tirupati l thursday l january 02, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION Expect warmer January than normal in most parts of India: IMD Minimum and maximum temperatures are likely to be above normal in most parts of India, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said below normal winter rainfall in the north last year was warmest since 1901 Apart from some areas in eastern, northwest, and west-central regions, other parts of the country will see minimum and maximum temperatures above normal, the IMD said. States in north India are most likely to receive below-normal rainfall from January to March. This may affect the growth of rabi crops, which depend on winter rainfall ■ ■ Monthly rainfall over the country as a whole during January is most likely to be more than 118% above the long-period average, IMD said The meteorological department said 2024 was the warmest on record in India since 1901, with an annual mean temperature of 25.75 degrees Celsius, 0.65 degrees above the long-period average 31.250C was the average maximum temperature 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 Govt outreach to put fertiliser rates on leash Cabinet’s first decision of the new year on farmers; crop insurance schemes extended M U K E S H RA N J A N @ New Delhi At a time when farmers in Punjab are on the war path, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday allocated up to `3,850 crore for a one-time package to subsidise the di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser and approved a one-year extension of two crop insurance schemes. In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “(Govt’s) first decision of the New Year is dedicated to crores of farmer brothers and sisters of our country. We have approved increasing the allocation for the crop insurance scheme. This will provide more security to farmers’ crops and will also mitigate their concerns about any damage.” The decision on DAP will ensure farmers get it at affordable prices, he added. The DAP subsidy aims to keep retail prices at `1,350 per bag of 50 kg, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said during a media briefing. Last year, the Centre announced a one-time special package on DAP at `3,500 per tonne, valid from April 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, with a financial implication of `2,625 crore. The package was over and above DAP subsidy `3,850 crore ‘Won’t repeat Jagan’s mistakes by resorting to vendetta’ BSN Malleswara Rao @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday asserted that he would not repeat the mistakes of his predecessor, YS Jag an Mohan Reddy, and pledged not to engage in political vendetta. He emphasised his commitment to taking a firm stance against any individual, association, or organisation that poses a threat to society . Highlighting the unneces- sary harassment endured by the people under the previous YSRCP regime, Naidu vowed to address these issues and provide support to those who suffered. During an informal interaction with the media at the TDP headquarters in Mangalagiri, Naidu acknowledged that TDP cadres expect him to take a strong stance against the opposition, given the suppression they faced under the previous government. However, he clarified that his primary focus re- Farmers to get DAP at `1,350 per bag of 50 kg Market rate of DAP is over `3,000 per bag of 50 kg Total fertiliser subsidy burden on govt E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada `11.90 lakh crore the nutrient-based subsidy fixed by the government on non-urea nutrients. Besides, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) have been extended to align it with the 15th Finance Commission period, Vaishnaw said. The outlay for PMFBY and RWBCI has been enhanced to `69,515.71 crore for 2021-22 to 2025-26, up from `66,550 crore for 2020-21 to 2024-25. For targeted infusion of technolog y in crop insurance schemes, the Cabinet also approved a separate fund with a corpus of `824.77 crore. new year rush at Ram temple A huge rush of devotees to offer prayers at the Ram Lalla Temple in Ayodhya on the first day of the New Year on Wednesday. This is the first New Year celebration at the Ayodhya shrine after its consecration early last year. According to local administration estimates, more than five lakh devotees paid homage to the deity of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on Wednesday | PTI A N URAAG S I N G H @ Bhopal Reinforced container trucks transporting hazardous waste collected from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal to Pithampur Industrial Area, on Wednesday night cially designed trucks with leakproof, fire-resistant, and GPS-enabled containers are carrying the waste—toxic soil, pesticide residues, and chemicals. The process of collecting, packing, and loading of the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu offered prayers at the Kanaka Durga temple on the first day of 2025 in Vijayawada on Wednesday | Prasant Madugula Perni Jayasudha grilled in PDS rice case for over 2 hrs One-time special package 40 yrs on, toxic Union Carbide waste exits Bhopal FOUR decades after the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy killed thousands of people, some 337 tonnes of toxic waste lying at the defunct Union Carbide factory were on Wednesday night moved to another site in Dhar district. The Madhya Pradesh government is shifting the hazardous waste out of Bhopal to comply with a MP High Court order, which on December 3 had directed it to shift the toxic waste within four weeks. The state government has to file compliance report before the next hearing on January 6. Officials said the toxic waste has been sent to Pithampur Industrial Area, 250 km from Bhopal, for disposal. A dedicated green corridor has been created to transport the hazardous material in one night. Twelve spe- mains on the State’s development and the welfare of its citizens. “While I understand the expectations of my leaders and cadres, my priority is the progress of the State and the well-being of its people,” he said. Naidu assured that he would listen to everyone, and come up with both short-term and longterm sustainable solutions. “This approach has guided me in leading the party for the last P4 40 years,” he added.  