hyderabad l Monday l October 27, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Cyclone montha to hit Andhra coast tomorrow, says met office The deep depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal is very likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh coast near Kakinada on Tuesday evening, it said pic: Prasant Madugula Expected to become severe cyclonic storm odisha, Bengal brace for heavy rainfall “Yesterday’s depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal intensified into a deep depression at 0530 hrs IST today, October 26, 2025, over the same region,” the meteorological department said on Sunday. The system is expected to further intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by the morning of October 28 and cross the Andhra Pradesh coast by evening, it said ■ Heavy rain is expected in several districts across West Bengal ■ The IMD warned of ‘extremely heavy rainfal’ in south Odisha on 28th and 29th. The Odisha government has put all 30 districts on alert ■ Heavy to very heavy rains expected in Hyderabad on Oct 28, with moderate to heavy spells on Oct 29 due to Cyclone Montha | p2 110 km/hr is the maximum windspeed expected when the storm hits the coast 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 Revanth’s JH bypoll charge to get Telugu film industry boost E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad The political stage in Jubilee Hills is set for a blockbuster finale, with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy leading the Congress charge in the crucial byelection. Adding momentum to the ruling party’s campaign, several organisations will felicitate the chief minister at the Police Grounds in Yousufguda on October 28. The event, organised by the Telugu Film Industry Employees Federation and the 24 crafts union, coincides with the campaign and is being held to thank the chief minister for resolving the recent standoff between producers and craftsmen. The felicitation is seen as a boost for the Congress, given the presence of a large number of film industry workers in Jubilee Hills. While the guest list remains under wraps, all eyes are on Akkineni Nagarjuna and Allu Arjun, whose presence would signal that the differences between the government and the industry have been fully resolved. Revanth will hold a series of roadshows on October 30 and 31, and again on November 4 and 5, as the campaign enters its final stretch. Party leaders said his active participation is meant to consolidate the Con- gress’s position in the constituency, where internal assessments suggest a favourable trend. Several Cabinet members have already been canvassing in the area, with three ministers assigned specific zones for booth management. Focus on development measures undertaken During his recent visit to New Delhi, Revanth reportedly told the Congress high command that the party was confident of wresting the seat from the BRS, citing positive feedback on the government’s development and welfare measures. The Congress campaign is centred on a development agenda, with Revanth expected to announce targeted prepoll assurances for the urban electorate. Party leaders believe highlighting civic and infrastructure upgrades under the Congress government will resonate with voters in this urbanised constituency . Ahead of the campaign’s final phase, Revanth has been holding review meetings with party functionaries. In a recent virtual conference, he instructed local leaders to strengthen booth-level coordination and appoint dedicated in-charges to ensure strong mobilisation on polling day . 21st century belongs to India and ASEAN: PM Reaffirms the bloc as a key pillar of India’s Act East Policy; 2026 declared ASEAN-India year of maritime security US ties with Pakistan not at India’s expense: Rubio J AYA N TH J ACO B @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the 21st century “belongs to India and ASEAN”, asserting that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations remains a central pillar of India’s Act East Policy and a vital partner in shaping an inclusive and sustainable Indo-Pacific. Delivering his opening remarks at the India-ASEAN summit in Malaysia virtually, Modi said India and ASEAN together represent nearly onefourth of the world’s populat i o n , b o u n d n o t j u s t by geography but also by “deep historical ties, shared values, and a common vision for the Global South”. “We are not only commercial partners but also cultural companions,” Modi said, reaffirming India’s support for ASEAN centrality and its Indo-Pacific outlook. “Even amid global uncertainties, our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has made steady progress and is emerging as a strong foundation for global stability and development... The 21st century is our century — the century of India and ASEAN,” he said. “The ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and India’s goal of Viksit Bharat 2047 will together shape a bright future for humanity .” The prime minister highlighted that the summit’s theme, Inclusivity and Sustainability, mirrors India-ASEAN express read Bus fire caused by drunk biker: Forensic report Flight services from India to China resume Kurnool: A forensic report