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 hyderabad l sunday l november 08, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l LATE City EDITION Iran says 2,000-km missile range limit off after fresh U.S. attacks Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Saturday it has lifted a self-imposed limit of 2,000 kilometres on the range of its ballistic missiles U.S. Officials point to Iran’s space tech While it is not clear whether Iran currently possesses missiles capable of exceeding the 2,000 km limit, US officials say technology from its space programme can be repurposed to build such intercontinental ballistic missiles. Iran’s supreme leader had recently warned any fresh US attack would invite an Iranian response “without geographic limits” | P11 ■ 2017 Trump announces fresh attacks ■ A range of over 2,000 km would allow Iran to hit deep inside Europe. The announcement comes a day after President Donald Trump said the US military carried out new limited strikes on Iranian targets The fresh US attacks came as Trump named hardliner Stephen Miller as his new chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles, after midterm losses when iran announced self-imposed missile range limit of 2,000 km 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 IAF touches new heights with heavy lifter J a v a r i a R a n a @ New Delhi In the highest-ever landing by an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft anywhere in the world, an Indian Air Force (IAF) IL-76MD, nicknamed ‘Gajraj’, has touched down at the 13,629 feet Mudh-Nyoma airbase in eastern Ladakh. Nyoma lies around 25 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. With the landing, the IAF has shown it can now take the Russian-origin heavylift transport aircraft almost to the frontline, in a boost for India’s strategic airlift capability . Announcing the landing on Saturday, the IAF hailed it as “a new height in aviation history” and “a milestone that reinforces I n d i a ’s s t r at e g i c a i rl i f t capability”. Strategic airlift is the ability to move troops, tanks, artillery and supplies in bulk over long distances. It was put to the test after the 2020 standoff in eastern Ladakh, when the IAF flew in over 68,000 soldiers, around 90 tanks and 330 BMP infantry combat vehicles. “An Indian Air Force IL-76MD has scripted history with a successful landing at Nyoma, marking the highest-altitude landing ever achieved by the aircraft anywhere in the world,” the IAF said on social media. The landing also comes amid An Indian Air Force IL-76MD transport aircraft lands at Ladakh’s Nyoma airfield | PTI continuing friction along the 3,488-km LAC. Patrolling has resumed in Ladakh, but the temporary buffer zones at Galwan, Gogra-Hot Springs and Pangong P o l iti c a l j o ust South fuels ethanol war on the Centre Cong alleges ethanol blending surpasses prescribed limits, Keralam orders tests P r e e t h a n a i r @ New Delhi WITH THIS ISSUE The Rise, Fall, And Rise of Rahul Gandhi PLUS 12 P AGES Vehicle ownership transfer gets easier in TG SIDDHARDHA GAT T IMI @ Hyderabad Vehicle owners in Telangana can now apply online for transfer of ownership, obtain No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to move vehicles to other states and update their eKYC details through the Vahan Citizen Services portal. According to the Transport Department, the three services are available online with Aadhaar-based OTP authentication, reducing the need for vehicle owners to visit Regional Transport Authority (RTA) offices. For transfer of ownership, both the seller and the buyer have to complete their respective steps online. The seller has to enter the vehicle details, authenticate the application through Aadhaar OTP and provide the buyer’s details and the name of the RTO concerned. An application number is then sent to the buyer, who has to complete the process by entering the current address, reviewing the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) vehicle report and paying the prescribed fee, officials said. Both the buyer and the seller have to digitally sign the application using Aadhaar OTP  continued on p6 . THE Centre on Saturday rubbished allegations of excess ethanol blending in petrol, stating that all 893 samples tested across 27 states and Union Territories met prescribed standards. This comes even as Keralam ordered inspections of fuel outlets and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi demanded disclosure of actual ethanol content in petrol sold across the country . Keralam’s decision followed Karnataka government’s allegation that petrol supplied by major oil marketing companies contained ethanol above the prescribed limit, with tests recording levels as high as 31.2 per cent. Countering the allegation, the PetroUse of third leum Ministry said tests by Indian Oil, party laboratory Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroquestioned leum found all 893 samples within the permissible 19–21 per cent range under The oil companies the Bureau of Indian Standards’ IS questioned 17021 specification. These included 56 certificates issued by samples collected across Karnataka a third-party from outlets of the three companies. laboratory in Keralam said it ordered the inspecKarnataka, saying they didn’t specify the tions as a precaution following Karnataka’s allegations, though no instance standard test method of excess ethanol blending had been detected in the state so far. Samples will be collected from outlets in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur districts and sent for testing. Rahul, meanwhile, cited Karnataka’s findings to question the Centre’s assurances. “Look at the results,” he said, citing readings of 31.2 per cent at an