source: x chennai l sunday l October 06, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l vellore EDITION Seven-hour Indigo system outage gives passengers a tough time Social media buzzing with angry fliers Social media was buzzing with passengers sharing pictures of long, serpentine queues at airports and sharing screenshots of handwritten boarding passes. Some fliers complained about missing their flights. Another pointed out how senior citizens were suffering because of the glitch. It impacted online ticket bookings as well as web check-ins The tech fault lasted for more than seven hours leading to long queues for check-ins, baggage drop points at airports across the country 2,000 Glitch rectified partially by late evening ■ Past 6 pm, Indigo put out a statement saying, “Our airport systems are up and running, and our airport services have eased out effectively. However, we kindly ask for your understanding as we work to restore our other applications.” ■ The system slowdown was reported around 11.15 am at Mumbai airport flights are operated by indigo daily 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 Pollsters predict BJP exit in Haryana Exit polls suggest Congress victory in Haryana, advantage for its alliance with the NC in J&K R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi Girl dies in bike crash, male friend kills himself E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai S Yogeswaran, a 20-yearold student of a private engineering college, died by suicide just minutes after his collegemate, E Sabrina (21) of Maduranthakam, riding pillion on his bike was killed in a road accident near Mamallapuram on Saturday afternoon. According to police, the friends were on their way to Mamallapuram on Yogeswaran’s motorcycle when a Puducherry Road T ranspor t Cor poration (PRTC) bus rammed it from behind near Pooncheri Junction. Sabrina suffered injuries to her head and bled profusely She was not wearing . a helmet, police said. Though Sabrina was rushed to a nearby hospital, she succumbed to her injuries. Overcome by grief, Yogeswaran ran out of the hospital and allegedly jumped in front of a PRTC bus on its way to Puducherry from Chennai. He was run over by the bus and died on the spot. The Chengalpattu police registered two cases and arrested bus drivers Paramasivan and Arumugam. P5 WITH THIS ISSUE The Ghost Houses of Kerala PLUS 12 PAGES Over Sporadic incidents of polling in violence Haryana reported in Nuh Voter turnout and in 2019 Hisar Assembly districts polls was of the around 68% state 61% Pollsters on Saturday predicted the exit of BJP rule in Haryana, giving the Congress a clear majority. They also saw a Congress edge in J&K as it has a prepoll alliance with the National Conference. The exit poll results came in shortly after polling concluding in Haryana, where the voter turnout was over 61%. The counting of votes in both states is scheduled for Tuesday October 8. , However, NC leader Omar Abdullah was derisive of the exit polls, saying “I’m amazed channels are bothering with exit polls especially after the fiasco of the recent general elections. I’m ignoring all the noise on channels, social media, WhatsApp etc because the only numbers that matter will be revealed on the 8th of Oct. The rest is just time pass.” As for Haryana, the contest was particularly intense, with the ruling BJP facing severe antiincumbency, having stayed in power for two consecutive terms. The AAP did not appear to have an impact in the state. Bouyed by the exit poll outcome, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the decision on chief minister’s face will be taken by the party’s high command after factoring in the opinions of the party’s lawmakers. Peoples’ Pulse gave the Congress an average of 55 seats in Haryana while the BJP was trailing at 26. The Jannayak Janta Yamunanagar recorded a poll percentage of 67.93, Sirsa 65.37, Rohtak 60.56, Nuh 68.28, Palwal 67.69, Mahendragarh 65.76, Kurukshetra 65.55 and Jind 66.02 at 5 pm Paris Olympics medallist shooter Manu Bhaker and her family show their inked fingers after casting their votes during the Haryana elections, in Jhajjar on Saturday | PTI Poll of exit polls for two states Haryana Source BJP Axis My India 18-28 Dainik Bhaskar 19-29 Dhruv Research 22-32 India Today-C 20-28 Voter Jist-TIF Research 29-37 Peoples Pulse 20-32 Republic Bharat18-24 Matrize Republic TV27-35 P-Marq Poll of Polls 26 Cong+ JJP+ 53-65 0 44-54 0-1 50-64 0 Seats: 90 | Target: 46 INLD+ AAP OTH 1-5 0 3-8 1-5 0-1 4-9 0 0 2-8 J&K Source Seats: 90 | Target: 46 BJP Axis My India 24-34 Cong+NC PDP OTH 35-45 4-6 8-23 Dainik Bhaskar 20-25 35-40 4-7 12-18 Gulistan News 28-30 31-36 5-7 10-17 27-32 40-48 6-12 6-11 50-58 0-2 0 0 10-14 45-53 49-61 0 0-1 0-2 2-3 0 0 4-6 3-5 55-62 0-3 3-6 0 2-5 India Today-C Voter 51-61 0 3-6 0 0-0 Peoples Pulse 23-27 46-50 7-11 4-6 55 0 2 0 7 Poll of Polls 27 41 7 15 Party (JJP), which was in alliance with the BJP till a few weeks ago, was heading for a washout, as was the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). All exit polls placed the Congress far ahead of the ruling BJP . Dainik Bhaskar predicted the Supreme Court rejects review of verdict on electoral bonds No error in