U.S., France urge Israel, Lebanon to pause fight The US, France and other allies jointly called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire on Thursday to give room for negotiations to de-escalate tensions. Israel has rejected the truce proposal and vowed to continue fighting. The Indian Embassy in Beirut urged Indians to avoid travelling to Lebanon and advised those present there to leave at the earliest | PTI | P11 HYDERABAD FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 38 LATE CITY EDITION 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 37 kids among 46 drowned after holy dip across Bihar An official marks “RB-X” on a house, as part of the survey of structures along Musi riverbed at Chaderghat in Hyderabad on Thursday | Jivitputrika festival is celebrated by mothers for the well-being of children VINAY MADAPU Musi facelift starts amid protests from residents S B A C H A N J E E T S I N G H @ Hyderabad WORK on the Musi Riverfront Development Project (MRDP) gathered pace on Thursday with officials from Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts surveying structures on the Musi riverbed and its catchment areas even as the occupants tried to obstruct them. The survey is part of the state government’s efforts to expedite the MRDP aimed at con, serving the river, promoting t o u r i s m a n d p reve n t i n g flooding. In several places, including KCR Nagar, Ramanthapur and others, residents insisted that they would not vacate their homes and were ready to lay down their lives to protect their properties. They claimed to possess valid pattas and documentation, having lived in these areas for decades while paying property tax and utility bills. Ignoring the slogan shoutings, officials labeled the encroachments “RB-X” (riverbed extreme) using red paint, indicating they would be demolished after residents were rehabilitated. Officials also collected details from residents, including Aadhaar numbers, age, caste and tenant inCONTINUED ON P2 formation. R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna AS many as 46 people, including 37 children, drowned in the last 24 hours while taking a holy bath in rivers and ponds across Bihar as part of the three-day Jivitputrika festival’s celebrations, which began on Wednesday Four . women were among the 46 who lost their lives. Women observe fast for the well-being of their children to mark the occasion. The threeday festival began with nahay khay (fasting) when devotees take a holy dip in rivers and ponds. Wednesday’s deaths were reported from 15 districts of the state. “A total of 43 bodies have been recovered so far. Further search operations are underway the Bihar disaster manage,” ment department said. People blamed the casualties on the lack of crowd management near water bodies. “There NO ARRANGEMENT TO MANAGE CROWD, COMPLAIN PARENTS People mourn after their family members drowned in Aurangabad of Bihar | PTI “Had the administration made arrangements for proper crowd management at the river ghats and village ponds, such tragedies could have been averted,” said Radheshyam, another parent whose 12-year-old daughter Shobha Kumari drowned. Last year, 22 had died in the state during the Jivitputrika festival was no deployment of the state disaster response team at any of the water bodies in the district,” said Upendra Yadav, father of eight-year-old Ankaj Kumar, a resident of Kusaha in Aurangabad district. Jaglal Rai, who lost his 14-yearold daughter Rikki Kumari, said his daughter had gone for taking bath in the village pond when tragedy struck. Rai, a resident of Olhanpur village in Saran district, said his daughter was part of a group of women and girls who had gone to the pond for a holy dip. Incidents of drowning were reported in East Champaran, West Champaran, Aurangabad, Nalanda, Kaimur, Buxar, Siwan, Rohtas, Saran, Patna, Vaishali, M u z a f f a r p u r, S a m a s t i p u r, Gopalganj and Arwal districts. While eight persons died in Aurangabad, seven in Kaimur, five each in Patna, Saran, East Champaran, three in West Champaran, three in Rohtas, two each in Vaishali, Samastipur and Muzaffarpur, one each in Gopalganj and Arwal districts, respectively . Sena, TMC spat at Waqf Bill JPC’s meeting at Mumbai P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi A meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, in Mumbai Thursday witnessed tumultuous scenes after a verbal spat between TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee and Shiv Sena (Shinde)’s Naresh Maske. Sources said that the Opposition boycotted the meeting for half an hour after the ruckus. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Maharashtra government, Ministry of Minority Affairs, state Waqf Board, state Minority Commis- sion and various NGOs. Sources said Maske and Banerjee locked horns after the latter intervened during an NGO’s submission before the panel, in support of the Waqf Bill. Speaking to TNIE, an MP said the witness from the NGO spoke to the TMC leader in a disre- spectful manner, which irked the Opposition. “Banerjee asked the chairman to take action against the witness. But the Sena MP supported the person. Later, the chairman asked the witness to apologise, which he didn’t. The Opposition then walked out,” he said. Speaking to the media, Maske alleged that Banerjee asked the NGO representatives to get out of the meeting as they supported the bill. “Witnesses from the Gulshan Foundation were present to discuss the Waqf Amendment Bill. However, Kalyan Banerjee shouted at them and called for their removal. I will not allow such behaviour,” he said. Realtors stop Dalit family from carrying out cremation E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Adilabad A group of people, reportedly realtors, prevented a Dalit family from cremating a relative over an alleged land dispute in Mandamarri mandal of Mancherial district. The incident reportedly took place on Tuesday but came to light on Thursday . Learning of the matter, the Mandamarri tahsildar and circle inspector went to the spot and ensured that the last rites were performed smoothly . According to locals, members of a Nethakani family, residents of Burdagudem village, brought the body of a relative for cremation. They claimed that one Kalvakuntala Madhav Rao had donated the land to the Dalit community around 80 years ago to establish a crematorium. However, N Upender Goud and Venkatesh Goud, along with their associates, claimed that they had bought the land and obstructed Durgam Shankar and his son Srinivas from performing the cremation. Later, police and revenue officials intervened and overCONTINUED ON P7 saw the cremation. WORLD TOURISM DAY GREETINGS Sri ANUMULA REVANTH REDDY Hon’ble Chief Minister Telangana State Sri MALLU BHATTI VIKRAMARKA Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister Telangana State Sri JUPALLY KRISHNA RAO Hon’ble Minister for Tourism & Culture Telangana government will unveil new tourism policy, with the aim to attract more international and domestic tourists. Tourism department is developing temple circuits, ecotourism circuits and tribal circuits. Focused on the developing river cruises, watersports, trekking and rock climbing. Buddhavanam Project Amrabad Tiger Reserve Tapping the potential from world-class heritage monuments to natural beauty. Identifying and developing properties that have tourist appeal. Developing Iconic tourist destinations like the Buddhavanam - Nagarjunasagar, Nallamala-Somasila, Ramappa and Kaleshwaram - Manthani. Tourism department determined to make Telangana state a preferred wedding destination. Bogatha Falls Vikarabad and Bhuvanagiri fort will be developed on the lines of international tourist destinations. Somasila Ramappa Temple DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM & CULTURE GOVT OF TELANGANA Nagarjuna Sagar Dam
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