chennai l monday l june 01, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION SATWIK AND CHIRAG CAPTURE SINGAPORE OPEN CROWN India doubles specialists rally to overcome Indonesia pairing of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Fikri in men’s doubles final on Sunday bwf/badminton photo FIRST TITLE IN OVER TWO YEARS The Indian pair, after going behind initially, fought back to win 18-21, 21-17, 21-16. This is massive outcome for the World No 4 combo as they had waited for over two years to come this far. Their last title on BWF World Tour was the Thailand Open, which had arrived in May 19, 2024. They incidentally became first pair from India to clinch the Singapore crown ■ Third happy dance, fitting celebrations ■ As was evident in their celebratory dance, this victory meant the world to them as they had endured many difficult moments, both on and off the court, in the last two years or so One of the highlights of this week was their victory over World No 1 pairing of Seo Seung Jae and Kim Won Ho in the last-four stage | P11 super 750 title bagged by the Indian pair 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 Nepal squatting on Indian land, admits PM Shah back-to-back B’luru brilliance go m esh s @ Ahmedabad Says both sides agreed to rope in historians, surveyors and experts to seek resolution P r ess T r ust o f I n d i a @ Kathmandu Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah was on Sunday quite candid about his country encroaching territories in India, in his response to questions in Parliament on the long-running border dispute. This was his first intervention in Parliament after taking over as prime minister. Shah said both countries have agreed to take the help of historians, surveyors and experts to seek resolution, adding that Kathmandu has also held diplomatic discussions on the issue with China and the UK. Nepal and India have an old boundary dispute over Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, with both countries claiming sovereignty over them. India maintains that the territories are part of Uttarakhand and has said the issue should be addressed through bilateral dialogue. “The Nepal government has officially sent a diplomatic note to India, mentioning the issue of encroachment of territories by India, including Lipulekh, and we have already received their response,” Shah told Parliament. “Both the countries have agreed to resolve the issue sitting together with the help of historians, surveyors and concerned experts through diplomatic means.” He, however, added that it is not only India that has “encroached” land in Nepal, the latter too had done the same with India. “You will be surprised to know about a fact, which I have learnt recently only after becoming the Prime Minister. India has not only encroached Nepalese territories, but Nepal has also encroached India’s territories in many places,” said Shah. “Now both countries should study the facts and sit together as friends and resolve the issue.” Shah said Kathmandu also held diplomatic discussions on the issue with China — the three places are located near the trijunction of India, Tibet and Nepal — and the United Kingdom. He said he took up the matter with the UK because it dates back to a period when the British Raj ended. Earlier this month, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri said the country is committed to resolving the border issue with India through diplomatic channels. Chhetri’s comments had come days after India firmly rejected Nepal’s objection to the upcoming Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via the long-established Lipulekh Pass, dismissing Kathmandu’s territorial claims over the region as an “unilateral artificial enlargement” that New Delhi finds untenable. After becoming prime minister, I came to know that not only has India encroached on Nepal’s land, but Nepal has also encroached on India’s land in multiple places Balendra Shah, Nepal PM Former envoy raps Shah Former Nepalese ambassador to India Nilambara Acharya said Shah has “no information regarding Indian territories being encroached by Nepal”. He added that 97% of the border disputes between the two countries have already been resolved Missing pillars in border areas There are reports about some Nepalese citizens using land in India and some Indians using land in Nepal because of missing border pillars in some areas, but the Nepal government as such has not encroached India’s territory, former Ambassador Acharya said E x p r e ss R e a d Sickle attack: 3 more held; one suspect shot in leg Tirunelveli: Police on Sunday arrested three more suspects, including one by firing on his leg after he allegedly tried to attack the cops, in the cases related to sickle attacks in Tirunelveli and Tenkasi on Friday. Eleven suspects, including three juveniles, have been arrested in connection with the four FIRs filed in the matter so far | P4 DMK backs AIADMK on CBI probe into ‘horse-trading’ Chennai: DMK leader TKS Elangovan on Sunday supported rival AIADMK’s demand for a CBI investigation into the alleged horse-trading by TVK. Calling AIADMK’s demand for probe “genuine”, he said the abrupt resignation and immediate defection of these MLAs to the ruling TVK are unusual and the matter requires a deep inquiry | P4 Royal Challengers Bengaluru players celebrate with the trophy after winning the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday | bcci Faculty shortage hits TN univs, over 50% posts vacant in major institutes B i n i ta J a i sw a l @ Chennai Tamil Nadu’s reputation as a frontrunner in higher education is under severe threat as 13 universities functioning under the state’s higher education department are grappling with severe faculty vacancies, with some campuses having lost nearly all of their senior academic leadership. Incidentally, 15 state universities are also functioning without vicechancellors. At the University of Madras, one of India’s oldest institutions, 67.6% of faculty posts are vacant — 67.9% at assistant professor level, 85% at associate professor level, and 43% vacancies at the professor level. “The situation will turn grimmer as 11 more faculty members will retire this year,” said a university leadership vacuum Total Faculty Total University Strength (sanctioned) Vacancy University of Madras Thiruvalluvar University Madurai Kamaraj University Bharathidasan University Alagappa University Anna University (Combined) TN Teachers Education University Mother Teresa University Periyar University 513 78 306 236 288 1,847 42 65 168 official, adding that over a dozen departments are currently run by in-charge faculty members. The situation is worse at the Madurai Kamaraj University, where there is a 96% vacancy rate at the professor level as only two of the 50 sanctioned 347 51 183 129 121 630 14 20 39 Vacancy % 67.6% 65.4% 59.8% 54.7% 42.0% 34.1% 33.3% 30.8% 23.2% professor posts are occupied. Associate professor positions, too, are 86.1% vacant. “With such a skeletal leadership structure, academic oversight, doctoral supervision, and research guidance are effectively paralysed,” a university official said. At the Bharathidasan University, 92.9% of professor posts remain vacant. At the entry level, Thiruvalluvar University has 74.4% of its assistant professor posts unfilled — the steepest junior faculty shortage among the 13 universities. Anna University, the state’s premier technical institution, has an overall vacancy rate of 34.1%, but the gaps are concentrated in senior positions: 67.5% of associate professor posts and 62.6% of professor positions are vacant. About 192 assistant professor slots are also unfilled. “The shortages threaten to undermine the institution’s role in driving Tamil Nadu’s engineering and industrial ambitions,” said E Balagurusamy, former vice-chancellor of Anna University  . P5 freak accident Trapped between chariot wheel and wall, TN teen dies E x p r ess News S e r v i ce @ Namakkal An 18-year-old engineering student, G Harshavardhan, died and another youth sustained serious injuries after they got trapped between the wheel of a temple chariot and a wall during the annual festival of the Arthanareeswarar Temple in Tiruchengode on Sunday . The accident occurred during the grand chariot procession held as part of the temple’s Vaikasi Visakam celebrations. This year’s festival was significant as the newly built temple chariot was being used for the first time. According to eyewitnesses and officials, the chariot had been stationed near a wall before the procession commenced. When devotees started pulling the chariot, it unexpectedly rolled backward and drifted sideways.  P5 Bid to strike balance in DKS govt General Raja Subramani R a m a k r i sh n a B a dsesh i @ Kalaburagi STRESSING the need for caution as Karnataka Assembly elections are two years away, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday said the party remains non-committal on composition of the state’s new cabinet under Chief Minister-designate D K Shivakumar, and that all decisions would be taken only after the June 3 swearing-in ceremony . Addressing reporters in Kalaburagi, Kharge said discussions were underway on ministers, deputy chief ministers and key appointments, but nothing formal had been placed before the Congress high command. “No proposal has come yet. Once it comes, discussions will be held on how many ministers and deputy chief ministers should be appointed,” he said. On a phased expansion, Kharge indicated that 8-10 ministers may be swor n in alongside Shivakumar on Wednesday, with remaining slots filled within a fortnight or a month. “We have to think of many things while creating deputy chief minister posts too. The high command is considering all facts and everything will be known by Wednesday .” On the search for a new president of the state unit after Shivakumar vacates the post, Kharge said the party high command was