THRISSUR l friday l march 14, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Spadex Mission Achieves Maiden Undocking, next docking in april Indian Space Research Organisation recorded its first successful undocking as part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission paves way for crucial future missions announcement After 3-Hour Assessment The two light weight satellites, SDX-01 (the chaser) and SDX-02 (target) successfully separated almost a month-and-a-half after it was scheduled to be achieved. With this success, ISRO is now bracing for its future missions — Chandrayaan-4, Bhartiya Antriksh Mission, manned space mission Gaganyaan, and Man on Moon mission ■ ■ Although the undocking happened around 9.20 am, ISRO announced on ‘X’ only at 12.21 pm, after assessing all parameters ISRO monitored operations from Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Mauritius. Satellites’ independent ops, sensors, and components are being analysed, said ISRO Chairman V Narayanan 460 km above Earth, the two mini satellites were successfully separated 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 Unwavering faith Thousands of women offered pongala on the Attukal Temple premises and the streets leading up to the temple in the capital city The rituals at the temple began with thantri Thekkedathu Parameswaran Vasudevan Bhattathiri handing a lighted lamp to melsanthi V Muraleedharan Namboodiri The latter lit the hearth in the thidappally, the temple kitchen, and his co-priest lighted the pandara aduppu. At 1.15 pm the ritual ended with priests sprinkling holy water over the pots Devotees offer pongala on Thursday as part of the Attukal Pongala festival in Thiruvananthapuram | B P Deepu Stalin emerges 503 new bus routes identified as the anchor of for first and last mile connect Opposition unity E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @Kochi Telangana & Karnataka govts, BRS, YSRCP, BJD to attend Chennai meet on delimitation P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Revanth to consult party brass Telangana CM Revanth Reddy said he would attend the Chennai meet after taking permission from the high command. A DMK delegation led by minister K N Nehru met him in Delhi on Thursday and extended an invitation Siddu to send DKS for event With several political parties extending support to the DMK government in Tamil Nadu in its fight over the proposed delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, Chief Minister M K Stalin appears to be emerging as the voice that binds the non-BJP parties on the issue. Congress-ruled Telangana and Karnataka governments, opposition BRS in Telangana, former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik’s BJD, and former Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP are some of the parties that have confirmed their participation in a meeting convened by Stalin on March 22. Spearheaded by Stalin, the coming together of political parties is widely seen as a show of Opposition unity against ‘delimitation’. On Thursday, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy said he would attend the Chennai meeting after taking permission from the Congress high command. “I welcome M K Stalin’s stand. I have to get permission from the Congress high command to attend the meeting. In principle, I have agreed to attend,” Reddy told reporters. Earlier this month, Stalin had written to the chief ministers of seven states, including Reddy to , form a joint action committee against the delimitation exercise. The Chennai meeting is seen as a first step towards ‘unified action’ against any move by the Centre to implement delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies in a manner that will cut down the representation of states that have implemented population control. Though the BRS in Telangana keeps a distance from both the Congress and the BJP BRS leader K T Rama Rao on Thurs, day confirmed it will attend the meeting. Delegations of DMK leaders met K’taka CM Siddaramaiah, former AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy and BJD’ s Naveen Patnaik, who assured their support. Siddu deputed Deputy CM D K Shivakumar for the Chennai meeting Rupee symbol axed Intensifying the language showdown, the TN govt on Thursday replaced the Devanagari rupee symbol with a Tamil letter in its logo for Friday’s TN budget mini buses hold key Soon, mini buses will operate on a majority of 503 new routes identified across the state, providing first and last mile connectivity especially in rural are a s . T h e m o t o r ve h i c l e department (MVD) identified these “virgin” routes during the route rationalisation exercise it carried out in recent months. “We carried out the route rationalisation exercise by conducting ‘Janakeeya Sadas’ across the state with the help of MLAs. From the numerous suggestions, we finalised 503 new bus routes. The move is mainly intended to help people in rural areas and on the city’s outskirts avail adequate transportation facilities,” said Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar. A minimum of two buses will be given the “licence” to con- Mini buses will operate on a majority of 503 new routes A minimum of two buses will be given the “licence” to conduct services on each of the routes Both the KSRTC and private buses will conduct the services Once fixed, no additional permits will be given duct services on each of the identified routes. Both KSRTC and private carriers will conduct the services. The KSRTC will mainly conduct services on routes having “overlap” -- where some stretches pass through na- tionalised routes. “Once fixed, no additional permits will be given. This is to avoid competition and ensure that the operators find the routes viable. We will basically give the permits to small buses, those that cost maximum `25 lakh and do not require heavy vehicle licence. The move will also provide job opportunities to at least 2,000 people, including women,” Ganesh Kumar said at a function held to flag off direct city services from the Goshree region in Kochi. The minister also said that KSRTC will start rolling out new buses from April. “The new additions to the fleet include 36 luxury sleeper AC buses, which will be deployed on interstate routes, and also mini buses,” he ● More on P4 said.  