THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l Sunday l december 01, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city edition CT schedule: PCB, BCCI still trying to find tangible solution ICC is yet to announce any formal schedule for Champions Trophy. Though hybrid model is likely, yet ICC, BCCI & PCB are thrashing out finer points File picture of Mohsin Naqvi, PCB chairman PCB may not play ICC events in India till 2031 India tournaments might get affected After two days of discussions, Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi told a few reporters in Dubai that they would take a decision in the best interest of cricket. However, he also said that whatever decision the ICC takes now will have a bearing on the future ICC tournaments hosted by India till 2031. If India doesn’t travel, Pakistan too won’t come to India ■ ■ There are at least three major ICC men’s events scheduled in India — the 2026 T20 World Cup jointly with Sri Lanka, the 2029 CT and the 2031 ODI World Cup jointly with Bangladesh The women’s One Day International (ODI) World Cup will be held in India this October | More on P11 2025 Tentative dates for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy: feb 19 to mar 9 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 ‘Fengal’ makes landfall, rain and wind sweep TN Storm-triggered rain inundates parts of Chennai, hits flight ops E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai devis all Devi awardees (from left) co-founder of Vimor, Pavithra Muddaya; Prof and Dean, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Dr Vatsala Thirumalai; classical dancer Nirupama Rajendra; activist Alina Alam; Olympian Anju Bobby George; Nimhans Director Dr Pratima Murthy; Founding Director of Science Gallery Jahnavi Phalkey; Founder and Managing Trustee of Neev School Kavitha Gupta Sabharwal; restaurateur Sonali Sattar; author Samhita Anri; and Founder and Managing Trustee of Sanket Trust Arundhati Nag with TNIE CEO Lakshmi Menon (4th from L), TNIE chairman Manoj Kumar Sonthalia (7th from L), former Infosys CEO S D Shibulal (8th from L), TNIE Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla (9th from L), TNIE Editor Santwana Bhattacharya (8th from R) and Director of Events Xpress Neha Sonthalia Periwal (6th from R), in Bengaluru on Saturday | Vinod Kumar.T | Report: P5 Maharashtra govt to take oath on Dec 5 Maha row: EC-Cong meeting on Tuesday S u d h ir S u rya w a ns h i @ Mumbai MUK E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi Days after the Mahayuti alliance retained power in Maharashtra, the first clarity on the new government came in the form of the date and venue of the swearing-in ceremony. Apart from the NCP’s participation in the government, all else was hazy . Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the oath taking ceremony will be held at Azad Maidan here in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday December 5, at 5 pm. , While he was silent on the identity of next chief minister, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis continued to be the front runner for the post. NCP head Ajit Pawar is likely to take his oath as well as deputy chief minister but there was no clarity about caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Sources said a meeting of the BJP legislative party would be held on December 2 or 3 to choose its leader, who would go on to be the new CM. A day after the Congress submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission of India (ECI) charging that the Maharashtra assembly election process was suspect, the poll body on Saturday invited a delegation of the party for a meeting next Tuesday at 5 pm to discuss its concerns. However, in its pushback, the ECI reiterated that polling through the electronic voting machines was completely transparent, adding candidates and their agents of all parties were involved at every stage of the process. The panel said it will review all legitimate concerns and provide a written response after hearing the party’s delegation at the December 3 meet. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, too, wrote to the ECI seeking to know how voter turnout increased by 7.83% after the official polling time had ended. His allegations pertained to “arbitrary deletion of voters and subsequent addition of over 10,000 voters in each constituency from the final voter lists” and the inexplicable increase in voting percentage between 5 pm and the final figures at 11.30 pm on polling day . Rebutting the allegation on addition and deletion of voters in Maharashtra, the ECI said “electoral rolls are always prepared and finalized with close involvement of all political parties”. The panel, however, said it would get the issues raised by the Congress examined. As for questions swirling around the voter turnout data, the ECI asserted that there is no discrepancy, as the data is available with all candidates polling station-wise and is verifiable. “The gap in 5 PM polling data and final voter turnout is due to procedural priorities, as presiding officers perform multiple statutory duties near the close of the poll before updating voter turnout data,” the letter read. The Congress had alleged that the integrity of the entire poll process was compromised. Internal conflicts spell trouble in CPM E xpress N ews S ervice @Palakkad/Alappuzha CPM is facing unprecedented dissension within its ranks amid its regional meetings, with disputes often coming out into the open. In Palakkad district, a dissident group has set up a ‘parallel office’ at Ko z h i n j a m p a r a , while an area committee member in Kayamkulam, Alappuzha, has joined the BJP . Furthermore, the CPM Karunagappally area committee was dissolved on Saturday following disruptions in local conferences and protests by the rebel faction members, who carried ‘Save CPM’ placards at the meetings. In Kozhinjampara, the parallel office — named EMS memorial — was inaugurated on S Muhammed Farooq, chairman of the Development Standing Committee of the Kozhinjampara gram panchayat, on Saturday. According to dissenting party members, this office will function as a public service centre to address the needs of the local community . The conflict in the Kozhinjampara local committee was triggered following the appointment