vijayawada l sunday l august 30, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION deal with Venezuela to take control of oil reserves: don President Donald Trump said the US has entered a deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels oil reserves of the country 9 months after maduro’s capture will lower gas prices in u.s.: rubio Trump in a social media post announced the agreement he said was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. The announcement of the deal comes nearly nine months after the US armed forces captured Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro ■ ■ Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 303 billion barrels of crude oil. That’s about 17 per cent of the world’s supply, according to the US Energy Administration Rubio said on X the agreement would usher in $100 billion in private investment into Venezuela and lead to lower gas prices in US 1% of world’s oil output comes off venezuela despite vast reserves 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 HDFC Bank boss on way out, won’t seek reappointment B enn K o c h u v ee d a n @ Mumbai Residents carry their belongings salvaged from their flood-hit homes in Nepal’s Devighat area on Saturday | AP WITH THIS ISSUE Private Eye PLUS 12 P AGES express read Naidu set to fulfil Veligonda dream Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who laid the foundation stone for the Veligonda Project on March 5, 1996, will inaugurate Phase-I of the project on August 31, fulfilling a long-standing promise to the people of drought-prone areas | P4 21-day deadline set to report deaths Vijayawada: The Health Department has issued a fresh directive mandating that all deaths resulting from road accidents and other medico-legal cases must be registered within 21 days. It is to meant to address delay in issuing death certificates to victims’ families | P3 Govt to promote mother tongue Vijayawada: The coalition government is according due importance to the mother tongue and is committed to protecting and promoting Telugu, said Minister for Tourism Kandula Durgesh at the Telugu Language Day celebrations | P5 Toll 675, India steps up rescue, forensic support 88 Indians rescued in Nepal so far; 128 PIOs reported missing E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi India on Saturday stepped up rescue and relief assistance to Nepal following the devastating flash floods, with 88 Indian nationals rescued so far while 287 remained uncontactable. Four Indian nationals were rescued from a hydropower project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district and are expected to reach Kathmandu shortly , the External Affairs Ministry said. Besides, 128 persons of Indian origin (PIOs) are missing. As many as 120 Indian nationals crossed into Nepal from China on Saturday the , MEA said. India is also deploying specialised expertise to support Nepal’s search and identification efforts. Six forensic expert teams from India are expected to reach Kathmandu to assist Nepalese authorities in analysing DNA samples and identifying mortal remains. “Forensic expert teams from India (six) are expected to reach Kathmandu today to assist in analysis of DNA samples for identification of mortal remains,” the MEA said. India has also moved to bolster tunnel-rescue operations in the floodhit areas. An Indian technical team for tunnel-rescue reconnaissance reached Kathmandu on Friday Based . on its assessment, a specialised tunnel-rescue team equipped with necessary equipment is in Nepal. The Indian assistance comes as Nepal m o u n t s a m a s s ive search and rescue operation across the worst-affected districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Relief supplies being Dhading and Chitwan. delivered by drone at Nepal Foreign Minis- Devighat in Nepal | PTI ter Shisir Khanal said the government had mobilised all available resources following the August 26 flash floods. “Our immediate priority remains clear: to save lives, locate missing persons, rescue them, provide urgent relief to survivors,” Khanal said. So far, 675 bodies — 246 from Chitawan, 165 from Nawalparasi East, 63 from Nawalparasi West, 57 from Gorkha, 45 from Dhading, 51 from Nuwakot, 35 from Tanahu and 13 from Rasuwa district — have been recovered and around 2,400 people remain uncontactable, while more than 4,450 people, including over 187 foreign nationals, have been rescued. Khanal said the figures could change as search and verification operations continue. 