KOLLAM l Sunday l may 25, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l city edition like a bad dream, covid cases creep up; experts say no worry One case of the newly emerging COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1 and four instances of LF.7 type were detected in India, according to INSACOG data WHO says it’s not a variant of concern As of May 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies LF.7 and NB.1.8 subvariants as ‘Variants being Monitored’, not as ‘Variants of Concern’ or ‘Variants of Interest’. But these are the variants that are reportedly driving the rise in Covid cases in China and parts of Asia. In India, the most common variant remains JN.1, comprising 53% of samples ■ 273 Man, 84, with comorbidities dies in B’luru ■ Delhi recorded 23 new cases, Thane 10, Andhra Pradesh recorded four in the last 24 hours, Telangana confirmed one. In Bengaluru, a 84-year-old man with comorbidities, who also had Covid, died | P5 Doctors in Delhi advised people not to panic and said the new strains are not severe; and that most patients only reported mild symptoms new cases THAT were reported in KERALA this MONTH ALONE 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 Kerala coast on oil-spill alert as container vessel lists off Kochi Two deaths, widespread damage across state as monsoon arrives early Liberia-flagged ship transporting very low sulphur fuel oil; 21 of 24 crew members rescued E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi Mishap on way from Vizhinjam MSC Elsa 3 184m 25.30m Liberia flagged container vessel Length Beam Crew: 24 Year of building: 1997 Master: Russian Port of Origin: Chidambaranar Port, Thoothukudi Philippines: 20 Ukraine: 2 Departure: May 18 Georgia: 1 Arrival at Vizhinjam: 8.22 pm, May 21 Alert: Kerala coastal area from Alappuzha to Thrissur put on high alert Caution: Containers may drift and reach coastal sea. Residents cautioned against approaching them Departure from Vizhinjam: 2.26 pm, May 23 Expected arrival at Kochi port: 10 am, May 24 Listing reported: 1.25 pm, May 24 miss world Performing like monkey, says UK contestant Sh r e ya Ve r o n i c a @ Hyderabad TILL Saturday the 72nd edi, tion of Miss World was progressing as planned: A polite parade of poise, sequins and diplomatic smiles. Then came an unscheduled firework display by Miss England 2024, Milla Maggie. Having left the competition on May 16, Maggie reemerged in The Sun. “I went there to make a difference, but we had to sit like performing monkeys,” The Sun quoted her as saying, suggesting the experience was less about world peace and more about looking Milla Maggie, glamorous. Miss England ’24 Maggie, 24, didn’ t stop there. She claimed the whole affair resembled a sort of high-end cattle fair, where women were “paraded to impress wealthy individuals” and she was made to feel “like a prostitute being farmed out for entertainment.” This did not go down well in Hyderabad which is hosting the pageant. Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary for Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture, Telangana said, “This is just an exaggerated situation.” We have rescued 21 crew members. Three others, the Captain, Chief Engineer and second engineer are on board the listing ship to facilitate planned salvage operations. Some containers have fallen into the sea due to vessel listing and we are in the process of risk assessment. All efforts are being made to maintain stability of the vessel — A Coast Guard officer A container vessel reportedly carrying inflammable and toxic cargo listed off Kochi on Saturday afternoon posing the threat of environmental pollution and oil spill along Kerala’s coast. According to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority the Coast Guard has issued , a possible oil-spill alert after some containers fell off Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) Elsa 3, a container vessel which was on its way to Cochin Port. The vessel is transporting very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), a marine fuel. According to the Coast Guard, MSC Elsa 3, a Liberia-flagged vessel which departed from Vizhinjam port on Friday, reported listing at approximately 38 nautical miles off the Kochi coast. As per the alert, the vessel has developed a list of 26 degrees, endangering the lives of those on board as well as posing potential environmental risk. The ship is currently in danger of sinking and the Indian Coast Guard is coordinating rescue operations. It has diverted two ships to the area, while the Navy has rushed another vessel. According to authorities, a Dornier aircraft has been deployed for monitoring and airdropping life rafts to crew members of the ship. “The ship had 24 crew members, of which 21 have abandoned the ship and shifted to life rafts. Rescue operations are on to save the three crew members on the ship. A Dornier air- craft of the Coast Guard has airdropped life rafts to facilitate further evacuation. Among the crew members, the master is a Russian citizen and 20 are of Filipino origin. Two are from Ukraine and one is from