HUBBALLI WEDNESDAY AUGUST 21, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 12 CITY EDITION CCI FEELS DISNEY-RELIANCE MERGER CAN HARM COMPETITION: REPORT According to Reuters, CCI feels the merger of Reliance and Disney assets harms competition due to their power over cricket broadcast rights MERGER TO CREATE MEDIA BEHEMOTH CRICKET RIGHTS BONE OF CONTENTION The Competition Commission of India’s view is a setback to the two firms, whose proposed merged entity would have lucrative rights worth billions of dollars for the broadcast of cricket. Antitrust experts point out that the proposed merger will create India’s biggest entertainment player with a combined strength of 120 TV channels and two streaming services | P10 ■ “Cricket is the biggest pain point for CCI,” Reuters quoted a source as saying The CCI has given the two firms 30 days to explain their position. Reuters said CCI earlier sent Reliance and Disney around 100 questions on the merger ■ The firms reportedly said they are willing to sell fewer than 10 television channels to assuage concerns about market power and win early approval ■ $8.5 billion ESTIMATED SIZE OF THE MERGER DEAL BETWEEN RELIANCE AND WALT DISNEY 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 LATERAL ENTRY QUOTA COMING Proposed hiring nixed; PM wants to rework scheme to apply reservation for those posts too RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi Police personnel negotiating with protesters blocking railway tracks at Badlapur in Thane district on Tuesday | PTI Thane erupts over sex assault of minor girls in private school S U D H I R S U R YAWA N S H I @ Mumbai MASSIVE protests broke out on Tuesday at Badlapur in Maharashtra’s Thane district over the alleged sexual assault of two girls, aged 4 and 6 years, at a private English medium school by the school sweeper. Hundreds of protesters blocked railway tracks at Badlapur station. With the protesters occupying tracks, 15 longdistance trains were diverted while local train services were suspended for about 10 hours. Police resorted to baton charge after the protesters refused to disperse and started pelting stones at policemen. Meanwhile, another group of protesters, many of them parents, vandalised the school building to express their anger and disgust over the assault. The protesters demanded harsh punishment for the accused, 23-year-old Akshay Shinde. The incidents took place on August 12 and 13 but the accused was arrested only on August 17. The parents of the girls were allegedly made to wait 11 hours at the police station before the FIR was filed. Police sources said the investigation revealed several lapses on the part of the school. There was no female attendant or cleaner for the girl toilet, a basic safety requirement. The accused was entrusted with cleaning the girl’s toilet, where the sexual assault took place. Police officials said most of the CCTV cameras installed at the school were not working. KOLKATA HOSPITAL HORROR National task force to frame norms on safety of docs: SC DESCRIBING the ongoing protests against the horrific rape and murder for a trainee doctor at a government hospital in Kolkata, as a moment of national catharsis, the Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a 10-member National Task Force headed by surgeon-major R P Sarin to formulate guidelines for ensuring the safety security and facilities to doctors and health, care staff in hospitals across India. A three-judge bench led by the Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud termed the incident “horrific and horrendous”, adding it indicated a systemic failure of the state machinery . The court hauled up the Kolkata police and the state government for its inaction in the case and allowing a mob to vandalise the RG Kar Medical College and HosChief Justice of India pital, where the victim was murdered. D Y Chandrachud The CJI questioned Bengal’s counsel CBI PROBE’S Kapil Sibal as to how RG Kar’s Sandip STATUS REPORT Ghosh was appointed to head of another college hours after he stepped down as The court directed principal; why Ghosh initially tried to the CBI to file its pass the death off as suicide; why the probe status report by August 22, when it registration of FIR was delayed; what was the police doing when the hospital would take up the was invaded by a mob; and why did the matter further. The police fail to secure the crime scene? task force has been While urging the agitating health care asked to submit its interim report within practitioners to return to work, the court warned the Bengal government not take three weeks punitive action against them. “Let the power of the state not be unleashed on them at all. Please deal with them with sensitivity This is a moment for national ca. tharsis,” the court said. The task force was asked to prepare an action plan on preventing violence, including gender-based violence against medical professionals; and an enforceable national protocol for dignified and safe working conditions for interns, residents, senior residents, doctors, nurses and all medical professionals. Expressing anguish, the CJI said, “What is equality under the Constitution if women cannot be safe in their workplace.” @ Bengaluru HEALTH Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said on Tuesday that many suggestions have been received to improve working conditions of doctors in the state. A high-level com- EXPRESS READ Lokayukta SIT seeks Guv nod to prosecute HDK Bengaluru: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka Lokayukta is said to have written to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, seeking sanction to prosecute Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy, in connection with a case in which he allegedly granted a mining lease to a company in 2007 when he was the chief minister | P4 mittee will be set up to go through them and submit a report within a month. He was speaking after holding a meeting with officials and representatives from the medical frater nity on the measures to be tak- en to improve the working conditions of doctors. After the Kolkata rape and murder case, many doctors and associations met the health minister and apprised him of lack of security in hospitals. CONTINUED ON: P5 nixes advert on filling 45 posts CANCELLED AS REQUESTED BY THE REQUISITIONING AUTHORITY, SAYS UPSC 2ND ARC OKAYED LATERAL ENTRY IN LINE WITH SIXTH PAY PANEL REPORT INTRODUCING TRANSPARENCY Lateral entry was endorsed by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) constituted in 2005, Singh said The second ARC was chaired by Veerappa Moily. The recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission in 2013 were also in the same direction While most of the lateral entries before 2014 were ad-hoc, the NDA tried to make it institutionally driven, transparent, open, Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to explore the possibility of introducing quota in lateral entries as well, he indicated. Singh wrote to UPSC Chairperson Preeti Sudan following Modi’s directive to cancel the advertisement, so that marginalised communities get their P R A SA N TA M A Z U M DA R & J I T E N D R A C H O U B E Y @ Guwahati/New Delhi Screengrab of the landslide at Dipudara in Gangtok district on Tuesday | EXPRESS A massive landslide struck Sikkim on Tuesday, damaging parts of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation’s 510-mw hydroelectric project on the Teesta river at Dipudara in Gangtok district. Gangtok collector Tushar Nikhare, who visited the site along with other officials, told this paper that the gas-insulated substations (GIS) building of the project was damaged. Four minors among 7 nabbed for killing teacher in Mulbagal V V E L AY U D H A M @ Kolar MULBAGAL police have arrested seven people, including four minor boys, for allegedly murdering a schoolteacher at Sunku Layout in Mulbagal town on August 14. Central Range Inspector General of Police Labhu Ram told TNIE that the victim, Divya Shree, 46, worked as a teacher at Mudianur government school in Mulbagal taluk. Her husband is a financier. The main accused, Ranjith Kumar, 20, of Tirumanahalli, used to supply packaged drinking water to Divya Shree’s house. On learning that the teacher hailed from a rich family , he hatched a plan to kill her when she was alone at home and take away cash, gold ornaments and other valuables. As planned, Ranjith and other accused went to Divya Shree’s house in the evening to deliver water. As soon as she opened the door, the accused attacked her. When she screamed for help, they slit her throat. Divya Shree’s daughter Nisha, who was in her room on the first floor of the house, came down hearing her mother’s cry for help. When the accused tried to attack her, she rushed back to her room, locked herself from inside and telephoned her father. By the time her father reached home, the accused fled, the IGP said. P5 3 students abducted, assaulted in M’luru EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Mangaluru THREE students, including two minors, were allegedly abducted and assaulted by a group of five students here on Monday over a clash during an intercollege football match on August 14. Mangaluru city police commissioner Anupam Agrawal said that a clash broke out during the football match between the teams of two private colleges at Nehru Maidan. On August 19, the accused, including two minor boys, forced the three students into a car near Forum Mall at Pandeshwar in the city around 6.15 pm and assaulted them. Then, they took the trio to various places in the city, including Mahakali Padpu and Jappu Mahakali Padpu Masjid, and assaulted them again. The rightful representation in government services. Hours later, the advert was withdrawn. “This aspect (no quota for single-cadre posts) needs to be reviewed and reformed in the context of the Hon’ble Prime minister’s focus on ensuring social justice,” Singh said. Sikkim landslide hits Teesta project S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi Panel to study docs’ safety in K’taka EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE BARELY three days after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced 45 vacancies for lateral entry of officers into the bureaucracy the , Centre killed it, heeding to concerns from within the ruling NDA and without. The decision came ahead of assembly elections in J&K and Haryana amid the Opposition’s attack over the lack of quota for those positions. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the Janatal Dal (United), both NDA allies, too, shared their concerns over the proposed recruitment. Quota is a political hot potato that parties can ignore only at their peril. “Since, these positions have been treated as specialized and designated as single-cadre posts, there has been no provision for reservation in these appointments,” Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh reasoned. However, Sources said comments of all stakeholders would be taken into account by the government to find out whether or not reservation can be applied to lateral entry recruitment. Dilating on the matter, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, said, “UPSC adopted a very transparent method for lateral entry Now we have de. cided to apply the principle of reservation in that too. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has always shown his commitment towards social justice,” he said. “We gave constitutional status to the OBC Commission which was earlier an ordinary body Be it NEET, Sainik Vidya. laya or Navodaya Vidyalaya, we have implemented the principle of reservation everywhere,” Vaishnaw added. However, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said it was due to the campaign by Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA bloc that the government was forced to a step back on the matter. accused also filmed their act before letting them go. Based on a complaint, a case has been registered at Pandeshwar police station under Sections 109, 115(2), 118(1), 127(2), 137(2), 189(2), 190, 191(1), 191(3), 351(2), 352 of BNS, 2023. The city police commissioner said that they have secured two accused. Efforts are on to secure other accused, he added. We have secured two accused. Efforts are on to nab the other accused Anupam Agrawal Last year’s glacial lake outburst flood had damaged the power station and it was under construction. NHPC said the Teesta basin region has been witnessing landslides during the ongoing monsoon season. “Today’s incident also occurred due to subsidence/landslide over Tail Race Tunnel outlet structure and behind GIS building. This has affected TRT gate hoist structure and part of the GIS building,” it said. According to experts, manmade activities triggered the landslip. “The area received deficient rainfall in the past two weeks,” said G N Raha, scientist, Met Centre Gangtok. “There was no vegetation over the slid hills; also, the hills slope is above 45° 0inclined, which shows soil erosion due to manmade activities from both sides i.e. above the hills, residential buildings causing pressure over fragile phyllite stone and from downward NHPC’s construction,” said professor Manasi Debnath from Nagaland University .
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