HYDERABAD l sunday l july 27, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l LATE CITY EDITION mandatory safety audits of schools, mental health help The Ministry of Education on Saturday issued a fiat to all states and UTs to take urgent steps to ensure the safety and well-being of students ‘report any threat to kids within a day’ Mandatory safety audits of schools and child-related facilities as per national safety codes, providing psychosocial support through counselling and reporting any dangerous incident involving children within 24 hours to designated authorities are among measures proposed. Structural integrity, along with fire safety and emergency exits must be assessed | P7 ■ 7 coordination from parents sought ■ The order also mandated training for staff and students to tackle emergencies, including evacuation drills, first aid and safety protocol The order called upon education departments, school boards and affiliated authorities to act without any delay in implementing the measures, through the help of parents, guardians and local bodies students were killed at a school in rajasthan , leading to the fiat 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 Ideological politics being edged out by ‘Swiggy politics’: CM not a single MLA has been suspended,” he said. Paying tribute to Jaipal Stating that ideology-based Reddy, Revanth said that politics was disappearing the late leader played a from the country’s political key role in national politics landscape, Chief Minister A and remained in public life Revanth Reddy on Saturday until his last breath. “As a expressed concern that they Union minister, he was inwere gradually being re- strumental in shaping poliplaced by what he described cies and legislation. His oraas “Swiggy politics.” tory skills earned him the “The number of leaders B e s t P a rl i a m e n t a r i a n committed to ideology is de- Award,” Revanth said. clining in our poliHe noted that tics. This is a danger Jaipal Reddy promotto democracy. The ed social justice by alcountry is moving locating party tickets I believe in rapidly towards in- parliamentary to SCs, STs and BCs stability, with politiin his constituency . values and cal managers taking allow everyone Revanth added that centrestage and dem- to speak freely. Jaipal Reddy had left ocratic values weak- We are open to the Congress on ideoconstructive ening,” he said. logical grounds and suggestions The chief minister rejoined it for the was speaking at an A Revanth Reddy, same reason, not for event jointly organpositions or power. chief minister ised by ICFAI and the “No one can erase his Capital Foundation Society contribution to the formain Hyderabad, where he pre- tion of Telangana. Without sented the Jaipal Reddy De- his support, Telangana may mocracy Award to economist not have become a reality,” Mohan Guruswamy . he said. Addressing the gathering, The chief minister also Revanth stressed the need for quoted Sonia Gandhi as havideological student politics in ing once told him that her universities and said efforts decision to announce the formust be made to curb the role mation of Telangana was inof money in politics. “We are fluenced by Jaipal Reddy “He . gradually increasing the had no enemies in politics, number of Assembly sitting only opponents,” Revanth days. In the last 18 months, stated. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad I n st e p Defence minister Rajnath Singh with Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Army Vice Chief Lt General N S Raja Subramani, Navy Chief Adm Dinesh K Tripathi and Air Chief AP Singh as they march to pay tribute to the Kargil War martyrs at the National War Memorial (R) on the Kargil Vijay Diwas anniversary, in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI Bihar horror Chirag raps NITISH on rape IN ambulance r a m a s h a n k a r @ Patna A 26-year-old woman with a dream to don the khaki appeared at a physical test for recruitment of Home Guards in Bihar’s Gaya but was allegedly gangraped in an ambulance after she fainted during the test on Thursday . The horrific incident drew widespread outrage as cracks appeared in the ruling NDA in Bihar when Union minister Chirag Paswan expressed “regret” over having to support the Nitish government, which he said had “surrendered” before criminals. The young woman, a resident of Imamganj in Gaya, narrated her ordeal to hospital authorities after regaining consciousness. Hospital authorities, in turn, informed police, following which an FIR was registered. Gaya SSP Anand Kumar said two accused, Vinay Kumar (driver) and A j i t Ku m a r (tech- nician), have already been arrested and produced in court, which remanded them in 14-day judicial custody . The victim, in her statement, said she was gangraped by three-four individuals travelling in the ambulance arranged to transport her from the BMP-3 ground to the Magadh Medical College and Hospital. “Though I was in semi-conscious state, I felt the pain in my ... abdomen,” she said. Chirag’s remarks came two days after he heaped praise on Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor for playing an ‘honest’ role in Bihar politics. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav asked voters to vote the NDA out. “Bihar is under the rule of demons,” Yadav said. W I T H T H I S I SS U E The Anteaters PLUS 12 P AGES No timeline for completion of negotiations on bilateral trade deal Trade talks with Major pushback US making fast against Trump’s progress: Goyal GM playbook E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi D i pa k M o nd a l @ New Delhi Talks on the India-US trade deal is progressing India is firm on its stance against importing fast, Minister of Commerce and Industries Piy- genetically modified (GM) crops from the US, ush Goyal said on Saturday Negotiations are at sources in the government said. It has been our . an advanced stage with Oman as well, while with stated position for long and it remains so, said a the European Union and US, they are making top government source. Import of GM crops has fast progress, he said. been a bone of contention between the two counGoyal, however, refused to tries during the trade negotiagive any timeline for the comtions. With the government pletion of the US deal even as now making its stance clear, the extended deadline (August the Trump playbook will find 1) for imposition of the reciprofull resistance on GM crops. cal tariff is less than a week The US is pressing India to away. According to commerce allow imports of GM crops ministry sources, a delegation such as soybean meal and disof US negotiators is likely to tillers dried grains with solucome to India in the second bles (DDGS) for animal feed. In future, when Kolhapuri sandals are half of August for talks on the Initially, the India did not exported, India will get Bilateral Trade Agreement strongly oppose the idea of credit. It will be exported (BTA). India faces a 26% ‘recipsome tariff cuts on farm goods as India’s GI product rocal tariff ’ if there is no trade or even selective GM imports. deal by August 1. However, after facing strong do—Piyush Goyal, minister Goyal said that the India-UK mestic resistance, India seems trade agreement