TIRUNELVELI l Monday l December 01, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION virat marks another milestone with sensational ton in ranchi The No 3 batter made a statement, alongside Rohit Sharma who scored a fifty, with a remarkable hundred against South Africa... senior pros step up as india take 1-0 lead At 37, Kohli shows he is still top of world Opener Rohit Sharma hit a fifty before Virat Kohli went on to hit a 120ball 135 that took India to 349/8 with the help of late fireworks from Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul. South Africa came close to chasing it but Kuldeep Yadav (4/68) and Harshit Rana (3/65) delivered as bowlers kept calm to secure India a 17-run win | P11 the 37-year-old was in his zone as he put behind the struggles of recent months to show why he is still the best in business ■ With 11 fours and 7 sixes, Kohli played one of the most sublime innings of his already storeyed ODI career ■ From straight drive to upper cuts to flicks to lofts down the ground, 52 It was Kohli’s 52nd ODI century 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 Poll panel extends SIR schedule by one week Submission of forms to conclude on December 11; draft electoral rolls to be out on Dec 16; final list on Feb 14, 2026 SIR may heat up Winter Session starting today PR E E T H A N A IR @ New Delhi Many of the injured managed to get out of the mangled buses on their own with help from villagers | Express 11 dead, 54 hurt after 2 govt buses collide head-on in Sivaganga ceased out of the buses. Many of the injured managed to get In a horrifying accident, 11 out of the vehicles on their people, including nine women, own with help from villagers. were killed and at least 54 were Speaking to TNIE, Superininjured after a head-on colli- tendent of Police R Shiva Prassion between two Tamil Nadu ad said that preliminary invesState Transport Corporation tigation suggested that one of buses, carrying around 70 pas- the buses had veered off the sengers, on the median line. HowevTirupattur-Karaikuer, no conclusions Councillor di Main Road of can be drawn based among 3 run Kummangudi vilon this as the police over by truck lage in Tirupattur of are yet to question Tenkasi: Three Sivaganga district the surviving driver, persons travelling on Sunday evening. Sudhakar, he said. The bodies of three on a bike, including Sudhakar is being the councillor of women are yet to be treated at the GovSurandai identified. ernment Rajaji HosMunicipality, were Police said one of pital (GRH) in Makilled on Sunday the buses, driven by durai. “This is not an after a truck hit Sendrayan of accident-prone spot their vehicle and Dindigul district, as the road is clearly ran them over on was travelling from visible from both dithe SurandaiKangeyam in Tiruprections,” he said. Sankarankovil pur to Karaikudi, Due to the accident, Road | P3 and the other, driven the traffic was affectby Sudhakar of Kaed along the route for llipatti, was travelling from more than two hours. Aranthangi to Dindigul. The Health department officials buses, which were coming said at least 15 government from opposite directions, col- and private ambulances were lided on the two-lane state pressed into service. The inhighway around 4.30 pm. jured are being treated at Police and fire and rescue G S M C H , K a r a i k u d i G H , service personnel rushed to Tirupattur, and GRH in Mathe spot and shifted the de- durai.  P5 V i g ne s h V @ Sivaganga in coimbatore Man kills wife, posts ‘selfie’ on WhatsApp E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Coimbatore A 28-year-old woman was hacked to death allegedly by her husband at a private women’s hostel in the city on Sunday morning. Police said the man then took a ‘selfie’ of himself with her body and posted it as his WhatsApp status while waiting for the cops to arrest him. The deceased has been ident ifie d as B Sripriya (28) of Tharuvai near Melapalayam in Tir unelveli district. Her estranged husband, S Balamurugan (32), allegedly posed with her body and posted the photo as his WhatsApp status with a message claiming she had betrayed him. Other women at the hostel, who had fled for their lives after Balamurgan’s alleged attack, called the police. Balamurugan was waiting at the scene when the cops arrived, Rathinapuri police, who arrested him, said.  P5 AMID complaints of inadequate time for voter-list verification, the Election Commission of India on Sunday extended the entire schedule of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by one week across nine states and three Union Territories. In an official statement, the ECI announced that the submission of enumeration forms, originally scheduled to conclude on December 4, will now continue until December 11. The draft electoral rolls will now be published on December 16 instead of December 9, and the final voters’ list on February 14, 2026, against the earlier deadline of February 7. The SIR is being rolled out in Goa, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. The Election Commission has come under scrutiny after reports of deaths and alleged suicides involving Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from multiple states, with Opposition parties linking the incidents to mounting work pressure during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls. According to reports, several BLOs, tasked with door-to-door