Madras univ students continue to protest
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:08.01.2020

More than 50 students of University of Madras and its affiliated colleges protested for the second consecutive day on Tuesday demanding the arrest of perpetrators of attack on students and faculty members of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

They also demanded the withdrawal of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and urged the Centre not to undertake the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizen (NRC).

“First, the students of Jamia Milia and Aligarh Muslim University were attacked and now, JNU students were targeted. If these attacks are allowed to continue, any protesting student could become a target. The Union government should immediately arrest the perpetrators,” a student said.

Expressing solidarity with JNU, students from IIT Madras, University of Madras and Presidency College had protested on Monday. Students, academics and activists also held a candle light vigil.

2.65kg gold worth ₹1.10cr seized at city airport

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:08.01.2020

Customs officials seized 2.65kg gold worth ₹1.10 crore from six passengers at Chennai airport on Monday night and Tuesday.

On Monday night, Ashaff Ali Khan, 51, of Sri Lanka, who arrived from Colombo by a Sri-Lankan Airlines flight (UL123), and Mohamed Azarudeen, 21, and Kalandar Abbas, 36, of Ramanathapuram, who arrived from Colombo on an IndiGo flight (6E 1204), were intercepted and questioned. Ten bundles containing gold in paste form were recovered from them.

On Tuesday morning, Mohamed Ramzeen, 51, of Sri Lanka, and Thajilamin,41, of Ramanathapuram, who arrived from Colombo by a SriLankan Airlines flight (UL125) were intercepted and questioned. Seven bundles containing gold paste were recovered.

In another case on Tuesday, Nagoor Gani, 22, of Chennai, who arrived from Sharjah on an Air India flight (AI 968), was intercepted. Two gold cut bits weighing 60g were recovered from his pants pockets. Three bundles of gold paste were hidden in his rectum.

MBA holder who won local polls dies as truck hits bike
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:08.01.2020

A 27-year-old MBA graduate, who was elected a ward member of Mela Muthalambedu village panchayat near Gummidipoondi at the local body election, died in an accident on Sunday before he could take charge in his new role.

P Arun Pandian’s organs were harvested as per his parent’s request. He was an MBA holder and also had a Bachelor in Law degree. He was practising law in the Tiruvallur court. He had contested at the village panchayat and won the election in ward number 2 of the Mela Muthalambedu panchayat. He had celebrated his victory with his family members and the villagers on January 2.

On Friday, Arun had travelled to Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh to write his entrance exam to study Masters in Law. At Arambakkam near the Tamil Nadu border, a truck hit his two-wheeler from behind, police said. He was taken to the Government Hospital in Tada and was later transferred to Rajiv Gandhi Government hospital in Chennai. On Sunday, he succumbed to injuries. Arun had donated his organs at the age of 18. After getting approval from his mother Lakshmi, the doctors of the Rajiv Gandhi Government hospital removed his organs and preserved them in thestorage bank.

Rajiv case: HC grants 15 days leave to convict Ravichandran

TNN | Jan 7, 2020, 04.00 AM IST

Madurai: Ravichandran, a life convict in the former Prime Minister (PM) Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, has been granted 15 days ordinary leave by the Madras high court from January 10. P Rajeswari of Aruppukottai taluk in Virudhunagar district, mother of Ravinchandran in her petition had stated that her son, who was awarded life sentence in the case had completed nearly 28 years of imprisonment.

Though she had submitted several representations and moved the high court seeking leave for her son, it was not granted. Recently, she moved the high court, which on October 15, directed the state to consider her representation within three weeks. Subsequently, the superintendent of Madurai Central Prison passed an order on November 13 rejecting her claim on the ground that Virudhunagar superintendent of police had submitted a report stating that there was a possibility of life threat to her son and it would not be possible for the police to provide escort as police selection process and local body elections were to be announced. Hence, Rajeswari moved the high court Madurai bench seeking to grant one-month ordinary leave to Ravichandran to enable him settle the family after his release.

When the petition was taken up for hearing on Monday, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that recently ordinary leave was also granted to few other convicts in the case including Nalini Sriharan, Perarivalan and the same could also be extended to Ravichandran.

The additional advocate general K Chellapandian submitted that since more than 20 police officials are required for the convict’s escort and the same would not be possible due to the intervening local body elections, the representation seeking ordinary leave was rejected. He further submitted that the state would consider the ordinary leave plea after Pongal festival.

Taking note of the submissions, a division bench of justice T Raja and justice B Pugalendhi observed that the convict had been earlier granted ordinary leave five times since 2001 - four times based on the order of the high court and once based on the order of the prison authorities to attend the final rites of his father.

The judges observed that on all five occasions when ordinary leave was granted, the life convict had surrendered before prison authorities without causing any inconvenience. They further observed that the state in its counter had mentioned that his leave application had been rejected due to local body elections and it would not be able to provide sufficient protection for the convict.

The judges observed that even though the local body elections were completed, the government’s contention that it would consider the ordinary leave plea after Pongal festival is not acceptable. Hence, the judges granted 15 days leave to Ravichandran and observed, “Let him spend time with his family on this Pongal.” The judges directed him to surrender before the prison authorities after the completion of 15 days ordinary leave. The matter has been posted to January 28 for reporting compliance.

HC stays single judge order against Tamil univ VC posting

TNN | Jan 8, 2020, 04.00 AM IST

Madurai: A division bench of the Madras high court has granted interim stay on a single judge order which set aside a government order (GO) that appointed G Balasubramanian as the vice-chancellor (VC) of Tamil University at Thanjavur.

