DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA Gujarat govt transfers, assigns new postings to 18 IAS officers EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE GANDHINAGAR, JULY 31 IN A major reshuffle in the state IAS cadre, the Gujarat governmentonWednesdaytransferred 18 officers with some significant changes in the top bureaucracy. ManojKumarDas,additional chief secretary (Revenue), has been transferred to the Chief Minister’sOffice(CMO).Daswas principal secretary in the CMO when Vijay Ruani was the chief minister. He will also hold additional charge of additional chief secretary (Home) till further orders. Meanwhile, three senior IAS officers on central deputation -Jayanti Ravi, T Natarajan and Rejeev Topno -- have been repatriated to the parent cadre and given important portfolios. With Das’s transfer to CMO, Ravihas been appointedasprincipal secretary (Revenue). Natarajan, who came back to the parent cadre after his stint withWorldBankoncentraldeputation, has been appointed principalsecretary (Finance).He will replace additional chief secretary J P Gupta, who will be the new additional chief secretary (Tribal Development). Topno, meanwhile, has been appointedaschief commissioner of the State Tax department. He will also hold the charge of Principal Secretary (Finance) till Natarajan assumes the post. Topno has worked in the Prime Minister’s Office for 10 years as private secretary to the PM. Additional chief secretary (Social Justice and Empowerment) Sunaina Tomar has been appointed as the next additional chief secretary (Higher and Technical Education). Tomar will continue to hold additional charge of Social Justice and Empowerment department. Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar has been appointed Principal Secretary (Primary and Secondary Education). He will CONTINUEDONPAGE2 EXPRESS NETWORK UPSC CANCELS PUJA KHEDKAR’S CANDIDATURE KUMARASWAMY: JDS WON’T TAKE PART IN ANTI-CM MARCH PAGES 16 & 12 `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 DEATH TOLL IN WAYANAD CLIMBS TO 174 ‘There is not a soul left’: At landslide Ground Zero, massive rescue ops on Mundakkai turns into ghost village; 170 still missing, CM says over 1,500 rescued ISRAEL SILENT; TRUCE TALKS UNCERTAIN Hamas chief killed during Tehran visit, Iran vows revenge on Israel Ismail Haniyeh’s ‘special residence’ hit by projectile, says Iranian media SHAJU PHILIP MEPPADI, JULY 31 CLOSE TO 48 hours into the devastating landslide that tore through the hills of Wayanad district early Tuesday morning, Mundakkai, Ground Zero of the tragedy,isaghostvillage—many of its inhabitants are dead, others remain missing and those who survived were taken out after an arduous rescue mission. According to the state government’s control room that’s monitoringtherescueoperation, by Wednesday evening, the death toll from the landslides stood at 174 while around 170 peoplewerereportedmissingas central and state agencies worked alongside local volunteers to carry out search, rescue and relief operations. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 1,592 people have been rescued since the landslides hit. But it’s Mundakkai, a village in the lap of the Western Ghats that posed the biggest challenge totherescuers.Oncedottedwith resorts, home stays and coffee plantations, the entire village, part of the Meppadi panchayat, had been turned inside out as the torrent of mud and water washed away everything in its path — hundreds of houses, a mosque, a post office, a resort and several buildings. With a bridge across the Iruvazhanji river washed away, for several hours after the tragedy,thevillageremainedcut off from Chooralmala junction, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Hours before his killing, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh (centre), and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Ziad Nakhaleh, met Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right) Tuesday. AP NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI & PARISA HAFEZI CAIRO, DUBAI, JULY 31 A rescuer consoles a man who lost his home in the landslide at Chooralmala in Wayanad district of Kerala, Wednesday. AP THE EDITORIAL PAGE THESLIPPINGLAND Wayanad tragedy is a warning of the perils of ignoring ecology and science in development planning PAGE 10 INSIDE WAR OF WORDS IN HOUSE,SHAHSAYS BRINGINGBILL PAGE 15 In devastated villages, ambulances bring the dead, funeral prayers on SHAJU PHILIP MEPPADI, JULY 31 OVER 24 hours since massive landslides struck the hills of Meppadi panchayat in Kerala’s Wayanad district, the torrent of mud and water has receded to bare scenes of devastation — mass burials and relief shelters withpeoplewhohavenohomes to go back to. At the hillock burial ground of theJumaMasjidinWayanad’s Meppadi, funeral prayers have been ringing out ceaselessly since Tuesday. Here, around 50 volunteers drawn from various mahallu committees have