The New Indian Express Wishes its readers a Our offices and press will remain closed today, and there will be no issue of the paper on Monday tirupati l sunday l march 30, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 28 l late city EDITION Former Nepal king fined by civic body for inciting vandalism Former King Gyanendra Shah was issued a fine by Kathmandu’s civic body following damage to public property during pro-monarchy protests loss of public property on king’s call ‘agitation subverts nation-building’ Parts of Kathmandu witnessed a tense situation after pro-monarchy protesters pelted stones, attacked the office of a political party, set fire to vehicles and looted shops. As the protest was organised on the call of the deposed king, Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s mayor Balendra Shah asked him to pay Nepali Rupees 7,93,000 as ‘damage compensation’ | P9 ■ ■ Durga Prasai, who was the convener of Friday’s agitation, had met Gyanendra Shah a day before and received instructions to stage the agitation demanding reinstatement of monarchy and a Hindu state “Gyanendra Shah’s descent into political activism subverts nationbuilding efforts and weakens the country,” civil society leaders said 110 people have been injured and two died in the agitation in nepal 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 India rushes to Myanmar’s aid as earthquake toll tops 1,600 All eyes on NDA’s allies as Waqf Bill set for reintroduction mar in this difficult hour.” Two Indian naval ships, INS Satpura and INS Savitri, carryPRIME Minister Narendra ing 40 tonnes of humanitarian Modi on Saturday spoke to Min aid, have been dispatched to the Aung Hlaing, the leader of My- port of Yangon and two more anmar’s military-led govern- ships are set to sail shortly “If . ment, reaffirming India’s un- additional relief materials are wavering commitment to required, there are extra ships Myanmar in the wake of the stationed at Visakhapatnam, devastating 7.7-magnitude Sri Vijaya Puram, and Andaearthquake that has claimed man Islands ready to be deover 1,600 lives and left more ployed,” said Captain R Raghu than 3,400 injured. Nair of the Indian Navy , As a first responder, New A field hospital with 118 perDelhi ramped up sonnel, including relief and rescue doctors and medefforts under ‘Opics, is set to be aireration Brahma’, lifted from Agra launched in the late Saturday. Toearly hours of Sattal aid sent to Yanurday, with the gon by air sorties first aircraft carryand Naval ships ing 15 tonnes of re- Narendra Modi, Min Aung Hlaing equals 137 tonnes, lief material taksources said. ing off from Hindon Air Force NDRF personnel have also been Base at 3 am for Yangon. deployed. Commandant P K TiShortly thereafter, two air- wary of the 8th NDRF battalion craft carrying search and res- in Ghaziabad, near Delhi, is cue personnel, equipment, and leading the Urban Search and canines departed for Myanmar, Resue team, an official said. followed by additional shipNDRF Deputy Inspector Genments of relief material and eral (Operations) Mohsen personnel to support the exten- Shahedi said the next 24-48 sive operation. hours are crucial for the team After speaking to the Myan- to play an active role on the mar leader, Modi said on X: ground. The team is also bring“Spoke with Senior General ing rescue dogs for the colMin Aung Hlaing of Myan- lapsed structure search and mar... As a close friend and rescue operation, following Inneighbour, India stands in soli- ternational Search and Rescue darity with the people of Myan- Advisory Group guidelines. Pree t h a N air @ New Delhi Modi speaks to junta govt head Min Aung Hlaing, rushes over 137 tonnes of relief material E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ New Delhi 17 Maoists neutralised in encounter E J A Z K A I S E R @ Raipur Seventeen Maoists were killed in a fierce gun-battle with security forces along the inter-district border area of Sukma-Dantewada near Gogunda-Upampalli hilly terrain, about 480 km south of Raipur in Chhattisgarh on Saturday . Four security personnel, three from Sukma’s District Reserve Guards (DRG) and a CRPF jawan, were injured. The Indian Air Force evacuated them, and all are stable. “Seventeen Maoist bodies, including including those of 11 women cadres have been recovered. The encounter began at 8 am under the Kerlapal police station limits,” said state Home Minister Vijay Sharma. This marks the fifth Maoist encounter in Bastar this March. So far, 133 Maoists have been killed this year in Chhattisgarh, including 117 in Bastar. Based on intelligence, a joint team of Sukma DRG and CRPF’s 159th battalion launched the operation on Friday. Among the dead is Kuhdami Jagdish, a CPI (Maoist) State Zonal Committee Member, who carried a `25 lakh bounty. Security forces recovered arms, including an AK-47, INSAS rifle, and explosives. Today’s issue includes a 4-page Supplement on ugadi panchangam Ye Aung (top) accompanies his wife on their