A Hindu family grieves demise of Oman Sultan

14/01/2020 , Special Correspondent , MAYILADUTHURAI

The announcement by the Home Ministry about the Central government’s declaration of one-day State mourning on Monday in view of the demise of the Sultan of Oman has evoked condolences from a Hindu family in Mayiladuthurai town in Nagapattinam district in the form of a banner with a touching obituary.

‘Beacon of peace’

The late Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said has been described, in the bilingual hoarding, as a beacon of peace by Ashokan, his wife Malathi, and their children Swetha and Perunselvan.

A retired schoolteacher, Mr. Ashokan had worked in Oman for 11 years, before returning to his hometown in 2008 after securing a government job.

Mr. Ashokan who retired from service six months ago said that he placed the order for the banner on January 10, the very day the Sultan died.

“I spent 11 years in Oman with my family. My children underwent their school education there,” Mr. Ashokan said, reminiscing his days in Oman under the rule of the lovable leader.

HC to hear Puducherry CM’s petition from January 24 

He challenged Centre’s advisory to transfer cash instead of distributing free rice

14/01/2020 , Mohamed Imranullah S., CHENNAI

The Madras High Court on Monday decided to commence hearing arguments from January 24, both on the maintainability as well as the merits of a writ petition filed by Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, challenging an advisory issued by the Centre last month for continuing the practice of transferring cash instead of free distribution of rice to ration cardholders.

Justice C.V. Karthikeyan took the decision when the writ petition was listed for admission before him.

Opposing the plea, Additional Solicitor General G. Rajagopalan questioned the very maintainability of the case and claimed that the Chief Minister of a Union Territory was not entitled to file a case against the Centre, since both of them were not distinct entities.

Further, referring to Section 50 of the Government of Union Territories Act of 1963, he said all decisions taken by the Centre were binding upon the Administrator (called as Lieutenant Governor in Puducherry) as well as the Council of Ministers in a Union Territory. Therefore, no Minister, much less the Chief Minister, could challenge such decisions before a court of law. In his petition, Mr. Narayanasamy accused L-G Kiran Bedi of having having made a recommendation for direct benefit transfer (cash deposit) without taking ground realities into account.

‘Good results’

He said the prime objective of distribution of rice and other essentials through public distribution system was to address maladies such as hunger and malnutrition. Hence, after being elected in 2016, his government had increased the distribution of free rice to all ration cardholders from 10kg to 20kg a month. The scheme yielded good results, he claimed.

In the meantime, the Centre brought in the Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rules of 2015. The Chief Minister feared that cash transfer would lead to male members in poor families snatching away the money from women and spend it for consuming liquor. Dubbing cash transfer as a “lazy short cut,” he said, it could lead to pilferage at various levels and would not help in achieving the objective of fighting hunger and malnutrition.

Hence, his council of ministers on June 7 last year passed a resolution for continuing free distribution of rice and not to opt for cash transfer. However, Ms. Bedi differed with that decision and referred the issue to the Centre on September 5. Not stopping with that, she ordered implementation of cash transfer till the Centre took a final call on the issue.

Huge turnout of youth for registration of bulls for jallikattu
Officials distribute tokens to bull owners

14/01/2020 , Staff Reporter, MADURAI

Veterinarians checking bulls in Madurai on Monday.

A large turnout of youngsters and bulls from in and around Madurai and nearby district lined up at Avaniyapuram, Palamedu and Alanganallur for the registration of bulls on Monday. With jallikattu to be conducted between January 15 and 17, officials from the animal husbandry department gave away tokens to bull owners after scrutinising the health of the bulls.

During the process, bull rearers at Alanganallur relented against officials over the distribution of tokens. The district police who were at the spot had to contain the swelling crowds as a strict cap of only 700 bulls were given tokens.

M. Rajasekaran from Alanganallur said that like him, several other youngsters were turned away by the district administration officials and the police as the tokens were distributed early in the day.

“Although we have been standing in lines from 7 a.m., we could not make the cut,” he said.

Joint Director Animal Husbandry D. Suresh Christopher said that strict instructions had been provided to veterinarians to ensure that the bulls are at least 120 cm tall and are above 2.5 years in age.

“Only bulls with good health which are tough enough to face the crowd of tamers ideally should be allowed, particularly those which are trained. The Kangeyam and the Pulikulam varieties of bulls usually are pretty tall. Umbalacheri which were earlier bred in Thanjavur for the purpose of ploughing may not reach 120 cm but are one of the swiftest breeds. Discretion must be just to approve the bulls,” he said.

In order to tackle the yearly problems faced during jallikattu time in the holding yard, Collector T.G. Vinay had strictly stated that bulls can gather only at 6 a.m.

“Only those with proper certificates and tokens can stand in line unlike last year where bulls recommended by the organising committee were let in,” he said.

Nirbhaya convicts to meet their families last on Jan. 20 

All 4 to be hanged on Jan. 22 at 7 a.m. 