verification, form collection and polling-station rationalisation, were working long hours to meet tight deadlines. The families and colleagues have alleged that the stress and work- Booth Level Officers assist a voter in filling out the enumeration form for the Special Intensive Revision, in Bikaner, Rajasthan | PTI load may have contributed to the deaths, prompting widespread outrage and demands for accountability . The sharpest attack came from the Trinamool Congress, which accused the Election Commission of having “blood on their hands,” arguing that the SIR timeline was “unrealistic” and had placed an unprec- 100% digitisation in Lakshadweep Lakshadweep and Goa completed distribution of enumeration forms. The former also registered 100% digitisation of forms. Form distribution status in Rajasthan, Bengal, MP, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Andaman & Nicobar, and UP is over 99%, while it is over 98% in Kerala and TN, the EC said edented burden on field-level officials. A 10-member TMC delegation on Friday met with the EC and alleged that around 40 SIR-related deaths had occurred in West Bengal so far, accusing the poll panel chief of having “blood on his hands”. However, the EC has dismissed the charges. Other Opposition parties including Congress, DMK, CPI(M) and Samajwadi Party also questioned whether the EC had adequately assessed on-ground constraints before imposing the revised schedule. The Congress said the EC realised that the SIR cannot be completed in such a short time. Congress leader and party’s deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, Pramod Tiwari, told reporters that the EC and the Election Commission should shed ego and hold the exercise as per the schedule of 2003 when the last such exercise was held. Govt to bring bill to impose 70% cess on tobacco express read Sengottaiyan expelled for betrayal, says EPS Himachal makes paper leak non-bailable offence Erode: Despite the AIADMK giving him identity, K A Sengottaiyan betrayed the party and was expelled, said AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami in Gobichettipalayam on Sunday. Speaking at a rally, Palaniswami said, “We gave him due respect even when he violated party rules. God will punish those who betray AIADMK. Our victory ceremony will be held here.” | P4 Chandigarh: Himachal Pradesh has become the first state to make paper leak and organized cheating a non-bailable and cognizable offence, with three years jail term and fine upto `10 lakh for individuals and `1 crore for agencies conducting examinations. The Himachal Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2025 has received assent | P8 Ditwah aftermath: Four killed in TN, 56K ha of paddy inundated E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai The cyclonic storm Ditwah, which weakened into a deep depression on Sunday night, resulted in at least four deaths in Tamil Nadu and the inundation of around 56,000 hectares of paddy fields in the delta districts even as it brought relatively less rainfall than expected. Revenue Minister K K S S R Ramachandran, addressing reporters at the State Emergency Operations Centre in Chennai on Sunday, said that two persons died due to wall collapse in Thoothukudi and Thanjavur districts, while one died of e l e c t ro c u t i o n i n M ay i laduthurai, as per official records. In Villupuram, meanwhile, a farmer was killed late on Saturday when he came into contact with an electric wire that had snapped and fallen to the ground. According to officials, M Renuka (20) was killed in Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district and three of her kin were injured when the wall of their old tile roof house collapsed during heavy rains on Saturday night. In Thoothukudi, 86-year-old S Ayyakutti alias House and urged the Rajya Sabha chairman to allow a discusTHE stage is set for a stormy sion on the SIR exercise on start to Parliament’s Winter Monday, the first day of the Session on Monday, with the Winter Session of Parliament, Opposition demanding a full said a source. discussion on the Special Inten“Opposition parties conveyed sive Revision of electoral rolls, that they want Parliament to while the ruling party is push- run smoothly They also sought . ing for a discussion on 150 years a short discussion on the urof Vande Mataram. gent need for further electoral During the Business Adviso- reforms at 2 pm on Monday If . ry Committee (BAC) the discussion is not meeting of the Rajya held, the government Sabha on Sunday, the must be held responsigovernment declined ble for disrupting Parto clarify whether any liament, they said,” The opposition debate would take parties feel if no the source said. place on the broader discussion is held A senior opposition topic of electoral re- on SIR, this means leader said they also forms, despite repeatsuggested titles, inthe government does not want ed demands from the cluding “urgent need Parliament to Opposition. for further electoral function Earlier, at an all-parreforms” or “urgent ty meeting, the Oppo- Pramod Tiwari, deputy n e e d t o f u r t h e r sition parties put up a leader of Oppn in RS strengthen integrity united front demandand transparency of ing discussions on SIR, electoral process” for labour codes and national secu- the discussion. “However, the rity. Parliamentary Affairs Parliamentary minister said Minister Kiren Rijiju had