villupuram l wednesday l september 18, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Modi to address the summit of the future at U.N. general assembly Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the UN summit on tackling key international issues during his three-day visit to the US from Sept 21 PM To take part in annual quad summit to address Indian diaspora on Sunday The theme of this year’s summit is ‘Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow’. On its sidelines, Modi would also be holding bilateral meetings with several world leaders, the Ministry of External Affairs said. He will also take part in the Quad annual meeting along with leaders of the US, Australia and Japan to review the progress achieved by the grouping ■ ■ As per the itinerary, Modi will address the Indian community in New York on September 22. He would also meet CEOs of leading US-based companies to discuss possible collaborations with Indian firms His interactions with business leaders will focus on areas like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors, the MEA said 2025 When India will host the summit of the four-member quad grouping 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 CM-elect meets L-G Saxena, stakes claim to form next Delhi govt Kejriwal hands baton to Atishi A n u p V e r m a @ New Delhi Atishi meets Lt Governor V K Saxena at Raj Bhavan in Delhi on Tuesday | PTI Kejriwal to focus on galvanising party Arvind Kerjiwal, who resigned as Delhi CM on Tuesday, is likely to focus on galvanising the AAP cadre and rebuilding trust among the people before the assembly polls, a senior AAP functionary said ‘Changing CM won’t change AAP’s image’ The BJP on Tuesday said changing the face of the chief minister will not change the character of the AAP. “They have indulged in corruption and the people will give them an answer,” Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said Helmetless ride Tanker rams bike, 4 of family killed in Nellai E x p r e s s N e w s s e r vi c e @ Tirunelveli Four of a family, including two children, travelling on a bike were killed on the spot after a tanker lorry mowed down their two-wheeler in Tirunelveli on Tuesday They were not . wearing helmets, police said. According to sources, the deceased were identified as Kannan (45) of Rajapathi in the city , his children Marishwari (12) and Sameera (7), and his mother-in-law Andal (60). The accident happened when Kannan, who was riding the bike with Andal on the pillion holding the two children, attempted to overtake the tanker lorry near Manimoorthieswaram Vilakku in the city. The truck rammed the bike from behind and all the four were thrown off the vehicle and fell on the road in the impact of the collision. All the four suffered head injuries and they died on the spot, police said. While Kannan was on his way to Vanarapettai, the lorry driven by Ganeshan of Pathamadai was on its way to Thachanallur. Following the incident, the Thachanallur police rushed to the spot and sent the bodies to Tirunelveli GH for postmortem. Tirunelveli police commissioner Rupesh Kumar Meena inspected the spot. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi on Tuesday met Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena and staked her claim to form the next government after Arvind Kejriwal resigned as Delhi’s chief minister. During a meeting of the AAP legislative party earlier in the day Kejriwal proposed Atishi’s , name as his successor and got unanimous backing. Later, Kejriwal met Saxena and tendered his resignation. A couple of days after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in the excise policy scam, Kejriwal made a surprise announcement on Sunday that he will demit office within a f ew d ay s a n d n a m e h i s successor. After Kejriwal’s resignation is accepted by President Droupadi Murmu, the L-G will invite Atishi to form the new government and suggest a date for the oath-taking ceremony, an official said. Along with Atishi, six other ministers are expected to be sworn in. She will then prove her majority in a special Assembly session. Atishi’s elevation is expected to help the AAP counter the claims that the party is antiwomen, especially after the alleged assault on its Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the CM’s residence. She has also been rewarded for her loyalty . “I come from an ordinary family Had I been in any other . party I would not have even got , an election ticket, but Kejriwal trusted me, made me an MLA, made me a minister and now has given me the responsibility of becoming the CM,” Atishi said. She condemned the BJP’s alleged conspiracy against Kejriwal. “It’s very sad moment that Delhi’s beloved leader resigned due to BJP’s conspiracy . By making false allegations of corruption, BJP filed a case against such an honest man and kept him in jail for 6 months,” she said. Atishi will be Delhi’s third woman chief minister after Congress’ Sheila Dikshit and BJP’s Sushma Swaraj. She will be the youngest Delhi CM. D M K p l at i n u m j u b i l e e CM vows to change constitution to get states more power E x p r e s s N e w s s e r vi c e @ Chennai Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin said that the key message he wanted to convey on the occasion of the party’s platinum jubilee celebration on Tuesday was that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) would work actively to bring in amendments to the Constitution to ensure the rights of the