HYDERABAD l tuesday l july 08, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Tahawwur Rana was in Mumbai to oversee 26/11 carnage Tahawwur Rana, the 26/11 mastermind, has admitted he was present in Mumbai during the 2008 attacks as a trusted agent of Pakistan ‘conducted many surveillance missions’ Even as Rana remains under NIA custody in Tihar Jail, his statement was recorded by Mumbai Police Crime Branch. Rana told interrogators that he had conducted many reconnaissance missions of several areas in Mumbai ahead of the 2008 attacks and was present in the area when Lashkar-eTaiba-linked terrorists attacked the Taj Hotel and went on a rampage ■ 166 rana was involved in aiding the attack ■ The NIA has charged Rana for hatching a conspiracy to carry out the attacks along with friend David Headley, who is a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative and another key conspirator in the gruesome 26/11 attacks Rana was involved in planning the attacks and helped Headley in getting a visa by creating a false identity to help him travel to India people were killed in the 26/11 attacks in mumbai 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 SC to hear pleas against Bihar EC fiat on Thursday Bench says timeline has no sanctity as polls for the state Assembly are yet to be notified SUCHI T RA KALYAN M OHAN T Y @ New Delhi Why fresh exercise? “Bihar’s voter list was finalised in January 2025. The ECI itself acknowledged this. Revisions were made until June. Then, suddenly, it was discarded… Without any proof, without discrepancies, 70 million voters now have to prove citizenship again,” Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said This is mass scale rigging and mischief being carried out by the ECI, under instructions from the ruling regime... It has wreaked havoc across the villages and towns of Bihar K C Venugopal, Cong The Supreme Court on Monday decided to hear on July 10, Thursday a batch of pleas chal, lenging an order of the Election Commission of India (ECI) for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The batch of petitions included a joint Opposition plea filed on Monday Its signatories . are K C Venugopal of the Congress, Supriya Sule of NCP (Sharad Pawar), Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena (UBT), Harinder Malik of Samajwadi Party Sarfraz Ahmed of JMM, D Raja of , CPI and Dipankar Bhattacharya of CPI (ML). Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the pleas filed before a two-judge bench comprising justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi. “We will have it on Thursday,” the bench said. Sibal urged the court to issue a notice to the ECI, adding it will be impossible for the people to meet the tight timeline for enumeration. Other lawyers who made their submissions were Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Shadan Farasat and Gopal Shankarnarayanan. They argued that voters who fail to submit their forms with the specified documents will face the harsh consequence of being deleted from the electoral roll, even if they have voted in elections for the last 20 years. Singhvi said while the size of the electorate is 8 crore, as many as 4 crore will have to do the enumeration. “The timeline is so strict — by July 25 if you don’t give, you will be out,” Singhvi pointed out. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for another petitioner, said the poll panel was not accepting Aadhaar cards and voter ID cards as proof for the enumeration. The bench, however, contended that the timeline “doesn’t have sanctity as elections have not been notified as yet”. It asked the petitioners to give advance notice to the counsel for the ECI. Apart from the joint petition by Opposition leaders, at least five other pleas have been filed, including those by the Association For Democratic Reforms, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha, and activist Yogendra Yadav. A file picture of damaged residential buildings after heavy rainfall in Mandi | PTI 30 reported missing after cloudbursts in Himachal h a r p r e e t b a j w a @ Chandigarh SEARCH and rescue operations in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh were intensified on Monday with the use of drones and sniffer dogs to trace 30 people who went missing after cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides wreaked havoc in the Thunag, Gohar, and Karsog subdivisions last week. A team of 250 personnel from the National and State Disaster Response Forces, Army, IndoTibetan Border Police, and Home Guards, along with the administration and locals, are part of the rescue work. The disaster resulted in the death of 52 people, with 78 reported deaths since the onset of the monsoon on June 20. Meanwhile, a 10-month-old infant, Nitika, was rescued from the debris of her home in Talwara village. Her father, Ramesh Kumar, was found dead, while her ‘Issue regular updates’ CM Sukhu has directed officials to issue regular weather updates and to counter misinformation circulating on social media mother and grandmother are still untraced. The infant is currently being taken care of by her aunt. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed concern over the rising incidents of cloudbursts across the state. The local weather office issued a yellow warning for heavy rain at isolated places in four districts of Una, Hamirpur, Solan and Sirmaur districts till Wednesday . As many as 235 roads are closed in the state, of which 176 were in Mandi district alone. Besides, 163 transformers were affected in the state. Countries aligning with BRICS policies will be charged an additional 10% tariff LETTERS FIRED US President Donald Trump on Monday signed letters addressed to the leaders of 14 countries, announcing higher tariffs from August 1. Trump shared screenshots of 7 signed letters mentioning the new tariff rates for Myanmar and Laos (40% each); South Africa (30%); Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan (25% each). White House said more letters will be sent | P10 Aug 1 Higher tariffs on 7 countries from Aug 1 Trump threatens extra 10% tariff on BRICS allies J AYAN T H J ACOB @ New Delhi HOURS after the BRICS leaders criticised the unilateral trade actions and Israel’s military strikes in Iran, US President Donald Trump late on Sunday night threatened to slap an additional 10% tariff on countries that support the ‘anti-American policies’ of the bloc. “Any country aligning themselves with the AntiAmerican policies of BRICS will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social. He did not specify which policies were “anti-American” or which countries would be targeted. Trump’s threat followed BRICS joint declaration at the summit in Brazil, where member states including India, Brazil, China, Russia, South Africa, and several new entrants criticised protectionist trade practices and foreign military interventions. Without naming the US, the statement voiced “serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules.” The bloc reaffirmed its support for an inclusive trading system and rejected ‘punitive and discriminatory protectionist measures’. The declaration issued at Rio, Brazil on Sunday during the summit of BRICS leaders said the proliferation of traderestrictive actions “threatens to further reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty into international economic and trade activities”. This is not the first time Trump has targeted BRICS. In June, he threatened to slap 100% tariffs on countries that move to replace the US dollar as the global reserve currency . BRICS, originally formed to amplify the voice of major emerging economies, has since expanded beyond its core members to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Will ensure 60 tickets to women in next Assembly polls: Revanth Express News Service Devgn expresses interest in setting up film studio in TG @ Hyderabad Reiterating that his government remains committed to empowering women, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday said that he would take the responsibility on behalf of , the Congress, of giving 60 tickets to women in the next Assembly elections by which time the Women’s Reservation Act will come into force. Following delimitation, likely in 2026, the Assembly strength will increase to at least 153 seats. The chief minister said, “Soon, women’s reservations will come into force in the Assembly Seats in the Telangana . Assembly will increase to 153 after delimitation. Of them, as per 33 per cent reservations, 51 seats will be reserved for women. I will take responsibility to allocate a total of 60 seats to women.” At present, there are nine women MLAs in the Telangana Assembly — six from Congress and three from BRS. AIMIM, BJP and CPI have no women members. There are two women members of the Cabinet — Konda Surekha and Danasari Anasuya. The chief minister was speaking at the launch of Vana Mahotsavam-2025, a mass tree plantation drive at Prof. Jayashankar Telangana Agriculture University in Hyderabad. The government has set a target of planting 18 crore saplings under the programme. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to plant a sapling in the name of one’s mother, Revanth urged Well-known actor Ajay Devgn calls on Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at the latter’s official residence in Delhi on Monday Cabinet to Meet on July 10 with Kharif on the agenda mothers to plant saplings in the name of their children. “Nature will protect us if we take care of nature,” he said. The chief minister also appealed to people to plant at least two saplings per household, stating that Telangana would become a green zone if trees were nurtured like children. Listing government initiatives for women, Revanth said the state provided `21,000 crore Hyderabad: Well-known actor Ajay Devgn has expressed interest in setting up a world-class film studio in Telangana and sought support from the state government. On Monday, he met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at the latter’s official residence in Delhi to discuss the proposal. Devgn presented to the chief minister plans for an international-standard studio equipped with animation, VFX and AI-powered facilities. He also proposed establishing a skill development institute to train professionals for the film industry. He said Telangana had the potential to become a leading destination for cinema infrastructure in India. The chief minister briefed him on the government’s initiatives in the media and entertainment sectors. Devgn expressed appreciation for the government’s efforts and said he was willing to act as a brand ambassador to promote ‘Rising Telangana’ through cinema and media. In a separate meeting, former India cricket captain Kapil Dev met Revanth and discussed the proposed Young India Sports University in the state. He expressed interest in collaborating with the government to promote sports education and infrastructure.  continued on P4 Hyderabad: The Telangana state Cabinet will meet on July 10 under the leadership of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. The Cabinet is expected to review implementation of decisions from earlier meetings. Sources said the Kharif season and monsoon preparedness are also likely to be on the agenda. in loans to self-help groups this year. He noted that women are being encouraged to set up solar plants and run government schools. The gover nment is providing free RTC bus travel for women and has supported them in leasing 1,000 buses to RTC, making them bus owners. Space has also been provided for women’s groups to market their products at Hitec City the , chief minister said. Revanth reiterated his government’s target of making one crore women millionaires and said self-help groups would also be formed in urban areas. He said efforts were being made to empower women in all fields and ensure they lead a life of self-respect in “Indiramma rule”. Forest and Environment Minister Konda Surekha and PCCF Suvarna were among those present. KLIS probe Ex-ENC to be asked to explain his statement Express News Service @ Hyderabad The Justice PC Ghose Commission will summon former engineer-in-chief G Anil Kumar on July 9 and seek an explanation on grouting the Medigadda barrage. The Commission reportedly objected to Anil Kumar’s comments that grouting was done as suggested by the technical committee of engineers, which assisted the panel. The Commission sought a written explanation from Anil Kumar, which will be inserted into its report. The panel, meanwhile, is likely to fix the liability for the damage to the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme on former ch i e f m i n i s t e r K C h a n drasekhar Rao when it submits its report in the last week of this month. As differing versions emerged from the state gover nment and the BRS on the Cabinet’s approval of the Kaleshwaram project, the Commission is likely to go by the admissions of the former CM. “KCR, T Harish Rao and Eatala Rajender, during their crossexamination, said that there was Cabinet approval for the Kaleshwaram project,” a source in the Commission pointed out. When asked whether the Cabinet meant the then CM alone or the entire Council of Ministers, the sources evaded a direct reply saying that they would refer to the Constitution. However, sources in the Commission said that ‘liability’ would be fixed in the report for the lapses. Meanwhile, Justice Ghose is likely to reach Hyderabad on July 27, a day after attending a programme in Kolkata. He will fine-tune the report and submit it on any day between July 28 and July 31, the day the panel’s tenure ends. points to ponder n October 28, 2023: Piers of the Medigadda barrage sank n March 14, 2024: A one-man Commission of Inquiry was constituted n Commission cross-examined The as many as 115 witnesses, including KCR, Harish Rao, Eatala Rajender and several serving and retired IAS officers and engineers n Pertinently, the Commission did not have the mandate to examine the criminal aspects of the case Kyunki neta again abhineta, Smriti back as Tulsi | p8 Damaged flood bank leaves Bhadrachalam residents on the edge B S atya n a r aya n a R e d d y @ Khammam Srisailam full, gates may be lifted today With each drop of rain upstream the Godavari, anxiety levels among the residents of Bhadrachalam town in Telangana and Yetapaka in Andhra Pradesh are rising. They are unable to divert their attention from the damaged part of the flood bank that offers them protection against the rising river water every year. The state government had constructed the flood bank to protect Bhadrachalam and Yetapaka village from Godavari floods, which take place every year. Following bifurcation of the state, about 2.95 kilometres of the flood bank went to AP . Worryingly for the people of Bhadrachalam, there has allegedly been no supervision or Hyderabad: With water levels at Srisailam reaching 90% of the dam’s capacity, it is expected that the Andhra Pradesh government will lift some of the project’s gates on Tuesday. As against the gross capacity of 215.81 tmcft, the storage in Srisailam was 191.65 tmcft at 3 pm on Monday. The inflows have increased to 1.71 lakh cusecs while the outflows through powerhouses were 83,545 cusecs. With inflows of over one lakh cusecs, 10 gates of the Jurala project were lifted and 1.1 lakh cusecs released downstream. The outflows from Tungabhadra were recorded at 61,651 cusecs. The outflows from Almatti dam were 1.15 lakh cusecs. As against the gross storage capacity of 312.05 tmcft, the present storage at Nagarjunasagar project was 165.23 tmcft. The inflows into NSP were 58,391 cusecs and outflows were 4,724 cusecs on Monday. Water gushes out after the crest gates at Jurala were lifted on Monday monitoring of the flood bank on the AP side. The flood bank has been levelled by encroachers at many places and temporary houses have come up. Additionally, the one-metre tall protection wall constructed to protect the town from floods has collapsed at 5 to 10 places due to rains. It is learnt some parts of the flood bank on the AP side have sunk and gaps on top of the bund are visible. About 15 to 20 metres of the protection wall is crumbling to the extent that it appears to be collapsing. During the 2022 floods, the water had overflowed the bund and some places were slightly submerged. Telangana Irrigation officials have informed this to their counterparts in AP and have also written to officials of Dowleswaram project. Their missives have evoked no response till now.  continued on p2