Release pension to ward of freedom fighter: High Court

20/10/2019 , Staff Reporter, Madurai

The Bench of Madras High Court directed the Central government to release pension to the daughter of a freedom fighter.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by the Centre against a single bench order that had directed release of pension to N. Selvi, daughter of M. Nallathambi, a freedom fighter who died in 2010.

The Centre had rejected the application of Nallathambi on two grounds.

The applicant had not submitted any primary evidence to prove his imprisonment during the freedom struggle. He had only submitted a co-prisoner certificate as proof.

The certificate was rejected as it was not in the prescribed format.

A Division Bench of Justices T.S. Sivagnanam and R. Tharani observed that rejecting a co-prisoner certificate because it was not in the approved format was wholly unreasonable and arbitrary.

The court took cognisance of the fact that five freedom fighters had certified the co-prisoner certificate and all of them were receiving pension under the scheme.

The co-prisoner certificate was the same set of documents that was produced by Nallathambi to the State government for granting freedom fighter pension.

The certificate had already been tested and proved to be valid.

“There is sufficient proof to show jail suffering,” the court said and dismissed the appeal.

Mass fish deaths in Dhanushkodi backwaters trigger panic 

Oxygen depletion could be the reason, says official

20/10/2019 , D.J. Walter Scott R, amanathapuram 


 
Water samples and dead fish were collected for further examination.

The backwaters in Dhanushkodi witnessed mass fish deaths on Saturday, owing to a depletion of the oxygen level in the shallow waters. The incident was similar to to the one that occurred recently on the seashore in the Gulf of Mannar, where fish died due to the sudden blooming of micro-algae.

About three tonnes of fish were found dead at the backwaters in the lagoons adjacent to the Kothandaramar temple in Dhanushkodi, triggering panic among the fisher folk in the area.

Scientists from Mandapam Regional Centre of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and officials from the Fisheries Department examined the dead fish and identified them as ‘Koimeen’.

R. Jayakumar, scientist in-charge, CMFRI, said the fish entered the lagoons en masse. The fish might have died of suffocation due to oxygen depletion when there was a rise in water temperature and in the absence of water current, he said.

The fish could have entered the lagoon when there was high tide and got trapped inside, he said. “Multiple factors such as rise in temperature, low depth of water, low tide and absence of water current resulting in low level of dissolved oxygen might have caused the deaths,” he said.

It was a low value fish and fishermen could dry them for poultry feed. Water samples and dead fish were collected for further examination, he said.

MKU to fast-track interview for post of Registrar 

Varsity keen on conducting a transparent interview: VC

20/10/2019 , Staff Reporter, MADURAI

Madurai Kamaraj University’s administration is expected to fast-track the process of conducting interviews for the post of Registrar after October 23 when the Finance Committee is expected to meet in Chennai.

Vice-Chancellor M. Krishnan confirmed the conduct of the meeting but said that decisions regarding this matter cannot be disclosed until the meeting concludes.

“We are keen on conducting a transparent interview and are taking steps in this regard,” he said.

A source from the administration said that they would decide on appointing three experts to join the interview panel consisting of seven members, including the Governor’s nominee, Chairman, Dean and a Syndicate member. Apart from them, a woman and a Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe representative.

MKU’s administration, which initially set September 23 as the date for interviewing candidates for the post of Registrar, postponed it citing administrative delays.

A circular from the office of MKU’s Registrar in-charge was sent to all 21 candidates short-listed for the post as the members of the Syndicate were to meet the same day. The VC had then stated that the university was to seek opinion from Syndicate members on the seven-member panel that would be conducting the interview and added that he would be submitting the names of seven experts to join the committee. This discussion, however, would be postponed to October 23 instead, the source said.

Currently, a total of seven candidates from within the university have been shortlisted for the interview, of whom two have been provisionally selected as they have cases pending against them in High Court.

Karnataka college issues apology
 
20/10/2019 , Bengaluru

A day after students of Bhagat PU College in Karnataka’s Haveri were made to wear boxes on their heads to prevent them from copying, the management has apologised for the incident. College administrator M.B. Satish gave a written apology to the Deputy Director of PU Department.

NEET case: bail hearing of medicos adjourned 

CB-CID on the lookout for agents

20/10/2019 , A. ShrikumarTHEN

The Judicial Magistrate Court has adjourned the hearing of the bail applications of two medical students — one from the SRM Medical College and one from the Balaji Medical College — and those of their fathers, in connection with the NEET impersonation case, to October 21.

The students were accused of using a proxy to clear NEET.

A student of the Theni Government Medical College, who was among the first to be arrested by the CB-CID in connection with the case, was granted bail by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on October 17.

However, the court denied bail to his father.

Another student, of the Dharmapuri Government Medical College, and his father have been remanded in the Theni district jail. A girl student of the Saveetha Medical College and her mother have been remanded in the Madurai central prison.

The CB-CID is on the lookout for the agents suspected of involvement in the scam, who are said to be hiding in neighbouring Karnataka and Kerala.

HC seeks report

Meanwhile, the High Court Bench that has been hearing the bail applications has sought details from the police on the action taken to secure the agents and the impersonators.

Dindigul Thalappakatti raises ₹260 crore from CX Partners
Biryani specialist to scale up its presence over the next two years
 
20/10/2019 , Sangeetha Kandavel, , CHENNAI 


 
Dindigul Thalappakatti Hotels has 62 outlets and the average daily turnout of its kitchens is over 4,000 kg of biryani.

In one of the biggest deals in the food and beverage space in recent years, home-grown brand Dindigul Thalappakatti Hotels has raised ₹260 crore from CX Partners, a private equity firm. With this funding, the firm, whose roots can be traced all the way back to 1957, intends to scale up its presence nationally and globally and venture into new markets over the next two years.

Officials from CX Partners and Sathish D. Nagasamy, managing director of Dindigul Thalappakatti, could not be reached for comment. According to details gathered from industry sources, it is learnt that M. Vinod Kumar from Advay Capital Advisors, an independent mid-market investment bank focused on advisory services to corporates for private equity fundraising and mergers & acquisitions, was the adviser for this deal, while Balachandar R. of Bluekoi Ventures was the adviser from the promoter’s side.

Two sources, who are aware of this deal, said as per the game plan, in the first phase Thalappakatti will strengthen its presence in Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Expansion would happen in the northern market in the second phase. The next stops would be the east and west zones. “The idea is to have a national presence and simultaneously spread branches in the overseas market,” one of the sources said. The sources also said Mr. Sathish, who is the current managing director of the chain, will continue to run day-to-day operations and will be instrumental in decision- making.

Booming business

The firm has 62 outlets, seven of which are overseas. The kitchens on an average turn out over 4,000 kg of biryani a day. In the last decade, the biryani business has been booming. The organised biryani business in the State is pegged at ₹1,500 crore a year, while the unorganised segment records ₹4,000 crore. The State has over 300 well-known biryani brands, each doing an average business of ₹ 25 lakh a month.

This home-grown brand from T.N. was founded by Nagasamy Naidu under the name Anandha Vilas Biriyani Hotel in Dindigul. Naidu always wore a thalapa (a turban), which, over the years, became synonymous with his brand and people fondly called him ‘Thalappakatti’ Naidu, which eventually became the brand’s name. Thalappakatti biryani is prepared using seeraga samba rice, known as parakkum sittu and the meat is procured from cattle markets of Kannivadi and Paramathi.

Dindigul Thalappakatti raises ₹260 crore

20/10/2019 , Chennai

In one of the biggest deals in the food and beverage space in recent years, home-grown brand Dindigul Thalappakatti Hotels has raised ₹260 crore from a private equity firm, CX Partners. With this funding, the firm intends to scale up its presence globally and venture into newer markets in the next two years.