HYDERABAD l Monday l July 07, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 28 l late cITY EDITION in snub to Trump, Elon Musk forms new political party Tech billionaire Musk has formed a new political party “to give Americans their freedom back”, after a fallout with Trump Registering ‘america party’ the next step “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk said in a post on X. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said. To legally form the party would require Musk to register it with the US Federal Election Commission ■ 2024 musk’s party likely to be fiscally prudent ■ Musk first raised the prospect of forming a party during his public feud with Trump, which saw him leave his role in the administration’s DOGE and engage in a vicious public spat with his former ally The world’s richest man has indicated he wants a party that is fiscally conservative and reins in spending, without more details Musk was the largest donor to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign 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 EC says Bihar draft list would contain names of voters whose enumeration forms were received MUKE S H RA N J A N & As h i s h S r i v a s ta v a & RAMA S HA N KAR @ New Delhi/Patna NOTWITHSTANDING the raging controversy around the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar electoral rolls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now preparing to launch and initiate a similar exercise in West Bengal and New Delhi sometime in August this year, sources in the poll panel told this newspaper on Sunday . The last time the ECI verified electoral rolls in West Bengal and New Delhi was in 2002 and 2008, respectively. “As the assembly elections will be due in West Bengal after Bihar, we are preparing for the exercise in advance,” a source said. For New Delhi, the Chief Electoral Officer has notified the cut-off date for the revision mahua, RJD move supreme court Trinamool Congress leader and Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court challenging an order of the Election Commission of India for special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. “ECI has introduced it to deprive bonafide young electorate of Bihar. Later, they will target Bengal,” Moitra told a news agency. In her plea, Moitra sought a direction to restrain ECI from issuing similar orders in other states of the country. The RJD and an NGO have also moved the top court as March 16, 2008. This means that all voter names added to the rolls after this date will now be subject to verification. Individuals falling in this category will be required to furnish documentary proof of citizenship to retain their names on the electoral list. The ECI said the revision exercise in Bihar has been going on smoothly and the initial phase of it has been completed. In an official statement, the ECI said, “It is reiterated that SIR is being conducted in Bihar as per instructions issued on June 24 and there is no change in the instructions. The draft electoral rolls that will be issued on August 1, 2025 will contain the names of persons whose enumeration forms are received.” It said electors can submit any one of the 11 specified documents anytime before July 25, 2024. “After publication of Draft Electoral Rolls, if any document is deficient, EROs can obtain such documents, from the electors whose name appears in the draft Electoral Roll, during scrutiny in the claims and objection period,” it noted. “The new directive has provided a great relief to people, as they have been given a relaxation of nearly 45 days to submit required documents,” said a senior official posted at the Bihar CEO office in Patna. Highlighting the need for the SIR in the country Chief Elec, tion Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar told this newspaper that during the past four months, “all 4,123 EROs, all 775 DEOs and all 6 CEOs have held nearly 5,000 meetings with 28,000 political party representatives”. “ECI has invited all recognised political parties for interaction. No one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or the other.” The deadline for submission of forms is July 26. BRICS slams Pahalgam attack, demands urgent UNSC reforms J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi BRICS leaders on Sunday condemned the Pahalgam terror attack “in the strongest terms” and flagged the dangers of cross-border terrorism. “We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025, during which 26 people were killed,” the BRICS leaders declaration said. In his hard-hitting address at the BRICS Summit at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called out countries that support terrorism, saying they “must pay the price.” He urged BRICS to take a clear stand to deal with terrorism, saying there is no room for double standards. “We reaffirm our commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing, and safe havens. We urge to ensure zero tolerance for terrorism and re- Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva upon his arrival in Brazil | pti ject double standards in countering terrorism,” the BRICS leaders’ declaration said. The declaration called for the swift adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism under the United Nations framework and demanded concerted global action against all UN-designated CM to visit Delhi today to seek urea supply E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Indian players celebrate the wicket of Jamie Smith along with Akash Deep in Edgbaston on Sunday | AFP Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is set to visit Delhi on Monday to meet Union ministers over various issues concerning the state. He is also likely to meet AICC leaders. Sources said that as the farmers in the state are suffering due to shortage of urea, the chief minister is likely to meet Union Chemical and Fertilisers Minister JP Nadda and discuss the matter. It may be re- called that during the last three months, urea has not been supplied to the state as per allocation. He is expected to urge Nadda to address the issue. Recently, Agriculture Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao in a letter urged the Union minister to supply adequate urea to the state. According to sources, Revanth is likely to meet the Union ministers concer ned and seek approvals for the Hyderabad Metro expansion and Regional Ring Road (RRR). Re- c e n t l y, t h e g o v e r n m e n t finalised the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Hyderabad Metro Phase-2 and sent it to the C e n t r a l g ove r n m e n t f o r approval. Meanwhile, sources indicated that he will meet the leaders of AICC and discuss issues related to the party. Revanth is considering inviting Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to a public meeting to be held in Thungathurthi constituency on July 14 to distribute new ration cards to beneficiaries. terrorists and entities. In a notable shift, the Rio Declaration carried BRICS’s strongest-ever language on the need for United Nations Security Council reform. “We reiterate our support for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council, with a view to making it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient,” it said. Making a sharp geopolitical statement, the BRICS leaders also condemned the recent Israeli airstrikes on Iran, terming them “a violation of international law”. In his address, Modi also made a clarion call for a multipolar, inclusive world order led by meaningful institutional reform. “The Global South has often faced double standards. Whether it’s about development, distribution of resources, or security-related matters, the interests of the Global South have not been given due importance,” Modi said. a SpacE markEting initiativE A SPACE MARKETING INITIATIVE TELANGANA YOUR LIFE COACH YOUR LIFE COACH TElangana SaturDay, juLy 01, 2023 MONDAY, JULY 07, 2025 to EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION After Bihar, poll panel now plans revision of rolls in Bengal, Delhi When engineering goes green Engineers build the world we live in, so if we want to be sustainable in our ways, it is an engineer who needs to be more mindful of their environment. So, what does sustainable engineering look like? Does it have takers inside and outside classrooms and boardrooms? Let's find out WITH THIS ISSUE special edition SPECIAL EDITION 28 PAGES, INCLUDING 16 OF engineering special (TABLOID) srisailam dam @edexliveinsta facebook.com/edexnie edexlive.com Retired engineer Kannaiah Naidu @Xpress_edex Has raised serious concern over the safety of the dam gates. Six of 12 gates are on Telangana side | P5 MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S UK team arrives to fix stranded F-35B fighter jet DREAM AT EDGBASTON E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai Five days ago when India captain Shubman Gill was probed by Michael Atherton during the toss on the Playing XI (then) that looked defensive on paper, an Indian win seemed to be still in the realm of a beautiful dream. In the real world, however, even before a ball was bowled in the second Test, the balance was tilted in favour of hosts England. They successfully chased a record total in the first. India had decided to rest ever-dependable Jasprit Bumrah despite a nine-day gap between the two games. The captain Gill is just one Test old. On top of that India decided to go ahead with all-rounders rather than bolster their bowling. Things looked even more grim when India were 211/5 and were staring at another likely collapse after tea on Day One. Well, that was the last moment India seemed lost. But the one-Test old captain batted, batted and batted, and in the company of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, broke one record after another on his way to a marathon 269. India stopped at 587. The total seemed to have done the trick. If the first innings seemed an ab e r r at i o n , t h e s e c o n d seemed like highlights with fours and sixes peppered around the ground. Morally, England were crushed on the fourth day . Inspired by the captain’s innings, Akash Deep and Mo- hammed Siraj did what India bowlers struggled in the first Test – take 20 wickets in the two innings. ‘No Bumrah, no problem’. The duo shared all ten wickets between them as India gained a 180-run lead and Gill decided to make sure the target was beyond the hosts with another strokeful hundred (161). It was only a matter of time before India levelled