New bus stands in seven municipalities

They will be constructed under PPP model

31/01/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

The State government has accorded administrative sanction for construction of new bus stands at Kancheepuram, Tiruttani, Mayiladuthurai, Dharmapuri, Namakkal, Tiruvannamalai and Tindivanam municipalities.

Commissioner of Municipal Administration K. Baskaran in his order said that the bus stands would be constructed under public-private partnership (PPP) on design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis. He has directed the commissioners of the municipalities to call for tenders.

The estimated cost for Kancheepuram is ₹38.09 crore and for Tiruttani it will be ₹20 crore. The bus stands in Mayiladuthurai and Dharmapuri will be constructed at a cost of ₹38.05 crore and ₹39.14 crore respectively.

Monkeys run riot at Tiruttani school

The animals snatch bottles and bags, strike terror during lunch break

31/01/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Out of control: Monkeys are a menace at the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Tiruttani.B. Jothi Ramalingam

The Tiruttani Government Girls Higher Secondary School always maintains a stock of crackers. The crackers are not for any celebration, but to chase away monkeys that cause a ruckus on campus, especially during lunch hour.

The school, which has been functioning since the late 80s, has a strength of more than 1,500 girls.

There are many trees on the premises. Sometimes the classes are held in the open, especially when there are exams for senior students.

“During these sessions, occasional shrieks can be heard as monkeys descend from the trees to snatch water bottles or schoolbags. We chase them away before resuming the classes,” said a teacher.

On Thursday, many teachers were found walking in the premises with a stick in their hand to chase away the simians.

“The monkey problem is common during lunch hour. They occasionally run away with our lunch box and sometimes with plates of food,” said a student.

Some parents said that the primates tear the seats of the bikes parked inside the school premises. “The problem is there in many schools in Tiruttani. They mainly come in search of water. During peak summer they disappear from the locality,” said a parent.

Friendly animals

The monkeys also wander around the classrooms during examinations. “But they have not bitten or troubled anyone till date. The monkeys and dogs that loiter inside the school have become friendly,” he also added.

An official from the Education Department said that they will take the help of the Forest Department to address the issue. “We have not complained till date,” he said.

Delhi: Pawan Jallad arrives at Tihar before scheduled hanging in Nirbhaya case; uncertainty over execution

PTI | Jan 30, 2020, 07.09 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Pawan Jallad, a hangman from the Meerut Prison, reported to the Tihar Jail administration on Thursday, two days ahead of the Nirbhaya case convicts' scheduled execution, officials said.

They said Pawan, a third-generation hangman, will be staying on the jail premises and check the strength of rope and other related things on Friday.

The four convicts in the gruesome gangrape-and-murder case are scheduled to be hanged on February 1, but their execution is unlikely to happen as one of them filed a mercy petition before the President on Wednesday while another moved a curative plea before the Supreme Court.

Nirbhaya case: Hangman from Meerut reaches Tihar, dummy hanging today

TNN | Jan 31, 2020, 06.02 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Pawan Jallad, the hangman from Meerut jail who is scheduled to hang the four convicts in the Nirbhaya case, reached Delhi on Thursday evening.

Before leaving the Meerut jail premises, Jallad said ‘Jai Hind’ to fellow staffers. The hanging is schedule to be held on Saturday morning. A dummy practice will be carried out on Friday to check the ropes and the weight of the convicts.

Jallad will be paid Rs 15,000 per execution.

Wearing beige pants, maroon shirt and a black jacket, a clean shaven Jallad arrived at Tihar. A team of three officials from Tihar had gone to Meerut to bring him to Delhi.

Meanwhile, Tihar Jail authorities are exploring the option of hanging the four convicts one by one as there is no provision in the jail manual mandating hanging of co-convicts together. Sources said legal opinion is being taken on this.

Apologise on WhatsApp for fake message, Madras high court tells bail applicant

TNN | Jan 31, 2020, 04.50 AM IST

CHENNAI: Of all the pollution affecting Tamil Nadu, derogatory messages posted on social media takes the first place. Without eradicating such online abuse, people of the state cannot be safe, the Madras high court observed on Thursday.

