KOCHI l friday l april 24, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE city EDITION NGT shoots notices to 6 cricket stadiums for non-compliance The National Green Tribunal has sent notices to six stadiums, including the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi for non-compliance of tribunal order PIC: Sayantan Ghosh in focus: groundwater to maintain stadia IPL matches may get affected The plea was against use of groundwater or fresh water to maintain cricket grounds instead of the sewage treatment plant (STP)-treated water. And also against not installing rainwater harvesting systems. The NGT bench said seven stadiums failed to submit their replies despite repeated directions; only Hyderabad has sought time to reply ■ ■ Notices sent to Arun Jaitley Stadium, Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium (Raipur), Sawai Mansingh (Jaipur), Dr DY Patil Stadium (Mumbai), Ekana Stadium (Lucknow), Barabati Stadium (Cuttack) Lucknow, Delhi, Jaipur and Raipur are hosting matches this IPL season and NGT is asking why activity should not be stopped I P11 2021 year of order , mandating stp-treated water & rainwater harvesting 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 Transport chaos: Commuters endure huge traffic gridlock in Chennai Thousands heading out of Chennai to exercise their franchise in hometowns were caught in an unprecedented gridlock. The traffic jams on GST Road, Chennai Bypass, and other arterial stretches which began around 9 pm on Wednesday, persisted until 1 pm on Thursday Small & big: State’s smallest booth of 5 voters in Theni witnesses 100% polling Polling booth at Vellimalai in Theni, one of the smallest in the country, recorded 100% voting with all its five voters exercising the franchise. A nine-member team of polling officials and policemen travelled nearly 80km through rugged hilly terrain to set up the booth | P5 Administrative mismatch: 2K voters of 6 villages boycott poll in Pudukkottai Aggrieved over access to govt services, 2,000 residents of six villages in R Palakuruchi panchayat boycotted poll. Though its revenue area comes under Pudukkottai, the panchayat is part of Tirupathur seat in Sivaganga, making it hard for residents to access services Super massive polling again Screen grab from undated video footage released by Iran’s IRGC showing its naval personnel boarding a ship attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz | afp Trump’s hell-hole jibe on India ‘in poor taste’: Govt P R E E THA NAI R @ New Delhi ‘Shoot and kill’ order in a sharp response to US President Donald Trump’s repost of a derogatory comment against India on social media, New Delhi on Thursday said that the comments are “uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste”. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the remarks do not reflect the reality of the India-US relationship, which has long been based on mutual respect and shared interests. “We have seen the comments, as also the subsequent statement issued by the US Embassy in response. The remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste,” said Jaiswal. Hours after Trump reposted American political commentator and radio host Michael Savage’s podcast, the US went into day a damage control. Responding to queries from Indian media, a US embassy spokesperson said: “The President has said ‘India is a great country with a very good friend of mine at the top’.” In the podcast, Savage also termed Indian and Chinese immigrants as “gangsters with laptops” who have “stepped on our flag”. Trump shared the transcript and video of the podcast Savage Nation, calling for changes in the US’ birthright citizenship law. “A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring in their entire family from China, or India, or some other hell-hole on the planet,” it said. The social media post invited scathing criticism from Opposition parties. “Modiji’s dear friend, ‘Namaste Trump’ has shared a note abusing India and using an extremely disparaging term. Modi ji remains absolutely mum on these ridiculous utterances,” said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. Trump on Thursday issued shoot-at-sight orders on Iranian boats laying mines to choke traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. “I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be... that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait,” he said 55 Not safe to travel to Iran now: Indian embassy The Indian embassy in Tehran cautioned against travelling to Iran in view of resumption of flights. “Airspace restrictions and operational uncertainties due to regional tensions continue to affect flight operations to and from Iran,” it said in its advisory TN sees unprecedented 85% turnout At 92%, West Bengal voter turnout highest since Independence T M u r u g a n a n d h a m @ Chennai The high-stakes campaign of political parties for the Assembly poll in Tamil Nadu received an equally enthusiastic response from the electorate on the day of polling as the state recorded an unprecedented 85.14% voter turnout on Thursday. Though