KOZHIKODE l thursday l july 10, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION India buoyed by Bumrah’s inclusion in third Test India, after a pulsating win in the second Test, are high on confidence and are buoyed by the inclusion of pacer Jasprit Bumrah at Lord’s Archer recalled, Gill form key for visitors lord’s Pitch could have more life in it The hosts, as is customary these days, named the XI for the Lord’s game. They opted to recall Jofra Archer, whose last Test was in 2021. For India, Shubman Gill is the star performer so far. With three 100s in four outings to the crease, he has compiled over 570 runs. If he continues the dream run, India will have a good chance to make further inroads into a fragile England bowling unit ■ ■ The first two Tests have not had a lot in it for the seamers but the strip at Lord’s may assist seamers. The wicket did sport some live grass on it a day before the game An unusually dry start to the summer is set to continue this week as well with temperatures set to hit 30°C | More on p11 Three matches India have won at Lord’s so far out of the 19 played 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 Moving cars, trucks plunge into river on day of accidents 11 dead as 40-yr-old Guj bridge collapses Vedika Padhiyar and Naitaik @ Ahmedabad Padhiyar—hailing from Dariyapura village. The others inAT least 11 people were killed clude Vakhatsinh Jadav from and five others injured when Kahanva, Hasmukh Parmar their vehicles plunged into the from Harshadpura, Rajesh Mahisagar River after a dilapi- Chavda, Kanji Machi, Jashu dated-but-operational 40-year- Bhai from Anklav, and Pravin old Gambhira Bridge collapsed Jadav from Undel. in Gujarat’s Vadodara district “I was in the pickup van on Wednesday morning. when the bridge suddenly colVisuals from the site showed lapsed. The driver shouted ‘get that a big chunk of the slab be- down’ and we jumped just in tween two piers gave way caus- time,” said Razakbhai from , ing a number of cars, vans, and Borsad, who survived. trucks that were passAshok Chavda, who ing through the bridge lives near the bridge, to plunge into the river. said: “We rescued four Gujarat Chief Minispersons. We also helped ter Bhupendra Patel di- Loss of lives due retrieve five bodies.” rected an immediate in- to the collapse Eyewitness Rajubvestigation into the of the bridge is hai Athiya from Dwardeeply bridge collapse. ka said, “Two or three saddening The Gambhira Bridge trucks were on the at Mujpur in Padra talubridge when it colNarendra Modi ka was a critical lifeline lapsed. I somehow linking central Gujarat swam to safety but my , to Saurashtra and connecting colleague is still missing.” key regions including VadoPrime Minister Narendra dara, Anand, Bharuch, and Modi and Union Home MinisAnkleshwar. ter Amit Shah expressed deep The tragedy reignited con- sorrow over the incident. cerns over administrative negMeanwhile, the Congress ligence with the Opposition termed it a failure of governslamming the state govern- ance. “Gujarat has several old, ment for ignoring repeated damaged bridges. But the state warnings about the bridge’s government is not taking any poor condition. Built in 1985, concrete steps to repair them,” the bridge had long shown said Congress MLA Amit Chavsigns of deterioration. da. He said the tragedy reflects Among those killed are three the corruption behind the Guof a family—Ramesh Padhiyar, jarat Model. key link between Central Guj, Saurashtra cut off DILIP SI N G H K SHATRIYA Jaguar on training mission crashes in Raj, two IAF pilots killed RA J E SH AS N A N I @ Jaipur Rescue operation underway after a portion of the Gambhira Bridge in Vadodara district collapsed on Wednesday. Inset: A truck stranded on a dislocated slab | pti Bridge won’t last: Official said in 2022 A video clip of August 22, 2022, between Vadodara-based social activist Lakhan Darbar and a Roads & Buildings Dept officer has now gone viral. In the clip, the officer is heard saying the Gambhira Bridge was structurally weak and “would not last long” | P8 A Jaguar trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during a routine sortie near Bhanuda village in Rajasthan’s Churu district on Wednesday, marking the third Jaguar crash in the last five months and raising fresh concerns over the ageing fleet and recurring technical failures. According to preliminary information, the Jaguar had taken off from the Suratgarh Airbase in Sri Ganganagar and was on a training mission. Sources said a technical malfunction appeared to have prevented the pilot and co-pilot from ejecting out of the jet. While the exact reason is yet to be officially determined, initial reports indicate a likely technical fault as the cause of the crash. Officials said more details will be shared after thorough investigation. The IAF said a court of inquiry has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident. “An IAF Jaguar trainer aircraft met with an accident during a routine training mission and crashed near Churu in Rajasthan today Both pilots . sustained fatal injuries in the accident. No damage to any civil property has been reported,” its statement read. Churu SP Jay Yadav said the aircraft went down in Bhanuda Smoke billows out after IAF’s Jaguar crashed near Churu in