tirupati l monday l august 04, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION pm modi, Amit Shah meet President separately meeting amid logjam in parliament on s.i.r. This was the first meeting of the PM with the President after his recent visit to the United Kingdom and the Maldives manipur president’s rule extension The meetings came against the backdrop of the logjam in Parliament over the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on the poll roll revision exercise in Bihar ahead of assembly elections. Except discussions in both Houses on Operation Sindoor, Parliament has seen no business since Monsoon session started on July 21 President’s rule extension in Manipur, which the Lok Sabha passed last week but the Rajya Sabha is yet to discuss it ■ Shah’s meeting with the President could also be related to the likely Cabinet reshuffle, sources said | P7 ■ Sources said Shah’s meeting could be regarding a resolution on July 21 The meetings come two weeks after jagdeep dhankar’s resignation 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 Six migrant workers killed in Bapatla quarry mishap E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Guntur Six workers were killed, and 10 others injured when a granite rock face collapsed at a quarry near Ballikurava in Bapatla district on Sunday . The deceased were identified as Danda Badatya (48), Takuna Dalai (37), Banamala Chehra (30), Bhaskar Bhisoy (40), Santosh Gouda (36), and Mussajan (43). All the deceased hailed from Ganjam and Gajapati districts in Odisha. At the time of the collapse, 16 men were working in the quarry Rescue teams . retrieved four bodies from the rubble. Two workers died while being shifted to hospital. The injured workers were admitted to a private hospital in Narasaraopet. The condition of two workers is stated to be critical. Bapatla District Collector J Venkata Murali visited the injured at the hospital, and directed officials to provide the best medical care to them. The Collector instructed the Mines and Geology officials to ensure strict adherence to safety norms in quarries to prevent recurrence of mishaps in the future. The district administration has made arrangements to send the bodies of the deceased to their native places in Odisha at P4 the earliest.  EC issues notice to Tejashwi on voter card slur To RJD leader’s claims of fraud in poll roll, EC asks him to submit his EPIC card tion suggests that the EPIC number you mentioned at @ Patna/New Delhi the press conference on August 2 was not issued offiA day after leader of Opposi- cially. You are therefore retion in Bihar assembly Tejas- quested to hand over the hwi Prasad Yadav claimed EPIC card in original for dethat his name was missing tailed investigation.” from the draft electoral roll, The RJD leader, thereafElection Commister, alleged that sion of India (ECI) his EPIC number on Sunday issued h a d b e e n a notice to him “changed”, but asking him to District Magis‘hand over for intrate Thiyagaraja vestigation’ a votS M repudiated his er ID card that he claim.“The EPIC claimed to be in number in the possession of deelectoral rolls is spite the EC not isthe one that was EC says PC’s suing it officially . submitted by the views false Tejashwi on Satleader of the oppoFormer Union urday had demonsition in his affidaminister P strated an online vit in 2020 assemquery, with the Chidambaram on X bly polls. If he has said 6.5 lakh EPIC number, to another EPIC card migrants were cl a i m t h at h i s with another name was missing being registered as number as well, it voters in Tamil in the draft elecis a matter of intoral rolls pub- Nadu after 65 lakh vestigation,” the were lished as part of DM said. special intensive disenfranchised in In Patna, spokesBihar. The EC revision (SIR) and, persons Ajay Alok dismissed his upon rebuttal from (BJP), Neeraj Kuclaims as false authorities conmar (JDU) and cer ned, alle ged Rajesh Bhatt (LJP) that his voter ID card demanded that a case be regnumber was ‘changed’. istered against the RJD leadIn a letter addressed to the er. At a press conference in former deputy CM, the Sub New Delhi on Sunday, BJP Divisional Magistrate of spokesperson Sambit Patra Patna Sadar-cum-electoral asked,“If a senior party registration officer for Digha leader like Yadav carries assembly constituency said, two voter IDs, what will the “Our preliminary investiga- party workers be doing?” r a m a s h a n k a r & RA J E SH K U MAR T HAK U R HSL plans to set up 1st satellite shipyard in AP U s h a Pe r i @ Visakhapatnam After several years of