HYDERABAD l tuesday l april 15, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Blue Origin launches all-woman celebrity crew on space flight Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched his fiancee Lauren Sanchez into space Monday with an allfemale celebrity crew that included Katy Perry 10-minute-long flight took off from texas us’ first spaceflight with women crew The New Shepard rocket blasted off on the quick up-and-down trip from West Texas. The fringes of space beckoned some 65 miles (105 kilometers) up, promising a few precious minutes of weightlessness. Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, invited the others for the 10-minute flight, packing on star power with Perry and Gayle King ■ ■ Blue Origin declined to say how much the flight cost or who paid what. The trip came two months before Sanchez and Bezos marry The celebrity launch of the space flight was the nation’s first where an all-women crew filled seats. The other all-female crew in 64 years of human spaceflight was in 1963 helmed by Valentina Tereshkova 11th human spaceflight for the Washington state-based company 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 India intensifies Now, Waqf Act bid to extradite protests spread to South Bengal fugitive Choksi arson attack We are all proud to have made history. The state government has paid the best tributes to Ambedkar on his anniversary by bringing into force a great Act of social justice A Revanth Reddy, chief minister S u l a g n a S e n g u p ta @Kolkata Recruitments to resume Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the state government will now resume the recruitment process for various vacant posts in the state. The govt will hold a highlevel meeting to take stock of vacant posts. Team to travel to Belgium to seek custody of arrested diamantaire named in PNB scam j aya n t h j a c ob Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy celebrates the implementation of SC sub-categorisation with his Cabinet colleagues C Damodar Rajanarsimha, N Uttam Kumar Reddy and Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy in Hyderabad on Monday @ New Delhi TG first to implement SC sub-quota Express News Service Group-1 @ Hyderabad Telangana has become the first state in the country to implement SC categorisation, with the state government issuing a GO notifying the Telangana Scheduled Caste (Rationalisation of Reservation) Act, 2025. On Monday, the 134th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, members of the Cabinet sub-committee, including Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and C Damodar Rajanarsimha, presented the GO to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, finalising the implementation process. The government also issued GOs notifying the guidelines and roster points for the implementation of reservations. “We are all proud to have made history. On the highly auspicious day of the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna, Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar, the Break-up of 15% SC quota 1% reservation for 15 castes (3.2% of SC population) Telangana state government paid the best tributes by bringing into force a great Act of social justice addressing a long overdue demand of classification of SC sub-castes,” the chief minister tweeted. In its orders dated August 1, 2024, the Supreme Court of India had upheld the power of states to legislate separate quotas within the SC category. The same day, the chief minister declared in the state Assembly that Telangana would lead the nation in legislating sub-categorisation. The Telangana Scheduled Caste (Rationalisation of Reservation) Act divides the exist- Group-2 Group-3 9% 5% reservation for 18 castes (62.74% of SC population) reservation for 26 castes (33.96% of SC population) ing 15% SC reservation into three distinct groups based on population and socio-economic indicators. Accordingly, Group-1, consisting of 15 castes with 3.2% of SC population, is given 1% share, Group-2 with 18 castes and 62% of SC population is given 9% share, while Group-3 with 26 castes and 33.96% SC population will get 5% of the reservations allocated to the SC community . This quota restructuring follows the long-standing demand for equitable distribution of reservation benefits among all SC sub-castes, par- ticularly from the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS). The MRPS has been agitating for SC sub-quota for over three decades. Following the declaration in the Assembly the chief minis, ter constituted a Cabinet subcommittee chaired by Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy The committee, in turn, . recommended the formation of a one-man commission under Justice Shameem Akhtar to ensure the legal and constitutional soundness of the proposed legislation. The committee’s detailed consultations culminated in the passage of the Telangana Scheduled Caste (Rationalisation of Reservation) Act during the recently concluded Budget session