DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, JULY 28, 2025, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES BY UNNY Bihar special roll revision: Volunteers will help electors get govt documents, says EC EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JULY 27 THE WORLD ISRAEL ANNOUNCES RELIEF IN GAZA AREAS TO ALLOW AID FOR STARVING P10 VOLUNTEERS WILL be deployed to help electors get the documentsrequiredfromgovernment departmentstomeetthesubmission deadline of September 1 as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Election Commission said on Sunday. The EC’s statement comes a day before the Supreme Court is set to hear a clutch of petitions challenging the SIR with opposition parties and civil society groups raising concernsover the potential disenfranchisement of existing electors. According to the EC, the first phase of the drive,whichstarted on June 25, came to an end on E E X P L A I NE D BUSINESS AS USUAL `7.00 (`8 RAIPUR, `15 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Chasing ● paperwork THE EC’S push to draft volunteers comes in the backdrop of concerns raised by electors across poll-bound Bihar about difficulties faced by them in obtaining the documents mandated to enroll as voters. It comes a day before the SC is set to hear petitions challenging the SIR exercise in the state. July 26 with the enumeration forms of 7.23 crore out of 7.89 crore registered electors of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PM: Op Sindoor BLOs’ refrain: Many still not able proved there is to file one of 11 documents needed no safe haven for terrorists WHAT WILL GOVT & POLITICS SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, JULY 27 ON SUNDAY, the Election Commissionannouncedthatvolunteers will help electors obtain the official documents required tomeetthesubmissiondeadline of September 1 in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. They have their task cut out. The Indian Express spoke to a dozenBLOsfromacrossthestate — including from the capital Patna,SamastipurinNorthBihar, PurneaintheSeemanchalregion, S.I.R AN EXERCISE TO DETERMINE CITIZENSHIP: OPP P6 NOT COUNTINBIHAR and Banka in South Bihar. After themonth-longSIRexercise,their refrain:mostof thosewhohadto submit one of the 11 documents have not been able to do so. Consider: ■ A BLO from the Danapur Assembly constituency said: “Out of 1,200 voters who submittedenumerationformsinmy booth, 550werein the2003 voters' list. Of the remaining 650 voters, only about 60 people Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a roadshow in Tamil Nadu’s Ariyalur district on Sunday. PTI RELATEDREPORT,P5 ARUN JANARDHANAN CHENNAI, JULY 27 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi on Sunday said Operation Sindoor sent the world the unambiguous message that “there is no safe haven” for terrorists and other enemies of the country. The military operation, he said, ignited a “new awakening” and “new self-confidence”. The comments came a day before the Lok Sabha is scheduled to hold a 16-hour debate on the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent action Of the 97 appointed, 23 have links to politicians, bureaucrats or judges CHANDIGARH, JULY 27 THEHARYANAgovernmentmay be having a rethink over the appointmentof VikasBarala,anaccused in a sexual harassment case, as Assistant Advocate General, but a scrutiny of the list shows that like Barala, many of those appointed as law officers are relatives of VIPs, including politicians and bureaucrats. This, ironically, when the Supreme Court, as early as 2016, had cautioned against such appointments and advised guidelinestoinsulatetheprocessfrom politics. On July 18, Vikas Barala, the son of BJP Rajya Sabha MP and former Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala, was named as one of 97 law officers in the state. Talking to The Indian Express, AdvocateGeneralPravindraSingh Chauhan said: “As far as Vikas Barala is concerned, he has not joinedyet…Iwasnotawareofthe background (of Vikas Barala). I don't think he (Vikas) will join.” Chauhansaiditwaswrongto seeallfromonelens.“Ihaveseen their (the new appointees') working. All of them are competent lawyers. They have not made it to these posts due to their surnames, but only due to their competence. All the selections have been made on merit.” TheAG’sofficeinHaryanaput out an advertisement in January for 100 posts of law officers (including 20 Additional AGs, 20 SeniorDeputyAGs,30DeputyAGs CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NETWORK DIPLOMATIC FLURRY AS INDIA SEEKS MORE AFRICAN CHEETAHS KHADSE SON-IN-LAW HELD, DRUGS SEIZED AT PARTY IN PUNE PAGES 5, 7 that the government took against terror infrastructure in Pakistan. The Rajya Sabha is set todiscussthematteronTuesday. “Operation Sindoor proved that for enemies of India, for terrorists,thereisnosafehaven.The worldsawhowIndiarespondsif someoneattacksitssecurityand sovereignty. When I came here from the helipad, the three to fourkilometredistancesuddenly became a roadshow, and everyone was praising Op Sindoor … It has created a new awakening, anewself-confidenceacrossthe country,”Modisaidinhisaddress CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 After the stampede near Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar on Sunday; (below) police and SDRF personnel at the site. PTI 8 killed, 30 injured in stampede near Mansa TCS to lay off 12,200 Devi temple in Haridwar, inquiry ordered employees in major IT sector shakeup AISWARYA RAJ HARIDWAR, JULY 27 PANIC TRIGGERED by a suspected electric spark caused a stampede on a packed narrow stretch leading to the hilltop Mansa Devi temple in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district Sunday morning, killing at least eight persons and leaving 30 injured, police said. IGP (Law and Order) Nilesh Bharne said devotees were heading to the temple when the incidenttookplacearound9am. “There was some rumour about electricity hazards, creating panic among the devotees, leading to the situation,” he said. Thestampedetookplaceona 1.5-kmramp,around100metres from the temple entrance. The path, which is less than 3 metres wide,isusedbydevoteesbothentering and exiting the temple. A police officer said the rush from those entering