KOCHI l friday l may 24, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE city EDITION Kaamya Karthikeyan youngest Indian to scale mount Everest The 16-year-old mountaineer is also the second youngest girl in the world to climb Mt Everest from the Nepal side, the Western Naval Command said Accompanied by naval commander father Kaamya was accompanied by her father, Commander S Karthikeyan of the Indian Navy, during her journey to the world’s highest peak. The duo, along with their team, reached Nepal’s capital Kathmandu on April 6. After acclimatisation and several days of planning, her summit climb began on May 16 from the Everest Base Camp. She and her father reached the summit at 8,848 metres on May 20 Class XII on a mission to conquer the seven peaks ■ With the Everest climb, Kaamya has now completed six milestones in her mission to summit the highest peak of all seven continents. She is aiming to climb Mt Vinson Massif in Antarctica this December ■ Her Himalayan journey started at the age of seven with a high-altitude trek to Uttarakhand’s Chandrashila peak in 2015 student of Navy Children School, Mumbai 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 MEA ‘processing’ request to cancel Prajwal passport Return immediately, says Deve Gowda, warns grandson of isolation from family if he doesn’t E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ New Delhi / Bengaluru The Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday that it has received a request from the Karnataka government to revoke the diplomatic passport of Prajwal Revanna, the suspended Janata Dal (Secular) MP who is an accused in multiple cases of sexual abuse. “A request made by Karnataka government to cancel Prajwal Revanna’s passport is being processed under the provisions of the Passports Act of 1967,” said an official. The MEA’s reaction came after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah shot off a second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to do the needful to cancel Prajwal’s diplomatic passport. The Karnataka CM had written to Modi on May 1 as well. The 33-year-old grandson of JD(S) chief and former PM H D Deve Gowda is reportedly holed up in Germany after slipping out of India on April 26 using his diplomatic passport. Once the passport is revoked, he will not be able to fly through the normal channels. If he tries to use the revoked passport, he will be held and deported. “If he wants to come back, he will have to approach the nearest Indian embassy for a travel document that would enable him to return to India,” said an official. Meanwhile, Deve Gowda Poll-bound Nandigram on edge as BJP worker killed S u l a g na sen g u p ta @ Kolkata Nandigram in West Bengal’s Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency was on the boil days ahead of the sixth phase of voting there on May 25 after a female BJP worker was killed and several others suffered injuries in an attack by a group of unknown persons. The BJP workers, alleging that Trinamool Congressbacked criminals were responsible for the death of Rathibala Ari, blocked roads and torched shops. Police were deployed in large numbers to quell the unrest. There were reports of lathicharge in the Sonachura area of Nandigram. Personnel from the paramilitary Central Armed Police Force were also deployed. The local BJP leadership said party supporters periodically conduct night patrolling in the Sonachura area during elections to deter anti-social elements. In the wee hours of Thursday, when a patrol was going on, a group of unknown men came in motorcycles and attacked the patrolling team with sharp weapons, local BJP leader Meghnad Pal said. “In the attack, Rotibala was killed. We strongly believe these unknown miscreants were linked to Trinamool Congress,” Pal said. The incident comes days after Mamata vowed to take revenge for her 2021 assembly elections defeat in Nandigram. The EC has sought a report from district administration. Legal question Prajwal travelled to Germany on his diplomatic passport without political clearance, which is a violation of rules. According to the MEA, it can revoke the passport only if a court orders it to do so asked his grandson to return to India immediately and surrender before police. “This is not an appeal... it is a warning. If he does not pay heed to this warning, he will have to face my anger and the anger of all his family members. The law will take care of the allegations against him, but not listening to the family will ensure his total isolation. If he has any respect left for me, he has to return immediately Gowda said. ,” Reacting to Siddaramaiah’s second missive to PM Modi, Union minister Pralhad Joshi said the Centre is ready to cooperate but there is a process to cancel the diplomatic passport. Earlier, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said that the process to revoke passports, including diplomatic ones, involves a court order. Minister chaired meet that gave nod to replant eucalyptus K S S R E E J I T H @ T’Puram Belying the established narrative of a bureaucratic conspiracy, details now emerging reveal that the forest minister was fully aware of the decision to sidestep the