vijayawada l monday l april 06, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai hotspots for abdominal obesity: Study The three metros have emerged as hotspots for abdominal obesity among both men and women, the study in the Nature Scientific journal reports Sedentary jobs, processed foods blamed The study by researchers from the Health Systems Transformation Platform found over half of women aged 15-49 (56.6%) and nearly half of men aged 15-54 (48.9%) in India have abdominal obesity. The researchers attributed this trend to long hours in sedentary jobs, increased reliance on motorised transport, and the widespread consumption of processed foods ■ NFHS-5 Higher prevalence among urban residents ■ Higher levels of abdominal obesity were seen among older adults, wealthier groups, and urban residents, the researchers noted “Metropolitan districts surrounding Delhi NCR, Kolkata, and Chennai demonstrated elevated prevalence among both sexes,” the study said. Abdominal obesity was measured using the waist-to-hip ratio | P7 data of over 7 lakh people from 707 districts were examined 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 Aviator scales 7,000-ft ridge to avoid capture by Iran; Trump says Tehran will be hit on Tuesday if Strait remains closed day 37 A G E N CIES @Washington, Tehran A wounded US Air Force colonel survived 36 gruelling hours in the rugged mountains of southern Iran, evading capture by Iranian forces before Navy SEAL commandos extracted him in a dramatic night-time operation, which President Donald Trump termed nothing short of “miraculous.” Armed with only a pistol and moving on injured legs, the colonel — a weapons systems officer who had ejected from an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet shot down over southern Iran on Friday — navigated treacherous terrain to stay ahead of enemy patrols. At one point, he scaled a 7,000-foot ridgeline while American aircraft bombed an approaching Iranian convoy to buy him time, The Mail reported Sunday . US aviators undergo SERE training in the event they have to eject over hostile territory -survival, evasion, resistance and escape. They wear a combat vest with a radio/GPS-coded beacon to transmit their po- AP ranks 2nd in fish processing infrastructure U s h a P e r i @ Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh ranks second in the country in marine fish processing capacity, with 131 processing units and a total capacity of 7,193.18 metric tonnes per day as of March 27, 2026. Gujarat tops the list with 137 units and a capacity of 7,646.82 metric tonnes per day. The information was placed in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Chirag Paswan in response to a question raised by Kakinada MP Tangella Uday Srinivas. The reply also gave details of projects approved under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) for the development of marine processing infrastructure over the last five years. Under the Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure Scheme, four projects were approved in Andhra Pradesh at a total project cost of `121.44 crore. The sanctioned grant-in-aid was `29.04 crore, of which `25.22 crore has been released. The projects have a processing capacity of 0.11 lakh tonnes per annum and a preservation capacity of 0.19 lakh tonnes per annum.Under Operation Greens, 11 projects were approved in the State with a total project cost of `318 crore.  P4 Whole region will burn: Iran Iran FM calls up Jaishankar Iran’s powerful parliament speaker warned US President Donald Trump on Sunday that his “reckless moves” would mean “our whole region is going to burn”. The “only real solution is respecting rights of Iranian people and ending this dangerous game,” Mohammad Ghalibaf said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Sunday, amid an escalating rhetoric from Washington. “Received a call from Foreign Minister Araghchi. Discussed present situation,” EAM said, marking the sixth conversation since the war began | P7 The wreckage of a downed American jet and two helicopters involved in a rescue of a US Colonel, in Isfahan province | AP sition, while they also carry water, food, first-aid material and a pistol in order to survive. The airman was wounded after his ejection but could still walk, according to news outlet Axios, which cited a US official. Iran had placed a bounty on the officer’s head, setting off a race between Tehran and Washington to locate the missing aviator. “Everything is being Bengal tribunal asks EC to add candidate’s name in voters list S U B HE N D U M AI T I @ Kolkata in its first verdict, an appellate tribunal in West Bengal on Sunday directed the Election Commission to include the name of Congress candidate in Farakka, Mahtab Sheikh, in the supplementary voter list by the end of the day . The order of the tribunal headed by the former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam came a day before the April 6 deadline for submitting nomination for the firstphase polls in the state. Mohtab’s trouble started as his name was flagged under the ‘logical discrepancy’ status in the post-SIR voter list. His name also did not figure in the supplementary list of voters marked as ‘under adjudication’ by the ECI. The Supreme Court had allowed voters excluded voters to move any one of the 19 appellate tribunals being set up in West Bengal to contest the exclusion. However, the Congress nominee could not