source: x KOLLAM l Sunday l October 06, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l city 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 RA J E S H K U M AR THA K UR @ New Delhi G Sudhakaran slams age cap norm in CPM E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Kollam At a time when the CPM party conferences are on, senior leader G Sudhakaran raised a serious note of dissent over the party norm of 75-year age cap for members in party committees. Emphasising that there’s no reference on retirement of polit i c i a n s, e i t h e r i n t h e Communist Manifesto or the party programmes or its constitution, the 77-yearold leader urged the party to review the norm. He pointed out that Pinarayi Vijayan was exempted from the upper age limit, as there was no one else to be the chief minister. Highly critical of the party norm, he said this rule has been in place for only three years. “It’s just a rule and those who made it can reconsider it. They should look at its implications too,” said Sudhakaran. The former minister made the remarks during an event to honour school teachers from Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts at SN College, Kollam.  ● More on P5 WITH THI S I S S UE The Ghost Houses of Kerala PLUS 12 PAGES Pollsters on Saturday predicted the end 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 A mature voice that once had Malayalis tuning in to the radio for hours to listen to a singular style of presentation that held them captive, leading them into the realm of news, is no more. Iconic radio presenter M Ramachandran, whose voice most oldtimers would easily recognise, passed away on Saturday at 91. The former All India Radio news reader is credited with bringing in a new style in news reading. Ramachandran is best known for ‘Kouthuka Varthakal’, a special bulletin on curious persons, places and events from across the world. 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% 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 Seats: 90 | Target: 46 Cong+ JJP+ INLD+ AAP OTH 53-65 0 1-5 0 3-8 44-54 0-1 1-5 0-1 4-9 50-64 0 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 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 Dainik Bhaskar 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 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 mandatory for Sabarimala pilgrims Surendran, 5 others discharged from election bribery case Pampa route at the last minute. There is no need to make changes online and the person can take the route of his choice, he said. “Our concern is the daily intake of pilgrims. They are free to change routes if required,” he said. The CM has directed the ministers of devaswom and forest and the TDB president to hold a meeting to discuss the arrangements to be made on the forest routes. Meanwhile, the TDB will open a women’s restroom and breastfeeding facility at Pampa for the convenience of young mothers whose babies are taken to the shrine for their first rice feeding ritual. “Young women are allowed only up to Pampa. Until the previous season, there was no designated place for the mothers to take rest,” said ● More on P5 Prasanth.  The Kasaragod Principal Sessions Court has discharged BJP state president K Surendran and five others from the Manjeshwar election bribery case. The case was dismissed before the start of the trial as the court on Saturday found insufficient evidence to proceed with it. The case was that K Surendran bribed K Sundara, the BSP candidate whose name resembled that of the BJP candidate, to withdraw his nomination from the Manjeshwar constituency in the 2021 assembly elections. It was also alleged that Surendran promised to give Rs 2.5 lakh and a mobile phone to Sundara to withdraw nomination papers. Reacting to the verdict, Surendran said that he had said in the beginning itself that it was a false case. “The case was filed by LDF candidate V V Rameshan, not by Sundara. Later, he was made a part of the case. Leaders of CPM, Congress, and IUML are involved in the conspiracy of this case,” he ● More on P5 said. 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 high-level committee chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday The meet. ing reviewed the arrangements for the pilgrimage season. “Virtual Queue booking is mandatory and those coming without prior booking will not be allowed to trek the Iconic AIR presenter Ramachandran no more E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @T’Puram Over He designed the bulletin’s style in which news was presented in a dramatic tone. He also presented ‘Pradeshika Varthakal, the regional news bulletin for a long time. Malayalis heard of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s death through his voice. Though Indira died on the morning of October 31, 1984, AIR broke the news in its English news bulletin at 6pm. The news was carried in the Malayalam bulletin by Ramachandran at 6.15pm. Recollecting the day, Ramachandran once said he had prepared two bulletins — with and without the news — because of the uncertainty prevailing at the time.  ● More on P5 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 TNIE. 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. For instance, a person who booked travel through the Sathram forest route can opt for the E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Kasaragod Apex court rejects review of verdict on electoral bonds S u c h i t r 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 enforcement 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. , EXPRESS READ Probe report on ADGP submitted T’Puram: Amid the ongoing political developments in the state over ADGP M R Ajithkumar, State Police Chief Sheikh Darvesh Sahib on Saturday filed his crucial probe report into charges against the ADGP, before home secretary Bishwanath Sinha. Anvar unveils his party’s name Malappuram: Nilambur MLA P V Anvar on Saturday evening announced the name of his new party —Democratic Movement of Kerala (DMK). The development comes a day before his public meeting in Nilambur to outline his new political policies. No place for Hate 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.