TIRUNELVELI l Thursday l June 19, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION Govt set to roll out annual FASTag passes for pvt vehicles from Aug 15 Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, Nitin Gadkari, on Wednesday said the move is aimed at making highway travel hassle-free 200 trips on national highways for `3,000 The pass will be valid for one year from the date of activation, or 200 trips, whichever comes first. Users may re-purchase the pass once the 200-trip limit is exhausted, even if the one-year validity period has not yet ended. The pass—valid only at NHAI-operated toll plazas—is designed exclusively for non-commercial private vehicles such as cars, jeeps & vans ■ The annual pass can be activated on existing FASTag `15 Less congestion, disputes at toll plazas ■ Gadkari said the annual pass will reduce wait time, ease congestion, and minimise disputes at toll plazas ■ Using annual passes will not be mandatory; users can continue to pass toll plazas using their existing electronic toll collection tags Will be the Average cost of crossing a toll plaza for annual pass holders 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 Modi calls out Trump on mediation. Don reiterates role in defusing clash SC slams TN on suspension of ADGP in abduction case Prime minister says India has always been against third-party mediation on Kashmir issue S UCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Tamil Nadu government for the suspension of ADGP H M Jayaram (Armed Police), who was taken into custody as ordered by the Madras High Court in a kidnapping case, after noting that “these kinds of (government) orders are shocking and demoralising.” “He (Jayaram) is a senior police officer. Where was the requirement for you to put him under suspension,” asked a bench of justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan. It was alleged that the abduction of a boy in a love marriage case was carried out using the off i c i a l ve h i c l e o f A DG P Jayaram. During the course of the hearing on Wednesday, the lawyer for the Tamil Nadu government submitted that the officer was taken into custody and released on Tuesday at 5 pm. Interjecting, Jayaram’s advocate Rajesh Singh Chauhan, however, argued that he was released by the police but the government has placed him under suspension and he has moved the top court challenging the HC’s arrest order. In his plea, Jayaram claimed that the Madras HC’s order was “based on a confessional statement”.  P5 Sending a clear and firm message to Washington, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told US President Donald Trump that India has never accepted—and will never accept—third-party mediation on the Kashmir issue. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Modi made it unequivocally clear during their 35-minute phone call on Tuesday . The call — their second direct engagement since the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam — came against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor. Misri said “India’s response was measured, precise, and limited to terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir,” underscoring New Delhi’s commitment to strategic restraint without compromising on national security . Air India announces 15% cut in int’l services The airline said international services operated by widebody aircraft will be reduced to ensure operational stability and minimise inconvenience to passengers, following the plane crash in Ahmedabad Kashmiri students wait to board a flight to India under an evacuation operation facilitated by Govt of India, at Yerevan Int’l Airport in Armenia on Wednesday | pti Operation Sindhu starts, first evacuation flight from Iran to land today in Sheraz University I am wor. ried about his safety especially , @ New Delhi / Srinagar / Lucknow after hearing news that a hostel came under Isreali strike,” said INDIA has launched Operation Srinag ar resident Shabir Sindhu to evacuate its nation- Ahmed. als from conflict-torn Iran, Nasir Khuehami, national which has come under heavy convenor of J&K Students AsIsraeli aerial bombardment. sociation, said 250 more stuThe first evacuation dents have been shiftflight is expected to ed to safer location of ‘Iran will not land in New Delhi on Qom. They will be surrender’ Thursday . evacuated to ArmeIran’s supreme A total of 110 Indinia and then airlifted an students boarded a leader Ayatollah Ali to Delhi. Khamenei on special flight from Meanwhile, the Wednesday Yerevan in Armenia families of those rejected US on Wednesday. The working in Israel are President Donald flight is scheduled to e q u a l l y wo r r i e d . land in New Delhi Trump’s ultimatum Workers from around around 2:00 am on to surrender. “Wise 70 families from Baraindividuals who Thursday Around 90 . banki, Lucknow and know Iran, its of these students are other districts are people, and its from Jammu and employed in various Kashmir. There are history never speak factories in Israel. around 1,300 J&K stu- to this nation with Ram Singh, a weldthe language of dents in Iran. er from Malihabad, threats,” he said The Iranian EmLucknow, shared his bassy in Delhi said experiences with his five Indian students were in- family through a video call, exjured during a strike on a medi- plaining that mobile alerts cal students’ dormitory on Ke- come 10 minutes before a misshavarz Street in Tehran on sile attack, followed by loud siSunday. Sources said the stu- rens five minutes ahead. dents were safely evacuated “The moment the siren and nobody sustained any seri- sounds, there’s panic all ous injury . around. Everyone runs for the “My ward is studying MBBS bunkers,” he told his family . J AYANTH J ACOB , F aya z W a n i & N a m i ta B a jpa i J AYANTH J ACOB @ New Delhi IN a big step towards mending strained ties, India and Canada have agreed to reinstate High Commissioners in each other’s capitals and restart stalled trade negotiations, following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 Summit early on Wednesday . Modi and Carney agreed to take steps to restore stability to the relationship with the return of top diplomats marking the first formal gesture of renewed engagement. “Diplomatic steps will follow in due course,” said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. The meeting set in motion the resumption of dialogues on trade, connectivity, and public engagement. Trade talks, previously paused, will also be revived, with both leaders instructing their officials to restart negotiations soon. I-T raids multiple outlets of Savoury Sea Shell in Chennai We don’t have the power to seal assets during search, ED tells HC Will provide security for release of ‘Thug Life’, K’taka tells SC CHENNAI: The Income Tax department on Wednesday conducted search operations at multiple outlets of Savoury Sea Shell, a popular restaurant chain in Chennai. Sources said officials from the I-T department’s Kerala wing carried out simultaneous searches in Velachery, Kandanchavadi, Okkiyam Thoraipakkam on OMR, and Thousand Lights | P4 CHENNAI: The ED on Wednesday submitted in the Madras HC that it does not have the powers to seal any premises if it is locked at the time of conducting search. The court was hearing petitions filed by film producer Akash Bhaskaran and businessman Vikram Ravindran, who have challenged the ED’s raid and sealing of their offices and residential premises in the Tasmac case | P4 NEW DELHI: The Karnataka government late on Wednesday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying that if actor Kamal Haasan’s movie ‘Thug Life’ is released in the state, it would take all necessary steps to maintain law and order, and provide security to all the citizens and stakeholders concerned. A two-judge Supreme Court bench will hear the case on Thursday | P5 After duty cut, Chennai airport gold seizures drop 50% @ Chennai Gold seizures by Customs authorities at the Chennai international airport have reduced by half in 2024-25 compared to the previous year. As per official data sourced through RTI, Chennai Customs seized around 310kg of gold worth `166 crore in 560 cases from April 2023 to March 2024. The seizures dropped to 160kg of gold worth `110 crore across 233 cases from April 2024 to March 2025. The number of arrests made by Customs authorities, however, increased from 72 to 106 over the past one year, the data show. After an increasing trend in gold seizures at the airport over the last few years, the trend seems to be reversing. For instance, in 2022-23, Customs had seized around 250kg of gold, which was almost 25% more compared to 2023-24. Gold is usually smuggled into India from UAE and Southeast Asian countries. Officials and those involved in the trade attribute two reasons to the drop — strict checking by Chennai Customs and reduction of gold import duty from 15% to 6% by the union government in July 2024. “Gold smuggling has become a less lucrative business. The risk to reward ratio has dropped. The incentive for smuggling is the evasion of import duty and with the duty cut, trade margins have reduced,” said a senior official. For instance, the latest price of 24 carat gold in Chennai is around `90 lakh per kg, which means that the smuggling kingpin stands to earn around `6 lakh per kg of smuggled gold. Their actual profit is only around `1`2 lakh, after payment of wages to carriers, receivers, and others in the chain like colluding airport employees, which is not worth the risk.  P5 Narendra Modi Donald Trump Hours later, Trump reiterated that he intervened to prevent a military conflict between India and Pakistan in May after the Pahalgam terror attack. Speaking to reporters at the White House, he described Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “a fantastic man” and expressed optimism about a forthcoming trade deal between the US and India. “Well, I stopped the war… I love Pakistan. I think Modi is a India and Canada reset ties, agree to reinstate envoys express read Siddharth Prabhakar The conversation also sought to clarify India’s position on recent claims by President Trump, who had repeatedly talked about playing a role in brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Modi directly addressed this, saying there were “no discussions on a trade deal between India and the US or about a mediation between India and Pakistan” at any point during the four days of military confrontation. The ceasefire talks, he said, were conducted exclusively between India and Pakistan, without external involvement. President Trump suggested a stopover meeting in the US during Modi’s return from Canada, but the prime minister declined due to prior commitments. Both agreed to find another opportunity for an in-person meeting soon. Caught in Chennai Number Gold seized of cases (kg) 2022-23 332 250 2023-24 560 310 2024-25 233 160 Year Value Arrests (` cr) 117 93 166 72 110 106 Common smuggling modes Concealment in rectum Moulded inside electronics Inside undergarments Why gold smuggling has become less lucrative Drop in import duty from 15% to 6% Stricter checking at Chennai Airport Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Canadian PM Mark Carney on the sidelines of G7 Summit at Kananaskis, Canada | PTI Collaboration on global challenges and emerging technologies formed a key part of the discussion, with both sides agreeing to deepen cooperation in clean energy, AI, digital infrastructure, food security and , critical minerals. After the meeting, PM Modi said, “Had an excellent meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney Complimented him and the . Canadian Government for successfully hosting the G7 Summit. India and Canada are connected by a strong belief in democracy freedom and rule of , law. PM Carney and I look forward to working closely to add momentum to the India-Canada friendship. Areas like trade, energy, space, clean energy, critical minerals, fertilisers and more offer immense potential in this regard.” This marks Prime Minister Modi’s first visit to Canada since the diplomatic fallout following allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The controversy triggered diplomatic expulsions and the suspension of key dialogues. A statement from Carney’s office reaffirmed the importance of Canada-India ties “based on mutual respect, the rule of law, and a commitment to the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity”. Coming, rules to mandate IST for time sovereignty lites for precise and synchronised time. The downside is it Did you know that the Indian can be vulnerable to manipulaStandard Time (IST) we all are tion in critical sectors such as familiar with is derived from finance, telecommunications, the Coordinated Universal and defence. Time (UTC) with an offset of For context, the time stand+5.30 hours? It is a ard used for the resuccessor to the cent four-day OperaGreenwich Mean tion Sindoor against Time (GMT). Pakistan was not The upcoming Years after Prime linked to the GPS to notification of the Minister Narendra keep it away from the Legal Metrology Modi made a ‘One Naprying eyes of the (IST) Rules, 2025. tion, One Time’ pitch, enemy . marks India’s the Department of The gover nment strategic shift Consumer Affairs, in has now directed that towards time sovereignty, collaboration with all legal, commercial, technological CSIR-NPL and ISRO, and administrative independence and is set notify a bunch activities be synchrodigital resilience of rules for synchronised with IST. under the guiding nisation of all activi- vision of ‘One Nation, The use of alternaties with IST. tive time references One Time’ It may not appear will be prohibited unGovt official to be a big deal for the less it is specifically aam aadmi, but synauthorised. chronisation would make their Establishing a domestic digital transactions more se- source of time standard is criticure, add accuracy to utility cal for various sectors like telbilling and reduce risks of ecom, railways, finance, SEBI, cybercrime. power, electronics, and stock Currently, Indian industries exchanges, where even nanodepend on the Global Position- seconds can make a significant ing System (GPS) of US satel- difference. J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi fantastic man. I spoke to him last night. We’re going to make a trade deal with Modi of India. But I stopped the war between Pakistan and India,” President Trump said. Addressing speculation around a potential White House meeting with Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir, Trump credited Munir with playing a key role in de-escalating the crisis. “This man was extremely influential in stopping it from the Pakistan side,” Trump said, referring to Munir. “Modi, from the India side, and others — they were going at it, and they’re both nuclear countries. I got it stopped.” Trump also questioned media coverage of his claims, stating, “I don’t think I had one story. Did I have one story written…” dindigul horror As TN woman elopes, mom & granny kill her 2 kids, end life E X P RE S S NE W S S ERVICE @ Dindigul A woman’s alleged illicit relationship has led to the death of four members of her family as her mother and grandmother killed themselves after strangulating the woman’s two minor daughters, aged five and seven, at Oddanchatram in Dindigul district on Wednesday morning. According to police sources, Kaleeswari (45) was residing with daughter Pavithra (25) and mother Chellammal (65) at Chinna Kulipatti village of Oddanchatram after her husband’s death several years ago. The woman had married off Pavithra to Prabhakaran, a trader from Aravakuruchi in Karur, 10 years ago. After the marriage, disputes broke out between Pavithra and Prabhakaran and the couple often quarrelled, sources said. Last April, Pavithra, along with two minor daughters, Lathikasri (7) and Deepthi (5), walked out of her husband’s house and moved to her mother’s home at Oddanchatram. Upset over the daughter’s decision, Kaleeswari and Chellammal made efforts to revive the marriage with Prabhakaran, but it failed. Meanwhile, Pavithra allegedly got into a relationship with another man. This led to repeated arguments with her mother and grandmother. Local villagers also attempted to resolve the issue, but their efforts failed. On Tuesday, Pavithra abandoned her children and eloped with the man, sources said. This caused severe stress to the two elderly women as they felt that Pavithra’s relationship had brought disrepute to the family  . P5 Kaleeswari (right), mother Chellammal, and her two granddaughters Lathikasri and Deepthi | Express