DHARMAPURI l tuesday l may 07, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Hamas accepts Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal to halt war Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Monday informed Qatar and Egypt that his group accepts their proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza Israeli delegation skipped peace talks Ball in Israel’s court, more pressure on Bibi Details of the proposal were not immediately released. But Egyptian and Hamas officials have said the ceasefire would take place in stages and Hamas would release hostages in exchange for Israel troop pullout from Gaza. There was no immediate reaction from Israel, which did not send a delegation to Cairo for talks, and is opposed to withdrawing its troops from Gaza ■ ■ Hamas’ acceptance of the deal is nonetheless expected to put pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, especially if its proposes release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza Also, it would make it more difficult for the Israeli government to justify a ground operation in southern Gaza’s Rafah | p9 1,00,000 Palestinians in Rafah were ordered by Israel to leave the town 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 94.56% TN students pass Class 12, T’ppur tops list Year-wise pass percentage S u b a s h i n i V i j aya k u m a r @ Chennai Students of Everwin HSS celebrate after Class 12 results in Chennai | P Jawahar Khalistan funds Delhi L-G calls for NIA probe against Kejriwal A s h i s h s r i v a s ta v a @ New Delhi Lieutenant Governor of Delhi V K Saxena on Monday recommended a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, citing an allegation that his Aam Aadmi Party received funding from the banned pro-Khalistan group, Sikhs for Justice. The L-G’s recommendation comes amid the Supreme Court’s indication that it may consider giving bail to Kejriwal in view of the Lok Sabha polls. In a letter written to the Union home ministry, the L-G said his recommendation is based on a complaint h e re c e ive d about the AAP receiving $16 million from Khalistani groups for facilitating the release of Devendra Pal Bhullar, who was convicted for his role in the 1993 blast in Delhi. The complaint mentioned by the L-G was filed by Ashoo Mongia, the national general secretary of the World Hindu Federation, referring to a video in which Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun mentioned that the AAP took money from pro-Khalistani groups between 2014 and 2022. Saxena also mentioned a letter written by Kejriwal to activist Iqbal Singh in 2014, saying his government has recommended to the President to release Bhullar. Hitting back, AAP called him a BJP’s agent. “The BJP is losing all the seven seats in Delhi, hence it is upset,” a senior AAP leader said. Tamil Nadu students have secured 94.56% pass percentage in the Class 12 exam results declared on Monday, marginally higher than last year’s 94.03%. Of the 7,60,606 students who wrote the exam in 7,532 schools across the state, 7,19,196 have cleared it. Tiruppur district recorded the highest pass percentage of 97.45, followed by 97.42% recorded by both Erode and Sivaganga. While Tiruvannamalai registered the lowest pass percentage of 90.47, 94.48% students in Chennai have cleared the exam. The pass percentage has been Stakes high for Kharge, BSY, NCP in Phase 3 BJP sees it as one of consolidation; 30-40 seats to witness triangular contests today RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR and Devaraj B Hirehalli @ New Delhi/ Bengaluru The electoral fate of half-a-dozen Union ministers and two former chief ministers will be sealed on Wednesday in the third phase of the general elections is 93 constituencies in 11 states and Union territories. The BJP sees the third phase as one of consolidation as compared to the first two phases. Prominent among the heavyweight candidates in this phase are Union home minister Amit Shah in Gandhinagar, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya (Porbandar), civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia (Guna), former Madhya seats for which Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh polling will be (Rajgarh), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar)’s Supriya Sule (Baramati) and Adhir Ranheld in 11 states/UTs jan Choudhary (Berhampur). In Uttar Pradesh, representatives of the Mulayam Singh Yadav clan are contesting in this phase — Dimple Yadav from Maincandidates including around 120 puri, Akshaya Yadav, son of Ram Gopal women, in the fray Yadav, from Firozabad and Aditya Yadav, son of Shivpal Yadav, from Budaun. In Karnataka, the last of the 14 seats will go to polls in what is being seen as a people eligible to vote high-stakes battle for Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. For, most of the seats Entire Gujarat are in North Karnataka, which is regardand Goa, 11 seats in ed as his home turf. The elections are Maharashtra, 10 in equally important for former chief minisUP, 14 in Karnataka, ter B S Yediyurappa, whose son Vijayen7 in Chhattisgarh, 5 in dra is the state BJP president. Bihar, 4 each in Assam Prominent among those in the fray in and West Bengal to go Karnataka are former CMs Basavaraj to polls Bommai (Haveri) and Jagadish Shettar (Belgaum), Union ministers Pralhad Joshi (Dharwad) and Bhagwant Khuba (Bidar), Yediyurappa’s son Raghavendra (Shivamogga) and Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani (Gulbarga SC). According to sources, around 30-40 constituencies in the third phase will witness triangular contests, giving sitting Lok Sabha members a really tough time. Most of the sitting MPs are from the ruling BJP . Phase 3 factoids 93 Pass percentage 2020 92.34% 2021 100% 94.56% 2022 93.76% Tamil nadu 12th board result Girls 96.44% 2023 94.03% 2024 94.56% boys 92.37% consistently increasing every year. It was 92.34% in 2020, 100% in 2021 as all-pass was announced due to Covid-19, 93.76% in 2022, and 94.03% in 2023. But the More reports on P3, 4 &5 India’s medical support for Paris Olympics: Sleep therapist, physios, recovery room and air coolers sion to have a proper medical team like some of the bigger THE Indian Olympic Associa- squads (Germany US and Ja, tion (IOA) have made elabo- pan). What used to happen is rate plans to take a battery of our physiotherapists used to support staff including a sleep be there, we did have a physitherapist and a small army of cian who would help with physiotherapists to help the services but we didn’t have a Indian contingent at full (medical) team. the Paris Games. clusive Whenever somebody Unlike in the previhad an injury, they ous Games, they will would do an MRI and also get a full-fledged recovery contact me here. But it’s diffiroom. The advantages include cult to do it online.” cryotherapy chambers and ice The well-equipped recovery baths to help athletes recover room will be a first-of-its-kind faster in their quest for Olym- for Indian athletes. “When you pic glory . are doing high-level sports, “This year,” Dinshaw Pardi- you require a full support syswala, the Chief Medical Of- tem,” Pardiwala, who has ficer (CMO) of the delegation, mended the bones of almost said, “the IOA took the deci- every medal-winning Indian S w a r o o p s w a m i n at h a n @ Mumbai Dinshaw Pardiwala, head of Centre for Sports Medicine at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai Olympian in the 21st century, said. “Although the Olympic Village has a polyclinic and some physiotherapy services, it’s difficult when you have 10000 athletes and 12 ice baths.” He was very elaborate when speaking about the need for a sleep therapist in the modern world. At least some of it has to do with the Paris Games’ desire to be carbon-neutral. “It’s also going to be important because the Games have decided that they won’t have air-conditioning in the Village as they would like to go green.” India, like some of the other contingents, are planning to take their air cooling units but the sleep therapist will act as a backstop in case this plan doesn’t work out. “The process is going on, we have requested ACs. If that doesn’t happen, we will have to manage our own air cooling systems. In case there’s a heat wave, it will be difficult to adjust at the last minute. So, we have taken that factor into consideration also (to have a sleep therapist).” 1,300 11 crore As the DMK government led by Chief Minister M K Stalin completes three years in office today, TNIE takes a hard look at the hits and misses | P4 L 30 crore and counting Enforcement Directorate officials counting unaccounted cash to the tune of over `30 crore recovered from the premises of Jahangir Alam, the domestic help of Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam’s secretary Sanjiv Lal, in Ranchi on Monday | pti It’s Modi factor vs Biju legacy in Kendrapara Illustration: Mandar Pardikar BI J AY C H A K I @ Kendrapara WHEN BJP’s national vicepresident Baijayant Jay Panda was named the party candidate for the Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat, the question on everyone’s mind was if he could make it this time. Panda had won twice from the seat in 2009 and 2014 as a BJD candidate. But electoral success seems to have deserted him after he joined the saffron party Once a close confidant of . Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Panda switched over to the BJP in 2019 after a bitter fallout with the BJD chief. He contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election as a BJP candidate but was trounced by Odia film star Anubhav Mohanty fielded by the BJD. This time, Panda is locked in a triangular contest with Anshuman Mohanty of the BJD, number of students, writing the exam, declined this year. While more than eight lakh students wrote the exam from 2021 to 2023, the count went down to 7.6 lakh this year. Education department sources said this was due to more number of students opting for polytechnic and ITI courses after Class 10. There were 11,594 absentees this year which had reduced from 47,736 last year. This was mainly due to measures like not allowing students without enough attendance to register for exam and tracking the students to ensure that they don’t skip the exam due to fear, officials said. From left: Jay Panda (BJP), Anshuman Mohanty (BJD), Siddharth Swarup Das (Cong) the son of Nalini Kanta Mohanty a former min, ister and close aide of Biju Patnaik, and Siddharth Swarup Das of the Congress, a new face with no experience of fighting election at this level. As one traverses through Kendrapara, the election fervour seems to be conspicuous by its absence. There is no perceptible tilt, but scratch the surface and there is a simmer for change, particularly in the rural parts. “No doubt, the BJD and its leaders have done good work in the constituency But we should . also examine what other political parties are offering. Baijayant Panda is a known leader nationally,” said Biraja Das, a paan shop owner at Chhapali square under Mahakalapada Assembly segment. The sentiment was echoed by another voter. “The time has come for a change. The same party has been ruling for too long. Development is too slow,” said Sadasiv Patra of Pospura. Basic issues such as roads, water, hospitals, schools, and unemployment are on top of voters’ mind. However, voting behaviour is more inclined to emotion and attachment, where problemsolving becomes secondary As . a youth in Kendrapara town put it — the fight is between the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Biju legacy. The legacy has held strong since former CM and Naveen’s father Biju Patnaik made Kendrapara his seat and won it thrice in 1977, 1980 and 1984. The baton was passed on to the BJD, which has held it since 1998 after it came into being. Can Panda breach the BJD bastion and help the BJP gain a foothold in coastal Odisha? Five TN medicos drown in sea; 8 deaths in 2 days E X PRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Tirunelveli/Kanniyakumari Five MBBS students, all house surgeons of a private medical college in Tiruchy drowned in , sea after they were swept away by a huge tidal wave at the Lemur Beach in Kanniyakumari on Monday. One of the students was from Andhra Pradesh. Three more people had drowned in the sea in the district on Sunday , taking the total number of such deaths in the last two days to eight. The deceased medicos have been identified by the police as P Sarvadharshith (23) of Kanniyakumari, M Praveen Sam (23) of Dindigul, Venkatesh (24) of Andhra Pradesh, B Gayathri (25) of Neyveli, and D Charukavi (23) of Thanjavur. “Sarvadharshith is a native of Parakkai village near Nagercoil. He was a student of SRM Medical College and Hospital located at Irungalur village near Tiruchy To attend a wed. ding on Sunday, Sarvadharshith and 11 of his classmates came to Nagercoil. Before leaving for Tiruchy, the medicos decided to visit various tourist spots in Kanniyakumari district on Monday . When they were playing on the shore in Lemur Beach, a massive wave dragged them deep into the sea. On seeing this, other students screamed for help. Some local fishermen attempted to rescue them but they could save only two students—S Neshi (24) and R Preethi Priyanka (23),” sources said. P5 Pet dogs attack child in park; owner, 2 held G a u t h a m S e lv a r a j a n @ Chennai A five-year-old girl was grievously injured when two pet Rottweiler dogs attacked her at a public park at Thousand Lights in Chennai on Sunday . The child has been admitted to a private hospital where she will undergo a surgery for her head injuries on Thursday her , father said. The Thousand Lights police arrested pet owner Pugazhendhi (63), his wife Dhanalakshmi (59), and son Ve n k a t e s a n (30). They were later released on bail. T he girl, R Suraksha, stays in a single-room accommodation at the park located on Nungambakkam High Road along with father Raghu (28) and mother Sonia (24). Raghu is employed as a security at the park. “Usually, Pugazhendhi, who lives nearby would bring , the dogs to the park for a walk and tie them up. But on Sunday he did not tie them up. As , Suraksha was playing near a swing in the park, the dogs attacked her,” Raghu said. P5
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