stat- they will get back,” he added. ed that the decision on a discusWhile the government is sion on the SIR would be taken pushing for a discussion on at the BAC meeting. Vande Mataram, Opposition At the BAC meeting chaired said they would not cooperate by Vice President and Rajya unless there is a debate on SIR Sabha Chair man C P Rad- or electoral reforms. hakrishnan, opposition leaders The government has listed 13 agreed to cooperate to ensure legislative bills and one finansmooth functioning of the cial bill for passage. PR E E T H A N A IR @ New Delhi According to the agriculture minister, 149 cattle had died in rain-related incidents, while 234 houses and hutments had incurred damage | Express Palavesam of Sivagalai died after the mud wall of his house collapsed on him while he was asleep on Saturday night. R Prathap (19) of Mayiladuthurai died after being electrocuted by a snapped power line hanging over the road on Saturday night while he Karaikal hit hardest CHENNAI: Despite its weakening, cyclonic storm Ditwah delivered very heavy rain across the coastal belts. Karaikal received highest rainfall of 191mm between 8:30 am on Saturday till 5:30 am on Sunday, the RMC said | P4 was returning home on a twowheeler. K Subramani (55) of Peramandur in Villupuram, who had taken his cow for grazing, died after a tree fell over an electric post, causing a live wire to fall on Subramani and his cow on Saturday Both . died on the spot. The minister added that 149 cattle had died in rain-related incidents, while 234 houses and hutments had incurred damage. He said that in the delta districts, which received the most rainfall from the cyclonic stor m, 56,000 hectares of paddy fields were inundated.  P5 PM Narendra Modi on the last day of the DGP/IGP conference in Raipur on different aspects of India’s security infrastructure | X tech-led police reforms key for viksit bharat: pm ideology and surrendered in Dantewada, about 400 km PRIME Minister Narendra south of Raipur. Twenty-sevModi on Sunday urged the en among them carried a cupolice forces to change the mulative bounty of `65 lakh, way they work and are per- the Dantewada police said. ceived by the public, stressDiscussions ranged wideing the need for greater pro- ly—from planning policing fessionalism, empathy, and reforms up to 2047 to tackquicker response time. ling terrorism, ensuring Speaking on the last day of women’s safety through the 60th All India Confer- tech, bringing back Indian ence of Director Generals fugitives abroad, and imand Inspector Genproving forensic inerals of Police in vestigations. Modi R a i p u r, M o d i also spoke about pushed for innovaraising public tive policing strate- There’s a need to awareness about make effective g i e s b a c ke d by new criminal laws use of databases technology . that have replaced T h e t h re e - d ay integrated under old colonial-era event at the Indian NATGRID, and link rules and the imthese systems Institute of Manportance of monithrough AI to agement focused on toring banned generate ‘Viksit Bharat: Segroups while develactionable curity Dimensions’ oping areas liberatintelligence and brought togethed from Left Wing Narendra Modi, PM er top police officExtremism. ers from across the On natural disascountry. Modi highlighted ters, the PM emphasised betthe benefits of linking data ter disaster preparedness through the National Intel- and coordination, especially ligence Grid with artificial with cyclones and floods. He intelligence to turn informa- said quick planning and tion into actionable intelli- team effort are key to saving gence that can help fight lives and reducing damage. crime more effectively . Modi also awarded the The call from the PM to President’s Police Medals to radically transform police Intelligence Bureau officers. infrastructure came on a More than 700 officers joined day when 37 cadres of CPI the event virtually with sen, (Maoist) relinquished their ior government officials. e j a z k a i s e r @ Raipur D i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi The Central government is set to replace the Compensation Cess with a new levy of 70% or higher on tobacco and tobaccorelated products. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha on Monday to replace the existing GST Compensation Cess currently imposed on these products. Under the new Bill, tobacco and related products will attract a 70% cess over and above 40% GST, while cigarettes will face a specific cess ranging from `2,700 to `11,000 per thousand sticks, depending on length. The move is aimed at safeguarding tax revenues once the Compensation Cess is phased out. According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, the Compensation Cess on tobacco and related products will be discontinued after all interest payments and loan liabilities under the cess account are fully settled. The amendment is intended to provide the government with fiscal space to increase the central excise duty on tobacco to “protect the tax incidence”. The proposed overhaul reflects the government’s intent to maintain the historically high tax burden on tobacco. Currently, tobacco, cigarettes and related items are taxed at 28% GST, plus a compensation cess of 5–290%. The FM will also introduce the Health Security and National Security Cess Bill, 2025, which proposes a new cess on pan masala and possibly other products to be notified later.