been digging graves, preparing to find a resting place for the unending stream of bodies brought in by ambulances. The landslides that swept through several villages of Wayanad early Tuesday morning left at least 174 dead. Most of the victims at this burial ground are from Mundakkai and Chooralmala, two villages in Meppadi panchayat, where entire families and even neighbourhoods have been wiped off. According to Juma Masjid Committee Vice-President Musthafa Moulavi, 30 bodies have already been buried and volunteers are digging 50 more graves. Three to four graves are being prepared in a single pit for CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Govt draws up plan to Infosys slapped with Rs 32,403 cr GST tackle terror in Jammu: demand notice, says it has paid all dues 75 forest camps, arming village defence groups ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU NEW DELHI, JULY 31 THE DIRECTORATE General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has slapped a Rs 32,403-crorenotice on Infosys for services availed by the company from its overseas branches over a five-year period starting 2017. Bengaluru-basedInfosys,ina stockexchangefilingWednesday, called the missive from the tax department a “pre-show cause” MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, JULY 31 OVER 75 camps with personnel of the Special Operations Group (SOG) in forest areas; regular training for Village Defence Committees (VDCs) with traditional as well as semi-automatic weapons; and an increased deployment of BSF personnel on theborderwithaspecialfocuson tunnels — these are some of the key points of a security plan the Centre has prepared for Jammu, The Indian Express has learnt. In the wake of an uptick in terror attacks in the region, including many that inflicted casualties on security forces, multiple meetings were held by UnionHomeMinisterAmitShah andseniorministryofficialswith National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, J&K Lieutenant Governor GUJARAT During a search operation in Rajouri on Wednesday. ANI Manoj Sinha, and senior officials from the Army and CRPF. According to a source, questioningofthosesuspectedtohave provided logistics to terrorists suggests a group of 30-40 militantsfromPakistan,belongingto CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TWO JUNAGADH DOCTORS BOOKED AFTER 4 WOMEN SUFFER KIDNEY FAILURE POST CHILD BIRTH, 2 DIE AFTER A WEEK OF RAIN, DAMS HAVE 52.42% OF WATER STORED PAGES 3 & 4 noticeandsaiditbelievestheGST isnot applicableontheexpenses in contention. The IT company said the Karnataka State GST authorities have issued a pre-show cause notice for payment of GST of Rs 32,403 crore for the period July 2017 to March 2022 towards the expenses incurred by overseas branchofficesof InfosysLimited, and added that it has responded to the pre-show cause notice. “...the Company has also received a pre-show cause notice from the Director General of GST Intelligence on the same matter andtheCompanyisintheprocess ofrespondingtothesame,”thefiling stated. The company believes that as per regulations, GST is not applicable on such expenses. The DGGI is the intelligence and investigative agency for matters relating to violation of theGoods&ServicesTax,Central Excise Duty and Service Tax. “The Company believes that, as per regulations, GST is not CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HAMAS LEADER Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran early on Wednesday morning, an attack that drew threats of revenge on Israelandfuelledfurtherconcern thattheconflictinGazawasturning into a wider Middle East war. ThePalestinianIslamistmilitant group and Iran’s RevolutionaryGuardsconfirmed Haniyeh’sdeath.TheGuardssaid it took place hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for Iran’s new President. Iranian media said Haniyeh was staying at “a special residence” for war veterans in the north of Tehran. NourNews, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said his residence was hit by an “airborne projectile”. Although the attack was widely assumed to have been carried out by Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government made no claim of responsibility and said it would makenocommentonthekilling. Haniyeh, normally based in Qatar, had been the face of Hamas’s international diplomacy as the war set off by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 raged in Gaza. He had CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Why this killing is going to rattle the region and cause concern in Delhi Haniyeh was in Tehran for inaugural of President; Gadkari represented India SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JULY 31 E INDIA WOKE up to the news of Hamas leader Ismail ● Haniyeh’s assassination in Iran, marking a defining moment in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war sincetheOctober7,2023attacks. Until Wednesday evening, New