Singer’s COVID-19 status has politicians worried

Leaders who attended events with Kanika also met President

21/03/2020, OMAR RASHID,LUCKNOW

Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor’s announcement on Friday that she had tested positive for COVID-19 triggered a scare among several top politicians who had attended a series of events with her in Lucknow recently as well as those who were in contact with them.

Many have since announced that they were going into quarantine.

Following Ms. Kapoor’s revelation on Instagram, BJP leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje stated that she, along with her son and MP Dushyant Singh had attended a dinner where Ms. Kapoor was present, and as a matter of “abundant self-caution” were immediately adopting self-quarantine.

Mr. Singh was among many MPs who attended a breakfast meeting hosted by President Ram Nath Kovind on March 18 as well as a parliamentary panel meeting attended by around 20 MPs later in the day.

While Rashtrapati Bhavan is yet to issue any statement, it is learnt that Mr. Kovind would follow all protocols prescribed. The Uttar Pradesh government has not revealed the names of politicians, bureaucrats and socialites who allegedly attended the event.

Late on Friday, an FIR was lodged against Ms. Kapoor for negligence. She was booked under Sections 188, 269 and 270 of the IPC.

Coimbatore man held for posting Covid-19 rumour on Whatsapp

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.17 AM IST

COIMBATORE: A 43-year-old self-proclaimed medical practitioner was arrested on Friday for spreading rumours on Covid-19 on YouTube and WhatsApp.

S Baskar alias ‘Healer’ Baskar, of Arivozhi Nagar in Kovaipudur Selvapuram, was held based on a complaint lodged by Dr G Rameshkumar, deputy director, public health department, Coimbatore.

In his complaint to the Kuniyamuthur police on Wednesday, Rameshkumar said ‘Healer’ Baskar was circulating an audio message on WhatsApp and a video on YouTube stating Covid-19 outbreak was a depopulation measure ordered by the “Illuminati” across the globe.

“All the people, who are being isolated, will be eliminated later on. This is the World War-III and allopathy doctors are responsible for this war,” Baskar said in his social media message. The self-proclaimed medical practitioner also said he was in a position to speak about coronavirus and that he has been talking about the same for the past 10 years.

Rameshkumar said ‘Healer’ Baskar was instilling fear among the people of Tamil Nadu and requested the Kuniyamuthur police to take action against him. Subsequently, ‘Healer’ Baskar was booked under Sections 153(A), 504 and 505(i) (b) of the Indian Penal Code.

On Friday, the Kuniyamuthur police arrested ‘Healer’ Baskar and produced him before the judicial magistrate court-VII, which remanded him in judicial custody till April 3. Later, he was lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison.

Preliminary inquiry revealed that a BE (civil) holder, ‘Healer’ Baskar had studied acupuncture course for two years and set up a centre named Anatomic Therapy Foundation at Kovaipudur. He was arrested in August 2018 for promoting childbirth at home and conducting a class on the same for women. It is to be noted that home births are banned in the state.

Tatkal tickets go abegging, only 3% booked in Trichy divison

TNN | Mar 20, 2020, 04.41 AM IST

Trichy: With fewer people using public transport including trains, the sale of tatkal tickets in all originating trains from Trichy division has fallen drastically. Out of the 1,374 tatkal tickets – including on air-conditioned coaches — available for 10 express trains, only 34 were sold out on Thursday for travel on Friday .

Railway division officials said the number of cancellations was more than the bookings. On normal days, booking a tatkal ticket was by no means easy. However, after the Covid-19 outbreak, the situation has changed. Ten trains including Chennai Rockfort, Mayiladuthurai - Coimbatore Jan Shatabdi, Mayiladuthurai - Mysuru express trains usually witness hundreds on waiting list, particularly during weekends. The officials said most of the trains have been witnessing poor patronage due to coronavirus forcing cancellation of several of them.

According to the available data, out of the 1,021 available general tatkal seats, only 29 were booked leaving 992 up for grabs. The entire 120 second class AC seats have not been booked, while for 3rd AC, out of 203 tatkal seats, only five passengers have utilized the quota. On Mayiladuthurai - Coimbatore Jan Shatabdi, all the 30 seats in AC chair cars remained vacant. Citing poor patronage, Karaikkudi passenger (train no. 76839) has been cancelled till March 31, Karaikkudi – Trichy passenger (train no. 76840) till April 1 and Trichy – Manamadurai – Trichy passenger (train nos. 76807/76808) till March 31, all with immediate effect.

Hyderabad – Trichy special fare special on March 23 and 30, Trichy - Hyderabad special fare special on March 25 and April 1 are also cancelled. Villupuram – Secunderabad special fare special on April 1 and Secunderabad - Villupuram special fare special on April 2 have also been cancelled.

Central univ advances semester vacations

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.49 AM IST

Trichy: The Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), Tiruvarur, has advanced the semester vacations due to the extraordinary situation caused by the spread of Covid-19.

While classes have been suspended from Sunday, the university has now decided to advance the semester vacation from March 23, according to a circular issued on Friday by registrar S Bhuvaneswari.

University staff have been asked to report latest by April 26, who will get screened at the university health centre on their return as a safety measure.

Students in different years of their programmes have been given different dates from April 27 to May 3 to report back to the university.

They too will undergo health screening before entering the university campus.

On Sunday, the registrar had asked students to move back to their home towns till the academic activities resume.

To ensure safe situation from the spread of Covid-19, the university had suspended academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities till March 31.

Telugu New Year spurs jaggery biz in Salem, Namakkal districts

Mar 14, 2020, 04.41 AM IST

Salem/Namakkal: The jaggery manufacturers and merchants in Salem and Namakkal are working round the clock to add sweetness to the Telugu New Year festival in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Expecting a good business, more than 1,000 cottage units that are involved in jaggery manufacturing in these two districts have upped the production volume. Presently, they are producing more than eight tonnes jaggery a day.

According to industry sources, there are more than 800 jaggery cottage units in Paramathi-Velur taluk in Namakkal district alone. They usually produce up to 2,000kg jaggery a day in non-peak season and 8,000kg during peak season such as Pongal.

K S Srinivasan, a jaggery manufacturer from Paramathi, said, “After the Pongal festival, there was no remarkable sale across the state. After a lull, the jaggery production has picked up pace now as we have started getting orders from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ahead of the Telugu New Year, which falls on March 25.”

The increase in jaggery production has helped the sugarcane farmers in Erode and Dharmapuri districts as well, from where these manufacturers are procuring the raw material.

K Shanmugam, a merchant in Salem, said, they were doing a brisk business. Pointing out that the jaggery from the Namakkal units would first reach Salem, which is the main market, he said, “From here, we will transport them to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana through trucks. We are presently sending nearly 50 tonnes jaggery to the neighbouring states daily.”

The jaggery price has also shot up in tandem with the increase in demand. While a pack of 30kg jaggery was priced at Rs 900 after the Pongal, the same now costs Rs 1,230. “1kg jaggery will be sold at Rs 45 in retail shops in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,” Shanmugam said.

Covid-19: Salem region steps up preventive measures

TNN | Mar 19, 2020, 04.20 AM IST

Salem: All the district administrations in Salem region have stepped up measures to contain the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19).

Salem collector S A Raman visited Kolathur on Salem-Mysuru national highway on Wednesday morning and monitored the disinfection drive. Talking to the media, he said health department officials were spraying disinfectant on vehicles that were coming from Karnataka. “They are also checking the passengers for fever and cold. If tested positive, they will be moved to special wards for further proceedings.”

Salem Municipal Corporation commissioner R Sadheesh, meanwhile, opened a help desk at the Salem central new bus stand on Wednesday. He said sanitary workers were spraying disinfectant on all buses. “They will also apply sanitizers on passengers. I have appealed the passengers to approach the help desk for any medical assistance.”

In Erode, collector C Kathiravan postponed the Sri Bannari Amman Temple festival that is usually celebrated from March 23 to April 13. “However, there will be puja on March 23. The festival will be held on some other occasion after containing Covid-19 spread.” He also appealed the public to alert police of any movement of foreigners or people from other states. He said the public could reach the district administration on toll free number 1077 for any medical assistance.

On his part, Dharmapuri collector S Malarvizhi visited the town bus stand and monitored the disinfectant spraying activity. She also distributed handouts to passengers, detailing preventive measures to safeguard them from Covid-19.

While Krishnagiri collector S Prabhakar visited Hosur and inspected the health department cell, Namakkal collector K Megraj inspected the entire district and monitored the disinfectant spraying activity.

120 Indian students stuck in Philippines await govt help

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.11 AM IST

Madurai: As many as 120 Indian students pursuing medicine (MD) in four colleges in Philippines who spent three days at the Manila airport and were forced to return to their hostels, are waiting for the Indian government’s help to be repatriated. The students who reached the airport on March 17 came to know that their tickets were cancelled just before they were to board their flight on March 18.

They stayed in the Manila airport till March 20 before being forced to leave. The students from Lyceum Northwestern University in Dagupan, AMA College in Makatie, University of Perpetual in Las Pinas and PLT College in Bayombong, include 25 from Tamil Nadu. The others hail from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

“Following a spurt in Covid-19 cases Philippines was given level 3 alert, and the government announced closure of all the cities on March 16. Educational institutions and work places were closed for 35 days. We were given an option to stay in the hostels but were warned that there could be difficulty in serving food if the shops are closed,” said R Godwin Leo, 19, from Vattam in Kanyakumari district.

Godwin, who is studying in the Lyceum Northwestern University said that he and other students booked their flight tickets on March 17. “It is an eight-hour journey by road to cover the 400km distance to the Manila airport. Twenty-five students from my college reached the airport in the evening in a hired van. We completed the immigration formalities and were collecting the boarding passes when trouble began,” he said.

Moments before they could board the flight they were informed by the Air Asia staff that their tickets have been cancelled and that India will not be permitting flights from the Philippines and many other countries. The students said they stayed in the airport with the hope of getting help from the Indian embassy to fly home. They said the embassy officials reached them on March 18 and assured to repatriate them.

“But the officials did not respond to our calls or messages. We started making videos and sharing them on social media to get the government’s attention. But on 19th, embassy officials asked us to leave the airport and return to our colleges,” he said and added that the students, however, stayed in the airport with some hope to fly to India.

“We spent three days in the airport without proper food. At last around 11.15 on Friday morning the embassy officials with the help of the airport police forced us to leave the airport. They said there are no flights to India till March 31,” said Aarthy Satheesh Kumar of Chennai. Left with no other option, the students started back to their hostels.

On reaching their hostels they were allowed to stay during the closure period. But the hostels told them that they would not be served breakfast throughout this period.

The students have appealed to the governments of India and Philippines to repatriate them as they fear getting infected by the virus as it is fast spreading there.

Visit hospital only if it is urgent, say doctors

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.13 AM IST

Madurai: Doctors of both government and private sectors have urged patients and their attenders to avoid visiting hospitals in the light of the Covid-19 scare unless it is an emergency.

“Decreasing large gatherings should include hospitals as well. Patients’ relatives, especially with holidays announced for schools, should not make use of it to bring their children to hospitals. Even outpatients can postpone their regular check-ups and only go in case of emergency,” said a senior doctor at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH). GRH is one of the largest government hospitals in Tamil Nadu frequented by thousands of patients every day. The doctor added that even patients going for elective surgeries can wait for some time if possible.

One of the city’s biggest hospitals specialising in eye care, Aravind Eye Hospitals (AEH), has announced that it will provide eye care consultation and treatment to patients who have emergency problems like sudden loss of vision, severe pain or redness in the eye, injury to the eye and ulcers. Patients who have undergone an operation recently and need mandatory follow-up will also be seen. In a statement on Friday, the AEH management asked all patients who need routine follow-up or check-up to come to the hospital only after March 31.

“Those with chronic illnesses that require periodical visits like cancer or kidney disease can postpone their next visit to the hospital or try to contact the doctor over phone. Many of the elderly with diabetes and hypertension can also afford to postpone their regular hospital check-ups because they are vulnerable. Only in case of emergency should they come to a hospital,” said a general physician at a private multi-speciality hospital.

While private hospitals have limited attenders, they still see footfall in thousands. Hospitals are a hotbed of infection and even measures like use of hand sanitisers or hand washing may not be enough, added the doctors.

Delhi police officials kept low profile in maoist-hit Bihar village to arrest one of Nirbhaya accused

PTI | Mar 20, 2020, 01.45 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Arresting the accused in the Nirbhaya case was not easy for Delhi police investigators, who had to visit a maoist-affected village in Bihar and keep a low profile to nab one of them.

Akshay Kumar Singh, the cleaner of the bus in which the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was gangraped, had left for his native village in Aurangabad district after committing the ghastly crime.

The police traced Singh through a mobile number Ram Singh, the driver of the bus and the first accused to be arrested in the 2012 case, shared with the investigators during interrogation.

Singh had used the phone number to speak to his family back home and it was registered with a service provider in Aurangabad, according to "Khaki Files", a book by former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar during whose tenure the crime happened.

This breakthrough led the police to believe Singh could be hiding in his village. Delhi police inspector Rituraj and his team rushed to Patna by flight and took the road from there to reach Aurangabad.

On December 19, 2012, three days after the gang rape, the Delhi police team contacted the Tandwa police station under whose jurisdiction Singh's village fell.

The Delhi police team then learnt that the village area was affected by Left-wing extremism and the team members were required to tread cautiously without drawing undue attention, Rituraj said.

"The police station in Tandwa had been attacked four times by naxals and was therefore heavily fortified with personnel from Bihar Military Police deployed on its rooftop, armed with light machine guns," according to the book.

Sub-inspector Ajay Kumar from the local police station joined the Delhi police team and they decided to quietly recce Singh's village. Local intelligence gathering suggested that Singh could have escaped to his in-laws' residence, also in a naxal-infested area.

Inspector Rituraj's team decided to wait and sought help from watchmen in Singh's village in nabbing him. Soon enough the wait paid off. One of the chowkidars spotted the accused at Tandwa railway station on December 21 and alerted the police who arrested Singh.

Rituraj contacted the district magistrate to obtain a transit remand and he introduced the Delhi police official to the district judge. The judge took Rituraj to his residence, called his staff and dictated the order.

