HYDERABAD  WEDNESDAY  AUGUST 06, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION INDIA, PHILIPPINES ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP India and Philippines upgraded their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership following high-level talks between the two on Tuesday EYE ON COUNTERING CHINA’S HEFT IN REGION The announcement follows high-level talks between PM Narendra Modi and visiting Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr. At the heart of the deal lies a shared commitment to deepen defence, economic, and digital cooperation set against a backdrop of rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, particularly with China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea | P7 ■ $3.53 bn WE ARE FRIENDS BY CHOICE, SAYS PM ■ The talks resulted in over a dozen key agreements and declarations, including enhanced naval, air, and army-to-army cooperation, and a landmark treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters “India and Philippines are friends by choice, partners by destiny. Ours isn’t just a friendship of past, it is a promise to the future,” Modi said WAS THE BILATERAL TRADE VALUE BETWEEN INDIA, PHILLIPINES IN 2023-24 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 Kalp Kedar Temple Gartang Gali THE DHARALI VILLAGE THAT GOT WASHED AWAY NEAR AN ARMY CAMP AT HARSHIL Bhaironghati Gangotri UTTARAKHAND Kedar Kund CUMULATIVE RAINFALL (IN CM) AS OF 8.30 AM IN UTTARKASHI DISTRICTS Station Aug 4 Aug 5 Barot Bhatwari Dunda Mori Purola 0.5 3 1.3 0.2 1.5 1.8 1 0 1.8 1.2 Uttarkashi 0.8 2.7 A view of the Dharali market in Uttarkashi right after the flash floods triggered by cloudbursts at Kheer Gad area of Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand on Tuesday afternoon. On left is a topographical image of the same location to show the disaster site WIPED OUT Uttarkashi vulnerable to flash floods: IIT paper Jammu: The Indian Himalayas are vulnerable to extreme weather events, including cloudbursts, extreme precipitation, flash floods, and avalanches. Occurrence of extreme weather events is frequent for locations at elevation of 1,000-2,000 metres, according to a 2023 paper at IIT Jammu. Uttarkashi lies at an altitude of 1,160 metres N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun THREE devastating cloudbursts within a span of three hours on Tuesday unleashed unprecedented havoc in Uttarakhand’s Dharali village in Uttarkashi district, leading to the deaths of at least four persons and more than 50 others reportedly missing. Rapidly flowing water and debris swept through the Himalayan village on way to Gangotri after the cloudbursts resulted in flashfloods that barrelled through homes, trees and cars, trapping scores of people. Part of Dharali village in Uttarkashi buried as cloudbursts result in flash floods; four killed, over 50 missing; Army, NDRF roped in Officials said flash floods in the Kheerganga river led to the village being literally washed away Local villagers fear the ac. tual number of fatalities could be significantly higher. Dharali is the main stopover on way to Gangotri, the origin of the Ganges, and home to many hotels, restaurants and home stays. At least half the village was buried under slush, rubble and water, officials said even as rescue personnel battled the elements in the ecologically fragile heights to contain the damage of the afternoon. Eyewitnesses de- HARISH’S TAKE ON THE MATTER  The SLBC tunnel project collapsed. The government has not recovered six bodies so far. Will Revanth Reddy and Uttam take responsibility?  The current commissions and legal cases are meant to divert attention from the Revanth Reddy government’s failures  The Central Technical Advisory Committee approved Kaleshwaram. The Ghose Commission, therefore, is indirectly criticising the Centre  Many commissions have been used to target political rivals. The Shah Commission targeted Indira Gandhi; the Hemington Commission questioned Sir Arthur Cotton and reportedly asked him 900 questions  Kaleshwaram infrastructure includes 15 reservoirs, 19 substations, 21 pump houses, a 203-km tunnel, 1,531 km gravity canal, and a 98-km pressure main. Only two piers of one barrage were damaged. Yet, the Congress claims the entire project has collapsed  Uttam had told the Assembly that the Annaram and Sundilla barrages were safe  The expert committee told the Ghose Commission that the Medigadda barrage was built following their recommendations Former minister T Harish Rao makes a point during his PowerPoint presentation on the Kaleshwaram project Ghose panel report is a ‘baseless plot’, claims Harish E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad DESCRIBING the Justice PC Ghose Commission report on the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) as “baseless, politically motivated, and a conspiracy,” former irrigation