way to a hospital after she was rescued from the rubble of an apartment building in Mandalay | AFP Why frequent quakes in SE Asia? Myanmar’s geographical position between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates makes it a high-risk zone for seismic activity. Friday’s earthquake occurred due to the horizontal movement of these plates, a phenomenon known as “strike-slip faulting,” according to the US Geological Survey. The boundary between the two plates — the Saigang Fault— runs through Mandalay and Yangon, placing millions at risk Former HC judge Nirmal Yadav gets clean chit in ‘cash-at-judge-door’ case Har p ree t Baj w a @ Chandigarh A special CBI court on Friday acquitted former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, Justice Nirmal Yadav, in the 17year-old ‘cash-at-judge’s -door’ corruption case, citing prosecution’s failure to prove charges against the accused. The verdict comes amid a raging controversy over the discovery of burnt cash at the residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma on March 14. Three accused—Ravinder Singh Bhasin, Rajiv Gupta, and Nirmal Singh—were acquitted, while Sanjiv Bansal, a former Haryana AAG, passed away dur- ing the trial. The much-awaited journalists after the verdict, verdict in the 17-year-old case Justice Yadav said that she has centres on a `15 lakh cash pack- full faith in the judiciary and et misdelivered to Justice Nir- the verdict is the victory of the maljit Kaur, another judge of truth. The prosecution examined 69 out of 84 witthe same court, due to a nesses, with the high mix-up on August 13, 2008, court later allowing 12 allegedly meant to bribe more witnesses. Justice Yadav for a propJustice Yadav went on erty deal. leave in 2009 after being The verdict was pronamed in the scandal nounced by Additional and was later transSessions Judge Alka MaNirmal Yadav ferred to the Uttaralik. Advocate Vishal Garg khand High Court. Narwana, representing The CBI’s 2009 closure request Justice Yadav, said, “A false narrative was set that money was was rejected, leading to further sent as a bribe, but there was no investigation. In 2014, Justice such evidence, and the court ac- Yadav was charged under the quitted everyone.” Speaking to Prevention of Corruption Act. NTR Sujala Sravanthi to be revived standing ovation MAUD Minister Ponguru Narayana has announced that the State government will revive the NTR Sujala Sravanthi Scheme, ensuring the supply of protected drinking water to people at an affordable cost | P4 TT ace A Sharath Kamal soaks in the moment after his final match of his storied career, in Chennai on Saturday | martin louis With the government set to reintroduce the contentious Waqf Bill (amendment) in Parliament next week for passage, the focus has shifted to four NDA allies who have a strong support base among Muslims in their respective states. Amid protests by Muslim bodies, Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday asserted that the Waqf Bill will be introduced in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament, which concludes on April 4. The firm stance by several Muslim organisations against the Waqf Bill has put the NDA allies — Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) — between a rock and a hard place. Muslim groups have told them to either ‘withdraw support to the bill or risk losing their support’. Significantly, Muslim organisations boycotted an Iftar party hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his support to the bill. However, the JD (U) maintained that the party held wide consultations with Muslim bodies, adding the changes suggested by it have been accepted by the JPC scrutinising the bill. Congress sources said that the Opposition is on a ‘wait and 43rd formation day Naidu: TDP will remain as long as Telugus exist S Vis w anat h @ Vijayawada TDP supremo and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has said the very emergence of Telugu Desam is a big sensation in Indian politics, and that the party had taken birth only to uphold the self-respect of the entire Telugu community . Exuding confidence that the TDP will remain as long as the Telugu community exists, Naidu said, “We are all heirs of the party but not leaders. Several parties have come and gone, but the TDP has stood out because we function in a totally different manner from other parties. If anyone pens the history of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh, the entire focus will be pre and post formation of the TDP . Addressing the TDP rank and file on the occasion of the 43rd Formation Day at the party headquarters on Saturday, Naidu said the party had overcome several challenges only because of the staunch support of the cadre. Those who vowed to @ Vijayawada TDP national general secretary and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh has come up with a major organisational reform to strengthen the party As per the reform, . TDP leaders