chennai l Monday l October 21, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Female cheetah to soon give birth to cubs at Kuno National Park Veera, one of the South African cheetahs at the park, is pregnant and is expected to deliver soon, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said Boost for Project Cheetah, says MP CM Lowest survival rate among felines “Happiness is coming to Kuno… A female cheetah is soon going to give birth to cubs at the KNP. This news is a symbol of the great achievement of the Cheetah Project. The project started under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi is proving to be continuously improving the ecological balance,” Yadav wrote in a post on social media platform X while sharing the information ■ ■ ■ In September 2022, the prime minister released five female and three male cheetahs brought from Namibia into the Kuno National Park In February 2023, 12 more cheetahs were translocated from South Africa According to wildlife literature, among all feline family cubs, cheetah cubs have the lowest survival rate with only 5% reaching adulthood | P8 17 Number of Cubs born in the Kuno park in the past two years; 12 have survived 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 Brinkmanship as Uddhav’s Sena, Cong bicker on 15 Both refuse to yield; grand old party looks to contest from more if push comes to shove as early as Monday . “The party leadership told us While the BJP announced its that the Congress should prefirst list for 99 candidates for pare to contest 150 to 160 seats the assembly elections on Sun- as a contingency plan if push day, politics of brinkmanship comes to shove. We were ready played out in the Opposition for 110-120 seats; now we have Maha Vikas Aghadi between to expand our horizon and look the Congress and the Uddhav for potential candidates. We Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, par- have started tapping Congress ticularly over 15 seats in the Vi- aspirants from other constitudarbha region and elsewhere. encies to get a sense of their Since the Congress winning potential,” the has a better strike rate RJD may go leader said, requesting it alone in anonymity. in Vidarbha, it does not want to yield. But Ud- Jharkhand Another Congress dhav is equally stub- With the rift in leader claimed that the born and the dispute Uddhav Sena neither the ruling has reached Delhi. has presence in these INDIA bloc After the Congress’ widening over 15 seats nor does it have refusal, Uddhav called candidates, yet they are seat sharing, a meeting of his senior the RJD said it adamant about them. party leaders to weigh may go solo in “If the Uddhav Sena his options and decide eventually contests the assembly on the next steps. Earfrom these seats, all of polls in lier in the day, his son Jharkhand. The them would easily fall Aditya and Anil Parab party wants to into the ruling Mahaymet former Union min- contest 18-20 uti’s pocket. The Sena ister Sharad Pawar to seats but has (UBT) should underfind a middle ground to stand the gravity of the been offered resolve the situation. situation and back off,” just 4-5 | P7 A meeting of the he said. Congress election and screenHowever, a Sena (UBT) leader ing committee, scheduled in accused the Congress of being Delhi on Sunday got cancelled a habitual offender in not giv, due to the stalemate. But for the ing space to its allies. “It should impasse, the party was expect- learn lessons from the Haryana ed to announce its first list of debacle. We are expecting this candidates after the meeting. issue would be resolved soon in A senior Congress leader the larger interests of the from the state, who is in Delhi state,” he said. for the meeting, said they were Uddhav has also asked the advised not to return as the Congress not to stretch things next meeting could take place beyond the breaking point.  P7 Su d h i r Su r yawa n s h i @ Mumbai wool Blankets washed ‘once a month’: railways J o s e K J o s e p h @ Tiruchy How often does the Indian Railways wash the blankets provided to passengers paying for AC coach travel? In an RTI response to TNIE, the Ministry of Railways said the linen provided to passengers is washed after each use but the wool blankets are to be washed “at least once a month, preferably twice in a month, subject to available capacity and logistics arrangements”. TNIE spoke to around 20 housekeeping staff of various long-distance trains, most of whom said the blankets are only washed once a month. They are only washed more frequently if stained or smelly , many said. Asked if Indian Railways charges passengers for blankets, bedsheets and pillow covers, the Railways said in the RTI response, “It’s all part of the train fare package. Further, in trains like Garib Rath and Duronto, the bedroll (pillow, bed sheets, etc.) can be obtained by paying an additional amount for each kit after opting for the option of bedroll while booking the tickets.” The responses were filed by Rishu Gupta, section officer, Environment and Housekeeping Management (EnHM) of the Ministry of Railways. Housekeeping staff of vari- press clusive ous trains, including Duronto, shared the dirty truth of the Railways’ laundry “ . After every trip, we put the bedsheets and pillow covers (the linen) in bundles to give it to the laundry service. In the case of blankets, we fold them neatly and keep them in the coach. We send them for laundry service only if we there is a foul smell or notice some food on it,” a housekeeping staff said. Another housekeeping staff, who had worked on various trains for over 10 years, said there is no monitoring of the cleanliness of the blankets. He said, “There is no guarantee that the blankets are washed twice a month. In most cases, we would give the blankets for washing only if we noticed a foul smell, wetness, vomit, etc. Mysterious blast outside CRPF school in Delhi, multi-agency investigation on U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi A mysterious blast occurred near a CRPF school in Delhi’s Rohini area on Sunday morning, sparking a security alert in the national capital. The blast, which appeared to be triggered by a crude bomb, partially damaged the school’s wall and some cars parked nearby. Nobody was injured. Delhi Police personnel reached the spot soon after the explosion. The National Security Guard and National Investigation Agency also sent their teams to inspect the blast site. Investigators lifted fragments of some white powder from the spot, which indicated the use of a crude bomb having chemical mixture of ammonium nitrate and ammonium chloride. “As of now, we don’t think any improvised explosive device was used as no metal-like substances, shrapnel, or ball bearings were found at the National Security Guard personnel inspect the blast site outside the CRPF school at Prashant Vihar in Rohini area of New Delhi on Sunday morning | Parveen Negi site,” a senior official told this newspaper. DCP (Rohini) Amit Goel said the police was alerted about the blast at 7.50 am. He said the police personnel who rushed to the spot reported foul smell emanating from the area. “The glasses of a nearby shop and some cars parked nearby were shattered. However, no one was injured,” the DCP said. A video of the incident, possibly recorded by some locals, showed thick plumes of smoke billowing from the blast site. “A multi-agency probe is on. I am keeping a constant watch on the progress of the investigation and assure that the guilty will be brought to book. I appeal to all to maintain restrain and not indulge in fear mongering,” Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said. Official sources said there was no intelligence input about any possible disruption. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi blamed the Centre for the blast. “The bomb blast exposes the deteriorating security situation in Delhi. The BJP-led Central government is responsible for law and order in the city However, they spend . their time obstructing the efforts of the elected Delhi government rather than fulfilling their responsibilities. This neglect has resulted in Delhi resembling the 1990s Mumbai underworld era, with shootings, extortion, and rising criminal confidence,” she said. Mother, kin murder man over property dispute; held 90 and counting as 25 more Indian flights get hoax bomb threats EX P RESS NE W S SERV I CE @ Tiruppur S h e k h a r Si n g h @ New Delhi A 60-year-woman, her daughter and son-in-law were among five arrested in Gudimangalam in Tiruppur district on Saturday night for murdering the woman’s son over a property dispute last week and attempting to stage it as a suicide. According to police, the deceased — identified as V Sivakumar (37) — had been living with his mother V Ponnuthai (60) since his f ather Veluswamy’s passing 12 years ago. Veluswamy had owned five acres of farmland, the title of which was transferred to Ponnuthai after his death. Sivakumar’s elder sister M Thilagavathi (39) lived with her husband N Moorthi (42) in Ponnapuram, Dharapuram. Sivakumar’s two younger brothers had died some years ago, police said. On October 18, Sivakumar was found dead inside a well on the farmland. Ponnuthai allegedly informed Gudimangalam police that her inebriated son had died by suicide. Police retrieved the body and sent it to the Udumalaipet Government Hospital for autopsy, during which it was found that Sivakumar had sustained a severe head injury. Police initiated a probe into the matter. Initial investigations revealed that Sivakumar, who was an alcoholic, often got into quarrels with his mother and sister demanding his portion of the family property  P5 . Seer samman Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Kanchi Shankaracharya Vijayendra Saraswati Swamigal at an event to inaugurate the RJ Sankara Eye Hospital, in Varanasi on Sunday. Run by the Kanchi Math, the hospital aims to cater to the needs of people in 20 districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh as well as those in the border areas of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh | PTI | P8 Man misses interest payment, Nellai loanshark beats his mother to death Express n e ws s e rvi ce @ Tirunelveli A 61-year-old woman died after allegedly being brutally beaten by a moneylender and his relative on Saturday, as her son was unable to pay the exorbitant monthly interest on a loan of `1 lakh. Both men were arrested the same day by Tirunelveli city police, who are also searching for a third suspect. According to police, the deceased has been identified as S Savithri of CN Village, a roadside vegetable vendor near Tirunelveli Junction. Her son Kannan (35) is employed as a loadman at the Nainarkulam market. “Kannan had borrowed `1 lakh from one Kaliraj (42) from the same area to cover his mother’s medical expenses. He had been paying around `10,000 as monthly interest. However, last month, he could not make the payment, leading to Kaliraj (42) and his relative Anandraj (42) confronting Savithri at her home,” said sources. Following this, Savithri lodged a plaint with the Tirunelveli Junction police against the duo. Angered by this, Kaliraj and Anandraj allegedly attacked Kannan with a knife at Nainarkulam market two days ago. Kannan was admitted to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) for treatment, sources said. “Subsequently, on Saturday, Kaliraj and Anandraj went to Savithri’s house again and brutally beat her with an iron rod. Her neighbours rushed her to TvMCH, where she succumbed to her severe injuries,” police said.  P5 Kozhikode-Dammam in Saudi Arabia, Pune-Jodhpur, and Hoax bomb threats continued Goa-Ahmedabad sectors. to disrupt the aviation sector Akasa Air said six flights — for the seventh consecutive day Ahmedabad to Mumbai, Delhi on Sunday, grounding planes to Goa, Mumbai to Bagdogra, and unnerving passengers. Delhi to Hyderabad, Kochi to As many as 25 flights Mumbai and Lucknow across major carriers— to Mumbai — received IndiGo, Vistara, Air Insecurity alerts. “The dia and Akasa Air— Akasa Air Emergency were forced into Response teams were emergency security in touch with security measures after receivand regulatory authoriing hoax threats. Since ties,” said an airline X handle October 14, over 90 Inspokesperson. blocked dian flights have been Sources said six Air On Sunday, a af fected by similar India flights, too, faced handle on bomb scares. a similar situation social media Though these threats though its officials did turned out to be fake, platform X that not share the number. had issued the fallout is real: deThey, however, conlayed flights, disrupted bomb threats firmed that some flights schedules, and mount- to some flights were subject to security was blocked ing anxiety among pasthreats received on sosengers and airlines. cial media. “Following “We received security threats the laid down protocols, releon six of our flights,” a Vistara vant authorities were immedispokesperson said, listing major ately alerted, and all security international routes — Delhi to procedures strictly adhered to, Frankfurt, Singapore to Mum- as per guidance from the regubai, Bali to Delhi, Singapore to latory authorities and security Delhi, Singapore to Pune, and agencies,” said an official. Mumbai to Singapore. While the source of bomb Six of the affected IndiGo threats has largely been conflights included those on the fined to social media, their Delhi-Istanbul, Mumbai-Istan- growing number and frequency b u l , J e d d a h - M u m b a i , are a cause of concern. nz champs White Ferns beat South Africa by 32 runs to win their first T20 world cup Amelia Kerr produced an allround performance — 43 runs and three wickets — in the final to top off what has been a fairytale ride for the Kiwis to win the global title | P11 In certain cases, we immediately ensure a clean blanket is provided if the passenger raises complaints.” A retired senior officer of EnHM opined that the Railways should discontinue the use of wool blankets. “The blankets are heavy and it is difficult to ensure they are properly washed. It is high time the Railways stopped using these blankets,” she said. According to the RTI response, Indian Railways has 46 departmental laundries and 25 BOOT laundries in the country  . P5 Terror strike Doc, 6 migrant workers shot dead in J&K’s Ganderbal dist F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar IN a major terror attack, militants on Sunday evening shot dead a local doctor, identified as Dr Shahnawaz, and six migrant labourers working in a key infrastructure project at Gagangir area of Sonmarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. Seven others were injured in the terror attack. Sources said the terrorists fired indiscriminately from close range at a group of workers at Gagangir area of Sonamarg. “They also fired on a vehicle carrying migrant workers,” sources said. The workers were part of a construction team working on key Z Morh tunnel, which connects Gaganeer to Sonamarg in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. Of the six workers who were killed, three were from Bihar, one from Madhya Pradesh, and one hailed from Jammu. One is yet to be identitied. Confirming the militant attack, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote on X: “Very sad news of a dastardly & cowardly attack on non-local labourers. These people were working on a key infrastructure project... I strongly condemn this attack”. Home Minister Amit Shah termed the attack on civilians a despicable act of cowardice. “Those involved in this heinous act won’t be spared and will face the harshest response from our security forces,” he wrote on X. After the attack, a joint contingent of police, CRPF, and Army launched a combing operation to trace the militants. This is the second targeted attack on migrant workers after the Omar Abdullah government assumed charge in the UT. On Thursday, a Bihar native was shot dead in Shopian district. express read Heavy rain likely over 13 TN districts today: RMC Chennai: Heavy rain is likely on Monday over isolated places in 13 districts across Tamil Nadu, namely Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, Tiruvannamalai, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Tiruchy, and Mayiladuthurai, said the RMC | P2 Odisha, Bengal coasts bracing for cyclone Dana Bhubaneswar: Cyclone Dana, a cyclonic circulation over the North Andaman Sea, is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm and reach the Odisha-West Bengal coasts by October 24, bringing with it very heavy rainfall and gusty winds in both states, India Meteorological Department said on Sunday