DHARMAPURI l Monday l February 17, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION European leaders to gather in paris today for summit on Ukraine Emmanuel Macron Volodymyr Zelenskyy Europe jittery as U.S. weighs deal with russia French President Emmanuel Macron will host leaders from key European countries on Monday to discuss the Ukraine war and the continent’s security call for maximum pressure on moscow The summit will focus on the future of European security as the US pursues a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. European leaders fear Donald Trump may agree to Putin’s demands to limit NATO presence in eastern Europe and the US involvement in the continent’s security. Leaders of Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy and Denmark will attend ■ ■ Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed not to respect a truce negotiated by the US and Russia without Ukraine’s input Finland’s president said Europe must rearm Ukraine and put “maximum pressure on Russia” through sanctions and asset freezes in the run-up to negotiations sought by the US $52 bn The size of the European union’s military assistance for ukraine 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 row over handcuffs, turban 3rd aircraft carrying 112 illegal Indians touches down in Amritsar try illegally or overstayed on their visas. THE third batch of 112 Indians Several deportees aboard the deported from the United States US aircraft who landed on Sataboard a military aircraft land- urday night said they were in ed late on Sunday night at Am- shackles during the journey ritsar’s Sri Guru Ram Dass In- and that 6 Sikh youths were not ter national air por t allowed to wear around 11.30 pm. turbans. Among the 112 deporDaljit Singh of Kurala tees, 31 are from Punjab, Kalan village in Hoshi44 from Haryana, 33 arpur said they were from Gujarat, two from handcuffed and their Uttar Pradesh and one legs chained during the each from Himachal journey “Our legs were . Pradesh and Uttarachained and hands Akali Dal cuffed throughout the khand. Two women slams from Punjab were jour ney. There were Mann among the deportees. three women and three After security clearSenior children on board who ance, immigration, and Shiromani were not cuffed,” Singh background checks, efAkali Dal said. The shackles were forts were being made leader Bikram removed before the airto send the deportees Singh craft landed in Amritback to their respective Majithia said sar., he said. Singh had states. Those from PunBhagwant taken the ‘Dunki route’. jab were being taken to Mann and his Sourav (20), who reached their homes in Punjab ministers are Chandiwala in Punjab’s police vehicles. The concerned Ferozepur district on Haryana government about Sunday “We were hand, had sent a private luxuPunjab’s cuffed and our legs were ry bus to transport its image but are chained,” he said. residents back home. quiet on Sikh Harjit Singh, who This was the first de- youths being hails from Khanowal portation flight after the deported Ghuman village in Gurmeeting between Prime without daspur district, said he M i n i s t e r N a re n d r a turbans. was kept at a detention Modi and US President centre and handcuffed Donald Trump in Washington on the flight. DC. Shiromani Gurdwara ParThe deportation of Indians is bhandak Committee (SGPC) part of an ongoing crackdown member Gurcharan Singh conby US authorities against indi- demned the shoddy treatment viduals who entered the coun- being meted out to Sikh youth. Confusion over trains led to stampede Police: 2 trains with identical names in different platforms led to confusion among passengers before the tragedy H a r p r ee t ba j w a @ Chandigarh DELHI cm TO BE DECIDED TODAY, OATH-TAKING ON tUESDAY AT Ramlila ground US cancels $21 mn grant to promote voter turnout in India E x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi The newly-created US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) headed by billionaire Elon Musk said it has cancelled the previous administration’s $21 million funding to support efforts to increase voter turnout in India. The funding was part of a larger $486 million allocation to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening. “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled,” it said, giving a list of funding commitments that stand cancelled. The list also includes $29 million to ‘strengthen political landscape’ in Bangladesh and $20 million for ‘fiscal federalism’ in Nepal. Reacting to the announcement, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it is proof of external interference in India’s electoral process. “$21M for voter turnout? This definitely is external interference in India’s electoral process. Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!,” Amit Malviya, BJP’s national spokesperson, said. DOGE was created by President Donald Trump to reduce government spending. The Bharatiya Janata Party will hold a crucial meeting on Monday at the party headquarters in Delhi led by JP Nadda to choose the next Chief Minister, sources said Rail ministry takes safety measures Railway ministry said all special trains to Prayagraj will be run only from platform No 16. “So, passengers shall come and go from the Ajmeri Gate side of the New Delhi railway station,” the ministry said Personal belongings of passengers caught in Saturday’s stampede lie scattered on a stairway leading to platforms 14 and 15 | x R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R an d S H E K H A R SI N G H @ New Delhi Miscommunication, inefficient control management measures, confusion over train names are among the major factors that led