order S uch i tr a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking a review of the Constitution bench’s February 15 judgment striking down the electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional. A five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, JB Paridwala and Manoj Misra, dismissed the review petition filed by advocate Mathews Nedumpara and another person. The order passed on September 25, was uploaded on Saturday in the SC website. “The court failed to notice that even assuming the issue is justiciable, the petitioners therein having not claimed any specific legal injury exclusive to them, their petition could not have been decided as if a private litigation for the en- “Having perused the review petitions, there is no error apparent on the face of the record. No case for review under Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules 2013. The review petitions are, therefore, dismissed,” the court observed forcement of rights which are specific and exclusive to them,” Nedumpara had submitted. While venturing into the forbidden domain of adjudicating upon a matter of legislative policy, the court had the duty to hear the public at large. So, “the proceedings ought to be converted into representative proceedings,” the plea said. On February 15, the bench had struck down amendments to laws in 2018 to allow the anonymous electoral bonds scheme, saying voters have the fundamental right to know the source of the funding of all political parties. “The Union has been unable to establish the measure adopted in clause 7(4)(1) of the electoral scheme is the least restrictive measure,” the bench said. The court had directed the SBI to stop issuing electoral bonds and disclose all the details about the donors to the Election Commission. An electoral bond is an instrument in the nature of a promissory note which can be purchased by any individual, company, firm or association of persons. They were introduced through Finance Act 2017, which in turn amended three statutes — the RBI Act, the Income Tax Act and the Representation of People Act. Congress getting 44-54 seats and the BJP 15-29 in the 90-member Haryana Assembly The C-Voter. India Today polls gave Congress 50-58 seats and the BJP 20-28 in Haryana, while Republic BharatMatrize put the Congress tally higher at 55-62 seats. In J&K, the C-Voter-India Today survey put the National Conference-Congress alliance at 40-48 seats and the BJP at 27-32 in the 90-member assembly. As for Dainik Bhaskar, it gave the NCCongress alliance 35-40 and the BJP 20-25. Axis My India polls gave NC-Congress 35-45 and the BJP 24-34. Peoples’ Pulse predicted the NC-Congress getting 46-50 against the BJP’s 23-27. Awami Ittehad Party chief Sheikh Abdul Rashid was pessimistic about the J&K poll outcome, saying irrespective of the results, the control will lie with Delhi. But he was courted by Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi, who called on him at his residence. It led to speculation about the Congress seeking his support for a post-poll coalition government. On Channi’s visit, Rashid said he was the only leader to raise voice for him in Parliament. “He came to visit and I thanked him for raising voice for me. We had a good discussion,” Rashid said. The People’s Democratic Party said exit polls were not reliable, adding it was premature to talk about government formation. “What matters are the numbers at the end of counting,” senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar said. Online booking must for Sabarimala this season M S V i d ya n a n d a n @ T’Puram All pilgrims visiting the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple, including those travelling on the forest routes, will have to make prior online booking during the upcoming Mandalam-Makaravilakku season. Also, the daily number of pilgrims visiting the shrine will be limited to 80,000. The Travancore Devaswom Board’s (TDB) proposal to make Virtual Queue booking mandatory for all pilgrims was approved by the committee chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday “Virtual Queue booking is mandatory and those com. ing without prior booking will not be allowed to trek the main Pampa-Sannidhanam route, and also the forest routes from Sathram and Azhutha-Kalaketti. Drinking water and kanji (gruel) supply will be arranged on the forest routes,” TDB president P S Prasanth told this newspaper. There will be no spot booking facility for pilgrims on any route this year. Prasanth said the pilgrims will have the freedom to change their route. “Our concern is the daily intake of pilgrims. They are free to change routes if required,” he said. ‘Centre will fund 65% cost samsung strike of Metro Phase-II project’ Stalin deputes 2 ministers to EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai The union government will fund 65% of the estimated cost of `63,246 crore of the Chennai Metro Phase-II project, which will add up to over `41,000 crore, the finance ministry said on Saturday This will include . the entire required loan of `33,593 crore, besides the equity and subordinate debt of `7,425 crore. The balance 35% or `22,000 crore of the estimated cost will be financed by the state. The nomenclature