Is Rajini an engineer, asks minister Jayakumar

D.Govardan @timesgroup.com

Chennai: Actor Rajinikanth, who was hesitating for decades to take the political plunge, would have got his first lessons by now on how dirty politics can be.

On Friday, fisheries minister D Jayakumar chided the superstar, wondering whether he was an engineer who could detect faults in the system. Jayakumar was reacting to Rajini’s comments on Thursday that “the system has to be set right in Tamil Nadu”.

While Rajini was referring to the political system in the state, which he alleged had become corrupt, Jayakumar gave it a spin to poke fun at the actor.

Social media has been agog with memes making fun of Rajinikanth’s reference to “the system”.

Jayakumar was talking to the media on Friday. “Let him clarify on what he means by ‘system not right’ and highlight the issues that are not right. We will set them right,” he said. On Thursday, Rajini himself was responding to a question from on whether the system was not right in the state or at the Centre?

“If Rajinikanth is so keen tosetthesystem right, let him first visit Karnataka, which is refusing to release Cauvery water, and set the system right over there and get them to release Cauvery water,” Jayakumar said.

The minister’s intention is to drag Rajini into the Cauvery row, which he has been cautiously avoiding all these years as he started his career in Bengaluru as a bus conductor. The two neighbouring stateshave been fighting over sharing of Cauvery water and the Supreme Court is expected to deliver the verdict any time.

Jayakumar continued, asking the actor what he meant by ‘spiritual politics’. “Is he propagating religion-based politics?” the minister asked, before stressing that the AIADMK believed in secular politics, and followed the path of Anna (C N Annadurai).

The actor’s talk about ‘spiritual politics’ in his address to his fans on December 31 in Chennai, in which he announced his entry into politics, had set tongues wagging in political circles. But Rajinikanth had clarified then that by ‘spiritual politics’ he meant politics that was above “caste, creed and religion”.

AIADMK continues shedding partymen, 500 this time, including two ex-mins 

Chennai/ Cuddalore: The AIADMK continued its expulsion spree on Friday, removing more than 500 functionaries, including former ministers G Senthamizhan and Parithi Ilamvazhuthi in Chennai (south) and Cuddalore (west) from the primary membership on charges of resorting to anti-party activities.

Convener O Pannerselvam and coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami in a joint statement said it was decided to sack them for acting against the party’s policies and principles, for tarnishing its image and and bringing it disrepute. They directed the party workers to sever ties with the sacked men.

The party on Tuesday had removed more than 200 functionaries on similar charges. The EPS-OPS camp after successfully retaining the party’s name, symbol and flag, has been expelling Sasi-TTV loyalists to consolidate their supremacy over the party. TNN

Medico kills self in Tiruvarur

Tiruvarur: A second-year MBBS student P Sundaravel, was reportedly found hanging by his college mates at the government medical college hostel in Tiruvarur on Thursday night.

In his suicide note recovered by the police, he had reportedly cited his inability to cope with the academics, due to which he was sllegedly depressed, as the sole reason to take the drastic decision. TNN

Water, anyone? This VC’s a diviner

With a key tied to the end of a copper wire, Madurai Kamaraj University vice-chancellor P P Chellathurai, whose science courses are popular among students, chases “underground water streams” on the campus. In an interview withTOI’sPradeep Kumar, he talks about his body’s magnetic powers, his vision for the university and why scientists cannot explain his water divining ability...

Madurai: The head of a university deemed by the UGC as having the potential for academic excellence, 63-year-old Chellathurai defines magnetic power thus: “Magnetic power is a power within the man which will interplay with electromagnetic force in the Earth.”

For the uninitiated, this was Chellathurai’s attempt at explaining his water divining power — an unproven, unscientific method to determine the presence of ground water using common household items. The university’s website claims that Chellathurai, using a two-feet copper wire with a steel key tied to one end and helped generously by the “magnetic power” he possesses, had managed to identify eight hitherto unknown sources of ground water at various places on the campus. When TOI met him on Friday, Chellathurai said he had ‘discovered’ three more.

“I have saved the university several crores of rupees. In fact, after reading about my powers in a Tamil newspaper, residents in 500 villages around Madurai have written asking me to come visit their place and help identify water. I would go but my commitment as vice-chancellor keeps me busy,” he said, adding that due to his efforts the campus had gone from being water-deficient to becoming water-sufficient.

