source: x vijayawada l wednesday l march 13, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION HUge drug haul from Pakistani boat off the Porbandar coast In a joint operation, narcotics worth `480 crore was seized from a Pakistani boat with six crew on the Arabian Sea, 350 km off Porbandar coast It was a sea-air coordinated operation Following specific intelligence inputs, the Indian Coast Guard, Narcotics Control Bureau and the anti-terrorist squad coordinated their efforts on March 11-12 night. With the Coast Guard’s ships strategically positioned in the Arabian Sea, its Dornier was deployed to spot the Pakistani boat. The boat tried to scoot, but was chased, forced to stop and boarded 80 kg 60 packets of methamphetamine seized ■ ■ The boat, crew and drug seized are being taken to Porbandar coast for further investigation. Gujarat ATS Superintendent of Police Sunil Joshi said nearly 60 packets of methamphetamine were seized This is the second major anti-narcotics operation carried out at the Arabian Sea, off the Porbandar coast in the last one month of narcotics seized in the drug bust at Arabian sea 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 Khattar makes way for Saini as new Haryana CM Manufacturing sector drags IIP growth to 3.8% in Jan M O N I K A YA D AV @ New Delhi INDIA’s industrial output growth, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), slowed to 3.8% in January this year from 4.2% in December 2023 owing to poor show by the manufacturing sector. According to government data released on Tuesday, the manufacturing sector grew only 3.2% in January compared with 4.5% in December 2023. The data also show that the December IIP was revised upwards to 4.2% following a revision of core sector growth to 4.9% from 3.8%. The eight core industries are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity. These sectors constitute 40% of the IIP and serve as a key indicator to industrial growth trends. In January 2023, industrial output had grown 5.8%. In January this year, mining and electricity production rose 5.9% and 5.6%, respectively, compared with 5.2% and 1.2% in December 2023. According to Aditi Nayar, chief economist of ICRA, the IIP growth is likely to remain at 3-4% in February . Meanwhile, the retail inflation, also known as consumerprice-based inflation (CPI), remained unchanged at 5.09% in February this year compared to 5.1% in January It was record. ed at 6.44% in the same month of the previous year. Food inflation, which constitutes as much as 45.9% of the CPI basket, is still on the higher side as it came in at 8.66% in February compared with 8.3% in the previous month. Last year, it was recorded at 5.95%, data showed. “The key risk to inflation outlook remains from food prices which have been volatile, due to successive supply-side shocks,” said Guara Sen Gupta, economist at the IDFC First Bank. H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh Constructed along River Krishna in Vijayawada, the wall will protect 80,000 residents of Krishna Lanka from flood threat; (below) Jagan distributing house site pattas | Express CM inaugurates `500-crore flood retaining wall and riverfront park Says ignorance of previous TDP govt caused immense trouble to people living along Krishna E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday inaugurated the 2.26-km-long retaining wall constructed along River Krishna at the Kanaka Durga Varadhi in Vijayawada on Tuesday . The construction of the wall was taken up with `500 crore to protect 80,000 residents of Krishna Lanka from flood threat. He also inaugurated the first phase of the Krishna Riverfront Park, named ‘Krishnamma Jalavihar,’ in the city . The riverfront park, developed by the municipal depart- express read Modi dials Sunak, seeks early conclusion of FTA New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged in a conversation with his British counterpart Rishi Sunak and discussed strengthening bilateral trade ties & aiming for swift conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) | P9 ment with an investment of `12.4 crore, offers moder n amenities like a walking track, open gym, and playground amidst lush greenery . Speaking at the public meeting, the Chief Minister emphasised the government’s commitment to safeguard the lives of the residents, particularly those vulnerable to floods. Describing the inauguration of the retaining wall as another milestone in his government’s efforts to protect and uplift the poor, Jagan lashed out at the previous TDP government for neglecting the flood-prone areas. “Ignorance of the previous E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The District Selection Committee Teacher Recruitment Test to fill 6,100 teacher posts across the State has been postponed to March 30 from March 15, Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana announced on Tuesday . “The exams will be held from March 30 to April 30 in two sessions for a total of 14 days, excluding holidays,” he added. Botcha said the decision to postpone the exam was taken due to various reasons such as Air Force authorities said the Tejas fighter jet was manned by a lone pilot, who successfully ejected moments before the crash. He was promptly evacuated to the Army Hospital Fire, explosion trigger panic After the crash, the jet caught fire and there was an explosion, which triggered panic in the vicinity. Local residents immediately alerted the fire brigade and the blaze was brought under control RAJ E S H AS N A N I & MAYA N K SI N G H @ Jaipur / New Delhi IN the first such incident since its maiden test flight in 2001, a Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) of the Indian Air Force crashed near a residential colony in Jaisalmer around 2 pm on Tuesday during an operational training sortie. The pilot successfully ejected from the aircraft before the crash. There were no casualties. A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident, the Indian Air Force said. The accident happened when the indigenously built fighter jet was returning to the Jaisalmer air base after taking part in the Bharat Shakti military exercise in Pokhran, which was witnessed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top military brass. Jaisalmer is roughly 100 km away from the exercise venue in Pokhran. Sources said the aircraft crashed into a five-room hostel for the Bhil community in Jawahar Nagar near Jaisalmer. There were three students in the hostel compound at the time of the crash but they were unhurt as the fighter jet damaged one of the rooms. LCA Tejas, which took to the air on January 4, 2001 holds significance for the IAF as it is set to replace the ageing squadrons of MiG fighter jets and become the mainstay of the force in the coming Haryana Lokhit Party: 1 INLD: 1 Independents: 7 Total seats: 90 Cong: 30 BJP: 41 JJP: 10 Chautala demanded that his party be alloted two of Haryana’s 10 Lok Sabha seats. The constituencies his party was intent on contesting from were Hisar and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh. Dushyant had won the Hisar Lok Sabha in 2014. Just two days ago, BJP’s Hisar MP Brijendra Singh resigned from the party as he anticipated that his seat would go to the JJP . The JJP is a breakaway faction of the Indian National Lok Dal. It appears to be in trouble as five JJP MLAs stayed away from a legislative party meeting in Delhi. These lawmakers are likely to form a breakaway group and could support BJP . As for Khattar, he could get a Lok Sabha ticket from Karnal. And sitting Karnal MP Sanjay Bhatia could be appointed the new Haryana BJP president, sources said. Govt postpones DSC exam to March 30 Pilot ejects before crash A Tejas aircraft in flames after it crashed near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan on Tuesday. (Inset: The pilot who ejected safely before the crash) | pti administration resulted in severe hardships to the people living along the Krishna River as they face floods every year,” he remarked. “Construction of the flood protection wall stands as a testament to the government’s proactive measures over the past five years. This initiative aims to shield the 80,000 residents of Krishna Lanka from potential flood threats, marking a significant milestone in the city’s infrastructure development, he opined. Later, Jagan laid the stone to launch the construction of sewage treatment plants worth P4 `239 crore. Nayab Singh Saini was on Tuesday sworn in as the new chief minister of Haryana, hours after the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) walked out of the ruling coalition led by BJP’s Manohar Lal Khattar. It gave the BJP a shot at spring cleaning ahead of the general elections, as the uncharismatic Khattar, 69, made way for his loyalist Saini, 54, who is an OBC leader. Despite the coalition’s collapse, Saini claims he has the support of seven Independents. “We have asked the Speaker to conduct the floor test tomorrow as we have support of 48 MLAs,’’ he said. Saini represents Kurukshetra in Parliament and was named the Haryana BJP president in October last year. His appointment as CM is meant to d e f l e c t a n t i - i n c u m b e n cy against Khattar, who ruled Haryana for nine-and-a-half years. Sainis constitute around 8% of the total population in Haryana. The community is influential in Haryana’s north, including districts like Ambala, Kurukshetra and Hisar. The coalition collapsed as the JJP chief and outgoing deputy chief minister Dushyant Party positions First-ever crash of Tejas fighter jet in Jaisalmer, pilot safe years. The IAF has a sanctioned strength