It was 9pm on December 21 when the police received the transit remand but Rituraj left for Varanasi the same night in dense fog and low visibility with the accused and his team.

The other mother: Gloom at camp

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.54 AM IST

NEW DELHI: While one mother enjoyed a long-awaited victory, another saw her world collapsing around her. Ram Bai, 80, wailed when she heard news confirming the hanging of her son Mukesh Kumar Singh on Friday morning. She had lost her other son, Ram Singh, who was found dead in jail, possibly due to suicide, a few months after the rape and murder of Nirbhaya in December 2012.

In RK Puram’s Ravidass Camp, home to the Singh brothers, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma, there was a pall of gloom when the bodies arrived in the afternoon. While Gupta’s family stood on the road outside to mourn, the frail Ram Bai sat in a corner of her shanty and grieved alone.

“I was clinging to hope all these years. They could have given Mukesh a life sentence, and I could at least have heard his voice again. But they killed him,” the octogenarian sobbed. The old woman blamed the lengthy litigation for the predicament. “If they had hanged them right after the incident, we wouldn’t hurt so much. But they gave us hope all these years and I spent all the money I had on the legal process. Now he is gone and I am left with nothing. What hope do I have now?” she said.

Gupta’s sisters continued to believe in his innocence, insisting that he was at the local park at the time of the horrifying rape. “When we met him for the last time, he kept hugging us and kept pleading with us to help him,” said the elder sister. “He was innocent and yet we have lost face in society. Who will marry his younger sister now?”

Unlike the crowd at the house of Nirbhaya’s family in Dwarka, there was almost nobody at Ravidass Camp offering condolences to the bereaved families. They only had each other for company. Lawyer A P Singh was present. Gupta’s elder sister visited Ram Bai to see how she was doing. “Has anything changed for women after 2012? Nothing. And this will remain so, no matter how many people you hang,” the sister said defiantly.

In a lane, a carpet had been laid out for the women to mourn together. “Ram, Mukesh, Pawan, Akshay and Vinay were friends though our families didn’t interact with each other much,” the sister disclosed. “After the incident, however, we’ve become close because there’s no one who even looks at us, let alone talks to us or helps ease our pain.”

Gupta’s mother lost consciousness while awaiting his body. She was revived but refused to utter a word, only cried continuously through the day.

The four men — Akshay Thakur’s home is in Bihar — were hanged simultaneously at 5.30am on Friday and their bodies taken for postmortem to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital at 8.30 am. There, the gate to the mortuary was closed and paramilitary personnel posted to prevent any disturbances. Thakur’s family was the first to arrive at the mortuary, followed by the others.

Wearing a purple shirt and chappals, Vinay Sharma’s father arrived with police officers to claim his son’s body. Crying without a stop, he left the mortuary with the body for Ravidass Camp around 1.30pm. Gupta’s family followed him to their residence. The bodies of Singh and Thakur were taken, respectively, to their villages in Rajasthan and Bihar.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

He learnt the ropes from his family but waited till Friday to pull lever

Mar 21, 2020, 04.50 AM IST

New Delhi: He calls himself a hangman, but Pawan Jallad of Meerut couldn’t claim any action of the sort. This embarrassing record changed on Friday when the 58-year-old pulled a lever that left four bodies hanging by the neck till death in Tihar Jail. Jallad told TOI that he had got tired of travelling to Delhi for the hangings and having the execution put off with the four remaining men convicted of raping and murdering 23-year-old Nirbhaya in 2012 taking recourse to various legal remedies since January 22. Friday, however, brought things to a conclusion.

Jallad is the third man in his family bearing that sobriquet, which means an ‘executioner’ in Hindi. He learnt the macabre art from his grandfather, Kallu Jallad, who carried out the final act in January 1989 in the case of the two assassins of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. His father, Mammu Jallad, was keen to pull the lever to end the life of Afzal Guru, the accused in the terrorist attack on Parliament, but he died nine months before the execution in February 2013. “My father hanged 12 prisoners during his 47 years of service in the prisons,” he said.

The last time the Meerut resident had the opportunity to notch up a death was four years ago when he was prepped to hang the Nithari rapist-killer Surinder Koli. He rehearsed the execution for a week, but the Supreme Court stayed the death penalty. Before leaving Meerut jail for Delhi on Tuesday, Jallad had remarked it was for the fourth time that he was going for the four men’s hanging at Tihar.

Jallad calls being an executioner a ‘noble profession’ that removes evil people from society. As a father of a daughter — he also has a son — I am happy to hang the rapists and killers of a young girl, the man says. He was hired by the Uttar Pradesh prison authority in 2013 on a stipend of Rs 3,000. But since hanging is not a daily business, he ekes out his living doing odd jobs. The Nirbhaya hangings will boost his meagre income by Rs 20,000 for each condemned man.

As a child, Jallad often accompanied his grandfather and father to jail, but it was only in 1983, when he was 21 years old, that he saw an execution carried out by his grandfather in Agra jail. Three years later, he assisted his father with a hanging for the first time. The last time he was close to the scene of action was in 1992, again aiding his father at Patiala jail.

Friday was to be his first independent execution. But Jallad had to be assisted by a jail official because of the weight of the lever. Jallad doesn’t want his children carrying on the tradition, though. He said: “Most of the hangmen in India belong to families where the men have been executioners. But I don’t want my children to follow in my footsteps.” Is it about being the final cog in a legal system that ends a human being’s life? He shrugs, “Hangings are rare and so the job isn’t paying enough for survival in these times.”

Gruesome crime that made rape punishable by death

Mar 21, 2020, 04.56 AM IST

New Delhi: Death penalty for rapists who brutalise their victim, full trial as adults for juveniles accused of heinous offences and fast-track courts for speedy trial in sexual assault cases — these are some of the far-reaching changes made in the country’s criminal law following a unprecedented public outrage over the horrific gang rape of Nirbhaya on December 16, 2012.

As protesters took to the street on rising crimes against women, the Centre set up a three-member committee under former Chief Justice of India J S Verma to propose changes in law to curb sexual offences. Accepting some of the recommendations, the government tightened laws dealing with sexual offences against women and brought in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 that provided a rigorous life term and a death term for rape convicts.

Till the Nirbhaya incident happened, offences such as acid attacks, stalking and voyeurism were seen as lesser crimes, but the amendments included stringent punishments even for these. For the first time, stalking and voyeurism were made non-bailable offences if repeated for a second time, while perpetrators of acid attacks now attract a 10-year jail.

The new law expanded the definition of rape and made it a graded offence. A minimum jail term of seven years may now be extend to imprisonment for natural life and a fine for rapist if he is found to be a police officer, public servant, armed forces personnel or management or hospital staff.

Similarly, it also changed various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure, Indian Evidence Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and provided for handing out death sentence to serial offenders.

The stringent amendments, which came into force on April 3, 2013, altered the definition of rape under IPC 375 and introduced harsher penalty in line with the gravity of offence.

Although the committee had opposed death penalty for rapists and advised life term, the government brought in a new section, 376A, to IPC that introduced death penalty. Under it, if an offender committing sexual assault inflicts an injury that causes death of the victim or renders her into a persistent vegetative state, the convict will be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term that will not be less than 20 years, which may extend to life imprisonment meaning the remainder of a convict’s natural life, or death.