states. Speaking at the ‘Mupperum Vizha’ (the three grand events) held as part of the cele“If we can brations in Chennai, the CM emphasised the achieve so much party’s commitment to strengthening the with limited autonomy of states. Stalin noted that the resources, Dravidian model government has consistimagine what we could do if ently worked to uplift every citizen, claiming we had full that no other state has implemented as many fiscal control,” welfare schemes as Tamil Nadu. “If we can achieve so much with limited resources, imM K Stalin, CM agine what we could do if we had full fiscal control. We could make Tamil Nadu the best state in every way he remarked. ,” Taking a dig at Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s recent comments during her interaction with a Coimbatore entrepreneur, Stalin said, “We are in a situation where we can’t even ask why there’s such a high tax on cream buns.”  CONTINUED ON P5 CBI status report on RG Kar disturbing: SC S u c h it r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it was disturbed by the findings recorded by the CBI in its status report in the rapemurder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar hospital in Kolkata, but refused to divulge its content. “What you are flagging is of utmost concer n. CBI has flagged it for us. We are ourselves disturbed by what we have read,” the court told a lawyer who claimed discrepancies in the seizure list and sketch of the crime scene. A letter was addressed by the father of the deceased was also shared. It expressed the genuine concerns of the parents, New Kolkata police commissioner The West Bengal government on Tuesday appointed Manoj Kumar Verma as the new Kolkata Police commissioner, replacing Vineet Goyal, fulfilling one of the key demands of the protesters, who are yet to decide on rejoining work | P8 the bench was told. “Bearing in mind the genuine concerns, we are of the opinion that the inputs be duly taken by the investigating officer,” it said. For its part, the West Bengal government reiterated that no punitive action will be taken against the junior doctors who report for work. The agitating junior doctors, too, said they would not have any difficulty in resuming work if the confi- dence building measures agreed upon between them and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during their meeting on Monday are put in place. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud rejected senior advocate Kapil Sibal’s request to stop live streaming of the court’s proceedings, complaining that reputations of lawyers are being tarnished and they no demolition SC red light on bulldozer justice till Oct 1 s u c h it r a m o h a n t y @ New Delhi Polling officials leave for their respective polling stations in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday | PTI Phase I polls today with J&K in grip of rare election fever Faya z W a n i @ Srinagar With J&K all set for voting for the first of the three-phase assembly elections on Wednesday the Union Territory in the , grip of a poll fever that is a novelty for entire generations. “This poll fever was never seen before in J&K, certainly not in the last 35 years. I am seeing it for the first time. Everybody is talking about the elections and every candidate is being scrutinised by the voters,” said 45-year-old Javed Ahmed, a resident of Pampore in south Kashmir, who would be casting his vote for the first time on Wednesday . The first Assembly polls in J&K after the reading down of Article 370 is completely different from those during the militancy era. Poll-time hustle and bustle was conspicuous by its Figures that matter 24 assembly seats to go to polls, eight in three districts of the Jammu region and 16 in four districts of the Kashmir Valley 23.27 lakh voters to exercise franchise in fray, 219 candidatesindependents including 90 absence in those lost decades. Unlike in the past, when militants and separatist groups would issue calls for poll boycott and shutdown, a few members of the banned Jamaat-eIslami and former separatist leaders have entered the fray . Every town and village in J&K at present is a beehive of political activity There is a fes. tive-like atmosphere in the city centre and elsewhere. The of- fices of political parties are decorated with buntings and banners and party flags. Vehicles fitted with public address systems blaring political messages and songs added to the general cacophony . Another first was of leaders and candidates accompanied by a large number of supporters in cavalcades going to file their nomination papers. “There is greater enthusiasm because people know this is a very important poll, as it will decide the future of J&K,” said former National Conference MP and candidate from the Pampore seat, Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi. Since it is the first assembly polls in after Article 370’s abrogation, some even liken it to a referendum. J&K recorded 58% turnout in the general elections — highest in 35 years. express read Four children drown in a pond in Arani CM M K Stalin gives away awards to DMK veterans in Chennai | P Ravikumar are being threatened. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta flagged Wikipedia’s refusal to remoe the victim’s name and picture. The bench then ordered the social media platform to immediately take it down. The court purused an affidavit filed by the West Bengal health secretary explaining the steps taken to upgrade the duty rooms, toilet facilities, and CCTV cameras in the government medical colleges and hospitals across the state. “In areas where women rest at night in RG Kar, why cannot they have biometric access? The women who go to the seminar hall to rest can have biometric access,” it said. Hot September spikes power demand in TN Gender parity in ICC prize money for WCs Arani: Four children, including three girls, drowned in a pond locate near their house at Arani in Tiruvannamalai district on Tuesday. Police identified the deceased as sisters V Dhanushka (5) and V Karthiga (10); 12-year-old boy K Mohan, and K Varsha (8) | P3 Chennai: Tamil Nadu has witnessed a sharp rise in power demand over the past 16 days due to an unusually high temperature. The demand has gone up by nearly 30% from 314.966 million units on September 1 to 404.293 MU on September 16 | P4 DUBAI: The ICC on Tuesday announced equal prize money for men and women in Cricket World Cups with the purse for the upcoming women’s T20 event being hiked by 225 per cent to $7.95 million. The winners of the 2024 T20 WC will walk away with $2.34 million | P11 The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed authorities across the country not to demolish properties, including those accused of crime till October 1, without seeking its prior permission. “Till next date, there shall be no demolitions without seeking leave of this court. However, such an order would not be applicable for unauthorised constructions on public streets, footpaths, abutting railway lines, water bodies, or public spaces,” the court ordered. A bench of justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said that even if there is one instance of illegal demolition, “it is against the ethos of our Constitution”. It was hearing a petition by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and others seeking directions to various states to ensure no further demolition of properties of those accused in cases of rioting and violence takes place. During the hearing, the bench expressed displeasure over statements made by certain sections of the society after the September 2 hearing during which it questioned the bulldozer justice and said it would formulate guidelines. “After that order, there have been statements that the bulldozer will continue and it all depends on whose hands the steering is,” the bench said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said law has been complied with in all the demolitions. He said there was a petition before the court which alleged that because the person belonged to a particular religion, his property was demolished. He said a narrative was being built saying the government was targeting a particular community . To this, the bench replied, “Rest assured that outside noise is not influencing us.” General disdain Days before Lankan presidential polls, Tamils in North couldn’t care less Dilrukshi Handunnetti Award-winning journalist and lawyer, founder and director of the Colombobased Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) JAFFNA: With a crucial presidential election just days away , Jaffna, Sri Lanka’s northern capital does not reflect South’s political frenzy. A record number of candidates have joined the fray 39 in all, includ, ing a common candidate from the North, Pakkiyaselvam Ariyanethiran, representing Sri Lanka’s largest Tamil political entity, Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK). The euphoric campaigning in the South is conspicuous by its absence in the North as people go about, doing their daily job while campaigning continues with less fanfare. Fifteen years after the protracted war ended in May 2009, the North of Sri Lanka contin- ues to reel under its multiple impacts, with normalcy, as known in the rest of the country still an illusion. The North , has long-unresolved issues, ranging from wartime disappearances, homes under military occupation, livelihoods, unemployment, infrastructure development and safety . At the tail end of the presidential campaign, frontrunners like incumbent and common candidate president Ranil Wickremesinghe, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa and Anura Dissanayake of the Marxist National Peoples’ Power (NPP) continuing to woo the Tamil votes. But for the people of Jaffna, there are other issues to grapple with. Chadrasekaran Haran (51) sells vegetables for a living. He treats the September 21 presidential race with both disinterest and disdain. “The result will matter to us only if the next president can consider the economic problems faced by the people. After the economic collapse in 2022, we fell from the frying pan to the fire,” he says. Transport costs have doubled in the past two years with fuel costs becoming unbearable for the average citizen. The sales have dropped due to price increases in vegetables, making people like Haran find it difficult to make ends meet. “We are barely surviving,” he says. The end of the war offered a window of opportunity to develop the tourism sector, particularly with curious local travellers looking for a glimpse of the former conflict zone as well as cultural tourists. “The economic meltdown brought an effective end. The fuel costs became unbearable, and people stopped visiting,” says Kamalmalai Thomas, 49. The immediate issues are clearly economic.  Continued on: P7 lebanon rocked by exploding pagers Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least eight people and injuring 2,700. Lebanese officials blamed Israel | P9