setbacks, Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is set to expand its operations by establishing its first satellite shipyard in Andhra Pradesh. The 85-year-old defence public sector undertaking, headquartered in Visakhapatnam, is exploring potential sites in Mulapeta of Srikakulam district, and Kakinada port for the new facility . Former HSL Chairman and Managing Director Commodore Hemant Khatri (Retd) and his team have approached the Andhra Pradesh government seeking land allotment for the proposed shipyard. “We are working on the expansion of HSL through a satel- Hsl team to visit Mulapet, Kakinada The HSL team is scheduled to conduct site visits to Mulapeta and Kakinada to identify suitable land for the satellite shipyard. HSL is also in touch with the AP Maritime Board to facilitate the land acquisition lite shipyard close to the ports. At least 110-250 acres of land is required for the project,” he said. The CMD had earlier met Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and held discussions regarding the proposal. “The Chief Minister has responded positively to our plans. The team is scheduled to conduct Senior Army officer booked for assaulting SpiceJet staff F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar THE Jammu and Kashmir police have booked a senior officer of the Indian Army for allegedly assaulting four SpiceJet staff at the Srinagar airport last week, causing a spinal fracture to an airline staff. The Army has pledged full cooperation in the investigation while the airline has started the process to place the army officer on the no-fly list. The incident took place on July 26 when Lt Colonel Ritesh Kumar Singh, posted at High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmargm, was trying to board SpiceJet flight SG-386 from Srinagar to Delhi allegedly with excess cabin baggage. “The passenger was carrying two pieces of cabin baggage Videograb of the passenger assaulting a SpiceJet employee at the Srinagar airport on July 26 | Express weighing a total of 16 kg, more than double the permitted limit of 7 kg,” read a SpiceJet statement. It said the passenger became aggressive when the airline staff flagged the excess baggage and asked him to pay the applicable charges. The army officer refused and forcefully entered the aerobridge Series on ice: Fitting final day awaits TNIE in England The collapsed granite rock face at a quarry in Bapatla district | Express DEFICIT OF RAINFALL IN A THIRD OF DISTRICTS About a third of districts across India have reported weak monsoon, a cause for concern, with Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Telangana, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and TN among them | P7 Firoz Mirza @london THE weather Gods didn’t want this series to end. Not yet anyway And, so, this . mind-bending, narrative-shattering, finger-nail chewing fivematch Test series will go into a 25th bum-squelching day. And who would blame them? It’s been that kind of a series. A man with a broken finger came out to bowl. A man with a broken foot came out to bat. And, late on Sunday, a man with a dislocated shoulder, arm very much in a sling, Chris Woakes was prepared to come out and bat. In the middle, the Jamies, Smith and Overton, were involved in a dogfight against, really a trio of heroic pacers who , kept going and going and going. At least one of them had to take a painkilling injection. At least one of them wore a knee brace before discarding it because it was affecting their run-up. What’s a couple of dodgy ligaments when a potential trade off is a famous come-from-behind win to level the series. India go to bed needing four more wickets to ensure there is something tangible to show from Shubman Gill’s first assignment as captain. England go to bed needing 35 more runs. And, boy, Sunday was a right old scrap between two flawed sides giving it their all, their wounded bodies and tired minds ignoring the pain threshold. Harry Brook and Joe Root coruscating 195-run, thrill-aminute stand had seemingly sucked out all the oxygen from the Indian team. But after they fell, India roared back. It’s what has kept them alive going into the final day of a series that will long be remembered irrespective of the result. India’s Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj (C) celebrate Joe Root’s wicket with teammates on Sunday | ap healing touch Kerala’s beloved `2 doctor is no more J I T H U L N ARAYA N A N @ Kannur dr Ryru Gopal, better known as the `2 doctor, was more than just a healer. He touched hearts with his compassion and ethical approach. In an era when the medical profession has come to be viewed as a moneyspinning machine, this doctor stood out. Dr Ryru passed away at his home in Thana, Kannur, in the wee hours on Sunday He . was 80. After doing his MBBS from Kozhikode Medical College, Dr Ryru worked briefly in a hospital in Kannur before opening a clinic in Talap, where he served the community for 35 years before moving to Thana. dr Ryru Gopal Patients used to line up at his Talap clinic, where Dr Ryru would he see patients from 4:00 am. On most days, he would see more than 200 patients. He charged just `2 as consultation fee for nearly half a century before he raised it to `10. , Narayanan K, a resident of Kakkad, recounted how he would take the first bus to the clinic to get a token. “He used to prescribe quality medicine that was also pocket-friendly It . was perhaps his vast experience that made his very consultation feel like a form of healing in itself,” he said. Legend has it that bus services added a stop at Dr Ryru’s clinic, near the police ground in Kannur town, to facilitate patients. “Father always gave importance to the ethics of his profession, which he believed was a service and not a money-making business. He used to say that if you want to make mon- site visits to Mulapeta and Kakinada to identify suitable land, and assess feasibility,” he added. HSL is also in touch with the AP Maritime Board to facilitate the land acquisition. Over the past few years, Hindustan Shipyard Limited has transitioned into a profit-making entity, and has been focusing on future-orientated sectors ey, then do some other business,” said his son Bala Gopal. Dr Ryru is also survived by his wife, Sakuntala, and daughter, Vidhya Bharath. “Many people visited his clinic solely to consult with him, believing that just speaking with him brought them a sense of comfort and reassurance. It was never his intention to make money and he dedicated himself to the service of humanity,” said Indira P, deputy mayor of Kannur. Ryru was a passionate animal lover who kept several pets, including dogs and cows. He personally tended to the cows, often milking them himself in the early morning hours. For half a century, he charged only two rupees for consultations, making healthcare accessible to all Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala chief minister without completing the boarding process in violation of aviation security protocols. The officer was escorted back to the gate by a CISF official. “At the gate, the passenger grew aggressive and physically assaulted members of the SpiceJet ground staff,” the SpiceJet said, adding the officer kicked, punched and beat its employees with a queue stand. Visuals of the assault, which went viral on social, showed the officer charging at the ground staff. A SpiceJet employee could be seen bleeding from his face while another staff member was crying in pain due to injury . An FIR was filed at Budgam police station under Sections 115(2), 126(2), 351(2), and 131 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. such as defence, green shipping, commercial vessels, and the oil and gas sector. The shipyard is currently engaged in major naval projects, including the Landing Platform Dock (LPD), Mine Countermeasure Vessels (MCMVs), and next-generation Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC). The proposed satellite shipyard is expected to be located near emerging ports, and will include facilities such as a floating dry dock for both construction and repairs of ships. While the command, design, and supply chain operations will remain centred in Visakhapatnam, the satellite shipyard is expected to enhance HSL’s production capacity and , support decentralised operaP4 tions.  express read Heavy rainfall likely in AP over next 3 days Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Disaster Management Authority (APDMA) has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall in several districts over the next three days due to a cyclonic circulation over northern Tamil Nadu moving southwest. APDMA Managing Director Prakhar Jain urged people to remain alert as thunderstorms may accompany the rain | P3 AP’s liquor policy is effective: Kolusu Vijayawada: The new liquor policy has helped curb influx of nonduty-paid liquor (NDPL) into the State, said Housing and I&PR Minister Kolusu Parthasarathy. Officials from the neighbouring States confirmed that the flow of liquor into AP has almost stopped due to the effective policy, and availability of all major liquor brands in the State, he said | P4