All hospitals now also face punishment if they fail to immediately provide first aid and/or medical treatment free of cost to the survivors of acid attack or rape.

Despite calls for tightening the juvenile offender laws, the committee, in its 630-page report, didn’t suggest any change in minimum age but Parliament in 2015 introduced the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, allowing the courts to try juveniles involved in heinous offences as adults.

Following the report, issued on January 23, 2013, the age of consent was made uniform. However, instead of the suggested 16 years, the government fixed it at 18, which means any sexual activity, irrespective of consent, with a woman below the age of 18 is statutory rape as she is a minor.

Before end came: Sleepless night, cries for forgiveness

TNN | Mar 21, 2020, 04.41 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Nirbhaya case convicts – Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta – had a sleepless night. When the clock struck 3.30am on Friday, they were taken out of their solitary cells in jail number 3 to be prepared for execution.

The quartet kept asking whether a new order had been passed by any court across the country. Through the night, Gupta kept asking for forgiveness from the jailers pleading to let him go, while Singh withdrew into himself.

On Thursday night, Singh and Sharma had rice, dal and vegetables for dinner, while Thakur had a cup of tea. They were offered breakfast, but they refused. They didn’t take a bath and refused to wear the clothes given by the jail authorities.

Around 4.30am, district magistrate Neha Bansal read them the order to execute the death sentence. She met them individually to ask for their last wish. Sources said Gupta and Thakur didn’t say anything, while Singh gave a written note to the DM asking to donate his organs. Sharma requested that his ‘paintings’ be given to the jail superintendent and his copy of Hanuman Chalisa and an image of God to his parents.

A medical examination was conducted during which the jail doctors measured their weight and checked their vitals to declare them fit for hanging. In the meanwhile, the hangman, Pawan Jallad, prepared the nooses made with manila ropes and softened with bananas and butter.

After the DM’s visit, the convicts were allowed to remain alone for some time to remember their family and loved ones. Jail officials then went to their cells and asked them to wear white cotton clothes. This time, Sharma broke down and pleaded with the jail officials to let him go. He refused to wear the clothes. Singh, Gupta and Thakur asked the officials to allow them to meet Sharma, but their request was rejected.

A team of jail officials, including the superintendent, deputy superintendent, wardens and Tamil Nadu special police officers, helped the convicts wear the clothes and then each of them were escorted by six security personnel to the hanging well.

Sources said Sharma refused to accompany the jail staffers and lay down outside his cell. He had to be carried by the wardens into the well. Before entering the well, their faces were covered with a black cloth so that they didn’t get a glimpse of the gallows.

The jail authorities had requisitioned for armed guards from Delhi Police to be present near the gallows. The condemned men were walked to the platform where the hangman placed the noose around their neck. The men kept resisting till the noose was tightened.

At 5.30am, the superintendent signalled the hangman to pull the two levers holding the plate under their feet. The four men were suspended into the pit and became still after squirming for a short while, jail sources said. They were left in the position till 6am after which a doctor entered the well to confirm that they had died.

The bodies were removed and kept in the jail premises. Around 8am, the bodies were taken in four separate ambulances for autopsy at DDU Hospital. The family members were allowed to take the bodies after they gave a declaration that they would not hold protest marches. While the hangings were going on, the other prisoners at Tihar Jail were under lockdown. Instead of the usual time of 6.30am, they were allowed to start their daily routine half an hour late.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

Janata Curfew to combat Covid-19: Southern Railway to cancel many trains

Mar 20, 2020, 09.52 PM IST

CHENNAI: Southern Railway will not operate passenger trains and will cancel many of express trains on Sunday as its expects a drastic drop in passenger patronage because of “Janata Curfew.”

Suburban train services in Chennai will be reduced to the bare minimum to cater to essential travel.

All passenger trains originating between midnight on March 21 and 10pm of March 22 will not be operated.

There would be a largescale cancellation of long distance express trains and intercity trains departing between 4am and 10pm on Sunday, said a press release.

Before end came: Sleepless night, plea for forgiveness

Somreet Bhattacharya & Sakshi Chand TNN

New Delhi  21.03.2020

: The Nirbhaya case convicts – Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta – had a sleepless night. When the clock struck 3.30am on Friday, they were taken out of their solitary cells in jail number 3 to be prepared for execution.

The quartet kept asking whether a new order had been passed by any court across the country. Through the night, Pawan kept asking for forgiveness from the jailers pleading to let him go, while Mukesh withdrew into himself.

On Thursday night, Mukesh and Vinay had rice, dal and vegetables for dinner, while Akshay had a cup of tea. They were offered breakfast, but they refused. They didn’t take a bath and refused to wear the clothes given by the jail authorities.

Around 4.30am, district magistrate Neha Bansal read them the order to execute the death sentence. She met them individually to ask for their last wish. Sources said Pawan and Akshay didn’t say anything, while Mukesh gave a written note to the DM asking to donate his organs. Vinay requested that his paintings be given to the jail superintendent and his copy of Hanuman Chalisa and an image of God to his parents.

A medical examination was conducted during which the jail doctors measured their weight and checked their vitals to declare them fit for hanging. Meanwhile, the hangman, Pawan Jallad, prepared the nooses made with manila ropes and softened with bananas and butter. After the DM’s visit, the convicts were allowed to remain alone for some time to remember their family and loved ones.

Jail officials then went to their cells and asked them to wear white cotton clothes. This time, Vinay broke down and pleaded with the jail officials to let him go. He refused to wear the clothes. Mukesh, Pawan and Akshay asked the officials to allow them to meet Vinay, but their request was rejected. A team of jail officials, including the superintendent, deputy superintendent, wardens and Tamil Nadu special police officers, helped the convicts wear the clothes and then each of them were escorted by six security personnel to the hanging well.

Full report on www.toi.in

LAW PREVAILS: Ambulances carrying bodies of the convicts from Tihar Jail to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for a postmortem in New Delhi on Friday

Ordinary men who crossed over to dark side

Sakshi Chand & Somreet Bhattacharya TNN

New Delhi  21.03.2020

: They were ordinary men, and like everyone had their own traits, some likeable, some unpleasant. Each had a different job, at least four of them: a fitness instructor who loved dancing, bus driver, the driver’s assistant, or ‘cleaner’, and a fruit vendor. The fifth was mostly unemployed but helped clean the bus occasionally and the sixth was an underaged boy who sometimes assisted the bus driver. None had a crime history to speak of. Until a joyride in a bus brought out the demon in them.

Ram Singh, a bus driver, and Mukesh Singh were brothers with a local reputation as toughies who regularly got into fights with neighbours and shopkeepers at Ramdass Camp in south Delhi’s RK Puram. The siblings mostly lived by themselves but were visited once in a while by their parents. It was in Ram Singh’s bus that the six picked up Nirbhaya and her friend on December 16, 2012 from Munirka. The bus driver and his assistant, Akshay Thakur, took turns at the steering wheel as the six ravaged the physiotherapy intern.

Ram Devi, the Singhs’ neighbour, remembered, “The brothers never talked with anyone. There was something strange about their behaviour. If they talked, it was always to argue. They were not kind men.” According to the locals, the mother visited the house once in a while, but she too seldom had conversations, just sat outside the house and smoked a hookah by herself.

