kollam l wednesday l November 27, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Six killed in violence as Imran supporters clash with police Four paramilitary soldiers among the dead. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif alleged the protesters rammed the troops with a convoy of vehicles Protest in response to ‘final call’ by Khan The protesters, who have been marching towards Islamabad since Sunday, are demanding the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) founder is serving a three-year jail term for corruption—a charge he denies. On November 13, he issued a ‘final call” to his supporters, urging them not to relent until govt meets all demands ■ Aug 2023 Pak Army issues shoot-at-sight orders ■ According to reports, the violence erupted at the end of a march led by Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur that arrived in Islamabad early on Tuesday. The Pak govt has sought the intervention of the Army, which has issued shoot-at-sight orders Khan’s party rejected Sharif’s claims that troops had been rammed When Imran khan was arrested and jailed on charges of corruption 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 lorry runs over family sleeping on roadside, 5 dead EX P RE S S NEW S S ERVI C E @Thrissur Five members, including two children, of a nomadic family from Palakkad were run over by a lorry carrying timber while they were sleeping on the roadside at Nattika in Thrissur in the early hours of Tuesday . The deceased are one-yearold Viswam, four-year-old Jeeva, Kaliyappan, 50, Nagamma, 39 and Bangazhi, 20. Six others were injured. The police said around 20 people were sleeping on the roadside when the lorry, carrying timber from Kannur to Perumbavoor in Ernakulam, lost control and ran over them around 3.50am. The police have arrested Alex, the cleaner of the lorry who was behind the wheel at the time, as well as lorry driver Jose, who was in an inebriated state. It is suspected Alex was drunk too. Residents said they heard screams and rushed to the spot. “It was horrifying. The sight of scattered body parts and crushed bodies of little children froze us in terror. I somehow mustered up courage and called the 108 ambulance,” said Ajosh, who had been on his way to Thriprayar temple for Ekadashi darshan at the time. As per the police, the truck first rammed the barricades that were kept on the road signalling vehicles to take a detour as work on the Nattika Bypass of the NH66 are going on. It then ran over the people sleeping by the road. A survivor said when one of them screamed and asked the driver to stop, the lorry halted, but moved forward again in a bid to escape. However, since the road had ended, the driver express read EC seeks HC’s approval for release of EVMs Kochi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has sought the Kerala HC’s nod for releasing the EVMs used in Thrissur in the general elections, saying the machines are not required for the adjudication of a petition filed by an AIYF leader against the election of Union Minister Suresh Gopi. P4 Cops’ photoshoot at Holy Steps kicks up row Pathanamthitta: The ADGP has sought a detailed report in the incident in which a group of police officers on duty at Sabarimala took pictures on the Holy Steps. Pictures showing 30 cops standing on the steps with their backs to the temple had gone viral on social media and triggered a controversy | P5 President Droupadi Murmu addresses Parliament to mark Constitition Day at Samvidhan Sadan, in New Delhi on Tuesday | PTI Ishwari, a relative of Kaliyappan, one of the deceased, waits with her son in front of the Thrissur General Hospital mortuary for the mortal remains of the accident victims | S Lal ‘Strict action against lorry driver, cleaner’ T’Puram: Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar said strict action would be taken against the driver and cleaner of the lorry involved in the accident. He also said the department would step up night patrolling to prevent traffic violations, and seek cooperation of the police to prevent people from sleeping on the pavements at night. and cleaner abandoned the vehicle and tried to flee, but were caught by the people who had reached the spot. City Police Commissioner R Ilango said it has been confirmed that Alex was driving the vehicle at the time. “We suspect both of them were heavily drunk. Their medical examination will confirm it,” he said. District Collector Arjun Pandian said steps had been taken to ensure adequate treatment of the injured people who have been admitted to the Thrissur Medical College ● More on P4 Hospital.  Constitution a progressive, live document, says Murmu Addresses House on 75th anniversary of the adoption of Constitution E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi It is the responsibility of the executive, legislature and judiciary to work together to make the lives of common people better in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday . Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament to mark 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution, Murmu said the fundamental duties of every citizen had been clearly defined in the country’s founding document, which lay stress on protecting the nation’s unity and integrity, promoting harmony and ensuring the dignity of women. “Constitutional ideals get strength from the active participation of the executive, legislature and the judiciary , as well as all citizens,” she said. Describing the Constitution as a living and progressive document, she said, “In accordance with the spirit of the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the executive, legislature and the judiciary to work together to make the Call for discussion Pointing out that the President’s address did not mention the words ‘secular’ and socialist’, DMK leader T R Baalu urged Speaker Om Birla to include a discussion on Droupadi Murmu’s address in the agenda of the House. lives of common people better.” The President also recalled the contribution of the 15 women members of the Constituent Assembly in framing the Constitution. The Constitution makers, she added, had given a directive for India to play an important role in the promotion of international peace and security . The Constitution, in one sense, was the outcome of nearly three years of deliberations by some of the greatest minds, but, in the true sense, it was the outcome of the long freedom struggle. “The ideals of that incomparable national movement came to be enshrined in the Constitution. S U C HI T RA K A LYAN M O HAN T Y a n d P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an evangelist seeking the reintroduction of the physical paper ballot voting system in elections in India, saying allegations about electronic voting machine tampering are raised only when people lose polls. The petitioner, founder of the US-based organisations Global Peace Initiative (GPI) and Gospel to the Unreached Millions, argued that political leaders such as Chandrababu Naidu and Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had questioned the authenticity of EVMs. To this, a two-judge bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale said: “When Chandrababu Naidu or Mr Reddy lost, they say that EVMs are tampered and when they won, they don’t say anything. How can we see this? We are dismissing this. This is not the place where you argue all of this.” Meanwhile, the Congress on Tuesday demanded that EVMs must be abolished and elections conducted through ballot paper. Speaking at a function to mark the ‘Constitution Day’, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called for a campaign on the scale of Bharat Jodo Yatra to create awareness about returning to ballot papers. The demand comes amid concerns among opposition parties over alleged manipulation of EVMs in Maharashtra and Haryana elections. Referring to the Maharashtra polls, which the NDA swept, Kharge alleged industrialist Gautam Adani had a role to play “I do not wish to speak . about elections, but I would say the votes of the poor and oppressed are going to waste,” he alleged. Avoid sun, stay cool on the go with ‘Veyil’ app It’s a sunny afternoon. You get on the bus and sit in your seat only to find the sun directly shining on your face. Frustrating, isn’t it? After all, it’s not the kind of sunlight that makes you want to lean back, listen to music, and soak in the scenery Rather, it makes . you squint, sweat and count the minutes until your journey ends. But, there is a solution. And, like all things now, it is a mobile app. Veyil, a smart and innovative E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Kochi Giving credence to reports of growing discontent within the BJP against state president K Surendran, senior leaders P K Krishnadas, A N Radhakrishnan and M T Ramesh stayed away from Tuesday’s crucial state-level leaders’ meet in Kochi to discuss the party’s performance in the just-concluded by-elections. Krishnadas is BJP national executive member, Radhakrishnan state vice president and Ramesh state general secretary . However, Surendran, put up a brave face, and claimed that there was nothing unusual in the trio’s absence. “All members may not be able to participate in all meetings. There is no 100% attendance even in the Parliament,” he said. “The media is speculating that Krishnadas, Radhakrishnan and Ramesh are working as a faction. There is only one group in K Surendran the party and that is BJP he asserted. ,” Ramesh told TNIE that he couldn’t attend the meeting due to personal commitments. “It was a meeting of the returning officers and district presidents to discuss the performance of the party in the by-elections. My presence was not essential,” he said. Surendran said the meeting did not discuss BJP’s performance in the by-elections as he is yet to receive report from the district leaderships. The state executive will meet on December 7 and 8 to discuss the election results, he said. Meanwhile, BJP’s former Wayanad district president K P Madhu quit the party, saying he is fed up with the infighting and factional feud within the party. The groupism is preventing the growth of the party, he al● More on P4 leged.  