tirupati l monday l july 20, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION 12 dead in landslides, flash floods in j&k’s rajouri and poonch dists At least 12 people were killed on Sunday as heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in J&K Eight of a family killed in poonch 8 dead as landslides hit Nagaland’s Mon Eight members of a family were killed when a landslide buried their house in Lower Muran village in the worst-hit Surankote tehsil of Poonch district in the early hours of Sunday. The villagers said the cloudburst struck with terrifying force, giving them little time to react. At least 10 died in Poonch and six are missing. In Rajouri, two persons lost their lives in flash floods ■ ■ In another rain-related incident, landslides claimed the lives of at least eight persons in Nagaland’s Mon town on Sunday morning Extensive damage to homes, roads and public infrastructure was reported in Mon, with several areas inundated and major routes blocked by landslides following several hours of heavy rainfall July 23 moderate to heavy rainfall likely across J&K till Thursday 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 8 bills listed for monsoon session beginning today Opposition likely to seek answers on Ram temple, NEET, ethanol RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi third spot for three lions England’s best in 60 years England’s third-place finish is their best ever showing at the World Cup since they won in 1966. The four first half goals they scored was full of verve. By the end, Bukayo Saka had scored a hat-trick and Jude Bellingham scored one of the goals of the tournament to round of a fine campaign for him. 7 England finished the World Cup on a high after rousing themselves to beat France 6-4 and clinch third place. A look... This game always has goals The third-fourth match is the one match in the latter stages of the tournament with a lot of goals. With changed teams and loose defences, this game averages 3.8 goals. And it so it proved as both teams took it in turns to attack somewhat suspect backlines to thrill the Miami crowd. Jude Bellingham is 1st English player to score seven goals in a single WC Registration Seva Kendras under PPP model soon Y B r a h m a j i @ Vijayawada In a major step towards modernising property registration services, the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to establish Registration Seva Kendras (RSKs) under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, introducing a technology-driven single-window system aimed at making registrations faster, more transparent and citizenfriendly . Inspired by the Passport Seva Kendra model, the initiative seeks to reshape the delivery of registration services through digital technology improved in, frastructure, and streamlined procedures while retaining statutory powers with the government. Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad recently issued GO 396 approving the establishment of 26 Registration Seva Kendras, one in each district headquarters except Polavaram and Alluri Sitarama Raju districts. The proposed centres will function as Sub-Registrar Offices, offering services such as Anywhere Registration, advance slot booking, integrated online payments, Public Data Entry and time-bound delivery of registered documents through a single-window system. Notably the Registration and , Stamps Department is one of the busiest public-facing departments, handling a large volume of property transactions every year. Although several services have already been digitised, citizens often continue to face delays, multiple visits to registration offices and dependence on intermediaries. The RSK initiative has been designed to address these challenges by creating model registration centres equipped with modern infrastructure, digital workflow and citizen-friendly facilities. The new system will enable citizens to book appointments in advance, make integrated online payments and submit document details electronically before registration through the Public Data Entry system.  P4 10 10 combined goals in this match were the most in a World Cup tie since 1982 14 Mbappe has 14 goal contributions, the most in 60 years Mbappe adds to legend This may not have been Kylian Mbappe’s World Cup but this tournament has certainly seen him add to his legend. 10 more goals and now clear of Lionel Messi in terms of golden boot as well as overall goals in the showpiece’s history. Delhi HC turns down wife’s plea to move Wangchuk to private hospital UDAYAN KISHORE @ New Delhi The Delhi High Court on Sunday held that the Centre’s decision to shift Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar to Safdarjung Hospital was not arbitrary and refused to intervene. The court was hearing an urgent plea from Gitanjali J Angmo, wife of Wangchuk, seeking permission to transfer the activist to a private hospital. Justice Mini Pushkarna refused to pass any interim orders to interfere with his treatment at the Safdarjung Hospital, where he is said to be continuing his hunger strike. The judge held that since Wangchuk had not voluntarily admitted himself to a hospital despite his condition, the government was within its rights A portrait of Sonam Wangchuk is kept on Jantar Mantar protest stage | PTI to intervene and move him to a hospital. The judge also held that contrary to the petitioner’s claims, Wangchuk had “consented” to the administration of electrolytes; therefore, his ‘right to bodily autonomy’ had not been violated. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said, “He (Wangchuk) is not in detention. There is no case against him. Is a citizen of India not allowed to go to a hospital of his choice?” Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Centre, cited the July 16 order of the court directing the Union and Delhi governments to monitor Wangchuk’s health on a daily basis. Meanwhile, a health bulletin issued by VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday said Wangchuk’s vital parameters were stable and his blood parameters had shown marginal improvement. THE monsoon session of Parliament commencing on Monday is expected to witness a turbulent start, with the Opposition preparing to corner the BJP-led NDA government on a host of contentious issues. Despite the anticipated disruptions, the government has drawn up an extensive legislative agenda for the session. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju informed journalists on Sunday that eight key Bills have been listed for consideration in this session, which will run from July 20 to August 13. The topics expected to dominate proceedings from the outset include the alleged donation theft at the Ayodhya Ram Temple, NEET-UG examination paper leak, and the controversies around ethanol blending. Among the major Bills scheduled for debate is the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, which has been allocated four hours for discussion. The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026, will be debated for three hours in the Lok Sabha. The other important legislative proposals include the Supreme Court (Number of Judg es) Bill on Vande Amendment Bill, 2026; the Mataram Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Union Home Bill, 2026; the Micro, Small Minister Amit Shah and Medium Enterprises is set to introduce Development (Amendthe Prevention ment) Bill, 2026; and the of Insults to Prevention of Insults to National Honour National Honour (Amend(Amendment) Bill, ment) Bill, 2026. in the Rajya Sabha Meanwhile, the Lok on Monday, which Sabha’s Business Advisoproposes a 3-year ry Committee, chaired by jail term, a fine, or the Speaker, met on Sunboth, for insulting day to finalise the allocathe national song tion of time for debates on the Bills listed for the session. The committee earmarked specific durations for discussion on several significant pieces of legislation. The Speaker appealed to all parties to cooperate for a smooth and orderly session so that issues concerning people can be discussed in a productive manner. Before the formal commencement of business, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to deliver his customary address to the media within the Parliament complex. He is likely to appeal to all political parties to extend their cooperation in ensuring the smooth functioning of both Houses. Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju, Rajnath Singh and J P Nadda at the all-party meeting on Sunday in New Delhi | PTI Oppn stages walkout from all-party meet RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi OPPOSITION leaders staged a symbolic walkout from the government’s all-party meeting on Sunday, a day before the monsoon session begins, protesting the invitation to rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs who joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). The Opposition later returned for the meet, pressing for discussions on the donation theft at Ayodhya, the NEET paper leak, and ethanolpetrol blending — the principal issues raised, as per Congress leader Pramod Tiwari. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Parliament should function smoothly urg, ing the Opposition to “oppose through debate, not by creating chaos and protests.” He cited eight listed Bills and defended inviting the rebel MPs since the NCPI had sought recognition from the Speaker. The protest also centred on Speaker Om Birla’s decisions to allot separate seats to the rebel TMC MPs and approve the Shiv Sena (UBT) merger with Eknath Shinde’s faction. TMC MP Mahua Moitra said the “so-called NCPI” was unrecognised, with 20 disqualification petitions still pending. “On what grounds did the Parliamentary Affairs Minister extend an invitation to these 20 rebel MPs and how are they attending this meeting? We have registered our symbolic protest and walked out,” she said. Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant cited the same reason for walkout. AAP’s N D Gupta alleged seven Rajya Sabha MPs were “hijacked” by BJP. Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi demanded that Parliament discuss the Ayodhya donation theft, questioning the government’s silence. madhya pradesh AP gears up to combat Omicron RF.5 set to introduce Uniform Civil Code bill in Assembly, cabinet clears draft The Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Sunday approved the draft Uniform Civil Code bill, paving the way for a common civil law that will criminalise triple talaq and ‘nikah halala’, prohibit polygamy, and attract 3-month jail term or `10,000 fine for live-in partners if their relationship is not registered within a month | P8 S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Following a sporadic rise in Covid-19 cases in the State, the Health Department has sounded an alert across all districts to review preparedness, disease surveillance, and management protocols. Authorities have confirmed that while cases remain sporadic, four recent fatalities have been reported, all involving patients with severe pre- existing comorbidities. The alert follows the detection of the Omicron RF.5 subvariant in recent positive samples, confirmed by Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav. The variant was identified after the positive samples from Kadapa district were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for genome sequencing. Following the arrival of the lab results, the Health Minister held a telephonic review with top health officials to assess the State’s latest epidemiological situation, and issued an official statement. Director of Medical Education Dr Vishnuvardhan stated that RF.5 is a natural evolutionary sub-lineage of the SARSCoV-2 Omicron variant (descending via the JN.1, LF.7, and PY.1.1.1 branches) and is not a recombinant strain. While it has seen a recent surge in Singapore and Southeast Asia, WHO is keeping it under routine genomic surveillance.  P4 historic RETURN Sindhu 2.0: Shuttler returns to top with Japan Open crown a n m o l g u r u n g @ Chennai BADMINTON great PV Sindhu has created many miracles in her decorated career but not so long ago, it seemed her old magical form deserted the shuttler. For someone used to dictating terms, she was in danger of being reduced to obscurity for a considerable period. Small niggles would constantly frustrate her as her results on the court turned ordinary. Forget titles, getting a victory itself had become a challenge. Despite all the negative energy Sindhu, with the support , system around her, continued to dig deep into her available resources behind the scenes. It was a step-by-step process for her. It was a painful watch but as has been the case throughout her career, she never gave up. On Sunday the 31-year-old fi, nally let out a beaming smile. There was a twinkle in her eyes as she could call herself a winner again. That was after a vintage display against Akane Yamaguchi, whom she beat 2117, 21-17, at the Japan Open final. For India, it was a first in the tournament’s chequered history. For Sindhu, it meant the world. This title had come after 595 days — an indicator of her struggles. “You hear a lot of things happening but more than giving a reply I would just , want to say that I believed in myself. Yes, it had been a long time. This title was very important. It was long-awaited. This gives me a lot of confidence and belief that I can do it and it’s not over yet,” Sindhu said in an interaction facilitated by BAI. Recalling her ordeal, Sindhu admitted that she had entered a phase where she had started to doubt herself but with the help of coaches and other support staff members, she soldiered on.   “When you have an injury you doubt yourself. , Like what is happening? Can I come back stronger? Will this niggle be alright or can I give my 100 per cent. These were the thoughts and emotions that were going on. When you’re injured, you get a lot of thoughts like sometimes you’re emotionally drained or mentally low. These things came to my mind, but at the same time people around me have supported me and motivated me saying, ‘it’s okay, you’ll come back stronger’. For me, it was just about taking one day at a time. Slowly, slowly, I started getting better.” This win is a clear indicator that she is getting better and it’s a timely boost for India ahead of the World ChampionP11 ships in New Delhi.  Long-overdue Meghadri Gedda upgrade comes into focus now U s h a P e r i @ Visakhapatnam With the Polavaram project’s water set to enter North Coastal Andhra soon, the focus has shifted to strengthening the infrastructure of the Meghadri Gedda Reservoir, one of Visakhapatnam’s primary drinking water sources. Experts have long recommended replacing all six of the reservoir’s nearly five-decade-old spillway gates to ensure it can safely handle higher inflows in years ahead. A team from the Water Resources Department, comprising Executive Engineer Vijaya Sarathi of the Central Designs Organisation (CDO), consultant KV Krishna Rao and district engineers, recently inspected the reservoir and examined the existing gates, along with their roller mechanisms and stop-log systems. Commissioned on September 27, 1977, the reservoir has continued to function with its original spillway gates. While four gates remain operational, two have been out of service for several years. Gate No. 1 has remained inoperative for nearly two decades, while Gate No. 6 has been non-functional for P4 around 15 years.