DHARMAPURI l friday l may 03, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Supreme Court orders 33% quota for women in SC Bar Association The court said the order must be implemented from the 2024 election to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) set to be held on May 16 Five seats in the executive committee Apart from six office bearers, the SCBA has six senior executive members and nine executive members. As per the court order, at least two senior executive members and three executive members should be women. The order was passed by a bench comprising justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan while hearing a case involving SCBA against its former Secretary B D Kaushik | P9 ■ May 19 At least 1 office bearer should be woman ■ One post of the office bearers of the SCBA should be reserved for women by turn and on rotation bases, the bench said in its order For the upcoming elections, the post of Treasurer shall be reserved for women, it said. However, this will not preclude eligible women members of SCBA from contesting for other office-bearer positions when results of the Supreme Court bar association election will be out 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 2.5CR 40 coconut trees in tn face threat 1 tree needs 40 litres of water a day no takers for wood Cost of 6,000 litres of tanker water has gone up from `1,200 to `1,800. Sawmills are refusing to buy chopped timber as it is becoming difficult for them to handle the large number of axed coconut trees arriving every day for sale A woman irrigating her plantation with water from a private tanker at Kanjampatti near Pollachi | S Senbagapandiyan Lakhs of coconut trees set to perish in TN as record heat & drought take toll M S a r a v a n a n @ Coimbatore Thousands of coconut farmers in Pollachi, Anaimalai, Kinathukadavu, and Udumalai taluks in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts have been felling the entire plantations they had nurtured lovingly for years as they could not stand the pain of seeing their trees wither due to lack of water. According to sources, around 2.5 crore fully grown coconut trees in 1.6 lakh hectares of land are facing an imminent threat. Nearly 50% of these trees may perish in this unprecedented heat due to lack of adequate water for irrigation. “Over the last two weeks, I had cut around 200 of the 500 coconut trees in my farm as they had withered due to scorching heat and lack of water. If I had delayed cutting down these trees, I would not have got even the `1,000 which I’m gett i n g n ow f o r t h e chopped timber. Two months ago, the price offered for each tree was `2,500,” said KR Kalyanakumar, a farmer in Kasipattinam in Pollachi. Farmers rued that they could not save the trees de- spite spending `1,500 to `1,800 on water tankers (6,000 liters per load) to irrigate them as the groundwater has plummeted to record lows. Due to the rise in number of trees withering due to lack of water, sawmill owners, too, are declining to buy the timber claiming that it’s becoming difficult for them to handle the large number of tree wood arriving every day . S Dhandapani, a sawmill owner from Thamaraikulam in Kinathukadavu taluk, said “In the last one month, I have received more than 100 calls per day from farmers for selling wood. But I started declining the calls as I could not handle so much timber. Earlier, a withered tree timber used to weigh more than a tonne and we offered `2,500 to `3,000. Now even two trees do not weigh a tonne. On Monday I gave `50,000 to a farmer , for chopped trees. Forget about profit, traders, who take wood for construction purposes, are not ready to offer even the price that I offered to farmers.” The timber has become so weak due to lack of water that it cracks within a day of the tree being felled, sources said. P5, P4 ‘Prajwal flew to Germany 4 die in tn crash on diplomatic passport’ 3 boys were riding on a bike sans helmet Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi SUSPENDED Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is in the eye of a storm over his alleged sexual harassment of women, travelled to Germany on a diplomatic passport without political clearance, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday . “No political clearance was either sought from or issued by MEA in respect to his travel to Germany… Obviously, no visa note was issued either,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday . Diplomatic passport holders can travel to over 100 countries, including Germany , without visa. “The ministry has not issued visa note for Revanna for travel to any other country,” the MEA spokesperson said, adding that parliamentarians are entitled to have diplomatic passports. Prajwal is the sitting MP from Hassan, from where he is seeking re-election. Diplomatic passports are issued to diplomats, government officials and individuals who are authorised to undertake official travel on behalf of the government. Under international law, diplomatic passport holders enjoy certain privileges and immunities, including immunity from arrest in the host country . On Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s demand for revocation of Revanna’s diplomatic passport, the MEA spokesperson said it can be taken only on the directions of a court. “As regards the possible revocation of the