serves as a to have hardened its position as doorway for India to engage with the developed far as GM imports are concerned. world. He said that unlike past FTAs under the A Niti Aayog report had suggested a “strategic UPA government, which were often signed with opening for US imports” for broader export gains. direct competitors like ASEAN nations, the Modi It proposed importing GM soybean seeds, crushgovernment has focused on FTAs with comple- ing them at coastal facilities, selling oil domestimentary economies like Mauritius, Australia, cally and exporting soymeal (with GM traits) to UAE, and the EFTA bloc (Switzerland, Norway, avoid domestic contamination. But experts Liechtenstein, Iceland). panned it citing weak regulatory oversight. “The business opportunities, the quality and Another major area of difference between the cost competitiveness of Indian goods and serv- two countries is imports of animals fed on aniices, the demographic dividend of our young and mal-derived feed — for example, butter from aspirational population, the rule of law, and the cows fed meat — due to deep religious sensitivistrength of our democracy all make India a pre- ties. India prohibits such animals and it considferred global partner,” he said. ers this policy non-negotiable. Fertility centre searched on plaint of sperm swap E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Police personnel on Saturday carried out searches at a fertility clinic in Secunderabad as part of an investigation following a complaint from a couple who alleged that the centre used sperm from an unknown donor without consent during an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedure. Sources said the complaint stated that the couple had approached the private fertility centre in Secunderabad for IVF treatment, with specific instructions to use the husband’s sperm. The woman later became pregnant and gave birth to a child. However, months after the birth, the child began experiencing recurrent health issues and was eventually diagnosed with cancer. The couple, who claimed there was no family history of the illness, grew suspicious. The clinic reportedly failed to provide clear explanations when questioned by the parents. Suspecting procedural lapses, the couple arranged a DNA test. To their shock, the DNA test indicated that the child was not biologically the husband’s. The couple then lodged a complaint with the Gopalpuram police station. Based on the DNA report, police registered an FIR against the fertility centre and conducted initial searches at the facility on Saturday . A formal investigation is underway. A senior official from the North Zone police confirmed that further details will be shared with the media on Sunday . SC Justice Varma set to hear plea against cash probe today | P7 express read KTR claims quid pro quo deal between CM & MP Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Saturday reiterated his allegation that the Revanth Reddy government gave a `1,660 crore road contract to BJP MP CM Ramesh. In return, the BJP-led Central government awarded a `1,137 crore AMRUT contract to the brother-in-law of the chief minister, he claimed. “Could there be a more shameful quid pro quo? After I exposed the shady dealings of both Revanth and Ramesh, they are now in disarray and scrambling to save themselves,” he said | P4 BJP MP: KTR’s claims stem from frustration Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy speaks at the ICFAI & Capital Foundation Society-S Jaipal Reddy Memorial Award function in Hyderabad on Saturday Visakhapatnam: The war of words between Anakapalle BJP MP CM Ramesh and BRS working president KT Rama Rao intensified on Saturday with the former rejecting the latter’s allegations of colluding with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to secure government contracts and countering it with an allegation of his own. “KTR’s accusations are a result of the turmoil within the BRS,” Ramesh said, questioning the timing of KTR’s claims | P4 ADR rejoinder rebuts EC’s claim that it has right to verify citizenship in Bihar s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi RESPONDING to the Election Commission’s counter affidavit filed on July 21, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Saturday told the Supreme Court that the EC’s electoral roll verification goes against the SC’s past judgments, and was a “grave fraud” on voters. The ADR’s rejoinder came after the ECI had on July 21 submitted its reply defending the Bihar SIR (Special Intensive Revision) exercise and said it was done to restore public confidence and integrity of electoral rolls. The court will hear pleas challenging SIR on Monday . Odisha prepares to undertake SIR Amid the row over the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar, the Odisha government is gearing up to undertake the exercise soon. It will be conducted after a gap of over two decades. The ADR also questioned the refusal by the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar, Voter ID and ration card as valid “standalone” proof for inclusion in the electoral roll during the SIR, ad described it as “patently absurd”. It submitted that the ECI has given no valid reason for its decision. On July 10, a bench of justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, while refusing to stay SIR, asked the EC to consider Aadhaar, Voter ID, and ra- tion card for the exercise. But the EC argued that Aadhaar, voter cards and ration cards could easily be faked. The ADR said any of the 11 documents for SIR were equally prone to fraud. “SIR is being conducted in a manner that constitutes a grave fraud on the voters of Bihar,” the ADR said. It also alleged glaring discrepancies in SIR. “Media reports suggest how enumeration forms are being filled in the absence of voters,” the ADR said. Bouncers block sealing bid, official dies in the melee E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad An official with the Telangana Housing Board died during a confrontation with the management of a function hall in Mehdipatnam on Saturday morning over unpaid lease dues. The deceased, R Jagadishwar Rao (52), was serving as Assistant Estate Officer. He had accompanied a team of officials to MP Function Hall in Mehdipatnam, armed with a court order authorising the board to take possession of the property. According to officials, the function hall’s management had failed to pay lease arrears amounting to over `1.22 crore in more than eight years. The Housing Board team arrived early in the day and began sealing the premises. One gate was locked without incident. However, as they moved to seal the second entrance, they were obstructed by some bouncers and private security personnel deployed by the function hall management. The situation soon spiralled into chaos as the bouncers jostled with the Housing Board team. Amid the pushing, shoving and heated arguments, Jagadishwar Rao collapsed on the spot. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead. Personnel from the Asifnagar police station arrived soon after receiving information about the incident. A case has been registered and an investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of death.