HYDERABAD  FRIDAY  DECEMBER 06, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 36  LATE CITY EDITION BITCOIN’S VALUE TOPS $1,00,000 AFTER 50% RISE IN ONE MONTH Bitcoin crossed the $100,000-mark on Thursday amid a massive price rally sparked by the election of Donald Trump as US president TRUMP NAMES CRYPTO ADVOCATE TO CHAIR SEC Bitcoin surged on Thursday after Trump said he intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), signalling a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry. The current SEC chair Gary Gensler has cracked down on the industry, penalising many firms for violating securities laws ■ 2009 EXPERTS DIVIDED ON POTENTIAL FOR MORE GAINS ■ Bitcoin was trading at $69,374 on the day of US elections. Two years ago, it fell below $17,000 after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX While some experts are bullish, others have warned of risks given the recent surge. Lighter regulation from the coming Trump administration, while a good news for the crypto industry, could mean less guardrails WHEN BITCOIN WAS LAUNCHED, MAKING IT THE OLDEST CRYPTOCURRENCY 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 FADNAVIS BACK AS MAHARASHTRA CM WITH TWO DEPUTIES S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai Shinde, Pawar deputy CMs; no other mins sworn in DEVENDRA Fadnavis on Thursday took oath as Maharashtra chief minister for the third time, marking the BJP leader’s return to the top post after a gap of five years. Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy chief ministers. No other ministers were sworn in. The cabinet is likely to be expanded next week, ahead of the winter session of state legislature in Nagpur. Fadnavis said portfolio allocations have been more or less finalised but a few more rounds of consultations with coalition partners are pending. An announcement will be made later, he said. “The posts may have changed among them, but the direction the protracted political drama over his reported reluctance to accept the post. Shinde invoked late Balasaheb Thackeray and his Guru Anand Dighe while taking the oath. Over 42,000 people gathered at Azad Maidan to witness the swearing-in ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, J P Nadda, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan besides chief ministers of various states were present at the ceremony . Also in attendance were cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood stars, Salman Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, and Janhvi Kapoor. From the business world, Mukesh Ambani and Kumar Mangalam Birla atP8 tended. AUS VS IND Rohit makes bold call, to bat in middle at Adelaide G O M E S H S @ Chennai AND there it was. About 24 hours after KL Rahul told the media in Adelaide jokingly that he had been informed about his batting position but asked not to reveal it, captain Rohit Sharma cleared the air by announcing that he will be moving down the order to pave way for the 32-year-old at the top in the second Test against Australia beginning Friday. “Yes, he (Rahul) will be opening the batting. I’ll bat somewhere in the middle,” Sharma told reporters on the eve of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide. Leaders are known or recognised for the choices they make, especially for them and the team. Sharma acknowledged that it will not be easy in the middle, but for the greater good of the team this was the best solution. “Not easy for me, but it’s the best for the team,” he said. The significance of this call — to have Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top after their success in Perth — cannot be understated, especially in the Indian cricketing context. Barring the occasional tactical moves, captains or toporder batters, have rarely opted to sacrifice their positions. With Rahul and Jaiswal combining into a potent force in the first Test, Sharma did not want to tinker with it. “We want success. Those two guys at the top, just looking at this one Test, they batted brilliantly. I was at home with my newborn in my arms and I was watching how KL batted. It was brilliant. Maybe, in the future things will be different. I don’t know. Based on what has happened and what KL has shown outside of India, he probably deserves that place at this point in time,” Sharma