HYDERABAD  TUESDAY  NOVEMBER 05, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION U.S. ALL SET FOR KAMALA VS TRUMP ELECTORAL SHOWDOWN TODAY The presidential race appears to be hurtling towards a photo finish, with the last set of polls showing a close contest between the two FIRST RESULTS BY EARLY WEDNESDAY Over 244 million Americans are eligible to vote, of which 78 million have already cast their ballots in early voting. In most US states, voting will start either at 6 am or 7 am local time. The first results will be out around 6 p.m. eastern time (4.30 am IST on Wednesday). Tightness of the race means, it could possibly take a few days for the final results to emerge | P9 ■ Jan 20 CANDIDATES MAKE FINAL PUSH IN KEY STATES ■ Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump spent Monday, the last day before the election, in key battleground states, making their final pitches to the undecided voters to back them Elections for all 435 seats in the US House and 34 seats in the Senate will also be held. Republicans are in majority in the House at present WHEN THE NEW PRESIDENT WILL TAKE OATH OF OFFICE 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 CHIEF Minister A Revanth Reddy is set to undertake a padayatra (walkathon) in the Musi catchment areas in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district on November 8. On his birthday Revanth, ac, companied by his family members, is scheduled to visit the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Yadagirigutta and offer prayers. Following this, he is expected to review the development initiatives under the Yadagirigutta Temple Development Authority (YTDA). Subsequently the chief min, ister will participate in a padayatra in Valigonda mandal as DETAILS STILL UNDER REVIEW The yatra is tentatively planned to start at Bollepally village and conclude at Bheemalingam bridge, passing through Sangem village, covering about six kilometres. However, the exact route is yet to be finalised. Earlier in the day, Revanth will offer prayers at the Yadagirigutta along with his family part of the “Musi Punarujjeeva (Rejuvenation) Praja Chaitanya Yatra,” organised by Bhongir MLA Kumbam Anil Kumar Reddy The yatra is tentatively . planned to start at Bollepally village and conclude at Bheemalingam bridge, passing through Sangem village, covering about six kilometres. However, the exact route is yet to be finalised. Congress MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy and the Bhongir MLA are in discussions with local leaders to finalise the route. During the padayatra, Revanth is expected to interact with residents. It may be noted that Congress leaders from the erstwhile Nalgonda district are undertaking various programmes to raise awareness about the Musi rejuvenation project. As part of this effort, MLA Anil Kumar Reddy is organising the yatra. During his visit, the chief minister will also inaugurate the pylon, marking the commencement of a drinking water pipeline project from Mallannasagar reservoir to the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district under Mission Bhagiratha. This project is estimated to cost `250 crore. Meanwhile, Congress leaders, including MP Kiran and MLA Anil, from the erstwhile Nalgonda district gathered at the quarters of Roads & Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy to discuss the chief minister’s visit. REVENUE GENERATION Telangana plans auction of flats and open plots EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad TO boost revenue, the Cabinet subcommittee on resource mobilisation has decided to auction vacant flats and open plots. The subcommittee directed the housing officials to initiate the process for auctioning unoccupied flats built under the Rajiv Swagruha scheme and maximise revenue generation. The subcommittee, led by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, met on Monday. During the meeting, members reviewed the ongoing auctions of open plots managed by the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department. Noting that some private persons are pursuing litigation over certain land parcels, the deputy chief minister instructed officials to resolve disputes related to joint venture assets and make efforts to derive revenue from these assets. He suggested forming a committee under the special chief secretary of the Finance department to address these disputes. Vikramarka also mentioned that some owners of pollutioncausing industries in Hyderabad have requested relocation outside the Outer Ring Road. He directed officials to consider these requests and expedite the establishment of MSME industrial parks in every constituency . EXPRESS READ Stalker stabs woman in Medak; case registered Medak: Allegedly angry after his advances were rejected, a youth attacked a young woman with a knife on Monday. It is reported that the accused, Chetan, currently absconding, had been harassing the woman, who is under treatment for stab wounds in Hyderabad, for two years. Police have registered a case | P2 LAST SORTIE Smoke billows out after a MiG-29 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force crashed near Agra on Monday. The pilot ejected safely | PTI Rahul Gandhi’s meet in city today to set stage for caste survey in state B K A R T H E E K @ Hyderabad