Georgia. A few of the crew members have been rescued and they are being provided medical assistance on board a Coast Guard vessel,” an officer said. “The Coast Guard has deployed fast-patrol vessel ICGS Arnvesh, offshore-patrol vessel ICGS Saksham and a Dornier aircraft for rescue operations. The Navy has diverted Sukanya-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) INS Sujata to the area,” a defence spokesperson said. The 184m-long vessel with a 25.30m beam was built in 1997 and has a gross tonnage of 16,799 tonnes. The ship, which set sail from Thoothukudi on May 18 docked at Vizhinjam harbour on May 21. It departed from Vizhinjam on May 23 and was expected to reach Cochin Port by 10 am on Saturday The MSC . management sounded an emergency to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai which alerted the Coast Guard at 1.25 pm on Saturday . “The Directorate General of Shipping, in coordination with the Coast Guard, has issued directives to the ship managers for providing urgent salvage services. The developing situation is being monitored by the Coast Guard to prevent loss of life and damage to the environment, a senior officer said.  P5 EXPRESS READ India at UN: No talks on water-sharing pact New Delhi: India has rebutted Pakistan’s claims at the UN regarding the Indus Waters Treaty, accusing Islamabad of violating the spirit of the pact through decades of hostility, including wars and statesponsored terrorism | P7 Setting aside protocol Breaking protocol, Governor Rajendra Arlekar visits Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at his official residence at Cliff House in Thiruvananthapuram to greet him on his 80th birthday on Saturday | Express A high tension tower collapsed in heavy rain In Kozhikode on Saturday | PTI Red alert: May 25: Malapppuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, Kasaragod May 26: P’Thitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkkad, Malapppuram, Kozhikode, Wayannad, Kannur, Kasaragod has ordered felling of trees in public and private properties that pose a danger to people. This marks the earliest onset of the Southwest monsoon in Kerala in 16 years. The IMD said this year’s onset was eight days ahead of the normal schedule of June 1, and was the earliest after 2009, when it set in over Kerala on May 23. IMD has forecast amove normal monsoon ● More on P2 this time.  WITH THIS ISSUE Stadium to Screen PLUS 12 PAGES Modi chants Centre-state unity mantra to achieve Viksit goal 31 states/UTs participated in the meet The meeting was attended by CMs and Lt Governors representing 24 states and 7 UTs, out of a total of 36. There was no-show from Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar and Pondy, Niti Aayog CEO B V R Subrahmanyam said Op Sindoor not one-off initiative Rajasthan, J&K police quiz YouTuber Jyoti Chandigarh: The J&K and Rajasthan police questioned YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra after it was revealed she had visited Kashmir some time before the Pahalgam attack and made videos of sensitive areas along the Indo-Pak border | P8 Two people died in Kannur while widespread damage was reported from across the state, especially in the northern districts, as the Southwest monsoon made an early onset over Kerala on Saturday . Bayas Oroyana, a Jharkhand native, died in a landslide while working on the NH 66. Earlier in the day, another landslide claimed the life of Ratheesh, 52, at Azhiyur in Kannur. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has sounded red alert for Malapppuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod on Sunday. On Monday, all districts, barring Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alapppuzha, will be under red alert, it said. In view of the landslide threat, the Idukki and Wayanad administrations have imposed restrictions on entry into tourist spots. In Wayanad, where a minor landslip was reported, the collector has ordered a halt to operation of quarries. The Thiruvananthapuram collector Modi said Operation Sindoor against Pakistan should not be treated as a one-off initiative, adding “we must adopt a long-term approach.” He urged all states to modernise their approach to civil preparedness M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged all states to develop at least one tourist destination at par with global standards by providing the full range of facilities, including infrastructure, while addressing the Governing Council of NITI Aayog. Giving special emphasis to tourism, he said, ‘One State, One Global Destination’, would lead to the development of neighbouring towns as well as tourist places. Chairing the 10th edition of the NITI Aayog’s Governing Council meeting, Modi said if the Union government and states work together like Team India, no goal is impossible to achieve. He urged all chief ministers to make the spirit of solidarity trickle down to the district and village levels. Noting that India collectively should work in a manner so as to bring change in the lives of common people, Modi said, “Only when people feel the change, it will transform into a national