Full report on www.toi.in

IN GRIEF: Relatives mourn as the ambulance carrying bodies of Nirbhaya convicts Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma arrive at Ravidass camp in New Delhi on Friday

Cheers at dawn outside Tihar as justice prevails after 7 years

Sakshi.Chand@timesgroup.com

New Delhi  21.03.2020

: Tihar Central Jail is usually devoid of excitement most mornings. But the facility in west Delhi was abuzz with activity before sunrise on Friday. People from all walks of life, of all ages, congregated there to witness what they called ‘a historic moment’. When the news reached the crowd that the brutal rapists of Nirbhaya were dead, everyone clapped and shouted exultantly while passing out sweets.

Slogans of “Asha Devi zindabad” rent the air, both in solidarity with the mother of Nirbhaya and in admiration for her never-say-die spirit through the seven harsh years. In the crowd were media people with their tripods and cameras, especially at Gate 3. The people started a countdown to 5.30am, the time appointed for the hanging of Mukesh Singh, Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta. Awaiting the hour, they chanted “Bharat mata ki jai” and “Vande Mataram”, taking the event as an assertion of national good over evil. In between, one could hear “AP Singh murdabad”, the lawyer of the four death row convict being demonised for legal shenanigans that caused numerous postponements of the hanging.

At Gate 3 was nine-year-old Janisha. Her father, Simranjeet Singh, said, “I share everything with my daughter. In schools these days, children are educated about good and bad touches. I thought if I told my daughter about what was happening here today, it would make an impression on her.” Janisha had learnt enough to answer “hanging” when asked what was going on.

Full report on www.toi.in

Doctors remember Nirbhaya as ‘brave’

New Delhi  21.03.2020

: Doctors at Safdarjung Hospital who treated Nirbhaya in 2012 remembered her as a “brave woman” and said with the hanging of the four convicts, law had taken its course.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital before being airlifted to Singapore for treatment where she later died.

Dr B D Athani, who was the medical superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital when Nirbhaya was treated, said they have got “closure”. “I was involved in the medical management part of it. It was a very heinous crime that they committed. Law has taken its course. We had referred the patient to Singapore. We have got closure as far as this patient is concerned,” he said. Athani said they were under immense pressure at that time and despite that “medically, the case withstood scrutiny”.

Another doctor on duty that day remembers, “She was a very, very brave woman. She was so calm and composed even after going through so much trauma.” PTI

Dr B D Athani, who was the medical superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital when Nirbhaya was treated, said they have got “closure”

For first time in my life, I’m happy to execute convicts: Jallad

TNN & AGENCIES

New Delhi/Meerut 21.03.2020

: Pawan Jallad, 57, has become the only hangman in the history of the country to execute four convicts in one go. Incidentally, these were his maiden executions. Pawan, a fourth-generation hangman from Meerut, missed an “opportunity” four years ago when high court commuted Surinder Koli’s death sentence to life imprisonment in the Nithari case.

Following the hanging of four Nirbhaya convicts in Tihar Jail at dawn on Friday, Pawan said, “For the first time in my life, I’m happy to execute four convicts. I had been waiting for this day for long. I thank God and the Tihar Jail administration.”

The hanging, which was scheduled to take place on January 22, was deferred multiple times before it finally took place on March 20. According to UP jail officials in Meerut, a team from Tihar Jail administration had come down to the district on March 17 to take Pawan to Delhi for the preparations of the hanging.

Prison authorities in Uttar Pradesh have two hangmen, one in Meerut and the other in Lucknow, on retainership basis. Tihar administration had earlier this year written to UP jail administration requesting services of a hangman. Pawan, who gets a monthly stipend of ₹5,000, was chosen for the job.

He has never imagined being anything else and has wanted to be a hangman since he was a child. Pawan has witnessed hanging since he was an adolescent.

Full report on www.toi.in

‘Looking at her pic, telling her she’s finally got justice’

Still Haunted By Her Last Words: Nirbhaya’s Mom

Pankhuri.Yadav & Prem Bisht TNN

New Delhi  21.03.2020

: “I don’t remember the last time we were happy,” said Nirbhaya’s mother, Asha Devi, seven years after her daughter was raped and brutalised in a moving bus. When Nirbhaya was alive, she never had a home that was spacious or equipped with an oven and geyser. Her family’s house in Dwarka now is. “Yet where’s the happiness?” her mother constantly asked.

On Friday, Devi was less diffident. It was a day when her long struggle resulted in the ultimate punishment for her daughter’s assaulters. “She got justice today. Through the day I have been looking at her photo and telling her she got justice,” Devi said. And yet the hanging of the four of the six accused does not leave Devi entirely fulfilled. For she is still haunted by the last words of Nirbhaya. “My daughter was very strong but she was defeated and with her last strength, she asked me to get her justice,” Devi remembered.

People thronged the Dwarka house on Friday to congratulate the family. What remains to be done now that the men have been hanged? “I don’t plan to join politics. Instead I will never stop helping rape victims and their families,” Devi promised. “I will continue to put up a fight for all the daughters just as I did for my own daughter.”

It took Devi seven years to finally get some mental respite. Born and raised in a small village in eastern UP, she grew up on stories of violence and rape, but never imagined her own family would suffer the nightmare. When she married Badrinath Singh Pandey in 1985, she had dreams of a happy future as a family. The couple moved to Delhi, where Nirbhaya was born.

“Her father was so happy that he distributed sweets worth ₹1,000 even when neighbours passed snide remarks about the birth of a girl,” the pugnacious mother recalled. “She was the brightest girl in her class and so we tried to give her the best education, hoping she would have a better life than us. And she always offered a helping hand to the needy.” And yet, Devi chokes, Nirbhaya’s life ended not in goodness but in pain. Nirbhaya and her two siblings grew up in a two-room house in Dwarka’s Sector 8. This was the house she was returning to after watching her first English film, Life of Pi, at Select Citywalk Mall in south Delhi’s Saket with a friend on December 16, 2012, when the horrific incident took place. Now the family lives a few kilometres away.

One of Nirbhaya’s brothers is now a pilot based in Bengaluru. He was counselled by Rahul Gandhi after his sister’s death and was later sent to Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Akademi in Rae Bareli for training. Devi shies from talking about the other son. The family didn’t know an iota about the litigation process and was shocked to find the convicts could take resort to so many legal remedies. “One delay after another left us increasingly distraught,” the mother mumbled. “But I kept faith that the convicts would eventually be hanged.”

She is grateful for how people stood solidly behind the family. “When Nirbhaya was in the hospital, I didn’t realise how the people were reacting outside. But a day before we left for Singapore for her treatment, a doctor took me outside to see the hundreds who had gathered in our support. I was touched,” she smiled wanly.

SOME CLOSURE: People thronged Nirbhaya’s family house in Dwarka to congratulate Asha Devi and her husband

TN grants monthly stipend of ₹3,000 to young advocates

Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:21.03.2020

Soon, young advocates in the state would receive a monthly stipend of ₹3,000 for a period of two years. It was a long pending demand of the legal fraternity. Making the announcement in the state assembly on Friday, minister for law, courts and prisons C Ve Shanmugam said the government would also enhance the advocates’ clerks welfare fund from ₹2 lakh to ₹4 lakh.

