chennai l tuesday l february 18, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l LATE CITY EDITION India’s MAIDEN TRIALS FOR DEEP SEA EXPLORATION successful India’s fourth generation deep-ocean capsule Matsya-6000 has successfully completed its wet testing at the L&T harbour near Chennai Matsya-6000 First step towards manned deep sea mission to reach 6,000 metres below ocean by 2026 The first manned harbour trial of Matsya-6000 was conducted by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, between Jan 27 and Feb 12. It is the first step towards manned deep ocean exploration. In the next stage, the submersible will undergo shallow-water demonstrations at depths of up to 500 metres by the end of this year ■ The fortnight-long harbour trials, at a depth of two metres, assessed Matsya-6000’s performance across various parameters Matsya-6000 is expected to reach a depth of 6,000 metres in the Indian Ocean by 2026. It is a part of the Centre’s Samudrayan project to study underwater resources and biodiversity | P2 ■ Three persons can be accommodated inside matsya-6000 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 foot-in-mouth bjp, Congress lock horns over Sam Pitroda’s ‘China’ view Immediate measures to regulate passenger flow at 60 busy rly stations across India Holding areas, new SOPs to ease crowding at stns devotees struggle at patna station Patna: Prayagrajbound passengers at Patna railway station on Monday faced a tall order while boarding trains. Eye-witnesses told local newspapers that passengers forced open bolted doors of Vikramshila Express and Magadh Express and occupied toilets, while many were seen hanging by the doors P r e e t h a N a i r & RA J E S H K U M AR THA K UR @ New Delhi AMID sharp criticism from the BJP, the Congress on Monday distanced itself from its leader Sam Pitroda’s remarks on China, and said his views do not belong to the party China remains . India’s foremost external security and economic challenge, Congress said. Pitroda, chairman of Indian Overseas Congress, in an interview to IANS news agency, said the perception of China as a threat to India is being blown out of proportion and that New Delhi should stop considering Beijing as an enemy . Clarifying the party’s stand, Jairam Ramesh, AICC general secretary (communications) said on X, “The views expressed by Sam Pitroda on China are most definitely NOT the views of the INC ... China remains our foremost foreign policy exter, nal security, as well as economic challenge. The INC has repeatedly raised questions on the I don’t know what Modi Govt’s apis the threat from proach to China, inChina. China is cluding the PM’s around... China is public clean chit to growing .. you got it on June 19, 2020.” to respect that At a press conference, BJP national Sam Pitroda in an spokesperson and interview to IANS MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said Pitroda’s remarks symbolise the mindset of the Congress and are in line with its leaders’ statements in support of China. “The ‘mohabbat ki dukan’ of the Congress is for anti national forces, be it George Soros or China,” Trivedi said. In the past too, Pitroda’s controversial comments have put Congress in a spot. In May last year, he resigned from his post for allegedly making racist comments during a podcast. However, he was reinstated after the 2024 elections. Congress had to scramble for cover after Pitroda endorsed a US model inheritance tax law in India last year. On the eve of Ram temple inauguration, Pitroda had said that unemployment and inflation are more real issues than Ram temple. The Congress party had distanced itself from his statement. Vaishnaw rules out conspiracy Passengers try to board an overcrowded train amid a huge rush owing to Mahakumbh Mela, at Patna railway station on Monday | PTI RA J E S H K U M AR THA K UR @ New Delhi IN the wake of the stampede at the New Delhi railway station on Saturday, the Ministry of Railways on Monday announced a slew of measures to prevent untoward incidents as it identified 60 railway stations across the country that experience high footfalls. To begin with, the railways will develop ‘permanent holding areas’ in these busy stations to manage crowds especially during peak times and strictly regulate their flow to platforms. Passengers will have to wait in the holding areas and allowed to enter the platform only as per the departure timing of their respective trains. Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh; and Surat in Gujarat, besides New Delhi, Bangalore, and Coimbatore. The rail ministry is in the process of developing a comprehensive manual on crowd management by consolidating existing provisions and a standard operating procedure would be developed to manage passenger surges during festivals and special events. Also on the cards is a nationwide campaign to educate passengers on the dangers of sitting on stairs, which often leads to stampede-like situations during crowded times. “Feedback from all stakeholders, including vendors, would be taken into account, and related problems would be resolved within six months,” Vaishnaw added. Curbs on platform tickets The Northern Railway on Monday announced that platform tickets would not be sold between 4 pm and 11 pm for the next one week at the station to ensure proper