to the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night, which killed at least 18 people, 14 of them women, and injured another 15 people. Over 2,500 passengers booked tickets at New Delhi on Saturday within a span of one hour, which could also have resulted in overcrowding. “As 2,600 more tickets were booked within an hour at New Delhi, and there was a surge in crowd numbers for Prayagraj, a special train was announced from Platform 12,” the rail ministry said. While the ministry said there was no platform change or cancellation of any special trains, vendors and porters at the railway station claimed an announcement was made about platform change. Following this, they said, passengers waiting at Platform 14 IPL to begin on March 22 The latest edition of the Indian Premier League will begin at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the venue of the defending champions. The 74-match, two-month long competition will also conclude at the same venue on May 25. Kolkata to face Bengaluru in opener The defending champions, as is customary, will kick-start the league with the opener against Bengaluru on March 22. Both sides will have new captains Hyderabad and Kolkata venues for knockouts and finals Hyderabad, 2024’s losing finalists, will host the first qualifier and the eliminator on May 20 and May 21 before the caravan moves to the home of the current champions for the league’s closing stages on May 23 and 25 Group 1 Group 2 Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians, Lucknow Super Giants Key dates May 20: Qualifier 1 | May 21: Eliminator | May 23: Qualifier 2 | May 25: Final Vikatan website ‘blocked’: Stalin calls it fascist move E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Amid complaints from readers regarding difficulty in accessing the website of Tamil magazine Vikatan for the second day on Sunday Chief Minister M K , Stalin and several other leaders condemned the alleged ‘blocking’ of the website, and urged the union government to restore the access immediately . In a social media post, Stalin said, “Shutting down media platforms for their opinions is against the principles of democracy This is yet anoth. er example of the BJP’s fascist tendencies. Vikatan has been a pillar of journalism for over a century . I urge the authorities to immediately restore access to the blocked website.” The ‘technical trouble’ for the magazine started after Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai on February 15 wrote to Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan seeking action against Vikatan for its “cover picture aimed at defaming PM Modi”. He had also explained the cartoon’s features and termed it offensive. The magazine, late on Saturday, had said in a social media post that there have been numerous reports stating that its website has been blocked by the central government.  P5 rushed towards Platform 16 resulting in the stampede. The Delhi Police, which conducted the initial probe, said two trains with identical names— both bound for Prayagraj—led to chaos among thousands of Maha Kumbh devotees. According to senior police officers, an Rly stations continue to be crowded On Sunday, major railway stations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Punjab witnessed massive crowds headed for Prayagraj announcement for the arrival of the Prayagraj Special at Platfor m 16 created confusion among passengers waiting for the Prayagraj Express at Platform 14. In the rush to board what they assumed was their train, a large section of the crowd surged towards Platform 16, triggering a deadly crush. “There were already four trains scheduled to depart for Prayagraj that night, and three of them were delayed. This caused extreme overcrowding. The announcement further fueled panic, as many passengers believed they had missed their original train and rushed in the wrong direction,” said a senior police officer. The government announced a `10 lakh compensation for the families of the deceased, `2.5 lakh for those seriously injured, and `1 lakh for those with minor injuries. Despite the stampede, the New Delhi station remained overcrowded on Sunday, with platforms flooded with thousands of passengers trying to board trains to Prayagraj and other destinations. Heavy police presence was noted throughout the station. The foot-over-bridge and other connecting areas between Platforms 14 and 15 were densely manned by RPF officers to ensure the smooth movement of passengers.  P7 Security beefed up at rly stations Security has been beefed up at key railway stations including Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Kanpur, Lucknow and Mirzapur following the Delhi stampede, officials said Sack railway minister: Congress Opposition parties alleged mismanagement by authorities led to the stampede. The Congress launched a scathing attack on the railway minister, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remove him Unsettling calm at ground zero hours after deadly rush R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi SUNDAY morning brought an unsettling calm to New Delhi railway station, where just hours earlier a chaotic stampede had claimed 18 lives and left countless others shaken. The stampede occurred around 9.55 pm on Saturday night when passengers headed to Prayagraj congregated at platform 14 and 15. According to railway officials, Prayagraj Express was stationed at platform 14, while the Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express were delayed, leading to overcrowding on platforms 12, 13, and 14. Many eyewitnesses said the situation turned chaotic when a last-minute change of platform was announced. “It