hyderabad l monday l july 06, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Legendary Pandavani folk singer Teejan Bai dies at 70 Took Chhattisgarh’s folk art to world stage Legendary Pandavani folk singer Teejan Bai, who took Chhattisgarh’s traditional storytelling art to global audiences, died on Sunday at the age of 70 Known for her powerful voice, commanding stage presence and expressive style, she transformed Pandavani from a regional folk tradition into an internationally acclaimed art form, performing extensively in India and abroad. She was honoured with the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan for her contributions to Indian folk arts 1956 Irreparable loss to art and culture: PM ■ She breathed her last at 3.15 am at AIIMS, Raipur, where she had been undergoing treatment since May 27, hospital sources said ■ “She gave Chhattisgarh’s folk art a unique global identity through her magnificent performances. Her passing is an irreparable loss to the world of art and culture,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X she was born in Ganiyari village in Durg district of Chhattisgarh 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 India plans seabed sensors to hunt Chinese, Pak subs DRDO floats Expression of Interest to identify industry partner J AVARIA RA N A @ New Delhi INDIA plans to have eyes and ears on the Indian Ocean seabed. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is on the lookout for an industry partner to develop and deploy an Underwater Fiber Optic Sensing System (UFOSS), a network of sensors that will keep round-the-clock watch on submarines prowling India’s waters. Kochi-based Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), the DRDO’s underwater warfare lab, has floated an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the development, deployment and commissioning of the system. The network will comprise seabed sensor nodes linked by subsea fibre-optic cables to a shore station where the data will be received, monitored and analysed. According to the EOI, the UFOSS will comprise sensor array nodes, subsea cables, junction boxes, and branching units linked through a beach manhole to a shore station. Based on the response to EOI, NPOL will float a Request for Proposal to solicit detailed proposals from shortlisted firms. The selected bidder will be responsible for the entire project, from integration and deployment to commissioning, and lifecycle support for the system’s planned 20-year service life. Execution has been tentatively pegged at 48 months. Unlike ships and aircraft that patrol an area periodically , WHAT IS UFOSS? Underwater Fiber Optic Sensing System (UFOSS) will have a network of seabed sensor nodes that are linked by subsea fibre-optic cables, to keep track of submarines prowling Indian waters It will be a fixed network for 24x7 underwater surveillance It will have a service life of 20 years Sensor Network on seabed Subsea fiBer-optic cables: High-speed data transfer from sensors to onshore station Global Parallels US: SOSUS tracked Soviet submarines during the Cold War Multiple sensor nodes detect underwater disturbance like sound, vibration, pressure or movement US-Japan: ‘Fish Hook’ undersea surveillance architecture in the western Pacific seabed sensor networks keep watch round-the-clock, silently monitoring underwater activity and cueing anti-submarine warfare assets towards potential contacts. The move comes amid thick action in the undersea battlespace. Chinese nuclear and conventional submarines periodically prowl the Indian Ocean region, while Chinese “research” vessels systematically map the region’s waters, collecting invaluable data for future submarine operations. Meanwhile, Pakistan has begun inducting eight Chineseorigin Hangor-class diesel-electric subs with air-independent WHY INDIA NEEDS IT Chinese nuclear and conventional subs are increasingly operating in the Indian Ocean Pakistan is inducting 8 Hangorclass AIP subs India currently has no operational SSN (nuclearpowered attack submarines) Indigenous SSN programme a decade away; Project-75I yet to get approval China: ‘Underwater Great Wall’ of seabed acoustic sensors propulsion. In contrast, India’s underwater modernisation is years away from bridging the gap. The Navy does not currently operate a nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN), with the lease of the Russian Akula-class Chakra III delayed by more than three years. The indigenous programme to build two SSNs, cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in October 2024 at a cost of `40,000 crore, is expected to take a decade before the first boat enters service. The Project-75I programme for six advanced conventional submarines is also yet to receive the CCS’s final approval. France survive heated affair S u da rsa n M a h a ra n a @ Bhubaneswar OVER 20 lakh voters have been dropped from Odisha’s draft electoral roll, released on Sunday at the conclusion of the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a monthlong door-to-door survey conducted across the state. The electorate has come down from 3,33,99,591 in the pre-revision list to 3,13,87,034, a reduction of over 20.12 lakh voters. The draft roll now comprises 1,60,19,176 male voters, 1,53,65,083 female voters and 2,775 third-gender electors, Chief Electoral Officer R S Gopalan said on Sunday . Enumeration forms were collected from nearly 3.13 crore electors, or 93.97 per cent of the total electorate, he said. Of those excluded, 8.32 lakh were identified as dead, while 10.07 lakh had either shifted residence or were untraceable. A further 1.58 lakh were found to have enrolled at more than one location, while 14,000 were dropped for failing to submit their forms before the June 28 deadline. Gopalan said boothlevel officers were unable to trace these electors because they had registered in other states, could not be located, missed the deadline, or declined to enrol for personal reasons. He clarified that genuine electors whose names are missing from the draft electoral roll can still apply for inclusion during the claims and objections period from July 5 to August 4. Similarly, names found enrolled at multiple places will be retained only at one location after due verification. Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday hit back at BRS working president KT Rama Rao, rejecting the latter’s claim that the Kaleshwaram pumps could be switched on immediately Citing directives . of the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), the minister said operating the three barrages before scientific rehabilitation would endanger lives, including those in Bhadrachalam. Addressing reporters, Uttam said the Medigadda (Lakshmi), Annaram and Sundilla barrages would remain in free-flow condition until rehabilitation works are completed, with the government targeting July-August 2027 for completion. Calling the BRS campaign po- litically motivated, Uttam added: “This is not politics. This is engineering and public safety .” He accused the BRS of misleading farmers and the public by portraying a complex engineering issue as a simple operational decision. “The pumps cannot be operated as the NDSA has prohibited operation of the three barrages until scientific rehabilitation is completed and their safety is certified,” Uttam said. He said the barrages could be operated only after comprehensive testing, rehabilitation and mandatory clearances from the NDSA and the Central Water Commission (CWC). “Our responsibility is to protect lives, safeguard public investment and restore the project scientifically Safety is non-negotiable,” . he said.  continued on p4 Trump thanks FIFA for ‘reversing injustice’ Last laugh for star forward US President Donald Trump on Sunday thanked FIFA for suspending Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban and allowing the US striker to play in the World Cup co-hosts’ last-16 showdown against Belgium. “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” president Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Mbappe got the last laugh as he scored his 19th career World Cup goal, and France survived stifling heat to win the tie, sending Les Bleus into the quarterfinals for the fourth straight time Today’s matches (Round of 16): CURE for old law to increase property tax S B a c h a n J ee t S i n g h @ Hyderabad If the draft Core Urban Region (Integrated Governance) Bill, 2026, is implemented, property owners across Hyderabad’s core urban region may soon have to pay double the tax. The Bill proposes replacing the existing Annual Rental Value (ARV)-based property tax system with a Capital Value System (CVS), a shift officials say is likely to significantly increase property tax collections and the tax payable by owners if the legislation is implemented. The state government has released the draft Bill for public consultation, proposing to replace the nearly 70-year-old GHMC Act (originally enacted as the Hyderabad Municipal Corporations Act, 1955). Citizens, Resident Welfare Associations, industry bodies and other stakeholders can submit suggestions until July 24 through their respective civic body (GHMC, CMC or MMC) Even as the state faces drought-like conditions, the government is allowing water to go to waste. It should immediately restart the Kannepalli pumps and fill reservoirs... It is deliberately withholding water because it fears the financial burden of procuring larger harvests, supplying fertilisers and paying bonuses to farmers KT Rama Rao, BRS working president   The pumps cannot be operated as the NDSA has prohibited the operation of the three barrages until scientific rehabilitation is completed and their safety is certified. This is not politics. This is engineering and public safety... Had the BRS constructed these barrages properly, the situation today would have been entirely different N Uttam Kumar Reddy, irrigation minister taxation, et al  Shift from Annual Rental Value (ARV) to Capital Value System (CVS)  Property tax likely to increase significantly, possibly double  Rebates for timely payment  Octroi and dog tax to be abolished website. The proposed legislation seeks to establish a unified governance framework for the Core Urban Region, while retaining decentralised administration at the corporation level. Among the Bill’s most significant proposals is the shift from the ARV-based property tax system to a Capital Value System, under which tax will be linked to the market value of properties rather than their rental value. Municipal officials said the change is expected to substantially increase Filmmaker Sasi, in a recent interview, was unable to wrap his head around the possibility of critics crying while watching a film, even if it was his own. He wasn’t buying it. He felt it was an exaggeration. Maybe critics aren't supposed to admit such things. We spend our lives pulling films apart—writing about performances, intent and craft. Somewhere along the way comes the unspoken belief that you should never completely surrender to what is unfolding on screen. You’re expected to keep a safe distance. But that isn’t how most of us fell in love with cinema. Long before previews, dead- lines and ratings, films were simply magic. You walked into a theatre hoping to be transported. Every now and then, despite yourself, that still happens. Main Vaapas Aaunga did that to me, largely because of Naseeruddin Shah. As Ishar Singh Grewal—Keenu to the woman he has spent a lifetime remembering—he barely raises his voice. He doesn’t need to. A pause, a glance, a sentence left unfinished; somehow they carry the weight of decades. Partition memoir Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the movie is a slow burn of love, memory, and unresolved grief rooted in the Partition Films on Partition have often been about violence and migration. This one is about something quieter: an old man’s promise. History is still there, but it reaches us through memory longing and all the conver, s at i o n s