on March 17, 2025. The legislation subsequently received the Governor’s assent on April 8, and was officially notified as Act No. 15 of 2025 in the Telangana Gazette. THE Indian government has intensified efforts to extradite fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi following his April 12 arrest in Antwerp, Belgium. Sources said a multi-agency Indian team is likely to travel to Belgium to push for Choksi’s extradition in connection with the `13,000 crore PNB loan fraud case. The process will need to pass through Belgium’s domestic legal system. Earlier this year, India submitted an extradition request under a 2020 bilateral treaty after learning that Choksi was residing in Antwerp. Belgian authorities executed an Indian arrest warrant after the Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office deemed the foreign warrant enforceable. The arrest was carried out as Choksi was allegedly preparing to move to Switzerland. Choksi seemed to have submitted “forged documents” to obtain residency, concealing his Indian and Antiguan citizenship. “He is being detained and further judicial proceedings are awaited and as per the local law, access to his legal counsel has been assured,” sources said. “The India and Belgium treaty... covers fraud, money laundering, cheating and economic crimes related to taxa- File picture of Mehul Choksi. He is in Antwerp after being denied bail | ANI tion and revenue — many of them relevant in case of Mehul Choksi. We are working on the extradition process and we have already shared all the necessary documents with the Belgium authorities,” sources said. The ED and CBI have been pursuing Choksi’s extradition. Choksi had fled India in 2018. Both Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are wanted for allegedly defrauding Punjab National Bank (PNB) of over `13,500 crore in 2018. PNB had filed a criminal complaint naming Choksi, Modi, and the managing director of Gitanjali Gems, for orchestrating the fraud. Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Agarwal said the grounds for an appeal would be that Choksi is “not a flight risk, is extremely sick and undergoing treatment for cancer”. Bhudhaar for every land parcel soon, says CM at Bhu Bharati portal launch express news service @ Hyderabad Announcing that every parcel of land will receive a Bhudhaar number, similar to Aadhaar for individuals, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday said that the goal of his government was to create a land policy free of le gal disputes. “Surveys will be conducted and agricultural lands will be measured to mark boundaries,” Revanth stated after launching the Bhu Bharati portal at Shilpakala Vedika in Hyderabad. The portal will initially be implemented in four mandals as a pilot project. During Indira Gandhi’s tenure, the Congress government introduced the Land Ceiling Act, through which lakhs of acres were taken from landlords and distributed to Dalits, tribals and other vulnerable Remove doubts, CM tells collectors Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy asked district collectors to attend meetings in every mandal and clarify doubts raised by farmers regarding Bhu Bharati in simple and understandable language | P4 communities, he recalled. In the past, Patels and Patwaris managed land records. After the system was abolished, the records were transferred to tahsildars. The Revenue department has updated 99% of the land records, which are now available to the public. After the formation of Telangana, the then BRS government introduced the Dharani portal. Calling the Dharani portal “problematic”, the chief minis- ter said it became a source of distress for the public. He claimed that the murder of a tahsildar and a double murder in Ibrahimpatnam were linked to Dharani. “The previous government blamed Revenue staff and painted them as corrupt. But these officials protected land rights for decades. We do not want them to be seen as looters. Changing the laws and blaming officials was an attempt to seize lands,” Revanth stated. Alleging that the public suffered because of the Dharani portal, he stated that this was why he had promised to abolish it completely . “The Bhu Bharati Act is intended to safeguard land rights. The state government has introduced the Act after consultations and suggestions,” the CM stated, reiterating his administration’s objective of a litigation-free land policy . online betting is claiming its victims, stealthily | P2 CLASHES erupted between police and Indian Secular Front (ISF) members protesting against the Waqf (Amendment) Act at Bhangor in South 24-Parganas district of West Bengal on Monday when police put up a barricade to stop the protesters from marching towards Kolkata. A large police force was deployed to bring the situation under control. “What started as a demonstration escalated and took a communal colour,” said an eyewitness. The situation in violence-hit Murshidabad was tense, yet under control after three days of