waste, which was lying at a sealed shed within the closed factory, had started on Sunday under the supervision of experts. Over 200 trained workers were deployed, each of them operating in short 30-minute shifts following strict safety measures, including wearing PPE kits. The entire process—unlocking the waste, its secure and safe packing, and loading on to the secured containers—was videofilmed and recorded. “The incineration process could take 3-9 months, depending on the speed (feed rate),” Swatantra Kumar Singh, director of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Directorate, told this newspaper. The move comes amid stiff protests from activists who claimed the incineration process would pollute the soil and ground water in the villages around Pithampur, a charge refuted by the authorities. Indore mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava, who is a BJP leader, has also voiced concern, saying the decision to destroy the waste should be reviewed. express read Naidu visit Davos for WEF meet India, Pak continue 30-yr practice US truck-ramming attack kills 10 Vijayawada: Accompanied by a high-level delegation, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting at Davos, Switzerland from January 20 to 24. The objective of the visit is to showcase the strengths and opportunities of Andhra Pradesh to attract global investors | P4 New Delhi: India and Pakistan on Wednesday exchanged the list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral agreement that prohibits the two sides from attacking each other’s such facilities, continuing with an overthree-decade practice. The regular exchange of these lists is considered a key confidencebuilding measure between the nations | P7 New Orleans: A man drove a pickup truck into a crowd celebrating New Year in Florida’s New Orleans’ on Wednesday, killing 10 people before being shot dead by police. The FBI is investigating the incident as an “act of terrorism”. Investigators were combing New Orleans’ French Quarter for potential explosive devices, an official said | P9 Prime accused in the case related to the missing of PDS (Public Distribution System) rice and YSRCP leader Perni Venkataramaiah’s (Nani) wife Perni Jayasudha appeared before the Machilipatnam rural police on We d n e s d ay for questioning. Investigation officers served notices on her, summoning her for questioning, a day after the Krishna district court granted her conditional anticipatory bail. According to sources, Jayasudha was questioned regarding the missing of PDS rice from her godown for over two hours even as her legal representa- bangladesh unrest Infiltrators coming to India to work in textile mills: sarma P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday dropped a bombshell claim that a section of India’s textile industry is illegally “importing” cheap labourers from Bangladesh where the industry has taken a hard hit in the aftermath of the unrest that brought down the government of Sheikh Hasina. “The Assam Police are detecting 20 to 30 infiltrators every day and an equal number of people are seen in Tripura also. When we tried to understand why this is happening, we found the textile industry in Bangladesh has virtually collapsed after the unrest,” Sarma said. He alleged that many textile factory owners in India were making use of the situation and are incentivising textile workers there to come to India and work in facto- ries here with better pay. “We have to strike at those industrial houses that are incentivising people to come to India in the form of cheap labour,” Sarma said, adding the Centre is taking the issue seriously . He said he has discussed the matter with counterparts in the Northeast and West Bengal. “I have also discussed it with Home Minister Amit Shah in my last meeting,” Sarma said. However, industry representatives in Tamil Nadu denied Sarma’s claim. “After a similar alert in August, we verified the documents, including Aadhaar, of workers working in knitwear manufacturing units. The police are also actively investigating. However, no illegal entries were found,” K M Subramanian, president of Tiruppur Exporters’ Association, said. He added that units are not incentivising such workers either. Kerala to spend `750-crore for rehabilitation of Wayanad landslide victims E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ T’Puram Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday unveiled the project plan to build two townships in Wayanad to rehabilitate the victims of the July 30, 2024 landslides. Estimated to cost `750 crore, the townships will come up on 58.5 hectares and 48.96 hectares of the Nedumbala Estate in Kottapadi village and Elstone Estate in Kalpetta village, respectively, in Wayanad. The cabinet decision comes five days after the Kerala High Court dismissed the pleas of Harrisons Malayalam Ltd and Elstone Tea Estates Ltd against land acquisition. According to the project plan, each family will get either five cents of land at Elstone Estate or 10 cents at Nedumbala Estate, calculated on the basis of the land value. Each house will have 1,000 sq ft built-up area. No timeline has been specified for the project but Pinarayi said the government would strive to complete it as early as possible. “Activities are ongoing so that the final list of disaster-affected families is released by January 25,” he said. Families that lived in houses marked as ‘no-go’ zone will also be rehabilitated, he said. Pinarayi said the beneficiaries will keep ownership of their land in the disaster-affected areas even after relocating to the township, and also get ownership of the respective properties in the township with a rider on the cut-off date for resale. Meanwhile, training guns on the BJP, Pinarayi said the Centre’s delay in declaring the landslides as a disaster of ‘severe nature’ deprived Kerala of the chance to avail funds from UN agencies and NGOs. “Though the Inter-Ministerial Central Team recommended the Home Ministry to declare the tragedy as a disaster of ‘severe nature’ within a month of the incident, no action was taken for two months. The inordinate delay denied us opportunity to secure additional assistance,” he charged. tives were not allowed inside the police station. Investigation officer and Robertsonpet police station inspector Yesubabu reportedly gave Jayasudha a questionnaire, seeking details regarding the maintenance of the buffer warehouse located in Potlapalem village, how the PDS rice stored in the godown went missing, persons involved in the alleged racket and the role of her husband and former minister Perni Nani, son Per ni Krishnamurthy and civil supply officials in shifting t h e P D S r i c e t o p r ivat e millers. Meanwhile, Machilipatnam rural police have added Perni Nani as accused number six P4 (A6) in the case.  GST kitty Dec mop-up rises 7.3% year-on-year Gross GST revenue of the Centre and states stood at `1.77 lakh crore in December 2024, up from `1.65 lakh crore recorded in the same month of 2023 | P10 `200-crore liquor sold on NYE in State E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada The sale of liquor in the State is estimated to have surpassed `200 crore on New Year’s Eve. According to sources, liquor shops and bars purchased alcohol worth `219 crore on December 30, and an additional `109 crore on December 31 from the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL). While the exact value of liquor consumed by customers remains unknown, officials estimate that liquor worth around `200 crore c o u l d h av e been sold. It is worth noting that the Prohibition and Excise Department allowed liquor outlets and bars to extend their operating hours on December 31. Liquor shops were permitted to remain open until midnight, while bars were allowed to serve liquor until 11 pm, responding to the increased demand from consumers. Officials pointed out that although the volume of liquor sold was higher, due to the availability of popular brands, the revenue generated was lower, owing to the reduced prices of liquor.