“Mine would be the first vote for freedom of expression. But irresponsible, unverified and unsubstantiated social media posts cannot be tolerated,” Justice N Seshasayee said.

The judge made the observation while hearing a bail application moved by A Zakir Hussian of Coimbatore, who was arrested for uploading defamatory, derogatory and unverified allegations against the Coimbatore Corporation and local administration minister S P Velumani in connection with a solar power scheme. The court also asked the accused to post an unconstitutional apology for forwarding such derogatory and irresponsible post in the same WhatsApp group for his bail application to be considered.

When the plea came up for hearing, public prosecutor A Natarajan opposed it and said the petitioner posted such messages on social media habitually. This the third case he is facing for making such derogatory comments on social media including Facebook and WhatsApp.

Pointing out to a transcription of the audio message posted by Hussain, the prosecutor submitted that the petitioner had caused public unrest by making unsubstantiated statements that solar panels would cause skin diseases and kidney ailments to people residing near them.

Perusing the transcript, Justice Seshasayee said, “On what basis the petitioner had made such statements? Is he qualified to give such opinion? Currently, this sin is inflicting the entire state. They don’t even spare the judiciary.”

Can such statements be permitted and tolerated as freedom of speech, he wondered. Such freedom must be exploited with responsibility. If people like the petitioner make such irresponsible statements, then jail would be the right place for them, he added.

‘There’s a big shortage of masks in China’

31.01.2020

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

A first person account of Nimalesh Kumar Mayavan, a student from Chennai pursuing his medical degree (final year) at Weifang Medical University, Shandong Province, China

One of our main concerns is shortage of masks and food on the university campus. Our university is 1,000km from Wuhan. But the coronavirus has spread to our city as well. Till yesterday, only two cases were reported. But, on Thursday, it rose to 5. When we asked for masks, university authorities said masks were in short supply as their first preference was Wuhan, the worst-hit. Indian students are panicking and are anxious to return home.

There are 84 Indian students pursuing medicine in our university and 30 students are from Tamil Nadu. A few days ago, our university authorities said if we leave, then our internship would be cancelled. We apprised the Indian Embassy officials in Beijing. After their intervention, the university is allowing us to leave.

We have to travel to Qingdao airport, around two hours from our campus, to catch a flight. Our students have booked tickets from Qingdao to Delhi via Kunming. From Delhi, they would travel to Chennai via flight or train. Ticket fares will cost more than ₹30,000 per head.

Students stuck in China find it tough to fly back; airfares shoot up

Ayyappan V@timesgroup.com

31.01.2020

With airfares hitting the roof and airlines limiting services, many Indians stranded in Shanghai, Guangzhou and other Chinese provinces are finding getting back home an arduous task.

People are flying out of Shanghai via Singapore or Bangkok to reach Chennai. Chinese companies in cities other than Wuhan are advising their Indian employees to leave till the situation returns to normalcy.

An airport official said people are returning via transit airports in southeast Asia as Cathay Pacific has limited flights to mainland China. Basheer Ahamed, of Metro Travels, said people are coming back before the situation worsens in other cities. A one-way fare on the Hong Kong-Chennai flight costs ₹40,000 for the next few days. The fare is in the range of ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 on flights via Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Thailand. Many are also flying in via Delhi as SpiceJet has a regular flight from Hong Kong.

Sampath Rangachary, a retired Air Force officer, said his relative was stranded in Guangzhou. “They are trying to fly to Chennai via Bangkok. There is news that airlines are considering to limit or suspend operations to Chinese cities after British Airways cancelled all its flights,” he said.

IndiGo has suspended its flights from Delhi to Chengdu and from Bengaluru to Hong Kong till February 20 as a temporary measure.

An airport official at Chennai said they screen passengers arriving from Hong Kong and those with travel history to high risk zones in China. “Healthy passengers arriving from Shanghai via Singapore are asking for screening even if they do not have symptoms,” he added.

A professor from India said that around 100 students from Tamil Nadu are in Wuhan and a majority of them are medical students. Aadil Anwar Bhat, an Indian student in Jiangx province, near Wuhan, said “Wuhan is under a complete lockdown. But people are travelling back from other cities.”