vijayawada l monday l september 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION new trade arrangements will emerge in time, says Jaishankar External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the world will need a global workforce, while stressing India’s growing ties with S America and Caribbean S Jaishankar Howard Lutnick answer lies in capacity building, says eam Need to ‘fix’ India, says U.S. COMMERCE SECY Speaking at an Observer Research Foundation (ORF) panel on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly session in New York, the EAM said it is important to build capacities for greater self-reliance, in this turbulent atmosphere. Jaishankar’s remarks come amid recent moves by the US to raise new H-1B visa fees and impose unilateral tariffs on India to ‘fix’ countries like Brazil and India, asserting that “these nations need to open markets and refrain from harming American interests” ■ Lutnick said these countries have to understand that if “they want to sell to the US consumers, they’ve got to play ball with US President” ■ US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said that the US will have 50% is the tariff that indian goods now face upon entry into the u.s. 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 Oppn questions govt, police deny lapses; TVK approaches HC for independent probe blame game begins as Karur toll rises to 40 Barricades, banners, flags and slippers left behind in the chaos of Saturday evening in Velusamypuram (left); Family members of one of the stampede victims wracked with grief as they received the body on Sunday | m k ashok kumar e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Karur/Chennai A day after the stampede at actor-politician Vijay’s campaign rally at Velusamypuram in Karur, located 82km from Tiruchy the death toll rose to 40 , with the death of a 17-year-old boy on Sunday. Of the deceased, 17 were women and 10 were children, the youngest being only two years old. The bodies were released to the families and laid to rest. Before the dust settled, the opposition parties, AIADMK and BJP ques, tioned the Tamil Nadu police and Karur administration, alleging more police should have been posted at the spot given the crowds that throng the rallies of Vijay, Kollywood’s biggest superstar, and president of the fledgling TVK. While Chief Minister M K Stalin visited the survivors and bereaved at the Karur Medical College Hospital in the wee hours of Sunday, Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin visited later in the day, both opting not to “talk politics”. Vijay who returned to Chennai Sat, urday night, took to social media on Sunday to announce financial assistance of `20 lakh each to kin of the deceased and `2 lakh each to the injured. “I know this is not a big amount in the face of such loss. Yet at this time, it is my duty as one of your own to stand with you in spirit,” he said. Meanwhile, ADGP (Law & Order) S No matter the force size, when 10,000 to 20,000 people push against the police, it becomes uncontrollable S Davidson Devasirvatham, ADGP (Law & Order) Davidson Devasirvatham cited overcrowding, heat stress and a sudden surge of people eager to see Vjiay, who arrived at the site three hours l a t e, a s r e a s o n s b e h i n d t h e stampede. Stating 500 police personnel were posted at the venue, he pushed back against criticism that police had denied permission for the event to be held at a larger site, claiming the original choice was a “high-risk” location. “No matter the force size, when 10,000 to 20,000 people push against the police, it becomes uncontrollable,” he said. For its part, the TVK has approached the Madras High Court seeking an independent probe. Raising doubts over the root cause of the tragedy and calling to preserve CCTV footage, it asked Justice M Dhandapani to take up a suo motu case. ap’s swift act Four Kakinada fishers released from Jaffna jail Express News Service @ Vijayawada Four fishermen from Kakinada, who were detained in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna jail for over seven weeks, have been released, and are on their way back home, thanks to the swift intervention of the Andhra Pradesh government. The fishermen set out from Kakinada on August 3, 2025 to purchase a boat in Nagapattinam. During their return journey a navigation error led their , vessel into Sri Lankan waters near the Jaffna coast. On August 4, they were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy, and handed over to the Jaffna police, resulting in their detention for 52 days. The AP government, through its officials at AP Bhavan in New Delhi, acted promptly to secure their release. Continuous coordination with the Indian Embassy in Jaffna, and the Indian Coast Guard facilitated the handover of the fishermen to Indian authorities at Mandapam in Tamil Nadu on September 26. The quartet are now travelling by boat from Mandapam to Kakinada. Arja Srikanth, Additional Resident Commissioner at AP Bhavan, played a key role in the negotiations that ensured the fishermen’s swift release. Lord Malayappa Swamy blesses devotees from Garuda Vahanam at Tirumala on Sunday | Express 4L pilgrims witness Garuda Vahana Seva with devotion Express News Service @ Tirumala Nearly 4 lakh pilgrims from across India converged at Tirumala on Sunday for the Garuda Seva, the highlight of the nineday annual Brahmotsavams, transforming the Seven Hills into a vibrant sea of devotion. Chants of ‘Garuda Vahana Govinda Govinda...’ echoed across the hill as the curtains were raised at the Vahana Mand ap a m . L o rd M a l aya p p a Swamy adorned with precious , jewellery, including Sahasranama Kasula Mala, Chaturbhuja Lakshmi Haram, and Makarakanti, which are adorned to Mula Virat, appeared on His fa- voured Garuda carrier, enthralling the faithful. By 1 pm, TTD reported 1.5 lakh attendees, with numbers swelling to 2.4 lakh by 3 pm, filling all galleries along Four Mada Streets. Despite intermittent rain, the pilgrim count reached nearly 4 lakh by the time the procession reached its peak. The TTD even allowed devotees into the service queue line just before the procession to accommodate the massive crowd. To ensure every devotee could witness Lord Venkateswara, the TTD, headed by Chairman BR Naidu and Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal, organised four separate queues along P4 the Four Mada Streets. Robust security in place Anticipating the rush, TTD implemented robust security measures, 24/7 Annaprasadam, refreshments, and drinking water supply across 120-plus galleries with a capacity of nearly 2 lakh pilgrims. Digital tracking bands were provided to children tilak & spinners guide india to glory in dubai e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai ONE of the most toxic cricket tournaments in recent times finished with India beating Pakistan for a third time on the bounce in as many as Sundays. This one, the one that really mattered, saw them winning the Asia Cup for a ninth time under the Dubai lights on a tense Sunday night. Both teams had legit claims on lifting the title with 30 of the 40 overs done on a raucous occasion filled with subtext. In the end, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson held their nerves in the cauldron to guide India home in a relatively modest chase of 147 before Rinku Singh, playing his first ball of the tournament, lofted Haris Rauf over the in-field to spread scenes of unbridled joy and riotous celebration among the Indian team. While Varma’s unbeaten 53-ball 69 will brag headlines, India’s spin troika — Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy India’s Tilak Varma (3rd L) congratulated by teammates after the match on Sunday | ap and Kuldeep Yadav — did a lot of the damage after the Pakistan openers threatened to run-up a big score. That’s when Suryakumar Yadav, turned full-time to his spinners. Luckily for him, Chakravarthy, Patel and Yadav bent the final of the Asia Cup, the first time the summit clash has featured these two nations in the over 40year history of the tournament, towards India. express read Godman sent to 5-day custody New Delhi: A Delhi court on Sunday remanded self-styled godman Chaitanyananda Saraswati to five days in police custody in an alleged sexual harassment case involving 17 women students at a southwest Delhi management institute he once headed