DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY WILL LOOK AT PITCH AND DECIDE (ON ROHIT): GAMBHIR AHEAD OF FINAL TEST Melbourne effect: First time, captain to sit out, Bumrah steps into Rohit’s shoes What after the tough call: Rohit, Virat and question of captaincy Head coach: Had ‘honest words’ with players, team ‘lacked fight’ this series SPORT SANDIP G The Indian Express first reported on the dressing down in the dressing room on January 1 EXPRESSINAUSTRALIA Manmohan memorial: Ekta Sthal, Vijay Ghat, Rashtriya Smriti Sthal on Govt shortlist Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh SRIRAM VEERA SYDNEY, JANUARY 2 THE EARLY hint of India captain Rohit Sharma sitting out of the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Sydney came from head coach Gautam Gambhir. “We shall look at the pitch and take a call tomorrow,” he said at the pre-match press conference here on Thursday. It’s rare for the inclusion of a teamcaptainbeingsubjecttothe nature of the pitch. Later, Rohit had a light net session, facing a few casual throwdowns. There was no official announcement, but by evening the word was out — Rohit, who has been struggling for runs, had “opted to rest” while vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah would lead the side. The team seemed to take the change at the top in its stride. Afterthepressconference,Rohit, BumrahandGambhirwereseen sitting in the bucket-seats outside their dressing room — chatting,back-slappingandlaughing. Afterthisshortmeeting,Rohit walked towards the team bus, to be greeted by a roar from a small crowd lined up outside. “Rohit, Rohit,” they chanted, and the “rested” captain gave a big smile as he sauntered into the bus. It was an unusual day. The pre-match press conference, slated to start at 1.10 pm, began nearly half-an-hour late; word CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED AVIATION HOW IN-FLIGHT INTERNETWORKS PAGE 16 PAGE 1 ANCHOR A YEAR of transition and transformations awaits Indian cricket in the longest format. The ongoingseriesisstillalive.Indiacould win in Sydney, retain the BGT, and are not yet out of the World Test Championship final race. But there are clear signs that the selectors, head coach Gautam Gambhir and team managementarethinking ahead and plan● ning to leap into the future of Indian cricket. In the process, they would take tough and important calls. Like the form and future of Captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two struggling stalwarts; or who will be the captain when Rohit retires; or the immediate future of Rishabh Pant. India’s next big Test series is six months away.Theytravelforafive-match E Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah at the nets in Sydney on Thursday, ahead of the final Test. Sriram Veera PAGE17 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Mamata says BSF letting infiltration in Bengal: ‘Part of Centre’s blueprint to destabilise state’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, JANUARY 2 WEST BENGAL Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the Border Security Force(BSF)of facilitatinginfiltration from Bangladesh as part of the Central government’s "blueprint" to destabilise the state. Speaking at an administrative review meeting that was attended by top officials of the stategovernment,thechief ministerallegedthattheBSFwasletting infiltrators enter West Bengal through Islampur, Sitai and Cooch Behar. “We have information that the BSF is letting infiltrators enter India through various border areas. This is an inside job by the BSF, supported by a blueprint from the Central government. Withoutsuchaplan,theseactivities would not be possible. It’s a deliberate attempt to destabilise the state. There is a deep-rooted conspiracy involving the central government," the CM said. "They (BSF) torture women, butwhyhaven'tyouprotested?" she asked officials present at the meeting. “I told the Central government time and again that I would support them, but if I see trouble being created in my state, and if anybody is helping Iran minister in Delhi for talks to boost ties, trade via Chabahar MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL TOPOFFICIALSfromtheMinistry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Central Public Works Departmentidentifiedthreepotential sites for former Prime MinisterManmohanSingh’smemorial — Ekta Sthal, Vijay Ghat and Rashtriya Smriti Sthal — at a meetingonThursdayafternoon, The Indian Express has learnt. Anofficialannouncementon the final site is awaited. Ekta Sthal is home to former President Giani Zail Singh’s samadhi; Vijay Ghat houses the memorial of India’s second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri; Rashtriya Smriti Sthal is a designated memorial complex for departed leaders. While Vijay Ghat is located on the main Ring Road near Rajghat(MahatmaGandhi’smemorial), Ekta Sthal lies between Shanti Van (Jawaharlal Nehru’s samadhi) and Vijay Ghat, along Rajghat, and Rashtriya Smriti Sthal is near Ekta Sthal. According to sources, Urban Development Secretary K Srinivas will inform Singh’s family about the proposed sites. Land allocation will follow the establishment of a Trust, for whichthefamilywouldbeasked to nominate members. NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 EXPLAINED KHEL RATNA FOR MANU, GUKESH, HARMANPREET, PRAVEEN KUMAR PAGE 18 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 NEW ROLE Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh with newly appointed Governor Ajay Bhalla in Imphal on Thursday. PTI PAGE7 DAYS BEFORE Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, has reached New Delhi for talks Friday with External Affairs Minister S JaishankarandForeignSecretary VikramMisri.IranislookingatincreasingbilateraltradewithIndia, including via the Chabahar port. From tourism to agriculture, Tehran wants to boost ties with Delhi and bilateral talks will take place before the Trump ad- Majid TakhtRavanchi, Iran Deputy Foreign Minister ministration takes charge on January 20. Sources said Iran would also like to get a sense from Indian officials on dealing with sanctions — India has stopped buying oil from Iran due to the threat of sanctions, but has continued to buy oil from Russia despite sanctions. A top Iranian government source said while the “circumstances” of Russia and Iran are “different”, these questions merit discussions. “We don’t want to deal with the past, but want to look into the future,” the source said. For Tehran, which has suffered from the economic sanctions imposed during Trump’s first term, increasing trade with Indiais“veryimportant”.Tehran hopes to diversify to other areas, including agriculture and petrochemical products through the Chabahar port. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Did Rajaji tiger walk 500 km to Jammu? Army has a photograph; Forest dept says seems ‘photoshopped’ Poonch Kangra Himachal Pradesh JAY MAZOOMDAAR NEW DELHI, JANUARY 2 COULD A tiger “sighted” a few kilometres from the Line of Control in Jammu’s Rajouri be thebigcatthatsetoutinanorthwest direction from Uttarakhand’s Rajaji Tiger Reserve, travelling more than 500 km, over two years? Wemayneverknowbecause the “sighting” by the Army’s Road Opening Party (ROP) close to the Rajouri-Poonch highway ontheslopesof PirPanjalmountains at a height of 6,000 feet has landed the Jammu and Kashmir forest department and the Army on opposite sides. Jammu Rajouri Ropar Renuka Sanctuary (Himachal) Kalesar National Park (Haryana) Rajaji Tiger Reserve (Uttarakhand) While the Army ROP has clickedaphotographof thetiger, the forest department has CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 This photograph of a tiger was taken by an Army patrol near the Rajouri-Poonch highway Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna on Thursday. Express terrorist activities, we will protest. That's why I will send a strong protest letter to the Centre,” Banerjee added. Referring to a recent bust of a fake passport racket by the West Bengal Police, Banerjee said the arrests highlighted how the porous borders were being exploited. “The passports were issued to people who illegally entered India from Bangladesh. This is another indication of the need for better coordination," the CM said. “Granting visas is not in the state's jurisdiction; it is handled by the central government. We CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AT REVIEW MEETING, CM PULLS UP ALL — TOP COPS TO DMs TO MINISTERS PAGE 3 THE WORLD NEW ORLEANS ATTACKER ‘INSPIRED’ BY ISLAMIC STATE, U.S. ARMY VETERAN ONE KILLED IN TESLA TRUCK BLAST OUTSIDE TRUMP’S VEGAS HOTEL PAGE 14 Omar: PM assured statehood for J&K, so let’s give Centre first opportunity NAVEED IQBAL SRINAGAR, JANUARY 2 IN HIS first media interaction here Thursday, two-and-a-half months after taking over