10 bodies from Nepal recovered in UP’s Gandak N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow SASHIdhar Jagdishan, chief executive and managing director of HDFC Bank, who was handpicked by the bank’s founding CEO Aditya Puri to succeed him in 2020, has decided not to seek reappointment when his current term ends in October, bringing to an end his nearly three-decade career with the country’s largest private sector bank. “Despite persuasion, Jagdishan reiterated his decision to not seek reappointment when his term ends on October 26, 2026. The board deeply appreciates his commitment, leadership, contribution to the growth and stability of the bank and his role in the successful completion of one of the Difference of opinion Several people familiar with the matter of resignation of non-executive chairman Atanu Chakraborty’s decision attributed it to ‘differences’ with Jagdishan over the extent of the chairman’s role in the bank’s functioning. largest mergers in corporate India,” the bank informed the stock exchanges on Saturday . The board has now fasttracked the process of finding his successor, it added. Jagdishan’s biggest achievement at the bank was arguably the merger of parent Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) with HDFC Bank in July 2023. Valued at around $44 billion, the trans- Alternative to GO No. 3 soon: Cong fires Kerala leader who blocked CM’s convoy CM to tribals public altercation U s h a Pe r i @ Visakhapatnam E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Thiruvananthapuram At least 10 bodies have been recovered from river Gandak in eastern UP in Maharajganj and Kushinagar districts over the past two days, with authorities yet to identify the deceased or trace their families. Originating from Nepal, Gandak flows into India. Official sources said all 10 were natives of Nepal and were adults. The bodies were bloated and in an advanced state of decomposition. They were taken to mortuaries in Maharajganj and Kushinagar, where they would be kept for 72 hours, said the district administration River brings in authorities. vehicles, drums The details of jewelGandak is also lery and other belongbringing other items, ings found on the bodincluding vehicles, ies were recorded along household goods, with distinctive physigas cylinders, cal features such as tatdrums, toos and other identifyfurniture, logs ing marks. Photographs and other of the deceased have debris also been circulated in apparently nearby areas. from Nepal. According ADM MaVillagers were seen harajganj, four of the gathering along the bodies — three women river to retrieve the and a young man — articles being washed had been found in the ashore district. “If no one comes forward during the next 72-hour period, further action will be taken in accordance with government guidelines,” Kumar said. In Kushinagar, six bodies — three men and three women— were recovered from Gandak. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and the flood battalion of the Provincial Armed Constabulary are working alongside the district administration and police in the affected areas of Maharajganj and Kushinagar. However, as per official sources, immediate flood threat has eased as water levels has receded. However, residents were advised to stay away from rivers and low-lying areas for now. action was one of the largest M&A deals in corporate India. However, the merger also brought a host of challenges, particularly on the asset-liability and margin fronts. The bank also faced several other issues during Jagdishan’s tenure, the most significant of which was in March 2026 when non-executive chairman Atanu Chakraborty resigned citing concerns over the bank’s functioning. The bank also faced allegations of mis-selling low-investment-grade bonds to NRIs through its Dubai branch, with customers allegedly promised higher returns that were not received. In a separate case involving the alleged mis-selling of Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds issued by failed Swiss lender Credit Suisse, American investors reportedly threatened to initiate a class-action lawsuit against the bank. The Congress on Saturday expelled Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee leader Anil Kumar alias Chenthi Ani from the party’s primary membership, hours after he was booked for blocking Chief Minister VD Satheesan’s motorcade. On Saturday mor ning, Sreekaryam Police arrested Ani for blocking the CM’s convoy and misbehaving with him for refusing to attend the Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi celebrations at Chenthi the previous night. Satheesan was on his way to Chempazhanthy to attend the event. On the way a , group of people organising another Sree Narayana Guru event at Chenthi signalled the CM’s vehicle to stop, police said. Satheesan stepped out of the vehicle following their request and was seen in television visuals arguing with Ani. After a few minutes at the spot, Satheesan returned to his vehicle and left, police said. Police said no event at Chenthi was listed in the CM’s sched- Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee (DCC) leader Anil Kumar alias Chenthi Ani | ANI ule, and filed an FIR against Ani. “The accused confronted the CM in an aggressive manner. When asked to refrain from being aggressive, the accused allegedly threatened, ‘What will you do if I get angry?’, insulting the CM and obstructing the official duties of police personnel accompanying the convoy the FIR said. ,” A court sent Ani to 14 days in custody Police said he had been . accused earlier in multiple cases of attacking people at Sreekaryam, Thumba and Medical College. KPCC president Sunny Joseph said the party’s stance is clear through the disciplinary action. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to address diaspora at Madison Square The event titled ‘Universal Oneness Celebrations’, is an invite-based gathering which will have more than 5,000 attendees Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday announced that the State government would soon bring in an alternative to GO No. 3 to ensure that employment opportunities in tribal areas are made available to local people. Addressing a public meeting at Gannela in Alluri Sitarama Raju district after launching the Sanjeevani pilot project, Naidu recalled that his government had introduced GO No. 3 to ensure that jobs in tribal areas were reserved for local residents. The order was subsequently struck down by the Supreme Court. He attributed the outcome to the negligence of previous administration, and announced that the government would bring in an alternative that would be acceptable to all. Naidu outlined a five-point plan for the development of tribal areas, with a focus on livelihoods, connectivity, healthcare, education and basic infrastructure. The objective, he noted, was to improve the standard of living of tribals. “Under the ‘Adavi Thalli Bata’ initiative, 905 km of roads have been taken up at a cost of `1,000 crore. The government plans to provide piped drinking water to 1.6 lakh tribal households and install rooftop solar systems,” he said. On livelihoods, he announced that the government was encouraging the cultivation of Araku Coffee over an additional one lakh acres to create employment and income opportunities for tribal families.  P4 Interim fee structure for Take stringent steps to curb pollution: APPCB to Vizag industries pvt medical colleges out E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada The Andhra Pradesh Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department has issued orders notifying an interim fee structure for undergraduate, postgraduate, and superspeciality medical and dental courses in private unaided professional colleges for the academic year 2026–27. The fee structure has been revised by enhancing existing rates by 10% for undergraduate courses, and 15% for postgraduate and super-speciality programs over the fees notified for 2025–26. The State government stepped in to notify the temporary fee structure after the Andhra Pradesh Higher Education Fee Regulatory and Monitoring Commission (APHEFR&MC) communicated its inability to process and recommend regular fee structures for the 2026– 29 block period, citing it is currently not fully constituted. P4 The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has directed industries and port operators in Visakhapatnam and surrounding industrial areas to take immediate measures to control air and water pollution, after expressing concern over deterioration in air quality in the Port area, Pedagantyada, Gajuwaka, Lankapalem and Parawada. The directions were issued during a review meeting held in Vijayawada on August 25 under the chairmanship of the APPCB Chairman and Mem- ber Secretary, with the top management and representatives of major industries in the Visakhapatnam industrial bowl and surrounding areas. The APPCB reviewed environmental compliance and the measures being implemented and proposed by industries to control pollution. It also reviewed pollution-control measures being taken by the Visakhapatnam Port Authority, its public-private partnership op- express illustration erators and industries in the industrial belt. Visakhapatnam had recorded ‘Moderate’ to ‘Poor’ air quality during November and December 2025, prompting the APPCB to intensify inspections. Following the inspections, show-causecum-environmental compensation notices were issued to industries and port entities for identified noncompliances. The APPCB has since been conducting reviews with the dis- trict administration, port authorities, stakeholder departments and industries to monitor dust-suppression steps and improve air quality . At a meeting held on July 10, the stakeholders were directed to strengthen mechanical dustsuppression systems, covered storage and transportation, mechanisation of cargo handling, green-belt development and additional online monitoring systems in and around the port area. During the latest review, the APPCB Chairman expressed dissatisfaction over the deterioration in air quality, particularly in the Port area, Pedagan- tyada, Gajuwaka, Lankapalem and Parawada. “Dust pollution was associated with Hinduja National Power Corporation Limited (HNPCL) and NTPC, as well as air and water pollution concerns involving the pharmaceutical industrial area at Parawada and APIIC, Atchutapuram,” officials highlighted. Representatives of the industries informed the APPCB that they had prepared short and long-term measures to address pollution concerns. Short-term measures would be completed within three to six months and long-term measures within one P4 year, they informed.