tirupati l saturday l june 29, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Deeply biased: India slams U.S. report on religious freedom Driven by votebank considerations: MEA “As in the past, the report is deeply biased, lacks an understanding of India’s social fabric and is visibly driven by votebank considerations and a prescriptive outlook,” Jaiswal said. “We therefore reject it. The exercise itself is a mix of imputations, misrepresentations, selective usage of facts, reliance on biased sources and a one-sided projection of issues,” he added External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the report cherry-picked incidents to push a preconceived narrative against India 253 ‘Questions integrity of judicial verdicts’ ■ While releasing the report in Washington on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had flagged a ‘concerning increase’ in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, and demolition of homes and places of worship in India ■ The MEA spokesperson said the US State Department’s annual report appears to challenge the integrity of certain judgments by Indian courts Churches were burned down in Manipur in 2023, says the U.S. report 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 Record rain in 88 yrs brings Delhi to its knees Opposition stalls Parliament to make NEET point Repeated disruptions force both Houses to be adjourned without conducting business PR E E THA N AIR & RA J E SH K U MAR THA K U R @ New Delhi People (left) wade through a waterlogged road near Sarai Kale Khan; and parked vehicles damaged following the collapse of a canopy at Terminal 1 of the airport amid heavy rain, in New Delhi on Friday | PTI J i t end r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi After record heat, it poured like there was no tomorrow on the first day of monsoon in the national capital, drenching Delhi with the highest one-day rainfall in 88 years. It rained cats and dogs from about 4 am to 8.30 am and left major parts of Delhi and the adjoining national capital region flooded. Water entered homes, submerging vehicles and leading to massive traffic snarls that took hours to detangle. Thousands of commuters found themselves stranded. The Safdarjung Automatic Weather Station recorded a whopping 228.1 mm rainfall in 24 hours, the second highest since 1936 when the precipitation was 235 mm. The total rainfall recorded in June so far is 234.5 mm as against the normal of 74.1 mm. Friday’s downpour was more than one-third of the total normal monsoon rainfall from June to September at Safdarjung, which is around 640 mm. “Following a hot weather streak, the region got 148.5 mm, almost the double of June’s normal rain, in just 3 hours, and nearly the entire August rain in about 6 hours!” said Akshay Deoras, UK-based scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and Department of Meteorology Uni, versity of Reading. Explaining how global warming-induced climate change causes heavy downpours in a short span, he said, “The soil becomes dry and hard follow- Rank Rainfall (In MM) Date 1 235.5 24.06.1936 Cabbie killed in canopy collapse at the airport 2 228.1 28.06.2024 3 U J WAL J ALALI @ New Delhi 191.6 30.06.1981 4 139.7 24.06.1933 Highest daily rainfall at Safdarjung observatory Monthly average rainfall for Safdarjung (JunE-SEPT) IN MM June 74.1 July 209.7 August 233.1 September 123.4 ing a streak of hot weather. If rain falls in large amounts in a short span, the soil can repel water, increasing the risk of a flash flood. Unfortunately such , events are expected to become more frequent due to global warming.” One cabbie died while six others sustained injuries after a portion of the canopy at the Delhi Airport’s Terminal-1 collapsed amid heavy pre-dawn rains on Friday Deputy Commissioner of . Police (IGI-A) Usha Rangnani said the shed outside Terminal 1 of the domestic airport, from Departure Gate 1 to Gate 2, collapsed around 5 am with its beams crashing on parked cabs. The deceased was identified as Ramesh Kumar (45). Iron beams from the roof crashed on his parked cab with him inside. The injured were rushed to Medanta Hospital from where they were shifted to Safdarjung Hospital. “Around four vehicles were damaged and six persons were injured. All the injured persons are stable,” Rangnani said. The Delhi Police later registered a case of death due to negligence under the Indian Penal Code. New Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu took stock of the situation. His ministry ordered a probe into incident, and directed the airport operator to do a thorough inspection. The rains disrupted flight services for a few hours. Int’l team to scrutinise Polavaram proj works E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Component Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu released a white paper on the Polavaram Irrigation Project during a press conference at the State Secretariat on Friday He announced . that there will be more clarity on when the works can be