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 ■ ■ KOZHIKODE l thursday l august 29, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Govt to set up 12 new industrial cities to boost manufacturing The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved 12 new industrial cities in 10 states with an estimated investment of K28,602 crore Projects expected to create 40 lakh jobs Three new railway projects greenlighted New industrial areas will come up in Palakkad, Andhra Pradesh’s Orvakal and Kopparthy and Telangana’s Zaheerabad and across eight more locations in seven states. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the projects would be completed by 2027 and would create about 10 lakh direct and 30 lakh indirect job opportunities ■ ■ The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved three railway projects worth I6,456 crore covering Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to boost connectivity and line capacity The Centre also expanded the scope of Agricultural Infrastructure Fund to strengthen the farm-related infrastructure in the country 234 more cities to get private FM Radio as govt to hold third batch of ascending e-auctions `3,806-crore Industrial smart city to come up in Palakkad E x p ress Ne w s S er v i c e @ Kochi/Alappuzha In a major boost to the state’s manufacturing sector, the Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to establish an Industrial Smart City at Pudussery in Palakkad district. It will come up on a 1,710-acre site at an investment of `3,806 crore. The Industrial Smart City will have an investment potential of Rs 8,729 crore and will provide employment to 51,000 people, said the project document released by the Centre. The project site is located close to the Kochi-Salem National Highway and will be the only industrial area to promote medicinal chemicals and botanical products. The other focus sectors for the Palakkad Palakkad Industrial Smart City Area: Project cost: 1,710 acres I3,806 cr Investment potential: L8,729 cr Employment potential: 51,000 Industrial Smart City are nonmetallic mineral products, rubber and plastic products, hitech industry, fabricated metal products and machinery and equipment. Industries Minister P Rajeeve said the project will bring development to the state and help generate more job opportunities. “This is the first node of the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor. The state and its people are grateful for the Union government’s support to this project. The state government has spent `1,789 crore and acquired 1,710 acres for the project at a record speed. The land acquisition was completed within 10 months. The Centre appreciated the state government for the speedy land acquisition process,” Rajeeve told reporters in Alappuzha after launching a project of the Coir Corporation on Wednesday . He said the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP) had approved the project, with a total cost of `3,515 crore, on December 14, 2022. “The detailed project report (DPR) and master plan have been approved, and the Union government has also given environmental clearance to the project. The tender papers are ready and the state government expects to call for tenders in a month’s time,” Rajeeve said. He said Kerala will become a hub of high-tech manufacturing with the implementation of the project. ● More on P5 Govt to drop Mukesh from cinema policy committee CPM leadership firm on stand that no tainted individual should be part of panel, say sources Rape case against Siddique A clash between the police and BJP activists during the 12-hour Bengal Bandh, at Bowbazar in Kolkata on Wednesday | ANI Amid sporadic violence, bandh response mixed S u l a g n a S e n gu p ta @ Kolkata IMA suspends ex-principal’s membership The IMA on Wednesday suspended the membership of former RG Kar Medical College and Hospital principal Dr Sandip Ghosh. The suspension came upon requests from the IMA’s West Bengal unit Security measures Security audit of district hospitals, night patrolling and regulated access at large health facilities were among the slew of measures the Centre asked states to implement to prevent violence against medical professionals Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from across the state on Wednesday during the 12-hour bandh called by the BJP against the police action on students who took part in a march to Nabanna, the state secretariat, the previous day They were protesting against the . horrific rape and murder of a PG trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Augest 9 and demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. While the bandh evoked mixed response, reports of BJP workers clashing with the police and the ruling Trinamool Congress activists poured in from several districts. Shots were fired at a local BJP leader at Bhatpara in North 24-Parganas, triggering violence. Former Barrackpore MP and BJP leader Arjun Singh and his TMC counterpart Somnath Shyam were involved in a showdown, with both leaders and their supporters standing face to face in altercation. A BJP supporter was later admitted to a hospital with bullet injuries. In Kolkata, councillor Sajal Ghosh was arrested from his residence after clashes between BJP and TMC supporters. DC (Central) Indira Mukherjee said Ghosh was arrested for making provocative comments. At Baguihati in the northern fringes of the city Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, , accompanied by former MP Debasree Choudhury and senior state party leaders, had an altercation with the police when they tried to stop him. Later, the Union minister blocked CR Avenue outside the state BJP headquarters along with party workers. Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari led a march in Nandigram. In Hooghly’s Konnagar, TMC and BJP workers clashed in the presence of the police. Tension erupted when BJP workers allegedly asked traders to down their shutters and TMC men prevented them, leading to a fight. President Murmu asks nation to protect women R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi Expressing shock and anguish over the alleged rapemurder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital, President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said, “enough is enough”. No civilised society must allow its daughters and sisters to be subjected to such atrocities, she added. “The nation is bound to be outraged, and so am I,” the President wrote in an exclusive signed article for news agency PTI. This is the Droupadi first time that the Murmu President is sharing her views on the incident in Kolkata. Murmu said the time has come to introspect. “Where have we erred? And what can we do to remove the errors? Without finding out the answer to that question, the half of our population cannot live as freely as the other half,” she wrote in the article titled Women’s Safety: Enough is Enough. Murmu blamed a ‘deplorable mindset’ for fuelling crimes against women. Museum police in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday registered a rape case against actor Siddique based on the complaint filed by a female actor Siddique has been slapped with charges of rape and threatening actor The female actor had filed a complaint, alleging that Siddique had sexually assaulted her in 2016 Statement recorded Police on Wednesday recorded the statement of an actress who had accused actors Mukesh, Jayasurya, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Idavela Babu, and three others, of abusing her physically and verbally The members of the special investigation team comprising DIG Ajitha Beegum, assistant inspector general G Poonguzhali and two other police officers went to the residence of the victim in Aluva and recorded her statement FEFKA welcomes panel report Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) welcomed the findings and recomme-ndations of the Hema Committee report, and urged authorities to release the remaining pages of the report with names and details. Vinayan writes to CM Director Vinayan has sent a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan urging him to remove B Unnikrishnan, the general secretary of FEFKA, from the cinema policy committee. Done deal THe Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday approved the $8.5-billion merger of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney Co’s Indian media assets, after the two parties offered to assuage concerns over their grip on broadcasting rights for cricket. The antitrust watchdog’s decision paves the way for the creation of India’s largest broadcasting empire in terms of reach and financial muscle. The CCI’s announcement came on the eve of RIL’s annual general meeting. Announced six months ago, the merger deal reportedly faced intense regulatory scrutiny. And the green signal has come after the parties proposed certain modifications to the original transaction structure. The CCI stated that its approval is subject to the compliance of the changes proposed by the parties. It, however, did not divulge the details. According to reports, Reliance and Disney proposed certain concessions, including assurances that they won’t jack up ad rates for streamed cricket matches. CPM MLA and actor M Mukesh, accused of sexual harassment, is on his way out from the committee constituted by the state government to formulate its cinema policy The CPM . state leadership is firm on its stand that no tainted individual should be part of the panel, and it’s only a matter of a day or two before the exit becomes official, sources said. However, Mukesh will continue as an MLA. A decision on the continuance of FEFKA general secretary B Unnikrishnan in the panel, headed by Shaji N Karun, would also be taken shortly sources said. , “In the case of Mukesh, the modalities need to be finalised - whether he should be allowed to resign or the committee reconstituted excluding the actor,” a source said. The decision comes after several women activists and political organisations demanded that Mukesh be dropped from The merger will combine the entertainment businesses (along with certain other identified businesses) of Viacom18, part of Asia’s richest billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance group, and Star India Pvt Ltd, wholly o w n e d by T h e Wa l t D i s n e y Company . The JV expected to be completed by , the end of this year or early 2025, will be controlled by the Reliance group with Ambani holding 63% stake. Disney will have the remaining 37%. Nita Ambani will be the chairperson of the JV while former Disney executive Uday Shankar will come on board as vice-chairperson. the panel. The government had adopted a wait and watch tactic, buying time