SC junks plea for ballot voting; don’t want EVMs, says Kharge shades of brilliance V a r s h a S om a r a j @T’Puram Those ideals have been captured succinctly in the Preamble to the Constitution. They are justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. These ideals have defined India since the ages. The ideals highlighted in the Preamble complement each other. Together, they create an environment in which every single citizen finds an opportunity to flourish, contribute to society, and help fellow citizens,” she added. Meanwhile, DMK leader T R Baalu wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla saying some salient features of the Constitution, including the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’, were not at all mentioned in the address of the president, “drafted and approved by the government”. He urged the Speaker to include a discussion on Murmu’s address in the business agenda of the House during the Winter Session. He said it has been contemplated in Parliament’s procedure that the address of the President “must be allowed for discussion to enlightP7 en the nation further”.  Seniors skip BJP meet amid discontent rumours app developed by a group of tech-savvy friends – Hadi Rasheed from Kozhikode, Sreelal T S from Vadakra and Hudaifa Abdul Nasar from Kannur – has found popularity not just in Kerala, but across the globe. The trio came up with the idea in 2019 after realising the discomfort caused by sunlight during one’s daily commutes. The techie trio combined their love for technology and the desire to solve practical problems. The app’s tagline says it all: ‘Veyil App lets you find the perfect side to avoid being exposed to sunlight on your next trip.’ To use it, commuters have to enter four details: Starting point, destination, time of travel, and day of the trip. The app uses GPS and a finely-tuned 100mX100m grid to calculate sunlight angles along the route, determines which side of the bus will remain in shade and offers clear instructions: Left or right on where to sit for a comfortable ride. “People should in- stantly understand what it does. That’s why we kept everything: tagline, interface, and the logo minimal and clear,” says Hudaifa. Veyil is available as both an app and website. First launched as a website on May 15, 2024, it gained attention. Its iOS version debuted in late September, followed by the Android version in early October. In just two months, the app and website have together recorded 16,149 trips, with 2,500 daily users regularly finding their pre● More on P4 ferred seats.  Cautious after Game 1 setback, Gukesh draws S w a r oop S w a m i n at h a n @ Singapore Governor C P Radhakrishnan receives Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde’s resignation as CM, as BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis and NCP’s Ajit Pawar look on, in Mumbai | PTI Shinde push for Mahayuti convenor, son as Deputy CM if denied CM’s post S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai The slugfest over the new Maharashtra government’s leadership continued on Tuesday with caretaker chief minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde reportedly rejecting offers from the BJP to either take a Cabinet position in the Union gover nment or deputy chief ministership in a Devendra Fadnavis-led government. Highly placed sources said Shinde’s counter was that if he does not get the chief ministerial position, he should be made the convener of Mahayuti government, and his son Dr Shrikant Shinde, Lok Sabha member from Kalyan, the deputy chief minister. The BJP is yet to respond to the counter, said sources adding that has delayed the swearing in ceremony. It could hap- pen on Friday or the first week of December. In the morning, Shinde resigned as chief minister and was requested by the governor to continue in that position as caretaker. A Shiv Sena leader requesting anonymity said if the BJP does not concede the chief ministerial post to Eknath Shinde, it would validate Uddhav Thackeray’s charge of the BJP’s useand-throw politics. That will give Uddhav a fillip after being thoroughly trounced in the recent assembly elections. Shiv Sena MLAs who were camped at a five-star hotel, Taj Lands End, in Mumbai, were asked to go back to their constituencies, meet the people and thank them for the mandate. Shinde also advised party workers not to converge to Mumbai to extend support. EVEN before a move had been made in anger, fans and fellow players had formed an orderly queue to anoint D Gukesh as the next world champion. Those prophecies were put in cold storage following game one of the World Championship where Ding Liren, the champion, showcased his craft to perfection. The Indian teen didn’t do much wrong, but at this level, that’s all it takes to lose a game. Losing a game to begin the Championship is never ideal — players prefer to not lose rather than go for the win in Game One (the last definitive result in the first game before 2024 came in 2010 when Viswanathan Anand lost to Veselin Topalov) -- but that’s the advantage of a long drawn event like this. There’s ample time to rest, regroup and plot a comeback. It’s probably why Gukesh is still seen as a marginal favourite. It was no surprise that the Indian played a more watchful game with black pieces on Tuesday. However, the mood within his camp is still very upP11 beat.  D Gukesh makes a move on Tuesday