move any tribunal because of the delay in setting up of these units and the last date of filing nomination was approaching. He sought the intervention thrown at finding the missing airman,” a source close to the President told The Mail on Sunday “The fear is he will be cap. tured and used as a pawn.” The pilot of the stricken jet had been recovered within 45 minutes of the crash. The extraction encountered serious complications. Two American transport aircraft became stranded at a remote staging location inside Iran and had to be destroyed by US forces to keep them out of Iranian hands, according to The New York Times and CBS News. Three additional planes were then deployed to ferry the rescued airman and his escort out of the country . A regional intelligence official, speaking anonymously, told Associated Press that “a technical malfunction — not enemy fire — had rendered the two planes unusable.” Iran’s version differed sharply Irani. an military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari declared that the US operation, staged from an abandoned airstrip in southern Isfahan province, had been “completely foiled.” He claimed two C-130 transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters had been destroyed. The CIA reportedly ran a parallel deception operation to help keep the aviator safe. Trump declared victory on his Truth Social platform on Sunday morning, saying: “WE P9 GOT HIM!”  Express read Bhogapuram International Airport operations likely to begin by July-August: R&B Minister Vizianagaram: Operations at the Bhogapuram International Airport are likely to commence between July and August this year, with project works nearing completion, Roads and Buildings Minister B C Janardhan Reddy said. After inspecting the airport works at Bhogapuram along with MSME, SERP and NRI Relations Minister Kondapalli Srinivas on Sunday, he told reporters that inauguration is being considered on dates such as July 5 or 8, or August 17 or 19. The final schedule will depend on the availability of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu taking a final call, he said | P3 With defence startups often unable to move beyond the trial stage, the Army has proposed a `250 crore annual Field Exploitation and Capability Acceleration (FECA) fund per Service Headquarters. The proposal is under consideration by the defence ministry . The proposal, first outlined in February by Army Design Bureau Additional Director General Maj Gen C S Mann, has now been fleshed out. S TRESSING that the upcoming delimitation process requires scrutiny rather than blind acceptance, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday demanded a constitutional guarantee for states that have successfully stabilised their population. Speaking exclusively to this newspaper, Vijayan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance that southern states will not lose their current press number of seats is a clever play clusive on words that masks injustice. “The core issue facing the Indian Republic is not merely the absolute number of seats a state holds, but its proportional representation and relative political weight within the Union,” Vijayan said, responding to Modi’s remarks. During an election rally in Kerala on Saturday, Modi had said that Lok Sabha seats would not be reduced in those Indian states that have successfully controlled population. The PM also said the total number of seats would increase to benefit states across the country . A decision of this Calling for consensus, Vijaymagnitude, which an said the inter-state seat ratio affects the very must be maintained at the 1971 foundation of our census level until all states Republic, cannot be achieve population stability . “Any increase in the total dictated by Union govt number of seats must be strucPinarayi Vijayan, Kerala CM tured so that it does not reduce the relative strength of states that have excelled in human development indicators. A decision of this magnitude cannot be dictated by the Union government. It requires a consensus reached through the InterState Council and Parliament, respecting the diversity and the sovereign rights of all constituent states. If the Union government proceeds with a delimitation exercise based solely on current population figures, it effectively punishes states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and others that have rigorously implemented national policies on population control CONTINUED ON P5 and social development,” he said.  Express News Service Mahtab Sheikh | Express ‘Logical discrepancy’ Mohtab was in the ‘logical discrepancy’ group because of a discrepancy in his as well as his father’s names. The tribunal noted that there is no discrepancy in Mohtab’s name though his father’s name has some inconsistencies of the SC, which in turn asked him approach a tribunal. Mohtab then moved the tribunal of Justice Sivagnanam, among the first to be set up, at Bijan Bhaban at Salt Lake. “My name figures as Mahtab Sheikh in Aadhaar card, passport, driving licence, and son’s birth certificate. Despite these proofs, I lost my eligibility as a voter in the supplementary list. Now it is solved,” he said. @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has announced the launch of a 100-day campaign on water security, positioning it as both a government i n i t i a t ive a n d a p u b l i c movement. The programme titled “Water Security – Responsibility