tadepalligudem l monday l january 05, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION ‘Waterman of India’ slams Indore tragedy that killed 6 Water conservationist Rajendra Singh Sunday called the Indore drinking water tragedy a ‘systemcreated disaster’ which was avoidable Corruption has ruined the system: singh The Magsaysay Award winner expressed alarm that such a crisis could unfold in Indore, which has been ranked as India’s cleanest city. “If such a tragedy can occur in the country’s cleanest city, it shows how serious the condition of drinking water supply systems must be elsewhere,” Singh said, alleging that corruption has ruined the entire system 30 AFTER INDORE, GANDHINAGAR SEES OUTBREAK ■ Officially, the death toll in Indore was put at six so far. Locals, however, claim the fatality count could be anywhere between 10 and 14, with another 200 people remain in various hospitals ■ After Indore, over 100 people have fallen sick with typhoid in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar following water contamination Patients still in icu in indore following the diarrhoea outbreak 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 ‘Venezuela issues a matter of deep concern, need peaceful resolution’ India issues first official statement on the military action in Caracas, without naming US J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi INDIA on Sunday expressed “deep concern” over the unprecedented US action to capture Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in a late-night military operation. In its first reaction to the dramatic US military action in Venezuelan capital Caracas early on Saturday the Ministry , of External Affairs (MEA) said it is closely monitoring the evolving situation as the deposed Venezuelan leader has been brought to the US to face drug trafficking charges. Calling for a peaceful resolution of all the issues through dialogue, the MEA said India reaffirms its support for the well-being and safety of the people of the oil-rich South American country. “We call upon all concerned to address issues peacefully through dialogue, ensuring peace and stability of the region.” The statement said the Indian embassy in Caracas is in contact with members of the Indian community and is providing all possible help. On Saturday, the MEA had issued an advisory urging Indian citizen to avoid non-essential travel to Venezuela. In its carefully worded statement issued on Sunday, the MEA did not make any direct Streets empty, shops shut Tense calm prevailed in Venezuela on Sunday with capital Caracas witnessing empty streets with few vehicles moving around. Most convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses were closed, in contrast to the rush usually seen on Sundays Screengrab of Nicolas Maduro (centre) escorted inside the headquarters of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in lower Manhattan, New York | afp reference to alleged violations of sovereignty or name the US, adopting a measured tone amid rapidly unfolding events. The MEA statement came a day after the Donald Trump administration announced that it had captured Maduro and his wife following a military operation that targeted Caracas as well as other areas. The operation was described by the US as part of a crackdown on what it called “narco-terrorism”. Washington launched the military action after putting pressure on Caracas for several months through a series of strikes on Venezuelan vessels accused of smuggling drugs. T h e l at es t deve lop men ts marked a sharp escalation in the long-running political and diplomatic crisis surrounding Venezuela. After he was ‘arrested’ by US forces in the audacious raid early Saturday, Maduro was brought to the US and is currently held in a New York detention centre. The deposed Venezuelan leader is facing drug trafficking charges and is likely to be produced in court on Monday . While Trump said the US would oversee the administration of the country until a transition of power takes place, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a television interview that Washington will use control of Venezuela’s oil industry to force policy changes. He also did not rule out putting US troops in Venezuela. Dharmendra Regana @ Visakhapatnam Cybercrime police have arrested four persons for operating a crypto-based MLM (MultiL e ve l M a rke t i n g ) c h a i n business scam in Visakhapatnam. It was run in different names like UMT, UBIT, Ultraverse and MMMC. The quartet were remanded to judicial custody. Multiple crypto apps such as SafePal, Binance, CoinDCX, and Coinstore, along with numerous user IDs, passwords, and login credentials were seized. The accused misled the public by promoting investments in these schemes, which were structured as Ponzi-style chain systems. The arrested include Nagireddy Sudheer Naidu of MK Gardens, Mangi Soma Raju (41) of Marripalem, Gurala Srikanth of Chinagadili, and Allipalli Venkata Ramesh Babu of Seethammadara. Under the direction of Visakhapatnam City Police Comm i s s i o n e r S h a n k a B r at a Bagchi, action was initiated against individuals who invested in fraudulent crypto-based online schemes such as UMT (Unity Meta Token), UBIT, Ultraverse, and MMMC. These schemes falsely promised high returns and guaranteed profits to lure innocent investors.  