BELAGAVI  FRIDAY  APRIL 17, 2026  `9.00  PAGES 14  LATE CITY EDITION AKASA AIR, SPICEJET FLIGHTS WITH 300 PASSENGERS COLLIDE AT DELHI AIRPORT BOTH AIRCRAFT BELONGED TO BOEING 737 SERIES Both aircraft were damaged in the collision and were grounded. The bizarre incident happened in the apron area of Terminal 1 at 2.15 pm. The right winglet of the SpiceJet flight (Boeing 737-700) was damaged while the left hand horizontal stabiliser of Akasa Air (Boeing 737 MAX 8) suffered damages, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said Narrow escape for passengers after incoming SpiceJet flight came in contact with a stationary Akasa aircraft waiting to depart. None was hurt ■ DGCA PASSENGERS DISEMBARK SAFELY, NONE HURT ■ Akasa Air’s plane was to operate flight QP 1406 from Delhi to Hyderabad, while the SpiceJet aircraft had arrived from Leh after operating the flight SG 124, officials said After the incident, all passengers disembarked safely. Akasa Air said it would make arrangements to fly its passengers to Hyderabad THE AVIATION WATCHDOG HAS BEGUN ITS PROBE INTO THE DELHI AIRPORT INCIDENT 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 RELIEF FOR BENGAL VOTERS SC: Can vote if tribunal accepts pleas before polls S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi IN a big relief to legitimate voters whose names were struck off electoral rolls, the Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to allow them to vote if their appeals are accepted by the appellate tribunals at least two days before the elections. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the Election Commission to issue a supplementary electoral roll to include the names of those whose appeals against deletion are allowed by appellate tribunals before April 21 (1st phase) and April 27 (2nd phase). In the order dated April 13 and uploaded on the Supreme Court website on Thursday the , bench invoked Article 142 of the Constitution, which empowers SC to pass any order to ensure “complete justice” in any matter pending before it. The court clarified that mere pendency of appeals by excluded persons before the appellate tribunals would not entitle them to vote. Only those whose appeals are accepted by the tribunals before the cut-off dates are eligible to vote. The bench passed the directions after hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal, where the names of several eligible voters were deleted forcing them to move court seeking restoration of their names and interim relief. The court posted the matter for April 24. 8 from K’taka killed as pickup rams tanker in Mantralayam E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @Raichur/Kurnool EIGHT pilgrims, including five women, from Chikkamagaluru district were killed and 13 others injured when their Bolero pickup truck collided head-on with a tanker in Mantralayam of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh around 4 am on Thursday According to the police, the Bolero, carrying . nearly 21 pilgrims, was on the way to Sri Guru Raghavendra Swamy Mutt when it veered off course and rammed into an oncoming tanker. A child and two men The tanker and pickup truck were completely also died. The deceased damaged in the accident on Thursday have been identified as vehicle driver Kumar (60), Deepika Veena (35), Sunil (40), Belli (3), Puttamma (60), Meenakshi (50), Lolakshi (30) and Tayamma alias Yashoda (60). All the victims were Udeva in Tarikere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep grief over the accident. The PM announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the victims and Rs 50,000 for the injured. No change in LS seat share in the South, clarifies Shah Women’s bill important for all parties that want to succeed in future: PM J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi UNION home minister Amit Shah on Thursday asserted in the Lok Sabha that the number of seats in the southern states will not be reduced as he sought to counter what he described as a “manufactured narrative” that delimitation and related legislative changes would weaken the region’s political influence. During the debate on women’s reservation and delimitation, Shah said: “The biggest narrative being created is that these three bills — the Constitution Amendment Bill, two laws on delimitation, and changes to the constituency election law — will harm the power of the South.” Putting the initiative in context, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his intervention, highlighted women’s rising “political leadership” at the grassroots level, adding the quota bill is important for every political party if they want to succeed in future. Shah backed his argument with state-wise projections to demonstrate how South’s representation would increase both in absolute numbers and in the overall share. Karnataka has 28 seats, and 5.15% Home Minister Amit Shah speaks in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the special session of Parliament on Thursday | PTI of the 543 seats in the House. After delimitation, the number of MPs will increase to 42, and the percentage in the Lok Sabha will increase to 5.44. Karnataka will not suffer any loss, he said. Andhra Pradesh has 25 seats, which is 4.60% of the total. After the bill passes, the number of MPs will increase to 38, representing 4.65%. In Telangana, which has 17 seats, accounting for 3.13%, after delimitation, the number of MPs will increase to 26, representing 3.18%. Tamil Nadu has 49 seats, which is 7.18% of the total. After delimitation, the number of MPs will be 59, and their percentage in the new House 7.23%. Tamil Nadu will also suffer no loss. EXPRESS READ MLA Kulkarni to be sentenced today Bengaluru: The quantum of punishment on former minister and Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni, who was convicted in a murder case, will be pronounced on Friday. Kulkarni on Thursday pleaded before the special court judge for leniency, claiming that he had been treated unjustly | P4 ISRO got 1.5L sat collision alerts from US Bengaluru: The USA-led multinational command centre, Combined Space Operations Centre of the United States Command, has issued over 1,50,000 space debris and collision alerts for ISRO’s earth orbiting satellites, according to a report | P7 Munir in Iran, Pak steps up peace efforts Yana caves get geo-heritage site of national importance tag A G E N C I E S @ Tehran SUBHASH CHANDRA NS PA K I S TA N o n T h u r s d ay stepped up its diplomatic efforts for a second round of peace talks between Iran and the US that could end the ongoing West Asia war with Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir meeting Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Munir, who DAY is camping in Tehran, also visited the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Parallelly, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is touring the Gulf countries. Hours after Munir’s meeting in Tehran, US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon starting Thursday . THE Geological Survey of India has declared the Yana caves near Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district as a geo-heritage site of national importance. The scientific community welcomed the move saying it will ensure conservation of the ancient rocks formed nearly 2,700 million years ago. On the occasion of the 176th Foundation Day of the GSI, the GSI passed a resolution recognising Yana caves as a geo-heritage site of national importance. It announced the move in a letter dated, April 13, 2026. GSI is the nodal agency for geo-conservation of earth heritage commonly referred to as geo-heritage sites, endowed with geological features of significant scientific, educational, 48 @ Yana (Uttara Kannada) Yana caves near Gokarna is a well-known tourism and pilgrimage centre attracting footfall from across the country cultural and aesthetic value. It involves identification and recognition of geological treasures as geo-heritage sites. The rocks nestled within the Western Ghats represent a remarkable example of landscape evolution, shaped by tectonic weathering and karst processes. CONTINUED ON: P7 How old are the rocks? Rock masses were formed 2,700 million years ago and are composed of pre-cambrian dolomitic limestone HISTORY MAKER Blitz, TT & padel: How Vaishali kept cool S W A R O O P S W A M I N AT H A N @ Bengaluru WHENEVER R Vaishali had some free time in Paphos, the idyllic resort town in Cyprus where the Candidates was held, she either played table tennis or padel. Vaishali doesn’t consider herself to be a good table tennis player. It’s just that she wanted to, at least every now and then, forget about the chess world. She was feeling a lot of pressure, especially after beginning An emotional R Vaishali with her mother Nagalakshmi | MICHAL WALUSZA / FIDE the tournament with four draws and one defeat. So the 24-year-old engaged in some form of eustress to calm her mind. It’s where M Pranesh played a key role. Officially, the 19-year-old, who became a GM at the age of 16, went to Cyprus to be Vaishali’s second. “He would wait for the rest days because that’s when we played padel,” Vaishali told Chessbase India after winning the Candidates tournament on Wednesday . Kerala now has 20 seats, which is 3.68%. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will be 30, and their percentage in the new House will be 3.67. “Of the total 543 seats, 129 MPs currently sit in this House, which is 23.76%. In the new House, 195 MPs will be sitting here, and their share will be 23.97%.” Shah also addressed concerns over the caste census, saying, “Modi cabinet has decided to conduct a caste census. The ongoing census is being conducted on the basis of caste enumeration. There is no need to spread confusion.” On the legal framework governing delimitation, Shah emphasised continuity with existing provisions. “The Delimitation Commission law is strictly in accordance with the existing (old) law. There is no change. It will not impact the ongoing elections.” Responding to criticism from Opposition leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra, Shah said: “I want to tell Priyanka Gandhi that we have not made any changes to the Delimitation Commission. We have replicated your Delimitation Commission Act. If you have tampered with it, I can say that we will not do so.” WHAT THEY SAID Together, we are going to give India a new direction. Through women’s quota, we are going to make a meaningful effort to infuse sensitivity in our governance system Neither men nor any state will suffer any loss after the implementation of the women’s quota. The main objective of the bill is to give women their due rights Narendra Modi, PM Arjun Ram Meghwal, Min The talk of delimitation seems fine on the surface but the real meaning comes to the fore when one carefully reads it. It smells of politics Priyanka Gandhi, Cong STATE Karnataka Andhra Pradesh Telangana Tamil Nadu Kerala Total strength of South “Please withdraw this bill. Call an all-party meeting. We will give good suggestions...We are ready to cooperate with the government. Don’t try to sabotage Indian democracy BJP has made ‘nari’ (women) into a ‘nara’ (slogan) ... How many BJP MLAs or MPs are women?... The Samajwadi Party is for women’s quota, but is against BJP’s trickery K C Venugopal, Cong Akhilesh Yadav, SP CURRENT % OF 543 AFTER LS SEATS LS SEATS DELIMITATION 28 5.15% 42 25 4.60% 38 17 3.13% 26 39 7.18% 59 20 3.68% 30 129/543 23.76 195/816 % AFTER DELIMITATION 5.14% 4.65% 3.18% 7.23% 3.67% 23.87