visakhapatnam l monday l october 21, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 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 Mysterious blast outside CRPF school Uddhav’s Sena, in Delhi, multi-agency investigation on Cong bicker on 15 U J WAL J ALALI @ New Delhi Both refuse to yield; grand old party looks to contest from more if push comes to shove Su d h i r Su r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai 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 Doc, 6 migrant workers shot dead in J&K’s Ganderbal dist F AYA Z WANI @ 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. 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. 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 identified. 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,” 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 attack on migrant workers after the new government took charge. 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 express read New Zealand beat South Africa by 32 runs, win 1st women’s T20 world cup Duabi: In a high-stakes final, New Zealand beat South Africa by 32 runs and win their maiden Women’s T20 World Cup title here on Sunday. It turned out to be a historic Sunday for New Zealand cricket as the White Ferns got their hands on the ICC trophy hours after the men recorded their first Test win in India after 36 years. South Africa, playing their second successive final, sent New Zealand in to bat and the Sophie Devine-led side thrived under pressure to post an above par 158 for five | P11 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. Kadapa teenager set ablaze by youngster succumbs to injuries, accused arrested E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Kadapa The teenage, who was set ablaze by a youngster in Gopavaram mandal of YSR district on Saturday succumbed to her , injuries early on Sunday while undergoing treatment at RIMS Hospital, Kadapa. Police arrested the accused, identified as Vignesh Jakkala (19), a few hours after the incident. Police had formed four special teams and nabbed the accused soon after the incident came to light. Elaborating on the incident, Kadapa Superintendent of Police V Harshavardhan Raju said the horrific incident occurred on October 19 in a forest area near PP Kunta in Gopavaram mandal. Preliminary investigation revealed that the victim, a 16year-old student of a private college in Badvel, was allegedly in a relationship with Vignesh, who had married another woman around six months ago. The accused lured the girl to the forest, where he assaulted her, set her on fire and fled the scene. During interrogation, Vignesh admitted that he committed the crime as the girl had been asking him to marry her. With the help of police, the victim managed to reach Badvel Hospital and was later shifted to RIMS Kadapa. She suffered 80% burns. She breathed her last in the wee hours of Sunday “Our teams acted swift. ly and located the suspect. He was apprehended on the outskirts of Kadapa on Sunday,” P4 the SP said.  Officials worried as State braces for more rains S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Officials of the Water Resources Department are a worried lot as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast more rains for the State over the next few days. Under the influence of a low-pressure area being formed in the Bay of Bengal, which is likely to intensify into a cyclone, rainfall is likely in parts of the State. Officials are concerned as most of the reservoirs in the State are full with the recent rains resulting in heavy inflows. Any more heavy inflows could be difficult to handle. Storage levels of reservoirs in the State currently stand at 843.77 TMC as against the gross level of 983.49 TMC. This means that 85.79% of reservoirs in the State are full. At 393.27 TMC, total storage levels stood at 39.99% during the same period last year. According to real-time data from the Water Resources Department, as of Sunday (October 20), water level in the Srisailam project touched 884.8 feet as against the full reservoir level of 885 feet. Inflows stood at 2,22,641 cusecs, and outflows at 2,49,199 cusecs. As much as 1,67,898 cusecs was released through the spillway . In the Nagarjuna Sagar Project, water levels stood at 589.8 feet as against FRL of P3&4 590.55 feet.  disruption 90 & counting as 25 more flights receive hoax threats S h e k h a r S i n g h @ New Delhi Hoax bomb threats continued to disrupt the aviation sector for the seventh consecutive day on Sunday, grounding planes and unnerving passengers. As many as 25 flights across major carriers—IndiGo, Vistara, Air India and Akasa Air— were forced into emergency security measures after receiving hoax threats. Since October 14, over 90 Indian flights have been af fected by similar bomb scares. Though these threats turned out to be fake, the fallout is real: delayed flights, disrupted schedules, and mounting anxiety among passengers and airlines. “We received security threats on six of our flights,” a Vistara spokesperson said, listing major international routes — Delhi to Frankfurt, Singapore to Mumbai, Bali to Delhi, Singapore to Delhi, Singapore to Pune, and Mumbai to Singapore. Six of the affected IndiGo flights included those on the Delhi-Istanbul, Mumbai-Istanbul, Jeddah-Mumbai, Kozhikode-Dammam in Saudi Arabia, Pune-Jodhpur, and Goa-Ahmedabad sectors. Akasa Air said six flights — Ahmedabad to Mumbai, Delhi to Goa, Mumbai to Bagdogra, Delhi to Hyderabad, Kochi to Mumbai and Lucknow to Mumbai — received security alerts.  Sources said six Air India flights, too, faced a similar situation though its officials did not share the number. “Following the laid down protocols, relevant authorities were immediately alerted, and all security procedures strictly adhered to, as per guidance from the regulatory authorities and security agencies,” said an official. While the source of bomb threats has largely been confined to social media, their growing number and frequency are a cause of concern. amaravati will be drone capital of india, says dinesh 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 In an interview with TNIE, AP Drone Corporation MD Dinesh Kumar elaborates on the preparations for the Amaravati Drone Summit, scheduled to be held on Oct 22 and 23 | P4 grim diwali Centuries-old pottery tradition in Vizag on brink of extinction? U s h a P e r i @ Visakhapatnam After their homes were razed down partially for road extension, potters buy earthen diyas and sell them along the roads at Simhachalam I G Satyanarayana Deepavali is fast approaching, but for the potters of Adavivaram in Simhachalam, this year brings an unfamiliar struggle.   For generations, these artisans crafted earthen diyas and festive items, but road-widening work last year claimed part of their homes, leaving many displaced. Unable to work as they once did, the potters were forced to purchase diyas from traders for the first time in centuries. Now, they sell what little they can from the streets outside their partially demolished houses, marking a painful shift in their time-honoured way of life. “Our families have lived here for generations. This is the first time we could not make diyas for Deepavali. We do not have space to store clay, produce diyas, or bake them in kilns. After last year’s road work, half of our houses were torn down,” explained G Ravi, a potter from the community . “We haven’t received any compensation, nor were we offered land elsewhere. They said they’d give us plots in residential areas, but who will allow potters there when our work involves mud and baking?” he questioned. There are around 15 families involved in pottery either fully , or partially Some have moved . to rented houses, continuing their work in their half-demol- Pottery is physically demanding, but the returns are meagre. I don’t want my children to depend on this. It’s difficult to imagine a future in this trade, but we’re striving to preserve this art for as long as we can A potter from Adavivaram in Simhachalam ished homes, while others remain in these unsafe structures. The number of active potters has declined due to age, a shift to other professions, and the fact that pottery no longer generates enough income to support a family . Although the government has provided free pottery wheels to some artisans in Narsipatnam, Parawada, and Vemulapudi, the Adavivaram potters are still waiting for theirs. Rising cost of clay, transportation, unexpected rainfall, and dwindling demand have further strained P4 their livelihood.