ON the eve of launching a survey on caste composition in the state, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will hold extensive consultations with various stakeholders — including party functionaries, intellectuals, student unions and caste-based organisations — in Hyderabad on Tuesday The former AICC pres. ident, a strong advocate of rights proportional to population, has even coined the slogan “Jitni Abadi, Utna Haq” to champion this idea. In a show of priority for the caste census, Rahul is set to attend this event in the state, despite a packed campaign schedule for byelections in different states and Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, sources said, adding that the party is expected to share details on the methodology the government has adopted to conduct the survey . The ruling party initiated the caste census in fulfilment of a 3-WEEK DEADLINE  The entire caste survey process has a deadline of three weeks  It is expected to be completed by end of November promise Rahul made during the Assembly election campaign. Within 10 months of taking office, the Congress has established a process to complete the caste census, with a targeted deadline of around three weeks, by the end of November. According to party sources, Rahul will deliver a talk on the significance of caste-based census. The Rae Bareli MP has often spoken in the favour of equal justice and emphasised constitutional values. “Rahul strongly believes that reservations based on the proportional representation of diff e re n t c o m m u n i t i e s w i l l achieve equal justice. He has repeatedly highlighted the im- balanced distribution of key positions at the national level,” said TPCC media and communications chairperson Sama Rammohan Reddy. He added that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s government will implement development and welfare schemes following the principles set by the former AICC president. All 119 Congress MLAs, 17 MPs, MLCs and DCC presidents have been invited to the meeting. Revanth along with his Cabinet colleagues and other senior party leaders will also attend the programme. Meanwhile, TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud said that elaborate arrangements have been made for the event. The party is also making arrangements for a large congregation as heavy crowd is expected to attend the meeting. Earlier on Monday Mahesh ac, companied ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and D Sridhar Babu in the inspection of arrangements at the Gandhian Ideology Centre and the party office. 36 die as bus falls into U’khand gorge N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun A private bus plunged into a gorge in Uttarakhand’s Almora district on Monday, killing 36 people and injuring 27 others in the process. The bus was on its way from Likhwal to Ramnagar when it fell 200 metres into the gorge in Koopi village in the district’s Marchula area around 8 am. The 43-seater bus had 63 passengers on board when the accident happened. “The bus was just 35 kilometers from its destination, Ramnagar, when it plummeted 200 metres into a gorge in Almora’s Marchula area,” Almora District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey said. He said the bus, operated by the Garhwal Motor Owners Association, had left Pauri in the state’s Garhwal re gion on Sunday evening for Ramnagar, about 250 km away . Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) told this newspaper that four SDRF teams were dispatched to the site upon receiving information about the incident. “We received information about the accident at 8.45 am on Monday. Immediately, four SDRF teams were dispatched. Our personnel pulled out the injured and the bodies of those killed by breaking the glass and cutting through iron sheets of the bus,” he said. Soon after the incident, Assistant Regional Transport officials of the Pauri and Almora districts were suspended on or- ders of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The chief minister announced `4 lakh ex gratia for the next of kin of the deceased and `1 lakh for those injured. Separately, the Prime Minister’s Office announced `2 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased and `50,000 for the injured. CM orders probe Chief Minister Dhami instructed the Commissioner of Kumaon, Mandal Deepak Rawat to conduct a magisterial inquiry into the accident. People beaten up, consular event disrupted; 3 held; violence unacceptable, says Trudeau YESHI SELI AND HARPREET BAJWA @ New Delhi/Chandigarh AMID a diplomatic chill between India and Canada, Khalistanis radicals attacked devotees on the premises of a temple in Brampton, drawing widespread condemnation, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Videos showed protesters with Khalistani flags attacking people and indulging in fistfights at the Hindu Sabha temple in Brampton on Sunday, disrupting a consular event coorganised by the temple authorities and the Indian Consulate there. The attack happened despite the presence of the Peel Regional Police at the site. The police later arrested three persons and slapped criminal charges against them. “Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of the law,’’ Modi said in a strongly-worded statement. The Indian High Commission in Ottawa shared its disappointment at disruption of the consular camp. “It is deeply disappointing to see such disruptions being allowed for routine consular work, organised by our consulates with fullest cooperation of local co-organisers. We also remain very concerned for the safety of applicants, including Indian nationals, on whose demands such events are organised,’’ the Indian mission said in a statement. India also said attempts at disrupting similar camps in Vancouver and Surrey were also made. Consular camps in future will be contingent on security arrangements made by the local authorities, the statement added. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the leader of the opposition Pierre Poilievre condemned the attack. “The acts of violence at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton today are unacceptable. Every Canadian has the right to practice their faith freely and safely said Trudeau. “Completely ,” unacceptable to see violence targeting worshippers,” said Poilievre. I strongly condemn the deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada. Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats. Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law - Narendra Modi, prime minister UNCHECKED KHALISTANI EXTREMISM “This exposes just how deep and unchecked Khalistani extremism runs in Canada.... any Hindu who dares to question or resist this is swiftly branded an ‘Indian agent’, accused of engaging in so-called ‘transnational repression’,” the Coalition of Hindus of North America said Lokayukta police to quiz Siddaramaiah tomorrow E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Mysuru THE Lokayukta Police have summoned Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for questioning on Wednesday in connection with the alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 MUDA sites to his wife Parvathi. Siddaramaiah, who is campaigning in Shiggaon, has confirmed it saying: “Yes, I will go to their office in Mysuru on Wednesday .” After the questioning, Siddaramaiah will proceed to Channapatna to campaign for Congress candidate C P Yogeshwara, who is contesting the byelection to the Legislative Assembly from that constituency sources said. , T h e L o k ay u k t a Po l i c e launched an inquiry based on complaints of alleged irregularities in MUDA in acquiring 3.18 acres of land bearing survey No. 468 at Kesare from Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi and allotting 14 sites to her in upmarket Vijayanagar locality in Mysuru, thereby causing a big loss to the state’s exchequer. Parvathi, Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, landowner Devaraj, and a few other persons have already been questioned by the Lokayukta Police. A Lokayukta Police team recently visited MUDA offices in Mysuru and examined the records pertaining to the land acquired at Kesare from Parvathi for formation of a residential layout, allotment of 14 sites to her, and other documents related to the 3.18 acres of land. JITTERY MARKETS TUMBLE AHEAD OF TIGHT U.S. POLLS A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi INDIA’S equity markets fell sharply on Monday with benchmark indices NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex plummeting up to 2% in intraday deals to their lowest level in four months. The fresh selloff is attributed to the nervousness ahead of the US presidential election, continuous FPI/FII selling, and a disappointing September quarter earnings season. According to analysts, expectations of a fresh stimulus package by China to prop up growth also triggered selling in Indian stocks. Markets across the world are feeling the impact of a close contest between Don- WHY THE MARKETS CRASHED 1 Uncertainty ahead of US presidential elections SENSEX E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad Khalistani attack on Canada temple cowardly: Modi 2 Relentless selling by foreign investors 3 Expectations of a fresh stimulus package by China NIFTY CM’s padayatra in Musi catchment areas on Nov 8 MUDA SCAM 78,782.24 941.88 23,995.35 309 6 LAKH CR wiped out as market cap falls from `448 lakh cr MANIC MONDAY to `442 lakh cr 4,329.79 CR pulled out by FIIs on Monday ald Trump and Kamala Harris as the world’s biggest economy is all set to elect its next President. “We believe Harris’ win will be neutral/mean continuity for the economy, equities, and other asset classes. Trump would have a reasonable impact on emerging markets (EMs), equities, and currency due to de-globalisation. Amongst EMs, we expect rela- tively positive impact for India in the long-run,” said Anjali Verma and Navaneeth Vijayan of Phillip Capital in a recent note. The US Federal Reserve’s policy outcome is scheduled for Thursday, with the street anticipating a 25-basis-point rate cut. However, this may not have a favourable impact on the market, as the rate cut is already priced in. 10 WOMEN AMONG DEAD Of the 36 killed, 10 are women. Twentyeight people died on the spot and eight succumbed to injuries in the Ramdutt Joshi Joint Hospital, Ramnagar RETURNING TO WORK A state disaster relief force official said the bus was carrying people who were returning to work after spending the long Diwali weekend at home Rescuers look for survivors amid the mangled remains of the bus | PTI