Chennai: Music and fine arts university gets new VC 

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | B VIJAYALAKSHMI

Published Feb 1, 2018, 2:31 am IST

She is probably the first musician adept in Carnatic, Hindustani and Tamil devotional music to occupy the VC chair. 


Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami hands over appointment order to Dr Premeela Gurumurthy, the new VC of Tamil Nadu Music and Fine Arts University at secretariat on Wednesday. — DC

Chennai: Eminent musicologist and musician Dr Premeela Gurumurthy took charge as vice-chancellor of Tamil Nadu Music and Fine Arts University on Wednesday. She is probably the first musician adept in Carnatic, Hindustani and Tamil devotional music to occupy the VC chair.

A former dean of music department in Vels University and also the former president and the chairperson of the School of Fine and Performing Arts, professor and head, department of Indian music, University of Madras, Premeela has been the brain behind the launching of new and specialised courses in Madras university.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle after assuming charge as VC, Premeela said, "I am happy. It is new and a challenging assignment and I am looking forward to it."

Besides being a dedicated teacher, as musicologist Premeela has specialised in areas of ancient Tamil music, its history and composers. She said, "Not always you can become a performer in 2 years. But definitely there is scope for research which interested students can always try their hand." When asked about response to music courses, Premeela said, "Steps can be taken to improve student strength in music colleges."

She has performed several hundreds of concerts, delivered musical discourses and lecture demonstrations in India and abroad and won prestigious awards. Her contribution to the kathakalashebham, an ancient art form, has been tremendous. In December 2017, Premeela's students organised a programme and honoured her to mark 50 years of her concert performances.

Medico was bright, say colleagues

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | D SIVA RAMI REDDY

 

Published Feb 1, 2018, 1:36 am IST

Three Town circle inspector R.G. Subramanyam said the deceased student was residing with her aunt in Kurnool.

 

 Kurnool Medical College

 

KURNOOL: Medical students, including those doing PG at Kurnool Medical College, were shell shocked to know about the suicide of PG student Vishnupriya on Tuesday at her relative’s place in A Camp area in Kurnool.

Principal Dr G.S. Ram Prasad said it was tragic and unfortunate as the deceased was a bright student with a lot of promise to excel in her chosen field.

Orthopaedics professor Dr K. Venkateswarlu told Deccan Chronicle that Vishnupriya was a very good student, brilliant, inquisitive and with lot of patience. “Even yesterday (Tuesday), she attended the class taken by Prof. Raghunath and was there in the campus till afternoon,” he said and added that entire department was shocked to hear the news. There were four girl students in the department and the atmosphere was conducive to learning, he said.

Three Town circle inspector R.G. Subramanyam said the deceased student was residing with her aunt in Kurnool. In her suicide note, it was mentioned that as she was not up to the expectations of her parents, she did not want to continue the course and had no inclination to live. She appealed to her parents to excuse her having taken the extreme step, he said.

Her father Mohan Reddy said she was a very sensitive girl right from childhood. “She could not cope with the stress and uncertainties. She had sought my advice to drop from MS course as it was too taxing for her abilities,” he said, adding that he had advised her to continue as she had already completed three semesters.

Now, Arappor Iyakkam picks holes in TANGEDCO’s rebuttal of coal scam

By Express News Service | Published: 01st February 2018 02:17 AM |



CHENNAI: Four days after the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) rubbished the Arappor Iyakkam’s allegations of a multi-crore coal scam, the city-based NGO has come out with evidence to prove that TANGEDCO has provided false information in its rebuttal.

In its rebuttal sent out on Saturday, TANGEDCO claimed that it had procured coal of Gross Calorific Value (GCV) between 5800-5900 Kcal/kg Gross As Received (GAR) because coal of GAR value corresponding to the 6000 Kcal/ kg Air Dried Basis, mentioned in its tenders, was not listed on the coal index.

The corresponding GAR equivalent of 6000 Kcal/ kg ADB is 5604. “It is unlikely that the TANGEDCO, which procures coal for an entire State, could have been so naive,” Jayaram Venkatesan, convener of Arappor Iyakkam told Express.

The TANGEDCO in its rebuttal also claimed that the procurement prices of the 5800-5900 Kcal/ kg GAR ( Coal of higher GCV than required) which had been procured were accordingly adjusted.

Procurement orders accessed by Arappor Iyakkam reveal that the TANGEDCO procured coal three times during which the prices of coal showed 1.5 to 2 $ increase for every 100 Kcal/kg GAR increase in GCV.

The Argus price per tonne of 5800 kcal/kg GAR coal in October 2012 was $72. Adding the shipping charges, the procurement price should have been $76 but the TANGEDCO’s procurement price is between $92 and
$95.

When Express contacted officials in TANGEDCO on Wednesday, they said GCV was not the only criterion for procurement.

“We also look at moisture content and sulphur content in the loads and penalties are levied if they are of inferior quality,” said Sathiyaseelan, Chief Engineer, Coal, TANGEDCO.

Electricity Minister P Thangamani, who was quizzed about Arappor Iyakkam’s allegations, claimed that the Tamil Nadu government procured coal “only through MMTC”, while refuting all allegations of irregularities.

However, a list of procurement orders between 2012 and 2016 accessed by Arappor Iyakkam shows that TANGEDCO has procured coal through MMTC only once in May 2013 and the remaining 18 procurements are from a mix of private and public players.

