KOLLAM l Saturday l september 13, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION sc: firecracker ban can’t be applicable for delhi-ncr only The Supreme Court on Thursday said if clean air was a right for “elite” residents of the capital, the same must extend to citizens across the country same rule should be used for pan-india eye on air quality commission report A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was hearing pleas on regulation of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR. “If NCR is entitled for clean air, why not people of other cities?... I was in Amritsar last winter and pollution there was worse than in Delhi. If firecrackers are to be banned, they should be banned throughout India,” the CJI said ■ ■ The two-judge bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, to get a detailed report on the issue from the Commission for Air Quality Management The bench remarked that there would be status quo with regard to the cancellation of firecrackers’ licences by the authorities Sept 22 is when the matter will be heard next by the supreme court 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 Retired Supreme Court Chief Justice’s demand to dissolve Nepal’s parliament accepted Gen Z pick Sushila Karki sworn in as interim PM N epal has made his- pose decades of corruption. tory once again. The Born on 7 June 1952 in Biratcountry’s first female nagar, Karki is no stranger to Chief Justice, Sushi- challenges. She became Nepal’s la Karki, has now be- first female Chief Justice in come its first female July 2016 and served until June Prime Minister. She 2017. During her tenure, she was sworn in by President Ram faced a no-confidence motion Chandra Poudyal at his office, from the Nepali Congress but Sheetal Niwas, on Friday It fol- remained steadfast in her com. lowed the dissolution of the m i t m e n t t o j u s t i c e a n d elected government headed by transparency . K P Sharma Oli. Throughout her career, she Karki and the Gen Z protest- refused to bow to political presers had made it clear sure or corruption — that she would step in a reputation that only after Parliament made her the natural was dissolved — a dechoice to lead the mand that has now country through this been fulfilled. Former transitional period. PM Baburam BhattaThe Gen Z protest, rai and a clutch of dipwhich began on Seplomats, including from Namrata Sharma tember 8, quickly esIndia, China and the calated into a nationSenior journalist and US, attended the swearwide uprising. Streets women rights advocate. ing-in event. The first across Nepal saw cabinet is expected to Sharma can be reached at widespread vandalnamrata1964@yahoo.com meet later in the day . ism, with both public @NamrataSharmaP September 12, the and private property fifth day of the Gen Z damaged. Daily life protest, will be remembered as came to a standstill, hitting daia defining moment in Nepal’s ly wage earners particularly political history — a day when hard. In the process, the hidden the youth, united and resolute, wealth of top political leaders toppled a government, dis- was exposed. Reports of sacks solved parliament, and helped of cash found in the homes of elevate a woman known for her Nepali Congress president anti-corruption crusade to the Sher Bahadur Deuba and Forhighest executive office. eign Minister Arzoo Rana DeuThis unprecedented move- ba have shocked the nation. Enment inspired young people raged citizens — not just Gen Z globally, proving that when protesters — vandalised the youth unite, they can disman- residences of several accused Continued on: P9 tle entrenched regimes and ex- leaders.  Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel administers the oath of office to Sushila Karki as prime minister on Friday; and people celebrate outside the president’s residence | PTI/AP Snap polls in six months President Ramchandra Paudel said the new caretaker government is mandated to hold fresh parliamentary elections within six months LetMeGoo app takes on the challenge of careless parking V a r s h a S o m a r a j @T’Puram Kochi Water Metro ferry | File Pic KMRL nets `4-cr DPR deal for Mumbai water metro E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi Kochi Metro Rail Ltd is making waves. In a significant milestone, KMRL bagged the contract to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) for Mumbai’s proposed water metro project, which will be modelled on the successful Kochi Water Metro. The consultancy assignment, worth `4.4 crore, was awarded by the Maharashtra gover nment through a competitive tender process. With this, KMRL has entered the league of nationallevel consultancies, on the lines of the pioneering role played by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in the metro rail sector. The DPR will build on the feasibility study earlier prepared by KMRL’s consultancy wing, which explored water metro connectivity across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). “Kochi Metro has taken on the very challenging responsibility of preparing detailed plans for implementing the project in Mumbai, across diverse bodies of water, including canals, backwaters, port waters and sea routes. Our expertise from Kochi’s pioneering water metro is now being extended to create sustainable mobility solutions for other cities,” said Loknath Behera, ● More on P4 MD of KMRL.  