Post cards still around, but nothing to write home about

K.Lakshmi

JULY 08, 2018 00:00 IST




Learning the art:The Department of Posts hopes that young people will revive inland letters and post cards. 

Not many use the iconic instruments for personal letters

Until a few decades ago, the iconic yellow post cards and blue inland letters were the only modes of communication. Post cards and inland letters are still on sale across post office counters but their numbers have drastically declined as digital communication has soared.

The Chennai city region, which sold nearly 61 lakh post cards in 2015-16, sold only 40 lakh pieces last fiscal. Similarly, the sale of inland letters has dipped from 22 lakh pieces three years ago to 13 lakh pieces in 2017-18.

Not many people use the iconic instruments for personal communication, but several institutions still put them to good use.

Effective tool

Residents welfare associations (RWAs) in Chitlapakkam, a southern suburb of Chennai, often use post cards as an effective tool to voice their demands to the State government.

P. Viswanathan, convener of Chitlapakkam Residents’ Welfare Associations Coordination Committee, recalled how nearly 1,000 post cards with the area’s civic demands were sent to the Chief Minister. “It is one of the cheapest and most effective methods to reach out to the officials about our demands,” he said.

Besides RWAs, several retail merchants communicate new offers to their customers through post cards that still cost only 50 paise. Some large companies still use inland letters to communicate confidential information.

Postmaster General, Chennai City Region R.Anand, said, “Some large corporates print their own letters according to the specifications and use postage. Some even use printed post cards with higher postage value. We don’t have official data of uses of post cards as content should not be read while processing them.”

Niche users

Postal officials said schools and colleges too buy inland letters and post cards to convey results to parents. Advocates and pawn brokers too use them to communicate with their clients.

Though competition post cards was introduced exclusively for those writing to magazines and television channels, it is not of much demand now.

Send a letter, win a prize

In an effort to boost use of the post cards and inland letters, the Department of Posts is conducting a letter writing contest among school children. This year, the contest is being organised in two categories — those under 18 years and those aged above 18. The contest is open till September 30. Contestants need to write on the theme ‘Letter to My Motherland’ and send it to the Chief Postmaster General, Tamil Nadu circle.

Union minister garlands eight lynching convicts, faces flak

Says He Has Misgivings About Court’s Verdict

TNN & AGENCIES

Hazaribag:  08.07.2018

Union minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha found himself in the midst of a raging controversy after his garlanding of eight men convicted in a murder by lynching case who were recently released on bail went viral and attracted sharp criticism from opposition leaders.

Opposition parties on Saturday condemned Sinha, who is Hazaribag MP, for “honouring and garlanding” the eight men convicted in the killing of coal trader Alimuddin Ansari in Ramgarh in June last year in a case of alleged cow vigilantism.

A fast-track court has found 11 persons guilty in the case and sentenced them to life in prison in March. Eight of them secured bail from the Jharkhand high court last week. They visited Sinha’s residence on Friday, where the minister welcomed them with garlands and sweets.

His father, rebel BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, also found himself under fire and tweeted, “Earlier I was the nalayak baap (foolish father) of a layak beta (meritorious son). Now the roles are reversed. That is twitter. I do not approve of my son’s action. But I know even this will lead to further abuse. You can never win.”

Congress accused Sinha and BJP of fanning communal tension. “It is only in ‘New India’ where those supposed to get the noose are being garlanded,” the party said.

JMM working president and former CM Hemant Soren on Friday, tagged the minister’s alma mater Harvard University. “This is truly despicable. @Harvard Your alumnus @jayantsinha felicitating the accused in cow related lynching death in India. Is this what @Harvard stands for?”

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury also attacked BJP for “tearing India’s social fabric” and promoting politics of hate. “We don’t need to look far to see who or which ideology is tearing our social fabric apart: when Union ministers patronise those convicted of lynching,” he said.

Seeking to clarify the events, Jayant Sinha said: “When these people were granted bail, they came to my residence and I wished them well. Let the law take its own course. The guilty will be punished and the innocent will be set free.”

The minister sought to answer the criticism of his actions, saying he condemned all acts of violence and rejected any type of vigilantism but he had misgivings about the fast-track court judgment sentencing each accused to life imprisonment.

Rumours of formalin in fish hits trade

Checks Show Fish Safe, Say Officials

Oppili P & Ekatha John TNN

Chennai: 08.07.2018

Rumours that fish sent from Tamil Nadu to Kerala was laced with formalin has affected the trade in the state, particularly in Chennai. With aban on fishing along the west coast in place, fishermen in places like Kasimedu in Chennai had been sending most of the catch to Kerala and other places. The quantum of the loss is yet to be ascertained.

In order to assuage buyers, officials of the fisheries department and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) conducted thorough checks at the fishing harbor and fish markets and found, apart from finding decayed fish in a couple of places, none laced with formalin. Search teams used a kit developed by Tamil Nadu Dr J Jayalithaa Fisheries University.

FSSAI officials said they were working with the fisheries department on the issue and that fish samples were collected and tested in Tuticorin and Kanyakumari districts.

The fishermen, however, do not seem satisfied. South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association president K Bharathi said the government instead of just conducting checks should also spread awareness among people. “The fish that had formalin traces were sent from Andhra Pradesh to Kerala and not from Tamil Nadu,” he added.

Fishermen in the state had begun getting a good catch very recently after the ban ended but have again been hit by the rumours, he said. Tuna from Tamil Nadu was one of the most sought after in Kerala and used to fetch up to ₹120 per kg. Now, traders in Kerala have rejected it.

“There are no takers even after the price was reduced,” he said.



HARD HIT: Fishermen of Kasimedu had been sending most of their catch to Kerala and are now affected

Prof develops kit to check fish quality
Chennai:

A kit developed by Jeyashakila, a professor at Tamil Nadu Dr J Jayalalithaa Fisheries University in Tuticorin, has come in handy to check quality of fish, especially to see if it is laced with formalin.

Jeyashakila, who is also the head of the Referal Laboratory at the university, said a sample of the fish skin has to be put in a vial with a diluent. A chemical is added to the mixture which reacts if formalin is present in it. If the mixture turns fluorescent yellow, it is positive. If the sample remains colourless, it is negative. The test takes about five minutes to check for the presence of formalin. Using one kit, 25 samples can be tested, she added. TNN

463 students get seats after phase 1 medical counselling ends
Chennai:08.07.2018

On the last day of phase 1 of medical counselling, seven students from government schools and 13 from government-aided schools were admitted to various medical colleges under government quota, officials said.

Around 968 students attended counselling and 463 were allotted seats. While 196 students were given MBBS seats in government colleges, 16 got BDS seats in government dental colleges. The second round of counselling for admission to self-financing colleges under management quota will be held between July 17 and 19.

Information will be uploaded on www. tnmedicalselection.org and www.tnhealth.org,said selection committee secretary G Selvarajan. TNN

MBBS ADMISSION

Deny seat to girl with dual nativity certificate: Court

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  08.07.2018

Censuring a medical aspirant who tried to get admission to an MBBS course in Tamil Nadu on the basis of a fraudulently obtained nativity certificate, the Madras high court on Friday declared that if, in any other manner, the candidate manages to secure a seat in Tamil Nadu and complete the course, the degree will be invalid.

“If any allotment has been granted to the student, it shall stand automatically cancelled without an order being passed by the authorities. If for any reason, the candidate is allowed to continue the course in the state, then the degree that may be obtained is not a valid one, as students like the petitioner herein, may fraudulently obtain an interim order and complete the course,” Justice S Vaidyanathan said.

They would try to take advantage and ensure that the court renders a finding at a later date that since the petitioner has completed the course, the degree obtained need not be disturbed. This gives a wrong signal, more particularly when the court is taken for a ride and genuine students are deprived of the seat, the judge added.

Aparna Rajendra Kumar, a resident of Gujarat, approached the high court seeking a direction to the Tamil Nadu selection committee (admission to MBBS/BDS courses 2018-19) to consider her claim for admission to the course on the basis of her nativity certificate of Chennai.

In her petition, she claimed that she had applied for the course only in Tamil Nadu and not in any other state.

When the plea came up for hearing, additional advocate general C Manishankar informed the court that she had already applied for the same course in Gujarat. “There is a clear prohibition in the prospectus of Tamil Nadu against such applicants,” he added.

Noting that it was unfortunate that the petitioner came before the court with a false statement, Justice Vaidyanathan said, “Though strictures could be passed against the petitioner for approaching this court with unclean hands, this court refrains from doing so, taking note of the tender age and that, being a girl child, her future should not be ruined. Hence, the petitioner’s candidature in Tamil Nadu need not be considered.”

HC: Place of birth alone not enough for nativity claims

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  08.07.2018

Birth alone will not make a person a native of a place. There must be several years of residence in the place to claim nativity for admission to MBBS courses in Tamil Nadu, the Madras high court said, rejecting a plea moved by a student who was born in Tamil Nadu but had ‘temporarily’ resided and studied in Kerala for 20 years. The boy wanted authorities to let him sit for MBBS counselling under state quota.

“Birth place is where a person lives along with brothers and sisters. But a person’s place of education and living, can be taken into account for the purpose of nativity. Even for domicile residence, over five years of stay is required. In this case, even though the candidate was born in Tamil Nadu, his schooling was in Kerala and the nativity certificate will have to be looked from the angle of where the education was imparted,” Justice S Vaidyanathan said.

M Goutham was born in Karur on June 5, 2000, and belongs to a backward community. However, in view of his father’s employment, he did his entire schooling in Kottayam, Kerala. After securing 424 in NEET, he applied for MBBS in Tamil Nadu under the state quota.

As his name was not on the rank list released by the selection committee, he made a representation to the authorities which saw no response. Aggrieved, Goutham approached the high court.

When the plea came up for hearing, the petitioner submitted that he had produced a certificate from a village administrative officer in Kottayam stating that he was only a temporary resident of Kerala. This apart, to prove his nativity, he had produced his family ration card issued by the Tamil Nadu government.

He argued that nativity refers to the place of birth and that when a person is born in Tamil Nadu, he can be considered as a native of the state.

Opposing the claim, the selection committee said, “Firstly, the VAO certificate states that the petitioner has been temporarily residing in Kerala for 20 years (petitioner’s age is 18). Therefore, the candidate does not belong to Tamil Nadu. Further, place of birth cannot give right to claim nativity. However, it is open to the petitioner to have his case considered under the all India quota, but not in the TN state quota.”

Concurring with the submissions, the court dismissed the plea.

FORMER VC SON’S KILLER ON LIST TOO

Govt to release 3 AIADMK men in bus burning case?

Shanmugasundaram J & A Selvaraj TNN

Chennai:  08.07.2018

: The Tamil Nadu government is planning to free three AIADMK functionaries who are serving life terms for their involvement in the 2000 Dharmapuri bus burning case. It also plans to release another life convict

John David involved in the 1996 murder of Navarasu, son of Madras university vicechancellor Ponnuswamy.

A prison department source said that the eligible criteria were defined and drafted, keeping in mind certain prisoners including Nedunchezhian, Madhu and Muniappan, for the premature release. “Since there is no objection from the victims’ families, there is no stopping their release,” said the source.

The three on February 2, 2000, torched a bus and roasted alive women students Gokilavani, Gayatri and Hemalatha to vent their ire over the Supreme Court judgment against their party leader J Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case. In March 2016, the Supreme Court commuted the trio’s death sentence to life imprisonment.

250 of 1,753 life convicts prematurely released

Soon, the life convicts in the sensational case will walk out of Vellore Central Prison for Men as part of former chief minister M G Ramachandran’s birth centenary, the source added.

John David will also benefit under the premature release scheme. In November 1996, he murdered Pon Navarasu, the son of former vice-chancellor of University of Madras Ponnusamy, cut up the body into several pieces and stuffed them in a suitcase before abandoning it.

So far, around 250 of 1,753 life convicts have been prematurely released.

As per the guidelines in GO Ms No 64 dated February 1 issued by the home department, convicted prisoners who completed 10 years of actual imprisonment as on February 25 are eligible for the premature release.

Similarly, those who have served 20 years in prison as on February 25 are also eligible for premature release, apart from those suffering incurable blindness caused naturally, those dangerously ill and those in danger of death from sickness. Besides, the state government has widened the eligibility criteria introducing a new rule including robbers and dacoits who have successfully completed 20 years of their term. “The government has extended the date up to February 25 to accommodate the three to enable them to be released along with 1,750 other prisoners,” said a source in the police department.

In 2008, the DMK government set 1,405 life convicts free on the eve of the birth centenary of former chief minister C N Annadurai. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy then approached the Supreme Court against the en masse release and the practice was put on hold for nearly seven years.

However, a Supreme Court Constitution Bench in its 2015 verdict on the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to release the seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case said the state government was empowered to release convicts under Article 161 of the Constitution.