KANNUR l thursday l march 07, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION A Biden-Trump Rematch no one wants but cannot be avoided Joe Biden and Donald Trump swept their parties’ presidential nomination primaries on ‘Super Tuesday’, paving the way for the November polls Biden’s lone defeat in American Samoa Haley opts out, doesn’t endorse don There was a little flutter as Biden lost tiny American Samoa 51:40 to Jason Palmer, a little-known entrepreneur. But it did not halt his march towards renomination as the Democratic candidate for president. Trump lost Vermont by 1% while recording impressive victories in other places. Overall, Trump has 893 delegates — 92% of those awarded so far, CNN reported ■ ■ Indian-American Republican Nikki Haley to quit the race. “I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard. I have done that,” she said. Haley congratulated Trump but stopped short of endorsing him Haley challenged Trump to win the support of the moderate Republicans and independent voters who backed her | P11 1,215 delegates needed for Trump to bag his party’s nomination 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 Deal taking shape for BJD re-entry into NDA BJP may get more LS seats in alliance Maha allies sore over BJP’s seat-share plan E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai FIFTEEN years after their bitter break-up, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the BJP have almost stitched up the second innings of their alliance in Odisha. While the deal is being finalised at the top leadership levels, a formal announcement is yet to be made. But, it is only a matter of time, sources said. On Wednesday the day after Prime Minister , Narendra Modi’s visit to the state had given ample indications of the tie-up becoming a reality , both the parties engaged in hectic discussions with their respective leaders — the BJD in Bhubaneswar and the BJP at New Delhi — to formalise the partnership. The BJD summoned its MPs and MLAs to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s residence. After four hours of meeting, the party issued a cleverly-worded statement which said it will do everything in the greater interest of Odisha. Sources in the BJP claimed the alliance is a done deal and that the finer details would be announced soon — within the next 24 to 48 hours. Seat sharing will be decided after discussion between both the parties. There are, however, indications that the BJD will settle for a lion’s share of assembly seats, leaving the BJP with more Lok Sabha constituencies. After the core committee meeting of the BJP at New Delhi, former Union minister Jual Oram said that the issue was discussed but a final call will be taken by the central leadership. Top leaders of the state including Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state BJP president Manmohan Samal attended the meeting held under the chairmanship of BJP national president J P Nadda. Union home minister Amit Shah was also present. Odisha had a BJD-BJP coalition government for two terms from 2000 before the BJD broke off after the Kandhamal riots in 2009. After the intervention of Union home minister Amit Shah, the BJP-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra resolved its seat-sharing dispute and tentatively decided on a 36:8:4 formula for upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Going by the formula, the BJP will contest from 36 of the total 48 seats in the state while Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP will enter the fray from eight and four seats, respectively However, both allies of the . BJP articulated their dissatisfaction. Highly placed sources said after addressing poll rallies in Akola, Jalgaon and Sambhaji Nagar, Shah flew to Mumbai on Tuesday night and held discussions with Chief Minister Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. “Shinde said he has 13 sitting Lok Sabha members who left Uddhav Thackeray and joined him, so he sought at least 13 seats. Ajit Pawar sought nine seats,” said the source requesting anonymity. But Shah told them that multiple survey reports were suggesting otherwise. “There is palpable public anger against the allies and very little chance of their candidates emerging victorious. Therefore, it is better for the BJP to contest from more places in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For the BJP winning as many seats in the , Lok Sabha as possible is important. Shah promised them a better deal in the assembly elections,” he added. But NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal later said they will not settle for four. “BJP should spare as many seats for the NCP as they are allotting Shinde’s Shiv Sena,” Bhujbal said. As for the Shinde Sena, sources in the party said the BJP is offering a humiliating number of seats, which will demoralise the cadre. “The BJP should understand the situation because it will damage them as well,” a Sena leader hinted. E X PRESS RE A D Sidharthan’s death: Rahul seeks CBI probe Kozhikode: Senior Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to Chief MInister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday demanded a CBI probe into the death of college student J S Sidharthan. He also alleged an attempt by the state government and the university authorities to protect the accused. P4 3 dead as land caves in at