crowd management. Over 10 trains were diverted from Delhi owing to the restrictions on the New Delhi Railway Station P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi The selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday picked Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as the new Chief Election Commissioner. A 1988-batch IAS officer from Kerala cadre, Gyanesh Kumar will replace Rajiv Kumar, who demits office on Tuesday . Haryana Cadre IAS officer Vivek Joshi has been appointed Election Commissioner. The announcement came shortly after a meeting of the selection committee also comprising Union home minister Amit Shah and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. During the meeting, Rahul asked the government to defer the decision on the new CEC till February 19 when the Supreme Court will take up a petition challenging the constitution of the selection committee. He questioned the composition of the committee and the numerical advantage enjoyed by the ruling party . According to sources, Rahul left the meeting after submitting his dissent note and was not present when the shortlisted names were discussed. The meeting lasted 30 minutes and was held at the South Block office of the prime minister. The appointment of the new CEC has become a political flashpoint between the ruling party and the Opposition. Beach sand: HC orders CBI probe, recovery of `5.8K cr R S I V A K U M AR @ Chennai Finding a strong case of collusion, corruption and connivance among politicians, officials and mining mafia in causing thousands of crores of rupees loss to the state exchequer in the excavation of beach sand minerals (BSM), the Madras High Court on Monday ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). NEP: DMK, allies plan huge stir; Pradhan calls it politics Exp r e ss N e ws S e r v i c e @ Chennai The ruling DMK and its allies, including the Congress and Left parties, would stage a ‘massive protest’ in Chennai on Tuesday to condemn the BJP-led union government for not allocating funds to Tamil Nadu, especially under Samagra Shiksha, and the remarks of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The minister on Saturday had said the centre would release funds to Tamil Nadu only if the state adopts the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, in its entirety, including the three-language policy . Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Monday, Pradhan dismissed the strong opposition to NEP in Tamil Nadu as “politics”. “The NEP does not impose Hindi or any other language on students in the DMK-ruled state, but what is wrong if a student in Tamil Nadu learns multilingual aspect in education?” he said. “It can be Tamil, English and other Indian languages. There is no imposition of Hindi or any other language. Some friends in Tamil Nadu are doing politics. But the Indian government is committed to implementing NEP and there are certain con- This is to avoid overcrowding of station areas. In response to a query from this newspaper, Union Railw ay M i n i s t e r A s h w i n i Vaishnaw said railway experts will design access routes from holding areas to platforms in such a way that there is no scope for overcrowding. One such holding area was set up at the New Delhi station on Monday itself. The same will be extended to key stations in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and other states that re g u l a rly w i t n e s s l a r g e crowds. The 60 stampede-prone stations have been identified based on the number of departing and originating passengers. They include Patna, Ara, and Buxar in Bihar; Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Monday ruled out any conspiracy behind the New Delhi stampede and claimed there was also no extraordinary rush at the platforms at the time of the incident. “No conspiracy looks at the moment,” he said while interacting with mediapersons Gyanesh Kumar picked as CEC, Vivek Joshi is EC MLA Ezhilan Naganathan during a press briefing at the DMK headquarters | Express ditions with NEP he said. ,” Reacting to Pradhan’s allegation that the decision to reject the NEP was politically motivated, Thousand Lights MLA and DMK doctors’ wing secretary Dr Ezhilan Naganathan said, “The drafting of the NEP itself was politically motivated as they did not take into account Tamil Nadu’s voice. The imposition of three-language policy is also politically motivated.” Ezhilan said the demonstration will be organised in front of Chennai collector office on Tuesday afternoon. “Minister Duraimurugan, Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani, TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai, MDMK general secretary Vaiko, and leaders of Left parties, VCK and other allies will take part,” he said. P7 The court asked the CBI to investigate the entire process of granting of leases, transport permits, and inclusion of monazite, which has application in atomic energy generation, among minerals permitted for mining lease. The court also directed the agency to probe the “role of policy-making authorities” in conspiring with pri- vate mining fir ms, and directed that cost and royalty amount of `5,832 crore be recovered from the companies for illegal mining. A division bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and M Jothiraman pronounced the orders after hearing petitions, including the 2015 suo motu PIL on illegal mining of BSM in Thoothukudi, Kan- niyakumari and Tirunelveli districts. The court also ordered investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax, Customs and Excise and the Commercial Tax departments into the transactions of the private companies involved in the illegal mining of BSM. “It is undeniably established from the discussions above, right from the grant of mining lease — approval, granting of licence, transport permits, illegal inclusion of monazite in mining lease — to lack of efficient monitoring and questionable royalty settlement proceedings, to lack of initiation of action and complete shedding of accountability, there appears a scheme of collusion, corruption and connivance among political and executive authorities, and private mining lease holders,” it said. P7 places of worship act case posted to april Gyanesh Kumar Congress slams govt Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said by removing the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee, the government has made it clear it wants to control, and not preserve the credibility of the EC. AICC treasurer Ajay Maken, said, “When the SC has indicated that they will hear the case on the constitution of the committee on the February 19, this meeting should have been postponed.” As per Section 7 of the Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 to the law, the President will appoint the Chief Election Commission and other Election Commissioners on the recommendation of a selection committee headed by the prime minister and consisting of the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and a member of the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the prime minister. Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law. His term will run till January 26, 2029. express read CM Pharmacy Stalin to open 1K outlets on Feb 24 Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin will inaugurate 1,000 ‘Mudalvar Marunthagam’ (CM Pharmacy) outlets across Tamil Nadu on February 24, Minister of Co-operatives K R Periyakaruppan said on Monday. A grant of `3 lakh has been provided for each of these medical shops that will sell generic medicines at subsidised rates. While 500 outlets will be set up by cooperative societies, the rest will be operated by private entrepreneurs, he said | P4 S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday deferred hearing to the first week of April on a batch of petitions in connection with the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The CJI-led bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice P V Sanjay Kumar expressed its displeasure that far too many intervention applications had been filed in the case. “We will not take up the Places of Worship Act matter today... Too many petitions filed. List sometime in April. There is a limit to interventions being filed. Enough is enough,” the bench said, making it clear that the top court would not entertain any new petitions on the matter. The case will now be heard by a three-judge bench. Introduced during the Ayodhya movement, the Act seeks to protect status quo of all religious structures as they stood on August 15, 1947, and prohibits courts from entertaining cases which dispute the character of places of worship. The Congress, the RJD, CPI (M), and IUML sought intervention pleas. BJP’s Ashwini Upadhyay had challenged the law in 2021. Harasser nabbed Protests in KIIT over suicide Shaken and Uprooted An uprooted tree at Jheel Park in Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan, the epicentre of the 4.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Delhi-NCR on Monday morning | Express Bhubaneswar: A 20-year-old Nepali student’s suicide after being harassed by a fellow student on Sunday evening sparked protests here at KIIT University. The university on Monday asked all Nepali students to vacate the campus but revoked the decision after a diplomatic intervention from Nepal. The victim was a third year B Tech student. The man who harassed her was nabbed by police from Bhubaneswar airport | P7 No end to Samsung protest, families join workers’ agitation NIRU PA M A V I S W ANATHAN @ Chennai If the conciliation talks fail, a protest will be organised outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Labour at Irungattukottai — CITU members For the first time after protests erupted again at the Samsung India unit near Sriperumbudur over the suspension of three workers, family members of the staff joined them in a protest held at the Bazaar Area of Sunguvarchatram on Monday morning. The suspended workers are office-bearers of Samsung India Workers Union (SIWU), which is affiliated to CITU. A conciliation meeting between the management and the work- ers, facilitated by the Tamil Nadu labour department, has been scheduled for Wednesday (February 19). A sit-in protest taken out by another section of workers has been going on since February 5 on the premises of the manufacturing plant. The CITU has planned a protest on Tuesday involving Samsung workers in Sriperumbudur. Members of the CITU said that if the conciliation talks fail on Wednesday protests will , be organised outside Samsung showrooms across the state on February 21. P7