was total confusion,” said a vendor at the station. “When a special train to Prayagraj was announced I saw women fall from platform 16, passengers to the ground, rushed towards it. That’s only to be when the stampede oc- trampled over. People didn’t curred”, said a coolie. even realize they The chaos that resulted be- were stepping on tween platforms 14 and 15, others who were and on the foot-over bridges still alive left scores of passengers crushed. Scattered slippers, Dharamji Mandal, torn bags, and abandoned be- Bookstall owner longings lay strewn across the staircase, the bridge, and platforms 14 and 15 — silent witnesses to the tragedy “I’ve been . a vendor here for the last 15 years, but I’ve never seen such a heart-wrenching scene,” said Chetan, a local vendor. Mohan, a cleaning staff at the station, described it as “one of the worst” tragedies he had witnessed in the past 10 years. “There were personal belongings everywhere. People had no time to gather their things; they just ran for their lives,” he said, tears in his eyes. On Sunday a majority of passengers return, ing from Prayagraj alighted at platforms number 14 and 15, which were unusually clean. Some inquired about the casualties, before disappearing into the crowd towards the exit. CM slams Pradhan for ‘blackmail’ as TN parties join 3-language war E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Cutting across political divide, all major parties in Tamil Nadu slammed Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday for saying that Tamil Nadu would not be provided funds under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyaan till it accepts the National Education Policy (NEP) and the three-language formula. Tagging a video clip of Pradhan speaking to reporters in Varanasi on February 15, Chief Minister M K Stalin accused Pradhan of “blackmail” and challenged him to show the constitutional provision that mandates compliance with the three-language policy. “The state is seeking funds from the centre which is its rightful due and if the central minister speaks arrogantly, as if the state claimed his personal ‘Tamils will show trait’ ‘2-language is obsolete’ “The state is seeking funds from the centre which is its rightful due and if the central minister speaks arrogantly, as if TN claimed his personal wealth, then Delhi may have to see the real trait of the Tamil people,” Stalin said BJP TN president K Annamalai on Sunday dubbed the twolanguage policy as “obsolete policy from the 1960s” and asked how fair is it to impose such a policy on state students in 2025 when the world is advancing rapidly wealth, then Delhi may have to see the real trait of the Tamil people,” the CM said. AIADMK, the main opposition party Con, gress, NTK, PMK, DMDK and TVK, too, reacted strongly to the minister’s statement. Stalin emphasised that the Indian Union is made up of states and the union government is not the sole authority on the subject matter of education, which falls under the Concurrent List. Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin said touching Tamil Nadu is akin to touching fire. “You will know this if you read TN’s post-Independence history We are only asking for . our rights,” he said. School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi met with Udhayanidhi Stalin to discuss the matter on Sunday Finance Minis. ter Thangam Thennarasu asked why Tamil Nadu, which contributes 9% to the national GDP without conditions, should face restrictions when seeking its rightful share of funds.  P4 express read Stalin silent on women’s safety in TN, charges EPS Vellore: Chief Minister M K Stalin, who says he feels happy when youth call him ‘appa’ (father), is turning a deaf ear to the cries of young women whose safety is being threatened repeatedly in TN, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami said on Sunday. Speaking at an event in Vellore, EPS said, “In the last two months, 107 Pocso cases have been filed, and 56 women have been subjected to sexual assault.” | P4 India, Pak exchange fire along LoC in J-K’s Poonch Jammu: A brief exchange of fire took place along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, security officials said. “At about 11 AM today, Pakistan troops opened small arms fire on own (Indian) post across LoC in Poonch Sector, J&K. The fire was retaliated appropriately by the Indian Army,” an Army official said. There was no damage on the Indian side. NH turns toll road with minor tweak; users pay `36cr B A N B U S E LV A N @ Chennai By adding just 1.5 metres of road on either side, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has converted the 110km two-lane Vellore-Tiruvannamalai-Villupuram National Highway (NH) into a tolled road. The three toll plazas, Vallam, Enamkariyanandal, and Thennamadevi, located on the road have collected about `36 crore in 20 months from April 2023 to November 2024 while the total fund spent on the project by the union government was only `273 crore, revealed data sourced through RTI by TNIE. Unlike other road projects executed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the Vellore-Villupuram NH-234 was upgraded using funds exclusively allocated by MoRTH, pic: S Dinesh with no bank loans involved. This means motorists are essentially paying vehicle user fee at tolls for travelling on a highway that was upgraded using their own contributions through fees, cess, and other taxes. As per RTI data, the average monthly collection in the three tolls stands at `1.82 crore. MoRTH’s primary revenue sources include the cess levied on petrol and diesel under the Central Road Fund and fee from driving licences and vehicle registrations.