visakhapatnam l sunday l march 16, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION SpaceX Launches Crew to Rescue two Astronauts stuck in space SpaceX launches a crew to replace NASA’s stranded astronauts — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — paving way for their return after nine long months Crew to Overlap for smoother Handover The relief craft is expected to dock into the ISS by Saturday night (US time). NASA wants an overlap so Suni and Butch can brief the newcomers on station operations. Their departure along with two others is planned for next week, with a splashdown off Florida, finally bringing an end to their unexpected nine-month mission in space 4 astronauts to spend six months in space ■ Four astronauts, including two military pilots, will spend six months aboard the ISS after freeing the stranded duo ■ SpaceX’s new capsule needed battery repairs, delaying the launch. To save time, it switched to a used capsule, moving Wilmore and Williams’ return to mid-March 9 spacewalks made Williams the women’s record-holder 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 High-level CEC meet on linking Aadhaar, voter ID It’s at variance with EC’s line in SC in 2023 P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Amid a row over voter lists, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has called a high-level meeting on Tuesday to discuss the linking of the voter identity card with the Aadhaar card. According to sources, the CEC will discuss the matter with the Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Legislative Department Secretary Rajiv Mani and UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar on March 18. This is at variance with the EC’s earlier position. In September 2023, the EC told the Supreme Court that the submission of Aadhaar number is not mandatory under Rule 26-B of the Registration of Electors (Amendment) Rules 2022. The EC further said that it is not mandatory to provide Aadhaar numbers for linking with the electoral roll, and it is considering issuing ‘appropriate clarificatory changes’ in enrolment forms to reflect this. In 2022, the then Union law minister Kiren Rijiju told the Lok Sabha that linking Aadhaar with the Voter ID is voluntary adding electors without an , Aadhaar number could ‘provide other optional documents as provided in the Form 6B’. According to him, the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, allows Electoral Registration Officers to require the voter to provide their Aadhaar number for identification. However, this is voluntary he said. , The Tuesday meeting comes amid allegations of voter ID EC s t a n c e On March 2, EC said identical EPIC numbers or series were allotted to some electors from different states and UTs due to a “decentralised and manual mechanism” before shifting of the electoral roll database of all states to ERONET platform In another statement, the EC said that since the allotment of the EPIC series in 2000, some Electoral Registration Officers did not use the correct series Allotment of duplicate numbers due to incorrect series could not have been detected as the states/ UTs were independently managing the electoral roll databases, EC said number duplication and fudging of electoral roll data levelled by the Opposition, including the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress. Several other opposition parties have also demanded a discussion on the EPIC number duplication. Trinamool MP Sagarika Ghose on Saturday said the statements by the poll panel earlier over the duplicate EPIC numbers and this meeting being called now, are “face-saving measures”. She added that the TMC will keep a strict vigil till the next state elections. “First, three statements. Now this meeting. This is just a facesaving measure. We will keep a hawk-eye vigil till the elections,” Ghose said. Visa revoked for pro-Palestine protest, Indian student at Columbia Univ self-deports from US J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi An Indian student at Columbia University Ranjani Srinivasan, , has self-deported from the US after her student visa was revoked for taking part in proPalestine protests. The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Ranjani’s visa was revoked on March 5 due to her involvement in supporting Hamas, which is a “designated terrorist organisation” in the US. It went on to furnish video evidence of her using the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) app to selfdeport on March 11. Self-deporting allows individuals to leave voluntarily before facing formal deportation, thereby avoiding the possibility Videograb of Indian student Ranjani Srinivasan leaving the US on her own after her visa was revoked | PTI of being forcibly removed, as has been the case with other deportees recently sent