resumed once a team of international experts, appointed by the Centre, submits a report on the status of the project. Terming the project the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh, Naidu charged the previous YSRC government with causing immense damage to it. “The destruction caused to the Polavaram is such that the Central Water Commission (CWC) was not able to deal with the issue. Express read progress report @ Vijayawada 71.93% 75.77% Civil Works 65.67% 72.63% PIP Head Works PIP LMC (left Main Canal) 18.66% LA and R&R 22.55% Man-eater leopard shifted to SV Zoo Kurnool: The forest department officials on Friday captured the leopard that killed a woman and injured another near Pacharla village of Nandyal district a few days ago. Project Tiger Deputy Director Anurag Meena said the leopard was shifted to Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati on Friday evening | P3 Expenditure As of May 2019 as of May 2024 `16,493.18 cr `21,489.71 cr N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister Obsessed with girl, PET stabs her father to death @ Vijayawada Ranchi: Former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Friday walked out jail after 5 months as the Jharkhand High Court granted him regular bail in a money laundering case linked to a land scam. The court said there is no reason to believe he is guilty of the charges. After stepping out of the prison, the JMM leader alleged that he was a victim of conspiracy 70.99% 73.07% The YSRC govt’s actions caused a loss of `4,900 cr & an expenditure hike of 38%. The delay in the project resulted in `45,000 cr loss to ryots E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Soren out of prison on bail after 5 months 91.14% 92.75% PIP RMC (Right Main Canal) As no compromises can be made with the safety of the project, on the advice of the CWC, services of four international experts, two each from Canada and the United States of America (USA), have been engaged by the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) to scrutinise the works as well as the proposals received from the State Water Resources Department (Government of AP),” the Chief Minister explained. Claiming that just 3.84% works were completed during the previous regime’s five-year term, Naidu alleged that the diaphragm wall of Polavaram was completely damaged, owing to the imprudent decisions of YSRC president and former chief minister YS Jagan MoP4 han Reddy . A physical education teacher (PET) stabbed a 56-year-old man to death late on Thursday night. The accused committed the crime allegedly because the victim refused to get his daughter married to him. The accused, identified as Gaddam S iv a M a n i k a n t a ( 3 1 ) , worked at a private school in Vidyadharapuram. The deceased, K Sri Ramachandra Prasad of Cheruvu Centre under Bhavanipuram police station, owned a grocery shop in Brindavan Colony under Krishna Lanka police station limits. Krishna Lanka police arrested Manikanta on Friday and recovered the knife he used to commit the crime. The accused was traced and nabbed while he was planning to abscond from the city said police. , Sharing the details of the case, Krishna Lanka inspector of police A Muralikrishna said Prasad’s daughter was in the second year of engineering. She was studying at a private college in Vijayawada. She befriended Manikanta through Instagram and they were in a relationship for more than three years. Prasad rejected their relationship and warned Manikanta against approaching his daughter and creating troubles for his family. However, the PET continued to coerce the girl to get married to him. When she refused to accept his proposal, Manikanta hatched a plan to kill Prasad. “On Thursday night around 9 pm, Manikanta obstructed Prasad and his daughter when they were on their way home. He picked up a fight with the girl’s father for rejecting their relationship. After a few minutes, he stabbed Prasad indiscriminately with a knife in front of the latter’s daughter. He threatened to post her photos and videos online,” police P4 said. big hit India’s Shafali Verma hit the fastest double century (off 194 balls) in the history of women’s Test cricket on Friday. She achieved the feat on day one of the ongoing Test against South Africa in Chennai | p ravikumar Vikramsecretary Misri new foreign Dy National Security Adviser Vikram Misri, a renowned expert on China, will succeed incumbent Vinay Kwatra on July 15 | P7 CBI makes 2 more arrests CBI on Friday arrested the principal and vice principal of Oasis School in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh in the NEET-UG paper leak case. Officials said 5 more persons from the district are being questioned BJD sides with Oppn this time BJD members joined the opposition parties to protest. In the previous Lok Sabha, BJD was seen with the BJP. But after losing in the recent polls, BJD has joined hands with other opposition parties to target the BJP BOTH Houses of Parliament witnessed dramatic scenes and multiple