P4 Rodriguez named interim prez Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez will be the acting president with the Supreme Court ordering her to take charge in Nicolas Maduro’s absence. Terming the US action illegal, Rodriguez said Maduro is the country’s rightful leader and must be freed The first commercial validation flight successfully lands at the Alluri Sitarama Raju (Bhogapuram) Greenfield International Airport on Sunday | G Satyanarayana marked the completion of the commercial flight validation process. In its first phase, the airport terminal is designed to handle six million passengers annually, with scope for expansion to 18 million passengers per year. The ter minal can process In four to five months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to officially inaugurate Bhogapuram International Airport Ram Mohan Naidu, Minister The NDA government in Andhra Pradesh has viewed the statement made by Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy in the Assembly during a discussion on Krishna water as an internal political dimension of that State, and accused the YSRCP of making meaningless allegations against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, taking advantage from the comm e n t s m a d e by Reva n t h Reddy . Naidu, who returned to Hyderabad from abroad on Sunday, reportedly stated that he would soon talk about all the issues pertaining to utilisation of Krishna river water. The Water Resources Department of the AP government is of the view that the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government took up the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) without obtaining any permis- around 2,500 passengers per hour, and will feature over 10 aerobridges. Paperless passenger processing using facial recognition technology is also planned. A 3.8 km-long runway has been built to accommodate wide-body aircraft, including Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8. The first phase involves an estimated investment of `4,592 crore, with sustainability measures such as solar power generation and rainwater harvestP4 ing incorporated.  e x p r e ss n e w s s e r v i c e @ Bengaluru A file photograph of Indian troops on patrol duty. The Middle Sector of the Line of Actual Control with China is the focus of the academic exercise | Express China on mind, army to up the ante along LAC’s middle sector m aya n k s i n g h @ New Delhi sector, spanning Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand THE Indian Army will con- borders, features unique chalduct a major academic exer- lenges such as difficult tercise on January 7 focussing rain, limited infrastructure, on the Middle Sector of the environmental limits, and Line of Actual Control with grey-zone activities. China, driven by growing “Chinese assertiveness is concerns over Chinese as- no longer limited to tradisertiveness, enhanced infra- tional military manoeuvres. structure development across We have witnessed infrathe border, and unpredictable structure push in sensitive People’s Liberation Army pa- zones, dual-use facilities, introl behaviour. creased PLA troop moveThe seminar, titled ment, aggressive pa“Fortifying Himatrolling patter ns, laya: A Proactive cyber probing, and Military-Civil Furapid militarisation Our aim must be sion Strategy in Midof border villages,” to transform the dle Sector,” will be Middle Sector into reads a synopsis of held in Dehradun, the seminar. an unshakeable Uttarakhand, bringThe Middle Sector logistics and i n g t o g e t h e r re includes four valleys surveillance n ow n e d e x p e r t s, backbone, capable in Uttarakhand— academia, and mili- of supporting fast Harshil, Mana, Niti, response, tary leaders to exand Barahoti, with deterrence, and plore civil-military 22 passes serving as long-term integration redefincrucial mountain acdominance ing India’s defence cess points. Barahoti Seminar synopsis architecture. Va l l e y r e m a i n s Sources said the among eight mutuacademic exercise aims to ally accepted disputed areas promote strategic thinking with overlapping claims beand understanding of civil- tween India and China military fusion, providing a Since May 2020, when Chiplatform for academic ex- na breached agreements, the change on frontier security . sector’s status has remained Historically seen as less unclear, prompting major vulnerable than the Eastern troop reorganisation. and Western sectors, the MidThe seminar comes as trust dle Sector has gained strate- deficit between India and gic importance in the wake China persists despite recent of rising tensions and Chi- disengagement at Depsang nese infrastructure expan- and Demchok in Eastern sion along LAC. The 545-km Ladakh. Bangladesh refuse to travel to India for T20 World Cup G o m e s h S @ Cape Town A day after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL squad at the instruction of BCCI, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has formally written to the ICC to relocate their T20 World Cup matches from India. While the BCCI remains silent on the matter at the moment, if things don’t get sorted amicably, the entire World Cup schedule might have to be changed. Bangladesh, who are sched- uled to play three matches in Kolkata and Mumbai, have now officially refused to travel to India amidst the rising diplomatic tensions between the two countries. Following an