CHENNAI l Monday l October 06, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE 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 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 ■ The 17 initiatives include a new SOP to ensure EPIC cards are delivered 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 Call on Manipur govt formation likely this week Heavy rain to lash TN dists for three days e x p ress ne w s service @ Chennai Even as the state prepares for the transition from southwest to northeast monsoon, heavy rain has been forecast across several districts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry over the next few days. The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has forecast heavy rain at isolated places over Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Kallakurichi and Cuddalore districts of TN, and Puducherry on Monday . A similar warning has been issued for Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem and Tirupattur districts on Tuesday, and for the ghat areas of Coimbatore district, along with the Nilgiris, Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Tiruchy, Salem, Dharmapuri, Kallakurichi, Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai and Chengalpattu districts of Tamil Nadu, as well as Puducherry, on Wednesday . An official from the RMC said the rainfall the state has been receiving since October 1 will be accounted for under the northeast monsoon. “The southwest monsoon is yet to withdraw. Usually, the northeast monsoon commences in the third week of October,” the official added.  P7 Rescue operation underway in Darjeeling in West Bengal after a bridge collapsed following heavy rainfall; Nepal Army personnel help survivors 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 ress ne w s service @ 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- MP govt doc held for cough syrup deaths A nuraa g sin g h & K avita Baje l i - Datt @ Bhopal/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 mesh 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. 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 mentioned 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, in the wake of the cough syrup deaths, the Union health ministry on Sunday held a high-level meeting with states and Union Territories. Discussions were held on ensuring compliance with statutory quality standards in drug manufacturing, the rational use of cough syrups, especially among children, and strengthening the regulation of retail pharmacies. Lion goes off radar in Vandalur zoo, search on S V K R I S H N A C H A I TA N YA @ Chennai A five-year-old male lion named Sheryaar, brought in from Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta Biological Park in 2023, has been off the radar since October 3, when he was released into the safari zone at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park (AAZP), Vandalur. Zoo authorities have launched an extensive search operation using drones, camera traps and ground teams. The lion was released into the 50-acre safari area — a natural forest landscape with more than 90% vegetation cover — be taken in the next few days, which may take a week or longer,” said a senior BJP leader. THE Centre is expected to take Another party insider said a call this week on government that since the assembly has formation in Manipur, which not been dissolved and rehas been under President’s rule mains in suspended animasince February 13 this year. tion, there are no major legal Several Manipur BJP lead- obstacles to for ming the ers, including former government. chief minister N Biren Crackdown This technical status Singh, are currently in makes reinstallation on PLA the national capital to of a BJP-led governpush for government Security forces ment a more straighthave arrested 15 forward process if the revival in the ethnic cadres of the strife-torn state. MLAs central leadership H Dingo, Th Robindro, banned People’s gives its approval. S Ranjan, former min- Liberation Army The development in connection ister Govindas comes seven months with last Konthoujam, and Hill after the imposition of A r e a s C o m m i t t e e month’s ambush President’s rule followon a convoy, chair man Ding aning the resignation of glung Gangmei are which killed two Biren Singh on Februsoldiers also in Delhi. ary 9. Since then, no According to sourcpolitical party or coalies, the state leaders are sched- tion has staked a claim to form uled to meet the BJP’s central the government, resulting in leadership on Monday. Ma- the continued imposition of nipur Governor Ajay Bhalla is Central rule. With the law and also reportedly in Delhi. order situation improving to a “The final decision after the great extent, political observmeetings with central leaders, ers expect a BJP-led governUnion home minister, and fi- ment may soon come to power nally the Prime Minister, would in Manipur. RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR Wandering off is normal for a young lion adapting to a new environment, say officials | representative pic on October 3. However, unlike the other lions that return to their night shelters by evening, Sheryaar did not come back that night. A special search operation was immediately launched, and the animal was briefly sighted the following day before disappearing again into the thicket. Zoo officials said pugmarks and rake marks were found near the compound wall within the safari area, suggesting the lion is exploring its surroundings. “This is normal behaviour for a young lion adapting to a new environment,” said AAZP Director Ritto Cyriac, adding that the area is fully secure with a boundary wall and chain-link fence.  P7 Safari zone closed off The safari zone, home to small prey species such as peacocks and rabbits, has been closed to visitors as a precaution. Five dedicated teams have been deployed to monitor the 50-acre safari zone 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. @ New Delhi