HYDERABAD  SUNDAY  DECEMBER 29, 2024  `12.00  PAGES 24  LATE CITY EDITION AFGHANISTAN HITS SEVERAL SITES IN PAKISTAN IN RETALIATION Afghanistan’s defence ministry said on Saturday that its forces hit several sites inside Pakistan in retaliation for airstrikes earlier this week 19 PAKISTANI SOLDIERS KILLED, CLAIMS MEDIA AFGHANS IN KHOST CITY STAGE PROTEST Taliban defence ministry said its forces targeted Pakistani points that served as centres and hideouts for malicious elements and their supporters who organised and coordinated attacks in Afghanistan. Media outlet Hurriyet Daily News citing ministry officials said that 19 Pakistani troops and three Afghan civilians were killed in the assaults | P9 ■ ■ Earlier this week, Pakistan’s attack on Afghanistan had killed 46 people in airstrikes near the border in Paktika. Pakistan accused the Taliban of not doing enough to combat cross-border militant activity In Khost city, hundreds of Afghan citizens on Saturday protested the Pakistani attack, calling for accountability for civilian deaths 383 PAKISTANI SOLDIERS KILLED IN VARIOUS CLASHES IN 2024 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 Reddy, steady, go: Emotional hundred saves India at MCG G O M E S H S @ Melbourne IT was tense. It was emotional. The scenes had all the ingredients of a blockbuster Tollywood movie. The protagonist on the field was plying his trade. Enacting one of India’s greatest fightbacks. The celebrations too had sprinkling of movies. Nitish Kumar Reddy first imitated the famous gesture from Pushpa after completing his fifty and later when he reached his maiden Test hundred it was Bahubali scene. India were still on the ropes, but thanks to Reddy and Washington Sundar, India can at least breathe with ease at 358 for 9 in reply to Australia’s first innings’ 474. In the stands were his family members sobbing. Father Mutyala Reddy and his wife were in attendance. Sometime later, Mutyala, his wife and daughter were waiting eagerly for the hotel door to open. Just as the door opened and the 21-year-old centurion emerged, Nitish’s mum embraced her son. Even though she tried to control, his sister hugged him saying, “so proud, so happy .” The most emotional moment was that of Mutyala who buried his face in Nitish’s shoulders and cried. He has sacrificed a lot. Even gave up his job so that he could ferry his son from practice to home. He even faced criticism for not having a job. But he had faith in Nitish. As the father kissed his son and hugged him tight in the video shared by BCCI.tv, they lived a dream. The Andhra all-rounder (from Vizag), with his unbeaten 105, saved the day for India. It was MSK Prasad, former India selector, who spotted him in the early 2010s. He used to be a top-order batter bowling seamup for Andhra age-group crick- Nitish Kumar Reddy celebrates his ton at MCG in Melbourne on Saturday | AFP et. If Prasad played his part, Hanuma Vihari, (2021 Border Gavaskar Trophy team-member), too had a hand in helping Nitish make his state debut as a teenager. “Vihari always came forward and groomed him. I feel that Vihari has got the knack of supporting the right talent,” Prasad tells this daily . Vihari credits the youngster and his family for what he has done. “I always thought he would be playing at this level. But coming so soon and being able to perform in Australia is unbelievable. I felt really emoP11 tional today Vihari said. ,” ACB says KTR caused huge financial loss T G N A I D U @ Hyderabad President Droupadi Murmu pays her last respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh during the state funeral, at Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI Cremation over, political row over memorial isn’t Congress, BJP slugfest over last rites at Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi HOURS after the cremation of Manmohan Singh on Saturday , political tussle over a memorial for him escalated after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the government of “total insult” of the former prime minister since his last rites were performed at Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat instead of a designated burial site. In a post on X, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said, “The great son of Mother India and the first Prime Minister of the Sikh community, Dr Manmohan Singh ji, has been insulted by the present government by performing his last rites today at the Nigam Bodh Ghat.” Dr Manmohan Singh deserves our highest respect and a memorial. The government should have shown respect to this great son of the country and his proud community — Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, too, attacked the government saying the Centre should have thought ‘beyond politics and narrow-mindedness’ in this matter. “By not providing an adequate place for the cremation of former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, the government has not done justice to the dignity of the post of former PM, the personality of Manmohan Singh, his legacy and the self-respecting Sikh Chief Minister Revanth Reddy along with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi during the funeral procession of former PM Manmohan Singh on Saturday community she wrote on X. ,” In his pushback, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra lit into Rahul for politicising the issue, saying the Centre has already written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Dr Singh’s family conveying the Union Cabinet’s decision to allocate space for the memorial. A government statement said the funeral could be held as the process of setting up a trust and allotting land for the memorial could take a while. Kharge had on Friday written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting to hold the funeral at a place where his memorial could be built. BJP president J P Nadda, too condemned Rahul and Kharge for politics in the name of memorial. “When the entire nation mourns the demise, the Congress is busy turning this moment of grief into an opportunity to fulfill their political agenda,” Nadda alleged. Congress leader K C Venugopal hit back at Nadda and the BJP, alleging they crossed all boundaries of decency. The “shoddy arrangements and the conduct of the cremation were deeply insultP7 ing”, he charged. FINAL JOURNEY TO NIGAMBODH GHAT Singh’s body, placed in a flower-bedecked casket and carriage, was taken from his 3, Motilal Nehru residence in Delhi to the Congress HQ. Final journey then started from the AICC office to the Nigambodh Ghat, where the procession reached around 11.30 am ELDEST DAUGHTER LIT FUNERAL PYRE The funeral pyre was lit by Manmohan Singh’s eldest daughter, Upinder Singh, at Nigambodh Ghat. Priests and family members recited religious hymns from the holy Gurbani. Chants of Satnam Waheguru filled the air, as Singh was cremated BHUTAN KING PAYS TRIBUTE TO EX-PM Security forces gave