Blocked by a vehicle at parking? The app LetMeGoo offers a way out. Developed by Richinnovations Technologies, a Technopark-based startup, the app is designed to alert owners whose vehicles are obstructing others in parking lots. It is now live with around 512 registered users -- most of them in Thiruvananthapuram. The concept behind LetMeGoo dates back to 2015, when Technopark employees would share photos in WhatsApp groups to identify vehicles that needed to be moved. LetMeGoo allows users to send alerts to vehicle owners through the app when they find a vehicle blocking their way. The alert includes a photo, location, and a pre-written message. Owners get notified through in-app alerts, calls, or SMSs. An official launch was initially planned in 2018 but was delayed by the flood, and later, the Covid pandemic. After a Married a revolutionary Karki is the eldest of seven siblings She grew up in a simple farming family in Biratnagar Karki married Durga Prasad Subedi, an erstwhile popular leader of Nepali Congress. They had met during her days at the BHU Subedi was a youth revolutionary member of Nepali Congress during the 1970s He was part of the group that hijacked a Royal Nepal Airlines aircraft to get INR 3 million to fund the party’s armed revolution against King Birendra Shah in 1973 The hijacked plane carrying Nepal Rastra Bank’s money landed at Forbesganj in India After retirement, Karki wrote two books, including ‘Nyay’, her biography Yearning for justice, political solution on eve of PM’s visit Hardening its stance against the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for sending goldplated sheets of ‘dwarapalaka idols’ of the Sabarimala temple to Chennai for repair without following proper procedure, the Kerala High Court on Friday directed the TDB’s chief vigilance and security officer (SP) to seize all the records related to the gold plating of the idols and other items since the date of original cladding. It also impleaded Unnikrishnan Potty of Bengaluru, who is sponsoring the repair, and Smart Creations of Chennai, which is undertaking it, in the case and asked the registry to issue “urgent notice of the proceedings.” A bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K V Jayakumar directed the TDB security officer to “seize entire records concerning the gold- Major scare as plane loses rear wheel, lands safely e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Imphal @ Mumbai Manipur’s Imphal and Churachandpur have been decked up with the posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his visit on Saturday—the PM’s first trip to the state since ethnic violence broke out two years ago. One of the posters put up overnight by the state government, captioned Viksit Bharat Viksit Manipur, says the PM will lay the foundation stone for development projects worth over `7,300 crore in Churachandpur and inaugurate projects of `1,200 crore in Imphal. Officials said the `8,500 crore worth of projects are for the entire state. On the ground, though, not many seem bothered about any development package. They are interested in other pressing issues — peace, normalcy, security, and resettlement. Ask anyone in ChurachL71,850 crore worth andpur and they will say the projects in 5 states Kukis expect the PM to offer a political solution to their Apart from Manipur, the problem — a separate adPM will also visit Mizoram, ministration in the form of Assam, Bengal, and Bihar a Union Territory . from Sept 13-15, and will “We don’t consider it (deunveil projects worth a velopment package) as sometotal of D71,850 crore thing important. Separate administration is the people’s voice. We hope that the PM delivers justice,” said Kenedy Haokip, a Churachandpur-based civil society leader. There is subdued excitement about the PM’s visit but it is more among Kukis than Meiteis. Reason: it’s after 4 decades that a PM is visiting the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur. “Our foremost expectation is peace and a clear roadmap for the restoration of normalcy,” said Sonny Chungkham, an Imphal-based independent policy analyst. Robert Singh, also an internally-displaced person, is relying on the PM for resettlement. “Modi ji, please take us to our village,” said Singh, who had a drinking water plant in Moreh. “My life’s savings have got exhausted,” he added. A SpiceJet Q400 aircraft carrying 75 passengers made a safe emergency landing in Mumbai on Friday after losing a wheel shortly after takeoff from Kandla airport in Gujarat. The aircraft landed at Mumbai airport’s Runway 27 at 3.51 pm with all passengers and crew safe, Mumbai airport operator MIAL said. Operations at the airport were briefly impacted. The flight departed at 2.38 pm against the scheduled time of 1.25 pm from Kandla and landed in Mumbai at 3.51 pm, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com. “On September 12, an outer wheel of a SpiceJet Q400 aircraft operating from Kandla to Mumbai was found at the runway after take-off. The aircraft continued its journey to Mumbai and landed safely the air,” line said in a statement. There were 75 passengers onboard the Bombardier Q400 plane, which is used for operating regional flights, officials said. One of the officials said that one rear right wheel of the aircraft was missing. Without naming the airline, MIAL said an aircraft from Kandla made an emergency landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport after a technical issue. “A full emergency was declared as a precaution. The aircraft landed safely on Runway 