BDU among 7 TN varsities to have career hub for entrepreneurs

Sambath.kumar@timesgroup.com

Trichy:04.02.2019

Bharathidasan University has become one of the seven varsities in Tamil Nadu which will have entrepreneurship and innovation career hub at a cost of ₹15 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi digitally announced the launch of these hubs from Sher-e-Kashmir international convention centre (SKICC), Srinagar, on Sunday.

The hub will function as a separate entity in the university which will be registered under the companies act. The university will invite innovative ideas from students and develop them into a business model.

“We have been orienting students and faculty members on application-based research which will benefit society. Similarly, we are pushing for improving the rate of patent filing from the university. This funding is timely and we will make optimal use of it to give shape to innovative ideas from students,” he said. “We will rope in valuable resources and services to assist the students apart from providing career awareness, career information, and career planning,” vice-chancellor P Manisankar said.

“Under this programme, about 2.36 lakh students of Bharathidasan University, including those from 151 affiliated colleges, will benefit,” the vicechancellor said. The hub will be realized using a part of ₹50 crore given to university by ministry of human resource department under Rashtriya Utchar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) Phase – II which includes funding for research projects.

Six dead, 37 hurt as train to Delhi derails in Bihar

Kumod Verma, Debashish Karmakar & Ajay Pandey TNN

Patna/Hajipur:04.02.2019

At least six passengers died and 37 were injured when 11 coaches of the Delhi-bound Jogbani-Anand Vihar Seemanchal Express derailed at Sahadai Buzurg railway station near Hajipur, in Bihar’s Vaishali district, at 3.58 am on Sunday.

The accident site, around 50km from Patna, is a single-line section on the Barauni-Bachhwara-Hajipur route under Sonepur division of East Central Railway (ECR).

ECR officials said the coaches appeared to have derailed due to fractured rails. ECR chief PRO Rajesh Kumar said, “Rail fracture is common during winter. It is caused due to low temperature which damages tracks. The exact cause will be known after a probe by the commissioner of railway safety.”

Vaishali DM Rajiv Raushan said the deceased were identified as Sudarshan Das

(60), Ilcha Devi (60), Indra Devi

(65), Saida Khatoon (45), Ansaar Alam (21) and Shamshuddin Alam.

The DM said eight injured passengers were discharged from Sahadai Buzurg primary health centre while 29 others were admitted to the district Sadar hospital. “Seven of the 29 injured passengers were referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) and one was in the ICU as his condition was serious,” Raushan said.

ECR general manager L C Trivedi said the reason behind the accident would be ascertained only after a probe by the commissioner of railway safety (CRS). “The CRS has been directed to start the probe tomorrow. It will take 15 to 20 hours to restore traffic on this section as nearly 300 metres of track have been badly damaged due to the derailment. We have to first remove the damaged coaches from the tracks. The electric wires will then be repaired to run the trains,” the GM told TOI from the accident site.

The CPRO said 12 unaffected coaches of the ill-fated train, with 1,500 passengers, were brought to Danapur from where they were sent to Anand Vihar Terminal by a special train. “The railways is providing all facilities to affected passengers, including ticket refunds for those who did not wish to travel further,” he said.

“Railways, the district administration and six NDRF teams carried out the search and rescue operations. Several ambulances and medical teams were pressed into action to move the injured passengers,” he said.

Surprisingly, antisocial elements pelted stones at the police, officials, rescue workers and others at the accident site in the afternoon without provocation. One person sustained head injuries in the incident.


IN A MESS: ECR officials said the coaches appeared to have derailed due to fractured rails

All parties are new now, after demise of popular leaders: TTV

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Trichy:04.02.2019

Putting down both the DMK and the AIADMK, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader TTV Dhinakaran, on Sunday said all the political parties should be considered new in this general election following the demise of former chief ministers J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi.

He said in Trichy that the present AIADMK dispensation cannot claim the legacy of J Jayalalithaa after failing to implement the scheme she introduced. Giving examples like NEET, GST and hydrocarbon, he said the present government was supporting all the schemes that Jayalalithaa had opposed. On the DMK, he said that Tamil Nadu did not benefit at all in that one decade when the DMK was part of the Congress-led coalition at the Centre. “People of Tamil Nadu didn't fall for tall promises made by ruling BJP during previous general elections and stood by Amma. While all those promises have been proved lies, I am confident that you all would teach a lesson to the BJP and its supporter AIADMK in the general elections and remind them of the RK Nagar bypolls when they had lost deposits,” said Dhinakaran.

Saying that 20 vacant constituencies in the state will also go for polls with this general election, he asked people to vote for the victory of AMMK candidates and put an end to the Edappadi K Palaniswamiled government in

New English guidance video for kids launched

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:04.02.2019

Cambridge Assessment English (part of the University of Cambridge) has launched a new guidance video to help parents and teachers understand what children’s Cambridge English qualification results mean in practice.

The video is aimed at candidates who have taken Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers, which are Cambridge English qualifications aimed at building the confidence and motivation of young children learning English. The video brings to life the supporting information found on the back of the certificate, what it means in practice and how it will help young children on the next step of their language learning journey.

Guy Chapman, Head of Schools at Cambridge Assessment English said, “Our exams are designed to make the exam experience for young learners motivating and rewarding. A big part of this is offering the right levels of support to young children and their parents and this has been the driving force behind the video. Being awarded a certificate is a big achievement and Cambridge English Qualifications offer lots of extra supporting information. The video helps explain what the results mean in practice and where it can take learners next.”

The video also covers how the results are related to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the Cambridge English Scale - two internationally recognized scales of language ability.

Despite TNSIC order, corpn refuses information under RTI

Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com

Chennai:04.02.2019

Despite directions from Tamil Nadu state information commission (TNSIC), Greater Chennai Corporation has refused to provide information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to an applicant who sought files related to tenders floated for bus route roads.

The corporation’s public information officer (PIO) and executive engineer of bus route road department denied information to the applicant citing a writ petition filed with the Madras high court. However, the injunction obtained in the court pertained only to a specific applicant and directed the corporation not to furnish information which was private, under section 8(1) of RTI Act.

RTI activist Ramiah Arya had sought details pertaining to tenders floated for bus route roads such as checklist for submission of bid, instructions for bidders, e-tender notification and list of roads. These are not private information as it is the same for all participants and not particular to any one bidder.

The issue comes in the wake of tenders worth around ₹185 crore being cancelled by the civic body after tender-fixing was alleged by a host of contractors and activists.

Ramiah had filed the RTI in January 2018 after conducting file inspections and asked for a host of information pertaining to the tenders. Since the information was not provided, he filed a first appeal under the RTI Act with the appellate authority. Since the information was rejected again, he approached the TNSIC.

Jayaram Venkatesan, of Arappor Iyakkam which has brought out many alleged irregularities in the tenders floated by the corporation, said the local body was working hard to stall RTI petitions after the expose. “Any RTI application filed with Chennai coporation or Coimbatore corporation is stalled citing these high court orders,” he said. The assistant PIO concerned did not respond to questions from TOI.

The corporation denied information to the applicant citing a writ petition filed with the Madras high court. However, the injunction obtained in the court pertained only to a specific applicant

Boy, 18, falls through elevator shaft in college hostel, injured

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:04.02.2019

In a birthday celebration gone wrong, an 18-year-old student sustained grievous injuries on Saturday after he fell from the fourth floor into the under-construction elevator shaft in a college hostel in Ramapuram.

Police said S Deepvaya, of Nagpur in Maharashtra, is pursuing a degree in computer science engineering in a private college in Ramapuram. A group of friends in the college hostel had planned to celebrate the birthday of a student named Shenat from the same department. Deepvaya, who stayed in a different hostel, had come along to surprise his friend.

“The boys had cut cake and were dancing. They also had some alcohol in their room,” said an investigating officer.

Police said authorities planned on constructing a lift and had simply placed a grill gate against the wall where a hollow space was left for the elevator. The boys had assumed that the gate was properly fixed to the wall.

Around 12.15am on Sunday, Shenat had chased Deepvaya in fun when the boy leaned against the gate. The gate gave away and Deepvaya fell into the shaft, landing in the basement.

Hearing his cries, other students took him to a hospital in Manapakkam. Police were also informed.

Doctors said the boy did not sustain any injuries to the head but added that his spinal cord had been damaged in the fall and the bones in his shoulders had been displaced. In addition to these, he had sustained multiple fractures and was in the intensive care unit, police said quoting doctors. He is said to be in a critical condition.

“He fell from a height of more than 45ft,” said the investigating officer. Those residing in the hostel knew that the space was deep but since the victim came from another hostel, he did not know about the space. Police said Deepvaya thought the space was an entrance to another room. Students had told police that they avoided going near the gate. “Since most of them were asleep at the time, they did not see the boys going there,” said the officer.

Police said hostel authorities did not place any warning sign there as they thought blocking the space with the gate would suffice.

The Royala Nagar police registered a case under IPC 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and are questioning Deepvaya’s friends.

Since most of them (students) were asleep at the time, they did not see the boys going there... He fell from a height of more than 45ft
Investigating officer

Caught for forgery, man sprays chemical on bank manager, held

Tampered With Stolen Cheque Using Pen: Cops

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 04.02.2019

A man, who tried to escape from a bank on Anna Salai by spraying a chemical on the bank manager who caught his forgery of a cheque, has been arrested. His accomplice escaped.

Police said manager Rajavelu, 56 was at the bank on Saturday around 12.30pm, when Venkatesh, 30, a native of Bengaluru, and his friend Rajiv Shetty came with a bearer cheque for ₹96,500. It was signed on behalf of LIC, which has been issuing such cheques for a courier company.

“Usually the cheques are for a smaller amount. The manager turned suspicious seeing the big amount and took a close look at it,” said an investigating officer.

When the manager questioned the men, Venkatesh pulled out a chemical from his pocket and sprayed it on Rajavelu’s face. Rajavelu couldn’t open his eyes, but he raised the alarm, attracting the attention of some bank employees and customers.

Chased by a group, Venkatesh and Rajiv ran out and got on to their scooter and tried to escape. In a panic, they collided with another biker and fell. While Rajiv took to his heels, the bank employees and customers caught Venkatesh and handed him over to police.

“The other biker didn’t know what was happening,” said a police officer. “He kept complaining about rash driving by the other biker.” He said the bank manager grew suspicious since he knew that the firm that issued that cheque had entered a smaller sum. “He had stolen the cheque from the courier company and overwritten using a ball point pen. It was a shoddy job,” said the officer. Police have recovered eight more cheques from Venkatesh, who doesn’t have a criminal history.

A magistrate court remanded Venkatesh in judicial custody. Police have launched a hunt for Rajiv using CCTV camera footage collected from the bank.

“Venkatesh told us that Rajiv had hatched the plan. We’ve booked him for cheating, robbery and assault,” the officer said.

When bank manager Rajavelu questioned the men, Venkatesh pulled out a chemical from his pocket and sprayed it on Rajavelu’s face. Rajavelu couldn’t open his eyes, but he raised the alarm