Where geologists would struggle, Chellathurai excels. The VCexplainedthat he studies the swirl pattern on the key suspended from the wire to determine the presence of water. “If the key swirls around in small circles, then there is only monkey urination level water present. If the swirl radius is larger, then we can be sure that elephant urination level water is present,” he said.

If Chellathurai’s use of water divining jargon did not unsettle you, sample this. Asked by this reporter for a practical demonstration of his powers, Chellathurai held “the instrument” in his hands and made the key swirl around, helped by the magnetic power vested in the palm of his right hand.

Calling himself a disciple of Swami Vivekananda, Chellathurai firmly believes in one of the former’s quotes about truth being subjected to ridicule first, opposition next before eventually earning acceptance. Thisbelief is, perhaps, the reason why he is not bothered about the lack of scientific evaluation of his powers.

“I am a layman and not a scientist. But I do possess a scientific temper. Physics experts won’t be able to connect thedots as tohow I manage (to detect water). My understanding is that the power in my body is transmitted through the copper wire and into the key. The key establishes contact with the Earth,” he said.

When did you realise you had these powers?

Chellathurai: It was 20 years ago at an estate owned by a friend near Erode. I saw a villager predicting water’s presence near a dry well using just a stick and a piece of lemon. I asked the villager if I could try, and to my surprise I found that I had the same powers as him.

Do you plan to share the knowledge behind your powers with MKU students?

I do have plans to find out if MKU students have these powers. There are 5,000 students on this campus. If even 500 had this power, then this country’s water crisis will be solved.

Does that mean you will set up a department/chair to study water divining?

Now that you have asked, I willholddiscussions with my university staff to see if an institution of water divining can be set up. In this country, there is liberty to do anything that doesn’t cost you money (laughs).

Are you worried about detractors?

Water divining is my hobby. I do not charge the university for it. So, there is no need for me to getintoconflictwith people who raise questions. Besides, I am doing this because I am the vice-chancellor.

Vice-chancellor P P Chellathurai with an ‘instrument’ searches for water streams on the Madurai Kamaraj University campus

Fastest fingers first? Not while booking tatkal tickets online

Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com

Chennai: Being quick in typing, or using auto-fill to enter names will no longer give you the edge while booking tatkal tickets online.

The ministry of railways has identified at least 19 websites being used to facilitate auto-filling to get that extra edge of a few seconds in booking tatkal tickets. Most of these sites have the word ‘tatkal’ for instance tatkaltkts.com, tatkalsoft-.co. inand tatkaltkt.com which provide software to enable a passenger to fill the booking form on the IRCTC website faster. However, said the ministry, software from these websites have not been able to bypass the system. By enabling the user ‘auto-fill’ details, these software enable him to reach the payment gateway quicker and improve the chances of getting a confirmedtatkal ticket. The window opens at 10am and usually for in-demand trains tickets are sold out within five minutes.

However, the ministry said the system cannot be thwarted any more as itwill not accept submission of the form before a stipulated time check. For instance, the minimum time for filling up the form is set at 25 seconds irrespective of the number of passengers. So if an IRCTC user fills up a form within 20 seconds, he will not have an edge. Similarly, there is a minimum time check of 10 seconds for users to make the payment besides a minimum time limit of five seconds for entering the CAPTCHA.

The ministry has requested the electronics and IT ministry to block these websites, but a cursory check shows that they continue to offer the auto-fill software.

“But by keeping a time check the government isdenying the edge to those who can be fast,” said Giriraj Bissa, a regular rail user.

This is apart, regular rules stipulate that only two tatkal tickets per IP address can be booked from a single user ID in the opening two hours and only one tatkal ticket in a single session. Also, agents will not be allowed to book between 10am and 10:30am.

Two planes on one runway lay bare safety risk

Ayyappan.V@timesgroup.com

Chennai: The incident in which two flights came on the same runway at the Chennai airport on Thursday pointsto the serious safety risk involvedin cross-runwayor simultaneous use of main runway and second runway operations at the airport.

A Chennai-Pune IndiGo flight, on thetake-off roll, had to abort soon after spotting a small plane on the same runway. The aircraft were facing one another at a distance on the same strip.

The Coast Guard plane which had landed on the main runway was told to taxi to its hangar located by the side of the second runway but controllers missed the point that it would have to cross the take-off path of the IndiGo plane getting ready to fly from the same runway. The controllers did not inform the Coast Guard plane to halt before crossing the second runway which was cleared for another flight for take-off.