The government would procure 60 Apple i-pads Pro along with cover and stylus for use by judges of Madras high court and its Madurai bench at a cost of ₹80.93 lakh.

"Additional classrooms will be constructed in government law colleges in Trichy and Chengalpet at a cost of ₹11.71 crore," he said. The government law colleges in Vellore and Ramnad districts would offer postgraduate courses from the coming academic year and ₹50 lakh would be allocated for it.

Besides, the government would take up the conservation and restoration of heritage buildings at the district munsif-cum-judicial magistrate court at Vandavasi in Tiruvannamalai district and district munsif court in Coimbatore, which is famously known as Kuthira Vandi (horse cart) court, at a cost of ₹10 crore.

Digital signage display system would be installed in 260 court complexes (each two) in the state at a cost of ₹10.26 crore, said the minister. The government would constitute 14 additional courts in various districts, he announced. The government has been improving the infrastructure and appointing judges and public prosecutors after getting the draft notification from the HC to bring down pendency of cases.

Earlier, MLA C V M P Ezhilarasaon of DMK said the government should extend the working hours of the judiciary to bring down pendency of cases.

Buses, metro rail won’t run on Sunday: EPS

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:21.03.2020

An hour after attending a video-conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday announced that state transport corporation fleet and metro rail will not be operated on Sunday between 7am and 9pm --when ‘Janata curfew’ is in place.

In a press statement, the chief minister said the private buses and small bus operators should extend full cooperation to the government. “As told by the Prime Minister, people should express their gratitude at 5pm on Sunday to all those personnel who work with a sense of commitment and without being selfish,” Palaniswami said, requesting all to extend support to his government’s measures to combat the spread of coronavirus. The chief minister also said all public and private libraries will be shut down until March 31.

The video conference that went close to two hours saw the chief ministers of six states, including Kerala and Maharashtra interacting with the Prime Minister. Sources said the others, including TN chief minister, were told to communicate in writing to the PMO the suggestions to combat the spread of outbreak. “The PM gave Pan-India instructions to the chief ministers. The foremost is about social distancing to fight the virus and advised the states to fight it out with legal backing,” said a source.

Apparently, Modi had pointed to the exponential growth of imported disease in US and UAE and insisted the state governments to take intensive measures to contain the outbreak. He also had suggested that the services of retired army medical personnel could be availed.

Citing the nine keys instructions of the Prime Minister in video conference – which was also addressed by him to the nation on Thursday, Palaniswami said that people should not go out of homes other than reasons which are necessary. Citizens aged 60 years and above should not step out. The chief minister encouraged the people to come forward and observe ‘Janata curfew’ that would be in place on Sunday between 7am and 9pm. “At 5pm on Sunday, people should go out and clap as a mark of gratitude to doctors, paramedics, health workers, civic staff, army, airport and other departmental staff. Put off plans as much as possible the appointments for surgeries, and visits to the hospitals,” the CM said.

Rajiv convicts release: Guv to take call based on MDMA probe

Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:21.03.2020

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit would decide on the Tamil Nadu cabinet’s recommendation to release the seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case based on the outcome of a probe by the CBI’s multi-disciplinary monitoring agency (MDMA) into the conspiracy angle.

Citing the correspondence between the state home secretary and Purohit’s secretary, state minister for law, courts and prisons C Ve Shanmugam on Thursday told the assembly, “The governor will decide on the TN cabinet’s recommendation to release the seven life convicts, based on the report of the MDMA probe into the conspiracy angle in the assassination (of the former PM)”.

Responding to the questions raised by MLAs Thayagam Kavi (DMK) and U Thaniyarasu on the status of the cabinet’s 15-month-old resolution, the minister said, “Everyone wants them to be freed as they were incarcerated for 28 years. But, there is no time frame for the governor to take a call on it.”

MGR univ postpones exams

Chennai:21.03.2020

In view of the Covid-19 outbreak, public health advisory holidays were declared until March 31 by the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University for BSc (AHS), B Optometry, BASLP, Diploma in AHS, Msc, M optometry, MASLP, MPhil, Master in Hospital Administration and PG Diploma in AHS course of the university. However, practical exams for Bsc(AHS), Boptometry, BASLP, diploma in AHS candidates will be held as scheduled. All institutions conducting practicals have been advised to adopt preventive measures, a release said. TNN

Nirbhaya verdict: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal breaks silence

Mar 20, 2020, 11:37AM IST  Source: Mirror Now

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal reacted after the execution of Nirbhaya convicts at Delhi's Tihar jail. The CM has said: "It took 7 years for justice to be delivered. Today, we have to take a pledge that a similar incident does not happen again. We have seen how the convicts manipulated the law until recently. There are a lot of loopholes in our system and we need to improve the system. We have to improve the policing and judicial system." Four men convicted of gangraping Nirbhaya, a Delhi physiotherapy intern in December 2012 has been finally hanged at 5.30 am on March 20. The four men -- Akshay Kumar Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh has been executed at Delhi's Tihar Jail. Relevantly, their execution has already been deferred three times. Earlier the date set for their hanging was March 3, but one of them, Pawan Gupta, filed a mercy plea the day before. And like the three other convicts' mercy petitions, his was rejected. Then a fresh date was set for the convicts' execution.

Nirbhaya convicts spent restless night, one refused breakfast before hanging

ANI | Mar 20, 2020, 08.18 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case spent a restless and sleepless night before they were hanged to death early Friday morning at Tihar Jail here, authorities said.

Till late on Thursday night the convicts were hanging on to a glimmer of hope that their last plea would be heard in court. However, a last hour hearing in the Supreme Court and midnight hearing in Delhi High Court, both refused to stay the execution.

All four convicts - Akshay Singh Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Mukesh Singh - were hanged to death at 5:30 am this morning.

All four were asked to go to sleep early Thursday night ahead of their execution but they remained wide awake till late. They were asked to take a bath but none of them did. All of them were served their last meal but one of them refused breakfast before being taken to the gallows, an official said.

According to officials, the convicts even started to behave hysterically and misbehaved with the police personnel keeping an eye on them.

Prior to the hanging, the executioner, who woke up at around 4 am held a meeting with prison authorities. The executioner had already inspected the gallows the night before.

The convicts were escorted to the scaffold with their faces covered in black cloth and the executioner put the noose around the neck one by one.

At the scheduled time, the jail superintendent waved his hand to signal the hangings, which were then conducted simultaneously.

Their bodies were kept hanging for 30 minutes as per the protocol in Delhi Prison Rule, following which a doctor declared them dead. The bodies will be disposed of as per their religion.

Meanwhile, outside the jail people had gathered ahead of the execution and after chants to the countdown celebrated the hangings by distributing sweets.

Bodies of all four Nirbhaya convicts taken to hospital for post mortem

ANI | Mar 20, 2020, 09.19 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Bodies of the four Nirbhaya convicts who were hanged on Friday morning at Tihar Jail have been sent to hospital for a post-mortem, following which it will be handed over to the families, according to an official.After the hanging at 5:30 am today, the bodies were taken from Tihar Jail to Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital for post mortem at around 8:20 am.

Tihar jail Director-General Sandeep Goel said that the bodies will be handed over to the families after the post mortem.

The families, however, will have to give a written undertaking that they will not make a public demonstration of the cremation or burial of the executed person.

The superintendent will also consult the District Magistrate and the Deputy Commissioner of Police for arrangements for the disposal of the body.

The post mortem comes in line with the Supreme Court's order in Shatrughan Chauhan's case in January 2014, which had mandated the same observing that there is a dearth of experienced hangman in the country.

"By making the performance of post mortem obligatory, the cause of the death of the convict can be found out, which will reveal whether the person died as a result of the dislocation of the cervical vertebrate or by strangulation which results on account of too long a drop," the apex court had said in its order.

"Our constitution permits the execution of death sentence only through the procedure established by law and this procedure must be just, fair and reasonable," the order added.

All four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case -- Akshay Singh Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Mukesh Singh -- were hanged till death at 5:30 am this morning.

இன்று உலக சிட்டுக்குருவிகள் தினம்: மக்களுடன் கலந்துறவாடி வாழும் சிட்டுக்குருவிகள்

By முனைவர் சி. சிவசுப்பிரமணியன் | Published on : 19th March 2020 04:46 PM | 

அலாரம் சப்தத்திற்கு அரக்கப் பறக்க எழுந்திருக்காமல் கீச் கீச் என்ற பறவைகளின் சப்தத்தால் கண்விழித்த நம் முன்னோர்கள் பாக்கியம் செய்தவர்கள்.

இன்று நகரங்களில் மட்டுமல்ல, கிராமங்களிலும்கூட பறவைகளைப் பார்ப்பது அரிதாகிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறது. சின்னச் சின்னச் சிட்டுக்குருவிகளும் உலகளவில் அழிந்து வரும் அரிய வகை பறவை இனங்களில் சேர்ந்துவிட்டது.

இந்த உலகம் மனிதர்களுக்கானது மட்டுமல்ல, அனைத்து உயிரினங்களும் இந்த உலகில் வாழும் உரிமையைப் பெற்றுள்ளன. ஆனால் மனிதனின் சுயநலத்திற்காக விலங்குகளையும், பறவை இனங்களையும் அழித்து வருகிறோம்.

இன்று உலகம் முழுவதும் சிட்டுக்குருவிகள் தினம் கொண்டாடப்படுகிறது. இந்தத் தினமானது கடந்த 2010 ஆம் ஆண்டில் இருந்து அனுசரிக்கப்பட்டு வருகிறது. பல்வேறு பறவைகள் நல ஆர்வலர்கள், சிட்டுக்குருவி இனத்தைக் காப்பதில் சிறப்புக் கவனம் செலுத்தி வருகின்றனர். 

சிட்டுக்குருவியின் தேவையை உணர்ந்த ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் அவை, 2010 ஆம் ஆண்டு மார்ச் 20 ஆம் தேதியை உலக சிட்டுக்குருவி தினமாக அறிவித்தது. தில்லி அரசு கடந்த 2012 ஆம் ஆண்டு முதல் சிட்டுக்குருவியைத் தங்கள் மாநிலப் பறவையாக அங்கீகரித்தது.

ஒரு சிட்டுக்குருவியை விளையாட்டுத்தனமாகக் கொன்ற சலீம் அலி என்ற சிறுவன்தான், பின்னர் தனது வாழ்க்கையையே பறவைக்காக அர்ப்பணித்து இந்தியாவின் பறவை மனிதர் ஆனார். 

சிட்டுக்குருவிதானே என சாதாரணமாக எண்ணாமல் 400 கோடி ரூபாய் பட்ஜெட்டில் செல்போன் சிக்னல்களால் இந்த இனம் அழிந்து வருவதை 2.0 என்ற படத்தில் நடிகர்கள் ரஜினி மற்றும் அக்ஷய் குமாரை வைத்து சிட்டுக் குருவியின் முக்கியத்துவத்தை இயக்குநர் சங்கர் கூறியிருந்தார்.

சிட்டுக்குருவிகள் முட்டையிட்டுக் குஞ்சு பொரிக்கும் பறவையினத்தைச் சார்ந்தவை. தமிழகத்தில் இவை வீட்டுக் குருவிகள், அடைக்கலாங் குருவிகள், ஊர்க் குருவிகள், சிட்டுக்குருவிகள் ஆகிய பெயர்களால் அழைக்கப்படுகின்றன. இதனைச் சங்க இலக்கியங்களில் மனையுறைக் குருவி, உள்ளுறைக் குருவி மற்றும் உள்ளூர்க் குருவி என்றும் குறிப்பிடுகின்றனர். இவை கிராமங்களிலும், நகரங்களிலும், மக்களோடு சேர்ந்து வாழ்பவை. காடுகளில் தன்னிச்சையாக வாழ்பவை அல்ல. 

சிட்டுக்குருவிகள் உருவத்தில் சிறியவையாகவும், இளம் சாம்பல் கலந்த பழுப்பு நிறத்திலும் இருக்கும். சிறிய அலகு, சிறிய கால்களுடன் காணப்படும். இவை 8 முதல் 24 செ.மீ நீளமுள்ளவை. இதன் அலகுகள் கூம்பு வடிவமாக இருக்கும். இதன் எடை 27 முதல் 39 கிராம் வரையில் காணப்படும். இதன் நிறம் பழுப்பு, சாம்பல், மங்கலான வெள்ளை என்று பல நிறங்களில் காணப்படும். ஆண் பறவையில் இருந்து பெண் பறவை நிறத்தில் வேறுபட்டு காணப்படும். ஆசியா, ஐரோப்பா, ஆப்பிரிக்கா, அமெரிக்கா போன்ற பல கண்டங்களில் சிட்டுக்குருவிகள் உள்ளன. இவற்றின் வாழ்நாள் சுமார் 13 ஆண்டுகள்.

செல்போன் கோபுரங்களால் சிட்டுக்குருவி இனம் அழிந்து வருவதாகக் குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டது. ஆனால் அது உண்மையில்லை என்கிறார்கள் பறவையியல் ஆராய்ச்சியாளர்கள். தொழிற்சாலைகள் அதிகரிப்பு மற்றும் விளைநிலங்கள் வீட்டு மனைகளாக மாற்றப்பட்ட காரணத்தால் சிட்டுக்குருவிக்கான வாழ்விடமும் இரை தேடும் இடமும் சுருங்கிவிட்டன. வயல்வெளிகளில் இரசாயனத் தெளிப்பு அதிகரிப்பதால் சிட்டுக்குருவிகளின் உணவான புழு பூச்சிகள் அழிக்கப்படுகின்றன. 

சிட்டுக்குருவிகள், பெரும்பாலும் வனப்பகுதியில் வாழ்வதைவிட மனிதர்களுடன் நெருங்கி இருக்கவே விரும்பும்.

சிட்டுக்குருவிகள் பொதுவாக வீட்டு மாடம், பரண், ஓடுகளின் இடைவெளி போன்ற இடங்களில் கூடுகட்டி வசித்து வந்தன. இப்போது கான்கிரீட் மற்றும் அடுக்குமாடிக் குடியிருப்புகள் அதிகமாகி விட்டதால் கூடுகட்டி குஞ்சு பொரிக்க போதிய இட வசதியில்லை.