confirmed that the biker, Shivashankar, was drunk and mainly responsible for the Vemuri Kaveri Travels bus fire near Chinnatekuru village, Kurnool district. Liquor traces were found in his viscera, establishing he was inebriated during the Friday crash that claimed 19 lives | p2 New Delhi: After a five-and-ahalf-year hiatus, flight services from India to China resumed from Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Airport on Sunday. The A320 Neo aircraft departed for Guangzhou at 10 pm. This marks the resumption of flights between the two nations after services were stopped in 2020 | p7 FESTIVE RUSH Vehicles stuck in a traffic jam on the second day of Chhath Puja festival in JP Ganga Path, Patna on Sunday | PTI J AYA N TH J ACO B @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addresses the ‘India-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Annual Summit’ via video conferencing, in New Delhi | pti priorities, from digital inclusion and resilient supply chains to food security and green energy . “India fully supports these priorities and is committed to advancing them together,” Modi added. Talking about the growing collaboration in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and East Timor admitted as new member The Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Sunday welcomed East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, as its newest member. It was ASEAN’s first expansion since the 1990s. Meanwhile, Cambodia and Thailand signed a pact expanding a ceasefire on their borders Chiranjeevi files plaint over AI porn videos; case booked  c h i t h a lu r i r e va n t h @ Hyderabad Actor and former Union minister Konidela Chiranjeevi has filed a complaint against several websites for allegedly publishing AI-generated and morphed pornographic videos using his name and image. Following his complaint, Hyderabad cybercrime police registered a case under Sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act, 79, 294, 296 and 336(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and 2(c), 3 and 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986. Chiranjeevi said he recently discovered that “several websites hosted and circulated AIgenerated and morphed pornographic videos using my name, likeness and image, falsely depicting me in obscene acts”. He said the videos were causing “severe and irreparable harm” to his reputation and were being “maliciously used to portray me in vulgar contexts, distorting public perception and undermining decades of goodwill”.  Continued on p3 maritime security, Modi announced that 2026 will be celebrated as the ‘ASEAN–India Year of Maritime Cooperation’, marking an intensified push for joint work in the blue economy and ocean governance. He said that the partnership now extends across education, tourism, science and technology, health, green energy, and cyber security, while also emphasising shared efforts to preserve cultural heritage and deepen people-to-people ties. The 10-member ASEAN bloc, with a population of about 680 million and a combined GDP of over $3.9 trillion, is the world’s fifth-largest economy if treated as a single entity Timor-Leste . became the 11th member of ASEAN on Sunday . India counts ASEAN among its top trading partners, alongside China, the US, the EU, Japan, and South Korea. THE US is looking to expand its strategic partnership with Pakistan but not at the cost of its ‘deep’ relationship with India, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, in an apparent bid to calm concerns in New Delhi over Washington’s renewed outreach to Islamabad. Speaking to reporters, Rubio stressed that both India and the US maintain independent relationships with different nations, terming it “part of a mature, pragmatic foreign policy .” “Just like India has ties with countries that the US doesn’t, the vice-versa applies,” Rubio said, adding: “I don’t think anything we’re doing with Pakistan comes at the expense of our relationship or friendship with India, which is deep, historic, and important.” Rubio is expected to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur. It will be the fourth in-person meeting between the two leaders this year, a sign of high-level engagement ‘chalo hyderabad’ 10L students to protest fee reimbursement delay E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Stepping up their protest against the state government over fee reimbursement dues, private professional colleges have announced plans to launch a statewide agitation from November 3 and organise a massive ‘Chalo Hyderabad’ rally with 10 lakh students after November 10 if their demands remain unmet. The Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Education Institutions (FATHI), which represents private professional colleges, said it will go ahead with an indefinite closure of institutions from November 3 if the state government fails to release `900 crore by November 1. At its general body meeting on Sunday, the federation said the ‘Chalo Hyderabad’ protest would involve around 10 lakh students — beneficiaries of the fee reimbursement scheme — who will march to Hyderabad to “knock on the doors of the state government”. The colleges said the state government had promised