said. EXPRESS READ Uproar in Lok Sabha over Oppn-Soros link New Delhi: Lok Sabha proceedings were on Thursday disrupted after the Opposition and Treasury Benches clashed over the latter’s allegation linking Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other leaders with US-based multi-billionaire George Soros | P8 Devendra Fadnavis after taking oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister | X of work will remain the same. We will also hear out the Opposition if they bring the relevant points. The Speaker’s name will be decided on December 9. Maharashtra will have a very stable government in next five years,” Fadnavis said. Before taking the oath, Fadnavis visited the Siddhivinayak temple and also took the blessing of his mother. That Shinde would join the government as deputy CM was confirmed only hours before the swearing-in ceremony amid This team is a blend of experience and dynamism, and it is due to its collective efforts that Mahayuti got a historic mandate Narendra Modi, PM I will extend all possible cooperation and backing to the chief minister. We will work as a team Eknath Shinde, Dy CM There is no doubt that the grand coalition government will take the state to new heights on the path of development Ajit Pawar, Dy CM CM pushes for green Hyd, diesel autos to be exiled beyond ORR M A N DA RAV I N D E R R E D DY @ Hyderabad IN a move to make Hyderabad a pollution-free city Chief Minis, ter A Revanth Reddy announced plans to offer incentives to auto drivers so that they replace their diesel vehicles with electric autos in the city Also, diesel . autos will not be allowed within the ORR limits in future. He also stated that diesel buses operated by TGSRTC will be replaced with 3,000 electric buses that the government plans to procure over the next two years. Highlighting the success of government schemes after participating in the Praja Palana celebrations organised by the Transport department, the chief minister noted that 115 crore women utilised the free bus travel scheme in the past 11 months, helping revive TGSRTC and benefitting RTC employees. “Each woman saved at least `5,000 to `7,000 through this scheme”, he said, adding “the government is also offering free power supply up to 200 units for poor households, saving them about `800 per month and subsi- A day after a woman was crushed to death during the premiere show of the movie Pushpa 2: The Rule, the Chikkadpally police on Thursday registered a criminal case against actor Allu Arjun, his security team and the management of Sandhya theatre on the complaint of the victim’s husband. DCP Central Zone, Akshansh , Yadav told reporters that while the police had made arrangements, the theatre manage- Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy launched the “Indiramma Indlu” mobile app for identifying beneficiaries under the state government’s flagship Indiramma Housing Scheme. He stated that the government will construct 4.5 lakh Indiramma houses in the next one year and added that `5 lakh will be given to the beneficiaries through green channel without any hassle. The houses will be sanctioned to those who own land in the first year, and priority will be given to the physically disabled, agricultural labourers, sanitation workers, Dalits, tribals, widows and transpersons, he stated | P4 Sources said out of the total 43 portfolios, 24 will be kept by BJP as the single largest party with 132 MLAs, while 10 will go to Shinde-led Shiv Sena that has 57 MLAs, and nine to Pawarled NCP that has 41 MLAs HC grants protection from arrest to Harish T G N A I D U @ Hyderabad THE Telangana High Court on Thursday prohibited the Panjagutta police not to arrest BRS MLA T Harish Rao in connection with the FIR registered against him under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 386 (extortion), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 506 (criminal intimidation) read with Section 34 IPC, and Section 66 of the IT Act, 2008. The court, however, allowed the investigation to continue and issued notices to the complainant, Gadhagoni Chakradhar Goud, seeking his response. Appearing for the state government, senior counsel Siddharth Luthra argued before the court that Goud’s complaint, filed on December 1, was the second on the same issue, with the first one lodged on