kochi l sunday l december 28, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION Gone in two days: eNGLAND WIN Boxing Day ASHES tEST As Ben Stokes and Co beat Australia in the fourth Test within two days, Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch has come under the scanner visitors end 18-match winless streak in Oz Having already lost the series, England ended an 18-match winless streak in Australia and beat the home side by four wickets in the fourth Ashes Test at the MCG on Saturday. After Perth, where the visitors lost in two days, this was yet another two-day finish in the series. It was the first time since 1912 that multiple two-day results have occured in a series | P11 ■ 4th Not a good look for Test cricket ■ Both Ben Stokes and Steve Smith expressed concern over the quality of the pitch, which had about 10 mm grass at the start of the match. As many as 20 wickets fell on Day 1 and another 16 on Day 2 Only 852 balls were bowled in the Melbourne Test - the tenth fewest in a completed match - only five more than the Perth Test Two-day Test ever in AUSTRALIA so far 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 Cong to launch nationwide ‘save MGNREGA’ movement from Jan 5 At CWC meet, first after Bihar drubbing, Rahul hopes the entire Oppn would join campaign Poor crowd management Allu Arjun 11th accused in Pushpa 2 stampede Theatre owners and partners, including Agamati Ram Reddy (owner), M Sandeep, M Sumeeth, Telugu star Allu Arjun has and others, were booked for albeen named as the 11th accused legedly failing to ensure safety in the chargesheet filed by the arrangements, while the event Hyderabad Police in the Sand- organiser, Talla Kiran Kumar hya Theatre stampede case. Goud, is accused of lapses in exThe incident, which occurred ecution and supervision. Of the on December 4, 2024, claimed total accused, 14 were arrested, the life of 35-year-old M Revathi, while nine secured anticipatory while her nine-year-old son, bail and were served notices, poSritej, sustained critical inju- lice said. ries. Sritej continues to remain According to the police, the under treatment more stampede occurred than a year after the due to poor coordinastampede. tion and negligence The chargesheet among multiple stakefiled on December 24 holders, including the says the incident was Sandhya 70 mm Theadue to “serious lapses tre management, in planning, crowd event organisers, pricontrol and security vate security staff arrangements during and others involved in the event”. handling the crowd. Allu Arjun Speaking to reportThe investig ation ers on Saturday, Hyderabad Po- found that no proper crowd lice Commissioner V C Sajjanar management plan or adequate confirmed that the chargesheet security measures were put in lists 23 accused, including Allu place, despite the expected Arjun, his manager Josya Bhat- heavy turnout. la Santosh Kumar, another manPolice said the chargesheet ager Sharath Chandra Naidu, establishes negligence at multifans’ association in-charge Tati- ple levels, which collectively led pamula Vinay Kumar, and his to the incident. Further legal personal security guards proceedings in the case will conCheruku Ramesh and Sriramu- tinue as per law, Sajjanar said. The stampede occurred as fans la Raju. Several bouncers deployed at gathered to catch a glimpse of the actor during the premiere. the venue are also named. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad p r ee t h a n a i r @ New Delhi SIR: State to set up help desks to aid ‘untraceable’ E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram In a move to account for the list of ‘untraceable’ voters that has surfaced as part of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the state government will set up help desks across village offices to ensure the inclusion of all eligible persons. In a government order issued by the general administration department on Friday, district collectors have been instructed to deploy two officers each to these help desks to ensure that eligible voters are not left out of the process. Over 24,08,503 distributed enumeration forms were not returned, of which 14.61 lakh were marked as either ‘absent’, ‘untraceable’, ‘permanently shifted’ or ‘enumeration for m shifted’, while 6.49 lakh were declared deceased. Another 1.36 lakh were listed under ‘others’. In addition, the order also mentions about 19.32 lakh people who have been included in the draft roll need to furnish more documents for final approval. Combined, over 43.4 lakh people in the state may have to furnish documents for hearing and further processing. The help desks are meant to ease ● More on P4 this process.  The Congress on Saturday announced it will launch a nationwide mass movement from January 5 against the Centre’s attempts to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), drawing parallels with the pushback that led to the repeal of the three farm laws. The decision was taken at a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting here, which also resolved to oppose any move to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the rural job scheme and to convert workers’ legally guaranteed rights into what the party termed a government dole. In a resolution, the CWC said the Congress would “protect MGNREGA and the rights of India’s workers” and would take the issue to “every last village” across the country . After a nearly three-hour CWC meeting, the first one after the Bihar poll debacle, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said the party will lead the ‘MGNREGA Bachao Abhiyan’ from January 5, and a detailed plan will be announced soon under which rallies will be held across the country . In cryptic post, Digvijaya hails BJP Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, ahead of the CWC meeting in New Delhi on Saturday | Sekhar yadav Addressing a press conference, Kharge said MGNREGA was a visionary UPA legislation appreciated globally. The scheme was named after Mahatma Gandhi due to its impact, he said. “Repealing MGNREGA is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi,” he added, calling it an attack on the Right to Work. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi targeted the BJP government, alleging that “the PM carried out a devastating attack on states and the poor, much like demonetisation.” He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “single- 20 injured in mob attack on popular rock band in B’desh A G E N CI E S @ Dhaka AT least 20 students were injured in a mob attack in Bangladesh that forced the cancellation of a concert by popular rock singer James, who has sung several hit Hindi film songs, organisers said. The incident occurred late on Friday night in Faridpur, amid a recent spate of attacks on cultural institutions. In recent weeks, organisations such as Chhayanaut and Udichi Shilpi Goshthi in Dhaka have been vandalised. James’ concert was to mark the closing of Faridpur Zilla School’s 185th anniversary celebrations. The programme was scheduled late at night on a temporary stage within the school premises, news portal tbsnews.net reported. However, just before it was due to begin, a group of outsiders tried to force entry after being turned away, throwing bricks and stones and attempting to seize the stage. Students resisted the attackers, and at least 20 were injured by flying debris, according to organisers. However, Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Azmir Hossain said the exact casualty count Congress MP Digvijaya Singh triggered a row Saturday after publicly praising the organisational strength of the BJP and RSS. In a post on X, Singh shared PM Narendra Modi’s old picture seated near L K Advani, and said “... the grassroots ‘swayamsevak’ of RSS and worker of Jan Sangh @ BJP4India sat on the floor at the feet of leaders and became the CM of a state and PM? This is the power of the organization.” | P7 A videograb of the mob attack in Faridpur of Bangladesh that left fans injured at a rock concert was yet to be confirmed. “The number of injured in the attack is not yet known. We are trying to gather detailed information,” he said. Amid the volatile situation, organising committee convener Mustafizur Rahman Shamim cancelled the show on orders from the Faridpur district administration, The Daily Star reported. James, lead singer of Bangladeshi rock band Nagar Baul, has sung in several Bollywood films, including Gangster, Woh Lamhe, and Life in a... Metro. Rajibul Hasan Khan, convener of the programme’s publicity and media sub-committee, said the attack’s motives remained unclear. handedly destroying” the MGNREGA scheme without consulting his Cabinet or states and without studying the matter, terming it an attack on the democratic structure that will ruin the rural economy . The Congress, Rahul said, has vowed to resist the government’s action and expressed confidence that the entire Opposition would join the movement. He linked the decision to scrap MGNREGA to the decimation of Indian labour, saying it guaranteed a minimum floor below which labour could not fall. “It is going to cause tremen- dous pain to the weaker sections, to Adivasis, Dalits, OBCs, poor general castes, and minorities,” Rahul alleged. In his opening remarks, Kharge alleged collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission of India and accused the government of misusing the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax department, and the CBI. Xmas decorations at Ahmedabad mall vandalised D i l i p S i ng h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad Unperturbed by the controversies surrounding the alleged theft of gold from the Sabarimala temple, devotees continued to throng the hill shrine in large numbers and made generous offerings during the mandala pilgrimage season. As the temple closed its sanctum sanctorum on Saturday night, marking the end of the mandala season, the total revenue stood at Devotees queue up for darshan at Sabarimala temple | Express a record `332.77 crore, according to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). During the previous A ground-breaking year fails to shore up Mollywood’s fortunes Kochi: Despite several record- and groundbreaking films, 2025 was a challenging year for Mollywood. The producers’ association maintains that only 15 of the 184 films released in the state this year were profitable. P4 Party took action without hearing my version: Laly James Thrissur: Disgruntled Congress councillor Lali James on Saturday came up against the Congress Thrissur district leadership for not seeking any explanation from her before issuing order suspending her from party. P5 In the latest attack targeting Christmas celebrations in India, workers of a Hindu outfit vandalised decorations at a prominent shopping mall in Ahmedabad on Saturday . According to the police, four to five workers associated with a Hindu outfit entered the mall, located near Thaltej on Ahmedabad’s SG Highway, headed straight to the central atrium, and pulled down Christmas trees, causing panic among visitors. “They demanded that all Christmas trees and related decorations at the mall be removed immediately a police officer said. ,” The mall authorities tried to calm them and explained that the decorations were part of the year-end festivities. “Despite repeated requests, they vandalised the decorations, following which the police were informed,” the officer said. Those involved were detained on the spot and security inside the mall was briefly tightened. The incident comes amid reports of widespread attacks on Christmas celebrations in various parts of the country . Earlier this week, the Federation of Parents’ Associations, along with a saffron outfit, protested against Christmas celebrat i o n s a n d h o l i d ay s i n s ch o o l s i n Ahmedabad. W I T H T H I S I SS U E India’s Luxe Pilgrimages PLUS 12 PAGES At R333cr, Sabarimala mandala season sees record revenue E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ P’thitta e x p re s s rea d season, the total revenue after 41 days of the mandala pilgrimage was `297.06 crore. The temple closed at 10pm on Saturday after ‘Harivarasanam’, following the mandala pooja held in the morning. The temple will reopen on December 30 evening for the makaravilakku festival. TDB president K Jayakumar said the revenue collected till Friday stood at `332,77,05,132 — generated through offerings (kanikka), sale of appam and aravana prasadam, room rent and auction proceeds. Kanikka alone accounted for `83.17 crore of the total amount. “This season, the revenue saw an increase of `35.7 crore, even though the count is for 40 days, reflecting the growing faith of devotees,” Jayakumar said. So far, more than 30.56 lakh devotees have visited the shrine this season. On Friday 37,521 pilgrims , had darshan, while 17,818 devotees reached the shrine till 1pm on ● More on P4 mandala pooja day  . PADMA VIBHUSHAN RATAN N TATA 28.12.1937 - 09.10.2024 Remembering Ratan N Tata, an icon of industry and a humanitarian, on the occasion of his 88th birth anniversary. TATA SONS & TATA GROUP OF COMPANIES