tiruchy l Sunday l august 17, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION flashfloods wreak havoc in pak, 344 dead maximum damage in khyber pakhtunkhwa The toll from monsoon rains that have triggered flashfloods across northern Pakistan rose to 344 on Saturday The majority of the deaths were recorded in mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Most were killed in flash floods and collapsing houses. Torrential rains, which triggered flash floods, are expected to continue intermittently until August 21, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority’s note on Saturday blocked highways being restored ■ The affected districts include Bajaur, Buner, Swat, Manaehra, Shangla, Torghar, and Batagram. Buner was the worst-hit, recording 184 deaths, followed by Shangla’s 36 deaths | P9 ■ Instructions have also been issued to mobilise all resources for restoration of blocked highways and link roads in tourist areas 2,000 workers deployed for rescue and relief operations 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 Some positives for India as Trump open to secondary tariff rethink US prez nudges Putin towards peace deal at summit, lines up Monday talks with Zelenskyy Three tourists drown in sea off Pondy, two hospitalised E X PRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Puducherry Three tourists, including a woman, drowned after being swept away by strong waves at Chinna Veerampattinam Beach near Ariyankuppam in Puducherry on Saturday Two oth. ers, who were rescued by security staff, are undergoing treatment at the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital and Post Graduate Institute (IGGGHPGI) in Puducherry. T heir condition remains critical. According to sources, the victims — identified as Pawan Kumar (25) from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, Megha (29) from Shimoga in Karnataka, Brejwal Methi (23) from Hubli in Karnataka, Aditi (23) from Gujarat, and Jeevan (23) from Karnataka — were part of a 12-member group of friends, employed in Bengaluru, who had arrived in Puducherry on Friday for a leisure trip. On Saturday morning, the group entered the sea near the Chinna Veerampattinam beach. According to sources, despite warnings and safety ropes set up by beach security personnel, five of them ventured beyond the safe zone. Suddenly a , powerful wave struck, pulling Pawan Kumar, Megha, Brejwal Methi, Aditi, and Jeevan into deeper waters. Hearing the screams, onlookers and security staff rushed to their aid. Aditi and Jeevan were rescued alive and brought to the shore. However, Pawan Kumar, Megha, and Brejwal Methi could not be saved, sources added.  P5 panding pre- and post-shipment credit to cover all textile exTamil Nadu has called on the ports, including yarn. union government to step in as “In the last financial year, the United States’ tariffs threat- while 20% of India’s total goods en to derail the state’s textile exports of $433.6 billion were industry, which employs 75 destined for the United States, lakh people and is one of the 31% of Tamil Nadu’s $52.1 billargest contributors to India’s lion in goods exports went textile exports. In a letter to there. This higher reliance on Prime Minister Narendra Modi the US market implies that any on Saturday, Chief Minister tariff impact on Tamil Nadu MK Stalin warned that without would be disproportionately immediate action, up to 30 lakh greater than for most other jobs in the textile sector could states,” he pointed out. be at risk if tariffs US President Donrise from 25% to 50%. ald Trump’s tariffs, The CM, in his letStalin said, pose a ter, laid out a policy “dispropor tionate roadmap aimed threat” to the state’s Tamil Nadu’s higher squarely at the texmanufacturing and reliance on the tile sector, the state’s employment landUnited States’ largest export earn- market implies that scape. The sectors that er. The key proposals any tariff impact on would also be impactthe state would be include fixing an ined are apparel, leather, disproportionately verted duty strucauto components, mature under the Goods greater than for most chinery gems and jew, of the other states and Services Tax ellery, marine prodin the country (GST) for the manucts and chemicals. made fibre value Chief Minister MK Stalin “All these sectors are chain by bringing l a b o u r- i n t e n s ive, the entire chain unwherein export slowder a 5% slab, and eliminating down will quickly result in mass import duties on all cotton layoffs,” the CM added. varieties. Stating that the textile sector Pushing for stronger credit demanded urgent attention besupport, Stalin also sought the cause of its scale, employment extension of Emergency Credit intensity, and contribution to Line Guarantee Scheme to cov- export revenue, Stalin framed er 30% collateral-free loans, the current tariff threat as a with a 5% interest subsidy and catalyst for overdue reforms, a two-year moratorium on prin- emphasising that addressing cipal repayment. He recom- these structural bottlenecks is mended enhancing the benefits critical not just to weather the of the Remission of Duties and immediate disruption, but to Taxes on Export Products (RoD- secure TN’s position as India’s TEP) scheme to 5%, and ex- largest textile hub.  E X PRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai J aya n t h J a c o b a n d P u s h p i ta D e y @ New Delhi A high-stakes summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday produced no ceasefire in Ukraine but shifted the diplomatic narrative toward a possible peace deal — one that remains vague, contested, and fraught with uncertainty . For India, caught in the crosshairs of the looming US penalty tariffs over Russian oil imports, the suspense now tilts slightly toward hope. The nearly three-hour summit in Alaska, the first face-toface meeting between the two leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, ended with Trump calling for a direct peace pact between Kyiv and Moscow, bypassing the ceasefire route long advocated by Ukraine and its Western allies. “It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war... is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, and not a mere Ceasefire,” Trump said on social media. Calling Russia a “very big power” and Ukraine “not”, Trump urged Kyiv to “make a deal”, suggesting that continued resistance might be futile. He said he would host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday and if that went well, , would schedule a follow-up meeting with Putin. “Potentially millions of people’s lives will , be saved,” he said. 30 lakh jobs at risk, Stalin urges PM to shield textile sector from Trump tariffs He (Putin) lost an oil client, so to speak, which is India, which was doing about 40% of the oil. China, as you know, is doing a lot…And if I did what's called a secondary sanction, or a secondary tariff, it would be very devastating from their standpoint. If I have to do it, I'll do it. Maybe I won't have to do it Donald Trump US President Donald Trump (C) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin shake hands after a joint press meet in Alaska | AFP India welcomed the summit terming the pursuit of peace is commendable. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “India appreciates the progress made in the Summit. The way forward can only be through dialogue and diplomacy. The world wants to see an early end to the conflict in Ukraine.” Zelenskyy, while cautious, said after a long call with Trump that Ukraine was ready for “constructive cooperation” and supported the idea of a trilateral summit. But Moscow was non-committal. In a post-summit interview with Fox News, Trump indicated that land swaps and security guarantees were part of the informal talks. “I think we’re pretty close to a deal... Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they’ll say no,” he said. For India, the lack of a definitive ceasefire or framework complicates matters. But it doesn’t close the door. T r ump had earlier announced a 25% secondary tariff on Indian purchases of Russian oil, set to take effect on August 27. But in remarks after the summit, he signalled the measure might be delayed. It’s a dud National Medical Register is no more mandatory cent of doctors had enrolled @ New Delhi on the platform by May . In a written reply to a THE government’s ambi- question in the Lok Sabha tious National Medical Reg- by Samajwadi Party MP ister (NMR), launched last Aditya Yadav, MoS (Health) year with the aim of creat- Anupriya Patel confirmed ing a centralised and on August 8 that dynamic database NMR registration of modern medicine was no longer manpractitioners in the datory “The applica. country has failed to , tion for issuance of take off. Less than a NMR is voluntary,” year after it was she stated in Parliamade mandatory, m e n t . Ya d av h a d IMA’s the Union Health posed his question concerns Ministry has quietly based on a report The Indian rolled back the republished in this Medical quirement, declarnewspaper earlier Association ing registration as this year, which had raised voluntary . highlighted the poor The NMR portal, concerns about response to the reglaunched on August the redundancy istration drive. 23, 2024, by Union of the process, As per an RTI rehealth minister J P and urged the ply received by KerNMC to Nadda, was billed as ala-based ophthala big leap to ensure streamline the mologist and RTI system transparency and activist Dr K V Babu, verification in Inonly 996 doctors had dia’s medical workforce. registered on the NMR porThis paper on May 1 was tal as of August 8 — of over the first to report that the 13 lakh doctors in India.“This NMR portal was largely un- move is welcome. But it does successful in registering not absolve National Medimodern medicine practi- cal Commission (NMC) of tioners. Less than one per its failure,” Dr Babu said. K a v i ta B a j e l i D at t e x p r ess r e a d BJP turned polls into mockery, says CM Stalin Govt raps SC verdict on timelines for Guv, Prez Salem: The BJP has turned polls into a mockery and ECI has been reduced to a puppet, charged CM Stalin at the CPI conference in Salem. Democracy itself is under attack, with BJP manipulating the appointment of election commissioners and interfering in voter lists, he said | P4 New Delhi: Imposing fixed timelines on governors and the President to act on bills passed by an assembly would amount to one organ of the govt assuming powers not vested in it and lead to a “constitutional disorder”, the Centre told the Supreme Court in its affidavit on Saturday | P7 “Because of what happened today... I don’t have to think about that right now. I may have to think about it in 2–3 weeks,” he told Fox News, implying that the tariff deadline could quietly lapse. “It’s still fingers crossed. But we are ready to deal with any eventuality in our national interest,” said a source. However, Trump’s additional claim that India had “already stopped buying Russian oil” raised eyebrows. New Delhi made no such announcement and continues to defend its sovereign right to energy diversification. Special NCERT module on Partition gets Cong’s goat P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi A political row broke out on Saturday over a new special module by the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), which holds the Congress leadership, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and Viceroy Lord Mountbatten responsible for Partition of India. The module, released by NCERT to mark ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’, drew the ire of the Congress, which demanded that the module be set on fire as it presents a distorted history . Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “Is 1938 mentioned or not in the NCERT module? In 1938, the Hindu Mahasabha’s national conference in Gujarat announced that Hindus and Muslims could not live in one country. Is 1940 mentioned in the module?” he asked. In 1940, Jinnah adopted the Hindu Mahasabha’s idea at the Muslim Three elements “On August 15, 1947, India was divided. But this was not the doing of any one person. There were three elements responsible...: Jinnah, who demanded it; second, the Congress, which accepted it; and third, Mountbatten, who implemented it. But Mountbatten proved to be guilty of a major blunder,” the NCERT module said League’s Lahore session. “It was mooted in 1938 by the Hindu Mahasabha, and Jinnah repeated it in 1940,” he said. “Burn the document if all this is not mentioned in it. Partition happened due to the nexus between Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim League. Generations will not forgive them,” he said, adding that Mahasabha-Muslim League coalition governments in Bengal, Sindh and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) after 1942, led to Partition. Responding to the Congress’ allegations, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said Rahul Gandhi’s ‘appeasement politics’ mirrors Jinnah’s divisive ideology. “NCERT has brought the truth of Partition to textbooks. The Rahul-Jinnah party is rattled because their role is exposed,” Bhatia said. NCERT published two separate modules — one for Classes 6 to 8 and another for Classes 9 to 12. These are supplementary resources in English and Hindi, not part of regular textbooks, and are meant to be used through projects, posters, discussions and debates. The module quotes Jinnah as saying he never thought Partition would happen. “Later, even Jinnah admitted that he had not expected Partition to happen. He told his aide, ‘I never thought it would happen. I never expected to see Pakistan in my lifetime’,” it said. ED conducts searches at residences of TN minister Ex p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai/Dindigul The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at seven locations linked to Minister for Rural Development and senior DMK leader I Periyasamy and his family, in Chennai and Dindigul districts on Saturday, in connection with a money laundering case. Responding strongly to the searches, the ruling DMK said that it was an attempt to divert attention from ‘vote chori’, referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations on electoral fraud in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and alleged that central agencies were being used as “election instruments” by the BJP . According to sources, ED has registered the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) based on a 2012 case of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) which alleged disproportionate assets of `2.01 crore amassed by Periyasamy during his term as minister for revenue, law, prisons and housing in the 2006-11 DMK regime. Periyasamy’s wife, son and Palani MLA IP Senthilkumar, and another son and daughter were also covered in the probe by the DVAC in its chargesheet, sources said. MORE ON: P4, P5 WITH THIS ISSUE Code Green PLUS 12 P AGES New ‘injury replacement’ rule for domestic cricket g o m e s h s @ Chennai IN what could be a major rule change for the upcoming 202526 domestic season, the Indian cricket body has made provisions for ‘serious injury replacement’ for multi-day redball cricket. This rule change comes after the ICC announcement in June that full-member nations will trial replacement players for domestic first-class cricket. Unlike the past where a likefor-like replacement was allowed only for concussion sub- How it works When a player suffers an external injury (fracture, deep cut, etc.) within the playing area and gets ruled out of the match, the onfield umpires have the authority to determine extent of the injury. They can consult match referee and doctor to determine The team manager submits a request for a like-for-like replacement as soon as possible to the match referee The referee determines whether it is a valid replacement or one team gets an advantage before approving stitutes, if a player suffers an external injury on the field they can be replaced by the respective teams. This change, along with a few others, was The names should be from nominated substitutes unless it is a keeper briefed to the umpires during a seminar in Ahmedabad ahead of the season. “The serious injury must have been sustained during play and within the playing area described in clause 1.2.5.2 above. The injury must have occurred due to an external blow and result in fracture / deep cut / dislocation etc. The injury should render player unavailable for remainder of the match,” the new playing conditions document reads. Last month when Rishabh Pant fractured his foot and could not be replaced during the Manchester Test between India and England, it sparked a debate on the subject. Dhruv Jurel kept wickets but was not allowed to bat.  P11