November 23. He alleged that the phones of Goud and his family members were illegally tapped, possibly using state intelligence monday 02 12 2024 hyderabad Oppn invited to unveiling 03 resources, a severe violation of privacy and fundamental Chief Mnister A Revanth Reddy launches the ‘Indiramma Indlu’ app along with his of Telangana Talli statue Two from Cabinet colleagues Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy on Thursday rights. Luthra referred to an email from Apple Inc. AlertUganda held Goud of potential phone tapping. He opposed Harish Appealing to the leaders of ing for opposition parties to participate in running Rao’s plea to quash the FIR, suggesting anticipatory bail dised cooking gas cylin- rice recycling mafia.” “Praja Palana” celebrations, Chief brothel as the proper remedyfor giving NOC for different sizes of land a thorough ders at `500. Our schemes Revanth reiterated his comHe charged `4-`50 lakh, and stressed the need for mar had been following a fixed that Kumar was sent to chanbribes deMinister A Revanth Reddy on investigation. ensure an average mitment to taking up the Musi pattern of takingCONTINUED ON P4 chalguda jail and searches perproperties’ area accounts will pending on the sought. assistant ex- tainig to his bank Incarcerated “apart for which nOcs were Thursday urged BRS president and monthly benefit of rejuvenation project, connectnOrtH Zone task Force team (aee) of the continue on Monday. es, one In May this year, he was arrestecutive engineer along with Osmania University Herur from several properti so far Hyderabad commishas former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, police of on Sunday conducted irrigation department sent tor lockerSBI.been identifiedinvest- ed for accepting `1 lakh bribe `10,000 for each family ,” ing Godavari to Musi river. one such nOc for Kumar has been nikesh for providing He also made sionerate in the . judicial remand till novembe a 270 sq yards property a raid on a brothel at nagarjuments worth several dollars “For an nOc for a property 13 in a case of disproportionate state BJP president and Union Revanth added. “Tough decisions are necessary na nagar and apprehended two were also done in an online assets (da). the development falling between 300 and 500 sq Uganda women nationals and a trading company and he made unfolded after acB officials yards area, the accused used to Minister G Kishan Reddy, Union customer. are named naye- produced him at a special regular foreign visits,” he said. charge a fixed amount of `4 Urging farmers to cul- to free Hyderabad from air polthe accused . land between 500 sq for NOCs residence on Sunday the secsaid the Minister of State for Home Affairs bare doreen (42), Komuhangi judge’scase iscatchto bethe acB Bribe fixed of nikesh Ku- lakh. For two acres, he would yards and tivate superfine varieties lution,” Revanth said. ritah (22) and a Hyderabad naa major chunk for more by ond biggest came via charge `50 lakh. nOc tive Potturi anjan Kumar. as d on of former mar’s illegal wealth condoms, after the apprehension n certifi- than two acres depende as Bandi Sanjay Kumar to attend the manyused160 unused net cash director of Insurance Medical issuing no Objectio s who land size and its market value. of paddy He said: “The govern. Meanwhile, Revanth accused applicant condom, one d `2.5 lakh devika rani cates (nOcs) to , phones, all Services (IMS) ch permissions In May he demande and five sought building lakh as it was unveiling gh life of Telangana `12,190`65,000. cell Tou ceremony ment announced plans to sup- former CM K Chandrasekhar in 2019 and HMda director through the from the usual `4 worth for construction sq yards property,” the ( to w n P l a n n i n g ) S h iv a in Hyderabad on Sunday | tG-bPaSS portal. He a 270 the police said that the acHMWSSB further said and added Balakris hna earlier Talli statue started the service in source ply coarse variety rice to gov- Rao of discouraging paddy cul- workers are repairing a manhole at Ameerpet on the Secretariat cused nayebare doreen is a would also give a share this year. While da 2013 and since 2021 his that he Uganda national. She took a `30 crore (govbribes to seniors. tarnaka on rent four worth jurisdiction has been of the room at premises on December 9. “KCR, ernment hostels, ration shops tivation in the state while cultivalue) were Gandipet. ago. Since then, she has ernment months Villas, farmhouses and “Most of the appli- online trading express read Sunny Leone cancels show been running a brothel house seized from devika, und properties Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, with the assistance ofgiher na- registerecrore (governand mid-day meals soon. The vating paddy on 150 acres at his three with cants, who applied for Kumar owned three Police arrest worth `9 Komuhan ritah. nOc, were from real nikesh ses in tolkatta, naka57 alestate companies. ap- farmhou “She government will ensure that farmhouse in Gajwel. He kg ganja in Hyd AIMIM, cops refuse permission numberhas uploaded ’her cell ment from Balakrishas CPI and other leaders are tive person ‘Locanto online seized value) were and Sajjanpally, all in in plicants have to take lpally Moinaba d mandal. He also na. the market value of Il- services so that whoever shows of the seized properties ran into nOc from the departments `2.5 with her live of the owned being invited for unveilingperformance at interest customer will callthey hundreds of crores. K KavithaIrrigationother BRS intwo villas worthHomes,at Gachibowli only rice harvested in Telanga- leged that KCR sold the produce BRS that Harish Rao, MLA leaders seencr revenue, and and HMda HyBliss Weekend luzion club & Kitchen in each number, then the construction to be done in the Illuzion statue,” Hillsclub & Kitchen said energy, and charisma of uploadedbadthe locationwhereOn Saturday, the officials un- to aextendnot,” see ifsource Siddapur and 6.5 acres of land- Reddy. Revanthcan- derabad. experience the glam- used to send to customeof Se- earthed the alleged da worth for breach or solidarity with d. | P4 na reaches the people of Telan- to Kaveri Seeds for `4,200 per PS rs to they (governmgone near a water body to the there in Moinaba PadiGachibow had ent value) is Kaushik our, reportedly Jubilee up close in cundera His properties in this Bollywood icon `17.73 crore celled an event where Sunny mislead them, thereafter to naKumar during the said. some hours and released later , |P4 mguda, narsingi an unforget table evening of gana. We must eliminate the quintal. only from also , Harish was nikesh detained for added “the HMda for- li, nanakra He Leone was scheduled to pera n d garjuna colony from their at 23 locaplaces were dance Sources m u s i c , brothel searches conducted to the Ir- tandur and other l 2 Pre-release event traffic diversion for PushPa the on Monday, the traffic police will divert Ahead of the Pushpa 2 pre-release event The programme will take place at the traffic at various locations near the event. parade ground from 4 pm to 10 pm Yousufguda battalion l Arrested AEE is ACB’s second biggest catch, had a bribe menu expreSS newS Service @ Hyderabad A j Ay T o m A r @ Hyderabad Sri Loganathan VeLmurugan Hyderabad: Police arrested three persons for allegedly smuggling 57 kg ganja worth `18 lakh in Gangaram late Friday. The accused were identified as Chaman from Haryana, and Shivampeta Umakanth and Arjuna Krishna, from Hyderabad. Pushpa 2 actor Allu Arjun, team booked for death at Sandhya A J AY T O M A R @ Hyderabad CM REVANTH LAUNCHES “INDIRAMMA INDLU” APP PORTFOLIO SHARING FORMULA ment too was required to deploy extra personnel to manage the crowd. “ Around 9.30 pm, when people were waiting for the show to begin, the actor (Allu Arjun) arrived and his security team started pushing people, which created confusion among the public. Taking advantage of the situation, a large number of people entered the lower balcony area along with the actor and his security team. This led to suffocation and chaos,” the DCP exCONTINUED ON P2 plained. Drunk man rams car into bike, couple killed e x p r e SS n e wS S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad form on november 30. said that Jubilee police refused to give per mission for the disclosin g the real entertainment.” house location,” the police said However, after the show was in a press note. not permitted, the Illuzion orevent. announced that Sunganisers It is reported that as many as show was “cancelled ny Leone’s 500 persons had purchased tickto her health issues and due ets through BookMy Show, a . would not be performing today ticketin g platfor m, for the However, the club will continue event, which was set to take with Hollywo od night as place from 11 pm to 12.30 am. planned.” the platform’s description of expressing dismay, the club the show read, “Get ready for also apologised for causing inan electrifying night as Sunny convenience to customers. Leone sets the stage on fire wards the application also raided. the authorities are tions, including his residence rigation department, which detrying to find out whether the in PBeL city in Gandhipet. ploys a team for ground survey accused also owned properties However, the assets are estimatto ascertain whether the struc. worth over `100 crore. the state and country ed to be within Ftl and buffer outside in Moinabad, he regis- ture falls “With the investm ents of “Like Irrigatio n departm ent two acres of land for `16 zone. crores in real estate companies, tered aee gives ground reports to but the market value of also invested `3.5 crore he lakh de and aee. So, we believe this through two benamis, includthe land is `3.6 crore. It is imis where he (Kumar) got the ing one in real estate, and inpossible to purchase such highscope of cor rection and vested `75 lakh in a relative’s ly valued land for `16 lakh,” the amassed an amount.” name,” the source said. sources said. It is understood nikesh Kuan official source told TNIE Govt sanctions `5,942 cr for H-CITI infra projects A man and his wife were killed when a car, driven by a man, Pranoy, in an inebriated condition, rammed into the bike they were travelling on from behind within Langer Houz police station limits on Sunday. The deceased were identified as Dinesh Goswami (35) and Mona Thakur (35).  H-CITI to focus on junction improvements with grade separators, flyovers, RuBs, RoBs, pedestrian-oriented infrastructure, tunnel corridors and stormwater drainage systems  The project is designed to reduce traffic congestion and improve traffic efficiency in Hyderabad and address pressing urban mobility challenges 23 projects at `5.9K cr to help ease traffic congestion in Hyd S B A c h A n j e e T S i n g h @ Hyderabad traffic WItH a primary focus on reducing traffic congestion and improving overall across efficiency, 23 projects (32 works) proposed under five packages have been e and transthe Hyderabad city Innovativ proformative Infrastructure (H-cItI) of `5,942 gramme at an estimated cost crore. a revanth reddy chief Minister is set to inaugurate the H-cItI programme by laying foundation stones for several projects during the “Praja Palana - Praja Vijayotad savalu” event under Hyderab Hyrising this week. the Greater tion derabad Municip al corpora e in (GHMc) will implement the programm i t y ous c c o l l ab o r at i o n w i t h va r i departments. traffic Based on a compreh ensive has Study conducted by HMda, GHMc ent developed an infrastructure improvem n arising plan to address traffic congestio cial from Hyderab ad’s rapid commer includes growth over the last decade. this ruBs, critical upgrades such as flyovers, ter roBs, tunnel corridors, and stormwa drainage systems. proOf the planned 32 projects, 15 were BrS posed last year under the previous ragovernment, which granted administ rethe tive sanction but failed to allocate developquired funds under the Special these ment Fund (SdF). consequently, is works could not commence. GHMc apnow awaiting administrative proval for 23 works under H-cItI. the programme’s expenditure alwill be covered by the Budget located annuall y to assist GHMc. n, to ensure timely executio flyover GHMc will invite tenders for (engiand roB projects under the ePc construction) neering, Procurement, and on, mode. Land and property acquisiti be carried along with utility shifting, will adout simultaneously to avoid delays. agencies will be engaged , ditionally PMc on, through separate tenders for supervisi all e of quality control, and assuranc system. works executed under the ePc A clipping of the report on H-CITI infrastructure projects published by TNIE in our December 2 edition costs Important H-CITI projects and estimated  GHMC authorised to invite tendersat for  Four-lane uni-directional flyover 23  Rethi Bowli and Nanal Nagar Junction: 32 workscrore crossing projects involving Rasoolpura: `150 OtHer FlyOVer PrOJeCtS Multi-leVel FlyOVer/GraDe SeParatOrS `398 crore  Khajaguda