to release `1,200 crore towards fee reimbursement dues by Diwali, but only `300 crore has been disbursed so far, leaving `900 crore pending. Colleges to shut from Nov 3 The partial release, they said, has caused severe financial distress among about 2,500 private institutions across the state, which together serve nearly 15 lakh students pursuing engineering, pharmacy, BEd, nursing and other professional courses. “During the general body meeting, we decided on ‘Chalo Hyderabad’. Around 10 lakh students, staff and parents will participate if the government does not release the dues. From November 3, we will begin an indefinite closure as we are tired of repeatedly urging the gover nment to present a clear payment roadmap,” said FATHI chairman Ramesh Babu, expressing hope that the pending dues will be cleared before November 1. nature’s cut Uttarakhand to greet out-of-state vehicles with green tax from December N AR E N DRA S E THI @ Dehradun Tourists and pilgrims driving into Uttarakhand will soon be greeted not just by its scenic mountains, but also by a new ‘green cess’. The state government has finalised plans to roll out a mandatory fee on all vehicles entering the hill state from other regions from December. The decision aims to generate revenue specifically for environmental protection and infra- structure improvement within the ecologically sensitive Himalayan state. The objective is to balance booming tourism with fragile mountain ecology . “Starting December 2025, a Green Cess will be collected from vehicles entering Uttarakhand from other states,” said S K Singh, Additional Commissioner of the Transport Department. He added that the fee collection will be automated, deducted directly via the vehicle’s existing FASTag system. proposed daily rates K80 K250 K140 K120 Cars Delivery vans K140-700 Trucks Buses Heavy vehicles To ensure seamless monitoring of the collection process, the state has installed Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at 16 strategic entry points. The Transport Department anticipates that the cess could yield an estimated annual revenue ranging between `100 crore and `150 crore. The entire automated system is being managed through a contract with a private firm to maintain transparency . However, not all vehicles will be subject to the new tax. Exempted vehicles include twowheelers, electric and CNG vehicles, gover nment vehicles, ambulances and fire brigade trucks. Furthermore, vehicles re-entering the state within a 24hour window will not be charged the Green Cess a second time. According to the department, the revenue generated will be utilised for “air pollution control, road safety improvements and urban transport development”. continuing despite friction over trade and energy issues. The Jaishankar–Rubio meeting is expected to cover trade negotiations and India’s continued imports of Russian oil, a major friction point for the Trump administration. The Secretary of State’s comments come amid Washington’s efforts under US President Donald Trump to recalibrate ties with Pakistan including deals on critical mineral mining and energy cooperation, a move that has raised eyebrows among the policy makers in New Delhi. Trump’s administration has also maintained high tariffs of 50% on key Indian exports, while Islamabad continues to enjoy preferential treatment in some sectors. Rubio defended the US engagement with Pakistan as an attempt to “rebuild a strategic partnership,” citing past cooperation on counterterrorism. “We’re fully aware of the challenges with regard to India and everything else,” he said. “But our job is to create opportunities for partnerships where possible,” he added. EC to release schedule of pan-India roll revision today M u k e s h r a nj a n @ New Delhi The Election Commission of India (ECI) will announce the schedule for the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on Monday sources said. , The ECI is holding a media briefing on Monday afternoon, which will be attended by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. According to ECI sources, the poll panel will announce the schedule during the briefing. The exercise will be conducted in two phases, sources said. The first phase will cover more than 10 states and one Union Territory, including the election-bound states of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry, they said. “The SIR is likely to be rolled out in two phases. The first phase will include Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry Kera, la and West Bengal, where Assembly elections are due in 2026,” a source said, adding: “The second phase will cover states that are holding local body elections and where severe winter weather may create challenges for the electoral revision process.” The sources said the first phase will begin on 1 November, and all the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of the states and the Union Territory covered in this phase have been told to remain alert, as work may start at any moment. The ECI recently reviewed the readiness of all states and Union Territories for the nationwide SIR during a two-day conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), which concluded in New Delhi last Thursday .