KOttayAM l monday l October 06, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION S.I.R. ‘Purified’ bihar’s voter list, says chief election commissioner Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has ‘purified’ Bihar’s voter list after 22 years, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said on Sunday Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar (C) with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi during a meeting in Bihar | PTI 17 initiatives taken in bihar to go pan-india Elections to be completed before nov 22 “The voters list in Bihar has been purified. This cleansing exercise has taken place after a gap of 22 years and will now be carried out across the country,” Kumar told reporters in Bihar. The CEC added that 17 new initiatives are being implemented for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls, which will also be replicated across the country in due course ■ The 17 initiatives include a new SOP to ensure EPIC cards are delivered within 15 days of registration, a cap of 1,200 voters per booth, and mandatory VVPAT slip verification in case of mismatch complaints ■ Kumar, who is in Bihar to take stock of poll preparations, said the election process in the state will be completed before November 22 100% webcasting at all booths is among the initiatives listed by CEC 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 League defies UDF decision, goes ahead with Vikasana Sadas circular. The panchayat went a step further by publishing a deIn a development that could tailed report of the ward-wise seriously put a question mark projects. on the relevance of the UDF, “The budget for the Vikasana the Indian Union Muslim Sadas was drawn from the panLeague (IUML) Malappuram chayat’s funds. We didn’t want unit is going ahead with the ‘Vi- to miss the opportunity to highkasana Sadas’, a programme light our achievements before meant to celebrate the achieve- the public. Reports of developments of the local bodment works in each ies over the past five ward were also pubMangalam years. lished,” Mangalam holds meet The UDF had decidpanchayat president C On Saturday, ed not to cooperate P Ku n h u t t y t o l d Mangalam grama with the state-wide TNIE. panchayat event, saying it is a The state governbecame the first public relations exerment’s directive manUDF-governed cise of the governdates that all local local body in ment, but the IUML bodies hold the Sadas Malappuram local bodies in Malapbetween September 20 district to hold puram have decided and October 20. In the ‘Vikasana to go ahead with SaMalappuram, out of Sadas’. das. They say that it is 94 panchayats and 12 an opportunity for the municipalities, only UDF local bodies to showcase 12 local bodies are yet to conthe development works they firm their participation. The carried out in their respective rest have either finalised or are local bodies. preparing to fix the dates of the The turning point came on programme. Saturday when the Mangalam The UDF-ruled local bodies grama panchayat, ruled by like Nirmathur have even set Muslim League, organised the up welcome committees, while government’s development re- Tanur municipality, governed view meet, meticulously follow- by the IUML, is all set to host ● More on P4 ing every clause of the official the event.  L a k s h m i At h i r a @Malappuram Rescue operation underway in Darjeeling in West Bengal after a bridge collapsed following heavy rain; Nepal Army personnel help surivors in flood-hit Jhapa | PTI Landslides triggered by rain kill 20 in Darjeeling, 51 in eastern Nepal West Bengal’s Mirik bears the brunt; rescue operations on; Modi, Mamata offer condolences E x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi AT least 20 people, including children, were killed and several others injured as relentless rain unleashed landslides across the Mirik and Darjeeling hills in West Bengal on Sunday sweeping away homes, sev, ering road links, battering villages, and leaving hundreds of tourists stranded. According to NDRF and the district administration, fatalities were reported from Sarsaly , Jasbirgaon, Mirik Basti, Dhar Gaon (Mechi), Nagrakata and Mirik Lake area. Mirik was the worst affected, with at least 11 people killed, and seven injured, the NDRF said. In Darjeeling, seven people died due to a massive landslide triggered by heavy rain. Rescue operations are underway to evacuate the injured, Darjeeling Sub-Divisional Officer Richard Lepcha said. North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha said the situation is “alarming.” Hundreds of tourists, who had flocked to the Darjeeling hills to enjoy Durga Puja and post-Puja festivities, have been left stranded as heavy rainfall triggered massive landslides. Many of them, including families and groups from Kolkata and other parts of Bengal, were visiting popular spots such as Mirik, Ghoom, and Lepchajagat when the rains lashed the hills since Saturday . Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced compensation for the victims without specifying the amount and the number of deaths. She said she would visit north Bengal on October 6 to assess the situ- ation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences over the deaths and said the situation in Darjeeling and surrounding areas is being closely monitored. In neighbouring Nepal, at least 51 people were killed till Sunday morning due to landslides and floods triggered by rain, an official of the Armed Police Force said. A red alert was issued for areas around the Bagmati and East Rapti rivers. PM Modi asserted that as a friendly neighbour and first responder, India remains committed to providing any assistance that may be required. Call on Manipur govt formation likely this week RA J E SH K U MAR THAK U R @ New Delhi India captain Harmanpreet Kaur (R) and her Pakistan