and exiting the temple at the same time made some climb a wall to enter the temple through a shortcut. “Prima facie, when someone tugged on an electric wire while climbing the wall, it is believed CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GEORGE MATHEW MUMBAI, JULY 27 WITNESSES RECALL: PANIC, THEN CHAOS P7 Jadeja, Washington hold fort as India draw strength from stirring last-day fightback EXPRESSIN ENGLAND SANDEEP DWIVEDI MANCHESTER, JULY 27 THE DAY was ending, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar were in their 80s and there was no doubt about the result of the Test. India had miraculously managed to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat on the final At TN event, Modi speaks of India’s military might, Chola empire legacy CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Not just stalking accused, several VIP relatives on list of Haryana law officers VARINDER BHATIA DEBATE IN LS TODAY Ravindra Jadeja (107 not out) and Washington Sundar (101 not out) during the Manchester Test on Sunday. Reuters dayof thefourthTest.Theknackered England captain Ben Stokes had enough, he wanted to shake hands and nurse his wounds in the dressing room. But the day's heroes — Jadeja and Washington — were in no hurry to leave. They wanted to rub a few English noses in the mud and get well-deserved Test hundreds. They also wanted the crowd, and their teammates, to celebrate the draw that was as precious as a win. They finally shookhandswiththescoreboard showingIndia425forfour,Jadeja CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IN A major shake-up in India's IT sector,TataConsultancyServices (TCS), the country’s largest IT services firm, on Sunday announcedthatitwillbeslashing2 per cent of its global workforce — roughly 12,200 jobs — over this year. The move will impact primarily mid- and senior-level employees, it said. Framed as a push toward buildinga“future-readygenera- tion” through “skillingand redeployment”,themoveis,in effect, asweepingcost-cuttingexercise. As on June 30, 2025, the TCS workforce stood at 6,13,069. On Sunday, the TCS said it is on a journey to become a futurereadyorganisation.“Thisincludes strategic initiatives on multiple frontsincludinginvestinginnewtechareas,enteringnewmarkets, deploying AI at scale for our clients and ourselves, deepening our partnerships, creating nextgeninfrastructureandrealigning CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SC-named panel proposes ‘power corridors’ through Bustard habitats THE REVISED PRIORITY AREA NIKHIL GHANEKAR NEW DELHI, JULY 27 ‘The climate has lent itself to many lawsuits, making it more terrifying for filmmakers’ NAGESH KUKUNOOR FILMMAKER PAGE 13 GIVING RELIEF to renewable energycompaniesfromblanketrestrictions on existing overhead power lines in habitats of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), a Supreme Court appointed expert committee has proposed designated“powercorridors”for transmissionlinesinGujaratand Rajasthan,The Indian Express has learnt. The committee has also CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ramgarh Mohangarh Pokhranfield firingarea Askandra Ramdevra Phalodi Mokla Jaisalmer Barna Proposedrevised priorityarea 14013km2 Rasla Pokhran RAJASTHAN DesertNationalPark ‘India can play role in Syria stability through friendship with Syrians, Kurds’ HARITHA SAVITHRI BARCELONA, JULY 27 THE RECENT Israeli airstrikes in Damascus have heightened tensions among the many stakeholders in the region. As commanderof theSyrianDemocratic Forces(SDF)andoneof themost senior leaders in the Kurds-led Democratic Autonomous Administrationof NorthandEast Syria (DAANES), Kurdish leader General Mazloum Abdi is a key playerinaregionwithacomplex and unique set of security and governancechallenges.Whilein- terim president Ahmed al- nic/religious rights (especially Sharaa and the Damascus gov- Kurdishrecognition)andgender ernment have been asking the equality.Damascus,however,reSDF to honour jects these as intheir March 10 fringementsonstate deal by dissolving sovereignty.Inanintheoutfitandfully terview, Gen Abdi integrating its speaks about Syria SPECIAL TO fighters into the post Assad, the SyrianArabArmy, sticking points in the SDF has been the deal with the INTERVIEW WITH demanding a deSyrian government. GENERAL centralised secuMAZLOUM ABDI How has daily life rity arrangement SYRIAN KURDISH LEADER that preserves its for civilians in command strucSyria changed ture. Besides decentralisation, since the fall of the Assad the SDF had been seeking eth- government? EXPRESS General Abdi is a key player in a region with a complex and unique set of security and governance challenges. AP The collapse of the Baath regime after 13 years was a development that all Syrians were happy about and a cause for celebration for all of us. At the same time, this moment has created a hugesecurityandadministrative vacuum. All areas of life in Syria were almost completely destroyed during the years of war. Basic necessities, such as water andelectricity, are still very difficult to find. However, the positive thing is that now, with the lifting of some of the economic sanctions, there has been some relief and there is hope that our country can rebuild. There are many difficulties and dangers in terms of security. The interim government is trying to gain control through a unilateral approach, but there are many violations and violence has increased. We have seen many suicide attacks in the big cities. The threat of ISIS and the ISIS movement has also increased. What are the challenges in integrating the SDF into the Syrian army under the March 10 agreement? What role can DAANES play in Syria’s future? We attach great importance to that memorandum of understanding. We are currently working to broaden and implement it. The experience of DAANES constitutes a positive modelof governanceforSyria.In the last more than 10 years, DAANEShasbeenabletorebuild the region that had been destroyed during major battles with ISIS and re-establish security there. This is a very important issue that must be considered. After the collapse of the highly centralised and dictatorial regime of (former president) Bashar al-Assad, Syria now has a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2