Three-hour limit for Taj visitors: No mechanism in place to enforce rule

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com 02.04.2018

Agra: The three-hour time slot restrictions for visitors to the Taj Mahal that kicked in from Sunday for better crowd management failed to take off on the first day, as there was no one at the entry and exit points to brief tourists or enforce the rule.

Though the validity of the tickets issued by the ASI clearly mentioned it is valid for three hours, there was no mechanism in place to enforce this.

Talking to TOI, superintendent archeologist of ASI (Agra circle) Bhuvan Vikram Singh said that the staff was asked to go soft on them as it was the first day. “The staff has been directed to be lenient and this will be continued for the next three-four days, till the word spreads around,” he said. Asked how they plan to enforce the 3-hour restriction for the visitors, Singh said random checks will be initiated till the installation of turnstile gates. Many of the tourists, both foreigners and local, told TOI they were not aware of any such restrictions.

In a public notice issued last week, ASI had decided that the entry ticket to the world heritage monument would be valid for only three hours. The move was necessitated by the surge in the number of visitors. Many times, during peak tourist season and other occasions, the number of tourists to the 17th century Mughal-era monument crosses 60,000 to 70,000. This could prove harmful for the foundations of the monument, said ASI officials.

“We’ve had situations where over 50,000 visitors come to Taj Mahal in a single day. The monument space is limited and we cannot extend that. We have to make do with the available area and manage visitors within that limited space. Sometimes it gets very difficult to manage the crowd,” said an ASI official, adding that limited-validity tickets are expected to sort it out.

STILL CHAOTIC

Anitha dad’s advice at NEET app launch

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 03.04.2018

Trichy: There should not be too much obsession with MBBS and parents should not pressurise their children to opt for higher education in a particular field, said T Shanmugam, father of S Anitha who committed suicide on September 1 last year as she could not clear NEET and get a medical seat, here on Sunday.

Shanmugam was speaking at the launch of a mobile application ‘T4P Lets Act’, which will provide a free online NEET crash course for aspirants, at the St Joseph’s College. The Android app has been developed by a Chennai-based NGO, Tech for All, to cater to students from rural areas.

Apart from Shanmugam, gynecologist Dr Indira Natarajan and St Joseph’s College rector John Britto were also present at the event.

Multiple leak claims rock CBSE

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com 02.04.2018

New Delhi: Rumour mills kept CBSE officials on high alert all through Saturday and till Sunday morning. The board keep pushing media alerts specifying that papers circulating on WhatsApp were incorrect. The alerts continued till 12.44 am on Sunday and school education secretary Anil Swarup also tweeted that the Hindi paper doing the rounds on social media was a fake.

The multiple claims and versions of so-called leaked papers are making the task of the CBSE, the investigators and the HRD ministry difficult. At least some of the versions of exam papers were circulated and even sold in order to make a quick buck.

Meanwhile, papers claiming to be “leaked” and allegedly concerning remaining Class X and XII exams emerged on You-Tube channels on Saturday.

‘SLEEPLESS NIGHTS’

‘Checking all papers in circulation’

According to CBSE sources, a team of officials checked the papers on social media. The papers included political science and Hindi (elective) for Class XII and Sanskrit for Class X.

CBSE found that the papers were of exams from earlier years. The board alerted the media that various question papers in circulation on social media platforms like WhatsApp and YouTube were not the original papers.

“Things have been very difficult of late as we have been cross-checking the papers in circulation with those of previous years and also with the original if there is any resemblance. Thankfully, there has been none so far,” a senior CBSE official said.

Even though no paper other than maths and economics has been found to be leaked in the ongoing board exams, CBSE officials are sure to have more sleepless nights.

9 yrs on, soldier’s mom awaits pension 

Ministry Denies Pension As Body Of Rifleman, Who Fell Into River On Duty, Not Found

Ajay.Sura@timesgroup.com 02.04.2018

Chandigarh: The mother of adead soldier from Himachal Pradesh has approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) after the defence ministry told her that she would not get her son’s pension.

This is because Rifleman Rinku Ram of Jammu & Kashmir Rifles had in November 2009 fallen into a raging river while patrolling along the line of actual control (LAC) with China and his body was never found. The defence accounts department told his mother Kamla Devi that pension would be released only after the body was found.

AFT’s Chandigarh bench, comprising Justice MS Chauhan (retd) and Lt Gen Munish Sibal (retd), has issued notice to the ministry and the accounts department on the mother’s plea. The counsel handling the case said that the demands of the accounts officers were unacceptable.

“It is as if they would prefer that the family first jump into the river that flows into China and retrieve the body as proof to get the dues,” the counsel said.

The area where Ram was on patrolling duty almost a decade ago is considered one of the most treacherous terrains along the LAC.

Ram’s death was declared a ‘battle casualty’ as deaths caused by drowning, avalanches and floods in operational areas are put in this category. The Army had also issued his death certificate.

Ram’s parents had been approaching authorities for ex-gratia benefits and pension since 2009.

According to the plea in AFT, the office of the defence accounts (pensions) in Allahabad rejected their claim on the ground that the soldier couldn’t be treated as dead as his body hadn’t been found and was still considered “missing”.