27, and all passengers and crew are safe. Normal operations resumed shortly after,” MIAL said. Only two months ago in July, a window frame of a SpiceJet aircraft to Pune from Goa came off mid-air. HC hardens stance, orders seizure of all Sabarimala gold plating records E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi soft launch last year inside Technopark, the app is now being expanded for wider use across the state. LetMeGoo offers flexible account creation, from fully anonymous profiles to registered ones with names or limited details. Richin R Chandran, CEO of Richinnovations, says, “Our fair usage policy and privacyfirst design make the app safe to use.” To prevent misuse, the app limits alerts to preset messages. Users cannot type in custom text. It also mandates the use of a photograph for verification. Any misuse, including the sharing of inappropriate images, ● More on P4 can be reported.  Modi in Manipur today 3-day recap Sept 9: Sabarimala special commissioner R Jayakrishnan informed the HC that the gold coverings of ‘dwarapalaka idols’ were detached and sent to Chennai without the court’s permission Sept 10: HC orders TDB to bring the sheets back Sept 11: TDB cites “practical difficulties” in doing so plating/gold-cladding of the dwarapalakas, the door lintel, the door panel, the Lakshmi Roopam and Kamanam, commencing from the date of the original cladding.” The officer should also ensure the file relating to the other set of ‘dwarapalaka idols’ and kept in the strongroom are placed before the court. Meanwhile, the TDB filed an affidavit tendering unconditional apology for failing to ob- tain prior permission before detaching the gold-plated coverings and for the subsequent delay in communicating this action to the special commissioner. It was on the special commissioner’s report highlighting this lapse by the TDB that the HC initiated suo motu proceedings and issued the directive. The TDB said the items were transported to Chennai in a secure vehicle, accompanied by the Thiruvabharanam commissioner, the assistant executive officer, administrative officer, the vigilance SI, the devaswom smith, a civil police officer and two devaswom guards, on September 8. It said the repair work commenced on September 9, and the lacquer coating of the 12 items were removed. Due to technical and practical constraints, transportation of the gold, in liquid form and kept in cyanide solution, is risky and likely to cause loss. express read Binoy Viswam stays on as CPI state secy Alappuzha: Binoy Viswam was elected the CPI state secretary for a second term at the party’s state conference in Alappuzha on Friday. He had taken charge in December 2023 following the passing of former state secretary Kanam Rajendran | P7 Urban Conclave calls for tailored approach Kochi: CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday opened the two-day Kerala Urban Conclave with a pitch for a tailored approach in the state’s urban policy. “Else, the future of Kerala’s urban development will not be sustainable,” he said | P4 asia cup cricket At `12 lakh per 10 secs, India-Pakistan match tops advertisers’ bill S w a r o o p S w a m i n at h a n @ Bengaluru THE Indian cricketing economy continues to remain recession proof. Post the ban on real money gaming, it was looking at a hole but it’s on course to pass its first big test — ad rates for the group-stage encounter between India and Pakistan on Sunday as well as selling all available ad slots for the said game. Over the last few years, advertisements around live coverage of cricket’s marquee properties were fronted by real money gaming firms. But their exit hasn’t affected the market. Media planners have told this daily that the broadcaster, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), have sold ‘all ad inventory for the India - Pakistan match’. Ad inventory is basically the total space made available by the broadcaster to the advertisers to purchase. It’s expected that ad rates for the Sunday encounter has been sold for well over `12 lakh for a 10 second slot. With there being the potential of two more matches between the rivals, the interest may only rise. Tickets still available for Sunday contest While the ad inventory might have been sold off, ticket sales for the India vs Pakistan clash to be played on Sunday do not reflect the same. Per platinumlist, the Asia Cup’s ticketing partner, tickets can still be bought with less than 48 hours to go. Only two classes of tickets have been sold and the premium seats were available at the time of press India captain Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan skipper Salman Agha | file pic It also kind of paints a picture as there has been intermittent calls of boycotting the game (some Indian brands did actively become part of this post the Pahalgam tragedy in April). But that hasn’t translated into reality as some big companies have come on board. “It’s all a question of visibility,” says Prahlad Kakkar, an advertising guru, whose commercials came to dominate the cricketing ad space in the nineties and naughts. “It’s worth to pay `20 lakh for a 10 second slot for a game between India and Pakistan be- cause everybody is watching it,” he says. “Even your personal cabbie will take time off to watch it. People watch it because it becomes more than a game in their eyes.” Kakkar is of the opinion that this particular game has become bigger than the game because ‘of the sentiment involved’.