WEDNESDAY 02 OCTOBER, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard THAILAND SCHOOL KIDS AMONG 23 BURNT TO DEATH A MATCH OVER IN SEVEN SESSIONS A fire on a Thai school bus killed at least 23 people, police said on Tuesday after rescuers pulled children’s bodies from the charred wreckage of the vehicle. ■ ■ A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 MUDA acts swiftly, cancels 14 sites allotted to Siddu’s wife E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Mysuru THE Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) on Tuesday evening cancelled the sale deeds of 14 sites that were returned by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi, just 24 hours after her request was made public. These sites, granted under the 50:50 compensation scheme for acquisition of 3.16 acres of land owned by Parvathi, snowballed into a major controversy and the Lokayukta police filed an FIR against the CM and his relatives, following an order by a special court. Confirming the cancellation, MUDA Commissioner AN Raghunandan told this newspaper that Congress MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, on behalf of Parvathi, gave a letter at 9.30 am on Tuesday “After consult. ing legal experts and following certain procedures and acts, we officially canceled the sale deeds. The local sub-registrar has been asked to cancel the sale deeds related to the 14 sites,” Raghunandan said. Stating that it was a first-of-its kind case in MUDA, Raghunandan said, “Since certain procedures and acts allowed us to do so, we cancelled the sites allotted to Parvathi.” Parvathi’s letter to the MUDA commissioner went viral on social media. The swift action of MUDA came as a surprise to many people. Senior and retired MUDA officials noted that the ownership documents of the 14 sites were issued in Parvathi’s name long ago. “We thought this would complicate the process. Despite this, MUDA cancelled the sale deeds and took back the sites,” said a retired officer. This development seems to have brought some relief to Siddaramaiah. On whether the Lokayukta sought any documents from MUDA, Raghunandan said, “The agency had sought our cooperation. We will extend it.” EXPRESS READ Severe winter after surplus rain, says IMD After extreme summer heat and above-normal monsoon rainfall, get ready for a harsh winter as the IMD has predicted higher chances of drop in minimum temperatures in November-December due to the emergence of La Nina factor | P7 NEW DELHI J8.00 PAGES 12 Situation in LAC remains sensitive, says Army chief 63.5% overall, M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi THE situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh is stable, but remains sensitive, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi said on Tuesday . Though “positive signalling” is emerging from the diplomatic talks with China on the resolution of the boundary row, the execution of any plan depends on the military commanders on the ground, he said. The Army Chief was speaking at a Chanakya Defence Dialogue. India and China held two rounds of diplomatic talks in July and August to find an early resolution of outstanding issues in their standof f on the LAC in eastern Ladakh. “But when it comes to the execution on the ground, when it relates to ground per se, it is dependent on the military commanders on both sides to take decisions,” Gen Dwivedi said at the event organised by the Army in collaboration with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, a Delhi-based think tank. “We want the situation that existed pre-April 2020 restored, whether it’s ground occupation/situation, buffer zones created or the patrolling that has been planned. Till that situation is restored, the situation remains sensitive and we are fully operationally prepared to face any contingency,” he added. On the military’s approach PHOTO: AP towards China, he said: “You have to compete, cooperate, coexist, confront and contest.” The Army has stood by its stand about patrolling the LAC. When China moved in troops in April 2020, it was the breach of all five agreements/understandings signed in 1993. Several rounds of talks with China have taken place since the 2020 clash in eastern Ladakh. India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. turnout betters LS polls in J&K F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar Gen Upendra Dwivedi | PTI 8 VILLAGERS KILLED IN 12 DAYS LEOPARD ON THE PROWL IN RAJ, SHOOT ORDERED R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Jaipur Iran fires 180 ballistic missiles against Israel Most shot down, some landed in central, south Israel AGENCIES IRAN on Tuesday fired dozens of ballistic missiles against Israel, days after the latter eliminated Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia’s chief Hassan Nasrallah. A series of windowshaking explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem, though it was not immediately clear whether the sounds were from missile landings or interception, or both. However, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said there were isolated impacts of the missiles in central Israel and several more in the country’s south. Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the country’s air defence system was fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats. “However, the defence is not hermetic,” he said. The IDF said they intercepted a large number of the 180 missiles launched by Iran. The US participated in the air defence, both by detecting the threat from Iran and intercepting some of the missiles, The Times of Israel quoted the military as saying. US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris monitored the attack from the White House Situation Room. Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz tweeted, “Iran has made a mistake, it has put its nuclear facilities on the board as fair game.” However, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened to carry out crushing attacks against Israel if it retaliates. “If the Zionist regime reacts to Iranian operations, it will face crushing attacks,” it said in a statement. It added that it targeted three military bases near Tel Aviv. As soon as the air raids began, Israel issued orders to its nationals on their mobile phones and on national television to quickly take shelter. Iran’s missile attacks came a day after Israel revealed it had begun limited ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Hours before the attack, the US issued an alert saying it was imminent. But Iran’s mission in the UN claimed it did not give the US prior notice of the attack. “No notice was given to the US prior to our response; however, a serious warning was issued afterwards,” the Iranian mission said. As for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he remained in a P9 secure location. US ships joined the fight The US said its destroyers joined Israeli air units against ‘defeated and ineffective’ Iranian ballistic missile attack. The US had earlier warned Iran there would be severe consequences in the event of an attack This ballistic missile strike by Iran will have consequences. The attack caused only very few injuries... The country’s the defence is not hermetic Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Israeli military spokesman GREEN PUSH 1st hydrogen train to start trial run in Dec RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi INDIA will soon become the fifth country to run hydrogenfuelled trains, after Germany, France, Sweden, and China. Indian Railways has awarded a pilot project for reto-fitment of hydrogen fuel cell in existing DEMU (diesel electric multiple unit) trains, along with the necessary ground infrastructure. The first prototype of hydrogen-fuelled train is set to run on the Jind-Sonipat section in Haryana under the Northern Railway zone by December 2024. A senior railway official said the integration of the prototype train is going on at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is personally over- Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin, three of India’s biggest bowling match-winners, turned up on the morning of Day 5 to dent the visitors’ efforts Once they were bowled out in the first session, a target of 95 was never going to trouble the Indians. India need to win three of their remaining eight matches in the current cycle to seal a place in next year’s final at Lord’s | P11 seeing this eco-friendly railway project, sources said. After trials, the railway will introduce 35 hydrogen trains under Hydrogen for Heritage initiative, investing over `80 crore for each train and `70 crore for infrastructure development across various heritage and hill routes. Terming this a major move that will contribute to India’s target of achieving net zero carbon emissions, officials said using hydrogen as a fuel source offers significant benefits for green transportation. The railway has received approval for a hydrogen plant from the Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organization, and on-board hydrogen safety assessments are being conducted by leading agencies, including TUV-SUD Germany officials said. , Among the heritage routes targeted for the introduction of hydrogen trains are the Matheran-Hill Railway, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, KalkaShimla Railway Kangra Valley , , and Nilgiri Mountain Railways, officials said. Once these trials are successfully completed, the routes will be operational within the next three years, showcasing India’s rich cultural and natural heritage, they added. Why it’s important Being a clean fuel, hydrogen can transform the green transportation technology and support India’s zero carbon emission goals What to expect Initially, 35 H-powered trains will be launched, with each having a composition of six cars, on eight heritage routes THE Rajasthan government has issued shoot-on-sight orders to tackle the growing danger of a man-eater leopard in villages of Udaipur district which has killed eight people in the last 12 days. The killing of a temple priest on Sunday night created more panic among the people in Gogunda region of Udaipur. The shoot orders were issued by Chief Forest Conservator Pawan Kumar Upadhyay . Angry villagers, mourning the loss of yet another life, blocked NH-27 on Tuesday Although officials managed to . calm the crowd, the villagers refused to allow the latest victim, a woman’s body to be taken away Forest Minister San, . jay Sharma has told the people that the Army help has been enlisted and that the leopard will most likely be killed. Officials said three conditions must be followed: The first is to capture the leopard alive. If it fails, it should be identified and shot and the third is that daily progress reports must be sent to the headquarters. THE third and final phase of assembly polls in 40 seats in J&K on Tuesday witnessed 68.72% voter turnout, two percentage points more than the recent Lok Sabha elections. With the first and the second phases recording 61.38% and 57.31% polling respectively, the overall percentage was 63.45%, up from 59.65% in the LS elections. Brisk polling was reported in all separatist bastions in north Kashmir while there was greater enthusiasm in the Jammu region, where the West Pa k i s t a n Re f u g e e s, Valmikis and Gorkhas got to exercise their franchise for the first time in the Assembly polls. In all separatist bastions, including Palhalan, Pattan, Baramulla, Rafiabad and Sopore, voters made a beeline at polling A woman shows after stations. These and many casting her vote in other areas in north Kash- Bandipora on Tuesday | mir used to witness low ZAHOOR PUNJABI turnout in the past but this time there was enthusiasm among the voters who waited to exercise their democratic right. In Sopore, another stronghold of separatists and terrorists, the polling was moderate. But it was for the first time that people in Sopore openly came out to vote. The Sopore constituency recorded 41.44% tur nout, which is the highest there in over three decades. P8
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.