KOCHI l monday l may 19, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE city EDITION CJI Gavai flags protocol lapse during his Maharashtra visit Top officials fail to turn up to receive cji “If the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police or Mumbai Police Commissioner does not want to come there, when the CJI, who is from Maharashtra, has arrived for the first time, it’s up to them to think about whether it is right or not,” Chief Justice of India B R Gavai said on Sunday during his first visit to the state after being elevated to the top post The CJI expressed displeasure over the absence of Maharashtra’s Chief Secretary, Director General of Police or city police commissioner to receive him ‘All three pillars of democracy equal’ ■ ■ Gavai was in Mumbai for a felicitation programme by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa. At the ceremony, Gavai said he did not want to pinpoint such small issues, but stressed that all three pillars of democracy are equal and must show and give respect to one another CJI said he felt the need to mention it so that people know about it May 14 When Justice B R Gavai was sworn in as the 52nd Chief Justice of India 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 A spate of fire incidents rocked the country on sunday, claiming 25 lives and causing extensive damage to property 8 kids among 17 of family killed in Hyderabad blaze C H I T H A L U R I R E V A N T H @ Hyderabad Video grab of fire fighters in action after a fire broke out in a building in the Old City area of Hyderabad | Express 8 dead in fire in Solapur Eight persons, including three women and a child, were killed in a massive fire at a textile factory in Maharashtra’s Solapur district on Sunday, officials said. Prima facie, a short in the circuit triggered the blaze around 3.45 am at Central Textile Mills situated on the Akkalkot Road in Solapur MIDC, around 400 km from Mumbai Rare setback as PSLV fails to place sat in orbit B o s k y K hanna @ Bengaluru An inexplicable fall in pressure in the motor case chamber of the third stage of the PSLVC61 rocket prevented the 101st mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from successfully releasing an Earth Observation Satellite, EOS-09, in its intended orbit on Sunday. This was rare failure of the otherwise reliable PSLV . The four-stage PSLV-C61 lifted off at 5.59 am from the First Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. Till the second stage separation at 4.36 minutes after launch, everything was fine. Despite igniting perfectly “during the function, ing of the third stage we are seeing an observation and the mission could not be accomplished,” said ISRO chairman V Narayanan. Had there been no glitch, EOS-09 would have separated from the rocket’s fourth stage at 17.654 minutes after launch and glided into a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit at an altitude of about 534 km. It was the 63rd flight of the PSLV and the 27th using the P S LV- X L configuration. A fire that broke out early Sunday morning at a house near Gulzar Houz, less than 100 metres from the historic Charminar monument in Hyderabad, left 17 people dead — among them eight children who were visiting their grandparents for the summer holidays. The fire occurred in the residence of Sri Krishna Pearls owner Prahlad Modi — a threestorey building that has the jewellery store on the ground floor and family living quarters above. Of the 21 people reportedly present in the house at the time, only four survived. Many of the deceased belonged to the same extended family, spanning three generations. Fire department officials said six victims died due to suffocation while 11 suffered fatal burn injuries. Preliminary reports suggested a short circuit at a power meter may have triggered the fire. Among the dead were 75-yearold Modi, his wife Munni, their children and grandchildren. Most victims were found unconscious when fire personnel reached them. They had report- edly retreated into rooms in a desperate attempt to escape the heat and smoke. Eyewitnesses described seeing smoke billowing from the building around 6.15 am. Locals attempted rescue efforts before fire personnel arrived. They also used private vehicles to rush the injured to hospitals as ambulances were delayed. Fire Services Director General Y Nagi Reddy said the building’s layout hampered evacuation efforts. A single staircase, less than a metre wide, served as the only access to upper floors. The absence of alternative exits or exterior ventilation complicated rescue efforts. Officials said the use of combustible wooden panelling in the house also contributed to the rapid spread of fire. Locals claimed electrical issues were frequent in the building, with short circuits reported on earlier occasions. The fire department said the first alert was received at 6.16 am and the first unit reached the scene within four minutes. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy ordered an i nve s t i g a t i o n i n t o t h e incident. Fire rages at a commercial building near the Mofussil Bus Stand in Kozhikode on Sunday as fire and rescue services personnel try to douse the flames | E Gokul Massive fire engulfs Kozhikode biz complex E x p re s s N e w s Service @ Kozhikode A massive fire at a commercial building near the bustling Mofussil Bus Stand in Kozhikode triggered widespread panic and caused extensive damage in one of the busiest areas in the city . The fire, which reportedly started at Calicut Textiles on the first floor around 5pm, rapidly spread to adjoining shops and upper floors of the three- storey commercial building, forcing emergency evacuations and disrupting traffic. A major firefighting effort — involving around 30 fire and rescue services units from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts — continued for nearly five hours to bring the blaze under control. The fire was completely doused by around 9.50pm. The losses are estimated to run Ashoka Univ prof held for social media post it “will cooperate with the police and local