t h at we re n eve r finished. I watched the film in Chennai, thousands of kilometres from where Partition unfolded. at a glance Ease of doing business  GIS-based street development plans  Universal design standards  Underground utility corridors  Deemed approval for buildings  Graded civil penalties instead of criminal action  Single trade licence for businesses  Framework for a night-time economy property tax liability, with some estimates indicating it could nearly double for many property owners. The Bill also proposes rebates for timely payment of property tax while abolishing obsolete levies such as octroi and dog tax. GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan said the existing GHMC Act has failed to keep pace with Hyderabad’s transformation from a city of around 15 lakh people to a metropolitan region with a population of about 1.30 crore. “The new legislation creates a unified gover nance seat for Trans person  One transgender member in municipal authorities proposed to submit suggestions  Citizens, RWAs, industry bodies and other stakeholders can submit suggestions until July 24 through their respective civic body website framework for GHMC, CMC and MMC while preserving the core municipal structure,” he told TNIE. Most existing provisions relating to municipal corporations, standing committees, commissioners, ward committees, elections, borrowing powers and basic property tax administration have been retained. The draft, however, proposes the inclusion of a transgender member in municipal authorities and removes certain outdated electoral disqualifications. continued on p5 urgent missive CM flags Metro delays, urges Centre to move on valuation E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad With delays threatening to escalate costs and stall expansion plans, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has urged the Union government to immediately initiate the financial evaluation of Hyderabad Metro Rail’s Phase-1 takeover and Phase-2 expansion. In separate letters to two Union ministers, the chief minister warned that prolonged inaction is creating operational uncertainty and delaying funding arrangements for the next phase of the project. On Sunday Revanth wrote , When cinema lowers our defences @ Chennai I had never played a match like this, with so many hits. I mean, cheap shots, shoves in the back. So, yes, it was complicated. — Manu Kone, France midfielder Portugal vs Spain | 12:30 AM*; USA vs Belgium | 5:30 AM* (*IST Tuesday) Main Vaapas Aaunga Av i n as h Ra m ac h a n d ra n Mbappe laughed and smiled — and scored, of course — when Paraguay players tried to bait him and his French teammates into fouls and provoke fights. After the final whistle, Mbappe refused the goalkeeper’s extended hands as he kept walking past it. In retaliation, Gill threw the ball at the France captain. It was one of several flashpoints during the contest Kylian Mbappe & Co edge past Paraguay in a tough battle to set up quarterfinal clash against Morocco. Talking points... SIR: 20 lakh Switching on KLIS pumps risky, says Uttam excluded from Odisha’s draft electoral roll E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Physical battle When the lights came on, there were the usual attempts to hide it. People suddenly became very interested in their phones. Conversations began a minute later than they normally would. Most of us had never known Partition. That didn't seem to matter. By the time Keenu unfolds an old, crumpled poem, with A R Rahman’s music gently rising beneath Irshad Kamil’s words, you aren’t confusing fiction with reality The film has qui. etly prepared you for that moment. So, do critics cry? Sometimes, yes. Not because they stop being critics. But because, every once in a while, a film reminds them of the person who first walked into a darkened theatre simply hoping to be moved. to Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, seeking the immediate appointment of State Bank of India Capital Markets Limited (SBI CAPS) to undertake the valuation of Metro Phase-1 for its proposed takeover by the Telangana government and to examine the f i n a n c i a l s t r u c t u re o f Phase-2. The letters follow discussions held in New Delhi on June 23 and 24 with Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw, Khattar and Kishan Reddy on issues affecting Hyderabad Metro.  continued on p5 125th BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF DR SYAMA PRASAD MOOKERJEE Few leaders in modern India embody the confluence of intellect, public service and moral conviction as profoundly as Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, writes Prime Minister Narendra Modi | P7 Child abuse ads: Meta gets government notice D i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi The government has issued a stern notice to Meta over paid advertisements on Instagram, that allegedly promote Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material. The company has been directed to immediately disable such advertisements and related content, two government sources confirmed on Sunday . In the notice, the government asked the company to submit a detailed explanation within seven days on how such advertisements were approved and displayed on the platform despite its content moderation systems. The order, issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Satur- day, instructed Instagram to remove all advertisements and content that promote or facilitate access to CSEAM. The latest action comes a day after Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw directed officials to summon Meta over Instagram advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material in India. The government acted following a BBC probe that found questionable advertisements on Instagram with terms such as “rape video” and “child video”. According to the report, the advertisements redirected users to Telegram channels where child sexual abuse material was allegedly being sold for as little as `99.