tadepalligudem l monday l october 19, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Menstrual hygiene: SC pulls up states, UTs over lack of response The court expressed displeasure over states and Union Territories not responding to the Centre on menstrual hygiene judgment’s implementation act soon or face contempt action, Sc warns govt told to get details on steps taken In a major judgment earlier this year, the apex court held that menstrual health is a fundamental right. During a hearing on October 13, the Centre informed the court that it had sought details from states and UTs on the judgment’s implementation but received no response. The court warned of contempt action if states and UTs don’t respond by the next hearing ■ ■ “We fail to understand that once the Union calls for the necessary information, why the states/UTs do not respond,” a bench of justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said during the hearing It directed the Centre to get the information in writing as to what steps have been taken so far for giving effect to the judgment Dec 14 When the matter will be heard again 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 7 held in Kolkata stampede case, toll rises to 19 Pandal organisers among arrested; SIT under sitting HC judge to probe tragedy; govt offers compensation of `25L to each victim’s family 15 killed as truck rams devotees outside temple A N U R A A G SI N GH @ Bhopal civic polls No let-up in violence on final day of nominations E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kadapa / Tirupati / Ongole Violence, political clashes, and intense confrontations marred the final day of nomination filings for Urban Local Body elections across Andhra Pradesh on Sunday , as rival workers from the ruling NDA and the opposition YSRCP engaged in widespread scuffles, blockades, and high-voltage drama across multiple districts. Police interventions, preventive house arrests of senior leaders, and mild lathicharge were reported from several towns as candidates scrambled to submit their papers before the deadline— highlighted by YSRCP mayoral candidate Vasu Yadav jumping over the Tirupati Municipal Corporation office wall to file his nomination, and a Sub-Inspector sustaining head injuries during clashes in Prakasam district’s Darsi. Te n s i o n persisted across Kadapa district throughout the day as the final leg of nominations witnessed fresh friction, police blockades, house arrests of prominent leaders, and the registration of sweeping cases against opposition figures. Heavy police force was deployed around the residence of Kadapa MP YS Avinash Reddy since 6 am, restricting him and YSRCP women candidates from stepping outside or heading toward nomi n at i o n c e n t re s, wh i l e barricades sealed off municipal offices. Confrontations erupted across Pulivendula, Badvel, Proddatur, and Yerraguntla, where YSRCP candidates alleged that TDP leaders obstructed them, and snatched B-forms or nomination documents. In Proddatur, TDP leaders allegedly snatched B-forms from first ward municipal candidate Sumathi and 28th ward P4 candidate Fathima.  From left: Police personnel produce an accused in court on Sunday; the body of a victim being handed to his family; Union Home Minister Amit Shah visits an injured | PTI s ub h endu ma i t i @ Kolkata A day after 19 people were killed in the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durgotsav pandal stampede in north Kolkata, police on Sunday arrested seven persons, including the puja committee’s secretary and vicepresident, even as the state government moved to fix responsibility for the colossal crowd-management failure. Those arrested are secretary Raj Kumar Sewda alias Raja; vice-president Santanu Dubey; Kaushik Saha, in charge of verifying passes and crowd management; Biplab Mukhopadhyay, involved in the pandal’s bamboo structure; Pintu De; Suman Chakraborty; and Rajesh Pal. Fourteen people have been detained so far and suo motu FIRs have been registered. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who visited the injured late on Saturday, has announced a special investigation team headed by a sitting Calcutta High Court judge, with senior STF and CID officers. “No one, including committee members and police, would be spared if found negligent,” the CM said. The probe is set to be politically sensitive. The committee’s chairman is BJP MLA Bijoy Ojha of Jorasanko, while the CM’s nephew Debdeep Adhikari is a member. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday visited the injured at Kolkata Medical Col- SP shunted out a day after Kuki civilian’s killing PR A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati THE Manipur government on Sunday transferred the Superintendent of Police of Kamjong, a Naga-majority district which witnessed a series of armed attacks over the past few months, even as a Kuki outfit announced a “total shutdown” of National Highway 202 from Sunday midnight till October 22 midnight over the violence. I P S o f f i c e r J ay Barange replaced Tholu Rocky, a Manipur Police Service officer from the Naga community, as Kamjong SP. Rocky will take charge as additional director of the Manipur Police Training College. The transfer came a day after a Kuki community member was killed while four others were injured in an attack at Chassad village in Kamjong. Hours later, three Nagas were injured in a counter-attack. The transfer also triggered protests with the Manipur Naga Youth Organisation accusing the authorities of doing it under pressure from a Kuki legislator. “The Nagas have long endured the state administrative, law and order failure in the hope of an early return of peace but the government appears appeasing only the troublemakers,” it said. Meanwhile, the Kuki CSO Working Committee, Ukhrul, which announced National Highway shutdown, threatened to pursue “larger forms of intense agitation”. The outfit had enforced a similar blockade on National Highway 202, which connects the state capital of Imphal with Ukhrul, from July 27 till August 11. TMC targets Suvendu The Mamata Banerjee faction of the Trinamool Congress accused the police and administration of failing to ensure crowd control. The party’s MP Abhishek Banerjee demanded accountability, asking CM Suvendu Adhikari, “When will you put your nephew in jail?” lege and Hospital, where several remain critical, and postponed other programmes, including a visit to Belur Math. Two more victims died on Sunday, raising the total toll from 17 to 19. The state government announced `25 lakh compensation and a job to one member of each victim’s family, and `5 lakh to every injured, besides bearing treatment costs. A separate team of Rajesh Singha,secretary of the disaster management department; Anuj Sharma, D-G (fire) and Javed Shamim ADG (STF) have been tasked with inspecting infrastructure, fire safety and crowd management at bigbudget pandals. A helpline, 18003455678, is operational, said an official. The tragedy occurred around 7.30 pm on Saturday, when a downpour sent thousands rushing into the pandal on a narrow stretch off Central Avenue. Those inside could not get out as people outside pushed in, and many lost balance on a makeshift staircase. A part of the iron structure gave away, leading to the stampede. Gunmen open fire at Tiger Shroff’s car; actor safe, driver among 2 hurt Sud h i r s u r ya w an s h i @ Mumbai Unidentified gunmen opened fire at Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff ’s vehicle in the Juhu area of Mumbai on Sunday evening. The actor escaped unhurt, while his driver and a local autorickshaw driver sustained injuries, police said. Three bike-borne assailants fired towards Shroff ’s car from a distance of about 100 metres and fled the scene. Police said a total of seven shots were fired at the car. The incident took place near Pushpa Park at JVPD Grounds in Juhu when Shroff was travelling in his SUV . Soon after the incident, an audio file emerged in which an alleged representative of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the attack, saying Shroff had ignored their warning and continued to work with actor Salman Khan. The police said 12 specialised teams have been formed to analyse CCTV footage and track the suspects. The attack drew sharp criticism from the Opposition. “This is very unfortunate that no one is safe in Mumbai. This is a failure of intelligence agencies,” Nationalist Congress Party MLC Zeeshan Siddiqui said. Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad demanded that Maharashtra have a separate home minister, blaming Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the situation. “If actors and political leaders are not safe, what can we say about the safety of ordinary citizens?” she asked. E x p r e s s Re a d AP plans road revamp & highway expansion Vijayawada: The State government has set in motion an ambitious master plan to upgrade Andhra Pradesh’s road network, targeting the restoration of over 10,200 kilometres of State highways alongside a massive `1.93-lakh crore expansion of National Highway corridors for smooth flow of traffic | P4 Godavari river turns blue at Polavaram Vijayawada: The Godavari river at Polavaram has undergone a visible change in colour, from a copper hue during the monsoon to blue in recent days, following a decline in flood intensity. The change, observed between early and mid-October, coincides with a reduction