We will basically give permits to small buses, those that cost maximum L25 lakh and do not require heavy vehicle licence. The move will also provide job opportunities to at least 2,000 people — K B Ganesh Kumar Pricey Starlink to target niche customers in India RAKE S H K U M AR @ New Delhi ELON Musk-led Starlink may target niche customers in India due to its pricing, which is significantly higher than the services provided by Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. According to a report by Bernstein, Starlink’s satellite technology offers advantages in remote areas but its high cost and potential speed variability make it less attractive to consumers in urban and semi-urban regions, where Airtel and Jio provide affordable and reliable broadband services. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have recently announced separate partnerships with Starlink to offer broadband services in India. Both companies have clarified that services will commence only after Starlink receives approval from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Industry insiders say the DoT is likely to Elon Musk COSTLY AFFAIR Starlink Bharti Airtel Reliance Jio Speed (mbps) 50-200 100 200 100 200 Initial upfront 52,242 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 fees (J) Per month 10,469 799 999 699 999 fees (J) Tax and 30 18 18 18 18 levies (%) Total annual 2,15,600 12,314 15,146 10,898 15,146 price (J) grant a licence to the Musk-led company soon. In fact, Union minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, welcomed Starlink to India through a social media post on Wednesday night. However, the minister later deleted the post. Meanwhile, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is yet to release its recommendations on the pricing and other modalities for satellite broadband. call for change Mosques advocate healthy iftar this Ramadan P o o j a N a i r @Kozhikode As the holy month of Ramadan progresses, religious scholars and community leaders have begun addressing concerns over excessive consumption of oily and unhealthy food items during Iftar. Mosques across different regions have taken up the responsibility of educating their communities about the importance of clean eating after breaking the fast. During Ramadan, many people tend to indulge in deep-fried snacks, sugary beverages, and cal- orie-dense meals immediately after fasting for long hours. This often leads to digestive discomfort, sluggishness, and, in some cases, even health complications such as acidity bloating, and an increased , risk of lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension. For years, the tradition of breaking fast with calorie-laden, oilheavy foods has been deeply ingrained in Ramadan celebrations. Recognising the surge in lifestyle diseases, mosques across Kozhikode have started integrating health-conscious messages into their sermons. “Our food culture during Ramadan is slowly harming our bodies. Eateries focus on taste rather than health and we have fallen into the trap of indulgence,” says Ansar Nanmanda, a religious scholar known for his Friday sermons. “Sixty percent of the patients crowding medical colleges today are suffering from kidneyrelated diseases and other health complications due to unhealthy diets. Even medical experts warn against the excessive consumption of food additives like ajinomoto, especially among children and pregnant women, yet we continue to ignore these dangers,” says An● More on P4 sar Nanmanda.  B’luru to host BJP nat’l executive council meet RAJE S H K U M AR THAK U R @ New Delhi the BJP is likely to hold its National Executive Council meeting in Bengaluru between April 18 and 20, sources said. According to party insiders, the decision to hold the meeting in Bengaluru carries significant symbolism for the BJP’s Mission South project. “This could indicate the party’s shift in electoral strategy towards Buzz on South India, with a focused effort on sonew prez lidifying its base in states like Karnataka, where the Congress is in power now,” a The meeting is expected to senior BJP leader told this paper. Also on the agenda is announcing a new pass a couple of resolutions, party president, sources said, adding that in addition to the new chief may be from South India, adding that female leaders may have an deliberating edge, in line with the party’s policy of proon and moting women’s participation in politics potentially — from organisational roles to announcing the new party governance. BJP’s Andhra unit chief Daggubati president Purandeswari is among the women leaders being considered. The other names doing the rounds include Union ministers Manohar Lal Khattar, Bhupendra Yadav and Dharmendra Pradhan. Also in the race are Dr Sudha Yadav, Vinod Tawde, Tarun Chugh, and Arun Kumar. There is also speculation about Sarbananda Sonowal and Kiren Rijiju, along with Sanjay Joshi and Ram Madhav being considered for the top party post.