HYDERABAD l wednesday l july 16, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION DGCA data shows 641 bird/animal hits at 20 airports in 5 months delhi airport most hit, ahmedabad second DGCA data shows 1,633 bird/animal strikes in 2022 in these airports. It soared to 2,269 in 2023 and dipped to 2,066 in 2024. Delhi bore the brunt and averaged 400-plus incidents annually in the last three years. It had 442 strikes in 2022, 616 in 2023 and 419 in 2024, data shows. In 2025, it has recorded 95 hits. Ahmedabad is the second most affected airport | P7 A whopping 2,000 bird and animal hits on aircraft have been recorded annually in last two years across 20 busiest airports in the country ■ 201 consistency in reporting hazards needed ■ To tackle the menace, the first meeting of the National Wildlife Hazard Management Committee was recently held in New Delhi where representatives from all airports and airlines took part The meeting called for enhancing efforts to identify wildlife species and urged operators and ATCs to consistently report wildlife hazards cases of bird hits were recorded at ahmedabad airport last year 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 Talks on Banakacherla premature, untenable: TG to Jal Shakti ministry Express News Service @ Hyderabad From left: Parachutes of the Dragon Grace spacecraft carrying crew members of the Axiom-4 mission deploy before splashing down off California; the Dragon Grace spacecraft; Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla greets as he reaches Earth | PTI Splashdown Axiom-4 Space Mission successful, pilot Shubhanshu Shukla back after 20 days BOS K Y K H A NN A @ Bengaluru THE Axiom-4 Space Mission’s Dragon spacecraft, Grace, with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla (call sign Shux) as its mission pilot, made a textbook splashdown at 3.02 pm (IST) on Tuesday off the US’ Pacific coast of California near San Diego, marking the end of a 20-day space sojourn, of which 18 were spent on board the International Space Station (ISS). The Ax-4 crew traversed 12 million km while making 282 orbits around Earth while aboard the ISS during their stay there. With the Ax-4 Space Mission, Shux is the first Indian to visit and safely return from the ISS and the second to go to space after Sqdn Ldr Rakesh Sharma, 41 years ago as a part of Soyuz T-11 crew in April 1984. The splashdown happened after Grace’s Earth-orbiting free flight lasting nearly 22 hours and 30 minutes. Grace SIR needs enough time, checking citizenship not ECI’s job: TDP had undocked from the ISS at 4.50 pm IST on Monday before , the crew embarked on the deorbiting procedures to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on Tuesday afternoon to position itself for a safe splashdown at the predetermined location. The capsule was recovered by SpaceX’s recovery teams, and Shux and his crewmates—mission commander Peggy Whitson from the US, and mission specialists Sławosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary—were extracted. After de-orbiting procedures began at 2 pm, the final speed of Grace was reduced from 563.27 km/hour to 24.14 km/ hour before when two Drogue parachutes opened 2.55 minutes before splashdown to stabilize the capsule hurtling towards Earth. Its four main parachutes opened 2.30 minutes before the splashdown. Amid cheers, Shux slid out of the capsule at 3.52 pm, helped by NASA members, and took his first steps in gravity after 20 days, walking towards the medical centre on the Shannon ship, on which the capsule was carried after the four crew members exited the capsule. Shux and his crewmates were checked for their vital health parameters before being put into a seven-day quarantine, during which they will undergo a series of tests to ensure their well-being. Medical experts will assess their physical and mental stability, and changes in biomass and bone density . “Shux was checked for dizziness, orientation, consciousness, and stability. His pulse and cardiovascular tests were also done. ISRO will take no chances in assuring his health and safety,” a senior ISRO scientist told this paper. Time to check out the Tesla —Asha Shukla, mother of Shubhanshu Shukla Moment of pride and joy: Family Splashdown after 5-minute ‘blackout’ Shubhanshu Shukla’s mother Asha Shukla and father Shabhu Dayal Shukla said they were happy and relieved that their son returned safely. They are now eagerly awaiting his return to India Around seven minutes before splashdown, there were a few tense moments during ‘blackout’ —a fiveminute period during which the spacecraft loses communication with the command centre due to intense heat and high velocity re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere Shubhanshu’s parents Shambhu Shukla and Asha | pti @ Vijayawada Tesla drove into India via the import route on Tuesday with its Model Y ready to compete against high-end EVs from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi | P10 Tesla makes India debut with mid-sized electric SUV Model Y at its first experience centre in Mumbai Comes as a completely built car from its Shanghai unit in China Model Y was once the world’s bestselling car base price of two variants `59.89L Rear-wheel drive (500 km range on single charge) `67.89L long-range rear wheel drive (622 km range) Deliveries to start in the third and fourth quarter of 2025 respectively for the two variants Initial registration, delivery at Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram express read Finally, flicker of hope for Kerala nurse in Yemen NImisha Priya New Delhi: The execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, scheduled for July 16 in Yemen, has been temporarily halted, providing a crucial lifeline for the 37-year-old Kerala resident. The reprieve comes after intense behind-the-scenes efforts involving humanitarian activists, legal representatives and a timely intervention by Sunni Muslim cleric Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar | p7 Stage now set for Gaganyaan mission Shubhanshu Shukla’s space odyssey has set the stage for India’s own ambitions of human spaceflight ‘Gaganyaan’ in 2027 on a home-built rocket and a crew capsule that is at an advanced stage of preparedness Former irrigation ENC held in DA case, properties worth crores found e n s @ Hyderabad Express News Service The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Tuesday became the first NDA ally to emphasise that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has no authority to adjudicate on citizenship, a position hitherto taken by opposition parties in Bihar following the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls there a few months before state polls. At an all-party meeting convened by the ECI in New Delhi, the TDP urged it not to hold SIR in Andhra Pradesh within six months of any major polls. Citing the Supreme Court’s landmark Lal Babu Hussein judgment (1995), the party reiterated that the ECI is not vested with the authority to adjudicate on citizenship and emphasised that the burden of proof lies with those raising objections — not with voters themselves. The party also suggested farreaching electoral reforms to safeguard the sanctity of the voter list. The TDP delegation, led by state president and Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao Yadav, emphasised the importance of procedural transparency, legal adherence, and technological innovation in the electoral roll revision process. I am speechless. My son has safely returned. I thank God The Telangana government has requested the Ministry of Jal Shakti to either revise the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting of chief ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh or defer any discussion on the AP government’s proposed PolavaramBanakacherla link project, until all statutory requirements, interstate consultations and clearances are fully complied with and all objections resolved. It also requested inclusion of the items proposed by it in the agenda for the meeting. Any discussion on AP’s project was “premature and untenable”, Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao said in a letter to the Secretary of Jal Shakti. Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil has convened a meeting in Delhi on Wednesday with chief ministers of Telangana and AP , A Revanth Reddy and N Chandrababu Naidu, and to discuss river water issues. The AP government submitted PolavaramBanakacherla as an agenda item. Telangana has objected to a discussion on AP’s project “at this juncture”. There is no clarity on whether the Jal Shakti Ministry will drop the Banakacherla item from the agenda or not. If the ministry does not drop it, Revanth might stage a walkout from the meeting after registering his dissent, sources said. However, he is expected to make his stand crystal clear on all irrigation-related issues of the state before walking out, the sources added. Meanwhile, the chief secretary in his letter said: “Given the unresolved and substantive objections of the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA), Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), Central Water Com- former Irrigation department Engineer-in-Chief (ENC) Cheeti Muralidhar Rao, aged 70, was arrested and sent to judicial remand on Tuesday in connection with a disproportionate assets case. The ACB officials unearthed Muralidhar Rao’s assets worth several crores, which the sleuths believe he had amassed by misusing his official position. Surprisingly, the former Irrigation ENC even ventured into solar power generation in Zaheerabad. An official release from ACB said that a case of assets dis- The assets unearthed by ACB n A villa at Kondapur. One flat each in Banjara Hills, Yousufguda, Begumpet, Kokapet n 2 commercial buildings each in Hyderabad and Karimnagar n An apartment in Kodad n A solar power project of 2 kW in Zaheerabad n An apartment under construction in Warangal n 11 acres of agricultural land, 4 residential prime open plots in Hyderabad, 6,500 sq yards land in Mokila, 3 four-wheelers including a Mercedes Ch Muralidhar Rao Benz, gold ornaments and bank deposits proportionate to the known sources of income has been registered against Muralidhar Rao, for acquiring these assets by indulging in ‘unlawful practices’ and by ‘dubious means’ during his service. The ACB conducted searches at the house of Muralidhar Rao and 11 other places belonging to him and his relatives and unearthed the properties he allegedly acquired through illegal means.  CONTINUED ON p5 deadly disputes CPI leader shot dead during morning walk Cong SC Cell chief found murdered E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Medak Communist Party of India (CPI) leader K Chandu Rathod (47) was shot dead in broad daylight at Shalivahana Nagar Park in Malakpet on Tuesday while he was returning home after a morning walk. Three to four unidentified men arrived at the park around 7.30 am in a white Swift and reportedly threw chilli powder at Rathod before firing. “As he attempted to flee from the spot, they shot multiple rounds. He sustained severe bullet wounds and died on the spot,” the police said. Preliminary investigation suggests the murder may be linked to a land dispute. The Clues Team recovered five bullets from the scene, and police are currently examining CCTV footage. In a shocking late-night incident, M Anil (35), president of the Medak District Congress SC Cell, was found brutally murdered near Variguntam village in Kulcharam mandal on Monday. Initially thought to be an accident, police later confirmed it was a targeted killing. According to the police, Anil was returning to his native village by car after attending a meeting at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad when unidentified assailants opened fire on him. Sources suggested Anil had ongoing disputes with a Kadapa MLA’s family and a Hyderabad-based real estate firm over six guntas of land. Police sent the body for a post-mortem examination. The Kulcharam police are investigating the case. cm to make TG stand clear There is no clarity on whether the Jal Shakti Ministry will drop the Banakacherla item from the agenda or not. If the ministry does not drop it, CM Revanth Reddy might stage a walkout from the meeting after registering his dissent, sources said. nAIDU discusses G-B project with AMIT Shah Vijayawada: AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu called on Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday and discussed GodavariBanakacherla project. The project will benefit Rayalaseema, he said | P5 mission (CWC), and the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), the lack of statutory clearances, and the ongoing violations of binding legal provisions and tribunal awards, it is unequivocally premature and procedurally untenable to discuss the Godavari-Banakacherla Link Project at this stage. Proceeding otherwise would undermine the authority of the Government of India’s own regulatory mechanisms and set a precedent contrary to the rule of law.” “The government of Telangana appreciates the initiative to address inter-state water issues. However, we must formally place on record our objections to the inclusion and discussion of the Godavari-Banakacherla (Polavaram-Banakacherla) Link Project at this juncture, and request that the agenda be revised accordingly ,” Ramakrishna Rao said in the letter to the Secretary of the Ministry of Jal Shakti on Monday  . CONTINUED ON p4 WB nod for $477 million loan for health infra in TG Ma n da Ra v i n d e r R e dd y @ Hyderabad In a major relief to the state government, the World Bank has agreed to lend $477 million (approximately `4,000 crore) to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure in Telangana. The state government had sought the loan in 2024 to upgrade medical facilities, enhance service delivery and address critical health challenges. The bank will extend the loan to the state government under the ‘Telangana Strategic Vision for Attaining Sustainable Transformation in Healthcare’ project. Sources said that the appraisal of the loan will be in November 2025. Its final approval is expected in February 2026. The state Health, Medical and Family Welfare department (DoHMFW) will act as the implementing agency . The total cost of implementing the project is $1,380.19 million, of which $477 million will be financed by the World Bank. The remaining $904.19 million will be contributed by the state. The proposed programme has identified four entities, namely DoHMFW, Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare, Director of Public Health, and Director of Medical Education, to which the result areas will be linked. The budget lines aligned with programme objectives were identified to define the government programme, valued at $4.9 billion over a sixyear period. CONTINUED ON p5