of 42 combat squadrons but it has come down to around 30. A squadron comprises 16-18 aircraft. Currently, the IAF has two operational Tejas squadrons. The first IAF Squadron to induct the Tejas was No 45 Squadron, the Flying Daggers, in July 2016. Flying Bullets, raised in 2020, is the second Squadron. Manufactured by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics, the aircraft is a potent platform for air combat and air support missions. Reconnaissance and anti-ship operations are its secondary roles. In February 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Security approved procurement of 73 LCA Tejas Mk-1A fighter aircraft and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 Trainer aircraft at a cost of `45,696 crore. In November 2023, the Defence Acquisition Council cleared the purchase of an additional 97 LCA-Mk 1As at a cost of `65,000 crore. The LCA Mk-1A will have updated avionics — Active Electronically Steered Radar, updated Electronic Warfare suite, and a Beyond Visual Range missile capability The . new variant will be capable of firing a number of weapons from increased stand-off ranges. Once this order is completed in the stipulated 15 years, IAF will have 40 LCA in initial configuration, over 180 LCA Mark-1A and at least 120 LCA Mark-2 planes. changing qualifications for the posts of Secondary Grade Teacher (SGT) and also to ensure sufficient time between the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) and DSC exam. Candidates can select the exam centres from March 20 and download hall tickets from March 25. Videograb of Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya (R) administering the oath of office to BJP leader Nayab Singh Saini as chief minister of Haryana, on Tuesday | PTI 32-year-old Tenali woman’s alleged suicide triggers political slugfest E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Guntur A day after a 32-year-old woman from Tenali died, the incident took a political turn on Tuesday with the ruling YSRC alleging that supporters of the TDP and JSP abetted her suicide. The deceased, identified as Gothi Geethanjali Devi, is survived by her husband Balachandra and two children. According to Balachandra, Geethanjali attempted to end her life on March 7 by jumping in front of a running train near Tenali railway station as she was distressed “due to the malicious trolling by the supporters of TDP and JSP after she pm modi to participate in TDP-JSP public meet The meeting is scheduled to be held at Boppudi near Chilakaluripet in Palnadu district on March 17. The parties have begun preparations to ensure that the meeting is successful. As many as 13 coordination committees, comprising TDP, JSP and BJP leaders, have been constituted to oversee the arrangements for the programme | P4 praised the gover nment’s schemes in a video”. She succumbed to her injuries on March 11 while undergoing treatment at the Guntur Government General Hospital. In the video that went viral on social media, Geethanjali praised Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government during an event held on March 4. She said she has benefitted from the ruling YSRC’s schemes and also received land under the Jagananna Housing Scheme. Following this, some Suicide Helpline individuals, suspected to be supporters of the TDP and JSP , trolled her using derogatory language. Guntur SP Tushar Dudi said, “The language used by the trolls does not have any place in a civilised world. Geethanjali and her family members were trolled, forcing her to commit suicide. We have identified a few social media profiles which are handled by actual owners and a few fake accounts. We will make sure we trace them P4 and take action.” OneLife: 78930-78930; Roshni, Hyderabad- based NGO: 040-66202000 Court gives life terms to 10 for Hapur mob lynching N a m i ta b a j pa i @ Lucknow A local court in Hapur on Tuesday sentenced 10 accused to life imprisonment for lynching a meat trader to death over rumours of cow slaughter. Qasim Qureshi, 45, was killed by the mob in June 2018. Another victim, Samaydeen, 62, was injured in the mob attack. The victims had not sought death penalty for the convicts saying they did not have any personal enmity against them. The court convicted the ac- cused persons under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 149 (unlawful assembly), 307 (attempt to murder), 149, 147 (rioting), 148 (being armed with a deadly weapon) and 153A (promoting enmity between dif ferent groups on grounds of religion). The court also slapped a penalty of `58,000 on each of the convicts. The crime had created a nationwide buzz after pictures purportedly showing the victims being dragged on the ground in the presence of cops went viral on social media.
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