Spl treat: 10p for a biriyani in Trichy

Spl treat: 10p for a biriyani in Trichy

12.10.2020

Trichy: A restaurant here offered chicken and mutton biriyani in exchange of the10 paise coin, which is no longer in use, on the occasion of World Biriyani Day on Sunday (October 11.) The eatery also sold biriyani for Re 1 to Covid-19 frontline workers in recognition of their efforts. The restaurant saw a footfall of around 200 people as people queued up to grab the offer.

City-based KMS Hakkim Kalyana Biriyani said the low-cost biriyani offer was to highlight World Biriyani Day celebrated by some eateries across the state. The restaurant in its social media campaign launched a few days ago, said people, who have the old 10 paise coin can approach the outlet to grab a pack of biriyani each after handing over the coin. “We did not expect such a massive response. We had planned to sell 100 packs in return for the 10 paise coins. But, more than 200 people came with the coins,” KMS Hakkim, proprietor of the restaurant told TOI. TNN

HC fines health director for delay in appointment

HC fines health director for delay in appointment

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Madurai:12.10.2020

Taking a serious view of the delay in appointing a doctor to a vacant post, Madras high court imposed a cost of ₹10,000 on the director of public health and preventive medicine as well as an official who held the post earlier for submitting misleading statements before the court. The court was hearing the petition filed by Dr B Dinesh Kumar who was working as assistant surgeon at the Vadamadurai primary health centre in Dindigul.

Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) had issued a notification in 2014 inviting applications from eligible candidates for 33 posts of health officer in the state public health service. The provisional selection list showed the petitioner as placed in serial number one of the reserved list for Most Backward Class. Since a person who was employed in the said post belonging to the same community had resigned, the petitioner sought appointment to the post.

Justice R Suresh Kumar observed that the petitioner had filed two petitions before the court earlier, and this was the third, to get his legitimate right of appointment to the post which he ought to have been given long ago. The director of public health and preventive medicine in the positional note submitted before the court had stated that the petitioner’s name was not in the waitlist and he had subsequently written to the health secretary seeking to fill up the post as per the waitlist.

The judge observed that the office of the director, whether the earlier incumbent or the present incumbent, had not cared to fill up the vacancy. “This kind of lethargic attitude on the part of the officials, which is a public utility department, has indicated a caution that all is not well,” noted the judge and directed authorities to issue appointment order to the petitioner. Since the judicial time of the court was consumed due to submission of wrong and misleading information, the judge imposed a cost of ₹10,000 each on director of public health and preventive medicine Dr T S Selvavinayagam and Dr K Kulanthaisamy, the earlier incumbent of the post. The judge directed them to pay the same within two weeks to the registrar (administration) of HC Madurai bench which shall be used to augment the Covid-19 situation.

Khushbu says unhappy in Cong, mum on move to BJP

Khushbu says unhappy in Cong, mum on move to BJP

Jaya.Menon@timesgroup.com

Chennai:12.10.2020

Amid persistent rumours of her joining the BJP, Congress national spokeswoman and actor Khushbu has conveyed to the party high command her unhappiness over the party leadership in Tamil Nadu. “Leaders of both Congress and the BJP have reached out to me,” Khushbu told TOI on Sunday, adding that she met AICC general secretary K C Venugopal three days ago to convey her angst.

In recent weeks, Khushbu had consistently denied rumours about her switching parties, saying she had been taking part in Congress meetings. She denied there was any political significance in her husband Sundar meeting TN BJP chief L Murugan last month. On Sunday, Khushbu indicated she had been given a raw deal by the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee leadership but declined to confirm or deny if she was considering joining the BJP.

“The question is hypothetical,” Khushbu replied when asked about her joining the BJP. “I met Mr Venugopal and discussed the problems with him,” Khushbu said. When contacted, Venugopal said, “She told me she was having problems with the local leadership. We promised her that we will address her grievances and give her more responsibilities. She discussed with me her political ideology. I believe we can persuade her to remain with us.” TNCC president K S Alagiri said “I don’t believe these rumours”.

