HYDERABAD  THURSDAY  JANUARY 02, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY 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 R A 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 Metro corridors to Shamirpet, Medchal get CM’s green signal E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad BRINGING the New Year cheer to the citizens of northern Hyderabad, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has given permission for the preparation of Detailed Project Re por ts (DPRs) for the Paradise-Medchal (23 km) and Jubilee Bus Station (JBS)-Shamirpet (22 km) Metro corridors. These proposed Metro corridors may feature double-decker elevated structures combining elevated corridors and Metro PROPOSED DETAILS  Paradise-Medchal: 23 km route passing through Tadbund, Bowenpally, Suchitra Circle, Kompally, Gundla Pochampally, Kandlakoya and ORR Exit  JBS-Shamirpet: 22 km route passing through Vikrampuri, Karkhana, Trimulgherry, Lothukunta, Alwal, Bollaram, Hakimpet, Thumukunta and ORR Exit  Proposed double-decker elevated structures to combine elevated corridors with Metro viaducts 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 C H I T H A L U R I R E V A N T H @ Hyderabad Total fertiliser subsidy burden on govt `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 RWBCIS 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 offered prayers to the deity of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on Wednesday | PTI A N U R A A G 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 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 CM to lead delegation to Aus Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is expected to embark on an official tour to Australia from January 14. Sources indicate that the chief minister will lead a delegation to study the functioning of the Queensland Sports University. From there, he is likely to travel to Singapore to explore tourism promotion practices | P4 ED to quiz Arvind Kumar today US truck-ramming attack kills 10 Hyderabad: Former MAUD special chief secretary Arvind Kumar will appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday for questioning in the Formula-E race money laundering case. This probe pertains to alleged payments of `54.88 crore to foreign firms in foreign currency without approvals to conduct Formula-E race in Hyderabad | P4 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 WITH 5,278 cases registered during the intervening night of December 31, 2024, and January 1, 2025, Telangana recorded the highest number of drunken driving cases in its history. Legal actions will be taken against those involved in these violations. T his year saw a 17.65% increase in cases compared to the previous year, with 4,486 drunken driving cases registered on New Year’s Eve 2024. Among the total cases this year, the highest number was reported in the Hyderabad commissionerate, where 1,425 cases were registered, reflecting a 13% increase from last year, followed by Cyberabad commissionerate with 840, 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. A WINDOW TO THE PAST Hanamkonda collector bungalow now a heritage site U M A H E S H @ Hanamkonda The district collector’s bungalow in Hanamkonda ban Development (MAUD) Principal Secretary M Dana Kishore and NVS Reddy on Wednesday . It must be noted that to alleviate traffic congestion in central Secunderabad and Hyderabad, the HMDA has already proposed two elevated corridors under the public-private partnership (PPP) model: an 11.12-km-long stretch from Paradise Junction ( G y m k h a n a G ro u n d s ) t o Shamirpet ORR junction and a 5.32 km stretch from Paradise Junction to Dairy Farm Road along NH 44. CONTINUED ON P3 TG sees record 5K drunken driving cases on NY eve 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-  CM sets 3-month deadline for preparation of DPRs  They will be submitted as part of Metro Rail Phase-2, Part-B as a joint venture between Union and state governments viaducts. Hyderabad Airport Metro Limited (HAML) will examine the technical feasibility of this design in consultation with the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority during the DPR preparation phase. The chief minister instructed HAML managing director (MD) NVS Reddy to prepare the DPRs immediately and submit them to the Union government for approval as part of Metro Rail Phase-2, Part-B. This directive followed discussions with Municipal Administration and Ur- FOR nearly 140 years, the Hanamkonda collector’s bungalow has stood as a silent witness to history, its walls echoing with the footsteps of 57 district collectors. Now, this grand structure, built by the British in 1886, is set to open its doors to the public as a heritage site. Constructed as an office for the subedar (head of the region), the building is renowned for its exquisite woodwork and vintage furniture across its two floors, featuring 12 rooms. Spread over 8 acres in the central part of the city the bungalow holds histori, cal and architectural value, making it one of the prominent colonial-era buildings in northern Telangana. Sources said that District Collector P Pravinya has initiated efforts to convert the bungalow into a heritage site accessible to visitors. The district administration plans to collaborate with private agencies for its maintenance and preservation as a heritage structure. In line with these developments, the construction of new residences and camp offices for district officials, proposed during the tenure of the previous BRS government, is nearing completion. These new facili- ties will soon be handed over to the officials concerned. Expressing delight over the move, Santhosh Manduva, founder-president of Sulakshya Seva Samithi (a non-profit charity organisation), said, “It brings me immense joy to discover that the historic collector bungalow in Hanamkonda is undergoing a remarkable transformation into a heritage site. CONTINUED ON P5 Rachakonda commissionerate with 518 and Warangal with 408. Not only urban centres, the Kumurambheem Asifabad district reported a 305% increase in drunken driving cases. On New Year’s Eve 2024, the district registered 18 cases, but this number surged to 73 in 2025. Similarly, the Siddipet commissionerate saw a 212% rise, with 50 cases in 2024 and 156 cases this year. Within the Hyderabad commissionerate, of the 1,145 persons caught, five had alcohol levels exceeding 500 mg/100 ml of blood, and eight had readings between 400 mg and 500 mg per 100 ml. The majority of offenders, 407 in total, were aged between 31 and 40 years. CONTINUED ON P5 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 Women officers told to inspect girls’ schools M A N DA RAV I N D E R R E D DY @ Hyderabad TO ensure the well-being of students, the Telangana government has directed Women All India Service (AIS) officers to undertake regular inspections at residential schools for girls and interact with students to assess the quality of facilities and services. Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari issued orders to this effect on Wednesday . The memo said the visits should include a mandatory night stay at the institutions to allow officers to engage directly with students and staff, assess the facilities, and identify any gaps in the functioning of the schools. A comprehensive review of the academic, infrastructural and welfare aspects of the schools is to be conducted during each visit, it added. Officers must submit a detailed report to the department concerned within seven days of their visit. Additional collectors to monitor schools, hostels Additionally, the state government has entrusted the responsibility of overseeing residential schools, gurukuls, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, government schools and hostels to Additional Collectors (Local Bodies) in their respective disCONTINUED ON P4 tricts.