HYDERABAD WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 16 LATE CITY EDITION MODI TO ADDRESS THE SUMMIT OF THE FUTURE AT U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY PM TO TAKE PART IN ANNUAL QUAD SUMMIT 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 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 TO ADDRESS INDIAN DIASPORA ON SUNDAY ■ ■ 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 ₹5 Lakh Crore for Dignified Life for Crores of Families through Pucca House to be Constructed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana 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 VK 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 SHE WILL BE DUMMY CM, CLAIMS MALIWAL AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Tuesday said Atitish will be a dummy chief minister. “Today Atishi will become the chief minister, but we all know that she will be a dummy CM,” Maliwal said WITH Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal showing rare trust in a colleague by choosing Atishi as his successor chief minister, the latter on Tuesday met Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena and staked her claim to form the next government in Delhi. Earlier in the day Kejriwal submitted his res, ignation as CM. The day began with Kejriwal proposing Atishi’s name as his successor at the AAP legislative party, where he got unanimous support. 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 few days and name his 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. A view of the fallen trees in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary in Mulugu district; (R) An aerial view of the affected area near TadvaiMedaram road | SRI LOGANATHAN VELMURUGAN, SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT O ROU GR U their work, the forest department has now increased the estimated area of devastation from 200 hectares to 300 hectares, the DFO reveals. From the road, it looks like the trees have fallen in a linear pattern. But the affected area is not exactly a rectangle, the DFO clarifies. While some estimates place the number of RE R fallen trees at 1 lakh, the forest department is still counting them manually, with numbers clearly written on the trunks. The counting process is expected to be completed in the next three to four days. “Electric poles were flattened [on August 31], electricity to Medaram village was cut off. We removed the debris on the road the next day the ,” DFO says. CONTINUED ON P2 ORT POR EP TREES yanked from their roots and strewn all over the ground. Trunks ripped apart as far as the eye could see on either side of the Tadvai-Medaram road. Bent electric poles. Just a few hundred metres away from this apocalyptic scene at the 80,600 hectare Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary other lucky trees stand , tall, with no indication of the large-scale devastation that lies yonder. Nature’s carpet bombing is confined to around a 500-metre stretch of the road and extends on both sides to a total of around 7–8 km. The Telangana Forest Department is still trying to assess the extent of the destruction, which likely took place in a short span of time on Au- gust 31. Speaking to TNIE, Mulugu District Forest Officer Rahul Jadhav says the havoc, “one-of-its-kind in India”, took place between 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm on that day. However, to pinpoint the exact time and the reason behind it, the department would need the help of the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). D ND “We have asked N the NRSC to do a drill-down” to get the time and also to find out what caused the for mation of winds that carried so much energy,” the Mulugu DFO adds. An 185-member team of the department is at work, walking all around the areas affected by the rare phenomenon, a highly localised convective activity according to IMD officials. Based on G PRASANNA RS @ Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary T MORE HECTARES HIT DESTRUCTION IN ETURNAGARAM MORE WIDESPREAD THAN INITIAL ESTIMATES Government of India Paving the Path to Viksit Bharat CBC 22201/13/0014/2425 3 Crore Additional Houses 100 Days of Modi 3.0 SC red light on bulldozer justice till Oct 1 S U C H I T R A M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi 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 RG KAR CASE Supreme Court: CBI status report disturbing S U C H I T 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, 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 government reiterated that no punitive action will be taken against the junior doctors who report for work. The doctors, too, said they would not have any difficulty in resuming work if the confidence building measures agreed upon between them and CM Mamata Banerjee during their meeting are put in place. A bench led by CJI 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. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta flagged Wikipedia’s refusal to remove the victim’s name and picture. The bench then ordered the social media platform to immediately take it down. INSIDE `12,000 TO BE GIVEN TO LANDLESS POOR FAMILIES: BHATTI I P4 STATE GOVT GETS NEW ELECTION AND VIGILANCE COMMISSIONERS I P4 DAYS BEFORE LANKAN PREZ POLLS, TAMILS IN NORTH COULDN’T CARE LESS I P7 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. 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.” Due process should be followed. State governments have been using bulldozers to inflict revenge, collective punishment, and to appease mobs – Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMIM president | P4 ORDERS NOT FOR HYDRAA: RANGANATH Hyderabad: Following the SC’s orders that demolition using bulldozers should not take place without its permission, HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath clarified that this directive does not apply to HYDRAA. He said: “It applies to razing properties belonging to criminals or accused. HYDRAA demolishes encroachments in water bodies and government lands and does not demolish structures belonging to accused or criminals”. The court also clarified that the order does not pertain to encroachments on public spaces. Obstacles won’t deter HYDRAA: Revanth EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad CHIEF Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday asserted that HYDRAA is unstoppable, no matter how many obstacles come its way. Speaking after hoisting the national flag on the occasion of ‘Praja Palana Day’ at Public Garden here, the chief minister made it clear that there is no political motive behind the establishment of HYDRAA. In order to promote Telangana as a clean state, HYDRAA has been created, he said, adding: “Hyderabad is popularly CM A Revanth Reddy during the Praja Palana Day celebrations on Tuesday known as city of lakes. Today, the city has turned into a city of floods because of the sins committed by the previous rulers. HYDRAA has been set up to demolish encroachments in water bodies.” Future generations will have to pay a heavy price if the lakes and canals are not protected, the CM noted and added, “Kerala has witnessed nature’s fury in recent times. Thousands of people died. This situation should not occur in Hyderabad.” Assuring people that HYDRAA guarantees the future of Hyderabad, he said: “It is to protect nature on a mission mode. I appeal to everyone to support this mission. The land mafia is trying to undermine HYDRAA by claiming poor people would be affected.” CONTINUED ON P4 UNTIL NEXT TIME Ganesh’s 70-ft Khairatabadprocession began immersion at 7 am and ended by 1.40 pm Balapur Ganesh laddu fetches a record `30.01 lakh, highest in 30 years crore fetched for `1.87lakh from last laddu, Bandlaguda up by `61 year Over 20,000 police personnel deployed across Hyderabad and its periphery 335 cranes deployed for idol immersion 2 Muslim men bid for laddus in Kumurambheem Asifabad & Khammam Thousands of devotees gather to bid farewell to the 70-feet Khairatabad Ganesh being immersed at the NTR Marg in Hyderabad on Tuesday | VINAY MADAPU | P3 1,05,707 IDOLS IMMERSED ACROSS HYDERABAD J&K in grip of rare poll fever, P-1 today F AYA 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 differ- FIGURES THAT MATTER 24 assemblyinseats to go to polls, eight 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 ent from those during the militancy era. Poll-time hustle and bustle was conspicuous by its 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 offices 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 enthusiasm because people know that this poll will decide the future of J&K,” said former NC MP Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi.
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