thrissur l tuesday l december 23, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION S.C. pulls up U’khand govt over forest land grab by pvt entities A vacation bench initiated a suo motu case on Monday observing that the state remained a mute spectator while forest land was being grabbed 2,866 acres of forest land under lens Govt’s approach shocking: CJI-led bench The case concerns 2,866 acres of forest land, a part of which was leased to Pashu Lok Seva Samiti. The society subsequently allotted land parcels to its members. A dispute later arose, and it went into liquidation in 1984, surrendering 594 acres to government. But, some individuals, including the petitioner, claimed to have taken possession of the land in 2001 ■ ■ “What is shocking to us is that the State of Uttarakhand and authorities are sitting like mute spectators when forest land is being grabbed in front of their eyes,” the bench led by CJI Surya Kant said It directed all construction be halted at once and that vacant land, excluding residential houses, be taken into possession by the state 1950 when The land in question was alloted to Pashu Lok Seva Samiti 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 US expands online review of H-1B, H4 applicants BJP’s vote share down e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi THE United States has extended online presence reviews to all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants worldwide, a move aimed at curbing work visa programme abuse but causing disruptions. “Beginning December 15, the Department of State expanded online presence reviews to ALL H-1B and H-4 applicants as part of standard visa screening,” the US Embassy in New Delhi said Monday. “This vetting is being conducted globally for ALL applicants of ALL nationalities… while still permitting VISA companies to hire the best of the best temporary foreign workers.” H-4 visas cover spouses and unmarried children under 21 of H-1B holders. The State De- This vetting is being conducted globally for ALL applicants of ALL nationalities… while still permitting companies to hire the best of the best temporary foreign workers —US Embassy in New Delhi partment warned of delays, encouraging applicants to “apply as early as they can”. The expanded vetting has already disrupted travel plans for Indian H-1B holders who returned home to renew visas. Dozens of visa interviews scheduled between December 15-26 were abruptly cancelled or postponed, with many rescheduled for as late as March, The Washington Post reported. The State Department said delays followed expanded social media screening “to ensure that no applicants… pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety .” Immigration lawyers de- B’desh halts visa to Indians National Citizen Party leader Motaleb Sikdar shot at, further stoking tension J ayan t h J a c o b @ New Delhi The Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi and its consulate in Agartala on Monday suspended all visa and consular services for Indians, as political violence and protests continued to roil the country less than two months ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for February 12. No timeline was given for the resumption of services, amid heightened diplomatic and security sensitivities between Dhaka and New Delhi. The suspension comes two days after a group of around 20-25 protesters demonstrated outside the Bangladesh mission in Delhi, condemning the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a garment worker in Mymensingh, and demanding protection for minorities in Bangladesh. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had on Sunday said that “there was no attempt to breach the fence or create a security situation at any time,” adding the police dispersed the group within minutes. Days after the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, another political activist was attacked on Monday. Motaleb Sikdar, Khulna divisional chief of the National Citizen Party (NCP), was shot Bangladesh’s Editors’ Council protests the attack on Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, on Monday | AFP in the head in Khulna and is undergoing treatment in hospital. The attack has intensified fears of targeted violence and political unrest. Hadi, 32, was the founder of Inqilab Moncho, a platform that emerged from last year’s mass protests against then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, which culminated in her ouster. He had announced plans to contest the February 12 elections and was campaigning in Dhaka when he was shot earlier this month. His death triggered widespread protests across Bangladesh, with supporters alleging that the assailants fled to India and demanding their arrest. Police, however, said there is no clarity on the suspects’ whereabouts. The deteriorating se- curity situation prompted Indian student bodies to urge New Delhi to ensure the safety of Indian nationals in Bangladesh, particularly medical students. Amid the unrest, Bangladesh’s interim leadership convened a highlevel meeting to review law and order. Inqilab Moncho issued an ultimatum, threatening to launch a movement to oust the interim administration if justice is not delivered in Hadi’s murder. Against this backdrop, Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Grigoryevich Khozin called for de-escalation between Dhaka and New Delhi. “Shoulder to shoulder, India, Bangladesh and Russia were together (since 1971),” he said. century-old connection In little-known Ekm shrine rests relics of real-life ‘Santa’ Renj i t h L een @Kochi Dist-level hosp carries out heart transplant E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi/T’Puram In a landmark moment for India’s public healthcare, the Ernakulam General Hospital (GH), performed a heart transplant on a Nepalese woman on Monday, making it the first time a district-level government hospital in the country undertook such a complex procedure. Durga Kaami, a 22-year-old from Nepal received the heart of Shibu, 46, a resident of Chirayakkara in Kollam, who was declared brain-dead on December 21 following a road accident. His family, comprising mother Shakunthala and siblings Shiji S and Saleev S, consented to organ donation. The heart was airlifted from Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College (GMC) by a helicopter of the home department and arrived at Ernakulam GH by noon. The surgery was led by the GH’s cardiothoracic surgeon Dr George Val● More on P4 looran.  As the Yuletide spirit fills the air, posters, cutouts and dolls of Santa Claus crop up everywhere, heralding the season of love and sharing. However, not many may know that Santa, the most popular symbol of Christmas, is inspired from and modelled after St Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop from Myra in ancient Turkey known for his generosity and secret giftgiving. Some may find it hard to believe that the real-life Santa has a Kerala connection. For more than a century Pam, pakuda, a sleepy village located 35 km away from Ernakulam, has been home to a relic of St Nicholas. Barring residents, not many are aware the modest wayside shrine at Pampakuda in front of St John’s Ephesus Orthodox Church is home to six priceless relics, one of which is a fragment of the remains of St Nicholas. The other sacred relics, all kept in metal reliquaries inside a wooden case at the shrine, are stone fragments from the Milk Grotto Chapel in Bethlehem where the Blessed Virgin is believed to have breastfed the Child Jesus, a glossopetrae (a fossil) fragment related to St Paul the Apostle, as well as relics of St The shrine housing the relic; (inset) The reliquary containing the relic of St Nicholas at the shrine in Pampakuda, Ernakulam | Express Kuriakose, a fourth-century child martyr, St George, a third-century martyr, and St Shmuel, the founder of the 1,600-year-old Qartmin Monastery in Turkey . “What is interesting is that it was another saint who brought the remains of these saints to this village in the late 1890s,” said Fr Johns Abraham Konat, the vicar of St John’s Church and the principal secretary to Moran Mar Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, the head of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. “St Geevarghese Mar Gregorios aka Parumala Thirumeni brought the relics to Pampakuda after visiting the Holy ● More on P4 Land in 1895,” he said.  E X P RE S S RE A D Janu’s JRS, Anvar’s TMC made associate members in UDF Kochi: Buoyed by local body poll win, the UDF has moved swiftly to widen its political base, inducting P V Anvar’s Trinamool Congress and C K Janu’s Janadhipathya Rashtriya Sabha as associate members. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting on Monday | P4 Donated gold plate door in 2019, claims jeweller Kochi: At a time when former TDB heads are facing a probe into the alleged disappearance of gold from Sabarimala temple, Govardhan, a jeweller from Ballari arrested in the case has claimed the newly gold-plated door frame was donated by him in June 2019 | P5 scribed the impact as severe. “This is the biggest mess we have seen. I’m not sure there is a plan,” Indian immigration lawyer Veena Vijay Ananth told The Washington Post. Emily Neumann, a partner at Houston-based Reddy Neumann Brown PC, said she had “at least 100 clients stranded in India”. Indians, who comprise 71% of H-1B visa holders according to April 2025 data, are disproportionately affected. NZ joins growing FTA list, fastest deal so far D IPA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi IN one of the fastest trade negotiations in recent times, India New Zealand on Monday concluded a free trade pact in just nine months, offering duty-free access for Indian goods to the island nation’s markets. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon after which the two leaders jointly announced the conclusion of what they described as the “historic, ambitious and mutually beneficial” pact. Earlier, New Zealand imposed peak tariffs of up to 10% on key Indian exports such as textiles and apparel, leather, ceramics, carpets, automobiles and auto components. Now, 100% of India’s current exports will get tariff-free access to the New Zealand market. In return, India has offered market access in about 70% of tariff lines. to 14.6% in local bodies E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram Dousing the BJP’s high hopes of expanding its base in the state, the party’s vote share declined in the just concluded local body polls to 14.76%, according to data released by the State Election Commission on Monday The saffron party-led NDA . had secured 19.26% of total votes polled in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, while the front’s vote share hovered around 15% this time. The Congress emerged on top with 29.17% of the votes, while CPM finished second with 27.16%. However, despite leading the field, the Congress-led UDF registered a 6.35% decline in its vote share to 38.81%, compared to the 2024 general election. The LDF, meanwhile, failed to make significant inroads into opposition strongholds, managing only a marginal 0.11% increase in vote share at 33.45%. Independents, including those fielded by the three major front especially the LDF, and smaller parties together secured 13.03% of the votes. In the run-up to the civic polls, BJP stalwart and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had set an ambitious target of securing 25% vote share. Howev- er, except for wresting the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the party failed to throw up more surprises. The BJP fared comparatively better in southern districts. The party recorded its highest vote share in Thiruvananthapuram district at 23.08%. In Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha it garnered around 19% votes. Among northern districts, the BJP came closest to this tally in Thrissur (19.65%) and Kasaragod (18.88%). In Palakkad, the party secured 17.05% of the total votes p o l l e d . M a l ap p u r a m (5.91%) and Idukki (7.76%) were the only two districts where the party secured less than 10% votes. Among the UDF constituents, the IUML finished second, claiming 9.77% of the total votes polled. The vote shares of other Opposition front allies were Kerala Congress (1.33%), RSP (0.48%), Kerala Congress (Jacob) (0.16%) and CMP (CP John faction) (0.21%). The second best performer in the LDF was the CPI, which garnered 5.58% of the votes. In the NDA camp, the performance of allies, except for the BDJS, was negligible. The Thushar Vellapally-led party garnered 0.26% votes.