TIRUCHY 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 this is not a big amount in the face of such loss. Yet at this time, it is my duty as one of A day after the stampede at ac- your own to stand with you in tor-politician Vijay’s campaign spirit,” he said. rally at Velusamypuram in Meanwhile, ADGP (Law & Karur, located 82km from Order) S Davidson DevasirTiruchy the death toll rose to 40 vatham cited overcrowding, , with the death of a 17-year-old heat stress and a sudden surge boy on Sunday Of the deceased, of people eager to see Vjiay, . 17 were women and 10 were who arrived at the site three children, the youngest being hours late, as reasons behind only two years old. The bodies the stampede. were released to the families Stating 500 police personnel and laid to rest. were posted at the As the dust settled, venue, he pushed back the opposition parties, against criticism that AIADMK and BJP, police had denied perquestioned the Tamil No matter the force mission for the event Nadu police and Karur size, when 10,000 to be held at a larger administration, alleg- to 20,000 people site, claiming the origpush against the ing more police should inal choice was a police, it becomes have been posted at the “high-risk” location. uncontrollable spot given the crowds “No matter the force S Davidson that throng the rallies size, when 10,000 to Devasirvatham, of Vijay, Kollywood’s 20,000 people push biggest superstar, and ADGP (Law & Order) against the police, it president of the fledgbecomes uncontrollaling TVK. While Chief Minis- ble,” he said. ter M K Stalin visited the surviFor its part, the TVK has apvors and bereaved at the Karur proached the Madras High Medical College Hospital in the Court seeking an independent wee hours of Sunday, Deputy probe. Raising doubts over the CM Udhayanidhi Stalin visited root cause of the tragedy and later in the day both opting not calling to preserve CCTV foot, to “talk politics”. Vijay who re- age, it asked Justice M Dhanda, turned to Chennai Saturday pani to take up a suo motu case. night, took to social media on The judge, who will be sitting Sunday to announce financial in the vacation court at the Maassistance of `20 lakh each to durai bench, agreed to hear the kin of the deceased and `2 lakh petition on Monday if filing each to the injured. “I know formalities are completed. express news service @ Karur/Chennai Survivors recall night when it all went awry S n e h a S i v a s h a n m u g a m @ Karur A blanket of silence and grief has fallen over Emur, a small village in Karur district, from where 15 villagers had set out together on a tempo van to Velusamypuram on Saturday, eager to witness Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam president Vijay’s public address. Only 10 made it back. Among those who did not return was Chandra (39), a mother of two teenage boys. Her husband Selvaraj (43) recalled his desperate attempts to reach her, only for his calls to go unanswered. Hours later, officials from the Karur Government Hospital contacted him, asking to identify Chandra’s body. “Our family has lost its pillar,” he told TNIE. Their younger son never even got to see his mother one last time, he added. Another family from Emur, lost their 10-year-old boy. Sharmila had taken her son Prithvik along with her to the rally. During the chaos of the evening, she had fainted and by the time she came to, her son was gone forever.  Full coverage on P4, P5 ‘Cops did not help us’ Eyewitnesses also spoke of a complete absence of timely police intervention. Subashini (25), another survivor, said she fell down with three others near cops. “But they did not help us,” she said ‘No network to call kin’ “An ambulance kept making U-turns inside the crowd, worsening the situation. People fell on vehicles and were crushed. We tried calling our families, but there was no network,” one survivor recalled Sexual assault accused godman in 5-day custody Modi praises RSS again, says its guiding principle is ‘nation first’ P r a b h at s h u k l a @ New Delhi RA J ESH THAKUR @ 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. The prosecution highlighted CCTV cameras installed in bathrooms to monitor students and threats issued to victims. Despite defence claims of recorded statements and health issues, the court allowed custodial inter rogation of the 62-year-old to verify testimonies and digital evidence. PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday showered praise on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for its selfless service and discipline, brushing aside speculations about a rift between the ruling party and the Sangh. In his Mann Ki Baat address, Modi said the Sangh operates with the guiding principle of ‘nation first’ and its volunteers have been working tirelessly towards this goal. Noting that the RSS was founded with the aim of freeing the country from intellectual subjugation, Modi said the organisation’s journey since its inception in 1925 has been deeply inspiring. Modi’s latest commendation comes three days before the RSS completes 100 years on October 2. This is the third time in the recent past that Modi has lauded the RSS and its leadership. In his Independence Day address, he termed the organisation as the world’s biggest NGO that shapes citizens. On September 11, Modi commended the intellectual depth and empathetic leadership of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Modi also said that the government is working towards getting Chhath festival included in the UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Chhath is largely celebrated in poll-bound Bihar. When Chhath Puja is included in the UNESCO list, people worldwide will be able to experience its grandeur and divinity he added. , Whenever a natural disaster strikes anywhere in the country, RSS volunteers are the first to reach there. This spirit of ‘nation first’ remains paramount in every action and every endeavour of millions of volunteers Narendra Modi, PM iNDIAN SPINNERS COME TO THE FORE IN CRUNCH CLASH e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai FOR a brief period, the Pakistan batters seemed to have a measure of the Indian bowlers under the Dubai lights. Fakhar Zaman and, especially Sahibza, da Farhan, had taken the attack to India’s powerplay bowlers. It didn’t come off but they were heading towards an imposing score in a ground where you don’t necessarily need an imposing score to defend a target. That’s when India captain Suryakumar Yadav turned full-time to his spinners. Luckily for him, Varun Chakravarthy Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav , bent the final of the Asia Cup, the first time the summit clash has featured these two nations in the over 40-year history of the tournament, towards India. The openers had put on 84 in 9.2 overs when Farhan holed out in the deep off Varun. Sensing this was a good strip, the Pakistani batters kept going for their shots rather than main- India’s Kuldeep Yadav (second right) celebrates the wicket of Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi during the Asia Cup final on Sunday | ap taining a modicum of discipline. What makes Kuldeep, Axar and Varun so difficult to hit through the line is their ability to play with pace, angles and get some dip on their deliveries. No two deliveries are the same in a six-ball stretch. The end result? A seemingly below par score of 146 for Pakistan before being bowled out with five balls remaining. express read ‘Bihar sitting on timebomb of graft’ Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said on Sunday that Bihar was sitting on a time bomb of corruption and unemployment, while the NDA government in power in the state for the last 20 years was busy giving out sops | P8