THRISSUR l thursday l july 25, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION 18 killed as plane crashes during takeoff in kathmandu A small aircraft crashed during takeoff from Tribhuvan International Airport on Wednesday morning. All on board except a pilot were killed Bombardier jet was bound for pokhara The Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft owned by Saurya Airlines was bound for Pokhara for a scheduled maintenance when it crashed around 11.00 am. There were 19 people on board the ill-fated aircraft. At least 17 of them were employees of the airline, with the other two being the wife and son of one of the employees who were on board, reports said ■ 914 captain survives, in critical condition ■ Captain Manish Shakya is the sole survivor. He is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kathmandu and is said to be critical The Nepal government constituted a five-member expert panel to look into the probable causes of the crash. The airport said the plane veered off to its right and crashed on the east side of the runway people have died in air crashes in Nepal since 1955 as per country’s aviation body 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 Govt weighing options to open the Chinese FDI tap Curbs imposed at the height of Ladakh clash in 2020 may be eased D IPA K M ON D AL @ New Delhi Reflection of the times Traditional fishermen are cashing in on the trawling ban as fish prices have shot up owing to poor supply. Fishermen extracting fish from their nets at Papanasam beach in Varkala on Wednesday | B P Deepu Oppn says most states got a raw deal, walks out of RS Rajesh Kumar Thakur @ New Delhi A day after the General Budget was presented, members of Opposition INDIA bloc, including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, on Wednesday staged a brief walkout from the Rajya Sabha over the alleged neglect of most states except Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, in fund allocations. Leader of Opposition Kharge criticised Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for ignoring many states in the Budget, adding it was kursi bachao (save the chair) document. His remarks drew a sharp rebuttal from Sitharaman, who said never in the past had the names of all states been taken in the Budget, not even during the UPA rule. For example, Maharashtra was not named, but that did not prevent the Union Cabinet from approving the `76,000-crore Vadhavan port project in Dahanu in the state last month, she retorted. “This is a deliberate attempt of the Opposition, led by the Congress, to give an impression to people that ‘oh, nothing has been given to our states, it has only been given to two states’,” she said. It led to a brief Opposition walkout after which they returned to the House. In the second half of the session, Opposition members continued to describe the Budget as anti-federal and anti-poor, with some demanding a white paper on the production-linked incentive scheme. Speaking on the Budget, former finance minister P Chidambaram cautioned the government against taking inflation lightly, saying every family is hit hard by price rise. He also wondered if the proposed employment-linked incentive (ELI) has been mooted as the existing PLI scheme failed to generate employment. Trinamool Congress member Jawhar Sircar alleged that the Budget had ignored West Bengal. “I have not seen such a lacklustre Budget. This is a Budget which is a fig leaf for plutocracy for a , rule by the rich,” he charged. SP’s Akhilesh Yadav greets Sonia Gandhi during an Opposition protest alleging discrimination in the Budget | PTI E X P RE S S REA D 16 people test negative for Nipah Kozhikode: Health Minister Veena George said the serum samples of 16 people who were on the contact list of the 14-year-old boy who died of Nipah tested negative on Wednesday. The minister made the announcement during the virtual Nipah review meeting held at the Malappuram Collectorate Conference Hall in the evening. “A total of 58 samples have tested negative so far,” she said. P4 Govt cuts building permit fees T’Puram: In a welcome move for aspiring home owners and developers, the state government on Wednesday brought in a significant reduction in building permit fees. The new permit fee rates, which will come into effect on August 1, offer cuts of up to 60% in corporations and 50% in panchayats, Local Self-Government Minister M B Rajesh told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram. P5 Can accused seek removal of verdict after acquittal? S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi CAN an accused, after being acquitted in a criminal case, seek removal of the judgment revealing his identity from the public domain under the right to be forgotten? The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to examine this knotty issue in detail and settle the law. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud was hearing an appeal by Bengaluru-based legal website Indian Kanoon against a Madras High Court order asking it take to down a judgment that revealed the identity of a person who was acquitted in a rape and cheating case. Indian Kanoon’s counsel told the court that the law on the issue appears to be unclear because the high courts of Gujarat and Kerala have earlier ruled that there was no right to be forgotten in such cases. “There is a genuine question of law emerging from contradictory judgements from dif ferent high courts,” said lawyer Abiha Zaidi, appearing for the website. The bench, also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, observed that courts sometimes order redaction of names in sensitive cases but pulling down the entire judgment would be far-fetched. The bench said such a precedent would lead to a situation where the litigants in commercial disputes may say that the judgements be removed as they may reveal financial information about the litigating parties. two days after the Economic Survey made a strong pitch for Chinese participation in India’s manufacturing growth, top sources on Wednesday told this paper that the government is considering easing restrictions on investments from China. The government’s move to soften its anti-China stance comes amid strong calls from industry, especially manufacturers, to ease the visa curbs on Chinese technicians. A highly placed government source confirmed that discussions are on for reviewing restrictions on investment and imports from China, adding that no final call has been taken in this regard. India issued Press Note 3 restricting investments from China amid border tension in Galwan river valley in Ladakh in 2020. The government also restricted visas to Chinese nationals arriving in India and levied high duties on many Chinese imports. The government source mentioned above said industry has been raising the issue of their inability to procure equipment Chinese incentive Chinese technicians are in high demand in 14 sectors