On Saturday, Khushbu had tweeted “Many see a change in me. Well as you age, you evolve n grow, learn n unlearn, perceptions change, likes n dislikes too, thoughts n ideas take a new shape, dreams are new-…change is inevitable.”

In July, the actor had set political tongues wagging when she welcomed the Narendra Modi government’s New Education Policy, which her party had stoutly opposed. Later, in a tweet, she denied rumours of her joining the BJP. "Sanghis can relax, pls do not rejoice. I am not moving to BJP. My opinion might be different from my party but I am an individual with a thinking mind of my own. Yes, #NEP2020 is flayed n flawed at some places, but I still feel we can look at the change with a positivity,” she tweeted. Later, she apologised to AICC leader Rahul Gandhi for her “contrary” views.

Khushbu took the political plunge in May 2010 by joining DMK. She campaigned for the party in the 2011 assembly elections and again in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections after which she quit saying her work was not recognized. She joined Congress shortly thereafter as the party’s spokeswoman.

IoE tag won’t change reservation policy, says Anna University V-C

IoE tag won’t change reservation policy, says Anna University V-C

PMK Slams Surappa For Approaching Central Govt

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:12.10.2020

There is “nothing to fear” and the existing reservation and recruitment policy will not change in the least if Anna University gets the status of Institute of Eminence (IoE), says vice-chancellor M K Surappa.

Admissions and recruitment followed state government rules. “The [Union HRD] ministry has repeatedly clarified that the university can continue to follow the existing 69% reservation in all its admission and recruitment processes as per the existing act of the university,” the vicechancellor told TOI. IoE guidelines 2017 say state universities would continue to function under their respective state Acts. On fears of the Centre taking over the state institution, Surappa said such an event had not happened in the last 20 years, unless there was pressure from the state.

The vice-chancellor has, however, come under fire from the PMK for directly writing to the Centre, “without the knowledge of the state government”, seeking IoE status amid concerns over the reservation policy. Surappa had told the Centre that the university could generate revenue of Rs 1,570 crore through internal resources and did not need funding from the state government.

In a statement, PMK leader S Ramadoss alleged Surappa’s unilateral act betrayed the interests of the university and the students. “The Centre refuses to heed the request of the state to give a written assurance for 69% reservation, though it accepts this in principle. There is no point in the university getting the IoE tag without finding a solution to the reservation issue,” Ramadoss said. If the Centre’s reservation and admission policies are adhered to, the students of Tamil Nadu and the BC students would not benefit, but only students of other states and upper castes would, he said. Generating revenue from internal resources would result in steep hike in fee.

The PMK leader said the developments had raised suspicions about the vice-chancellor acting as a puppet of those who wanted reservation to be revoked. “The V-C is appointed for three years to steer the varsity. He cannot take a policy decision of the government. The act of Surappa should be investigated,” Ramadoss said, urging the state government to make efforts to get IoE status without affecting the admission process and ensuring its control of the university.

Sunday shoppers crowd T Nagar like all is well

Sunday shoppers crowd T Nagar like all is well

Hub Under Teynampet Zone Which Has 1.3K Active Cases

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:12.10.2020

Even as Chennai added 1,250 cases to its tally of 1.82 lakh Covid-19 cases on Sunday and 19 deaths to its grim statistic of 3,415 deaths from the viral infection, l ocals were found flocking in numbers to the shopping hub, T Nagar.

The sight of the shopping crowd with little space to breathe at the perennially busy Ranganathan Street is not a welcome sight during a pandemic. The adjacent streets too were crowded and people were seen going about their day, as though the times are normal.

“Apart from being a threat to themselves, some of the shopping crowd also pose a risk for hundreds of people who reside in and around the shopping areas of T Nagar. We understand that the authorities have allowed shops to reopen to revive businesses, but public welfare should also be considered. There should be stricter restrictions on functioning of shops during the pandemic,” said S Sai Balaji, a resident of West Mambalam.

Residents also said the authorities can consider separate set of restrictions and deploy more personnel to regulate crowds in shopping hubs like T Nagar, at least until the pandemic dies down.

