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 ■ ■ KOLLAM l friday l December 13, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Four school students killed as lorry overturns, falls on them Cement-laden lorry loses control after hit by another truck Accident sparks protest E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Palakkad Four school students — all girls — were killed when a cement-laden lorry overturned and fell on them in Palakkad on Thursday The incident oc. curred around 3.45pm when the class-VIII students of Karimba Government Higher Secondary School were walking on the roadside at Panayampadam near Kalladikode on the Kozhikode-Palakkad highway . According to Mannarkad police, the trailer lorry carrying cement bags was proceeding from Palakkad to Kasaragod. Another truck coming from the opposite direction lost its control and reportedly hit the driver’s cabin of the lorry, causing the latter to swerve out of control and fall on the students who were walking on the roadside, the police said. It was drizzling when the incident occurred. The deceased have been identified as Irfana Sherin P A, Ridha Fathima, Nidha Fathima K M and Aysha A S. Another student had a lucky escape as she jumped away on seeing the lorry speeding towards them. Eyewitnesses said three died on the spot while the fourth girl was declared brought dead by the hospital. Irfana’s mother was at the spot when the accident happened. The incident triggered a massive protest by local residents who blocked the road. They al- Cabinet OKs ‘one poll’ bill, may go to JPC for vetting gukesh king of the 64 squares swaroop swaminathan @ Singapore ‘Accident-prone area’ The section of the Kozhikode-Palakkad national highway at Panayampadam, near Mannarkkad, is known to be accident-prone. An IIT study had recommended “urgent safety measures” on the stretch. These have only been partially implemented, allege residents. leged that though many people had lost their lives in road accidents on the stretch, the authorities failed to take taken any action. The protest came to an end after the police, peoples’ representatives, including Power Minister K Krishnankutty, MLA Rahul Mamkootathil and local body authorities, promised prompt action. The students were close friends and they were returning home after their exams Local residents blocked traffic on the stretch soon after the accident, alleging laxity on the part of authorities in taking up safety measures on a timely basis. P4 when the accident occurred. “When the out-of-control lorry sped towards the students, one of them managed to jump out of the way. But the other four could not escape in time, and the lorry overturned on top of them,” said Ashwajith P , a Keralassery resident, who witnessed the accident. The lorry driver, Mahendra Prasad, and his assistant, Varghese, both from Kasaragod, suffered ● More on P4 minor injuries.  The mangled remains of the lorry that toppled and fell on four students near Kalladikode in Palakkad on Thursday | Express Three of a family killed in accident near Kovai Pathanamthitta: Three members of a family from Tiruvalla, including a twomonth-old baby, were killed when the car in which they were travelling collided with a van on at Madukkarai in Coimbatore on Thursday. The deceased are Jacob Abraham, 60, wife Sheeba Jacob, 55, and their grandson Aaron Jacob Thomas. P5 Chess has a new king. The promised prince is here and he will be coronated on Friday evening. D Gukesh joined the most exclusive of Indian sporting clubs late on Thursday — only the second player and first since Viswanathan Anand to be crowned as world champ. With the scores level at 6.5 after 13 games and the 14th game meandering towards a draw, attention had already turned towards tie-breaks on Friday. However, Ding Liren blundered to give the Indian teen an opportunity to become the youngestever champion. As soon as he had realised what Liren had done, he welled up before basking in the afterglow of something he had wanted to achieve ever since he was a spectator at the World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Anand in 2013. This continues the 18-year-old’s rapid rise over the last two-and-a-half years. In 2022, he stunned the world of chess when he won individual gold on board one at the Olympiad. Last year, he qualified for the Candidates before win- ning that eight-player tournament. In September, he again won individual gold from board one at Olympiad. Now, this. His next target? Getting Magnus Carlsen back to the World Championship cycle. “When Magnus won (in Chennai), I thought I really want to be the one to bring back the title to India.” As the lights were switched off and the people belatedly left the arena, one thought lingered. You are 18. Nobody younger than you has ever attempted this. You lose the first game. The person sitting opposite you has four-times your experience and is the world champion. You win the third game before eking out a string of draws. You miss a string of chances before winning game 11. Your opponent shows why he’s the boss as he wins game 12. You miss an opportunity to convert in game 13 and have Black with tie-breaks to follow. You don’t play too many Rapid and Blitz while your opponent is too good. What do you do? You go for the win in game 14. And you end up winning the most important match of your career. M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved two bills to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan of holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. Local body elections have not been bunched with Lok Sabha and state polls as of now. Sources said the draft legislations are likely to be introduced in the ongoing session of Parliament and could subsequently be referred to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) for vetting. The prime minister, sources said, was keen on holding wider consultations on the ‘One Nation One Election’ (ONOE) scheme by involving speakers of state legislative assemblies as well through the JPC. The Cabinet’s decision comes nearly three months after it accepted the recommendations of the high-level committee chaired by former President Ram Nath Kovind on holding simultaneous polls. Of the two bills approved on Thursday one is on Consti, tutional amendments to conduct simultaneous polls. The second one is an ordinary bill to align elections for assemblies in the Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, sources said. Sources said the two bills would not require ratification by at least 50% of the states. Sudevan elected CPM district secy for 3rd straight term E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kollam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin visiting the new library at the Thanthai Periyar memorial in Vaikom on Thursday Pinarayi: States should unite further to fight intrusion on federalism level of cooperation should be emulated by more states, espeA newly renovated memorial cially in light of the continuous and library in honour of E V encroachment on states’ rights, Ramasamy Naicker, fondly including economic autonomy ,” known as Thanthai Periyar, he said. was unveiled as a lasting tribPinarayi said the Vaikom ute to the fight for equality on Satyagraha exemplified co-exthe grounds of Vaikom, on istence and cooperation withThursday . out any boundaries that conThe inauguration of the re- tinue to be upheld by both furbished memorial and li- states. “If Periyar stood up for brary was carried out by Tamil the self-respect of individuals, Nadu Chief Minister M K Sta- the time demands that states lin in the presence of Kerala should stand up for their selfChief Minister Pinarayi Vijay- respect,” he said. an. Periyar was a key Speaking after inaufigure in the Vaikom gurating the memorial, S at ya g r a h a m ove Stalin said the centement, and the Tamil nary celebration of the Both states N a d u g ove r n m e n t (Kerala and TN) Vaikom Satyagraha erected a memorial for serves a tribute to brave are setting a him at Vaikom Valiya individuals who led the commendable Kavala to honour his protest, while also servexample of cooperative legacy . ing as a reminder of federalism The museum and liour responsibility to through their brary were opened strive for equality in actions, rather with a ceremonial laysociety they than just words ing of flowers at Ramenvisioned. asamy Naicker’s “The Vaikom SatyagPinarayi Vijayan, statue. raha was a pivotal moChief Minister Delivering his presiment in India’s history , dential address at a sparking numerous sopublic gathering held at Vaikom cial movements that followed. beach, Pinarayi Vijayan em- It was not just a single triumph, phasised the strong bond be- but rather the catalyst for futween Tamil Nadu and Kerala, ture successes. Let us stand highlighting the mutual sup- firm to achieve continuous sucport in times of need. “Both cess in all fields. Whatever obstates are setting a commenda- stacles come our way, we will ble example of cooperative fed- break them. An egalitarian soeralism through their actions, ciety will be established at any rather than just words. This cost,” he said. Overcoming strong opposition from a section within the party S Sudevan has been ree, lected as the CPM Kollam district secretary for third consecutive term. Citing Sudevan’s failure in anticipating and resolving the rebellion within the party in Karunagappally, some delegates had criticised him at the CPM district confere n c e t h at c o n cl u d e d o n Thursday . Asserting that stability was the need of the hour, the state and any change at the helm CPM leadership rejected calls now may disrupt the preparafor a change in the top echelon tions. This also worked in of party’s district unit. Sudeven’s favour,” the “Though several memsource said. In the wake of the inbers pushed for Cashner-party rebellion, four ew Development Cormembers from Karunaporation chairman S gappally area commitJayamohan for the distee - P R Vasanthan, S trict secretary post, Radhamani, P K Balachmost of the delegates S Sudevan andran and B Gopan as well as the state leadhave been removed from ership backed Sudevan,” said a CPM source. “Kol- the district committee. Former lam is to host the CPM state Kottarakkara MLA Aisha Potti, conference in March next year, who had announced retirement from active politics, has also been dropped from the district committee. Four new members have been inducted in the committee, DYFI Kollam district secretary Shyam Mohan, SFI central committee member Adarsh M Saji, Kollam Corporation standing committee chairperson S Geethakumari, and V Sumalal. Notably, no one from Karunagappally has been i n cl u d e d t h e 4 4 - m e m b e r committee. CPM state secretary M V Govindan issued a stern warn- ing against factionalism within the party. Strict measures will be taken against those who spearheaded the revolt in Karunagappally Govindan said. , Sudevan reaffirmed his focus on preparing the party for upcoming local body elections and the 2026 assembly elections. The Karunagappally rebellion remained the key focus during the conference. The CPM had earlier dissolved the Karunagappally area committee after factionalism escalated into a protest march by rebels. Supreme Court halts surveys of mosques S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kottayam On collision course A man looks on anxiously upon spotting a gaur that had strayed into a human settlement at Mullachal near Peringammala in Thiruvananthapuram, from the nearby forest. The region experiences frequent incursions by wild animals, including elephants and wild boars, leading to significant damage to crops and property | B P Deepu the Supreme Court on Thursday issued a sweeping order restraining courts across the country from accepting fresh suits seeking to reclaim religious structures or passing orders to survey mosques to determine whether temples lie beneath them. A three-judge bench led by the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and justices K V Viswanathan and Sanjay Kumar said its nationwide directive will remain effective till further orders. The matter will be taken up again for h e a r i n g a f t e r fo u r weeks. The bench was hearing a batch of six petitions, including one filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay challenging various provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The 1991 law bars conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of places of worship as existed on August 15, 1947. However, the dispute over Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid at Ayodhya was kept out of its purview. The bench made it clear that it would be examining the legality, contours, and ambit of the 1991 law. It said until it decides on the matter, other courts must keep off. The bench asked the Centre to file a detailed affidavit clarifying its views in the matter within four weeks. No pilgrim should be given privilege at Sabarimala, says HC E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi Kerala High Cour t on Thursday observed that the directive to ensure uninterrupted movement of pilgrims in front of the sopanam of Sabarimala temple was openly flouted by the visit of actor Dileep on December 5. It affected the right to worship of pilgrims, which included children of tender age, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities. “It is a very serious issue. Pilgrims were virtually blocked for over seven minutes,” observed a division bench comprising Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice Muralee Krishna S. The court also directed the chief police co-ordinator, Sabarimala, to take necessary steps to ensure that no pil- grims are permitted to stand in front of the sopanam for a long time as in the case of the actor, blocking the darshan of other pilgrims. The Bench which viewed the CCTV footage of the actor’s visit in open court noted that the movement of pilgrims through the first row in front of sopanam was blocked from the southern side by the devaswom guard on duty at 10:58:10 pm when the actor entered the sopanam from the southern side. Till the actor left the sopanam, none of the pilgrims standing in the first row were permitted to move forward towards the southern side of the sopanam. Counsel for the TDB submitted that based on the report of the Chief Vigilance and Secu- rity Officer (SP), the Board has already issued show-cause notices to the administrative officer, Sabarimala, assistant executive officer, Sabarimala, and also to two devaswom guards Biju Bose and Shine T Raj. The court also directed the Travancore Devaswom Board to file a report on the action taken against the officers concerned.