14/01/2020 , SAURABH TRIVEDI, NEW DELHI

The convicts in the Nirbhaya case will meet their family members for the last time on January 20, two days before their scheduled hanging, said an officer with the Tihar jail on Monday.

The convicts — Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Akshay Kumar Singh — who are currently under the close watch of doctors and physiatrists in isolation wards, will be executed together at 7 a.m. in Tihar jail, said another officer.

All the preparations related to the hanging are over, he added. “We asked the convicts about the day and time when they would want to meet their families but they did not reply. In this case, we have scheduled the meetings on January 20,” the officer said. The meeting will be held in separate rooms in the presence of Tihar jail officials. “We have stopped giving newspapers to the convicts and they are on regular diets. Their medical reports are normal with no signs of ‘abnormality’ seen during their psychological screenings,” said the officer.

He added that after the court issued death warrants on January 7, family members of Mukesh, Pawan and Vinay had come to meet them. “Akshay’s family members came to meet him in November last. At present, family members can meet prisoners two times in a week. Mukesh’s mother visited him on Friday,” the officer said.

On Sunday, a team of prison officials performed dummy execution of the convicts. The dummies were created using sacks filled with debris and stones as per the weight of the convicts.

HC rules Musharraf trial illegal

14/01/2020 , Mehmal Sarfraz, LAHORE

In huge relief for Pakistan’s self-exiled former dictator, the Lahore High Court on Monday declared Pervez Musharraf’s trial in the high treason case as “unconstitutional”.

A special court had given death sentence to the ex-Army chief on December 17 for holding the Constitution in abeyance.

Lawyer Usama Malik said the High Court pointed out that Cabinet approval wasn’t given for the formation of the special court and it was only constituted by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Interior Ministry, which is illegal.

(With inputs from PTI)

DGCA provides IndiGo relief, extends deadline 

‘Engines to be replaced in 4 months’

14/01/2020 , special correspondent , NEW DELHI

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has provided relief to IndiGo and extended the deadline for replacing all snag-prone Pratt and Whitney (PW) engines in the airline’s fleet by four months, though the engine maker recently identified a new problem.

In November 2019, the DGCA instructed IndiGo to replace 120 engines on its PW-powered A320neo planes by the end of January 2020, following four instances of mid-air engine shutdowns in the span of a week. However, on December 16, 2019, PW notified a new cause for glitches in the low-pressure turbine in engines — “fracture of Mid Turbine Frame (MTF) Piston seal” — and advised boroscopic inspection of the engines. Following this, another 15 engines were identified for replacement. The watchdog has now said that the airline can replace all its engines by May 31, 2020.

In a statement, the DGCA said that IndiGo will be able to replace only 70% of these engines by the January 31 deadline. “The procurement of modified engines was adversely impacted due to holidays during Christmas and New Year at MRO [maintenance, repair and overhaul] facilities,” the DGCA reasoned.

Employ architecture college graduates as stapathis: HC
Judge concerned as committee is not meeting frequently

14/01/2020 , Legal Correspondent, CHENNAI

The Madras High Court on Monday directed the State government to implement within three months the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Engineering and Subordinate Service Rules. and to give priority to graduates from institutions such as the Government College of Architecture and Sculpture (GCAS) at Mamallapuram while making appointments to the posts of engineers, draftsman and stapathi.

Justice R. Mahadevan issued the direction after finding that the government continued to engage traditional stapathis despite the GCAS having been established in 1957 to create trained hands in designing, building, repairing and resurrecting temple structures as well as idols.

He said with pain that only a handful of graduates from the college had managed to set up studios while others had switched professions.

After recording the submission that a Government Order was issued on August 9, 2019 for setting up a renovation and conservation wing with 175 posts, including 90 posts of Engineer, Draftsman and Stapathy, the judge said that there should be at least one stapathi in each of the 28 blocks of HR&CE department.

All these posts should be filled strictly in accordance with the required qualification, knowledge and experience, he added.

Although Section 7 of the Hindu Religious and Charitable EndowmentsAct of 1959 read with the rules framed thereunder require the constitution of an Advisory Committee, chaired by the Chief Minister, and expect it to meet at least once in six months to take stock of maintenance of temples across the State, “no such meetings are being conducted and as a result, many temples have been left in a lurch,” the judge lamented in his verdict.

He directed the government to constitute the Advisory Committee and in absentia, permit another committee headed by the principal of the Government College of Architecture and Sculpture to give countersign and give opinions on renovation of temples and resurrection of idols, images, paintings, pillars, scriptures or any other matter of ancient or historical importance.

Such committee should invite suggestions from various experts before carrying out the renovation exercise, he said.

‘Reduce services’

Wondering how engineers from the Public Works Department and other allied departments could be used for temple restoration activities, which require deep knowledge of the agama sastra, the judge ordered:

“The services of staff from other departments is to be periodically reduced keeping in mind the period of deputation. In case of any need, their services should be used only for the limited purpose of estimation and civil works.”