India’s economy rebounds to 6.2% in December quarter 6.5% growth projected The 6.2% growth in gross domestic product (GDP) was higher than a revised reading of 5.6% expansion in the July-Sept. For the FY 25 fiscal, the government pegs GDP growth at 6.5% thiruvananthapuram l saturday l march 01, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION The recovery in Oct-Dec quarter was driven by a revival in govt spend due to buoyant construction sector, strong rural demand and bullish service exports 4.6% by which output of 8 key infra sectors rose in January 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 Avalanche buries Cong issues gag order on Kerala leaders, rules out change of guard BRO camp, 32 workers rescued P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Rescuers carry workers to safety on Friday. Search for the remaining 25 workers will continue on Saturday | PTI Mana, three kilometres from Badrinath, is the last village on the India-Tibet border at an alAN avalanche that rolled down titude of 3,200 metres. The avaearly on Friday buried a Bor- lanche hit around 7.15 am, burder Roads Organization (BRO) ying the workers inside eight camp in the high-altitude vil- containers and one shed, the lage of Mana in Uttarakhand’s Army said. Swift response Chamoli district. Thirty-two of teams, comprising more than the 57 workers trapped under 100 people from the Ibex Brithe avalanche have been res- gade, especially trained in high cued, with concern over altitude rescue operathe safety of the other tions, were immediatechamoli 25 mounting as inly mobilised. The clement weather teams included forced a pause in doctors and rescue operations. ambulances. uttarakhand Multiple teams According to Discomprising the Army aster Management disaster response forcand Rehabilitation Seces battled through tough retary Vinod Kumar ter rain and heavy snow Suman, the situation is critical through the day to reach the with the containers buried unmen. They initially pulled out der six to seven feet of snow. 10 workers and then the others, The bad weather continues. sources said. The trapped workers were Four of those rescued are in employed by a company ina critical condition, the Army volved in highway widening PRO said. All 32 have been tak- along a 50 km stretch from en to the ITBP camp in Mana Mana to Mana Pass. (With agency inputs) for treatment, the sources said. n a r e n d ra s et h i & m aya n k s i n g h @ Dehradun/New Delhi The Congress national leadership on Friday ruled out leadership change in the Kerala unit of the party, but warned the state leaders of action if they fail to toe the party line. The caveat came amid the row over MP Shashi Tharoor’s TNIE column hailing the achievements of the CPM-led gover nment in Kerala. At a meeting the top brass of the party’s national leadership had with Kerala leaders to discuss the assembly elections due in just over an year, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi cautioned the leaders “not to go against party line and disrespect the people of Kerala.” Ramesh Chennithala, Shashi Tharoor and Kodikunnil Suresh during a meeting in New Delhi | pti With Tharoor by her side, Congress’ Kerala in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi said all leaders have to work in coordination, discipline, and unity “We . discussed our strategy and roadmap for the upcoming elections. We have got clear indication that people are looking for a change, so we should not do anything that disrespects the people. If anyone says anything per- High Drama as Trump, Zelenskyy shout it out Agencies The White House on Friday witnessed unprecedented drama as visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump exchanged angry words in public, turning their discussion to end the war with into a shouting match. The last 10 minutes of the 45-minute engagement devolved into a tense back-andfor th between Zelenskyy, Trump, and Vice President J D Vance. Zelenskyy was in Wash- ington to sign a revenue-sharing minerals agreement with the US. He left White House without signing the deal that Trump had demanded in return for US help to end the war and support Ukraine. During the talks, Trump shouted at Zelenskyy and berated him for “gambling with millions of lives” and accused him of trying to trigger World War III. The talks appeared to have gone sideways after the Ukrainian leader expressed skepticism about Russia’s comP9 mitment to diplomacy  . 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express sonally... we will take strong action,” she said. When asked if the censure is directed at Tharoor, Dasmunshi said, “Why are you only pinpointing Tharoor? So many others made personal views. It has been told generally to everyone.” Dismissing reports that K Sudhakaran would be forced to step down as the state president of the party she ruled out lead, ership change in the state unit. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said that no leader has the right to make out-of-line statements in the media. At least three leaders, including M M Hassan, targeted Tharoor in the meting, saying his public comments were damagiong for the party . 2 deaths due to GBS in four days in state Two Guillain-Barré Syndrome deaths in 4 days at Kottayam MCH have raised concerns of an outbreak. Doctors, however, say there is no cause for worry | P5 2,567 local body wards identified as ‘water stress’ hotspots in state S h a i n u M o h a n @ T’Puram It’s just the beginning of summer and the state has already started feeling the heat, literally As Kerala braces . for yet another harsh season, a recent study has identified 2,567 local body wards across the state as waterstressed. The study sanctioned by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) has revealed alarming levels of water scarcity in the state, with some districts experiencing severe drought conditions during summer months. Kasaragod experiences the highest level of water stress, with 24.74% of the district’s area severely affected by drought conditions. This is followed by Thiruvananthapuram (22.01%), Kozhikode (20.48%) and Pathanamthitta (20.72%). Nearly a quarter of the panchayats in these districts face severe water scarcity during summer. The survey was done in 21,472 local body wards across the state. The study — Identification of Water Stress Hotspots for Domestic Use Across Kerala — conducted by Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, Kerala Forest Research Institute and Institute of Climate Change Studies has identified stark regional disparities in water scarcity ● More on P4 levels.