construction site Kochi: Three persons — all migrant workers from West Bengal — died after a portion of land caved in at a construction site of a shopping complex at Peppathy in Piravom on Wednesday. The police said the accident occurred around 5.30pm when a huge portion of the land caved in on the workers. P7 Wildlife conflicts declared a ‘disaster’ E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram Following the recent spurt in human-wild animal conflicts, which is snowballing into a major political issue ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the state government on Wednesday declared them as a ‘state-specific disaster’, allowing it to invoke the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in such incidents. The cabinet also decided to form committees at the state, district and local levels to address the issue. Their specific roles and responsibilities will be decided after discussions between the chief secretary and forest secretary . As many as 15 people, including one on Wednesday, have lost their lives in incidents involving wild animals in the state so far this year. Declaring the conflicts a state-specific disaster will en- able speedy and fairer awarding of compensation as per the disaster management norms to victims. Besides, it will ensure coordination of various gover nment agencies and stakeholders to effectively tackle wild animal attacks. As per the cabinet decision, two state-level committees will be for med to address the conflicts. One of the committees will be chaired by the chief minister and will have the ministers of forest, revenue, local selfgovernment (LSG) and SC/ST welfare departments as members. The chief secretary will be its convener. It will issue directives to address human-an- What it means Move allows government to invoke provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005, when such conflicts happen It will enable speedy and fairer awarding of compensation to victims Will ensure coordination of various government agencies and stakeholders to tackle wild animal attacks imal conflicts at the state level. Another committee chaired by the chief secretary will also be formed for issuing orders at the state level. Secretaries of Nod to kill bison that claimed Kozhikode farmer’s life Kozhikode: The chief wildlife warden has given the nod to kill the bison that claimed the life of Palattiyil Abraham, 70, a farmer. The move came after a protest by Abraham’s relatives and others demanding an order to shoot and kill the bison. P4 SC intervenes, helps cash-strapped state get `13,608-cr breathing space Balagopal hails order T’Puram: Finance Minister K N Balagopal hailed the SC verdict and said Kerala was eligible for additional borrowing space, but the Centre withheld sanction. He expressed hope over the directive to hold talks on the dispute, and said the Centre put pressure on Kerala to withdraw the case by withholding sanction. Balagopal said the SC made an important observation that the state government had the right to file a suit against the Centre. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram In what could be termed as a major political victory for the state government amid the financial crisis, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Union government to allow Kerala additional market borrowings worth `13,608 crore. The SC directive has come as a major relief to the state, which was struggling to pay salaries and pension. The apex court also criticised the Centre’s stand that sanction can be given only if the state withdraws the case. The SC, meanwhile, restrict- ed public statements by political leaders as the issue was sub-judice. The bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan said the Centre can impose conditions within the parameters of the constitution, except the condition that the suit be withdrawn. The state government has been raising the alleged neglect by the Union government as a political issue eyeing the impending general elections. Highlighting it was one of the major goals of the government’s recently-concluded mass outreach programme ‘Nava Kerala Sadas’. ● More on P4 @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Wednesday banned tiger safaris in the core areas of Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand. However, those in the peripheral and buffer zones can be permitted, said a bench headed by Justice B R Gavai. The bench also rapped former Uttarakhand forest minister Harak Singh Rawat and ex-divisional forest officer Kishan Chand for allowing felling of trees and construction in Corbett, adding that it was aghast at the audacity of the duo in throwing all statutory provisions into the dustbin. “This shows how a nexus between a politician and a forest officer has resulted in causing heavy damage to the environment for some political and com- Jim Corbett National Park Pakhrau SC said existing safaris and the one being built at Pakhrau won’t be disturbed. On the safari at Pakhrau, it directed state govt to relocate or establish a rescue centre in the vicinity mercial gain,” said the bench, also comprising judges P K Mishra and Sandeep Mehta. Rawat was the forest minister in the BJP government in 2021. He was expelled by the saffron party ahead of the 2022 state assembly polls, following which he joined the Congress. The apex court pronounced the judgment after hearing