emergency board meeting on Saturday night, BCB said as much in a statement. “The Board reviewed the situation in detail, taking into account developments over the last 24 hours and expressed deep concern over the overall circumstances surrounding the participation of the Bangladesh National Team in matches scheduled to be played in India. Mustafizur Rahman Following a thorough assessment of the prevailing situation and the growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contin- sions, and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Union government issued directions to stall the project in 2020 itself. Thus, the works of RLIS were stopped during the period of the YSRCP government, the sources revealed. Minister for Water Resources Nimmala Ramanaidu observed that the thoughtless steps taken up by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government resulted in halting the P4 works of RLIS.  Timely delivery of aircraft is key, says IAF chief US lawmakers have raised questions about the operation, done without congressional approval. “Trump is undermining Constitution’s separation of powers,” said Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, while Ro Khanna said Trump has set a dangerous precedent U s h a P e r i @ Vizianagaram 4 arrested in crypto-based MLM scam S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada U.S. Lawmakers question action First commercial validation flight lands at Bhogapuram The first commercial validation flight successfully landed at the Alluri Sitarama Raju (Bhogapuram) Greenfield International Airport in Vizianagaram district at 11 am on Sunday marking a major milestone , towards the airport’s operational readiness. Air India Airbus A320 aircraft (AI 3198) arrived from New Delhi as part of trial operations. Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, Vizianagaram MP Kalisetti Appala Naidu, and senior officials from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and GMR Group were on board the flight. Developed by the GMR Group with Larsen & Toubro executing the civil works, the airport is named after freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju. Designed for round-the-clock operations, the facility will handle both domestic and inter national flights. Nearly 96% of construction work has been completed, and the successful landing R’seema lift scheme works stopped during YSRCP regime, not now: Govt gent in India and considering the advice from the Bangladesh Government, the Board of Directors resolved that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions,” the statement read. BCB went on to say that the step was necessary for the safety and well-being of the players and officials from the country . “In light of this decision, the BCB has formally requested the International Cricket Council (ICC), as the event authority to , consider relocating all of Bang- ladesh’s matches to a venue outside India. The Bangladesh Cricket Board looks forward to the ICC’s understanding of the situation and an urgent response on this matter,” the statement added. Since the political turmoil in Bangladesh last year, the cricketing relations between two countries have not been smooth. India men’s tour of Bangladesh was postponed last August and as late as December 2025, the Bangladesh women’s tour of India was indefinitely postponed. SPEAKING at the inauguration of ‘Aeronautics 2047’, a two-day national seminar organised by the Aeronautical Development Agency at the Centre for Airborne Systems, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Sunday underlined the critical need for timely aircraft delivery to maintain the Air Force’s operational readiness. Congratulating ADA on completing 25 years of flight operations of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Air Chief Marshal Singh emphasised the need to stick to delivery timelines as essential for IAF readiness in a rapidly evolving security environment. Dr Samir V Kamat, secretary, Department of Defence R&D and DRDO chairman, said developing indigenous cutting-edge technology t o re d u c e import dependence is the need of the hour to realise the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. The seminar saw the presence of domain experts, industrial partners, academia, and aviation enthusiasts from across the aerospace community to discuss aeronautics evolution, design innovation, manufacturing advances, and future frontiers. Aeronautics-2047 will cover the future of Indian space technologies and the journey of LCA Tejas from sketch to squadron. ADA has designed and developed LCA Tejas with more than 5,600 successful flight trials. Several niche technologies like carbon composites, light-weight materials, fly-by-wire flight control, digital utility management system, Glass Cockpit, etc. were developed to make LCA a fourth-generation fighter. express read Minister moots `1 lakh aid for organ donors’ kin Vijayawada: Minister for Health Y Satya Kumar Yadav has appealed to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to provide a financial assistance of `1 lakh each to families of organ donors | P3 AP serves as a model for energy efficiency: Min Vijayawada: Union Minister for Energy Manohar Lal Khattar has lauded Andhra Pradesh for its proactive approach to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency for rapid growth | P4