of the project has now been changed to ‘central sector’ project from ‘state sector’ project as per the request of the Tamil Nadu government, a release from the finance ministry said. The loans taken from multilateral and bilateral development agencies will be treated as loans to the union govern- ment and will be provided directly to the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) from the union budget, the release said. So far, the project was being implemented as a ‘state sector’ project with the responsibility of the project financing being primarily on the government of Tamil Nadu to the extent of almost 90% of the cost. The role of the central government was to finance 10% of the cost, excluding land cost and few other items as per the Metro Rail Policy 2017. However, the centre had also assisted the state in mobilisation of `32,548 crore as loans from bilateral and multilateral agencies to the state directly, of which about `6,100 crore has been utilised so far. Prior to the centre’s approval of the project, the responsibility of providing or arranging the loan financing was on the state government. P5 No place for Hate Veteran Australia pacer Schutt shines light on queer side of cricket TNIE @ Women’s Everything that was deemed important for a heterosexual couple wasn’t possible for a gay couple. I hated that because it’s obviously inequality, but also you are just seen as less natural Megan Schutt World CUP Kalyani Mangale Dubai I Australia pacer Megan Schutt celebrates a wicket against Sri Lanka in the Women’s T20 World Cup on Saturday | ICC n the last few years, social media has proved to be a tool for women’s cricket. Not just from the fan engagement perspective, but the stories of the athletes have received a massive platform and there is no denying it. Just one look at the ever-increasing engagement numbers published by the International Cricket Council after every women’s tournament is proof of that. However, there is a gloomy side of social media that has affected the fans and athletes alike, especially the queer athletes. Australia pacer Megan Schutt is one of those players. The 31-year-old has been a proud openly queer player and had to deal with inappropriate comments about her sexuality on social media. A firm believer in her thoughts, she has never shied away from voicing her opinions, however these days, she has decided to pick and choose who to reply to. “Firstly I don’t , call them all out,” Schutt told this daily . “The ones that I feel are just trying to poke the bear. I don’t engage with them. They’re just using a derogatory comment because they can. Sometimes I feel like it can be in an uneducated way and that’s when I’ll probably react more because I feel like if we can have a civil conversation about something or engage in a conversation and change someone’s mindset, that’s when things can change,” she added. Schutt is not the only queer athlete at the ongoing T20 World Cup in United Arab Emirates. England’s Natalie Sciver-Brunt and Danielle Wyatt-Hodge, New Zealand’s Lea Tahuhu, and Scotland’s Abbi Aitken-Drummond are some of the openly gay players of this edition. Most of them have faced similar harassment on social media, but Schutt has been vocal the most. “Sometimes it’s even as simple as saying what’s your problem? And then they’ll divulge and then realise that it’s not really a problem and it can lead to a decent discussion,” Schutt said . “I feel like there’s a big education piece that’s available to people out there and that’s part of having a platform but also at the same time, people need to learn when something isn’t okay. And that’s when I’ll call them out and. The ones that float in between, I’ll let it slide obviously but now and again, some people need to be put in their place,” she added. end stalemate E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai Chief Minister M K Stalin has instructed Industries Minister T R B Rajaa and Minister for MSMEs and DMK Kancheepuram secretary T M Anbarasan to intervene and expedite conciliatory talks between Samsung workers who are on strike since September 9 and the management of the Korean electronics giant. The next round of negotiations, in which Samsung is expected to participate, is scheduled for Monday . Workers have been holding protest near the Samsung home appliances plant in Sriperumbudur seeking recognition for their CITU-backed union and better wages and working hours. Samsung India Workers’ Union (SIWU) president E Muthukumar said, “The state government representatives, who unofficially reached out to us, wanted us to call off the protests but there has been no pressure on Samsung to consider our demands.” Several CITU members said they were convinced that the state government was not on their side, especially since the registration of the union has been pending before the Tamil Nadu labour department for a long time. P5 express read Staff for UHWCs to be recruited at district level Coimbatore: To address staff shortage in Health and Wellness Centres (UHWC), TN government has decided to recruit doctors and health staff through district health societies. In June 2023, Chief Minister M K Stalin inaugurated 500 centres in the first phase | P5