Balasubramaniam, in his petition stated that he was appointed as the VC of the university on October 5, 2018. A candidate K Ravindran who applied for the post of VC filed a petition before the high court Madurai bench challenging the GO on ground that he did not possess the required qualification in conducting not less than one international level event as per clause 5 of the eligibility criteria.

Balasubramaniam stated that Ravindran also raised another ground that the senate nominee and syndicate nominee of the search committee who were holding positions earlier in the university are ineligible to be members of the search committee as per provisions of the UGC regulation and as per Section 12 of the Tamil University Act, 1982.

He said that the single judge had allowed the petition and quashed the GO appointing him as VC on December 20, 2019, citing that the senate and syndicate nominee of the search committee were earlier holding positions as syndicate member and VC of the university by misinterpreting Section 12 (2) of the Act.

The appellant submitted that Section 12 of the Act states that “The person nominated shall not be a member of any of the authorities of the university or shall not be connected with the university or any college or any recognised institution of the university.” He cited that the word ‘shall be’ only denotes ‘at present’. He further submitted that the senate and syndicate nominees of the search committee are no way connected with the university at present.

He noted that though Ravindran was well aware of the earlier positions held by the search committee members, he submitted his application before the same committee and merely because he was not selected, he cannot question the constitution of the search committee.

Hence, the appellant filed an appeal before the high court Madurai bench seeking to grant interim stay on the single judge order. When the appeal was heard on Tuesday, a division bench of justice M Duraiswamy and justice T Ravindran granted interim stay and adjourned the case to January 10 for further hearing.

Disabled man petitions collector alleging bias in MBBS admission

TNN | Jan 8, 2020, 04.15 AM IST

Madurai: After more than two years of ongoing court battle over being denied an opportunity to write the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) exam, a differently-abled man has now petitioned the district collector Dr T G Vinay seeking his help.

Arunkumar G, 27, from Villapuram wrote the NEET exam in 2018 and secured above the cut-off mark for the differently-abled persons quota. However, he was not given a chance in counselling that year despite being declared fit and issued a certificate of disability by the regional medical board in Chennai. Arunkumar had lost three of his fingers, including his thumb, after being injured during an accident in 2008. After his complaint to the director of medical education (DME) did not receive any reply, the 27-year-old took the matter to court. “As it was argued that my fitness certificate was only valid for 2018, the court ordered me to appear before a panel of doctors from the regional medical board, Chennai again in 2019. They declared me fit. However, I was not called for counselling that year also. I felt betrayed and filed for contempt of court,” said Arunkumar.

During the hearing of the case, the defendant’s advocates argued that since the differently-abled man had written the NEET exam only in 2018, he cannot be called for counselling in 2019 just on the basis of the fitness certificate.

On Monday, he petitioned the district collector alleging wrongful discrimination against differently-abled persons on the basis of physical appearance when it comes to providing jobs and education of their choice and driving licence, which is basic for commuting. “It is very common for such discrimination to happen. Despite availability of quotas, rarely do people from our community get a job that is equal to their educational qualification and paid on a par with those without disability,” said S Raja, district secretary, differently-abled welfare association.

Arunkumar has a diploma in medical laboratory technology from Madurai Medical College. “I’m able to handle equipment and I cleared both theory and practical exams during my course. However, wherever I go, I’m being denied jobs just because of my missing fingers.”

Tamils in Australia share woes as bushfire smothers nation

TNN | Jan 7, 2020, 04.23 AM IST

CHENNAI: Most Tamils living in Australia are among those most affected by the bushfire as they live in Sydney and Melbourne. The continent is home to about one lakh Tamil migrants, of whom 50% are from Tamil Nadu. The rest are from Sri Lanka.

G Kiruthiga from Chennai, who is residing in western Sydney, about 100km from the epicentre of bushfire, said carbon emissions were bad.

“I can still feel the smoke and have breathing difficulties. We would airdry clothes in the balcony and find black powdery specks on them the next day,” she said. The Indian community is assisting with relief work, she added.

According to media reports, the deadly southern-summer fires have destroyed more than eight million hectares of bushland in Australia, killing at least 24 people. The disaster has also taken a heavy toll on wildlife, charring thousands of birds and animals to death.

Anagan Babu, president of Tamil Arts and Culture Association in Australia, said Tamils largely reside in Sydney and Melbourne.

“This is the largest drought that the residents of Sydney have faced in the past two decades. Water is being rationed and restricted for domestic use,” he told TOI from Sydney on Monday. Soaring temperatures breached new record due to the inferno last week, he added.

The devastating bushfire has also taken a heavy toll on tourism sector, with a section of city residents who had plans to tour Australia putting it off. Manish Kriplani of Outbound Tour Operators Association of India, said approximately 50,000 tourists from South India fly to Australia every year.

“Those planning to travel to Australia in the next two to three weeks have cancelled their trips following the bushfire. However, we are bullish that the development will not hit the upcoming season starting from May,” he added.

Tourism is an important sector for Australia. “In fact, Australian authorities went ahead with the annual fireworks event on the eve of New Year despite protests as the event in Sydney draws international tourists, generating 130 million Australian dollars revenue,” Anagan Babu said.

Tourism industry sources said people are looking for alternate destinations. Chairman of tourism sub committee of Travel Agents Association of India, Sriharan Balan, said European destinations such as Georgia and Hungary are being suggested as alternate destinations to those who have already explored northern Europe and the US.