passport of any individual, I would refer you to the relevant provisions of the Passport Act 1967. A direction should come from a court for revocation of passport. We are not in receipt of any directions from any court in this regard,” he said. Prajwal, 33, is the grandson of former PM and JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda. He was suspended from the party after the controversy broke out. Four people, including three students, were killed in a road accident in Mayiladuthurai on Thursday. The three students who were riding on a single bike collided with another twowheeler, fell on the road, and were run over by a lorry | P4 No word, but party prepares in Amethi Nomination deadline for Amethi, Rae Bareli seats in UP ends today BJP drops tainted Brij Bhushan, fields his son Karan in Kaiserganj P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi NAMITA B AJPAI @ Lucknow With barely hours left for filing of nomination papers for the Amethi and Rae Bareli seats, the Congress is continuing to keep the suspense on whether Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka will contest from the prestigious seats. Though there was no official word, sources said that Rahul is likely to enter the fray from Amethi. That decision was taken after much deliberations within the party leadership. However, the call on Priyanka contesting from Rae Bareli is yet to be taken, said sources. On Wednesday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the decision would be announced by Thursday evening. Yet, there was no official announcement till going to the press. Sources said the local leadership is gearing up for the filing of nomination papers by Rahul from Amethi since Thursday evening. “We received a message from the high command in Rae Bareli the evening to make preparafactor tions for Friday’s nomination. The party will also hold a rally Though it was speculated today said a leader. ,” that Rahul According to sources, ConGandhi may gress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has conveyed to the Gandhis contest from that not contesting from Uttar the Rae Bareli Pradesh would not augur well constituency, he decided for the party’s prospects in the against it at Hindi heartland. Rahul reprethe last sented Amethi for three straight moment terms from 2004 to 2019 before he was defeated by Union minister Smriti Irani by over 50,000 votes in 2019. Smriti Irani, who is seeking a second term from Amethi, has challenged Rahul to contest from the seat. A section of the leaders believe that if Rahul does not take up the challenge, it will only vindicate the BJP’s charges of him running away from the seat. According to sources, Rahul was not keen on Priyanka’s electoral debut from Rae Bareli as he did not want all the three members of the family in Parliament. The BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been constantly attacking the Congress over its dynasty politics. The BJP on Thursday dropped Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who faces criminal charges of sexually harassing women wrestlers during his stint as the president of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), and instead fielded his younger son Karan Bhushan Singh from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency . The saffron party also named Dinesh Pratap Singh as its candidate from Rae Bareli, a Gandhi family bastion that elected Congress leader Sonia Gandhi five consecutive times. Dinesh Pratap Singh, currently serving as a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet, was the BJP’s candidate from the Rae Bareli parliamentary seat in 2019 as well. Even though he lost to Sonia Gandhi last time, he managed to bring her victory margin down to 1.67 lakh votes from 3.52 lakh in 2014. He was earlier with the Congress and he joined the BJP in 2018. Rajput Brij Bhushan, the sitting MP card in Kaiserganj, was forced to reBy fielding sign as WFI president over the Dinesh Singh sexual harassment scandal after and Karan the wrestlers launched a proBhushan(pic), test. By denying ticket to Brij BJP hopes to Bhushan, the BJP has sought to placate send out a message of distancRajput ing itself from tainted leaders. community With Brij Bhushan, the total voters, who number of MPs benched by the were upset BJP in UP in the ensuing elecwith the party tion has touched 15. A six-time MP, Brij Bhushan has won not only from Kaiserganj but also neighbouring constituencies like Gonda and Balrampur. An influential regional leader, he has sway over half-a-dozen Lok Sabha seats in and around Gonda in central UP . Brij Bhushan has formidable clout in Kaiserganj and adjoining districts as he owns over 50 educational institutions in the region. He had been pitching hard for a seat for himself while the BJP reportedly gave him two options — to field his wife Ketaki Singh or elder son Prateek, an MLA from Gonda Sadar. Ketaki Singh was BJP’s Gonda MP in 1996. Shops set afire in caste clash in Salem; 19 held E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Salem Nineteen people were arrested at Thevattipatti in Salem district late on Thursday after clashes broke out between Dalits and caste Hindus over allowing Scheduled Caste members to enter the local Mariamman Temple. The village temple belongs to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department. Twenty