Sources said the airport does not have enough traffic to have cross-runway operations but still the procedure, discouraged abroad for safety risk, is being practised in Chennai. A source said on an average the airport receives 26 flights in an hour. “The numbers go up to 29 on certain days. After a rapid exit taxiway was opened, the airport was able to handle 36 flights in an hour using only the main runway. This has been certified and declared that a single runway operation can handle36flightsin an hour. In spite of this, AAI has been pushing for cross-runway operation in the hope that more flights can be handled. This is causing stress and confusion among air traffic controllers,” the source said.

An official said the airport does not require simultaneous use of both runways to boost aircraft-handling capacity. He added that the cross runway operations were causing unnecessary stress among air traffic controllers leading tosafety risks. “In Mumbai, cross-runway operations were stopped after there were incidents in which flights came in the way of one another in 2008. In spite of the risks, AAI is looking to have the same procedure in Chennai,” he added.

However, airport officials said the idea was to keep air traffic controllers equipped to handle any situation to boost aircraft-handling capacity at airports if there was a need in the future.

“In Chennai, there is no guarantee that another airport will be started to meet the growing demands. So we want the ATC staff to handle additional flights. This was the reason we wanted crossrunway operations in Chennai,” said an official.

Police rescue 12 cats trapped for biryani from narikuravas

Oppili.P@timesgroup.com

Chennai: Police rescued a dozen cats which would have ended up on a plate of biryani served up by roadside eateries in Tirumullaivoyal on Friday.

The recovery comes after a weeklong investigation in various pockets of the city such as Avadi, Pallavaram, Tirumullaivoyal, Poompozhil Nagar near Avadi and Kannikapuram — localities having narikurava settlements.

The case was taken up after a number of residents at Balaji Nagar in Royapettah reported that their pet cats had gone missing around Pongal.

“The day after Pongal, my cat went out. It has been un-traceable since,” said M Hema, a resident. After similar stories were recounted by several cat owners in the city, some of the owners and a team of animal activists filed a complaint with the city police commissioner A K Viswanathan last month. “Most of these pets are trapped by narikuravas (gypsies) for their meat that is sold to roadside eateries. This has been happening for at least two decades now,” alleged People for Animals (PfA) co-founder Shiranee Pereira.

Following the complaint, a team from the intelligence wing of the city police swung into action. “In the past week, police officers approached narikuravas under the pretext of being prospective cat meat buyers. However, getting information from them was not that easy said the officer as the meat is not sold to everyone and strangers asking for cat meat are usually not entertained,” said a senior police officer.

Finally, the team was able to crack down on a group of gypsies in Tirumullaivoyal. The dozen cats were found in gunny bags in a bad condition. Three other cats were found dead packed in another gunny bag. The rescued cats were taken to the PfA shelter in Sengundram for rehabilitation, Shiranee said. Narikuravas who had trapped and killed the cats were warned by police.

மீன்குழம்பு சண்டைக்காக தீக்குளித்த மனைவி! - காப்பாற்றப்போன கணவரும் பலியான பரிதாபம்

சி.ய.ஆனந்தகுமார் என்.ஜி.மணிகண்டன்
Tiruchirappalli:

குடிப்பழக்கம் ஒரு குடும்பத்தையே கண்ணீரில் மிதக்க வைத்துள்ளது.

போதை கணவர், மீன்குழம்பு வைக்கவில்லை என மனைவியிடம் சண்டையிட்டதால் ஏற்பட்ட தகறாரில், கணவன், மனைவி இருவரும் தீக்கிரையான சம்பவத்தால் திருச்சியே சோகத்தில் உறைந்துபோய் கிடக்கிறது.



திருச்சி கே.கே.நகர் உஸ்மான் அலி நகர் 2-வது குறுக்குத் தெருவைச் சேர்ந்தவர் சுரேஷ். இவருக்குச் சொந்தமாக லாரிகள் உள்ளன. சிறப்பாகத் தொழில் செய்துவரும் இவர், திருச்சி குட்ஷெட் லாரி உரிமையாளர் சங்கத் தலைவராகவும், திருச்சி மாவட்ட லாரி உரிமையாளர் சங்கத்தின் துணைத் தலைவராகவும் பொறுப்பு வகித்து வருகின்றார்.