சிட்டுக்குருவிகள் விரும்பி உண்ணும் கம்பு, கேழ்வரகு, திணை, சாமை போன்ற சிறுதானியங்களின் பயன்பாடு குறைந்துவிட்டது. நாம் இயற்கை முறை விவசாயத்தை ஊக்கப்படுத்துதல் வேண்டும். இவை வீடுகளிலும், வயல்வெளிகளிலும் சிதறிக் கிடக்கின்ற தானியங்களையும் பயிர்களில் காணப்படும் புழு பூச்சிகளையும் உணவாகக் கொள்கின்றன.

பண்டைய காலங்களில் வீட்டிற்குத் தேவையான உணவு தானியங்களை வீட்டு முற்றத்திலும், மொட்டை மாடிகளிலும் வெய்யிலில் காய வைப்பார்கள். இவற்றைச் சிட்டுக்குருவிகள் கொத்தித் தின்னும். தற்போது மக்கள் தங்களுக்கு தேவையான அனைத்து உணவு தானியங்களையும் நேரடியாக நெகிழிப் பைகளில் அடைக்கப்பட்ட நிலையில் வாங்கி, சிந்தாமல் சிதறாமல் பயன்படுத்துகின்றனர்.

விவசாயம் செய்த தானியங்களை அறுவடைக்குப் பின்னர் வீடுகளுக்கு கொண்டு வந்து சுத்தம் செய்வர். சிதறிய நெல்மணிகள் சிட்டுக்குருவிகளுக்கு உணவாகப் பயன்படும். அறுவடைக்கான எந்திரங்கள் பயன்பாட்டிற்கு வந்த பிறகு தானியங்களை வீடுகளுக்கு கொண்டு வரும் முறையே கைவிடப்பட்டுவிட்டது.

கடைகளில் தானியங்களைச் சாக்கு மூட்டைகளில் நேரடியாக வியாபாரம் செய்வர். தானியங்களை எடை போடும் போதும், சுத்தம் செய்யும்போதும் சிதறுகின்ற தானியங்களை சிட்டுக்குருவிகள் நேரடியாக உணவாக எடுத்துக்கொள்ளும். ஆனால், தற்போது அனைத்துக் கடைகளிலும் பாலிதீன் பைகளில் அடைக்கப்பட்டு விற்பனை செய்யப்படுகின்றன.

பாதுகாப்பு முறை 

முதலில் சிட்டுக்குருவிகளை அழிவு நிலையில் இருந்து காப்பாற்ற வேண்டும் என்ற பொது அறிவு அனைவருக்கும் ஏற்பட வேண்டும். வீடுகளில் சிறிய கிண்ணங்களில் தானியங்களை நிரப்பி பறவைகளுக்கு உணவாக வைக்க வேண்டும். பெரிய தொட்டிகளில் நீரை நிரப்பி சிட்டுக்குருவிகள் நீர் அருந்தவும், இறங்கிக் குளிக்கவும் ஏற்ற வகையில் நீர்த்தொட்டிகள் அமைக்க வேண்டும். 

வீட்டில் சிறிய அட்டைப் பெட்டியில் வைக்கோலை அடைத்து வைத்து வீட்டு வராந்தாவிலோ, பால்கனியிலோ அல்லது மரக்கிளைகளிலோ தொங்கவிட்டால்கூட சிட்டுக் குருவிகளுக்குப் போதுமானது. இக்கூடுகளை மழை நீர் படாமலும், பகை விலங்கினங்கள் தொந்தரவு இல்லாத வகையிலும் அமைக்க வேண்டும். 

சிட்டுக்குருவி மட்டுமல்ல இந்த உலகில் எந்த ஓர் உயிரினமும் முழுவதுமாக அழிந்தாலும், அது மனித இனத்தின் அழிவுக்கான முதல்படி என்பதை நாம் என்றும் மறக்கக் கூடாது. 

கருத்தரங்கு நடத்த கல்லூரிகளுக்கு தடை

Added : மார் 19, 2020 23:33

சென்னை 'கொரோனா' தடுப்பு நடவடிக்கையின், ஒரு கட்டமாக, பல்கலைகள் மற்றும் கல்லுாரிகளில், வகுப்புகள் ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளன.அதை மீறி, சில கல்லுாரிகள், பல்கலைகளில் கூட்டங்கள், கருத்தரங்குகள் போன்றவற்றுக்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்வதாக, உயர் கல்வித் துறைக்கு தகவல் கிடைத்தது. எனவே, 'எந்த கூட்டங்களையும் நடத்தக் கூடாது' என, உயர் கல்வித்துறை உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது.இதை தொடர்ந்து, தமிழக கல்வியியல் பல்கலை சார்பில், அனைத்து பி.எட்., கல்லுாரிகளுக்கும் சுற்றறிக்கை அனுப்பப்பட்டுள்ளது.அதில், 'கல்வியியல் கல்லுாரிகளில் வகுப்புகள் நடத்தப்படவில்லை என்றாலும், வேறு நிகழ்ச்சிகள் நடத்துவதாக தெரிய வந்துள்ளது. அதுபோன்று, எந்த கருத்தரங்கு கூட்டங்களும் நடத்தக்கூடாது' என, உத்தரவிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

சேலம், நாமக்கல்லில் சதம் அடித்த வெயில்

Added : மார் 20, 2020 01:24

சென்னை : திருத்தணி, சேலம், நாமக்கல் நகரங்களில், 100 டிகிரி பாரன்ஹீட் அளவுக்கு, நேற்று வெயில் கொளுத்தியது. நாளை முதல், சில இடங்களில் லேசான மழைக்கு வாய்ப்புள்ளது.

தமிழகம் மற்றும் புதுச்சேரியில், நேற்று மாலை, 5:30 மணி நிலவரப்படி, திருத்தணி, சேலம் மற்றும் நாமக்கல் ஆகிய நகரங்களில், 100 டிகிரி பாரன்ஹீட் வெயில் பதிவானது. சென்னை, நுங்கம்பாக்கம், 34; விமான நிலையம், 35 டிகிரி செல்ஷியஸ் வெப்பம் பதிவானது. கோவை, தர்மபுரி, கரூர் பரமத்தி, மதுரை, திருச்சி, வேலுார், 37; தொண்டி, 36; பாளையங்கோட்டை, 35; பரங்கிப்பேட்டை, புதுச்சேரி, 34; கடலுார், காரைக்கால், பாம்பன், துாத்துக்குடி, 33; கன்னியாகுமரி, நாகை, 32; வால்பாறை, 30 குன்னுார், 25; ஊட்டி, 24; கொடைக்கானல், 20 டிகிரி செல்ஷியஸ் வெயில் பதிவானது.

இன்றைய வானிலையை பொறுத்தவரை, தமிழகம் மற்றும் புதுச்சேரியில் வெயில் நீடிக்கும்; பெரும்பாலான இடங்களில், வறண்ட வானிலை நிலவும். நாளை முதல் மூன்று நாட்களுக்கு, தமிழகம் மற்றும் புதுச்சேரியில், லேசான மழைக்கு வாய்ப்புள்ளது. வட மாவட்டங்களில், காற்றின் திசை மாறுபடுவதால், திடீர் மழைக்கு வாய்ப்பு இருப்பதாக, வானிலை மையம் கூறியுள்ளது.