movement.” Modi also sought to expedite the pace of development. “We have to increase the speed of development,” he added. “This is the century of technology and it should be integrated in every field from governance to agriculture,” he said, adding: “Atmanirbhar Bharat and Vocal for Local are the strategies healthcare delivery The PM emphasised the need to focus on health services delivery. He urged the CMs to check if oxygen plants are functional in the context of possible Covid-related challenges. He also asked states to expand telemedicine coverage through which the vision of Viksit Bharat can be achieved. We should encourage it wholeheartedly .” The theme of this edition of the meeting was ‘Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047’. “Viksit Bharat is the goal of every Indian. When every state is Viksit, then Bharat will be Viksit. This is the aspiration of its 140 crore citizens,” Modi said, adding that India is getting rapidly urbanised. The prime minister issued a call to work towards future ready cities. Growth, innovation and sustainability should be the engine for the development of our cities, he added. Modi recommended reforms in public and private sectors for working women with focus on their ease of working. “We must work towards inclusion of women in our work force. We must make laws, policies so that they can be respectfully integrated in the workforce.” This was the first national meeting of chief ministers after Operation Sindoor. Kochi Metro plans foray Touch of hinterland as Gill set to lead Test team into light freight segment e n g l a n d series F i r o z M i r z a @ Chennai Shubman Gill, the first India Test captain from Punjab since Bishan Singh Bedi (1976-78), will usher Indian cricket into a new era. Unlike Bedi, who though was born in Amritsar but played domestic cricket for Delhi, Gill, in fact, will be the first to have represented Punjab in age group cricket before being made the Test captain. With the England tour, Gill, who doesn’t hail from a cricketing power centre, is set to lead a squad of 18 mostly comprising players like him. Among the players for the five-Test series starting June 20, only five were born in metro cities like Chennai, Beng alur u and Hyderabad, considered hubs of Indian cricket. It can be argued that Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal represent Delhi and Mumbai, the two cities known for their cricketing culture, in the domestic circuit but even they shifted their base to pursue the game. Pant was born in Haridwar, Uttarakhand while Jaiswal’s birth place is Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh. Similarl y, S h a r d u l Thakur, who is making a comeback, plies his trade for Mumbai but he was born in Palghar, a town in the Konkan division of Maharashtra. In the last 25 years, it was MS Dhoni from Ranchi, Jharkhand, who set the trend when he took over the Test captaincy from Bengaluru-born Anil Kumble. Before Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly led the side. In fact, Dravid was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh but shifted his base to Bengaluru. The 25-year-old Gill will succeed Mumbai’s Rohit Sharma, who in turn took the mantle from Delhi’s Virat Kohli. As many as three players selected were born in Uttar Pradesh — Yashasvi, Dhruv Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav. A couple of them were born in Gujarat — Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. Besides, six were born in states like Punjab (Gill), Rajasthan (Karun Nair). Maharashtra (Thakur), Bihar (Akash Deep), MP (Arshdeep Singh) and Andhra Pradesh (Nitish Kumar Reddy). Though most of the cricketers headed to big centres but there seems to be a pradigm shift, a trend where players from non-metros have started shining.  P7 & 11 Last year or so we have looked at Shubman. We are hopeful he is the guy who is going (to take team forward) — Ajit Agarkar, chief selector K r i s hna K uma r K E @Kochi The Kochi Metro is planning to start light freight transport in addition to the existing passenger services and has initiated preparation of a comprehensive plan to achieve the mixed traffic operation, as it eyes a further boost to its revenue. The first-of-its-kind initiative is expected to help small businessmen, vendors and hawkers to seamlessly transport their goods across the city and also aims to cut pollution and vehicular movements as the city logistics still rely mostly on polluting road freight traffic. The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) authorities made it clear this will be done without any negative impact on the passenger experience. “The move follows the Union government recently advocating freight transport using metro facilities. We have decided to foray into the light freight sector. It will done only during non-peak hours, especially in the early morning and night services,” said a KMRL official. The firm will conduct a study and fix the fare. It will also prepare a legal framework and guidelines soon. “We can’t commit to a definite time-frame at this stage,” ● More on P5 the official said.