grouping, after SAARC became largely inactive due to the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan our viewpoint, and we have raised our concerns,” he said. Jaishankar also responded to the Bangladesh government’s public criticism of India in the same event, describing it as contradictory and unproductive. “If officials from the interim government keep blaming India for all their problems, some of which are entirely unfounded, it sends a conflicting message. On one hand, they claim to want good relations with us, but on the other, they continuously blame India for their domestic issues. This is a choice they must make,” the external affairs minister said.