Rlys cuts amenities, charges high fares, passengers unhappy

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Rlys cuts amenities, charges high fares, passengers unhappy

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:12/03/2021 

Most services have resumed, but travellers are irked that railways continues to charge the same fare as earlier despite offering few amenities.

Passengers are no longer given linen, pillows and towels, curtains have been removed from coaches and food vending inside trains halted. In addition, unclean berths and faulty fixtures mar the travel experience.

Chennai-Madurai Yercaud Express, Chennai-Kollam Express, Chennai-Madurai Tejas Express and Chennai-Bengaluru Double Decker trains are a few of the many trains that have drawn the ire of travellers.

“People spend more money to travel in AC coaches thinking the level of hygiene will be better here. But the berths were not clean. I did not get bottled water at en route stations. Railways should cut fare if they are not giving these amenities or should offer linen and pillows to those who ask for them,” said H R Ananth, who paid ₹1,075 for his journey from Chennai to Erode on Yercaud Express (02649).

Despite paying close to ₹2,000 for an executive chair car seat and ₹920 for an AC chair car seat, passengers on Chennai-Madurai Tejas Express too are inconvenienced.

“There is no food and water, WiFi was off and plug points were not working in the executive chair car. The TV screens at the back of the seats are no good. Distribution of food may be limited due to the pandemic, but what do other facilities have to do with it,” asked Priya, a recent traveller. “Without providing any facilities, it is unfair to charge the same rate.”

T Sadagopan, a frequent traveller, too had a poor trip on a Double Decker train. “The C3 coach had too many mosquitoes as the sliding door was broken. The food trays were broken too,” he said.

Sources said more than 60% of complaints were regarding linen and food. Passenger misuse, fixing facilities on time using contractors and sourcing of spares continue to remain problems. “Steps are being taken to ensure amenities are maintained on trains like Tejas,” a senior official said.

Three held for grabbing land worth Rs 1 crore

Three held for grabbing land worth Rs 1 crore

Three men, who allegedly grabbed 2,400 sq feet of land valuing upto Rs 1 crore from its owner without his knowledge using forged documents were arrested in Thiruninravur.

Published: 10th March 2021 04:07 AM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Three men, who allegedly grabbed 2,400 sq feet of land valuing upto Rs 1 crore from its owner without his knowledge using forged documents were arrested in Thiruninravur. Police said that the land belongs to K Natesan from Thiruninravur, who is settled in Bengaluru.

“In 2020, he came to know from a neighbour in the area that his land was being encroached. Natesan rushed to Chennai and on inquiring, the encumbrance certificate revealed that the land had been transferred to one Yesudas as if Natesan’s father registered it as a settlement,” said a police officer. Shocked by this, Natesan approached the Central Crime Branch (CCB).

Village revenue officer apprehended for taking bribe in Andhra Pradesh

Village revenue officer apprehended for taking bribe in Andhra Pradesh

Our team apprehended a village revenue officer (VRO) K Venkata Nagaraju red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 20,000, ACB DSP said.

Published: 09th March 2021 12:17 PM

By ANI

PRAKASAM: A village revenue officer has been apprehended by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials for taking a bribe of Rs 20,000 in Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam district.

"Our team apprehended a village revenue officer (VRO) K Venkata Nagaraju red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 20,000. D Venkata Sivaramakrishna, a farmer in Kurichedu village, went to K Venkata Nagaraju for recording the details of his mother and brother in the official records. The VRO demanded Rs 30,000 bribe and asked him to give an advance of Rs 20,000. Sivaramakrishna registered a complaint to the ACB in this regard," ACB DSP Suryanarayana Rey told ANI on Monday.

"Accordingly, our team laid a trap to catch the officer. We caught the VRO red-handed while taking a bribe. The cash is recovered from him and Nagaraju accepted his crime. The accused officer will now be produced before the ACB special judge court," Reddy said.

He added that further probe is underway in the case.