adjournments on Friday with Opposition parties led by the Congress pressing for a debate on alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam. In the Lok Sabha, Opposition members sought suspension of all other matters to discuss the NEET fiasco but Speaker Om Birla ruled that a discussion on the President’s address be taken first. In the Lok Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi demanded a ‘respectful’ discussion on the NEET issue to show solidarity with the students. “We wanted to give a joint message to the students of India, on behalf of the Opposition and government, that we consider this an important issue. So, we thought that to respect students we will have a discussion on NEET today a dedicated discussion,” he said. , The Opposition benches erupted in uproar when Rahul Gandhi claimed his microphone was switched off. In response, Birla said he had no control over microphones. “The discussion should be on the President’s address. Other matters will not be recorded,” the Speaker said. Noisy scenes unfolded in the Rajya Sabha as well. At one point, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge too entered the Well of the House to join the protest. This triggered a sharp comment from Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, who said it is for the first time that a person occupying the post has engaged in such a conduct. In the Upper House, the disruptions were marked by intense sloganeering, leading to the suspension of proceedings three times. The third adjournment came after DMK member Tiruchi Siva informed the House that Congress member Phulo Devi Netam had fainted. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju slammed the Congress for disrupting parliamentary proceedings. “We have made it clear that we will give detailed information on whatever issue is raised. But halting House proceedings is not right,” he said. Atul Singh appointed ACB Director General E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The State government on Friday issued orders to transfer three senior rank IPS officers. Atul Singh, who is currently serving as the Additional Director General of Police ( ADGP) of APSP Battalion, was posted as Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). The current Visakhapatnam Commissioner of Police (CP), Ravi Shankar Ayyanar, was transferred and posted as CID (Crime Investigation Department) chief, relieving Harish Kumar Gupta who was given the full additional charge recently . ADGP (Law and Order) Dr Shanka Brata Bagchi was posted as Visakhapatnam Commissioner of Police. As per the order, issued by Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad, the DGP shall make arrangements for incharge posts for ADGP (APSP Battalion) and ADGP (Law and Order) until further orders. t20 wc final Bridge-tone: It’s all blue for now s w a r o o p s w a m i n at h a n @ Chennai A World Cup final in the last week of June? If Indian fans are looking for some signs from up above, this one is right there, staring you in the face, front and centre. June 25, 1983, was when India won it for the first time (in one dayers), slaying the two-time and defending champions, West Indies. Fortyone years and a few days later, they have the opportunity to end a decade-old drought for global gold. They came close to ending it in the longer formats last year but lost on both occasions to familiar foes, Australia. Standing between them and a second T20 World Cup title (fifth if you want to include the OG version) is South Africa, whose men’s team are in unchartered territory Man for man, the Indian . team come out on top, especially in Caribbean conditions where the strips have been low, slow with some grip. But the final in Bridgetown, Barbados, promises to be close for a variety of reasons. There are multiple similarities (a toporder with an out of form opener, one batter who will look to break open the powerplay one , left-arm wrist-spinner, one future Hall of Famer seamer, one decent left-arm pacer...) but the biggest factor is that the South India will be looking to capture their 2nd T20 World Cup title on Saturday African batters match up well to the Indian spinners. Zooming out, they are both units so driven by the idea of success for different reasons. For India, with multiple generational talents in various points of their career, they want to add a title to further embellish their body of work and to repay the faith their employers have in them. Individual records are great but the primary currency in sport is finishing first in big tournaments. India have let themselves down in this regard. For the Proteas, it’s to show the cricketing world this is the beginning of a new dawn, free of the baggage most of their teams have had since readmission. Have your dinner nice and early and stock the fridge with a beverage of your choice. For Saturday night could be a very long and a special one. Live on Star Sports/Hotstar from 8 PM
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