India rejects China renaming places in Arunachal pradesh India termed China’s bid to rename locations in Arunachal Pradesh a “vain and preposterous” effort ‘an integral part of india’ The reaction came after China renamed 27 places in Arunachal. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Creative naming will not alter the... reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral part of India. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l thursday l may 15, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION 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 Includes 3 new hydro projects Converting run-of-river projects into storage structures Plans for more Indus basin projects readied for Cabinet ther slowed down or been abandoned due to Pakistani roadAfter putting the Indus Wa- blocks. They include the Bursar ters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance project (800 MW) on the Marufollowing the April 22 Pahal- sudar river within the Indus gam massacre, the government basin. Also, the Uri Stage II (260 is considering three new hydro- MW) on the Jhelum commispower projects on the Indus sioned in 2013-14 is yet to realRiver Basin besides fast-track- ise its full potential. ing two others. Discussions are “As many of our projects also on among officials to con- have not moved forward in the vert the existpast four decades, ing run-of-river the government is Additional hydro projects aiming to scale up power points into storage operations as soon projects. as possible. Since T h e t re at y the treaty is on signed in 1960 hold, the governrestricts India’s ment will not en4 5 usage of the tertain any objec1 3 2 we s t e r n r iv tions from ers—Indus, Pakistan,” said a Jhelum, and senior officer in 1 Sawalkot Stage II Chenab — to the Ministry of Jal benefit PakiShakti. 2 Kirthai Stage II stan. Ever since, The Permanent 3 Dulhasti Stage II Pakistan has Indus Commis4 Uri Stage II* been stalling Insion, mandated to dian proposals meet annually has , 5 Bursar project to construct hyalready been on * Uri Stage II commissioned but dropower plants the back burner full work yet to be completed on the three rivf o r t wo ye a r s. ers under variMany of India’s ous pretexts. The Ministry of large and medium scale projects Jal Shakti has prepared DPRs on the Indus basin have been for submission to the Cabinet. stalled since 1984. The Sawalkot The proposed projects are Sa- hydropower project (1,856 MW) walkot Stage II (1,856 MW), had to be shelved despite conKirthai Stage II (930 MW) and ceptualisation in 1984 following Dulhasti Stage II (260 MW) on Pakistani opposition. While the the Chenab. Kirthai-II (930 MW) was conBesides, the ministry has re- ceptualised way back in 1984, quested Cabinet approval to work on Kirthai I is in its prefast-track projects that had ei- construction stage. J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi 21 pak crew barred from disembarking BSF jawan Purnam Shaw after being handed over to India | PTI Paradip: Security agencies have barred 21 Pakistani crew members from disembarking a crude oil tanker that arrived at Paradip Port on Wednesday. Sources said the decision was taken keeping in mind the tense situation with Pakistan | P7 How India bypassed Chinese air defence systems to hit Pak m aya n k s i n g h @ New Delhi The government on Wednesday said Chinese air defence systems supplied to Pakistan were hoodwinked during Operation Sindoor, with the mission wrapped up in 23 minutes. “Air Force bypassed and jammed Pakistan’s Chinese-supplied air defence systems ... demonstrating India’s technological edge,” it said. All three services of Pakistan have a major presence of Chinese weapons and systems including the Air Defence systems, J-10, JF-17 fighters, submarines and warships to include a few. On the night of May 7-8, Pakistan tried to engage a number of military targets in Northern and Western India, but those were neutralised by the Integrated Counter UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Grid and Air Defence systems. On May 8, India targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan, apart from taking down an Air Defence system in Lahore. India’s multitier defence prevented Pakistan Air Force attacks on Indian airfields and logistic installations on the night of May 9-10. The use of longrange drones to guided munitions made the task easier, the Centre said. MP minister booked after HC fiat over gutter language A n u r aa g S i n g h @ Bhopal An FIR was filed against state minister Vijay Shah after an appalled Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday lit into him for his scurrilous remarks, saying he used the “language of the gutters” against Col Sofia Qureshi, who was part of the national briefing on Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. The court took suo motu cognisance of media reports and digital evid e n c e, a f t e r which it ordered the police Vijay Shah to file an FIR against him on charges of promoting enmity and hatred. Shah had obliquely referred to Col Qureshi as the “sister of terrorists”. Col Qureshi, along with Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, was the face of the armed forces media briefing. Castigating Shah, the bench said the armed forces were perhaps the last institution in this country that reflect integrity in, dustry discipline, sacrifice, self, lessness, character, honour and indomitable courage. It directed that the matter be listed on top priority for Thursday. “At the function in Raikunda village in Mhow (Indore), the minister made nauseating remark against Col Sofia Quraishi by way of an innuendo,” the court observed. Seed-ball ‘rain’ to give afforestation a leg-up A n i l S @T’Puram Imagine lakhs of seed balls being air-dropped from the sky , or thousands joining hands to sow crores of seeds across the length and breadth of Kerala. In a first, the forest department is set to launch a massive initiative across the state to restore Kerala’s natural ecosystem and mitigate human-wildlife conflict. To be christened Vithoot, the initiative is to be implemented with people’s participation. The department, which has been on the defensive over increasing incidents of wildlife conflicts and human deaths, also plans to win back the masses’ trust with the move. To be executed somewhat on the lines of a literary campaign, Vithoot has been visualised as a mass movement, where people from different walks of life including school and college students, would come together to identify, prepare and sow seeds. Once the monsoon season sets in, sowing would begin. Besides people’s participation, technology like drones and helicopters may be used when required. It’s learnt the department has plans to join hands with agencies, including the Air Force, in future for the purpose. The identification and collection of seeds would begin soon. The plan is to distribute seeds from June to August. Site-specific seeds will be dropped to restore the ecosystem, with special focus on places hit by landslides and wildf i re, b e s i d e s ab a n d o n e d plantations, open canopies, reservoir catchment areas, those under power lines and portions abandoned by tribals ● More on P4 after farming.  new cji Justice Gavai takes oath Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, part of benches behind landmark rulings including upholding Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370, is 52nd Chief Justice of India 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express