protests. Many shops have reopened and families displaced by the clashes have started to return homes. Zafarabad, Suti, Dhuliyan, Shamsherganj, and Jangipur are the areas worsthit by the violence. In Zafrabad, a large number of houses and shops belonging to Hindus were reportedly set ablaze, forcing many to flee. Temples were vandalised during the unrest. The Calcutta High Court had to instruct that Central forces be deployed in Murshidabad along with the state police. Police vehicles set on fire by members of Indian Secular Front | PTI E x p r e s s Re a d PM barb on tree felling prompts Cong counter Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the state govt of destroying the environment by felling trees on 400 acres at Kancha Gachibowli, provoking state Congress leaders to allege “attention diversion tactics” | P4 TG govt to host Bharat Summit from April 25 Honouring Babasaheb with grace President Droupadi Murmu with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister J P Nadda, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Sonia Gandhi during a ceremony to pay tribute to B R Ambedkar on his birth anniversary, in New Delhi on Monday. There was a generous show of courtesy and grace from all sides at the event | PTI To mark the 70th anniversary of the historic Bandung Conference, the state govt will host Bharat Summit-2025 on April 25 & 26, said Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and IT Minister D Sridhar Babu on Monday | P5 Trapped in parked car, two children die of suffocation Express News Service @ Hyderabad In a tragic incident, two children died of suffocation after allegedly getting trapped inside a closed car in Damaragidda village under Chevella p o l i c e s t at i o n l i m i t s o n Monday . The deceased — Tanmaya Shree (5) and Abhinaya Shree (4) — were cousins and daughters of two sisters who had come to visit their g randparents’ village. Chevella police said the family had come to the village for the maternal uncle’s wedding arrangements. While the adults were busy, the children were playing at the house. During this time, they entered an unlocked car parked there, and may have locked themselves in. After about 40 minutes, family members started look- ing for the children and found them unconscious inside the locked car. They were pulled out and rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared them dead due to suffocation. Police said the children were found in the car around 2 pm. No complaint has been filed in the matter so far. d i v ine t o u c h Prayer and devotional songs ahead of every match: LSG’s traditional touch FIR O Z MIR Z A @ Lucknow There are different rituals teams perform before a series or a season. And sometimes before every match. There are beliefs each team has. Lucknow Super Giants is one such team this IPL to follow a more traditional and pious path to invoke the spirits. Unlike other franchises, Lucknow Super Giants perform a Puja at the South Corridor, South Block here at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow followed by Ganesh A a r t i b e f o r e eve r y match. Even when Lucknow were to face Chennai Super Kings on Monday . The soothing voice of famous singer Anuradha Paudwal fills the air with devotional songs spreading positivity. “Yes, we perform Puja before every home match here at the venue,” Vinay Chopra, LSG’s chief executive officer, told this daily The practice is an attempt . to inculcate Indian tradition in the league. The puja is performed in the presence of whosoever is available in the team management. It’s not that other teams do not perform Puja or follow religious rituals. But most of them perform it at the beginning of LSG skipper Rishabh Pant on way to half century against CSK on Tuesday | afp the season. Take for instance, Punjab Kings, whose home games are being hosted in relatively newer venue Mullanpur, Chandigarh. They organised a Havan (a sacred fire ritual) at the venue with head coach Ricky Ponting, players and other support staff attending the customary practice. “Yes, we hold religious rituals ahead of the tournament seeking blessings of God. A prayer will also be organised before PBKS’s first game in Dharamsala,” a PBKS spokesperson told this daily . Given the importance of the Monday’s game, Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan has also accompanied the team to Lucknow. When asked about any customary practice the team follows at Chepauk, he said, “I am a devotee of Ganesha so I offer prayer everyday . There are individuals who like to pray before matches and they do so but collectively as a team we do not offer prayers.” LSG might be different in this sense but the pious beginning in following Indian traditions is certainly a commendable step. On the ground though things did not go the way they would have wanted. The visiting team restricted them to just 166 runs in their allotted 20 overs. CSK overhauled the target in the last over. The Lucknow team is fourth on the IPL points table.