tirupati l sunday l october 25, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l anantapur EDITION travel insurance for railway counter bookings from Tuesday Passengers booking reserved train tickets through offline counters can purchase the optional travel insurance policy starting Tuesday follows recent supreme court order only digital payment accepted It comes days after the Supreme Court directed the Railways to extend the optional travel insurance facility to those booking tickets through the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters at railway stations. The Railway Board has instructed zonal railways to ensure that all PRS counters are suitably equipped to offer the facility from October 27 ■ ■ Only digital payment is applicable for those opting to buy the coverage. “The applicable premium shall be collected along with the ticket fare through digital means only,” the Railway Board said As per IRCTC, the premium is 45 paise per passenger. The insurance company is responsible for issuing policies and settling claims 11% of reserved tickets are bought via counters, according to railways 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 Set NHPC office on fire, vandalise houses of three politicians, including two MLAs p r a s a n ta m a z u m d a r @ Guwahati WITH THIS ISSUE Married to Menace PLUS 12 P AGES THE proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) turned a massive flashpoint on Saturday as anti-dam protesters in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang district set fire to an office of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and scores of vehicles parked on the premises of a police station, then vandalised houses of three politicians, including two MLAs, and later clashed with security forces that left several injured. The incident took place around 11 pm on Friday after a 12-hour bandh to protest against the hydropower project was over, Pasighat Deputy Superintendent of Police Tony Tatak said. The agitators vandalised the residences of BJP state unit president and former MLA Kaling Moyong, and Pasighat West legislator Ninong Ering, he said. The office of the Adi Bane Kebang, the apex body of the Adi community was , also ransacked, the officer said. Later in the night, violence broke out again in Pasighat town and adjoining Mebo in East Siang district, where clashes left several people injured. Pasighat remained shut on Saturday . The violence erupted hours after a bandh in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts to protest against the proposed hydropower project was over, a senior police official said. The Union government had proposed SUMP , expected to generate 11,000 MW power, as a counter to a 60,000 MW Chinese project. The protesters are demanding scrapping of the hydro power project, withdrawal of armed forces from the region, deployed allegedly in connection with pre-feasibility report (PFR) or survey release of 10 arrested activists and re, instatement of some suspended village chiefs. The protesters fear displacement, loss of livelihoods and environmental and seismic risks. Joint protest The shutdown was jointly called by the Adi Bane Kebang United, SUMP Affected Area Youth Association, Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Wing and Adi Galo Welfare Society Sindhu in pristine touch, storms into french final i n d r a nee l d a s @ Chennai AT 31, badminton players usually start thinking about sipping a hot beverage within the confines of their homes watching their favourite movie or sport. The challenges of courts would not be as enticing as it would have been five years ago, especially if one is a multiple Olympic and world championships medallist. P V Sindhu is one such player who has a cabinet full of medals; most players would be envious of. She has won Olympic medals, Worlds gold and different medals and numerous other BWF Tour titles. Yet, when she should be slowly walking into the sunset, she is still conjuring wins like a regular top player. There is no sign of age slowing her down or mental f atigue due to a long career. Express read Cyclonic storm heads towards AP coast A damaged police station in Pasighat | ANI CM’s appeal Chief Minister Pema Khandu, expressed concern over the vandalism, looting and damage to property. “The government’s doors are always open,” Khandu said Visakhapatnam: The developing weather system over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into the first cyclonic storm of the year by October 26, and move towards the AP coast, reaching the westcentral Bay near the coast around the morning of October 28 | P3 Centre backs AP chip and AI growth plans Vijayawada: Union Minister for Railways and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw has assured the Centre’s support for AP’s plans to emerge as a global hub for semiconductor design. He assured cooperation with the State government’s vision for AI