chennai l sunday l september 28, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 28 l late city EDITION Blockbuster India-Pak Final at t20 Asia cup tourney today Men in Blue take on arch rivals in the T20 Asia Cup final in Dubai today. This will be their firstever meeting at this stage of the competition... Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav Pakistan skipper Salman Agha Time for cricket to take centre stage The controversies, largely non-cricketing, between India and Pakistan have been the biggest talking point of the tournament. India refused to shake hands with the Pakistan team. The reactions from either side since has only added to the prevailing tensions. Under pressure, both teams will look to hold their nerves and focus on playing good cricket ■ Eight Emotions running high on both sides ■ India have maintained that they are there to play cricket, but the Super 4s match showed how much it matters to them On the eve of the final, Pakistan captain Salman Agha said that every individual has the right to express emotions. “I won’t stop anyone as long as it is not disrespectful,” he said.  More on P15 The number of Asia Cup titles India have won CBC 15502/13/0025/2526 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 39 Dead 50 Injured CM announces `10L each to kin of dead; panel led by ex-judge to probe incident 1 2 3 4 Stampede in Vijay’s Karur rally 5 6 Vijay arrived at the Tiruchy International Airport in the morning from Chennai by a chartered flight The actor-politician proceeded directly to Namakkal for the first leg of the one-day election campaign Scheduled to reach Namakkal by 12 pm, he reached the venue only at 2.30 pm, over two hours late From Namakkal, he reached Karur by road. It took him nearly four hours to cover 34km due to heavy crowd As Vijay was speaking in Karur, the crowd turned uncontrollable, and a few cadre and children started fainting After the tragedy, Vijay left for Chennai by a chartered flight from Tiruchy Airport at 10 pm D V i n c e n t A r o c k i a r a j @ Karur Stalin has left for Tiruchy on a flight late on Saturday He will . reach Karur by road. Stalin, who convened a meeting of top state officials at the secretariat to review the situation late on Saturday, said a commission of inquiry headed by Justice Aruna Jagadeesan will probe the stampede. The state has also announced a compensation of `10 lakh each to families of the deceased, and `1 lakh each to those admitted with critical injuries. As per sources, the stampede broke out in the evening, around 7, just as Vijay was addressing the huge crowd that was waiting for hours to get a glimpse of him. The crowd soon swelled and became uncontrollable, and a number of persons, including party workers and a few children, fainted and fell down in the crowd. According to a few eyewitnesses that TNIE spoke to, the power supply was disrupted and lights went out due to the pushing and jostling in the crowd. With the loudspeakers also failing, people moved closer to hear Vijay speak. In the process, they pushed one another, causing several to fall, which led to the tragedy they said. , President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other leaders have expressed their condolences. Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry has sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government on the stampede. Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to Governor R N Ravi and Stalin to take stock of the situation and assured all possible central help. Vijay who avoided talking to , the waiting media at both the Tiruchy and Chennai airports, later took to X to share his views on the matter. “My heart has broken, I am in unbearable, inexplicable pain and grief,” he said. The actor added he prayed for speedy recovery of those being treated in hospitals.  P9 At least 39 people, including ten children and 16 women, died following a stampede and crowd surge during Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay’s election campaign at Veluchamipuram in Karur on Saturday evening. At least 50 more are under treatment at various hospitals across the city. The death toll may rise as a few of them are critical. Chief Minister M K Wangchuk probed on Pak links, funding Pak epicentre of global terror, says Jaishankar in UN address F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Climate activist and Magsaysay awardee Sonam Wangchuk, who was arrested on Friday in connection with the Leh violence, is being investigated for alleged links to Pakistan and violation of foreign funding rules, Ladakh Director General of Police S D Singh Jamwal said. Wangchuk is accused of being a key instigator in the Leh violence, in which four people were killed and 80 others injured. “We recently arrested a Pakistani intelligence operative who sent videos of Wangchuk’s speeches across the border,” Jamwal said, adding that the operative was also in contact with Wangchuk. Sonam “His speech Wangchuk acted as incitement, as he referred to the Arab Spring and the recent unrest in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka,” Jamwal said. The DG also referred to Sonam’s recent visits to Pakistan and Bangladesh. “He attended an event organised by The Dawn in Pakistan and also visited Bangladesh,” Jamwal said, adding, “various agencies are investigating.” The police are also probing Wangchuk’s foreign funding. “There is an investigation into foreign funding and violation of FCRA regulations against him,” Jamwal said. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar termed Pakistan as the “the epicentre of global terrorism” and demanded “relentless pressure” on the ecosystem that enables cross-border terror in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday . “We have a neighbour that is the epicentre of terrorism,” Jaishankar said, referring to Pakistan without naming it, and referenced the recent Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. “Terror hubs operate at an industrial scale, terrorists are publicly glorified, and financing of terrorism continues unabated,” he said. Opening his speech with “Namaskar from the people of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar speaks at the UN General Assembly | PTI Bharat,” Jaishankar said that India will continue to maintain its freedom of choice and act as a leading voice of the Global South. “While asserting our rights, we must also firmly face up to threats. Countering terrorism is a particular priority . Those who condone it today will face its consequences tomorrow,” he warned. WITH THIS I SS U E Small Town, Big Deal According to eyewitnesses TNIE spoke to, power supply was disrupted due to the jostling in the crowd. With the loudspeakers also failing, people moved closer to hear Vijay speak, pushing one another and causing several to fall, which led to the tragedy, they said | P6 will offset tariff impact India eyes international certification for seafood J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi IN order to countervail the impact of unilateral tariffs imposed by the US, India is planning to seek global certification for its seafood. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, an international sustainability standard, could fetch premium prices — up to 30% higher than earli er for Indi an seafood. The US, previously India’s largest seafood market, valued at $7.38 billion (35% of exports), implemented a crushing 59.73% tariff on Indian seafood sector, with an eye to eventually crush the seafood industry . In response, the Union government intends to allocate special funds through the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMSSY) 2.0 scheme to support MSC certification of ten key Indian fisheries. National institutes, such as the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute(CMFRI), are providing technical assistance for this initiative. The status of the ten priority fisheries category — some of which are deep-sea and coastal shrimps, squid, cuttlefish, Karikadi shrimp, threadfin breams, blue swimming crab, and octopus — are in the final stages of addressing technical gaps. remembrance Assam’s heart still misses a beat called Zubeen i n d r a n e e l d a s @ Mangaldoi PLUS 12 PAGES Jaishankar also took aim at the paralysis within the UN system, saying the world body was in a “state of crisis”. “As the UN’s ability to forge common ground diminishes, belief in multilateralism also recedes. We must ask ourselves: has the UN lived up to the expectations of its member states?” He reiterated India’s longstanding call for comprehensive reforms in the UN, especially the Security Council, stating that “most member states strongly desire change” to reflect contemporary realities. On the economic front, Jaishankar flagged the risks posed by rising “tariff volatility and uncertain market access”, a veiled reference to recent US tariffs targeting Indian exports, including penalties linked to India’s energy ties with Russia. Power disruption due to crowd surge led to tragedy? WHENEVER Zubeen Garg’s name is uttered, Susmita still sheds tears. Arup Barua has not watched him perform but every 5-10 minutes he can hear his voice inside him. In Mangaldoi town, some 65km away from Guwahati, a bunch of people took out a procession with a banner of Zubeen Garg, humming his songs with tears in eyes and love in their hearts. The air was heavy and the mood sombre as the dusk settled in. They were not alone. Every street corner and every place, small or big, has its own poster and its own way of remembering Zubeen. No one has touched a chord with the entire population of a state as Zubeen. Even after one week since he passed away in Singapore on September 19, the state remains in mourning.No one asked businesses to shut People light candles near a portrait of the music icon in Guwahati | PTI shops, they did it on their own. His passing has touched Assam so much that even the euphoria of Durga Puja, which begins from Sunday with Shasti, may not be enough to lift Assam’s gloomy mood. The collective grief will take a long time to heal. Zubeen’s words —“Mur kunu jaati nai, mur kuno dhormo nai, moi okol manuh (I don’t have any caste, or any religion, I am just a human being)” will remain immortal. Forever. Stalin at the Agri Business Festival 2025 in Chennai on Saturday | ashwin prasath CM: 47K acres of barren land back to farming Express News Service @ Chennai Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday said that Tamil Nadu has been steadily moving towards the top rank in the agricultural sector, coming first in crop productivity, second in production of maize, oilseeds and sugarcane, and third in millets and groundnuts. He added that 47,000 acres of barren land have been brought back under cultivation. Stalin presented a lengthy list of achievements by the DMK government in the agricultural sector after inaugurating the second edition of the Agri Business Festival held at the Chennai Trade Centre in Nandambakkam. During the event, the CM distributed welfare assistance worth `1.77 crore to farmers. Speaking at the event, the CM said that, this year, paddy has been cultivated on 5.66 lakh hectares — an additional 1,28,494 acres compared to last year. P9