looking for someone who could “work very fast and bring everyone together as well.” w e s t a si a c r isis High price, short supply of bitumen cripple TN road projects B ANB U S E LVAN @ Chennai Specific type of crude oil is required to produce VG-30 bitumen, which is widely used for state highways projects | P Ravikumar FAIRYTALE finishes are hard to come by in sport. As much as one hopes for it, such moments do not happen to every sporting legend. Virat Kohli chased it for 18 years in the Indian Premier League (IPL) before the Royal Challengers Bengaluru came together to win their first title in 2025. On Sunday, in Ahmedabad, Kohli had his moment. Again. With an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls — also his fastest IPL fifty (25) in 19 years — the former captain took RCB to their second title, beating Gujarat Titans in front of 90000 fans who were cheering for him. However, the chase and title were possible because of their bowling attack, led by Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who removed Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan early to break the contest. They were reduced to 115/6, and from thereon, despite Washington Sundar’s fighting fifty that took GT to 155/8, it was RCB’s game to lose. For the first 15 years, RCB remained a batting dynasty led by Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle. Over the years, almost every batting superstar, especially overseas, would have turned up for the franchise. They headlined victories while bowlers remained in the shadows. Now, the batters aren’t the lead protagonists anymore. It was the Kumars, Hazlewoods and Krunals who won them their first IPL title. And it is they who made the fairytale possible for Kohli.  P11 Several ongoing state and national highway projects across Tamil Nadu have been disrupted due to shortage of bitumen and steep hike in its price because of the West Asia crisis. According to state highways officials, the projects involving road widening, laying, re-laying, and routine maintenance have been delayed or stalled owing to reduction in bitumen supply from oil marketing companies. Major projects that are hit include those taken up under the Chief Minister’s Road Development Scheme, the ChennaiKanniyakumari Industrial Corridor Project, and the Chief Minister’s Village Roads Development Scheme, among others. The works include widening of two-lane roads into four-lane roads, upgrading intermediate lanes into two-lane roads with paved shoulders, and laying of new roads. Industry sources said the supply chain of bitumen has been affected primarily due to difficulties in sourcing the specific type of crude oil required to produce Viscosity Grade (VG)-30 bitumen. VG-30 is widely used for state highways projects, works undertaken by the Greater Chennai Corporation, and National Highways Authority of India projects. “VG-30 grade bitumen is the most widely used material for laying state and national highways as well as roads in Chennai city,” said an official from an oil marketing company  P5 . takes charge as 3rd CDS J a v a r i a R a n a @ New Delhi In a twin change of guard at the helm of India’s defence establishment, China-Pakistan expert General N S Raja Subramani on Sunday took charge as the third Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Admiral Krishna Swaminathan as the 27th Lt Gen NS Raja Admiral Krishna Chief of the Naval Staff. Subramani Swaminathan Gen Subramani succeeds Gen Anil Chauhan, whose ten- Rifles in 1985 and served as ure ended on Saturday He takes Vice Chief of the Army Staff . charge at a time when the from July 2024 to July 2025. armed forces are pushing ahead Meanwhile, Adm Swamiwith the theatre comnathan succeeded Adm mand refor ms, triDinesh K Tripathi, who service integration retired on Sunday. and accelerated Speaking to reporters We will accelerate after taking charge, modernisation. Speaking to report- the development, Adm Swaminathan said induction and ers, Gen Subramani his top priority will be integration of said his primary focus to ensure the Navy indigenous will be transformation maintains the highest weapons in our of the armed forces level of operational armed forces and organisational rereadiness and combat Gen N S Raja for ms to “enhance effectiveness. Subramani, CDS jointness, synergy and Adm Swaminathan, integration”. On modwho joined the force on ernisation, he said, “Greater July 1, 1987, is a specialist in collaboration between the mili- communication and electronic tary industry academia, start- warfare. He takes charge as the , , ups and the research ecosystem Navy aggressively pursues inwill be the key enabler.” digenous warship construcHe had been serving as Mili- tion, submarine induction, tary Adviser at the National carrier battle group operaSecurity Council Secretariat. tions, and unmanned systems He was commissioned into the amid growing tensions in the 8th Battalion of the Garhwal Indo-Pacific region.