for a safe exit for its MLA. However, accusation of sexual harassment against him made it obligatory for the police to file criminal cases against the actor-politician, and the development pushed both the CPM and the government to a tight spot. The CPM’s Kollam district secretariat that met on Tuesday struck a tough stand. Many leaders raised concerns about the actor continuing in the panel despite being an accused in a sexual harassment case. The secretariat members felt that the CPM should act proactive and defuse any chance of the incident affecting the party’s image. “We are of the view that a case should be registered against Mukesh on the victim’s petition. A sound investigation should be carried out, and if proved guilty he should be pun, ished and removed from all positions,” a district CPM leader told TNIE. However, the leaders favoured Mukesh continuing as an MLA for the time being. Meanwhile, directors Vinayan and Aashiq Abu have demanded that Unnikrishnan be dropped from the committee. The government is wary of the position the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) could take on the Cinema conclave if it keeps tainted individuals in the panel. Apart from Shaji N Karun, Mukesh and Unnikrishnan, the 10-member panel included Manju Warrier, Rajeev Ravi, Padmapriya, C Ajoy, Santosh Kurivila, Nikhila Vimal and the cultural department secretary . Probe team to record complainants’ secret statements before magistrate S h a n A S @ T’Puram The special investigation team (SIT) probing the allegations of sexual harassment in Malayalam film industry will record the secret statements of the complainants before a magistrate to ensure that they have evidentiary value, which will prove crucial during the trial. The SIT has identified 16 incidents of harassment as alleged by several persons before the media and on social media platforms. The allegations are being verified, said police sources. They said the police have so far received about eight complaints, with cases registered in two. The SIT decided to record the testimonials of the complainants before magistrate to rule out chances of their changing the statements during the trial E X P R E S S R EA D CCI nod to mega RIL, Disney merger E x p ress Ne w s S er v i c e @ New Delhi K S S R E E J I T H @ T’Puram ED slaps `908-cr fine on DMK MP Chennai: The Chennai zone of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has slapped a penalty of approximately I908 crore on DMK Member of Parliament (MP) S Jagathrakshakan and his family members for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the agency said on Wednesday. Properties worth I89.19 crore, seized under FEMA in 2020, were also ordered to be confiscated, the Enforcement Directorate said. P7 stage and also to safeguard them from unwanted cross-examination. Another reason behind the decision was to overcome the potential difficulties in garnering evidence as the alleged offences took place several years ago, a source said. Some of those who had raised allegations of sexual harassment have declined to file police complaints citing various reasons. “Most of them had raised trivial allegations, which could not be termed grave. Though they were contacted by the police, they chose not to file complaints,” the source said. Meanwhile, the SIT members recorded the statement of a female actor, who had pointed fingers at actors Jayasurya Mukesh, Maniyanpilla Raju and Idavela Babu, in Kochi on Wednesday She lodged a com. plaint with the police on Tuesday . Highly-placed sources said multiple cases will be registered on her complaints in various police stations in Kochi on the basis of the place of occurrence of the alleged offence. In another development, the Museum police in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday registered a rape case against actor Siddique based on the complaint filed by a female actor. The case was registered after the woman mailed her complaint to the State Police Chief on Tuesday, alleging that Siddique had sexually assaulted her at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram in 2016. ● More on P6 Vizag espionage case: 2 Cochin Shipyard workers in NIA custody E x p ress Ne w s S er v i c e @Kochi The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken two employees of the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) into custody in connection with the investigation into the 2021 Visakhapatnam espionage case. On Wednesday, the NIA team from Hyderabad, in coordination with its Kochi unit, conducted searches on the premises of CSL, where the suspects have been working as a welder and trainee, said sources. The case, initially uncovered by the Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence Cell in 2021, involves a man, Deepak, and his associates who allegedly conspired with Pakistan-based Foreign Intelligence Operatives (FIOs) to conduct espionage. The NIA, which took over the investigation last year, had found links between the accused persons and an Assam native, who had supplied SIM cards to facilitate espionage activities. He was later arrested in the case. The NIA’s investigation had found that the two suspects -- a resident of Kilimanoor and a Kadamakkudy native -- were linked to the Assam native. The NIA has seized the suspects’ mo● More on P7 bile phones.
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