The plea adds that repeated requests from even serving Generals of the Army had no effect on the accountants who gave two reasons for not releasing the benefits. One, ordinary family pension would not be released to the mother because the father was a pensioner, and two, the liberalised family pension would not be released since the son was considered missing.

Even ex-gratia lump sum compensation given to families of all soldiers who have died in the course of performing their duty was not released.

War veterans have been regularly complaining about the defence accounts department rejecting claims on “hyper-technical interpretation of rules” even after the benefits are sanctioned by executive authorities.

A committee of experts, formed by former defence minister Mahohar Parrikar had in 2015, strongly deprecated the attitude of the department and said, “We are at a loss to comprehend why negative energy and multiple reams of papers should be wasted on such issues concerning benefits of soldiers and deceased soldiers, which are anyway minor from the organizational point of view, when there are much more important financial matters worth pondering over.

“We find it difficult to digest as to how logic itself is being stretched to illogical limits due to an all-pervasive pessimistic environment just to deny benefits to our men and women in uniform.”

GONE MISSING: Rifleman Rinku Ram of Jammu & Kashmir Rifles had in November 2009 fallen into a raging river while patrolling along the line of actual control with China and his body was never found

Summer to be hotter in north India: IMD

Amit.Bhattacharya@timesgroup.com 02.04.2018

New Delhi: Most partsof north India can expect a searing hot summer this year with average mean temperatures remaining more than a degree above normal, the India Meteorological Department said in its countrywide hot weather outlook for April, May and June on Sunday.

While northIndia islikely to see the highest temperature deviations — which also indicates drier-than-usual weather in that region — IMD’s outlook says the average seasonal temperatures over most subdivisions of the country could be above normal. The regions with slightly lower-than-normal projected temperatures are eastern, east-central and southern partsof thecountry, theoutlook stated.

“North India is expected to be mainly dry with clear skies and anti-cyclonic winds that raisetemperatures. The higherthan-normal temperatures there seem to be linked with global warming signals,” saidD Sivananda Pai, head of IMD’s long-range forecasting division.

“Maximum temperatures in south and east India could be closer to normal, indicating cloudiness and good pre-monsoon showers in these regions,” Pai said.

Although theupcoming season in the north will be hotter than normal, theforecast added that the season’s average temperatures in most subdivisions are likely to be less than what was seen last year. The season is likely to see the usual number of heat wavesover thecore heat wave (HW) zone of the country, the department said although there’s a 38% probability of above-normal heat wave conditions.

The HW zone covers states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Telangana, as well as meteorological subdivisions of Marathawada, Vidarbha, Madhya Maharashtra and coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Tendulkar donates his salary to PM’s relief fund 

TIMES OF INDIA 02.04.2018

New Delhi: Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, whoseterm as Rajya Sabha MP ended recently, has donated his entire salary and allowances to the Prime Minister's relief fund.

In the past six years, Tendulkar has drawn nearly ₹90 lakh in salaries and other monthly allowances. The PMO has also issued a letter of acknowledgment which states: “Prime Minister acknowledges this thoughtful gesture and conveys his gratitude. These contributions will beof immensehelp in providing assistance to the people in distress.” Tendulkar, along with veteran actress Rekha, have been criticised a lot for their poor attendance in the Parliament allthese years.

According to data released by Tendulkar's office, he has claimed to have sanctioned 185 projects acrossthecountry with ₹7.4 crore outof his allocated₹30 crore being usedfor educational and related structural development, including building and renovation of classrooms.

Tendulkar also adopted two villagesunder the Sansad Gram Adarsh Gram Yojana Scheme, including Puttam Raju Kandriga in Andhra Pradesh and Donja in Maharashtra. PTI

2 medicos, teacher drown in West Indies

Subburaj.A@timesgroup.com 02.04.2018

Coimbatore: Two students from Annur in Coimbatore and Bengaluru who were studying second year medicine at St Lucia in West Indies drowned while they were taking photos on the rocks at Cannelles beach. Boopathy, a native of Salem and lecturer at the university, drowned while trying to save the students. So far, West Indies police have retrieved the bodies of the students and a search is on to retrieve the body of the lecturer.

The deceased, identified as G Bhuvana Gangeswaran, 21, from Annur in Coimbatore and Indhumathi from Bengaluru, were studying second year medicine at Spartan Health Sciences University School of Medicine at St Lucia in West Indies.

Gangeswaran’s family said he and six of his friends had organised a get-together at Cannelles Beach on Saturday to celebrate the completion of their second year at college.

At around 11.54 am local time, the students and Boopathy, who had accompanied them, were taking photographs on the rocks at the beach when a large wave submerged two of them. Boopathy tried save the two. Although police retrieved the bodies of Gangeswaran and Indhumathi, they were not able to retrieve Boopathy’s body. The university authorities contacted the family members of the deceased over phone on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Gangeswaran’s elder brother told media persons that West Indies police on being contacted said they will take at least a week’s time to send the body due to Easter holidays. “We request the Union government and state government to take necessary steps to bring the dead body of Gangeswaran immediately to India,” he said.