IOC outlet and 30.5 per cent at an HPCL outlet. He alleged that samples from outlets of IOC, HPCL, BPCL, Nayara and Shell had exceeded the limit. The three public sector oil companies, however, challenged the sampling and testing procedures adopted during Karnataka’s October exercise. They said the findings could not be independently validated without technical details and compliance with prescribed procedures. The October exercise was conducted without their representatives, they said. Despite requests through the coordinator, they said they had not received retention samples, outlet details or laboratory reports. Tso still cover areas Indian troops historically patrolled. The four-engine Gajraj can carry about 45 tonnes and has been airlifting T-72 tanks and Revanth announces ‘Praja Balam’ to tackle El Nino-induced drought B ACHAN J EE T SINGH @ Hyderabad The state government will launch the ‘Praja Balam’ (People’s Strength) programme after Sankranthi to mitigate problems arising from El Ninoinduced drought. Announcing the programme at a public meeting in Kodangal on Saturday Chief Minister , A Revanth Reddy said he would visit villages as part of the initiative and interact with people. Interacting with progressive farmers and agricultural scientists after inaugurating the Rythu Mela and Industrial Expo in Kodangal, Revanth appealed to people to support the government in tackling drought conditions. He also urged farmers to cultivate dryland crops during the ensuing Rabi season and asserted that the government was committed to the well-being of all sections of society and ready to support them Woman ganja peddler faces 30 cases | P5 Entire Oz cricket team part of sandpapergate: Usman | P10 Perfect Diwali for Rudra and his parents | P4 TG plans 20 scientific silos to curb distress paddy sale | P6 RICH PROBLEMS High-rises in western Hyd stare at drinking water crisis e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Thousands of families living in hundreds of high-rise residential towers across Hyderabad’s western corridor may face mounting drinking water shortages from December as declining storage levels in the Singur and Manjeera reservoirs threaten to widen the gap between demand and supply . The looming crisis could hit some of the city’s most densely populated residential and commercial clusters, including Kokapet, Narsingi, Puppalaguda, Nanakramguda, Gachibowli, Madhapur, Hitec City Raid, urg, Khajaguda, Kondapur, Serilingampally, Kukatpally, Miyapur, Chandanagar, Nallagandla and Tellapur. With at least 150 residential projects in these locations, comprising towers rang- ing from 20 to 40 floors and each housing hundreds of families, even a marginal reduction in drinking water supply could have a cascading impact on daily life. The shortage could affect more than three lakh water connections across the western corridor between Patancheru and Narsingi, with groundwater levels declining alongside reservoir storage levels. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) has sounded the alarm over the deteriorating situation, estimating a potential shortfall of around 100 million gallons per day (MGD) in water supply from the Singur and Manjeera reservoirs, which cater to more than three lakh connections until the Godavari augmentation projects become operational.  BMP-2 vehicles to Ladakh since the early 1990s. But Nyoma’s earlier mud strip could handle only smaller aircraft like the C-130J and AN-32, as well as helicopters. At over 4,000 metres, the thin air saps engine power and wing lift, so aircraft land faster and need longer runways. The decision to upgrade it into a fullfledged airbase came after the 2020 military confrontation with China. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) built a 2.7-km runway under the `218-crore project, and the base was operationalised last November. Nyoma is now the IAF’s fourth airbase in Ladakh, after Leh, Thoise and Kargil. continued on p7 Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy facilitates a farmer at a Raithu Mela in Kodangal on Saturday during the crisis. The chief minister also requested Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar to con- vene Assembly session in December to discuss El Nino conditions, the Kaleshwaram project, the proposed Tummidhatti project and the utilisation of Godavari waters. Refuting the BRS allegations that the government had released river waters to Andhra Pradesh instead of utilising them for the benefit of Telangana, Revanth asked opposition leaders to attend the Assembly session and participate in the debate. “Let K Chandrasekhar Rao bring his entire family along. We are ready to expose the KCR family with evidence in the Assembly Revanth said, blaming ,” the BRS for the collapse of the Medigadda barrage. He alleged that the BRS government had ignored the Centre’s offer to designate an irrigation project as a national project and had also neglected the Pranahita project.  continued on p6 Man shoots COO dead over parking row express news service @ Faridabad A senior executive of a private firm in Singapore was shot dead by his neighbour over a parking dispute in Faridabad. The accused fired around 12 to 15 rounds at Paramjith Dhankhar, who had returned to India to celebrate Diwali, late on Friday night. Dhankhar was COO of FPT Asia Pacific. Police arrested the accused, Monu Sharma, a resident of Sector-21C in Faridabad. According to police, the dispute between the two neighbours was over the broken gate of their parking area, apart from a fight on a dog defecating in the parking lot. On Friday night, when Dhankhar returned from the gym and asked Sharma to move his car from the parking area, both had a verbal duel. Shortly after, Sharma shot Dhankhar dead.