Delhi had not issued a response. On Tuesday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari was in Tehran to attend the inaugurationof thenewly-electedIranian EXPLAINED BY UNNY POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL ● THE WORLD HANIYEH WAS ON ISRAEL’S HIT LIST SINCE OCT 7 TOP HEZBOLLAH COMMANDER KILLED IN BEIRUT PAGE 18 President MasoudPezeshkian— Haniyeh was also in Tehran for the ceremony. Whatdoesthisassassination mean for the region, the world CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 After 9 years of trial, AIIMS develops software to take specialised diabetes care to remote PHCs ANKITA UPADHYAY NEW DELHI, JULY 31 A NEW software developed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, can extend specialised diabetes care consultationtotheremotestprimary healthcare centre (PHC). Allthatalocal-levelhealthcare professionalneedstodoisfeedin patient data on risk factors like blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar into the software, whichcanthenprocesstheinformation to suggest the kind of treatmentandmedicinesneeded. Anine-year-longrandomised control trial, conducted on more than 1,100 patients from 10 private and public hospitals, demonstrated the model’s efficiencyaspatientswereabletoreducetheirdiabetes-relatedcomplications when they followed the protocol it recommended. “The study was conducted in low and middle-income countries including India and Pakistan. This software is suitablefortreatingpatientswithdiabetes, blood pressure and high cholesterol. We were able to reduceseriouscomplicationsof diabetes such as kidney, eye and nervoussystemsby32percent,” said Dr Nikhil Tandon, Head, Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at AIIMS, and one of the key investigators who did the randomised controlled trial with the Clinical Decision CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Why Olympians are losing sleep — heat, not enough food, transport woes EXPRESSAT OLYMPICS MIHIR VASAVDA PARIS, JULY 31 A BUS ride from the Olympic Village to the Table Tennis Arena takes 45 minutes. And for an Indianboxer,travellingon oneof the hottest days of the Games in a non-air-conditioned coach, it felt like a “journey to hell”. “There was a small vent for ventilationbutyoucouldn’topen the windows and hence, it was very suffocating. I was sweating even before I entered the arena,” the athlete, requesting anonymity, said. “It was cooler outside than inside the bus.” She isn’t the only one complaining and heat is just one of the woes expressed by the elite athletes who have converged here for the Games costing close to $9 billion. Besides the transport headache, Olympians in Paris are losing sleep due to empty stomachs or concerns about their belongings. A Japanese rugby player has lost his wedding ring. An Australian coach complained of a stolen credit card. The Americans have mocked the cramped bedrooms. South Korean swimmers checked out after just one day, citing transportationissues.AndtheIndians feel the food is inadequate and rationed — Team Great Britain flew in their own chef. For thousands of athletes, the sprawling Olympic Village is a “home”.Buttheyarenotfeelingat home. “From sleeping to bus to food… I don’t think there’s any athleteIhavespokenwith(who)is satisfied,” India’s top-ranked singlestennisplayerSumitNagalsaid. Badminton doubles star Chirag Shetty admitted that he INDIA AT OLYMPICS BADMINTON ■ Lakshya Sen stuns All-England champion to enter pre-quarters FULL COVERAGE: P 19, 20 Athletes have complained about living in the tiny Games Village rooms without air-conditioners. Reuters “wouldn’t say it was the best”. BoxerAmitPanghalhasbeenordering dal and roti for dinner from a nearby Indian restaurant. Two-timeOlympicmedallistPV Sindhu, after securing her spot in the knockout rounds on Wednesday, saidthefan worked for her the night before, the hottest of the Olympics so far, but wasn’t sure if others could sleep well. To reduce the carbon footprint, Paris Olympics organisers decidedto do away withairconditioning inside athletes’ rooms. Maybe, the noble green thought didn’t factor in the heat wave thathitParis,resultinginsweaty Olympians cramped in pokey quarters. Earlier this week, USA’s tennis sensation Coco Gauff gave her followers on TikTok a glimpse into the rooms where sheand her teammates are staying. The video had screaming soundeffects withacaptionthat read: “10 girls, two bathrooms”. An Indian table tennis player said the “cardboard” beds are so uncomfortable that they faced trouble “sleeping peacefully” for the first couple of nights. “But that is something we still got used to. The real problem is at the dining hall, where either there isn’t enough food or, if it is available, the queue is very, very long,” the paddler added. Supply issues have marred the football-field-sized dining area—the3,500-seaterhallfeeds CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad