HYDERABAD  SUNDAY  SEPTEMBER 29, 2024  `12.00  PAGES 24  LATE CITY EDITION SOUTHWEST MONSOON RAINFALL IN JUNE-SEPT PERIOD ABOVE NORMAL India received as much as 927.3 mm of rainfall against the normal seasonal rainfall of 861.3 mm despite the absence of the La Nina factor DELAYED RETREAT OF MONSON RAINS SKYMET BLAMES IT ON CLIMATE CHANGE IMD had earlier predicted that the La Nina factor would come into play during the second half of the monsoon. But there was no show. A scientist said they are yet to figure out the reasons for the bountiful rains. Curiously, the Gangetic plains had deficient rainfall while arid regions received excess rainfall. Monsoon retreat began on Sept 23 as against the Sept 17 normal ■ Punjab, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar recorded deficient rains. Arid regions such as West Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch received excess rainfall during the season ■ Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Weather says, “It is a clear sign of the impact of climate change which has been shifting the rainfall trend” 8% MORE RAINFALL RECORDED IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY DURING THE SEASON 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 NO FORCIBLE SHIFTING OF RESIDENTS FROM MUSI: MAUD CHIEF M A N DA RAV I N D E R R E D DY @ Hyderabad HASSAN NASRALLAH LEBANON Beirut ISRAEL West Bank An orange ball of flame rises up in the air after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut | AP Hezbollah head Nasrallah killed, Khamenei shifted to safe place AGENCIES HEZBOLLAH on Saturday confirmed the death of its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike, which dealt a body blow to the Iran-backed terror outfit. Israel had bombarded Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut below residential buildings on Friday where Nasrallah was holed up, but took 24 hours to confirm the hit. Nasrallah has joined his fellow martyrs, a statement from Hezbollah said adding it would continue its war against Israel for Palestine. Following his death, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is said to have been shifted to a secure location inside his country amid high security Reuters report, ed. Khamenei declared five days of mourning for Nasrallah. “I… offer my condolences for the martyrdom of the great Nasrallah and his martyred companions and announce five days of public mourning in Islamic Iran,” he said in a statement. Israel said it carried out the precise airstrike on Friday when the Hezbollah leadership were at their headquarters south of Beirut. Lebanese Health Ministry said six persons were killed and 91 injured in Israeli strike on its HQ. Besides Nasrallah, Abbas Nilforushan, a prominent general of Revolutionary Guard, died in the same airstrike, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency . Hashem Safieddine, a cousin of Nasrallah, could be the “most likely” successor to Hezbollah, AFP reported. Both the US and Saudi Arabia have put Safieddine, a senior member of Hezbollah’s powerful decision-making Shura Council, on their respective lists as designated “terrorists” in 2017. Meanwhile, the UN refugee chief said on Saturday that 50,000 people fled to Syria amid escalating Israeli air strikes on Lebanon. “More than 50,000 Lebanese and Syrians living in Lebanon have now crossed into Syria fleeing Israeli air strikes,” Filippo Grandi said on X, adding that “well over 200,000 people are displaced inside Lebanon”. Israelis welcomed Nasrallah’s elimination. Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel one day after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel last October 7, which triggered Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza with Hamas. Hezbollah said it was acting in supP9 port of Hamas. Lebanon announced three days of mourning for Nasrallah’s death. Flags to fly at halfmast on public buildings. His cousin Hashem Safieddine could be the most likely successor as Hezbollah head AYATOLLAH KHAMENEI Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced five days of national mourning. Iran vice president warned the killing will lead to Israel’s destruction PRINCIPAL Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development department M Dana Kishore on Saturday said that no resident would be shifted forcibly for the Musi R ive r f r o n t D e ve l o p m e n t Project. “We will start demolitions only after shifting the families with their consent and allotting double bedroom houses to them,” he assured. Addressing the media along with HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath here, he reiterated the government’s resolve to provide compensation double the market value to the owners of land and houses located in the buffer zone of the Musi. “We will abide by the law. How can we blatantly demolish the houses and structures? We will provide them every benefit which they are eligible for as per rules,” he said and revealed that they sought `700 crore from the government to complete the ongoing construction of 2BHK houses and for providing civic amenities. Dana Kishore said that most of the residents were willing to move into 2BHK houses. “We surveyed 974 houses two days ago in Musi and marked 576 of them for demolition. Of these, residents of 406 houses have expressed their willingness to shift into double bedroom flats. Almost 80 percent of people are ready to move out,” he said. “When I recently visited the people living on the river bed, I asked them whether they applied for 2BHK houses. Everyone said that they did, but they were not allotted houses. They assured us that if the government allotted them 2BHKs, they would move out.” “They expressed concern over the education of their children when they shift to new locations. To address this, we convened a meeting with officials of the school education, BC, SC, ST welfare departments and asked them to accommodate the children in residential schools,” said Dana Kishore. He added that employment opportunities would be provided to those in need of jobs. The government discussed with various corporations on extending financial assistance to eligible persons to take up selfemployment, he said and added that women members of families living in the Musi river would be provided skill training apart from being included in self-help groups. CONTINUED ON P4 Families shift with household articles to new 2BHK houses on Saturday | VINAY MADAPU JAISHANKAR TEARS INTO PAK, SAYS ONLY ISSUE LEFT IS VACATING PoK RELEVANCE OF THE U.N. A PROUD MOMENT WITH PREZ President Droupadi Murmu presents a medal to a student during the 21st convocation ceremony of NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad on Saturday | P2 `826 cr for smoother traffic flow in heart of Hyderabad E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad TO improve the road network in Hyderabad and ensure free flow of vehicular traffic, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has sanctioned `826 crore for improvement of all the six junctions around KBR Park under Hyderabad City Innovative and Transformative Infrastructure (HCITI) programme. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is working on designing infrastructure projects as part of HCITI programme to improve the road network in the city . The junctions have been designed to ensure that the entire area will be conflict-free, as there will be no signals anywhere around KBR Park and traffic can flow freely. Traffic going in clockwise direction will move through a series of underpasses while traffic moving in counter-clockwise direction will pass through a series of flyovers. The GHMC has also incorporated designs of rainwater retention structures in the underpasses to make sure that these places do not become CONTINUED ON P5 traffic bottlenecks during monsoon. “The world has changed profoundly and so have its concerns and opportunities. To address both and strengthen the order, it is essential that the UN be the central platform for finding common ground and that it certainly cannot be by remaining anachronistic,’’ Jaishankar said. “By coming together, sharing experiences, pooling resources and strengthening our resolve, we can change the world” EXPRESS READ FIR against FinMin for ‘extortion’ Bengaluru: An FIR was registered against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, ED officials, BJP state president BY Vijayendra and others by Bengaluru police on Saturday. The FIR was based on a complaint filed by the Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath (JSP), alleging extortion by Nirmala | P5 Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi EXTERNAL Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday lit into Pakistan for making cross-border terror part of its state policy and said the only issue left to be resolved is the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan. “Countries get left behind due to circumstances beyond their control but some make conscious choices with disastrous consequences a premier example is our neighbour Pakistan,” said Jaishankar while addressing the UN General Assembly in New York. Jaishankar said that the misdeeds of countries like Pakistan affect others as well, especially the neighbourhood when its policy instills such fanaticism among its people that its GDP can only be measured in terms of radicalisation and its exports in the form of terrorism. “Today we see the ills it sought to visit on others consume its own society It can’t . blame it on the world; this is one karma,’’ he quipped. A dysfunctional nation (Pa- kistan) on coveting the lands of others must be exposed and must be countered. “I heard some bizarre assertions at this very forum yesterday so let me make India’s position perfectly clear. Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism policy will never succeed and it can have no expectation of impunity On the contrary actions . will certainly have consequences. The issue to be resolved between us now is only the vacation of the illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan and of course the abandonment of Pakistan’s long standing attachment to terrorism,’’ Jaishankar said. He also spoke about the resolution of conflicts through dialogue and reforms in the UN, which began with 51 members and now has 193. Another son-rise in DMK, Udhaya named Dy CM E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai THE much-anticipated elevation of DMK scion Udhayanidhi Stalin as Deputy Chief Minister and the cabinet reshuffle was announced on Saturday night. Apart from being the Deputy Chief Minister, Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Udhayanidhi will additionally handle the portfolios of Planning and Development. As part of the Cabinet reshuffle, former ministers V Senthil Balaji, who recently got bail after prolonged incarceration in a money laundering case, and S M Nasar, who was dropped from the cabinet last year, are being reinducted. Govi Che zhian, the MLA of Thiruvidaimar udur reserved constituency, who is also the chief gover nment whip in the Assembly, and R Rajendran, who is the Salem North MLA, have been named new ministers. They two are being inducted after dropping Milk and Dairy Development Minister Mano Thangaraj, Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils Welfare Minister Gingee K S Masthan, and Minister for Tourism K Ramachandran from the cabinet. A release from the Raj Bhavan said that the Governor has accepted the recommendations of Chief Minister M K Stalin regarding the cabinet changes. The swearing-in ceremony of the four minister-designates will happen on Sunday at 3.30 pm, the release said. WITH THIS ISSUE GEN Z-KASHMIR A NEW TIDE PLUS 12 PAGES Ponguleti’s son took hawala route to buy watches? S I D D H A R T H P R A B H A K A R @ Chennai P Harsha Reddy the son of Tel, angana Revenue Minister Srinivasa Reddy personally collect, ed four high-end luxury watches from an intermediary in Macau in January this year after payments for them were made by his accountant P Subramanyam using USDT (a form of cryptocurrency) and hawala, sources said citing evidence available with central agencies including Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED on Friday searched at least 16 places linked to the minister and his son, who is a director of the family-owned Raghava Constructions, in Telangana. Harsha has been identified as the buyer of the watches, sources said. Mohammed Faherdeen Mubeen, a Chennaibased intermediary, had been allegedly tasked with buying seven luxury watches costing about `5 crore from a shop in Hong P Harsha Reddy Kong by another intermediary and Vijaywada native Alokam Naveen Kumar on behalf of Harsha Reddy, intelligence sources said citing evidence in the ongoing investigation. Harsha had allegedly bought the watches to be given as gifts in a family wedding, sources said. The watches he wanted to buy were Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Rolex, brands which are not available in India. Legal import of these watches attracts a customs duty in excess of 40%. Mubeen was in the business of buying such luxury watches from a specific shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, a tourist hub in Hong Kong. He would later sell the watches, which are not available in India, to the high-net-worth individuals (HNI), sources said. Subramanyam reportedly made payments to the tune of `5 crore through USDT and hawala money routed through Hyderabad and Mumbai, sourcCONTINUED ON P5 es said.