the series with ease, thanks to Akash Deep’s 6/99 in the second innings. For the record, this is the biggest margin (336 runs) of win for India away from home and this is their first win at Edgbaston. In sports, dreams do turn into reality. Over to L o r d ’s w i t h h o p e a n d hoopla. E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ T’Puram / New Delhi THE f-35B fighter aircraft of the British Royal Navy strand, ed in the Thiruvananthapuram international airport for the past three weeks, was on Sunday moved out from the tarmac. The aircraft was towed by a team of British engineers who arrived from the UK on Sunday, using special equipment necessary for the movement and repair process. The 14-member team arrived aboard a Royal Air Force Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft, carrying specialist equipment. The jet, stranded since June 14 due to a hydraulic system failure, was moved to a designated hangar space provided by Air India. The development came after the UK accepted the offer of a @ Hyderabad In a remarkable example of how digital infrastructure can bridge educational divides, students at the Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) in Adavi Srirampur village, Peddapalli district, are embracing cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools like Perplexity.ai, thanks to highspeed internet access under the Telangana government’s T-Fiber initiative. T-Fiber, the state’s flagship programme, aims to provide affordable, high-speed broadband connectivity to every household. As part of its Proof of Concept rollout, Adavi Srirampur is one of four pilot villages experiencing the transformative power of digital inclusion. A video recently shared by the T-Fiber team features students at the Adavi Srirampur school using Perplexity.ai, an AI-powered research assistant, to ask questions, clear doubts, and explore topics beyond their textbooks through voice-enabled queries. The video drew praise from Perplexity Cofounder and CEO Aravind Srinivas, who reposted it on social media platform ‘X’, noting: “It is great to see schools in India having their students learn with Perplexity as a tutor. Our founding mission is to make the world’s knowledge accessible, and I’m glad it’s having its impact.” British Royal Navy fighter jet F-35B being towed to hangar at Thiruvananthapuram airport. Inset: UK’s Atlas ZM417 that brought aviation engineers and equipment | pti aircraft made emergeNcy landing The F-35B jet made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram on the night of June 14, 2025 as it faced adverse weather conditions and low fuel engineer the next day but early , repair efforts were unsuccessful. Towing the aircraft was deemed too risky, prompting the UK to send a full engineering crew. Ex-soldier battles to regain land Students in remote village tap AI tools to broaden knowledge S i d d h a r d h a G at t i m i space in the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport. “The UK remains very grateful for the continued support and collaboration of the Indian authorities and airport teams,” British High Commission stated. This newspaper had earlier reported that F-35B Lightning II fighter would be repaired at its present location, for which a team would be flown in from the UK. The F-35B fighter jet made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram on the night of June 14, 2025 as it faced adverse weather conditions and low fuel. The aircraft was unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales as it was caught in adverse weather conditions. A Royal Navy helicopter had flown in an additional pilot and A S e s h a c h a r y u l u @ Nalgonda A file photo of Minister Sridhar Babu with Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas Responding to the post, IT Minister D Sridhar Babu recalled his meeting with Srinivas in August last year and reaffirmed the gover nment’s commitment to technological equity  . CONTINUED ON P5 The revered Indian slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” rings hollow for Modugu Kondal Reddy, a 70-year-old exserviceman from Suryapet district, who is entangled in a prolonged struggle with the revenue department and an unscrupulous tenant over five acres of land rightfully assigned to him. In 1991, Kondal Reddy, who served 18 years in the Indian Army, was granted five acres in Survey No. 159/19, Nandapuram village, Tirumalagiri mandal, in recognition of his service. Holding pattadar passbook No. T29220020366 and account no. 787, he cultivated the land until illness forced him to lease it to his neighbour. This decision sparked a distressing ordeal. The tenant allegedly forged a ‘Sada Bainama’ (informal sale agreement) to claim ownership and illegally sold two acres to another individual, violating the Assign- ment Act of 1977. In 2020, Kondal Reddy applied for a new pattadar passbook via the Dharani portal, only to find the tenant had also applied for the same land. Allegations surfaced that the tenant and buyer influenced mandal officials, leading to an alleged flawed inquiry by the Tirumalagiri tahsildar. The inquiry report, forwarded to then Suryapet District Collector Amoy Kumar (Letter No. B/1542/19), confirmed Kondal Reddy’s sole ownership. CONTINUED ON P5