the sharp jump from 73.6% in 2021 Assembly polls is predominantly driven by the shrinking of the state’s electorate by about 68 lakh from 6.41 crore to 5.73 crore due to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the scenes at polling booths indicated palpable enthusiasm from voters, particularly from the youth, in participating in the democratic process. The entry of actor C Joseph Vijay through his Tamilaga Ve t t r i K a z h a g a m (TVK) has already Assembly elections raised the expectations on the surprises in store on May 4, when the final results will reveal whether these numbers translate into substantial realignment of the political order in Tamil Nadu. All districts registered above 75% voter turnout, and around 20 districts registered above 85%. Significantly, of the 234 Assembly constituencies, only seven recorded a voter turnout below 75%, while 42 have recorded voter turnout above 90%, indicating that the participation was widespread. 80+ seats Cong strategist projects victory for UDF in Kerala State sweats 40.2 37.7 37.6 37.6 37.5 37.2 IMD warning Palakkad Thrissur Kottayam Kozhikode Kollam Kannur Max temp in state on Thursday (°C) One person died of suspected sunstroke, while three others suffered sunburns as the state continued to record high summer temperatures on Thursday . The ultraviolet index (UVI) was between 8 and 9 – indicating high level of UV radiation – in some places. Sanalkumar M V 37, of Pal, lipoyil in Kannur, who collapsed while working in the sun and admitted to a private hospital on Wednesday died on , Thursday morning. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) said it is awaiting Sanalkumar’s autopsy report to confirm the cause of death. In Nadapuram, Kozhikode, anganwadi teacher Anila suffered sunburn on her hands, while in Malappuram’s Wandoor, four-year-old Isa John suffered sunburn while playing at her home. In Ernakulam, Pandava Baira, a 27-year-old migrant worker from Odisha, was admitted to the Koothattukulam Community Health Centre with burns on his hands and Heatwave conditions likely to prevail in Thrissur, Kollam and Palakkad districts on Friday. Hot and humid weather likely till April 26. Isolated showers from April 27. neck following a sunburn he suffered while working at a timber mill at Thamarakkadu. He was later shifted to Muvattupuzha General Hospital. With mercury continuing to hover in the 37-40 degrees Celsius range in the state, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued heatwave warning in Palakkad, Thrissur and Kollam on Friday . For the second consecutive day Palakkad was the hottest at , 40.2 degrees Celsius, while Thrissur and Kottayam followed with maximum temperature of 37.7 and 37.6 degrees West Bengal on Thursday recorded its highest-ever voting percentage since Independence at 91.78% for the first phase of assembly elections, 7.06% more than the previous best of 84.72% in 2021. Voter enthusiasm was visible though the Election Commission of India’s ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) axed 91 lakh names from the electoral rolls citing various reasons. Murshidabad, Bankura, Cooch Behar, Malda, Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur reported turnout around or over 90%. KaHundreds of voters wait in queue to cast their vote at a polling booth in Kallikuppam limpong was relatively lower around 81%. in Ambattur, Chennai, on Thursday | P Jawahar What also stood out was the rather peaceful polling as no loss of life was reported, though stray incidents of violence were reported from a few districts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi In absolute numbers, the to- ple expecting change. In the congratulated the Election Commission for the peaceful polling. tal number of people who voted 2011 Assembly elections, the “For the first time in the last 50 years Bengal witnessed peaceful in the polls went up by 24 lakh state witnessed a high voter elections with less incidents of violence in the first phase. I confrom 4.63 crore in 2021 to rough- turnout of 78,29%. The incumgratulate the Election Commission…” he said. ly 4.87 crore in 2026. bent DMK government lost, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the high turnout reIn 2024 Lok Sabha polls, 4.39 and the AIADMK came to powflected “fear among people that if they don’t vote, they may lose crore voters had ex- er. However, there is a need for their voting rights and citizenship”, linking it to SIR. ercised t h e i r caution since 2016 witnessed a Polling was held in 152 of the total 294 seats in the state in the franchise. higher turnout of 74.8% than first phase. The second phase for the remaining 142 While incumbent 73.6% in 2021, but the seats is scheduled for April 29. Women (92.69%) outChief Minister and incumbent AIADnumbered men (90.92) at the polling booths, which DMK president M K MK retained powmade it more difficult to read the mandate. HowStalin is pitching his er in 2016 and it ever, both the Mamata-led TMC and the BJP prere-election as a bat- lost power in dicted a decisive mandate in their favour. tle for