Rajasthan | pti village under the jurisdiction of Rajaldesar police station. “Two bodies, badly mutilated, have been recovered from the wreckage,” he said. The loud crash triggered panic in Bhanuda and nearby villages. Local authorities rushed to the spot, cordoned off the area, and asked residents not to approach the crash site to ensure smooth rescue and investigation operations. The Jaguar is a BritishFrench supersonic jet designed for low-altitude ground attack and maritime strike missions and was inducted into the Indian Air Force in 1979. HC cancels KEAM results, govt files appeal E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi Uproar over assault by shinde sena’s MLA The Maharashtra legislative council witnessed uproar over Shinde Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad assaulting canteen staff for serving stale food | P8 The Kerala High Court on Wednesday cancelled the results of the Kerala Engineering, Architecture, and Medical (KEAM) 2025 entrance exams, stating that the change in the prospectus an hour before the publication of the rank list was “unjustified, ille g al and arbitrary”. The court said the revised method in KEAM 2025 for calculating ranks adversely affect- Day before SC hearing, Rahul sees ECI’s bid for ‘Maha rerun’ in Bihar R a m a s h a nk a r @ Patna A day before the Supreme Court is slated to hear a batch of petitions challenging the special poll roll revision in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) was trying to replicate the Maharashtra model in Bihar by tampering with the electoral rolls ahead of the assembly polls due in October-November. Addressing workers of the opposition INDIA bloc near the Vidhan Sabha gate here on Wednesday, Rahul warned the ECI that it would face legal consequences if it attempted to repeat the ‘Maharashtra episode’ in Bihar. He said though the ECI had wide powers, it was not above the law. Accompanied by INDIA bloc leaders, including RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, CPI (ML)’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI’s D Raja, CPI (M)’s M A Baby and VIP’s Mukesh Sahani, Rahul participated in a chakka jam agitation against Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. Attacked the ruling alliance, Rahul said, “In Maharashtra, the mandate was stolen, now in Bihar, the target is the right to vote — a new method to deprive the poor of their right to franchise. We will expose these antiConstitutional forces.” He blamed the alleged manipulation of the voter list for the landslide victory of the BJP-led coalition in Maharashtra. “INDIA bloc got the majority in the Lok Sabha election in Maharashtra, but after a few months in the assembly election, the bloc suffered a defeat. When we analysed the outcome, we found that one crore additional voters were added to the rolls in the assembly election,” he alleged. Tejashwi echoed Rahul, saying, “The Election Commission of India has become a puppet of the BJP. With the Election Commission’s support, the BJP government will first cut the votes of the poor and then end their ration, pension and quota.” ed students who studied the CBSE and ICSE syllabus in their higher secondary classes. Setting aside the changes in the prospectus issued on July 1, Justice D K Singh, in his order, directed the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations to publish the rank list in accordance with the prospectus issued on February 19. Responding to the order, the state government moved the division bench of the HC seeking express read ‘Fund misuse’ in DUK: Governor orders probe T’Puram: In the wake of complaints over alleged misuse of funds in the Digital University Kerala (DUK), Governor Rajendra Arlekar has directed the police to inquire into the charges and also asked the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to conduct a thorough audit of the varsity funds. The governor’s action came in the wake of a report by Digital varsity Vicechancellor Ciza Thomas that flagged major irregularities in varsity fund utilisation and demanded a thorough independent audit. P5 to quash the single judge’s order. In its appeal, the state contended that the government, on examining the formula applied for standardising marks of candidates in their qualifying examination, decided to replace the existing formula with a new one whereby the candidates, regardless of the Boards from which they qualified for their Plus-II, will be treated equally . “Working out on the data available will clearly show that there exists a disparity when the marks are standardised with respect to the students belonging to the State Higher Secondary Board and CBSE,” the government stated. The HC cancelled the KEAM results on a plea filed by Hana Fathima Ahinus of Ernakulam and several students who have passed Plus-II examinations conducted by CBSE and appeared in the KEAM entrance examination 2025.  ● More on P4 KEAM - TIMELINE Feb 19: Prospectus for exam issued March 10: Last date of submission of applications April 23-29: Exams held June 30: Cabinet okays revised mark standardisation, weightage July 1 (4.48pm): Changes to prospectus uploaded online July 1 (5.48pm): Results announced JsK censor row ‘Janaki’ gets an initial as makers agree to title change E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi In a major development in the controversy over the title of the film ‘JSK – Janaki v/s State of Kerala’, the film’s producer on Wednesday infor med the Kerala High Court that they are willing to incorporate the suggestions made by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Accordingly chang, es will be made to the name ‘Janaki’ in the title, modifying it to ‘Janaki V’. With this, the revised title will be ‘JSKJanaki V v/s State of Kerala. When the petition filed by the producer, Cosmos Entertainments, Tamil Nadu, seeking a directive to grant censor certificate came up for hearing, the counsel for CBFC suggested removing the character’s name from the film’s title or changing it to ‘Janaki V’ or ‘V Janaki’, as the character’s full name is Janaki Vidhyadharan. The other suggestions were to mute or substitute the name ‘Janaki’ appearing on two occasions during a crossexamination scene — between 1:06:45 and 1:08:32 seconds as well as 1:08:33 and 1:08:36 seconds. The Board’s counsel further submitted that if these changes are made and the edited versions are resubmitted, the certificate can be granted within a further period of three days. The counsel for the producer said they are ready to accept the proposal to mute the name ‘Janaki’ or substitute the name in the said time stamps. Justice N Nagaresh directed the producer to submit the revised/modified version at the earliest before the ● More on P4 censor board.  Kerala ranks 4th in NITI Aayog’s health index M S V i d ya n a n d a n @ T’Puram Kerala’s public healthcare system has often been a hot topic in development debates across the country and even abroad, and for good reason. However, despite topping in five of the 11 indicators, the state has now been ranked fourth in the NITI Aayog’s ‘good health and wellbeing index’. Reason: Unscientific thinking against immunisation and institutional deliveries gaining ground in the state, as well as inclusion of three new parameters. Gujarat now holds the top SDG-3 ranking Year Kerala’s Nat’l In ’23-24, score rank Gujarat topped 2018 92 1 SDG 3 2019-20 82 1 list with 2020-21 72 12 a score of 90 2023-24 80 4 spot in the ranking. NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index computes goal-wise scores on 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) for states and union territories (UTs), besides a composite index. One of them, SDG 3 on ‘good health and wellbeing’, assesses the performance in the health sector. Kerala topped SDG 3 in the first two index reports, but could not find a place even in the top 3 in later editions. However, the state has been retaining the top slot in the composite index — cumulative score of all goals — since the first edition. When Kerala topped the SDG 3 chart in 2018 (the first edition) and 2019-20, it scored 92 and 82 points, respectively, well above the national average. In 2020-21 (third edition), three new indicators were included — suicide rate, acci- dent death rate and out-ofpocket expenditure — and the state plummeted to 12th position with a score of 72 points, below the national average of 74. Gujarat came first with a score of 86. In the fourth and latest edition (2023-24), Kerala improved its score to 80 surpassing the national average of 77. However, it had to settle for fourth place in the country. Gujarat retained the top slot with a score of 90. It was followed by Maharashtra and Uttarakhand (84) and Himachal Pradesh (83). Karnataka shared the fourth ● More on P4 spot with Kerala.  Pegged to inflation Ugly side of big, beautiful Act: US visa fee to take 2.5X hike J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi The United States has introduced a new $250 “Visa Integrity Fee” for non-immigrant visa applicants under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, effective from fiscal year 2026. It applies to nearly all nonimmigrant visa categories, including B-1/B-2 (tourist/business), F and M (students), H-1B (workers), and J (exchange visi- subsequent fiscal year, the tors). Only diplomatic appli- amount… shall be equal to the cants in categories A and G sum of… the most recently are exempt. concluded fiscal year Described in the leg[amount] and… the perislation as a recurring centage… by which the surcharge, the amount Consumer Price Index… VISA is indexed to inflation exceeds [that of] the preand will adjust annualceding calendar year.” ly based on the ConsumWhile the fee may be reer Price Index. “During fisfunded, reimbursement is cal year 2026, and during each conditional. Applicants must demonstrate lawful compliance with visa conditions and provide sufficient documentation such as timely departure. In addition, the bill introduces a suite of non-waivable travelrelated surcharges. These include a $24 I-94 fee, a $13 Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) fee for Visa Waiver Program travelers, and a $30 Electronic Visa Update System fee for Chinese nationals with 10-year B-1/B-2 visas. This will make the visa fees go up. For example, a US tourist or business visa (B-1/B-2) for Indian nationals costs around $185. With the new surcharges—$250 Visa Integrity Fee, $24 I-94 fee, and $13 ESTA fee, the total cost is projected to rise to $472, nearly 2.5 times the current amount.