of Arun Prasad, who defected from the Congress, as the local secretary. The dissident group accused the Palakkad district leadership, especially district secretary E N Suresh Babu, of acting unilaterally When the district leader. ship organised a meeting, the dissenting faction also held a parallel meeting in an auditorium in Kozhinjampara. The faction members stated that they will not leave the CPM, but will continue organisational activities independently . Meanwhile, in a highly publicised event in Thiruvananthapuram, CPM’s Kayamkulam area committee member and district panchayat member Bipin C Babu joined the BJP on ● More on P5 Saturday  . The cyclonic storm ‘Fengal’ commenced its landfall between Karaikal and Mahabalipuram near Puducherry at 6.30pm on Saturday night, bringing very heavy rain to districts along the north Tamil Nadu coast, including Chennai. The landfall, which was expected to get over in four hours, got delayed as the cyclone turned static at 30km off Puducherry coast around 11pm. The Met department has not released an official update on the landfall till the time of going to press. Chennai received over 18cm of rainfall in the 24 hours from Friday evening to 5.30pm on Saturday. The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) said the spiral bands associated with the cyclone touched land at 6.30pm and would cross the coast over three to four hours, with a wind speed of 70-80kmph gusting up to 90kmph. The cyclone-triggered rain prompted a shut down of the Chennai airport, besides inundating several parts of the city . Residents in Chennai fastening roof tiles to preempt wind damage | p ravikumar Kerala to get heavy rain The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall in Kerala under the influence of cyclone ‘Fengal’. As per the forecast, the state will receive heavy rainfall till December 4. A yellow alert has been issued in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, and Malappuram districts on Sunday. However, there were no immediate reports of any major damage. According to officials, the rains were not threatening as E xpress N ews S ervice @T’Puram Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has vowed stringent action against government emp l o ye e s w h o h ave b e e n fraudulently receiving social security pension. Chairing a high-level meeting to discuss the social secu- rity pension scam, the CM said the act of pensioners who did not exclude themselves from the scheme after obtaining a government job cannot be termed “carelessness”. The local self-governments should review eligibility of beneficiaries and the Two more members of ISKCON held in B’desh Y es h i S e l i @ New Delhi Amid mounting tensions between India and Bangladesh following continuing atrocities against the minorities there, some educational institutions in Bangladesh painted the Indian Tricolour on the floor and urged students to walk over them, sources said. The emblem of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) was also desecrated. “A few educational institutions in Bangladesh saw the desecration of the Indian Tricolour — which was painted on the floor and students were urged to walk over them,” Professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah told TNIE. Meanwhile, two more members of ISKCON were arrested as they were carrying food for the jailed Chinmoy Das, the Kundaldham monastery said. WITH THIS ISSUE A Doom with a View PLUS 12 PAGES Play looking to decipher Kuruva gang psyche in works Robbers linked allegedly to the Kuruva gang have been keeping some pockets of Kerala and the state police on edge. Accounts of the violent nature of their crimes have left many puzzled. An attempt to address this curiosity is currently in the works in Kolkata, West Bengal, in the form of a play detailing the history life , and works of these gangs, without downplaying the dread i t s m e m b e r s h av e spread. Playwright and director Ravi Thykkat said ‘ O r u Ku p r a s i d h a Gramam - A Notorious Village’ was developed with the help of police officers, who had visited Thiruttu Gramam — the base of the gang — as part of investigations into cases of robbery “Even . express read Kalamandalam lays off 130 temporary staff Kochi: Bogged down by financial crisis, the Kerala Kalamandalam, the Deemed to be University of Art and Culture under Kerala government, issued an order to discontinue the service of around 130 temporary employees, including teachers, hostel wardens, drivers and cooks. P2 Pension fraud: CM Pinarayi vows stringent action St a g i n g p o i nt S h ya m P V @ Kochi they occurred in intermittent spells. Meanwhile, four persons, including two migrant labourers, died of electrocution in different rain-related incidents in Chennai. The heavy rain that pounded Chennai, its nearby districts and Puducherry affected public transport, including bus, train and flight services. Officials had announced suspension of flight operations till 4 am Sunday following inundation of two runways. Sources said apart from the cancellation of 55 flights, 19 others were diverted. now no outsider is allowed into the village,” Ravi pointed out, adding, “The art of thievery is ingrained in the blood of everyone born into the community .” He adds, “Thiruttu Gramam, loosely translated into village of thieves, in Tiruchirappalli, has a long history extending to the Chera-Chola period. According to legend, the Kuruva community members even robbed the Chola kings. ‘Oru Kuprasidha Gramam’ tells the story of the village, its residents, their art of robbery how , they pass on the skills to the next generation, and various cases linked to the village.” Hailing from Palakkad, Ravi, who has won accolades as a playwright, focuses on mega theatre productions staged mainly in West ● More on P2 Bengal.  finance department should conduct regular checks, he said. The finance department had recently identified 1,458 government employees, including gazetted officers, assistant professors, and higher secondary teachers, who were collecting social security pensions illegally. The high-level meeting decided to take department-level action against erring employees. They will be asked to repay the amount with interest. Action will also be taken against officers who helped them make the benefici● More on P5 ary list.