government policy and allow replanting of eucalyptus in Kerala Forest Development Cor poration’s (KFDC) plantations. In fact, A K Saseendran chaired the highlevel meeting that granted the permission to the KFDC. When confronted by the TNIE, Saseendran admitted that the decision was indeed taken at a meeting he chaired on September 19, 2023. “It was taken considering the grave (fi- nancial) situation faced the entire blame on by t h e K F D C , ” h e the officials and many maintained. decried bureaucratic Bypassing the state high handedness to government’s eco restosabotage government ration policy that aimed policies. However, at phasing out eucalypTNIE tracked the detus and acacia plantacision to the meeting A K Saseendran tions, additional chief chaired by Saseensecretary K R Jyodran and attendthilal had, on May 7, ed by Principal press 2024, issued an order clusive Chief Conservapermitting the tor of Forests KFDC to replant eu(Forest Conservacalyptus in its plantations dur- tion) D Jayaprasad, Jyothilal ing 2024-25. After it triggered a and Georgi. controversy, the order, issued The meeting was called at on a request by KFDC MD the request of the KFDC to find Georgi P Mathachen, was can- a solution to the crisis that celled on May 20. could arise once the corporaEfforts were on soon to put tion stopped cultivation of the 7 more Maoists shot dead in their core turf in C’garh area E J A Z K A I S E R @ Raipur Security forces on Thursday shot dead seven armed Maoists in their core stronghold area along the forested terrain of inter-district border of Narayanpur-Bijapur in south Chhattisgarh. The series of encounters against the Leftwing extremists is part of the strategy to free the conflict-ridden Bastar zone from the influence of the banned CPI (Maoist). The bodies of seven Maoists in uniform were recovered from the encounter site, officials said. Besides, five weapons and items of daily use were also seized. In all, 115 Maoists have been eliminated by the security forc- es since December, when aggressive operations were launched across Bastar. “Security personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guards from three districts — Narayanpur, Dantewada and Jagdalpur — along with Bastar Fighters and the Special Task Force launched an operation based on intelligence inputs. The Maoists opened fire and the forces swiftly retaliated from different directions after taking positions atop the hilly terrain. Intermittent firing still continues. Full details will be available after the forces return to their respective camps,” the police in Bastar said. On May 10, the forces had killed 12 Maoists at Pedia village of Gangapur area in Bijapur. Strategic shift in tactics Every summer between March and June, Maoists normally launch most of their attacks against the forces. For the first time, security forces have turned the tables and are attacking the Maoists in summer to take the psychological advantage over the rebels revenue-earning eucalyptus and acacia plantations. “We had to ensure that the KFDC runs profitably. The Planning Board had also permitted it to replant eucalyptus. We thought that a chance should be given to the corporation to survive and sustain itself,” Sasendran said. The state government introduced its eco restoration policy in 2021 to phase out the invasive and exotic plants in a phased manner. However, the KFDC sought a one-year extension and at the working plan meeting on October 20, 2022, the KFDC MD sought permission to replant eucalyptus during 2024-25 too. But the request Nod for pubs @IT parks Govt proposal to start pubs in IT parks gets nod from the assembly subject committee. Proposal is likely to be implemented after June 6, when Model Code of Conduct will be lifted. As per the proposal One pub can be allowed to function in each IT park Responsibility of operating pub rests with the promoter (state government), or anyone permitted by the promoter Only employees and the guests of the IT firms will be served alcohol Pubs will function from 11am to 11pm | P5 Heavy rain pounds Kerala Heavy rain continued to lash several parts of the state, leading to waterlogging in the low-lying areas of major cities, including T’Puram, Kozhikode and Kochi. As per the IMD, Kerala will receive heavy to very heavy rain till Saturday. Relief camps As per revenue dept, a total of 7 relief camps have been opened, where 102 displaced people are sheltered As many as 7 houses destroyed and 78 partially damaged following heavy rain ORANGE ALERT The IMD has issued an orange alert for Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Idukki districts on Friday. Ponnani man, 38, wrongly held, jailed after name mix-up E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ Malappuram In a serious lapse, the police wrongly arrested a 38-year-old man from Veliyancode in Ponnani. Alungal Aboobacker was jailed for nearly three days after the police mistook him for another person — also named Aboobacker — who had been booked for not providing financial aid to his family . Alungal Aboobacker was released after his family members approached the court citing the police’s error. Protesting the wrongful detention, they have decided to move against the officials Legal route concerned legally . Hussain, a close relative of Family Alungal Aboobacker, said the members of real accused in the case is Alungal Vadakkepurath Aboobacker, Aboobacker also from Veliyancode. have decided “He is currently living in to move the Gulf. Vadakkepurath against the Aboobacker had failed to pro- erring officials vide `4.05-lakh financial aid legally, in to his wife and five children. protest against Following this, the court is- his wrongful sued an ar rest war rant detention. They against him. However, in- will also file a stead of Vadakkepurath complaint with Aboobacker, the police arrest- the state ed Alungal Aboobacker,” human rights Hussain said. commission. “The Ponnani police took Alungal Aboobacker into custody from his house on Monday night and presented him at the Tirur Family Court on Tuesday The court asked him to pay `4.05 lakh. When . he said he was not financially capable of paying it, he was sent to the Tavanur jail for six months,” Hussain said. He said Aboobacker did not react when he was produced in the court as he thought he had been summoned in connection with a complaint that his wife had filed against him ● More on P4 regarding a family issue. express read Guv returns delimitation ordinance YELLOW ALERT Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad districts on Friday | P4 was rejected. Georgi presented the issue before the State Planning Board at a meeting on November 3, 2022. The general consensus was that KFDC, being a commercial entity, did not have to follow the state policy Then Geor. gi wrote to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) seeking approval for amendments brought in the management plan. However, MoEFCC rejected the request in December 2022 citing government policy It’s in this background that . the KFDC requested for the September 19, 2023, meeting, which gave it permission to replant eucalyptus. Children playing football in an inundated ground at Olavanna in Kozhikode, ignoring the downpour and making the most of their holidays. Heavy rain continued to lash various parts of the state. The IMD has forecast more rain in the coming days | E Gokul T’Puram: The delimitation of local selfgovernment institutions is likely to be delayed as Governor Arif Mohammed Khan is learnt to have returned the ordinance that was approved by the state cabinet, citing the Model Code of Conduct. Now, the ordinance would require clearance from the Election Commission of India. P4 18 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express Mehbooba battling for honour, PDP redemption on her home turf Fayaz Wani @ Srinagar Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, 65, is facing the toughest of electoral battle in her political career spanning over three decades. She is contesting from the newly carved out AnantnagRajouri Lok Sabha seat, which goes to the polls on May 25. It’s a must-win duel for her to enhance her political stature and revive the fortunes of her party ahead of the Assembly polls due before September this year. The stakes are very high since she is contesting on her home turf, which once was a bastion of the Muftis and the PDP . The PDP has been weak- ened considerably by desertions since the fall of its coalition government with the BJP in June 2018. Mehboob a ’s p o p u l a r i t y Illustration: Mandar Pardikar Mehbooba Mufti, Mian Altaf and Zafar Manhas dived when her party forged an alliance with the BJP in 2014 after contesting as rivals. Her handling of the 2016 unrest in the Valley, too, drew widespread criticism. Mehbooba is pitted against the National Conference’s (NC) Mian Altaf and Apni Party’s Zafar Manhas. She is campaigning extensively in both the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri as well as Anantnag, Kulgam and Shopian in south Kashmir. While Mehbooba is fighting on her own, Altaf ’s NC is supported by the Congress, and Man- has is banking on the tacit support of the BJP . To shake off the taint of aligning with the BJP, Mehbooba took a hard line against the Centre’s decision to read down Article 370 of the Constitution. The dominant sentiment in the Valley is still in favour of restoring Article 370, which gave the erstwhile J&K state special status. In the newly carved out Anantnag-Rajouri constituency Mehbooba is banking on her , traditional support base in Anantnag, Kulgam and Shopan districts while also reaching out to the Gujjars, Bakerwals and especially the Pahari community (which was recently granted Scheduled Tribe sta- tus) in Poonch and Rajouri. Poonch and Rajouri were added to the erstwhile Anantnag parliamentary constituency after the delimitation exercise. Both Poonch and Rajouri districts have sizable populations of Gujjars, Bakerwals and Paharis. It has led to parties realigning their strategies. The NC’s Altaf is a prominent Gujjar leader in Poonch and Rajouri districts while Manhas is a Pahari leader. NC vice president Omar Abdullah snubbing the PDF by ruling out any alliance with it could go in her favour if the PDP can channelise the slight to drum up support and fire up the cadre.
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.