Now, get 'Chicken 65' for as low as `50 from district jail

By Anilkumar T | Express News Service | Published: 01st February 2018 01:11 AM |


Actor Manikandan inaugurating the sale of the new dishes at the Kakkanad District Jail on Wednesday | K Shijith

KOCHI: 'Chicken 65', a hot favourite among meat eaters here, will now be part of the menu of lip-smacking fare prepared by inmates of the Kakkanad District Jail under the Prison Department's 'Food for Freedom' campaign. Most importantly, the dish can be had at highly affordable rates. Besides, 'Chilli Gobi', a perennial hit with the veggies has now been included in the menu.Despite the city hotels and restaurants charging as much as `180 for the non-vegetarians' preferred choice, the public can buy 100 gm of 'Chicken 65' for as low as `50 from the counter set up in front of the jail. Chilli gobi will be available for `20 a plate. 

" At present, we will offer the new dishes on an experimental basis. Around 250 packets of 'Chicken 65' will be made available for sale through the counter in the days but based on demand we will increase it gradually," said G Chandrababu, Jail Superintendent. He said with the inclusion of new items on the menu, the jail will be able to rake in a monthly profit of at least `8 lakh.

"After starting chicken biriyani and chilli chicken sale some time back, the monthly revenue shot up from `2.5 - ` 7 lakh. Though the pilgrimage season affected the sale of the non-vegetarian items, we are expecting to do brisk business in the coming days," he said. "The new project kicked off with actor Manikandan inaugurating it on Wednesday evening," Chandrababu said.

The outlet also sells ghee rice, chicken biriyani and chicken curry and the ‘Metro Freedom’ chappathis prepared by the inmates at reasonable prices. The items are hugely popular among the public, especially among the work force at the Infopark nearby.
A plate of chicken biriyani at the food court run by the inmates costs only `60. The biriyani is sold in 500g portions.

Contempt plea in Delhi High Court against UGC, DU, other universities

By PTI  |   Published: 31st January 2018 07:11 PM  |  

NEW DELHI: A petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking initiation of contempt action against the University Grant Commission and Delhi University (DU) for not complying with its decision to appoint an 'ombudsman' in all the varsities for redressal of students' grievances.

The contempt petition which came up before Justice V Kameshwar Rao listed it for hearing on February 7.

The high court had last year directed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to set up a system to redress the grievances of students in all varsities, including Delhi University, within four months.

It had directed DU to "take necessary steps forthwith and appoint the ombudsman" expeditiously in terms of provisions of the UGC (Grievance Redressal) Regulations of 2012.

The contempt petition filed by Brajesh Singh, a law graduate, alleged deliberate and willful non-compliance of the court's February 3, 2017 order, which had said that failure of the universities to appoint an ombudsman or constitute Grievance Redressal Committees (GRC) for colleges would defeat the very object of the grievance redressal mechanism provided under the regulations.

"Over the time, GRC constituted by the varsity (DU) is merely a dead paper body in the absence of office of ombudsman and due to willful disobedience by the contemnors. Due to nonof the functioning Grievance Redressal Regulations, 2012, students of the varsity are compelled to take remedy from this court by filing writ petitions for their genuine grievances,"

the contempt plea claimed.

The high court had in its last year's order observed that all colleges and universities in the country need to have a mechanism to redress the grievances of students.

It had said that appointment of an 'ombudsman' in every university and a GRC for every college or group of colleges was "mandatory" and provided for under the Regulations.

The court had passed the ruling while disposing of a PIL filed by a former law student, alleging non-compliance of the UGC regulations with regard to appointment of ombudsman by universities, particularly the DU.

As per the regulations, the ombudsman "shall be a parttime officer appointed for a period of three years or until he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier", the bench had noted in its judgement.

Emirates may allow voice calls on India flights, apart from Wi-Fi

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com
 

New Delhi: Emirates may soon allow flyers to, from and over India to make calls using their mobile phones, apart from offering onboard internet. The Dubai-based mega airline has told TOI it will seek regulatory approvals to allow “customers to connect using Wi-Fi and mobile phones over India very soon.”

Emirates’ head of customer experience Patrick Brannelly told TOI: “TRAI recommendation to allow in-flight Wi-Fi and mobile services on flights within Indian airspace is good news for our customers. We are confident that our satellite data providers will engage with the Indian authorities to establish regulatory clarity for licensing and operations, to meet necessary requirements, thereby allowing our customers to connect using Wi-Fi and mobile phones over India very soon.” About voice calls, the Emirates website says: “Make calls on your mobile just as you would when you’re on the ground. To make calls or use data on your mobile, your mobile phone or global roaming provider must have a roaming agreement with our service providers. You’ll be charged by your service provider in line with international roaming rates.”

Kochi beef row: University campus shut down indefinitely

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kochi: With increased tension at Cochin University College of Engineering Kuttanad (CUCEK) campus over the ‘beef row’, authorities have decided to indefinitely close down the campus. North Indian students had alleged that they were fed beef and when they protested, they were assaulted inside the campus.

“We have decided to indefinitely close down the campus from today (Wednesday). Meanwhile, we are also trying to resolve the issue,” said Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) vice-chancellor J Letha. The decision was taken after the talk between Cusat and striking north Indian students failed on Wednesday. Of the 3,500 plus students at CUCEK, around 500 are north Indians.

At the meeting, Letha said an inquiry will be conducted and the report will be submitted within four days based on which action will be taken. The students were told that if they had missed any exam over the past few days, then the university would conduct a re-exam after the inquiry.

“To ensure a safe environment for students, they were also promised police security on campus,” said an official who was present at the meeting.

However, the students didn’t agree and insisted that college principal Sunil Kumar should be immediately suspended for ‘hurting the religious sentiments of the north Indian students’. Cusat authorities rejected this demand and said action will initiated only after an inquiry is conducted.

At a camp inaugurated by the principal last Thursday, organisers offered tea and cutlets. North Indian students alleged that they were misled into eating beef cutlets by saying that the item was vegetarian.