shops were damaged and several vehicles including two-wheelers and auto were set ablaze by members of both communities. Two shops were also set on fire. Police used mild force to disperse the mob. Security has been beefed up in the village and the situation is un- Twenty shops were damaged and several vehicles were set ablaze by caste Hindus and Dalits in the clash at Thevattipatti in Salem on Thursday | Express der control, police said. According to sources, a few caste Hindus who had organised a small festival at the tem- ple had allegedly stopped local Dalits from entering the temple on Thursday morning, prompting the members of the SC community to petition the HR&CE seeking action. Immediately, a peace committee meeting was convened in front of the Thevattipatti tahsildar office on Thursday afternoon in which district police and HR&CE officials took part. But tension escalated after caste Hindus sought one day’s time to discuss about permitting Dalits into the temple. This led to a war of words and the situation quickly deteriorated and clashes broke out, with individuals from both the communities hurling stones at each other near the Thevattipatti bus stand and people running helter-skelter. Continued on p5 BJP scramble to save Sikri fort from popular Kargil war veteran’s Hand N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow Known for being the seat of the famous Sufi saint Salim Chishti and the fort of Mughal Emperor Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri is the youngest parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh. It was carved out of Agra in 2008. BJP’s Rajkumar Chahar had won it in 2019 with a thumping five lakh-plus vote margin. But this time around, the contest seems to be evenly poised between the BJP and the Congress. Sikri goes to polls on May 7. Congress candidate Ram Nath Sikarwar — popularly known as Fauji Baba — is giving a tough fight to Chahar, who is reeling under antiincumbency besides intraparty rebellion. In 2019, Chahar was a giant killer, having defeated Raj Babbar, the then state president of the Congress. But now Chahar, the national chairman of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha, is caught in a double whammy . Apart from Sikarwar, Chahar is also facing a tough challenge from Rameshwar Chaudhury, son of sitting BJP MLA Babulal Rajkumar Chahar Ram Nath Sikarwar Illustration: Mandar Pardikar Chaudhury. Rameshwar has raised the flag of revolt and is contesting as an independent. He is believed to have better clout than Chahar among the Jat voters. The BJP recently expelled Rameshwar after all efforts to pacify him failed. Chahar also has to deal with grumpy Kashtriyas because of a perceived slight against the community by the BJP’s candidate in Gujarat’s Rajkot, Parshottam Rupala. Since Sikarwar is a Kshatriya, he is getting resonance from the community . To save the seat, senior BJP leaders like Rajnath Singh, a prominent Thakur face, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are holding multiple rallies in Sikri and Agra to placate the Kshatriyas. The BJP has also roped in retired Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadoria, another Thakur from Bah who recently joined the party to pacify the Thakurs. , Bhadoria held a roadshow for the BJP candidate. Chahar is mainly relying on the ModiYogi factor to stay afloat. As for the Congress, its leadership is trying to put in more effort to wrest the seat. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi is scheduled to hold a roadshow in Fatehpur Sikri on Friday . Besides, Sikarwar has his own following. He resides in the Kheragarh village, often stays in a village temple and travels in a four-wheeler. A Kargil war hero, he retired from the Army in 2004. His popularity especial, ly among the deprived sections, is giving Chahar more worries. The BSP has fielded Ram Niwas Sharma, a Brahmin, making it a quadrangular contest. Sikri has 1.75 lakh Jats, 3.5 lakh Thakurs, 3 lakh Brahmins, 1.4 lakh Kushwahas, 1.25 lakh Nishads, and Muslims and Vaishyas at 1 lakh each. one body found 3 engg students feared drowned in stone quarry e x p r e ss n e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai Three college students who went for a swim in a pool of water collected in an abandoned stone quar ry were feared drowned at Keerapakkam near Guduvanchery on Wednesday evening. While the body of one of the victims was recovered on Thursday morning, a search is on to trace the other two. Police said the students were part of a five-member group that trespassed into the locked and shut quarry premises. According to police, the victims were identified as Deepak Sarathy (20) of Udumalpet, Mohammad Ismail (19) of Mannarkudi, and Vijaysarathy (19) of Dharmapuri. They were all second-year students of a private engineering college located in Kattankulathur. On Wednesday evening, they had gone to water-filled stone quarry for a swim with their friends Surya and Abdul. “The quarry has been shut for nearly 10 years. There were boards and other signs to keep away trespassers but the group climbed over the gate and went inside,” a senior police officer said. The five of them went to the water and started swimming. However, Deepak, Mohammad and Vijayasarathy went into deeper parts and drowned. Continued on p5
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