இவருக்கு சத்யா என்கிற மனைவியும், பன்னிரண்டாம் வகுப்பு படிக்கும் ராகுல் என்கிற மகனும், 10-ம் வகுப்பு படிக்கும் உதயா என்கிற மகளும் உள்ளனர். அவருடன், சுரேஷின் தாய் கஸ்தூரியும் உள்ளார்.

இந்நிலையில் சுரேஷ், நேற்று முன்தினம் காலை, மீன் வாங்கிக் கொடுத்து விட்டு, மதியம் சமைத்து வைக்கும்படி கூறிவிட்டுத் தனது அலுவலகத்துக்குக் கிளம்பியுள்ளார். பிள்ளைகள் பள்ளிக்குச் சென்றுவிட வீட்டில் சுரேஷ் தாய் கஸ்தூரியும், மனைவி சத்யாவும் இருந்தனர்.

இந்நிலையில் அன்று மதியம் வீடுதிரும்பிய சுரேஷ், குடிபோதையில் இருந்துள்ளார். போதையில் இருந்த அவர், தனது மனைவி சத்யா, வீட்டில் சாப்பாட்டுக்கு மீன்குழம்பு சமைத்து வைத்திருப்பார் என்கிற ஆவலுடன், வீட்டுக்கு வந்துள்ளார். ஆனால் வீட்டில் வாஷிங் மெஷின் பழுதாகிப் போனதால், அழுக்குத் துணிகளைக் கையால் துவைத்ததால் குழம்பு வைக்கத் தாமதமாகிவிட்டது என சத்யா கூறியுள்ளார்.

இதைக் கேட்ட சுரேஷ், சத்யாவிடம் மீன்குழம்பு வைக்கவில்லை என சண்டை போட்டுள்ளார். அப்போது இருவருக்கும் இடையே ஏற்பட்ட வாக்குவாதத்தில் சுரேஷ், சத்யாவின் கன்னத்தில் அறைந்ததாகக் கூறப்படுகிறது. இதனால் மனமுடைந்த சத்யா வீட்டில் இருந்த மண்ணெண்ணையை எடுத்து உடலில் ஊற்றியுள்ளார். பதிலுக்கு சுரேஷும் தானும் தீக்குளிக்கப் போவதாக சத்யாவிடம் வம்பு பண்ணியுள்ளார். ஆனால், சத்யா வீட்டின் கழிவறைக்குச் சென்றதுடன், அங்கே தனது உடலுக்குத் தீ வைத்துக்கொண்டார். அவரின் உடல் முழுவதும் தீ பரவியதால் சத்யா அலறியடித்து வெளியே ஓடிவந்தார். இந்நிலையில் மனைவியின் அலறல் சத்தத்தைக் கேட்ட சுரேஷ், மனைவி சத்யாவை காப்பாற்ற நினைத்து, அப்படியே தூக்கியுள்ளார். இதில் சுரேஷ் உடலிலும் தீப்பிடித்தது.

தீ வேகமாக உடலெங்கும் பரவ, இருவரும் தங்களைக் காப்பாற்றும்படி அலறினர். இதனைப் பார்த்த சுரேஷின் தாயார் கஸ்தூரி அலறியடித்தபடி வீட்டுக்கு வெளியே ஓடிவந்து கதறியழவே, சத்தம் கேட்டு ஓடிவந்த அக்கம் பக்கத்தினர் சுரேஷ், சத்யாவின் உடலில் பற்றி எரிந்த தீயை அணைத்தனர். அதனைத்தொடர்ந்து தீக்காயமடைந்த இருவரும் 108 ஆம்புலன்ஸ் மூலம் திருச்சி அரசு மருத்துவமனைக்குக் கொண்டு செல்லப்பட்டனர்.

 ஆனால் அங்கு சிகிச்சை பலனின்றி முதலில் சத்யாவும், அடுத்து சுரேஷும், அடுத்தடுத்து பலியானார்கள். இதுகுறித்து திருச்சி கே.கே.நகர் போலீஸார் விசாரணை நடத்தி வருகிறார்கள். நேற்று இருவரின் உடல் பிரேதப் பரிசோதனை முடிந்து, பலியான சுரேஷ், சத்யாவின் இறுதிச்சடங்கு முடிய இரவு ஆனதால் திருச்சி ஏர்போர்ட் பகுதியே சோகத்தில் உறைந்து கிடந்தது.