Junction, IIIT Junction, Junction: `837 crore Wipro JuBilee HillS PrOJeCtS and  One-way flyover at NFCL Junction three-lane underpass at TV9 Junction: COLD FACTS `210 crore FlyOVerS aND uNDerPaSSeS from  Six-lane bi-directional flyover Miyapur X Road to Allwyn X Road and a three-lane underpass from Lingampally to Gachibowli: `530 crore  Six-lane bi-directional flyover TKR College Junction, Gayathrinagar Junction, and Manda Mallamma Junction: `416 crore  Left-arm down ramp for Owaisi (towards Santhosh Nagar) S BACHAN JEET SINGH @ Hyderabad THE state government has granted administrative sanction of `5,942 crore for Hyderabad City Innovative and Transfor mative Infrastr ucture (H-CITI) and authorised the GHMC to invite tenders for 23 projects involving 32 works, divided into five packages. The MAUD department issued orders to this effect on Thursday . Based on a comprehensive traffic study conducted by HMDA, GHMC identified critical arterial routes and congestion points, H-CITI will focus on junction improvements with grade separators, flyovers, road under bridges (RuBs), road over bridges (RoBs), pedestrian-oriented infrastructure, tunnel corridors and stormwater drainage systems. The project will be executed under the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) model, with GHMC simultaneously acquiring land, shifting utilities, and grounding the works to minimise delays. Separate tenders will be issued to engage Project Management Consultant (PMC) agencies for quality assurance and supervision. Flyover GraDe SeParatOrS aND FlyOVerS Hafeez  Six-lane grade separator from hurch Baba Nagar Junction to Balapur-C Scientists discover fast-growing glacier in Uttarakhand KuKatPally “y” JuNCtiON  Three-lane flyover on LHS (towards Ameerpet) N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun A group of scientists recently discovered a new glacier in Uttarakhand that was found to be rapidly expanding in size. The glacier is located in the Niti Valley, a remote area in the northernmost region of the hilly state, close to the India-Tibet border. Stretching about 10 km in length, the new glacier that is yet to be named lies adjacent to the Randolph and Rekana glaciers and spans approximately 48 sq km. The curious discovery was made by glaciologists Manish Mehta, Vineet Kumar, Ajay Rana, and Gautam Rawat of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun. Their study Manifestations of a Gla, cier Surge in Central Himalaya  Three-lane flyover on RHS (towards Miyapur): `180 crore  Six-lane flyover at BandlagudaErrakunta X Road Junction: `339 crore  Six-lane grade separator covering Mailardevpally, Shamshabad Road, and Kattedan Junctions: `200 crore BriDGeS bridge  Four-lane composite steel girder on pipeline road across Fox Sagar surplus nala: `56 crore alterNatiVe rOaDS aND Using Multi-Temporal Satellite Data, was done using satellite data. Their findings show the glacier is currently ‘surging’. “A glacier surge refers to the sudden and rapid increase in the size of a glacier. While it’s challenging to physically access the area, satellite data suggests three primary reasons for this phenomenon,” Mehta, who is a senior geologist at the aND railway OVer BriDGeS (roB) uNDer BriDGeS (ruB) Station:  RoB at Serilingampally Railway `124 crore  Patigadda RoB: `80 crore  RK Puram RoB: `210 crore  RK Puram RuB: `35 crore  Chilkalguda RuB: `30 crore The site of the new glacier Road Junction CONNeCtiVity Centre:  Alternative roads around AOC `960 crore OtHer Key PrOJeCtS near  Two independent two-lane RuBs Aramgarh Junction: `59 crore Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology said. , One reason for this curious phenomenon, Mehta said, IF YOU’RE GOING could THROUGH HELL, KEEP be hydrological imbalGOING � ance, which occurs when the porosity of water causes the ice layers to weaken and lose stability This, in turn, leads to . the ice sliding downwards. Another reason could be thermal contrast. “The surface WINSTON CHURCHILL beneath the glacier becomes smooth and slippery, increasing the lubrication between the upper and lower layers of the glacier,” he said. The third reason could be sedimentary terrain, he added. “The mixture of water and soil creates a slippery surface, causing the glacier’s layers to slide over each other,” Mehta explained.