continuing in the same organisational post for three consecutive terms should either go to the next level or take a break. “The reform should start right from myself as I have been continuing as the TDP national general secretary for the fourth term,” he said. Addressing the TDP rank and file at the party headquarters on the occasion of the 43rd Formation Day Lokesh made it , clear that he will fight for the cause of cadre both within the party and outside as his sole aim is to get proper identity for those who work hard for the party “I wish that the village. level leader should rise to the State-level,” he said. “Fresh blood should be injected to make the TDP survive for another 40 years, for which the cooperation of all leaders is needed,” he observed. Mentioning that the ‘Red Book’ is doing rounds everywhere, he said some erred people are suffering heart attack, and some others are falling in bathrooms thinking about it, and the consequences in store for them. “Power should not reach one’s head. No one should feel egoistic. Let us all work for the people, and that we can survive only if we have people’s blessings. Everyone should keep this in mind, and all should strive to win the hearts of the people” he asserted. Describing the yellow flag as an emotion for the TDP rank and file, Lokesh said the party witnessed several victories and crises during its journey of over four decades. “The exact Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has promised to protect the Waqf properties in the state. “My govt is committed to do justice to Muslims,” he said at an Iftar party hosted in Vijayawada. watch mode’ on the stand of the NDA allies. “JD (U) and TDP will be exposed if they support the Bill in Parliament,” said a leader. In a sign of ‘all is not well’ is the NDA camp in poll-bound Bihar, Union minister and LJP chief Chirag Paswan expressed dismay over ally BJP’s communal rhetoric. “I have always maintained that religion is a personal choice and we shouldn’t interfere in it. We are in alliance with the BJP, but I am against playing HinduMuslim politics,” he said. On Saturday, Paswan came down heavily on the UP police’s diktat of taking legal action and cancelling passports of those who offer Eid namaz on roads. His comments came a day after another Union minister and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary described the UP government’s move as “policing towards Orwellian 1984”. SP: Praveen’s 4-hour stay in Vijayawada being probed E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ Rajamahendravaram CM Naidu takes part in the 43rd TDP Formation Day celebrations at the Central office | Prasant Madugula eliminate the TDP had disappeared into oblivion, he observed. In the entire world, it is only the TDP that has got the whole credit of coming to power within nine months of the formation, Naidu said and recalled that the former Chief Minister announced the formation of the party in Hyderabad after closely observing the political situation in Andhra Pradesh then. Maintaining that the TDP is not a regional party Naidu , mentioned how it played a crucial role at the national level when the National P4 Front was in power.  Party posts: Organisational reforms in TDP should start from me, says Lokesh E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e Naidu promises to offer protection time NT Rama Rao formed the TDP 43 years ago is so great, and the foundation is so strong that within nine months of the formation of the party it came , to power in the State to make New Delhi rulers to be aware of the real strength of a Telugu man,” Lokesh remarked. It is TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu who promoted Telugus globally the HRD Min, ister added. Police are tracing the movements of pastor Pagadala Praveen Kumar in Vijayawada on March 24, focusing on his activities between 4 and 9 pm. Authorities are scrutinising CCTV footage from various locations to determine if he met anyone or spent time in specific areas during his four to five-hour stay . Giving details of the four-day probe into the death of Praveen to media here on Saturday Elu, ru Range Inspector General GVG Ashok Kumar and East Godavari District Superintendent of Police D Narasimha Kishore revealed that the CCTV footage was obtained from multiple locations. “Efforts are underway to collect private CCTV footage from Hyderabad and Vijayawada,” he said. The police officials made it clear that four cars that passed the accident site have no connection with the incident. The drivers and owners of the four cars were questioned. It was revealed that the vehicles belonged to a family en route to the Subrahmanya Swamy temple, a Forest Range Officer’s family, a bio-product salesperson, and the Kateru family. Three drivers claimed they did not witness the accident. However, an occupant of the fourth car reported seeing luggage on the rear of Praveen’s bike.  P4 WITH THIS ISSUE The Great Visa Imbroglio PLUS 12 PAGES