As on Sunday, Teynampet zone (Zone 9), under which T Nagar falls, has the second most number of active cases in the city — 1,336.

According to traders, some of the crowd are not regular shoppers but people who own small retail outlets who had come to buy stock. “We cannot possibly turn away our customers. We try our level best to ensure physical distancing in and around the premises of our shop, but since the roads are narrow, they get crowded,” said a shop owner on Ranganathan Street.

The corporation’s fining mechanism too has not proved to be a deterrent as crowds continue to swarm the shopping hubs. Greater Chennai Corporation has collected more than ₹2 crore since March as fines from residents as well as shopkeepers and other establishments found flouting pandemic norms such as not wearing masks and not maintaining physical distancing.

CATASTROPHIC DAY OUT: Ranganathan Street was packed with shoppers on Sunday. The tar tops of roads around were barely visible as thousands soaked in the festive spirit ignoring pandemic norms

Consensus eludes GST Council

 Consensus eludes GST Council

States Can Borrow To Meet Shortfall

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:13.10.2020

For the first time, the GST Council failed to arrive at a consensus due to sharp division along political lines, allowing the Centre to let 20-odd states issue bonds to raise funds and meet the shortfall in collection.

Continuing from where they left, the 10 opposition-governed states and UTs pressed for the Centre to borrow the funds, something that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman refused to do, arguing that higher-than-announced borrowings will increase the cost of funds for the government and the private sector.

“The impact will be less if states borrow… The Centre will facilitate borrowings to ensure cost is equitable for all states,” she said after the meeting, sticking to the stand taken even before the borrowing calendar for the second half of the year had been finalised.

At Monday’s four-hour meeting, the third on the issue, there were 12 states that supported the Centre’s preferred option to raise Rs 1.1 lakh crore, out of the Rs 2.3 lakh crore, estimated shortfall from the market. “Whoever wants to talk, please talk. As many states also said, further talking, holding other states will only make them appear very poorly back home… they can’t go back to repeatedly say ‘sorry the Council could not arrive at a consensus so till then I’m not doing any expenditure’… Does our conscience allow us to hold back states which have opted for something till the time a consensus is arrived at?” Sitharaman said.

Some of the states such as West Bengal had proposed that the dispute resolution mechanism be invoked to decide on the issue within seven to 10 days. Alternatively, a group of ministers could be set up, others suggested. But the proposals were rejected with some of the states describing the meeting as a show of “majoritarianism”.

“There is no dispute, we can have differences,” the minister said, adding the GST Council had the powers to decide on issues such as an extension of the compensation cess beyond June 2022, which had been done. She said states have been assured that they don’t have to bear the burden from their budget. The opposition-ruled states have, however, not decided their future course of action.

Full report on www.toi.in

Cong mocks FM’s announcements

Congress lashed out at Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcements to “stimulate demand”, mocking that “government had only told its employees how to spend their money” without injecting anything extra in the economy that is required to check the steep slump. AICC economists Gourav Vallabh and Praveen Chakravarty said that the provisions about the LTC spelt out by the Centre amounted to nothing while the new announcement on capital expenditure by states was too little to change anything. “These are only meant to manage the headlines with the belief that the economy will respond to the headlines,” the AICC said. TNN

Part 2 of NEET for Covid-hit on Wednesday

Part 2 of NEET for Covid-hit on Wednesday

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:13.10.2020

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct the second part of NEET (UG) for those students who could not appear in it either because they were infected by coronavirus or because they resided in containment zones.

Accepting the request made by NTA through solicitor general Tushar Mehta, a bench headed by CJI S A Bobde said, “In view of the circumstances which have necessitated postponement of the examination in the past and in view of the prevailing circumstances, we consider it appropriate to grant permission to the NTA to conduct a second part of the NEET (UG) for Covid affected students and for those in containment zones on October  14. The result may be declared on October 16.”

A senior NTA official said, “Less than 200 candidates will take the test on Wednesday.”

Full report on www.toi.in