in the sediment carried by the Godavari river | P3 Vijayawada mayoral poll 1,800 france Kamma-Kapu political arrested across after violent protests equations to fore again About 5,50,000 people took part in protests across France on Saturday, authorities said | p9 ngt order Works on grounded Bangla ship trigger eco concerns U s h a Pe r i @ Visakhapatnam Painting proposal Works reportedly being undertaken on the grounded Bangladesh-flagged cargo vessel MV Maa near Tenneti Park have raised questions over compliance with the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) directions, as the proposal to convert the ship into a tourism attraction is yet to clear the prescribed approval process. Videos of works on the vessel circulating on social media have drawn the attention of denizens and environmentalists, who are seeking clarity on The grounded cargo vessel MV Maa near Tenneti Park in Visakhapatnam | Express The proposed painting of the grounded cargo vessel has drawn particular scrutiny, as the site falls within an ecologically sensitive intertidal zone. Environmentalists warn that paint residues could affect marine organisms, while road construction could disturb a turtle-nesting site and the rocky shoreline the permissions under which the activities are being carried out. In its order in a suo motu case (OA No. 702 of 2023), the taken at the site until all statutory approvals, including Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and forest clearances, were obtained. NGT directed that no construction, stabilisation, installation of structures or tourism-related activities, including preliminary works, should be under- A speeding truck headed to Punjab with paddy crushed 15 devotees to death and injured another 26 outside the Sheetla Mata temple, 17km from Gwalior city in the wee hours of Sunday The Cir, . cle Superintendent of Police and eight other cops were suspended after the heavy vehicle sped through a no-entry zone. The devotees had queued up for early morning prayers on Navratri’s most auspicious Mahashthami day . Among those injured, the condition of at least four persons is critical. Police said the victims are from Gwalior and neighbouring Shivpuri, Morena and Sheopur districts. Fiftyyear-old Sarla Tomar was the sole woman among the deceased. Of the other 14, nine were aged between 13 and 18 years. The tragedy occurred at around 1.30 am, when truck driver Dilbag Singh, taking paddy from Gwalior’s Dabra Anaj Mandi to Punjab, lost A view of the overturned truck control of the vehicle on the sloping, near Gwalior city | X narrow road. A Gwalior police official said that despite entry in the area being barred to vehicles, none of the cops on duty stopped the truck, which was followed by another truck also loaded with paddy for Punjab. “Investigation suggests the brakes of the truck failed, causing the vehicle to ram the boundary wall and entry gate of the temple, which was teeming with devotees. The out-of-control-truck ran over the devotees lined up to enter the temple,” the official said. Dilbag Singh, from Punjabi Colony in Delhi, and the truck’s owner Harpreet Singh from Ludhiana, were taken into custody . The National Green Tribunal passed the order while disposing of a suo motu case. It also directed the Andhra Pradesh Coastal Zone Management Authority (APCZMA) to complete its appraisal of the proposal, including a field inspection and assessment of wastewater and solid waste management, structural safety and potential impacts on the coast. However, the minutes of the APCZMA’s 75th meeting, held on July 15, 2026, show that the proposal was still under conP4 sideration.  Y B r a h ma j i @ Vijayawada Political churn has intensified in Vijayawada following the announcement of former Vijayawada East MLA Vangaveeti Radhakrishna as the Jana Sena candidate for mayor post, putting the NDA’s unity and the Telugu Desam Party’s willingness to rally behind a JSP symbol to the test. Radha, who was selected as the NDA candidate after the alliance’s seat-sharing arrangement allotted the mayoral post to the JSP filed his nomination , on Sunday amid a large gathering of supporters from the three alliance parties. The development assumes significance as Radha, who had been associated with the TDP since 2019, joined the JSP only recently in the presence of party president and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan. The decision to allot the mayor post to the JSP has report- Prasant Madugula edly disappointed some sections of the TDP who had been preparing for the civic elections with hopes of securing the post. Several aspirants had built their networks in anticipation of an opportunity to contest for the coveted post. P4