TIRUNELVELI l friday l december 12, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION Aviation regulator asks IndiGo CEO to appear before it again Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers to appear before it again on Friday amid ongoing flight disruptions 60 flights from Bengaluru cancelled `10,000 vouchers for affected travellers Elbers was summoned by the DGCA on Thursday to submit a comprehensive report, including data and an update on the recent operational disruptions. Following the meeting, the regulator called him to another meeting on Friday. Meanwhile, disruptions continued, with the crisis-hit airline cancelling 60 flights from Bengaluru airport ■ ■ DGCA officials began monitoring IndiGo’s operations, refunds, and other processes from the airline’s headquarters on Thursday IndiGo announced that it will offer travel vouchers worth `10,000 to each passenger whose flights were cancelled or significantly delayed between December 3 and 5. This will be in addition to the refunds 4-member Dgca team stationed at IndiGo’s Gurgaon headquarters 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 6 states get SIR extension, WB left out two-day trade talks conclude Ground machinery is in overdrive, says EC PREETH A N A IR @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump at a roundtable discussion with top business leaders at White House on Wednesday | AP/PTI ‘Warm’ Modi, Trump call amid deal push J aya n t h J ac o b @ New Delhi Amid hopes for an early framework trade deal and intense discussions over US agriculture and dairy products seeking access to Indian markets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump on Thursday a call described as “warm , and engaging”. Modi said that two leaders reviewed progress in the bilateral relationship. “Had a very warm and engaging conversation with President Trump. We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity Modi post,” ed on X after the discussion. People familiar with the call said the two leaders exchanged views on expanding cooperation across trade, critical technologies, energy defence , and security, and agreed to work closely to address shared strategic and economic challenges. They also reiterated satisfaction at the momentum in the India–US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and underlined the need to sustain progress. The conversation comes as Wash- Had a very warm and engaging conversation with President Trump ington signals cautious optimism on market access talks. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee this week that New Delhi had offered the “best (trade) offer ever” in ongoing negotiations, even as he acknowledged resistance in India to opening its market to US row crops and meat products. “They have been very difficult nuts to crack… but they have been quite forward leaning,” Greer said, calling India a “viable alternative market” for American exporters. The new US Deputy Trade Representative Rick Switzer’s visit to New Delhi is seen as critical, with both sides pushing to make crucial progress in trade talks amid American tariffs, including a 50% duty on certain Indian goods linked to purchases of Russian crude. I C C m e d ia r i g h t s High valuation deal puts off broadcasters S w a r o o p S w a m i n at h a n @ Chennai THE International Cricket Council (ICC) and one of its broadcast partners, JioStar, continue to battle headwinds as the partners try to renegotiate the inflated $3bn deal for the right to show the sport’s biggest events over a four-year cycle. The deal still has two years to run but JioStar, who were left with the rights following the merger with Star Sports last year, reportedly want out of the deal. The ICC, whose funding remains the lifeblood for over 97% of its members, sounded out other broadcast houses about the possibility of picking up the remainder of the deal but they have shown no interest so far. “At those prices, it will make no business sense for the likes of Sony (Netflix and Amazon were among the others who were approached) to even show any interest,” one industry insider said. There was a feeling that Star had grossly overpaid as soon as they had won the right. There were some discussions around recalibrating the deal a year or but it didn’t go anywhere. What has complicated the situation is the policy change on real money gaming (RMG). With a blanket ban on RMG, the broadcaster has not been able to get as much in terms of advertising revenue. As it stands, industry insiders do not expect any of Sony Netflix and Amazon to pick the , rights and definitely not at the prices current price. One former ICC official suggested to this daily that JioStar and ICC may need each other. Which is why the person fully expects JioStar to retain the ICC properties at least till the end of the deal in 2027. B’desh feb 12, 2026 POLL to be held on Bangladesh will hold general elections next year—its first since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led government in a violent studentled protest in August 2024— Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said $1 mn ‘Gold Card’ plan rolled out Trump launched the $1 mn ‘Trump Gold Card’, a visa programme offering pathway to US citizenship. He said if, say, IBM wants to hire an individual at the top of his class at Wharton but can’t guarantee he stays in the US, IBM can buy the Gold Card and that person can be there for a long time Purposeful and positive engagement India and the US concluded two days of intense trade talks. Both sides agreed to continue the purposeful and positive engagement. A delegation led by Deputy US Trade Representative Rick Switzer was in Delhi for the talks THE Election Commission on Thursday revised the timeline