of Irrigation Associations” will commence at Yadiki in Anantapur district on April 6 with an aim to strengthen water conservation, enhance groundwater reserves, and ensure sustainable usa g e of water resources across Andhra Pradesh. In a teleconference with irrigation association members, ministers, and senior officials, Naidu stressed that water security cannot be left to the government alone and people’s participation in it is a must. He urged irrigation associa- Campaign to be held in 4 phases The campaign will run from April 6 to July 14 in four phases. They include Identification of works, administrative approvals, execution of works and submission of reports tions to take responsibility for conserving every drop of water, preparing water budgets, conducting water audits, and adopting micro-irrigation to prevent wastage. The campaign will run from April 6 to July 14 in four phases. Identification of works from April 6 to 15, administrative approvals from April 16 to 20, execution of works from April 21 to July 9, and submission of completion reports from July 10 to 14. Various departments, includ- Army pushes `250 cr fund to cut risk for defence startups It aims to create a structured system to test and evaluate new technologies in real conditions, backed by small initial orders to assess performance. “The idea is to plug gaps by allowing improvements to systems over time, adapting civilian technologies for military use and covering costs during trials and field use, including damage and other expenses that startups currently have to bear on their own,” an Army official told this newspa- pREE T HA nAIR @ New Delhi CM to launch 100-day water security drive today Ministry’s nod awaited J a v a r i a R a n a @ New Delhi Proportional delimitation is a demographic coup: Pinarayi PIC: Vincent pulikkal US rescues airman in daring mission per. A key element of the proposal is risk support, which addresses a major gap in the current system. At present, startups bear the full cost of equipment damaged or expended during trials, including transportation, repairs and modifications. “There have been many cases where graduates from top institutions invest all their savings to build systems, only to see them fail in high-altitude conditions. Equip- ment gets damaged, sometimes destroyed, effectively ending a startup’s journey,” the official said, adding, “Even a single failed trial can set a startup back significantly .” Under the proposed framework, startups and MSMEs will be given a three to four month window to demonstrate their systems. “If a system performs well, it can be taken up for limited field exploitation orders, with the possibility of scaling up to bulk procurement...,” the official said. Petty Officer conferred Raksha Padak Express News Service @ Visakhapatnam Plugging the gap Despite initiatives such as iDEX and the Make procedure under DAP 2020, converting prototypes to actual procurement remains a challenge ing Irrigation, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry Forest, and , Panchayat Raj will coordinate to implement the plan. Naidu emphasised repairing canals, desilting tanks, clearing feeder channels, and strengthening check dams to maximise storage and prevent flooding during the monsoon. The Chief Minister directed that groundwater levels, currently at 8.7 metres, should be raised by at least 1.5 metres, with water availability ensured at 6 metres depth by summer and 3 metres by the end of the monsoon. Naidu highlighted Annamayya district’s “Jaladhara” initiative as a model, where tanks were filled and groundwater levels rose significantly urging other districts to , replicate such efforts. He also called for scientific mapping of tanks using satellite imagery, hydrology analysis, and feeder channel clearance to ensure effective water conservation. Stressing that water security is the foundation for growth in agriculture, industry and other sectors, he said effective conservation would make Andhra Pradesh drought-free. He recalled earlier irrigation projects such as Handri-Neeva, Galeru-Nagari and Telugu Ganga initiated during NTR’s tenure, and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to completing ongoing projects, including Polavaram at the earP4 liest.  Raushani, wife of Deepak Kumar (inset), receives the Padak | EXPRESS Deepak Kumar, a Petty Officer of the Indian Navy attached to the Eastern Naval Command, has been posthumously awarded the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak in recognition of his courage and selfless act in saving a life. The award, one of the highest civilian honours for life-saving, was conferred by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, and presented to his wife, Raushani Kumari, by Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of the Naval Staff, during a Naval Investiture Ceremony held in Mumbai on April 1. According to official details, the incident occurred on September 14, 2024, at Sariya Waterfalls in Devarapalli of Alluri Sitarama Raju district, Andhra Pradesh. Petty Officer Deepak attempted to rescue an individual who was being swept away by strong currents. Despite making a determined effort, both were overcome by the turbulent waters and lost their lives. Naval authorities stated that Deepak’s action exemplified the core values of duty and service upheld by the force. His conduct, they noted, reflected the highest traditions of the Navy .