chennai l monday l november 16, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Sen-sational run for indian shuttler Lakshya in japan India shuttler fights back to overcome Koki Watanabe of Japan in final to clinch Kumamoto Masters Japan title on Sunday PIC: badminton photo Second consecutive bwf tour title significant Lift in world tour rankings After toiling for large parts of the season, the 25-year-old is now enjoying a purple patch. On the day, he beat Watanabe 13-21, 21-18, 21-14 in the final to claim the BWF Super 500 crown. Just a couple of weeks back, he had captured the Hylo Open 2026, where he had beaten defending champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the final ■ ■ Having entered the meet as No 12 in world tour rankings, this latest success will now lift the Almora shuttler to top-six This is crucial as the only the top-eight players will be eligible for season-ending BWF World Tour Finals, which is scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China from December 9 to 13 | P11 NINE Indians have won overall 9 titles in the BWF World Tour this season 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 Nod to coal mining in J’khand to kill 6 lakh trees, elephant habitat J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi india end black caps’ 7-year unbeaten run Yash Thakur (L) celebrates a wicket with Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli on Sunday. India beat New Zealand by 22 runs in the fifth ODI to win the series 3-1 with one match getting washed out. It also ended Kiwis’ unbeaten run of 11 series at home since 2019. This is India’s first away series win since 2023 when they beat S Africa 2-1 | BCCI | P11 No prosecution for filing Form 6: EC s u c h i t r a ka lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi VOTERS whose names are missing from the draft SIR list need not worry about being punished for applying again, the Election Commission has informed the Supreme Court through a fresh affidavit. Form 6 is the official application for new voter registration. “A person who was earlier enrolled as a voter but whose name does not figure in the draft electoral roll prepared during the Special Intensive Revision can file Form 6 afresh. Such a person will not face prosecution under Section 31 Five library officials in TN suspended in AI book scam S u ba s h i n i V i j ayak u m a r @ Chennai The state government on Sunday suspended five senior officials of the Directorate of Public Libraries over alleged large-scale irregularities in procuring books for government libraries, including the purchase of AI-generated publications, books carrying fictitious information and fake author names and titles with questionable ISBNs. The action, ordered by School Education Minister A Rajmohan, comes four days after the Madras High Court directed the government to initiate disciplinary proceedings against officials involved in the alleged irregularities and ordered the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register an FIR. The suspended officials are Deputy Chief Librarian of Anna Centenary Library (ACL), Chennai, who was holding additional charge as Chief Librarian and Information Officer; Chief Librarian and Information Officer (in-charge) of Kalaignar Centenary Library (KCL), Madurai; a Librarian and Information Officer at KCL, who was also in charge of Periyar Library Coimbatore; anoth, er Librarian and Information Officer at ACL; and Chief Accounts Officer of the Directorate of Public Libraries. The Chief Accounts Officer and the Chief Librarian and Information Officer of ACL were members of the Book Procurement Negotiation Committee, which was tasked with negotiating prices with publishers.  P5 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950,” the EC told the SC on Saturday . The Commission also said that it had come to its notice that many voters were hesitant to file Form 6. They feared that since they were already enrolled in earlier rolls, filing a new application could be treated as a false declaration or double enrolment and invite penal action. The EC told the court “this fear is baseless.” Filing Form 6 for re-inclusion is a legitimate remedy provided under the law, and no criminal proceeding will be launched merely for using it, the EC said. To ensure that the message reaches every voter, the Commission has asked all Chief EC’s affidavit comes before key Nov 17 hearing The EC’s assurances on Form 6 are likely to remove the confusion among electors after the draft rolls were published. The SC will hear on November 17 a batch of pleas challenging the functioning of the EC, CEC, and decisions made during SIR of voter