tirupati l sunday l may 25, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l anantapur 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 Man, 84, with comorbidities dies in B’luru 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 ■ ■ 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 Doctors in Delhi advised people not to panic and said the new strains are not severe; and that most patients only reported mild symptoms 273 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 miss world Performing like monkey, says Miss UK, leaves Group photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Union ministers, chief ministers and administrators of various states and Union Territories at the NITI Aayog Governing Council meet in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI Modi chants Centre-state unity mantra to achieve Viksit goal M UK E S H RAN J AN @ New Delhi Curbs on media at the Pentagon US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a series of restrictions on the media that include banning them from wide swaths of the Pentagon without govt escort | P9 WITH THIS ISSUE Stadium to Screen PLUS 12 PAGES 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 Gover ning 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.” healthcare delivery focus The prime minister emphasized 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 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 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.” The Governing Council includes all state chief ministers, lieutenant governors of Union Territories, and several Union ministers. The PM is the chairman of Niti Aayog. This was the first national meeting of chief ministers after Operation Sindoor. According to officials, there was complete unanimity in praising the armed forces for their precision strikes against terror targets in Pakistan. Bomb calls prove hoax in V’wada, Vizag E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada/Visakhapatnam A series of bomb threats in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam on Saturday triggered widespread panic, prompting immediate responses from local authorities. The threats, which later turned out to be hoaxes, put both cities on high alert, with bomb disposal teams and sniffer dog squads conducting extensive search operations at public places, including shopping malls, railway stations, and bus stands. According to the police, the Vijayawada city control room received a phone call from an unknown person around 6 am, claiming that a bomb had been planted on the premises of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Bomb disposal squad combs Besant Road in Vijayawada for explosive material after receiving a threatening call on Saturday | Prasant Madugula office located at Besant Road. Upon receiving the phone call, the police immediately informed the bomb disposal team and sniffer dog squad, which rushed to the spot, and launched an extensive search operation at the LIC building and the nearby premises. The police made the shops on Besant Road shut to avoid any untoward incident. The search operation lasted over five hours with bomb detection squads and sniffer dogs scouring the entire area. After the extensive search, no explosives were found, confirming that the threat was a hoax. Suspecting that explosives might be planted in thickly populated areas, the police deployed additional force for a thorough search of P4 surrounding areas.  Modi: Study AP’s growth blueprint S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada 31 states/UTs participated in the meet Impressed with the growth blueprint presented by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council meeting held in New Delhi on Saturday Prime Minister Narendra Modi , suggested that all the States study the reforms of Andhra Pradesh. “There could be a lot of inputs in the AP’s blueprint for growth for other States also, he said. While explaining the State government’s ideas, plans and goals in detail, Naidu highlighted the objectives of Swarnandhra There could Vision, which is part of be a lot of achieving Viksit Bharat inputs in AP’s blueprint for 2047. “There is a favourable growth for atmosphere in Andhra other States Pradesh for investments, and for the overall develop- Narendra ment of the State,” he said. Modi, PM He particularly highlighted the available natural resources, geographical advantages, the power of youth, the urban and rural synergy model, and technology which he termed the most ad, vantageous issues of the State. He told the NITI Aayog meeting that besides the available advantages of AP plans , are also being implemented to reach the target of $2.4 trillion GSDP by 2047 through new policies, data-centric planning and P4 governance. 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 Modi said Operation Sindoor against Pakistan should not be treated as a oneoff initiative, adding “we must adopt a long-term approach.” He urged all states to modernise their approach to civil preparedness Monsoon arrives in Kerala eight days ahead of schedule E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ T’puram 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 . B aya s O roya n a , 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 Alappuzha, will be placed under red alert. 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. This marks the earliest onset of the Southwest monsoon in Kerala in the last 16 years. 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 on May 23. The monsoon this year will be above normal, IMD officials said. S h r e ya V e r o n i c a @ Hyrderabad 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 none other than Miss England 2024, Milla Maggie. Having left the competition on May 16, allegedly due to “personal reasons”, Maggie re-emerged in tabloid The Sun with claims that make Bridgerton look like a documentary . “I went there to make a difference, but we had to sit like performing monkeys,” The Sun quoted her as saying, suggesting the Miss World experience was less about world peace and more about looking glamorous. Maggie, 24, didn’t stop there. In tones more suited to exposés than tiaras, 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.” Understandably, this did not go down too well in Hyderabad which is hosting the pageant. The state government was swift in its response. Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary for Youth Advancement, Tourism and Culture, said, “This is just an exaggerated situation.” The Miss World Organisation (MWO) said Maggie cited health reasons for her departure. Meanwhile, the show goes on. England has now dispatched a replacement contestant, Charlotte Cox, to Hyderabad. Julia Morley, chairperson and CEO of MWO, attempted to close the chapter with a terse message: “We responded to Maggie’s departure with compassion.” Miss England 2024 Milla Maggie said they had to sit like monkeys | PTI Pawan Kalyan hits out at Tollywood, says he ‘will treat this as return gift’ Touch of hinterland as Gill set to lead Test team e n g l a n d se r ies E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada speak in one voice: Dy cm to tollywood Why petition individually for ticket price hike? Come together, speak in one voice,” Pawan Kalyan said, at an earlier meeting with film producers. “This is not about individuals. It’s about creating a system that benefits everyone in the film industry,” he said Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has criticised the Tollywood industry over the recent theatre strike threat ahead of his movie Hari Hara Veeramallu’s release, describing it as a ‘return gift’ from certain industry individuals.  Pawan Kalyan expressed frustration, noting that despite being in office for over a year, Tollywood representatives haven’t met with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.   The Deputy Chief Minister also reminded the industry of how the previous government treated Tollywood and its stars, emphasising a shift in approach u n d e r t h e c u r re n t N DA government.  Pawan Kalyan stated that the government will no longer engage in individual discussions, instead opting to interact only with representatives of movie associations.   He reiterated the government’s commitment to developing the industry as a whole, rather than catering to individual interests.  Mentioning the past issues, the NDA government pointed to how the previous regime mistreated top actors and producers, using revenue officials to obstruct the screening of films. In contrast, the coalition government, headed by Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan, has offered equal supP4 port to all in Tollywood.  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 and 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