a salute of three volleys of small arms. Buglers sounded the Last Post. King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the foreign minister of Mauritius, Dhananjay Ramful, were among the foreign dignitaries who paid tributes to Singh TG ASSEMBLY SPL SESSION TOMORROW The Telangana Assembly will convene on Monday and adopt a resolution condoling the demise of former PM Manmohan Singh. P4 THE counter affidavit filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the Telangana High Court has opposed the petition filed by BRS MLA and former minister K T Rama Rao seeking a halt to the investigation into the alleged irregularities in conducting the Formula-E race event. The anti-graft agency alleged that Rama Rao and officials had misappropriated public funds, violated mandatory procedures, and caused a significant financial loss to the public exchequer. Investigating officer Majid Ali Khan argued that the petitioner filed the criminal petition to obstruct the ongoing investigation. Citing the Supreme Court precedents, the counter-affidavit stressed that powers under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) should be exercised sparingly and only in exceptional circumstances to prevent legitimate prosecutions from being “choked or smothered”. The counter also stated that the allegations and evidence presented thus far, including official documents and complaint records, establish a prima facie case against the petitioner under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. At the heart of the controversy is the organisation of Formula-E racing events in Hyderabad. A tripartite agreement was signed on October 25, 2022, between Formula E Operations Limited (FEO), the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Department of the Telangana government, and Ace Nxt Gen Private Limited, a private sponsor. The agreement specified that the government’s role would be limited to constructing the race track and providing civic amenities. The inaugural event was successfully conducted on February 11, 2023, with the HMDA incur ring `12 crore in expenditure. However, disputes arose when the private sponsor, Ace Nxt Gen, backed out of its commitments for the next season, prompting the government to step in as the promoter. CONTINUED ON P4 WITH THIS ISSUE AD YOU LIKE IT PLUS 12 PAGES EXPRESS READ Putin says sorry for Azerbaijani plane crash Vladimir Putin obliquely admitted on Saturday that Russian air defence had by mistake shot down an Azerbaijani Airlines plane that tried to land in Grozny before crashing, breaking the Kremlin’s silence as speculation mounted over Russian culpability. The Russian leader called his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, apologising for the shocking error of judgement in Russian airspace. KTR affidavit blames officials for procedural lapses E N S @ Hyderabad CHALLENGING the ACB case in the alleged Formula-E race irregularities, former municipal administration minister KT Rama Rao in his affidavit contended that any procedural irregularities in the execution of the agreement were the responsibility of the officers concerned and not him. Arguing that the FIR was registered without conducting a preliminary inquiry as mandated by law, he said that there was 14 months delay in lodging complaint. The sole intention was to defame him and exact political revenge, the BRS working president alleged. “The FIR does not disclose any prima facie evidence of commission of an offence, and the allegations are fabricated to tarnish my reputation,” Rama Rao stated. He further noted that the alleged beneficiary of the supposed wrongful gain was not named as an accused in the FIR. Responding to the allegations of financial mismanagement, the for mer minister clarified that the agreement for hosting the For mula-E Race Season 10 event was approved following due proceCONTINUED ON P4 dures. Breeding centre shut, crocs in Manjeera P K R I S H N A @ Sangareddy THE Manjeera Filter Bed and its surroundings have lost their sheen. No more are birds seen flying about and crocodiles breaking the surface of the water now and then in the breeding centre. The filter bed is now a standing testimony to the government’s apathy No funds . have been released for the last two and a half years for its up- keep. The government used to release about `3 lakh per annum to feed the crocodiles but for the reasons best known to them, the officials stopped funding. The entire tank area where crocodiles used to breed is full of thick bushes and shrubs. Similarly, officials used to shift the crocodiles that strayed into the neighbouring fields to the breeding centre. Now that practice has totally stopped. “Bills are pending for the past three years and the contractor has been running from pillar to post to get the amount released. The officials have released six grownup and three baby crocodiles into the river so that they can survive by eating fish. “Never in the 40 years of history of the breeding centre has there been a shortage of food supply for crocodiles. We are ready to restore the centre provided the government releases funds,” an FRO told TNIE. HEAVEN ON EARTH Kashmiriyat on display amid first big snowfall F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar PEOPLE in the Valley showed what Kashmiriyat is all about by opening their homes and mosques to tourists stranded at different places following the season’s first major snowfall. The Valley witnessed the season’s first major snowfall on Friday The upper reaches, in. cluding tourist resorts of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, Sonamarg in central Kashmir and Pahalgam in south Kashmir experienced heavy snowfall. As a result, tourists were stranded at many places, including at Gund in central Kashmir, Tangmarg in north Kashmir and Pahalgam and other areas in south Kashmir. Locals rose to the occasion in the Gund area of Ganderbal district by offering shelter to the stranded tourists at their homes and mosques. They were also provided food and heating facilities. At the Jamia Masjid in Gund, the locals burnt the traditional hamam at night to ensure warmth for the tourists accommodated in the mosque. Videos of the tourists spending the night in the mosque and at the houses of locals have gone viral on social media. “We stayed the night in the mosque in Gund. The locals have given new life to us by providing us food and heating arrangements in the mosque. People here are very hospitable. They looked after us very well,” said tour- ists from Punjab. “We are extremely thankful to the locals. The tourists are safe here. People should visit Kashmir which is paradise on earth,” they added. Besides, hotelier Mohd Altaf Siah provided free accommodation to tourists at his hotel, The Sultan, at Kullan-Rezan in Sonamarg from 2.30 am. A visitor takes pictures at Dal Lake after the season’s first snowfall in Srinagar | PTI