a petition filed by environment activist and lawyer Gaurav Bansal challenging the Uttarakhand government’s proposal to have a tiger safari on the lines of a specialised zoo with caged animals at the national park. The court said the illegal felling of trees cannot be ignored. The bench directed the CBI, which is probing the case, to submit a detailed status report to it within three months, whereas the state government was told to initiate disciplinary proceedings against errant officials. The court said the government must estimate the cost of damage to ecology and recover it from the guilty. It ordered the constitution of a committee to quantify costs of restoration. The big 1 Marrying skill with relevance and endurance R Ashwin came into national reckoning with his exploits in the shortest format. But he has continuously evolved and has grown into one of the greatest red-ball cricketers this country has produced 2 No tiger safari in core areas of Jim Corbett park, says apex court S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y the home, forest, revenue, LSG, agriculture, and SC/ST Welfare departments as well as the head of the forest force, principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden, and member-secretary of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority will be its members. In districts, the minister in charge will head a panel that will act as a controlling mechanism at the district level. The panel will include the district collector, district police chief, district medical officer, deputy directors of LSG and SC/ST Welfare departments, and district heads of agriculture and animal husbandry departments. ‘Jagratha Samithis’ constituted by local bodies in conflict-prone areas will work at the local level in coordination with the respective districtlevel committees. ● More on P4 First from Tamil Nadu Thirteen Indians have gone on to play 100 Tests or more but the off-spinner will be the first from Tamil Nadu to reach the milestone. He spoke about what it meant on Tuesday 3 Unassailable lead for India About the series itself, the hosts have already sealed it 3-1 after winning a hattrick of matches starting with Visakhapatnam before wins at Rajkot and Ranchi 4 Milestone match Apart from Ashwin, another, Jonny Bairstow, will also win his 100th Test cap Sham exam Alleged guardians climb a wall to help students cheat during the Class 10 board examination at a school in Haryana’s Nuh district on Wednesday | PTI 507 No. of wickets he has picked up Debut : v. West Indies in November 2011 pest trouble Medicinal ‘eenth’ on verge of extinction, worried farmers call for conservation E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kozhikode In a sombre scene unfolding in rural agricultural communities, farmers are expressing deep concern over the alarming decline of cycas circinalis, a tree species renowned for its numerous medicinal values. As these ancient trees teeter on the brink of extinction, farmers are calling for urgent conservation measures to save this invaluable botanical resource. Cycas circinalis, commonly known as the Queen Sago Palm or eenth in Malayalam, is a slow-growing cycad native to tropical regions. Revered for its medicinal properties, this tree has been a vital component of traditional medicine for generations. Its leaves, seeds, and roots are believed to possess therapeutic qualities that address a wide range of ailments. Dr P Dileep, who has been researching how to preserve these trees for several years, said, “The major reason for the destruction of these trees is an attack by insects. Small insects called cycad scales eat the sap of the palm and destroy it. The pathogen is neither a fungus nor a virus. The infection spreads so fast that it requires no time to destroy the tree. In rural areas, their seeds are used to make many delicious dishes including putt, pathiri and payasam. It has to be noted that these trees are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act.” Distressed farmers in regions where cycas circinalis once thrived are now witnessing a rapid decline in the population of these trees. In candid interviews, farmers expressed their grief over the loss of this botanical treas- The major reason for the destruction of these trees is an attack by small insects called cycad scales that eat its sap. The pathogen is neither a fungus nor a virus — Dr P Dileep, a researcher ure and highlighted the need for immediate action to prevent further devastation. “I’ve seen these trees flourish since my childhood, providing us with essential medicines that have been passed down through generations. Now, they’re disappearing before our eyes, and with them, a part of our cultural heritage is vanishing,” said Vishwanathan K, a native of Naduvathur Koyilandy, a local farmer deeply connected to traditional farming practices. Dr Dileep said, “The only way to control insects is to cut diseased leaves and spray them with neem oil or castor oil to prevent spread by wind.” These can be controlled by spraying organic insecticides like Verticillium (10 ml / litre of water). We can also control them by using chemical insecticides like Imida after consulting with agriculture department officials. Over 3,100 palm trees are being destroyed due to the insect attack in Kannur and ● More on P4 Kozhikode.
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