84 per cent of prisoners pass 

Staff Reporter 
 
Chennai, May 24, 2018 00:00 IST
 
Prisoners lodged in various jails in the State secured 84% pass in the SSLC exams.

Out of the 52 prisoners from seven jails who wrote the exams, 44 passed. Initially, 56 had applied but four did not write the exam, officials said.

A remand convict from the special sub-jail in Poonamallee, Abdhul Muthali, topped with 426 marks. He secured 96 marks in Tamil and 95 marks in social science, an officer said.

The other toppers are D. Samu, a life convict who got 414 marks and E. Thangaraji, who scored 406 marks. They are both from Puzhal prison. The highest mark in one subject was scored by R. Veera with 99 marks in social science.

Prisoners from Cuddalore, Vellore, Puzhal 1, Puzhal 2, special prisons for women in Puzhal, Special Prisons for Women in Vellore and special sub-jail, Poonamallee, wrote the exam.

HDFC Bank to provide instant loans against MFs

Mumbai:

In a move that will enable its customers with mutual fund investments get instant credit, HDFC Bank has tied up with CAMS (Computer Age Management Services) a registrar and transfer agent to provide automated loan against units.

Announcing the new scheme, Arvind Kapil, head of unsecured loans and home loans at HDFC Bank said that he expected rapid growth as the bank has automated automate the loan process which could be availed by accountholders through desktop or mobile banking. The bank is currently distributing Rs 1,000 crore of personal loans over digital platform.

“We account for half of the personal loans in the industry and 25-30% of our personal loans are digitally sourced,” said Kapil. He added that the bank already had a ₹10,000 crore portfolio of loans against securities and half of it was disbursed digitally. TNN

No relief for student low on attendance due to pregnancy

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow a second year law student of Delhi University to appear at the fourth semester examination for which she was barred by the university for being short of attendance due to pregnancy.

The student, Ankita Meena, had an attendance of 49% in the fourth semester against the minimum requirement of 70% as per rules framed by Bar Council of India.

She missed classes for almost two months of the semester due to her pregnancy and birth of her child in February. She had first moved the Delhi high court which refused her plea and later challenged the HC order in the apex court.

As one of the papers was scheduled for 2 pm on Wednesday, she was running against time to get the SC’s nod for appearing in the examination. Noting that it was too late for the court to interfere as any order passed by it could not be enforced by the university at such short notice, a vacation bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha refused to grant her relief.

“We cannot come to your aid as you have not even applied for maternity leave,” the bench said. The counsel, appearing for Meena, contended that the HC had allowed other similarly placed students to take examination and pleaded the court to allow her also to take exam.

For the full story, log on to www.timesofindia.com

Not just riot of colour, but key to ecosystem

Oppili.P@timesgroup.com 

24.05.2018

Think of butterflies and the mind paints a kaleidoscope of colours fluttering in a garden. But butterflies have more to them than just being a visual delight. They play the role of pollinators, balance the food chain and their behaviour, population and migration patterns help ecologists gauge the impact of environmental issues like climate change, deforestation and low rainfall.

Keeping these aspects in mind, the state forest department has come out with a coffee table book titled ‘Butterflies of Tamil Nadu’. The book was released on Tuesday, coinciding with the International Day for Biological Diversity. The book documents 312 species of butterflies of the 323 species found in Tamil Nadu. “The last book on butterflies was published in 2005 by Dr Guathilagaraj who documented only 90 species in south India,” says N Satheesh, conservator of forests.

Satheesh says his team began research for the book two years ago. P Mohanprasath, a butterfly enthusiast and a photographer, has co-authored the book with Satheesh. As part of their research for the book, the team visited the forests in Coimbatore and Aanamalai Tiger Reserve in Pollachi, a part of the Western Ghats as well as Amrithi forests in Vellore and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in the Eastern Ghats besides visiting Srivilliputhur. “We identified around 32 butterfly hotspots where one can see at least 75 species,” Satheesh says.

Around 32 species such as southern birdwing, malabar rose, Tamil catseye, Nilgiri clouded yellow, Nilgiri grass yellow and Malabar banded peacock are endemic to the Western Ghats. Rare species include orange owlet, yellow breasted flat, manytailed oakblue and Shiva sunbeam.

“Butterflies are grouped into five families — Papilionidae, Pieridae, Numphalidae, Lycaenidae and Hesperidae. Many species use camouflage, mimicking and warning signals to escape predators. Species such as monarch and painted lady can travel long distances during their migratory period,” Satheesh says. “The wings of butterflies are made up of tiny scales which help them fly and are responsible for their colours,” he adds.

The country’s diverse terrain, vegetation, climate and distinct seasons attract butterflies in large numbers. Satheesh, however, rues that environmental threats like pollution and pesticides are triggering a decline in the butterfly population. To fight it, the state has created a Tropical Butterfly Conservatory at Trichy, spread over 25 acres, and a butterfly park at Vandalur zoo. Satheesh says butterfly conservation will help in improving the environment in a big way. The book contains tips in this regard.

Sensitising young children on butterfly conservation, watching butterflies regularly, starting butterfly gardens at home, school, workplace; educating farmers to use native seeds and shun pesticides; and participating in butterfly walks and surveys are a few ways through which common people can contribute their mite.

Email your feedback to southpole.toi@timesgroup.com


BRIGHT AS LIGHT: Shiva sunbeam is a rare species of butterfly found in the forests of south India; (below) red helen is a swallowtail butterfly

Day after police firing, state shifts Tuticorin collector, SP
Oppn Had Demanded Immediate Transfers

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 24.05.2018

A day after 10 people were killed in police firing in Tuticorin in the wake of anti-Sterlite protests, the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday shunted out collector N Venkatesh and superintendent of police P Mahendran.

The transfer order came a few hours after the police opened fire again for the second day to disperse protesters near the Tuticorin government hospital. A 22-yearold youth died in the melee, raising the death toll to 11.

Tirunelveli collector Sandeep Nanduri will replace Venkatesh, who has been posted as additional state project director of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. Nilgiris SP Murali Rambha will be the new Tuticorin SP, replacing Mahendran, who will be the new deputy commissioner Chennai traffic (North). D Shanmuga Priya is the new SP of Nilgiris.

Opposition party leaders, who visited Tuticorin and met some of with the injured on Wednesday, slammed the government for intelligence failure and ‘mishandling’ of the protests.

They demanded the immediate transfer of the collector and SP, holding them responsible for the violence, their failure to anticipate the extent of protests and inability to assess the number of protestors, who marched towards the Tuticorin collectorate before violence broke out.

Sandeep Nanduri was in the news in October 2017 when a labourer, who had submitted several petitions at the Tirunelveli collectorate complaining of harassment from loan sharks, set fire to himself, his wife and two minor daughters on the collectorate premises.

All four died of serious burn injuries, prompting the collector to crack down on usury in the district.

Failure to take control of the situation even after several smaller protests took place sans permission in his jurisdiction since February this year, is also seen as a reason behind SP Mahendran being shifted out. Kumarettiyapuram villagers in Tuticorin began their protest on February 12 and once again in a bigger fashion with about 40,000 protesters on March 24 at VVD junction in the city.

The protesters further agitated in 20 more places often after the date, all ignored by the SP despite inputs from the state intelligence wing.

Collector N Venkatesh and SP Mahendran (right) transferred out of Tuticorin

Seniors get a crash course in using smartphones

Priya.Menon@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 24.05.2018

The classroom you walk into is different from any that you have ever seen. The teacher looks on indulgently as everyone peers into their cellphones. And every student in the room is well over 60.

HelpAgeIndia’sfour-daycoursefor senior citizens on ‘How To Use Smartphones’ is in progress at Nimmadhi War Widows Welfare Association in RA Puram, and 35 eager students have signed up. Eight-two-year-old Padma Sudarshan, for instance, has come armed with her daughter’s smartphone. “Once I learn how to use it, I am going to buy my own device,” says Padma, who is more interested in learning how to use Ola and What’sApp.

“I like to go everywhere on my own and it willbeeasier onceIlearn touse an app tobook an auto or cab,” says bright-eyed Padma, who has a passion for mastering all things new. Padma who secured a PhD at 70 authored a book at 80.

With an app for everything, many senior citizens are now keen on learning to use a smartphone. And that’s why HelpAge has been organising similar workshops in various parts of the city. “Many elderly people are fondof gadgets andwhile peoplein thefamily may gift them phones, not everyone has the time or patience to teach them how to use it, especially as elderly people take time to learn,” says R Muthukrishnan, senior manager, HelpAge, who conducts the classes.

Jessie Rajashekharan, 73, is still struggling to use her phone for the last three years. “I use it only to make calls but I want to learnt to use all the apps, send photos and documents,” she says, admitting that she is curious about the social media too. HelpAge has been conducting classesin Anna Nagar every monthfor thelastone-and-a-half years aswell as in Naganallur. For the last three months, they have been conducting the course in Nimmadhi as well, with the present batch beginning on Tuesday.

“The first day we teach them basic things such as how to switch their phone on and off, send a text message etc,” says Muthukrishnan. The second day covers how to use apps such as WhatsApp, Ola, Uber, and online shopping apps, while the third day covers mobile wallets, online banking etc. On the final day,seniors aretaughthowto makeutility bill payments. On Wednesday morning, Muthukrishnan was busy explaining how to use the app store/ play store. “It’s a shop, like Saravana Stores,” he says, demonstrating how to tap on icons to get more information about each app and the rating. “The rating shows you how good it is. Download only those you need and only those which are free,” he warns.

Most people, like Natarajan Jayaraman, 78, are interested in learning how to use Ola, PayTM, and WhatsApp. “Smartphones are now a partof life and makeiteasier.AndI also want to listen to music on my phone,” he says, as he sits in the front row, gripping the device he got just four days ago.

The savvier ones have come to update their knowledge. “I have been using it for the past five years,” says 68-year-old V Krishnamurthy, whose last job was teaching space engineering at a university. “But there must be a lotof featuresI am not aware about andIwant to use it fully.”

The course is on from 10:30am to 12:30pm till May 25. 



SMART MOVE: Two senior citizens at a ‘ class’ in R A Puram on Wednesday

Buy rly tickets through app, get 5% bonus

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 24.05.2018

To encourage its paperless ticketing initiative, Southern Railway announced that UTS mobile app users will be gifted a 5% bonus when they recharge R Wallets. The scheme, implemented on the orders of the Railway Board, will be active for three months from Thursday. When a user recharges his R Wallet for ₹1,000, he will be credited ₹50 (5%) as a bonus on behalf of the railway.

Issue of UTS tickets (paperless) through the mobile app was extended to all railway stations across the Southern Railway from April 14. According to a railway press release, public response to the paperless initiative has been tremendous.

On an average, 3% of the total unreserved passengers are now using the app, the release said.

The facility has been enabled for both Android and IOS phone users. Passengers can book tickets on their mobile phones. They may show the digital copy of the ticket when asked for by a TTE.

Users can recharge their R Wallet and pay for the paperless tickets. R Wallet can be recharged at any unreserved ticket counters.

The recharge can also be done using credit/debit cards within the mobile app itself or through the website www.utsonmobile.indianrail.gov.in. To boost the paperless initiative, the Southern Railway has decided not to levy any service charge for recharge of R Wallet through UTS counters.