state autonomy against 2021. Violence erupted in Nawda in Murshidabad central overreach, AIADMK As of 11 pm district after supporters of the TMC and general secretary Edappadi K ECI portal Humayun Kabir’s Aam Janata Unnayan Palaniswami and the BJP were data, VeeraParty clashed with each other, promptcampaigning on the economic pandi coning the Central Armed Paramilitary promise of a “double-engine stituency Force to resort to lathi charge. Kabir, government”. polled the an expelled TMC leader, is a candidate Actor Vijay is riding on youth h i g h e s t there. In Kumarganj, BJP candidate support to challenge the long- (93.40%), Subrata Sarkar was assaulted by standing DMK-AIADMK followed goons. Also, BJP MLA Agnimitra duopoly . by Karur A newlywed couple after casting vote Paul’s car was attacked near Rahmat The high voter turnout is ( 9 3 . 3 8 % ) . in Pettai, Tirunelveli | v karthik alagu Nagar in Asansol Dakshin. P8 usually read as a signal of peo- P5 Sunil Kanugolu attributes front’s prospects to anti-incumbency sentiment against LDF govt, and a more targeted sentiment against CM Pinarayi Vijayan | P5 No Pooram fireworks, kudamattam cut to 15 minutes as Thrissur mourns G O P I K A V A R R I E R @Thrissur One dies of suspected sunstroke, three suffer sunburns; heatwave alert today M a n o j V i s w a n at h a n @Kochi SU B H E NDU M AITI @ Kolkata UV index Konni 9 Kottarakkara 8 Chengannur 8 Changanassery 8 Munnar 8 Celsius, respectively Maximum . temperature in Palakkad was 41.1 degrees Celsius on Wednesday the highest in the state this , season. Confirming the heatwave conditions, the IMD issued an alert cautioning that maximum temperature will remain above normal till April 26. “Hot and humid weather will continue in Kerala due to high temperature and humidity The . prevailing weather can cause health risk to vulnerable people like infants, elderly and people with chronic diseases,,” ● More on P4 said the IMD.  EXPRESS READ Boy, woman die of snakebite in Kerala Alappuzha/T’Puram: Two persons, an eight-year-old boy in Thiruvananthapuram and a 42-year-old woman in Alappuzha, died of snakebite on Thursday. The deceased are Dikshal of Azhoor and Selina of Kayamkulam. Dikshal was reportedly bitten by a cobra while sleeping at his home. Selina suffered a snakebite in the vicinity of her house. Two snakebite incidents were also reported from Thiruvananthapuram | P4 ED Sabarimala probe loses momentum As the cultural capital mourned the demise of 14 people in Tuesday’s explosion at a firecracker-making unit at Mundathicode in Thrissur, the Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu devaswoms decided to hold a low-key Thrissur Pooram, in keeping with the sentiments of a majority of devotees. In addition to completely avoiding fireworks display the , organising devaswoms decided to cut short the famed kudamattam ceremony to 15 minutes. The decisions followed a high-level meeting convened on Thursday Union Minister and . Thrissur MP Suresh Gopi, Revenue Minister K Rajan, Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan, Higher Education Minister R Bindu, MLAs P Balachandran and Xavier Chittilappilly, Dis- 103 more body parts recovered from blast site Thrissur: The search using cadaver dogs and additional police personnel for the missing people continued on the second day after the April 21 blast at the firecrackermaking unit at Mundathicode in Thrissur. In all, 103 body parts were recovered. About 60 cops participated in the search operation on Thursday | P4 trict Collector Sikha Surendran and other department officials, besides representatives of the Thiruvambady and Paramekkavu devaswoms took part in it. The meeting discussed in detail the concerns of the devaswoms and other participating temples, especially potential issues that would arise from scaling down the pooram celebrations. The devaswoms have booked elephants and percussion artists in advance after spending huge amounts. It was decided that elephant parades and the melam, including that of the eight participating temples, will happen as it is. Fifteen elephants will be used for Madathil Varavu of Thiruvambady Bhagavathy, Elanjithara Melam of Paramekkavu Bhagavathy and also for the kudamattam ceremony . “Thrissur Pooram will be conducted without compromising on rituals. However, kudamattam will be curtailed to 15 minutes, using a maximum of 10 special parasols. Elanjithara Melam, the elephant parades at night and Arattu ceremonies will be conducted as per tradition,” G Rajesh, the Paramekkavu devaswom secretary, ● More on P4 told TNIE.  Kochi: After a flurry of highprofile interrogations and intense media scrutiny, the ED investigation into the Sabarimala gold scam has entered a slower phase, raising questions over whether it has lost its initial momentum. Sources indicated that around 11 officials associated with the probe have been transferred, which may have contributed to the slowdown | P5 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express Police personnel engaged in a search at the blast site at Mundathicode in Thrissur on Thursday | Express