back to amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Last week, Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia student of Palestinian descent who had been at the forefront of pro-Palestinian protests on campus last year, was arrested by US authorities. While his green card was revoked, a federal judge temporarily halted his deportation. Another Columbia University student, Leqaa Kordia, was also arrested by US authorities. Rajani holds a Bachelor’s Degree from CEPT University in Ahmedabad and a Master’s Degree from Harvard, where she was awarded the Fulbright Nehru and Inlaks Scholarships. She has also worked for an environmental advocacy nonprofit in Washington. AP govt expresses readiness to set up small nuclear power plants E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada/Srikakulam The Andhra Pradesh government has expressed its readiness to establish small nuclear power plants in the State, citing their cost-effectiveness. During a brief discussion on the Energy Sector in the State Assembly on Thursday, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu highlighted the State’s willingness to exploring future technologies like small nuclear power plants. Mentioning the Kovvada nuclear power plant, Naidu felt that opting for one or two small units would be more practical than big ones. He revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently discussed this matter with him. The State government is also contemplating a joint venture with NTPC in this regard. Recently NTPC, which identified , several potential locations across India for small nuclear power plants, including one near Anakapalle in Andhra Pradesh, submitted a proposal to the State government. The nuclear power plant at Kovvada was envisaged to generate 6,600 megawatt of power through six reactors, which would be constructed and commissioned in a phased manner. The project was first conceptualised in 1990 at the coastal village of Kovvada in Srikakulam district, but remained dormant until 2009. Between 2009 and 2012, the Police see Pak mischief in grenade attack on temple government revived its interest, conducting detailed surveys and feasibility studies to assess the project viability . In November 2012, the State issued GO No. 42, authorising the acquisition of 1,916 acres of land for the nuclear power plant. Of the total, 1,300 acres are classified as g o ve r n m e n t - o w n e d land, while the remaining 616 acres fall under Zeroyati land. Compensation was paid under the R&R package to 1,863 affected families, except for two. “The payment of compensation for land is pending to 21 people as they only have occupational rights on the land,” Ranastalam Tahasildar Nandigam Prasada Rao told TNIE. express read Heatwave alert issued for 45 mandals today Visakhapatnam: As many as 45 mandals in the State are likely to experience severe heatwave on Sunday. Also, heatwave conditions are likely to extend to 185 mandals. A total of 19 mandals experienced severe heatwave conditions, while 54 mandals reported heatwave conditions on Saturday | P3 H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh A bomb blast that took place outside Thakurdwara temple in Amritsar’s Khandwala area late Friday night rattled the local community, sparking fear and concern. The explosion, caused by a grenade thrown by two motorcycle-bor ne men, occurred around 12.35 am. While a section of the temple’s wall was damaged, no injuries were reported. Police said the temple priest and his family who were inside , at the time, had a narrow escape. The intensity of the blast was such that window panes of nearby buildings shattered. CCTV footage shows the suspects throwing the grenade at midnight. Senior police officials rushed to the scene, and an investigation is underway to track down the culprits. Punjab Police suspect the involvement of Pakistan’s InterServices Intelligence (ISI) in the attack. “This marks a shift in strategy by ISI handlers in Pakistan. So far, their targets have been police posts and politically connected individuals. Now, it seems they are trying to incite communal tensions,” said a senior officer. This is the 13th bomb attack in Punjab in the past four months but the first targeting a religious site. Earlier attacks focused on police establishments, with suspected involvement of foreign-based gangsters turned terrorists. India who had come to the US as illegal immigrants. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shared a video of Ranjani at the airport, stating that anyone “advocating for violence and terrorism should not be in the country”. “It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America. When you advocate for violence and terrorism, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country I . am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self-deport,” she said in a post on X. Columbia University has become a focal point for student protests in support of Palestine ONGC staffer kills two sons, dies by suicide mumbai WIN WPL TITLE AGAIN Mumbai Indians’ players celebrate a wicket against Delhi Capitals in WPL final. MI won the match by eight runs I Sportzpics Kakinada: In a shocking incident, a 37-year-old ONGC employee allegedly killed his two minor sons over their ‘poor academic performance’, and died by suicide in Kakinada city on Friday. The deceased were identified as Vanapalli Chandra Kishore, and his sons Joshit Kishore (7), and Nikhil Kishore (6), police said | P4 Governor S Abdul Nazeer and Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu participate in Srinivasa Kalyanam at Venkatapalem on Saturday evening I Express TTD celestial wedding at Venkatapalem a big draw Swamy. Mukhya Archaka Kiran Swamy was also present. The beautifully decorated The Tirumala Tirupati Dev- Saptadwara-Ananda Nilayam asthanams (TTD) organised stage captivated devotees, while Srinivasa Kalyanam at Sri renowned Carnatic musicians Venkateswara Swamy temple Nithyasree Mahadevan and in Venkatapalem on Priya Sisters enchantSaturday evening. ed the devotees with Thousands of devotees devotional rendition witnessed the celestial o f A n n a m a ch a r ya Srinivasa wedding. Sankeertans. Kalyanam at Sri Chief Minister N The atmosphere was Venkateswara Chandrababu Naidu Swamy temple in further elevated by the presented Pattu Vaspresence of Sri Pedda Venkatapalem trams to Utsava deities symbolises the Jeeyangar and Sri in a traditional man- commencement of Chinna Jeeyangar of ner at the Kalyana reconstruction of Tirumala along with Vedika. Governor S Capital Amaravati, several other revered Abdul Nazeer, TTD aligning with CM pontiffs. Naidu’s vision Chairman BR Naidu, The major highlight Executive Officer J BR Naidu, TTD chief of the event was the Syamala Rao, Addidedicated service of tional EO Ch Venkaiah Chow- 1,500 Srivari Sevaks, who asdary State Ministers and other sisted in Annaprasadam distri, dignitaries attended the celes- bution, crowd management, tial wedding, which was con- and providing sacred items like ducted under the supervision Srivari laddus, turmeric, verof Chief Priest Venugopala milion, Kankanams, Pustaka Deekshitulu and Archaka Sai Prasadam, and Akshatas. P4 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The New World Order PLUS 12 PAGES WITH THIS ISSUE inside edge Will continue to play as long as I have fun and enjoy it, says Kohli S w a r o o p S w a m i n at h a n @ Bengaluru DURING Virat Kohli’s fireside chat with Isa Guha, the former India captain raised his index and middle-fingers to form a ‘V’ sign — the universal peace symbol — before sporting a wide grin. “I’m pretty happy where I’m right now,” he said during an RCB event. More than that he spoke about retirement, the one topic everyone is interesting with right now. Twenty minutes either side of that moment, Kohli spoke on a wide variety of subjects ranging from retirement, leader- ship, family, social media and being in the present. On the subject of retirement and what motivates him these days, Kohli said: “I’m (very peaceful and calm),” he said. “Me playing is not for achievement. It’s for the joy enjoyment , and love for the game. As long as that is intact, I will continue to play I have to be honest about . that with myself... at this point of time in my life, I feel pretty happy. I still love playing the game.” He was also effusive in his praise for how women’s sport has developed in India. “In two seasons of the Women’s Pre- Former India captain Virat Kohli speaks during an event in Bengaluru on Saturday mier League, you see a completely different women’s game today,” he said. “And it’s going to keep growing, it’s so very important because you can’t just cater to looking at men. It has to be collective, sports culture influences everyone and women’s sport is a massive part of it. We have so much talent in women’s sports and not just cricket. We have great individual athletes in tennis, badminton, wrestling, boxing... it’s been amazing.” However, he firmly shut the door on the prospect of making an international comeback in the game’s shortest format to have a shot of playing the Olympics. “The Indian Premier League (IPL) has definitely played a big role in that as well, it has gotten us to a stage where it’s part of the Olympics. It’s a great opportunity for some of our guys.” But the 36-year-old, who doesn’t usually do public speaking events especially with the press corps present, had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he said ‘maybe if we are playing for the gold medal, I may just sneak in for one game (smile). But I think it’s a great thing. To be Olympic champions would be a magnificent feeling.”