where production-linked incentive schemes are applicable. These sectors, which include solar, drones, and cell battery, face huge talent shortage Skill shortage Most high-tech manufacturing units in India use Chinese-made machinery but don’t have skilled technicians. Industry believes visa relaxations could help as well as Chinese technicians due to these restrictions. “For the past 3-4 years, we have been trying to build our own capacity But feedback from industry . suggests that large projects, especially high-tech projects, are facing challenges in completion due to these restrictions.” After considering the industry demand, the government is now weighing options for easing investment rules for some companies, said the source. The softening of the stand on China was evident in the Economic Survey report released on Monday. “To boost Indian manufacturing and plug India into the global supply chain, it is inevitable that India plugs Who is Sajimon, petitioner 17-year-old trying to block release of dies after Hema committee report? tonsillitis A n n a J o s e @ Kochi The much-anticipated release of the Justice Hema Committee report on the issues faced by women in the Malayalam film industry has encountered an unexpected pause. On the day the state government was supposed to release the findings, the Kerala High Court has ordered a one-week stay So, who . is behind this twist? Sajimon Parayil, a small-time film producer, had on July 19 moved the HC challenging the state information commission’s (SIC) order directing the government to disclose the report, with limited redaction, before July 25. In response to the plea, the court stayed the release until July 31. What baffled many is the sudden entry of the petitioner, Sajimon, to block the release of the report. Now, questions arise on the motive of the petitioner, with there being many people interested in ensuring that the report doesn’t become public. According to the Kerala Film Producers Association, Sajimon is not its member. “More than a producer, he is an actor. He has acted in around 20 films. Right now, he is not affiliated with the association,” said a top official with KFPA. “We have welcomed the order from the information commissioner to release the Hema Committee report. We will take action based on the report once it is out,” said Sandeep Sen, KFPA joint secretary He said no discus. sion was held within the association or among members on filing a petition against the SIC’s order. When the case came up before the HC, M Ajay, counsel for the SIC, questioned why Sajimon was trying to prevent the disclosure of the report. He further questioned the basis for the petitioner’s request for a stay, saying the petitioner did not participate in the original proceedings. Meanwhile, repeated attempts by TNIE to contact Sajimon proved futile. He did not respond to phone calls and text messages. S a j i m o n h a s p ro d u c e d Thankabhasma Kuriyitta Thamburatti, Meow, August 27 P5 and Thottal Vidathu. age no detterent At 100, Vellayammal keeps farming alive in Thayannankudi settlement N e jm a S u l a i m a n @Idukki Be it rain or shine, Vellayammal has worked on the fields for decades. And at the age of 100, her spirit has hardly waned. Vellayammal, wife of the late Thayannan, the chief of Thayannankudi tribal settlement in Chinnar, wakes up before the sun and heads to the farmland on the banks of the Pambar. She cultivates vegetables and millets. Vellayammal is the oldest member of the Muthuvan community comprising over 100 per, sons, settled in Thayannankudi inside the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in Idukki district. Any visitor who passes by the tribal settlement, at any time of the day, could find the centenarian squatting in one corner of the field and digging up weeds. Following the death of her husband Thayannan Kani (the settlement is named after him) in 2012, she distributed the 25 acres under her husband’s possession in the sanctuary to their children and relatives, who migrated there. “It was his wish and I accomplished it,” Ve l l aya m m a l t o l d T N I E . Though she doesn’t possess any land now, she works on the field owned by her grandson, Kashi, while also helping her other children in their farmland. Vellayammal comes from a generation of tribal farmers who believe in doing all the hard work themselves. “Farming was the sole livelihood for our ancestors and we used to cultivate vegetables and cereals on forest land, with sufficient water available in the Pambar to irrigate our fields,” ● More on P4 she said. itself into China’s supply chain. Whether we do so by relying solely on imports or partially through Chinese investments is a choice that India has to make,” the report said, hinting that the anti-China policy has been detrimental to the manufacturing sector. Officials said the government has eased the visa rules for Chinese technicians already working in firms availing the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, and is working to streamline the visa process for Chinese workers for non-PLI companies too. In FY24, China became India’s top trading partner with $118 billion in total trade. Farming was the sole livelihood for our ancestors and we used to cultivate vegetables and cereals on forest land, with sufficient water available in the Pambar Vellayammal Vellayammal engaged in plucking the weeds that have grown on her grandson Kashi’s ginger field at Thayannankudi | Express surgery E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @Kannur A 17-year-old boy who underwent tonsillitis surgery at a private hospital last week died on Tuesday while being treated for post-surgical bleeding. Sooryajith P, a Plus-Two student and resident of Kannadiparambu, underwent a minor keyhole surgery for tonsillitis at a private ENT hospital in Kannur town on July 17. Sooryajith’s relatives allege that medical negligence led to his untimely death. “Sooryajith was sent home the day the surgery was p e r fo r m e d , as per the doctor’s ins t r u c t i o n s. Two days later, he experiSooryajith enced minor bleeding in nose. The ENT doctor who performed the surgery told his parents that slight bleeding after the procedure was normal,” said Ajitha N, a relative and family friend of Sooryajith. “However, on Monday evening, the nose bleeding worsened. After being informed about his condition, the doctor instructed the parents to bring him to another private hospital where the doctor also practises,” Ajitha said. “Around midnight, Sooryajith received treatment for nosebleeding. However, he complained of severe stomach pain after taking the medication. The doctor then administered an injection,” she said. “After the injection, Sooryajith appeared to be in a deep sleep. His parents thought he was resting and did not try to wake him. Around 8.30am the next day, his mother Anima found him ● More on P4 motionless.
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