rolls Electoral Officers to publicise the clarification widely in local languages. The affidavit added that the SIR exercise has led to deletion of several names from the draft voter rolls. In such a situation, the only way for an affected voter to get back on the roll is to apply afresh. Punishing them for doing so would defeat the very purpose of revision, which is to make the roll accurate and inclusive. The Commission said the repeat inclusion process must remain hassle-free for voters, and that no eligible citizen should lose his/her vote because of a technical omission or because of fear of prosecution. The plan to divert 928.03 hectares of forest land for the expansion of Opencast Coal Mining Project in Jharkhand’s Chatra district has received inprinciple approval from the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Not only will the proposed diversion involve the removal of a whopping 5.67 lakh trees, including 2.43 lakh Sal trees, it could contribute to escalating human-elephant conflict (HEC) in the region. Human-elephant conflict in Jharkhand is a significant environmental and public safety issue, primarily driven by rapid habitat fragmentation, deforestation, mining, and agricultural expansion. A long-term study conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) from 2000 to 2023 recorded 1,340 human fatalities and 400 injuries resulting from 1,740 HEC incidents across 22 forest divisions in the state. Reports indicate that in early 2026 alone, 20 people were killed due to HEC. Although the proposed land diversion does not fall within a Protected Area, it has been reported to contain populations of elephants, hyenas, jackals, Bengal foxes, and rock pythons. The project, known as the Ashok Expansion Opencast Coal Mining Project (OCP), aims for a peak A view of an open-cast coal mine on the outskirts of Dhanbad in Jharkhand | File Conflict with wildlife A long-term study from 2000 to 2023 recorded 1,340 human fatalities and 400 injuries from 1,740 humanelephant conflict incidents in Jharkhand. In early 2026 alone, 20 people have reportedly died in such conflicts in the state. The land proposed to be diverted has population of elephants production capacity of 20 million tonnes per annum and is located in the North Karanpura Coalfield in Chatra District, under the jurisdiction of the Chatra South Forest Division. The expansion will extend westward from the existing OCP . The FAC has directed the development of a site-specific Wildlife Management Plan to mitigate human-animal conflict before mining operations Akvan to bring heavy rain Foreign investors pump to north TN, Puducherry and Karaikal on Nov 18, 19 $8.9 bn into d-street in Nov Bullish express news service @ Chennai Tamil Nadu is likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall on November 18 and 19, as a depression over the Bay of Bengal is forecast to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm, Akvan, by November 18, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Strong winds and rough sea conditions are also expected along the northern coastal districts, including Chennai. The system, which lay over the southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal on Sunday morning, is expected to intensify into a deep depression on November 16, a cyclonic storm on November 17 and a very severe cyclonic storm on November 18. It is likely to move towards the north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha coasts. The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in north TN, Puducherry and Karaikal on November 18 and 19. Squally winds reaching 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph, are likely along and off the North TN and Puducher ry coasts until November 18. The IMD has advised fishermen to return to the coast and refrain from venturing into the southwest Bay of Bengal until November 19. The system’s eventual track and landfall location will determine the extent of rainfall in TN, particularly Chennai and its neighbouring districts. A n i s h aa K u m a r @ Mumbai Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have poured $8.94 billion into Indian equities in the first 10 trading sessions of November, marking their strongest monthly net buying this year. This shows a reversal from the heavy outflows in September and October. Data from the National Securities De pository Ltd (NSDL) shows November’s inflows have more than offset the $7.34 billion that FPIs pulled out of equities in September and October. They had sold $3.75 billion in September and $3.60 billion in October. The latest buying, however, may not necessarily signal a sustained return of foreign investors. Amar Ambani, executive director at YES Securities, at- FPIs stage a comeback 2.5 2.1 -3.9 -12.7 Jan Feb Source: NSDL Mar -6.4 Apr -3.4 -3.8 -3.6 -5.1 May June July FPI net investments ($ bn) tributed the buying partly to lower crude oil prices and improving sentiment around geopolitical developments. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of $3.7 billion during the week ended November 14, purchasing equities in all four trading sessions and extending their buying streak to three weeks after a 10-week selling run. Domestic institutional investors, meanwhile, were 8.9 3.1 Aug Sep Oct Nov * * As of November 13 net sellers of $2.7 billion during the week. Pabitro Mukherjee, deputy vice-president (research) at Bajaj Broking, said the sustainability of foreign inflows will remain a key variable in the coming weeks. Despite November’s buying, FPIs remain net sellers of $22.47 billion in Indian equities in 2026, against net outflows of $18.91 billion over the whole of 2025. commence. This plan must be approved by the Chief Wildlife Warden of Jharkhand and should include recommendations at the village level. It must incorporate a component for long-term research and monitoring to evaluate the project’s impact and effectiveness of the management plan, to be conducted by WII. The project proponent will bear responsibility for the entire cost of preparing and implementing this plan. In another development, the FAC has recommended Stage-I clearance for the diversion of 492.579 hectares of forest land for the Machhrewa Irrigation Project in Narsinghpur, Madhya Pradesh. This forest land is reported to host tigers, leopards, bears, and jackals. The decision was taken by the committee headed by Director General of Forests and Special Secretary of the Environment Ministry San, tosh Tewari, on October 23. express read Min’s leopard chase reel sparks criticism Nilgiris: Social Justice Minister R Vanniyarasu has drawn criticism from wildlife activists after a reel of him chasing a black leopard in MTR raised concerns over disturbance to wildlife. The minister was in Mudumalai on Oct 10 to inspect tribal residential schools and distribute welfare aid | P2 Vijayabaskar, wife summoned by ED Chennai: The ED has again summoned former health minister & TVK Pudukkottai organisational secretary C Vijayabaskar and his wife, V Ramya, in connection with an alleged `35.79 crore DA case. Vijayabaskar and his wife had failed to respond to the first summons | P4 site selection goes wrong SC beneficiaries priced out of TN’s affordable homes due to spike in costs ship (AHP) scheme, has acknowledged that the locations Poor site selection for two were poorly chosen, resulting housing projects in Dindigul in additional expenditure on district has driven up infra- basic amenities. structure costs by several At Ottanchatram’s Acharya crores of rupees, pushVinoba Bhave Nagar, ing beneficiary contrithe beneficiary contributions beyond the bution, initially fixed reach of many intendat `5.3 lakh per house, exclusive could rise to `6.8 lakh ed occupants, most of whom belong to the if an additional exScheduled Caste (SC) commu- penditure of `7.14 crore on nity. The Tamil Nadu Urban drinking water supply is includHabitat Development Board ed in the project cost. At Anna (TNUHDB), which is imple- Nagar in Keeranur, the contrimenting the projects under the bution has already increased Affordable Housing in Partner- from `2.5 lakh to `4.7 lakh owP r a v e e n a S A @ Dindigul/Chennai The project at Acharya Vinoba Bhave Nagar in Ottanchatram, sandwiched between two hills, has raised concerns over its remote location | Express `19 cr jump in project cost The cost of the Acharya Vinoba Bhave Nagar project in Dindigul, which has 480 tenements and commenced in Jan 2025, has gone up from `57 crore to `66.23 crore, while the cost of 432 tenements at the Anna Nagar project in the district, launched in Mar 2025, rose from `47.52 crore to `57.4 crore ing to the additional cost of developing basic infrastructure. The escalating costs have left several intended beneficiaries questioning the need for the projects at these locations, with many saying they would rather receive land pattas and financial assistance to build individual houses than take on loans to purchase apartments in isolated locations. TNIE visited the Ottanchatram project, which is 90% complete. Located more than a kilometre from the Dindigul-Palani Road, the site is tucked between two hills and surrounded by agricultural fields, away from the town. Basic facilities, including drinking water, an approach road, stor mwater drains and sewer lines, had to be developed from scratch.  P5