as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah stressed on restoration of statehood to J&K but added that his government was willing to wait for the Centre to do so rather than taking recourse to courts. While acknowledging that dual power centres were a problem in running the government, Omar also emphasised that he was under no pressure from the Centre, Raj Bhavan or the BJP to “change our thinking or our language or our agenda”. “Fromthefirstday,thePMand the HM (Home Minister) have J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar on Thursday. Shuaib Masoodi toldmethat‘Youhavebeengiven the mandate and we are in the Opposition.Therewillbenoeffort to destabilise this government. The support that we extended to the Lieutenant Governor will be extended to you. We will respect themandateofthepeopleofJ&K’. ThesearethewordsofthePMand HM,” Omar said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Begging at traffic signals to directing traffic: ‘Proud moment for me’ RAHUL V PISHARODY HYDERABAD, JANUARY 2 FROM BEGGING at intersections untillastyeartodirectingtrafficat oneoftheverysamespotsinuniform this year — life has come a full circle for B Sravani Chinni, 28. Keeping an eye on the vehicles at Alugadda Bavi Junction in Telangana’sSecunderabadasshe speaks to The Indian Express, Chinni says, “This is a very proud moment for me. Among other places, I begged at this very signal for 10 years. Now, I am managing traffic at this very place.” Nearly three months ago, Telanganahadannounceditsdecision to employ trans persons to manage traffic, along the lines of home guards in the police department. A government order was issued earlier in December 2024, announcing vacancies for 50 trans persons and their deploymentastrafficassistantsunderapilotprojectforsixmonths. Inthelastweekof December, 39 trans persons joined the HyderabadTrafficPoliceastraffic assistants.Beforetheirinduction, allnewappointeespassedawritten exam, cleared all physical tests and underwent a 20-day trainingonmanningtrafficatkey intersections across the city. After they heard about the government’s announcement, Chinni says her family reached out to her “after 10 years”. An only child, she says she has been estranged from her parents, a farmer couple, for a decade — since she decided to move to Hyderabad for a gender reassignment surgery. “I don’t have any plans of going back home, nor did they ask me to come back. All that my parents said over the call was that I should take care of myself, stop begging and do my job well,” says Chinni, who has been deputed to direct traffic from 8 am to 2 pm. B Sravani Chinni has been deployed as a traffic assistant at Alugadda Bavi Junction in Secunderabad. Rahul V Pisharody While she has been told that she will receive a stipend, she says she doesn’t know the amount. “I am waiting for my salary so I can pay my rent and for other expenses. I stopped begging after applying for this job,soIhavenothadanyincome forawhile.Thingshavebeenabit tightsincethen,”shesays,adding thattheyhavebeentoldtheirextension after six months will depend upon their performance. Chinni, who lives in a oneroom house in Suraram, a locality in Hyderabad, says she pays a much higher rent compared to others.“WhiletheypayRs4,000, my rent for the same accommo- dation is Rs 6,500 because of my gender. Landlords take advantageof oursituation,”shealleges. Talking about her transition, Chinni says she felt like a female ever since she hit puberty. Fearing judgement and rejection, she never shared her feelings with her parents. When she did eventually confide in some friends, all of them heckled her. With no information or support to help her navigate her feelings, Chinni was at sea. Then, in Class 10, she met someone who felt the same and knew about the transgender community. “That friend put in touch with the transgender commu- nityinHyderabad.AfterClass12, nearly 10 years ago, I cut all ties with my family and moved to Hyderabad without a single penny in my pocket,” she says. While she was uncertain about the move to Hyderabad, sheeventuallyfoundanewfamily in the transgender communityinthecity.Overthenexttwo years, Chinni says she begged at traffic signals daily to raise moneyforherreassignmentsurgery, which cost Rs 5 lakh six years ago. “I never told my parents about the surgery, but they found out somehow,” she says. Over the next few years, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata