No daytime flights for four months from Kochi

19/11/2019,KOCHI

The four-month-long runway re-surfacing work at Cochin International Airport is set to start on Wednesday and there would be no flights from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. till March 28, 2020. Since almost all services have already been re-scheduled, the project period would see cancellation of only five services — one service to Maldives, operated by Spice Jet, and four services in the domestic sector — , a statement from the airport said on Monday. PTI

Kerala varsity begins internal investigation into marks scam

19/11/2019

SPECIAL  CORRESPONDENT,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Arif Mohammed Khan

The University of Kerala has commenced an internal inquiry into the illegal modification of moderated marks that were obtained by students pursuing career-related courses.

The expert team, led by Pro Vice-Chancellor P.P. Ajayakumar, recorded the statements of senior officers, including the Controller of Examinations, Director of the Computer Centre, Joint Registrars and Assistant Registrars of various sections, and employees of the IT cell in the examination wing.

The panel, which comprised technical experts, including Syndicate member K.G. Gopachandran, Senate member K.S. Anil Kumar and Ignatius Kunjumon, a retired professor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology(CUSAT), also blocked the related hard disks from the examination wing as part of the ongoing probe. The team is likely to study the access patterns to identify the source of the alterations that had been made to the marks, sources said.

The inquiry also exposed various drawbacks of the existing examination software, including its inability to incorporate certain ‘conditions’ to selectively provide moderation. The university has also suspended the login credentials of most officials until further notice.

Meanwhile, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan summoned Vice-Chancellor V.P. Mahadevan Pillai to understand the circumstances that could have led to the ongoing controversy and the remedial measures that have been adopted to prevent such malpractices in future.

UDF walkout

Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala has demanded a judicial inquiry into the issue. The Opposition UDF staged a walkout in the Kerala Assembly on Monday demanding an impartial investigation into the complaints of Kerala University arbitrarily awarding marks for students of 16

Panel clears three more medical colleges

Institutes will come up in Krishnagiri, Nagapattinam and Tiruvallur

19/11/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT , CHENNAI

The Technical Evaluation Committee of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has given the “clearance” to establish three more government medical colleges in Tamil Nadu.

The State government had applied seeking permission to establish the colleges in Krishnagiri, Nagapattinam and Tiruvallur districts.

Health Secretary Beela Rajesh on Monday made a presentation to the committee in New Delhi.

The final decision on establishing the colleges will be taken by the Empowered Committee of the Union Health Ministry, official sources said.

“The Technical Evaluation Committee has cleared the proposal. Officials had to give a number of reasons for seeking medical colleges in these districts. For Nagapattinam, the emphasis was laid on the district having a long coastal line, and the fact that it was affected during the tsunami, and cyclones,” a reliable source said.

The source added that the Chief Minister has allotted land for all three proposed medical colleges.

Rajagopal is State’s Chief Information Commissioner

First serving govt. officer to be made CIC

19/11/2019, T. RAMAKRISHNAN,CHENNAI

R.Rajagopal, Additional Chief Secretary attached to the Raj Bhavan, has been appointed the State Chief Information Commissioner (CIC).

He was one among five candidates who were considered by the selection committee, headed by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, at its meeting on Monday morning. The other prominent candidate on the shortlist was T.K. Rajendran, former Director General of Police (DGP), according to a source.

An order announcing Mr. Rajagopal’s appointment was issued by Personnel and Administrative Reforms Secretary S. Swarna in the evening. The post of CIC had remained vacant since M. Sheela Priya demitted the office in May this year after she turned 65.

In its edition dated November 16, The Hindu mentioned in a report that Mr. Rajapgopal was one among those whose names were doing the rounds for the CIC’s post.

Mr. Rajagopal, who belongs to the 1984 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, is the first serving government officer to be made CIC.

All of his predecessors — S. Ramakrishnan (2005-10), K.S. Sripathi (2010-15), K. Ramanujam (2015-17) and Dr. Sheela Priya (2017-19) — held the post after their retirement from government service.

Barring Mr. Ramanujam, who is a former DGP, all others were retired IAS officers. According to the order, Mr. Rajagopal, who turned 58 in June this year, will hold the post for a period of three years.

Through another order of the State government, Anandrao Vishnu Patil, who is now Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board, has been posted to the Raj Bhavan as Secretary to Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

Come Dec. 1, only one lane will accept cash at toll plazas

Others will only accept FASTags

19/11/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Smooth travel: FASTag cards, which can be procured online, have both pre-paid and postpaid modes.File PictureN. BASHKARAN

From December 1, only the extreme left lane at the 48 toll plazas under the control of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will accept cash.

All other lanes will be available only for vehicles with FASTags, that use radio frequency. “According to a 2014 notification, vehicles without the tags would have to pay double the amount due,” said Pavan Kumar, Regional Officer, NHAI.

Tie-up with banks

The authority has tied up with several banks that have opened point of sale counters at all toll plazas to sell FASTag cards that are affixed on the windscreens of vehicles. They can also be procured online. Motorists need to have some balance in the cards from which the toll fee would be automatically deducted at the plazas. The cards can be operated on pre-paid and postpaid modes. At present, trial is on at 35 plazas for vehicles with tags.

However, motorists don't seem to evince interest in getting the cards. Less than 30% of vehicles have tags at present.

3 professors quizzed over IIT student’s death

Girl’s roommates, staff to be interrogated

19/11/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

A special team headed by Additional Commissioner of Police C. Easwaramurthy on Monday interrogated three professors, whose names allegedly figured in the notes left by 19-year-old Fathima Latheef, the first year student who ended her life in her hostel room at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, 10 days ago.

Initially, the Kotturpuram Police registered a case treating it as an unnatural death. However, three days later, the parents of victim slammed the police for shoddy investigation and requested the Chief Ministers of Kerala and Tamil Nadu to order a thorough probe and demanded justice for the death of their daughter.

With notes downloaded from her mobile phone as evidence, the parents alleged that their daughter was driven to take the extreme decision due to harassment of faculty members.

With protests mounting, the investigation was handed over to a special team of police personnel from Central Crime Branch (CCB) headed by Mr. Easwaramurthy.

After recording the statement of her father Abdul Latheef on Saturday following his representation, the special team issued summons to the three professors, whose names figured in the notes left by the victim in her mobile phone.

On Monday, the professors were interrogated in an undisclosed location in the city. All their statements were duly recorded and further investigation is on, said sources. The special team is likely to continue its investigation with a few more staff members and the roommates of the victim, sources said.

It may be recalled that City Police Commissioner A.K.Viswanathan had promised expeditious investigation and quick action against those responsible for the girl’s death.

Now, Tirumala to give laddoos in jute bags

Swati.Bharadwaj @timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:19.11.2019

One of the richest deities in the world, Tirupati Lord Venkateswara is now showing the way when it comes to eliminating plastic and adopting new eco-friendly packaging practices for distribution of its famed laddoo prasadam to devotees.

On an average, about 3.5-4 lakh laddoos are sold at the temple premises per day, which translates into a requirement of around 70,000 plastic covers on a daily basis, as per estimates.

Now, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the trust that manages the temple, has joined hands with Aditya Birla group company Hindalco and Jute Corporation of India to roll out a pilot project on distributing prasadam in 100% recyclable aluminium foil laminated jute bags. Hindalco and JCI have already applied for a patent for the process of aluminium foil lamination of jute.

As part of the pilot, JCI has opened an exclusive prasadam distribution counter for sale of jute foil laminated bags at TTD and over 1 lakh metres of the laminated fabric or around 3 lakh bags have already been sold over the past two months. TTD additional EO AV Dharma Reddy said efforts are underway to reduce the use of plastic in a phased manner and make Tirumala plasticfree.

TTD officials said they have been trying to encourage and facilitate use of non-plastic packaging materials at prasadam distribution counters like paper boxes, paper bags and foil laminated jute bags. However, a chunk of the prasadam continues to be distributed in polythene bags albeit of over 51 microns.