authorities in the investigation fully’’. On May 12, the HSCW took suo motu cognisance of the post and summoned him to appear before it. In a statement on May 14, Mahmudabad said, “My lawyers have submitted a detailed reply to these summons and represented me before the Commission today, May 14, 2025. The screenshots attached to the notice make it clear that my remarks have been completely misunderstood and that the Commission has no jurisdiction whatsoever in the matter.” The summons fail to explain how the post violates any rights of wom- H ar p reet B a j w a @ Chandigarh Days after the Haryana State Commission for Women (HSCW) issued a show-cause notice to Ashoka University associate professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad for his social media post on Operation Sindoor, the Haryana Police arrested him from Delhi on Sunday . The police were acting on two FIRs filed against him based on complaints by Yogesh Jatheri, a BJP Youth Morcha leader and Renu Bhatia, HSCW chairperson. Narender Kadyan, Deputy Commissioner of Police, said Mahmudabad will be produced before a local court and the police will seek his remand for further investigation. As for Ashoka University it said , en, he said. “Contrary to the allegations, my post appreciated the fact that the armed forces chose Colonel Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh for a press conference, highlighting that the dream of our Republic’s founders — of an India united in its diversity — remains very much alive.” In its pushback, the Faculty Association of the university strongly condemned the arrest “on groundless and untenable charges”. After his arrest in Delhi, he was taken to Sonipat, not allowed access to necessary medication, and driven around for hours without any communication about his whereabouts, the association charged. IMF tightens bailout terms for Pakistan D I PA K MO N D A L @ New Delhi Amid India’s assertions that Pakistan will use a large part of the foreign aid it receives to fund terror activities, the International Monetary Fund has tightened its purses by imposing fresh conditions on Islamabad for availing its loan facility, while flagging “reputational risks” from misuse of funds. “Enterprise risks have increased. The rising tensions between India and Pakistan, if sustained or deteriorate further, could heighten en- terprise risks to the fiscal, external and reform goals of the program. Reputational risks could also come from any perceived lack of evenhanded or if there was a perceived misuse of Fund disbursements,” IMF said in a note on Pakistan, released on Sunday . The new conditions put forth after a staff level review of the bailout package range from energy to governance reform, tax system overhaul, as well as phasing out of incentives to industry parks. One of the conditions is approval by Pak Parliament $ of a PKR 17.6 trillion budget—of which PKR 1.07 trillion should be for capex. Pakistan is also required to overhaul agriculture taxes and establish systems for processing tax returns, taxpayer identification/registration, public awareness campaigns, and compliance strategies. Besides, it will have to remove the PKR 3.21/unit ceiling on electricity surcharges. Earlier this month, the Washington DC-headquartered lending agency had approved a $2.4 billion bailout package to Pakistan despite strong protests from India against doling out money to Islamabad. cost-effective mode Light tram plan to boost Kochi’s connectivity K ri s hna K u m ar K E @ Kochi If everything goes to plan, Kochi would well be the first city in Kerala to have the cost-effective light tram system, connecting areas where the conventional metro is not feasible. Giving a lease of life to the light tram project, which was mooted last year, the board of directors of Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has given its approval to go ahead with preliminary procedures. The agency is now set to approach the Kerala government seeking project nod and fund allocation. A light tram in Brisbane | representational pic Light tram is a mass transport system like the conventional metro, minus the huge expenses and major logistical challenges. The trams can operate at road level, on elevated tracks or underground “The board has given the nod for conducting the feasibility study for implementing the light tram project. Kochi is in consideration and the first route mooted is the 6.2-km-long MG Road-High CourtThevara section via Shanmugham Road,” said a top KMRL official. The project was first mooted early last year. Following this, the Swiss-based HESS Green Mobility , which implemented light tram service in Brisbane (Australia) and other parts of the world, submitted a feasibility report on various stretches in Kochi, including the MG Road-Thevara-Marine Drive loop. “The report prepared by the Swiss agency was recently submitted to the board, which has given the approval for formally conducting a feasibility study. We’ll write to the state government in the coming week, requesting the nod for the project,” the offical said. “The funding should actually be done by the Union government. Once we get the state’s nod, we will approach the Centre. The same process will be followed in various stages of implementation like floating the tender and DPR preparation,” the official said. ● More on P4 into crores of rupees. Eyewitnesses said the fire first erupted at the wholsale textiles store and quickly spread to neighbouring outlets like Calicut Fashion Bazar and several eateries on the ground floor. A thick blanket of smoke engulfed the area. There were no human casualties. Police and fire and rescue services personnel promptly in- tervened, evacuating shop owners, employees and customers from the building. All buses parked at the stand were quickly moved to safer locations. Immediately after the flames were noticed, multiple fire and rescue services units from four nearby stations reached the site, while reinforcements including a modern fire engine from the Kozhikode airport joined the operations ● More on P5 by 6.50pm.