DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2024, PUNE, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, JULY 30 INAscathingattackinLokSabha TuesdayonLeaderof Opposition RahulGandhioverhisclaimthat therewerenoSCsandSTsamong officials who prepared the Budget, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought to knowwhytherewasnoSCinthe Rajiv Gandhi Foundation or among the five trustees of the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust. Earlier, Sitharaman’s BJP colleague and former Union Minister Anurag Thakur, who did not name Gandhi but targeted him over his demand for caste-based census, said, “Jiski jaat ka pata nahin, woh ganana ki baat karta hai” (The person CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Two killed, 16 injured as Howrah-Mumbai Mail derails in Jharkhand ABHISHEK ANGAD RANCHI, JULY 30 TWO PASSENGERS were killed and at least 16 were injured when several coaches of the Howrah-Mumbai Mail derailed in Seraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand early Tuesday. Although the Railways is investigating the cause of the derailment, sources in the national transporter said the 22-coach Mumbai-bound express train 31/07/2024 94 122 150 68 may have collided with a carriage of a “partially derailed” goods train that was stationary on a parallel track. “Prima facie, the train hit the edge of one of the derailed carriages of the goods train, which had come to a halt on a parallel track. The Howrah-Mumbai Mail's engine bears collision marksonits rightside.However, it is not clear how the collision took place,” said a source. Another official said the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DISASTERHIT VILLAGES IN early hours when people were asleep ARMYJOINSRESCUEOPS, many feared trapped under debris Wayanad:122,counting Landslides sweep several villages in Kerala district; toll may rise SHAJU PHILIP CHOORALMALA (WAYANAD), JULY 30 THE HILLY areas of Meppadi in Kerala’s Wayanad district became the site of a calamity as massive landslides swept through several villages, killing at least 122. The tragedy struck past midnight —while the initial landslide took place around 1 am, another followed at 4.30 am — which meant most of the dead were buried in their sleep, with little chance to escape. The toll is expected to rise, and around 200 people are also injured,officialssaid,addingthat many could have been swept away or still be trapped under the debris. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 45 camps have been set up in the district andover3,000peoplehavebeen rehabilitated there. With landslides affecting several villages, such as Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala and Noolpuzha, and the rainshowingnosignof stopping, authorities raced against time to rescue those who may still be trapped. While the Army has deployed 200 soldiers from theDefenceSecurityCorpsanda medical team to assist with the GPO, PUNE CITY HEAD POST OFFICE GO DIGITAL WITH CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TABLETS, BUT PEOPLE STILL INCONVENIENCED P 3 FULL COVERAGE PAGE 11 Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh after winning the bronze in the 10-m air pistol mixed team event in Chateauroux. PTI A body is moved from a landslide site in Chooralmala in Wayanad, Kerala, Tuesday. Reuters Manu Bhaker again, independent India’s first athlete to win two medals at same Games ‘Entire village was wiped out, houses with families buried under debris’ 2 panels put site in eco-sensitive Partners Sarabjot Singh to bag bronze zone 10 yrs ago, in air pistol mixed event, aims at third The shooter, who sprang no notification onto the scene as a teenage SHAJU PHILIP NIKHIL GHANEKAR MEPPADI (WAYANAD), JULY 30 EVERY TIME a body reaches the community health centre, anxious relatives queue up to identify if the victim is one of theirs. Many have already identified two or three bodies of relatives, yet their ordeal isn’t over. These scenes played out in Meppadi, in Kerala’s Wayanad district, through Tuesday as the magnitude of the calamity became clear. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY NEW DELHI, JULY 30 E MUCH OF northern Kerala is susceptible to land● slides, one reason why the Meppadi panchayat in Wayanad district, the site of Tuesday’s landslide, wasdemarcatedasaneco-sensitive area by two expert committees 10 years ago. TheKKasturirangan-ledhighlevelworkinggroup(HLWG)and EXPLAINED Sitharaman and Thakur attack Rahul over caste, he says fight will go on `6.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESSAT OLYMPICS MIHIR VASAVDA CHATEAUROUX, JULY 30 WRESTLERKDJADHAV'Sbronze in1952andLeanderPaes'sthirdplace finish in 1996 were the only individual Olympic medals forIndiainnearlyhalf-a-century after Independence. Manu Bhaker needed just three days at the Paris Olympics to win as many medals. prodigy and flirted with greatness only to be held back by repeated instances of stagefright, joined the league of Indian legendsTuesday.Ormaybe,shewill be considered to be in a league of her own. Withabronzeinthe10-mair pistol mixed team match while partneringSarabjotSingh,onthe back of an individual medal in the same event, Manu became CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FULL COVERAGE PAGES 19, 20 Pune