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Only NRI quota seats based on entrance exams for OCI cardholders: MHA

Only NRI quota seats based on entrance exams for OCI cardholders: MHA

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI:, MARCH 06, 2021 18:21 IST

UPDATED: MARCH 06, 2021 20:42 IST

Photo: ociservices.gov.in

OCI cardholders cannot undertake any ‘missionary, mountaineering, journalism and tabligh activities’ without prior permission of the GoI

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reiterated through a gazette notification that Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders can lay claim to “only NRI (Non Resident Indian) quota seats” in educational institutions based on all-India entrance tests such as National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), Joint Entrance Examination (Mains), Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) or other such all-India professional tests.

The notification also reproduced a part of the guidelines issued by the Ministry on November 15, 2019 regarding benefits to OCI cardholders, which said that OCIs are not entitled to undertake any “missionary, mountaineering, journalism and tabligh activities” without prior permission of the Government of India. The notification provides legal teeth to the guidelines.

The notification says that the OCI cardholder shall be required to obtain a “special permission or a special permit” from the competent authority or the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) or the Indian Mission “to undertake research, Missionary or Tabligh or Mountaineering or Journalistic activities, undertake internship in any foreign diplomatic missions or foreign Government organisations in India or employment in any foreign diplomatic missions in India and visit any place which falls within the Protected or Restricted or prohibited areas as notified by the Central Government or competent authority”.

OCI citizens are of Indian origin but they are foreign passport holders and are not citizens of India. India does not allow dual citizenship but provides certain benefits under Section 7B(I) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 to the OCIs.

The fresh notification replaces three previous notifications issued on the subject on April 11, 2005; January 5, 2007; and January 5, 2009, respectively. The previous notifications did not specify the special permission required for “missionary, Tabligh, mountaineering or journalistic activities” and were merely part of the November 2019 guidelines.

A Ministry official said that several OCI cardholder students have filed petitions in courts that they are eligible to get admission against general seats in medical, engineering and other government colleges if they clear the all-India tests.

In March 2019, the MHA clarified to the Karnataka High Court that students with OCI cards had “parity with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and can lay claim only on the NRI quota seats based on the all-India tests”.

However on December 15, 2020, the High Court of Karnataka directed that students under the OCI category are to be considered as “citizens of India” for admission to professional courses and asked the State government to admit them to undergraduate professional courses, including engineering, medical, and dental, even under the government and institutional quotas, and not to restrict their admission only under the NRI quota.

The March 4 notification by the MHA said that OCI card holders will have parity with NRIs in the matter of “appearing for the all India entrance tests such as National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Joint Entrance Examination (Mains), Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) or such other tests to make them eligible for admission only against any Non-Resident Indian seat or any supernumerary seat: “Provided that the OCI cardholder shall not be eligible for admission against any seat reserved exclusively for Indian citizens.”

OCIs are eligible for grant of multiple entry lifelong visa for visiting India for any purpose and are exempt from registration with the FRRO for any length of stay in India. The fresh notification adds that the OCI cardholders who are normally residents in India “shall intimate the FRRO by email whenever there is a change in permanent residential address and in their occupation”.

The notification gives parity to OCIs with Indian nationals in the matter of tariffs in air fares in domestic sectors, entry fees for visiting national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, the national monuments, historical sites and museums in India. It gives parity to OCIs with NRIs in the matter of inter-country adoption of Indian children subject to the compliance of the procedure as laid down by the competent authority for such adoption, purchase or sale of immovable properties other than agricultural land or farm house or plantation property and to pursue the following professions — doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists, advocates, architects and chartered accountants.

The MHA said that in respect of all other economic, financial and educational fields not specified in the notification, the OCI cardholder shall have the same rights and privileges as a foreigner.

An official said that the notification will not impact the 2018 decision by the government that made OCIs eligible for appointment as permanent teaching faculty in premier educational institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology, National Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, Indian Institute of Science, and Central Universities and new All Indian Institutes of Medical Sciences set up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).

“The recruitment of OCIs in educational institutes is governed by Section 7B 2 (I) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Central government can specify the rules by special orders,” said the official.

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