for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in six states, including poll-bound Tamil Nadu, following requests from the chief electoral officers. However, poll-bound West Bengal was not granted any extension as the SIR exercise concluded on Thursday The West . Bengal government has been at the forefront of protests demanding a longer extension of SIR citing BLO distress and rushed timeline. The enumeration period for Tamil Nadu and Gujarat has been extended till December 14, and the draft electoral rolls EC said its ground machinery is in overdrive to re-verify ASD (absent, shifted, dead/duplicate) electors with whom contact could not be established by BLOs despite 3 mandatory attempts. New electors can fill Form 6 and submit it to BLOs, or fill it online will be published on December 19, according to the EC. The enumeration period for these six states and Union territories was to end on Thursday, and the draft electoral rolls were to be published on December 16. The schedule for poll-bound Kerala was revised earlier. The enumeration period for the state will end on December 18, and the draft roll will be published on December 23. For Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the deadline has been extended till December 18, and the draft electoral rolls will be published on December 23. The exercise in Ut- Messi mania: Meet AND greet WITH STAR for `10 L S h r e ya V e r o n i ca @ Hyderabad WANT to meet and greet one Lionel Messi? Well, there is a way. Pay up `10 lakh for a 15-minute meet and greet session with the football legend. Even if he may not be playing football or dribble past defenders during his trip to India, the name is enough to evoke an unimaginable romance. The craze to get a glimpse of the World Cup-winning captain has touched giddying heights during the GOAT tour. Take for instance the 38,000 capacity Uppal Stadium. It is sold out. The ticket price ranges from `2250 to `9000 (hospitality included). The session is set to be held at the Faluknama Palace before the bandwagon moves to the Stadium for an evening programme including a 20-minute match between Messi and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy Mes. si’s journey will start in Kolkata on Friday and will have a stop-over in Hyderabad before flying to Mumbai and New Delhi on Dec 15. Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary for Special Projects and Investment Cell, and Spe- `10,00,000 A 15-minute meet & greet session with Messi can cost around `10 lakh cial Chief Secretary, Tourism, Culture and Sports, Government of Telangana, outlined the programme in detail. On the meet-and-greet fee, Jayesh Ranjan framed it as a personal decision. “If someone wants to meet Elon Musk for 15 minutes and is asked to pay `1 crore, and they see it as a once-in-alifetime opportunity, they may be willing to spend that amount.” The football event at Uppal Stadium is scheduled from 7 pm on Satu rd ay. “ T h e re i s a 20-minute match between Messi and the Chief Minister. It is a friendly match.” Ex-judge who ordered DSP’s arrest suspended by HC E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai The Madras High Court on Thursday suspended former Kancheepuram Principal Sessions and District Judge Pa U Chemmal, who came under Pa U Chemmal, scrutiny after ordering the reDistrict Judge mand of a Deputy Superintend- ent of Police for allegedly failing to act on a complaint registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. After the HC initiated an inquiry into the alleged abuse of power by Chemmal, he was shifted from the post in October and appointed as chairman of the Permanent Lok Adalat in Ariyalur. The controversy stemmed from Chemmal’s order remanding DSP Shankar Ganesh for purported inaction in the SC/ ST case, and directing the arrest of the judge’s former personal security officer, constable Lokeswaran Ravi, in the case. The order passed by Chemmal on September 8, 2025, triggered dramatic scenes in the Kancheepuram district court complex. Allegations soon surfaced that the judge had ordered the arrest of Ravi due to personal differences.  P5 tar Pradesh has been extended till December 26, and the draft electoral rolls will be published on December 31. The enumeration period for Goa, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan and West Bengal will end on Thursday, and the draft electoral rolls will be published on December 16. The decision came against the backdrop of suggestions that several electors had not been able to submit their enuforms. Several opposition parties have alleged that stringent deadlines have taken a toll on the mental health of BLOs, leading to suicides. However, the EC has not acknowledged any of the BLO suicides due to work pressure. edu dispute ‘Fake’ lawyer kills advocate wife, brother E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Theni A man who claimed to be a lawyer allegedly hacked to death his advocate wife and her brother in a domestic dispute due to his fraudulent educational claims in Theni on Thursday. The Bodinayakanur police have launched a search for the attacker, S Pradeep (27), of Muthaiyanchettipatti, and his father Sivakumar. The deceased were identified as N Nikila (25) and her brother N Vivek (33) of Chokkanathapuram in Chinnamanur. Nikila got married to Pradeep three months ago. While Nikila had completed her law degree, Pradeep had allegedly cheated Nikila’s family by claiming that he too was a qualified lawyer, though he had not completed the course. The couple lived at Muthaiyanchettipatti after marriage. Pradeep neither went to work nor behaved responsibly. Instead, he often quarrelled with Nikila and assaulted her, sources said. Seven petty cases were also pending against him at the Bodinayakanur police station. P5