development | P4 No precedent of Central forces: SEC E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha has made it clear that there is no precedent of deploying Central forces for local body elections, stating that States generally conduct the polls with their own police forces. During an interview with TNIE AP Dialogues, Punetha said the State Election Commission had initiated advance measures to assess law and order requirements, and ensure adequate police deployment at critical polling stations. The SEC said he had already asked the District Collectors, Superintendents of Police and the Director General of Police Prasant Madugula to assess the law and order situation, identify critical polling stations, and prepare a security deployment plan well in advance. In fact, one month before the issuance of poll notification, directions were given to the Police Department to identify the problematic and highly vulnerable polling stations, and plan the required security arrangements, he revealed. The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) had sought the deploy- ment of Central forces for the local body polls more than a month ago. The SEC forwarded the request to the DGP, asking him to assess the requirement, and take necessary steps if additional forces were needed. Punetha said he had subsequently discussed the issue with the DGP, who informed him that Central forces had not been spared by the Centre for local body polls in the past. Even requests to neighbouring States for police personnel had reportedly not received a favourable response, he said. “Generally States are expect, ed to conduct local body polls using their available police forces. Assistance from neighbouring States could be exP plored if required,” he said.  4 At the French Open on Saturday, post a middling Asian Games campaign, she again showed vintage Sindhu signs. She had been struggling in the final games but not against Hina Akechi as she won 21-10, 20-22, 21-16. She will face World No 1 An Se Young in the final. There was some criticism when she lost the Asian Games in the quarterfinal but she can be excused for losing in her third match in less than 24 hours. The gruelling schedule was cruel. Despite such a long career, one big positive was her fitness. She has remained relatively injury-free. Something which she said was because she understood her body and played accordingly “It is important to . know your body she had said ,” at the Asian Games. “We use gadgets and know where we are straining, and when we need to take it easy and when I have to give my best: PV “I have to give her a good fight, a tough fight. Every point matters. I know we’ve played a lot of times and she’s been doing really well. But I think tomorrow is a different day. Every day is a new day. I just have to go out there and give my best. I’m ready to give a fight” PV Sindhu Anti-dam stir: Arunachal mob on the rampage 2nd Her second BWF Tour Super 750 final after Japan Open which she won we can give more than 100 per cent. Sometimes one may not be able to give 100 per cent. We need to preserve ourselves.” At World No 11, she is the best shuttler in the country, even now. With LA28 less than one and half years away, it augurs well. But for Sindhu it’s one tour nament at a time. For her, right now it’s best to “enjoy where am I at right now, and I enjoy the f ame.” For now, she has final to take care of against someone she has not won before. “But I think tomorrow is a different day,” she P11 said.  Multiple mudslides bring Nilgiris to knees; bus buried, driver killed S Sen t h i l K u m a r @ Coimbatore The driver of a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus was killed after being trapped for more than eight hours when a landslide buried their vehicle at Burliyar on the Coonoor-Mettupalayam ghat road in the Nilgiris in the early hours of Saturday . The conductor, who was also on board, was rescued. All passengers had alighted earlier after the bus developed a flat tyre. The driver, Janagaraj of Katteri, and conductor Kesavan of Kotagiri were looking for a suitable place to stop after the tyre went flat. The bus was travelling from Coonoor to Coimbatore when a tree fell across the road, forcing the driver to reverse. Another tree fell at around 10.30 pm, further restricting their movement, before a landslide sent trees, rocks and silt crashing down on the vehicle. “The driver reversed the bus for some distance after we were unable to proceed because a tree had fallen across the road. However, another tree fell across the road at around 10.30 pm, further restricting our movement. I noticed rainwater flowing down the hillside when the landslide occurred,” Kesavan said. He is undergoing treatment at the Mettupalayam Government Hospital. Rescue personnel from the Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force (TNDRF) and the Fire and Rescue Services Depart- Rescue workers inspect a TNSTC bus after it was caught in a landslide near Burliyar on the Ghat Road in Coimbatore district on Saturday | S Senbagapandiyan 241 Kerala students stranded on ghat road rescued A group of 241 students and 25 teachers from Kerala, who were on a trip to Ooty, were stranded in seven buses due to the disruption of traffic on the Mettupalayam-Coonoor ghat road caused by heavy rains. Personnel from the Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force, the Fire and Rescue Services and the police helped them reach safety, using minibuses and ropes to negotiate stretches affected by slush. ment rescued Kesavan at around 7.30 am on Saturday. Janagaraj was found dead around 11.10 am. He is suspected to have died from blood loss caused by a head injury. The bus was severely damaged, with debris entering the vehicle and trapping the two occupants. Rescue teams could not reach the spot immediately as fallen trees and landslide debris blocked the road. They began the operation around 5 am after clearing the obstructions. According to IMD data, Bur- liyar recorded 250 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 7 am on Saturday the highest in , the Nilgiris district during the period. The downpour triggered landslides at 19 locations, while trees fell at 18 locations across the district. The incident has revived memories of the 1993 Marapalam landslide, when two buses were reportedly buried, killing passengers. The district administration has suspended the movement of all vehicles, including TNSTC buses, between 6 pm and 7 am for three days. 7 killed in blast at ASR Surat’s industrial effluents to be dumped into Arabian Sea road construction site J i t en d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi THE empowered committee of Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, as part of India’s largest deep-sea disposal project, has recommended dumping 650 million litres per day (MLD) of treated industrial wastewater from the textile and chemical hubs in Surat in deep sea near the Gulf of Khambhat in Arabian Sea. The effluents are proposed to be carried through pipelines to the landfall located near Danti Village in Navsari, and extend to the outfall point offshore in the Ubharat and Van- Threat to marine ecology 1 Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change approved India’s largest deep-sea disposal project in Surat 2 The project aims to manage 650 million litres per day of treated industrial wastewater from Surat’s textile and chemical sectors and discharged into deep sea in the of Gulf of Khambhat si regions of the Arabian Sea. The project vehicle, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, said the onshore pipeline network will extend approximately 67.5 km, while the offshore pipelines will range between 15 km and 17.9 km from the landfall point to 3 Environmentalists criticise the lack of a zero-waste policy instead of deep-sea dumping, which may damage marine ecology the respective marine diffuser locations. Under the chairmanship of M S Negi, chief of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ), the proposal has been recommended for CRZ clearance in line with the CRZ No- Representative image cause of concern tification of 2019, at a meeting on October 8, 2026.In its recommendation, the committee highlighted the saturation of existing effluent disposal systems from the CETPs into local creeks. “The treated effluent is currently discharged into nearby creeks. Due to the limited carrying capacity of these creeks, further discharge of treated effluent is not permissible,” the committee said. Environmentalists have criticised this approach. Local fisherfolk in Navsari and Surat fear a loss of livelihood. “They are concerned that releasing such huge daily volumes of industrial wastewater (650 MLD) will decimate local fish populations and push thousands of fishing families into financial hardship,” said MSH Sheikh of Brackish Water Research Centre, a Surat based non-profit. N ee l i m a E at y @ Visakhapatnam Seven people, including a government school teacher, were killed in a fire and an explosion at a road construction site in Bisimamidi village under Pinakota panchayat in Ananthagiri mandal of Alluri Sitarama Raju district on Saturday morning. The deceased were identified as Jagarapu Sunitha (44), a teacher at the Mandal Parishad Primary School in Madrebu; Manyala Manikantha (23) from Devarapalli village in Anakapalli district; Adiboyina Guru Pawan (27) from Mallepalli in Kadapa district; Pangi Chiranjeevi of Pedabayalu; Tinku Chandra Vamsi Singh, a JCB operator from Aurangabad in Bihar; Nazeer from Assam; and Mandala Narayana Rao from Suryanarayanapuram in Cheedikada mandal of Anakapalli. Sunitha was on her way to school when the blast occurred. According to police, the incident occurred around 8.30 am while diesel was being transferred from a Bolero Camper to the fuel tank P4 of a tipper at the site.