minister T Harish Rao on Tuesday emphatically stated that the project had Cabinet approval and was not an individual decision by former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao. To support the assertion of a collective decision, he displayed copies of Cabinet approvals for the three barrages. “When the BRS returns to power, we would repair the two damaged piers of the Medigadda barrage and restore water supply to farmers,” he added. Making a PowerPoint presentation a day after the state Cabinet decided to table in the Assembly the report submitted by the PC Ghose Commission, Harish stated, “It appears that the inquiry by the Commission was conducted in a conspiratorial manner.” The 665-page report held KCR, Harish and former finance minister Eatala Rajender responsible. It stated: “The then finance minister remained a tacit perpetrator and the then irrigation minister allowed the chief minister to fulfil his desire.” The report also observed that the former chief minister acted not as the head of government but as the administrative executive CONTINUED ON P4 himself. scribed horrific scenes as a deluge of water and mud surged towards the village around 1.45 pm. Contiguous buildings, including three and four-storey houses, fell like a pack of cards as the surging waters washed over them. “Everything is finished,” a voice is heard in a video of the cloudburst that went viral. The devastation was not confined to Dharali alone. A second cloudburst struck in the evening right in front of the Harshil Army camp, causing extensive damage. A third cloudburst occurred at Sukhi Top, leading to the formation of a temporary lake near the Army camp. This new water body poses a significant threat to towns situated along the Bhagirathi river. The Sukhi Top incident resulted in closure of the road to Harsil. Jai Prakash Singh Pawar, district disaster management officer for Uttarkashi, told this paper, “We received information about extreme rainfall from a person at 1.45 pm. Immediately, the Army, police, and SDRF were deployed for relief operations.” The flash floods came in the wake of cloudbursts somewhere in the catch- The report was not written by Revanth Reddy or me. It was prepared by a retired Supreme Court judge. If Harish has nothing to hide, why didn’t he submit proper evidence when he had the chance? — N Uttam Kumar Reddy, minister UTTAM’S COMEBACK  Harish Rao criticised the judiciary by targeting a commission that was headed by a retired Supreme Court judge  The BRS ignored the National Dam Safety Authority and belittled democratic institutions  Financial irregularities to the tune of `1 lakh crore took place through a project that was implemented without Cabinet approval  BRS leadership hid hydrology clearance for PranahithaChevella and decided the locations of the Kaleshwaram barrages arbitrarily  BRS leaders should attend the Assembly and debate the Commission report instead of criticising it  The Commission’s inquiry covered every stage, from conceptualisation of the Kaleshwaram project and design flaws, to the sinking of the Medigadda barrage piers and also included details of who made the mistakes and who was responsible Harish’s comments insulted judiciary, counters Uttam E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad IRRIGATION Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday demanded that former irrigation minister T Harish Rao apologise to the four crore people of Telangana for “insulting the judiciary and retired Supreme Court judge Justice PC Ghose Commission of Inquiry on the Kaleshwaram project”. Responding to a PowerPoint presentation made by Harish earlier in the day Uttam said , in a statement that “the cheaters” had no moral right to speak. He alleged that the BRS had belittled democratic institutions and shown no respect for the judiciary “There had been . no change in the party’s attitude even after the electorate delivered a verdict in the Assembly elections,” the statement said. Uttam added the BRS had shown no faith in the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), which was constituted through an Act of Parliament. He questioned how those “wicked people responsible for the sinking of Medigadda piers” were now insulting a senior judge like PC Ghose. He said that irregularities by the previous BRS government in the guise of constructing the Kaleshwaram project had been revealed by the Ghose Commission. The report, he claimed, had disclosed the actions of then chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and Harish, the then irrigaCONTINUED ON P4 tion minister. ment area of the Kheer Ganga river, an official said. District Magistrate Prashant Arya acknowledged a possibility of a rise in the toll. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who was in Andhra Pradesh and rushed to Dehradun, said he has directed officials to conduct rescue operations on a war footing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his condolences. Home minister Amit Shah said three ITBP teams and four NDRF teams have been dispatched to help the Army in rescue operations. P8 SC reserves verdict on TG’s domicile rule for med admissions S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi WHILE the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on the Telangana government’s appeal challenging the high court striking down the state’s controversial four-year domicile rule for admissions to medical and dental colleges under the state quota, the arguments put forth by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi on behalf of the state made for interesting reading. The Telangana government had moved the top court challenging the state HC’s order holding that the state’s permanent residents cannot be denied benefits of admissions in the medical and dental colleges only on the ground that they lived outside the state for some time. Arguing before the bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, Singhvi, defending the rule of the state, argued that Telangana’s domicile criteria were rooted in a government rule backed by a Presidential Order. “Only the state has the authority to define the term permanent resident,” he said and urged that the HC order be set aside. “Let’s take a student born and raised in Telangana, but who moves away briefly for just Class 10 and 11, perhaps to Kota for coaching. What about them?” the CONTINUED ON P5 CJI asked. DON DOUBLES DOWN Substantially high tariff in 24 hrs: Trump D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi A day after India launched a blistering counterattack on the repeated targeting by Washington for its trade ties with Moscow, US President Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his threat to raise tariffs on Indian goods “very substantially” in the next 24 hours. Last week, Trump had announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods plus an unspecified penalty tied to India’s trade with Russia. This, he said, would go up because India was not listening to his advice to stop buying oil from Russia. India has categorically clarified that it will, like any major economy, take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security . “India has not been a good trading partner... so we settled on 25%, but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil, they’re fuelling the war machine,” Trump They (India) will give said in an interview on Tuesday . us zero tariffs... But Trump also said that he will that’s not good introduce a small tariff on pharenough, because of ma products and gradually raise what they’re doing it to 250%. Currently pharma has , with oil, not good been kept out of the purview of Donald Trump Trump’s reciprocal tariff. The US is the largest buyer of Indian pharma goods with $13 billion exports to the country , accounting for 54% of India’s total pharma exports. The Indian government has not officially reacted to Trump’s latest remarks. On Monday, soon after Trump’s announcement, the Ministry of External Affairs put out a strongly worded statement calling out the double standards of the US, which imports goods worth billions of dollars from Russia. Clearly India is in no mood to spoil its strategic rela, tions with Russia. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is set to travel to Russia this week to press for faster delivery of the remaining S-400 air defence systems and review new defence procurements. RS head cites Jakhar, rules out SIR debate PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi RAJYA Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh on Tuesday cited a 1988 ruling of the then Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar to rule out a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, in the House. “You know that I cannot comment upon the actions and decisions of the EC, which is an autonomous body Never . before I have done it nor I will do it now. Until and unless you change the Constitution and bring the EC under your purview, we cannot comment on EC actions. I am only concerned that the EC is an autonomous body and its decision cannot be discussed here,” Harivansh quoted Jakhar as having said in the Lok Sabha. He went on to reject 34 notices submitted by Opposition MPs, most of them seeking suspension of business under Rule 267 to im- mediately take up SIR. Harivansh cited procedural lapses in the notices, including incorrect formatting, sub judice status of the matter, and lack of precedence. “Regrettably some members are using Rule 267 in an apparently casual manner. When the notices are disallowed, the House is disrupted. Our previous chairmen were of the considered opinion that Rule 267 was applicable for raising rarest of rare cases and never on matters of routine nature,” Harivansh said.