counterpart Fatima Sana during the toss at Colombo on Sunday | afp Ind-Pak handshake gate spills over to women’s world cup g o m e s h s @ Colombo NO customary handshakes, no acknowledgement or conversation while sharing the field. That seems to be the new normal when it comes to India-Pakistan and sports. What started as a one-off gesture at the men’s T20 Asia Cup — the first cricket match after the Pahalgam terror attack and the crossborder tensions that followed — is now being followed by the Women in Blue at the ICC Cricket World Cup on Sunday . No one went on record and said they would not shake hands with the Pakistan captain or team in the lead-up to the match. No questions were permitted on the eve of the match. However, this was expected, especially after the fact that the BCCI had directed them before leaving for Sri Lanka. On Sunday, there were no pleasantries or handshakes between India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her counterpart Fatima Sana at toss. Later, India won the tie by 88 runs. Toss confusion There was confusion after the toss. While it seemed like Sana called tails, the match referee said heads and the toss went in favour of Pakistan, who opted to field. Neither Kaur nor the presenter objected to it, adding to the confusion. No official comment by ICC was given. THE Centre is expected to take a call this week on government formation in Manipur, which has been under President’s rule since February 13 this year. Several Manipur BJP leaders, including former chief minister N Biren Singh, are currently in the national capital to push for government revival in the ethnic strife-torn state. MLAs H Dingo, Th Robindro, S Ranjan, former minister Govindas Crackdown Konthoujam, and Hill Areas on PLA Committee chairman DinganSecurity forces glung Gangmei are also camphave arrested 15 ing in Delhi. cadre of the According to sources in the banned People’s party, the state leaders are Liberation Army scheduled to meet the BJP’s in connection central leadership on Monday . with last Manipur Gover nor Ajay month’s Bhalla is also reportedly in Delambush on a hi, further fuelling speculations convoy, which of an imminent political killed two development. soldiers “The final decision after the meetings with central leaders, Union home minister, and finally the Prime Minister, would be taken in the next few days, which may take a week or longer,” said a senior BJP leader. Another party insider said that since the assembly has not been dissolved and remains in suspended animation, there are no major legal obstacles to forming the government. This technical status makes reinstallation of a BJP-led government a more straightforward process if the central leadership gives its approval. The development comes seven months after the imposition of President’s rule following the resignation of Biren Singh on February 9. MP govt doctor held for cough syrup deaths E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhopal/New Delhi Following the deaths of 14 children in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district, the police have arrested a government doctor who had prescribed the cough syrup suspected to have caused the fatalities. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Madhya Pradesh Police has registered an FIR against paediatrician Dr Pravin Soni and the Tamil Nadu-based Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of the Coldrif syrup. Dr Soni was arrested late on Saturday night. Of the 10 deaths men- tioned in the FIR, in at least nine cases, a combination of medicines, including Coldrif cough syrup, was prescribed by Dr Soni at his private clinic in August and September. Two parents who lost their children told this newspaper that Dr Soni had prescribed a combination of medicines, including the syrup. “The medicines were prescribed by Dr Soni, and his staff asked us to buy from the pharmacy inside his clinic. The medical shop appears to be run by people close to him,” one of them said. Dr Soni who was posted at the Parasia Civil Hospital has been suspended by the state government and attached to the office of regional director (health services) in Jabalpur. Both Dr Soni and Sresan Pharmaceutical have been charged under sections 276 (adulteration of drugs) and 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Meanwhile, the Union health ministry on Sunday underlined the need for all drug manufacturers to comply with the regulatory guidelines. The ministry held a high-level meeting with states and Union Territories. The states and UTs were advised to ensure rational use of cough syrups, particularly among children and compliance with drug quality norms. EXPRESS READ President likely to visit Sabarimala this month T’Puram: President Droupadi Murmu is likely to visit Sabarimala later this month. A government source said a formal communication regarding the visit is yet to be received, though informal intimation has been made for a visit from October 22 to 24. As per the plan, the President will arrive in Kochi on October 22 and travel to Nilackal by helicopter. She will have lunch at Sannidhanam and darshan in the evening before leaving for Thiruvananthapuram. Santhosh Kumar chosen for Vayalar Award T’Puram: Writer E Santhosh Kumar has been selected for the 49th Vayalar Sahithya Award for his novel ‘Tapomayiyude Achan’. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will present the award on October 27, the death anniversary of poet Vayalar Ramavarma, at the Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram. P4 Israel, Hamas edge closer to Gaza ceasefire Cairo: Israel and Hamas prepared for indirect negotiations in Egypt on Monday, as hopes for a possible ceasefire in Gaza began to build after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a hostage release could be announced this week. P9