Dilip Kumar laid to rest with full state honours

Dilip Kumar laid to rest with full state honours

Bella.Jaisinghani@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:08.07.2021

Dilip Kumar, the Aakhri Mughal of Hindi cinema, was laid to rest at Santacruz Kabrastan Wednesday evening. Friend Faisal Farooqui, who runs the actor’s official Twitter handle, said, “Sahab’s lungs had become very weak and he suffered multiple age-related ailments. On Tuesday night, his blood pressure dropped and it then became difficult for doctors to remove the excess fluid from his lungs.”

Dilip Kumar was awarded a state funeral. Police draped his remains in the tricolour and the marching band performed at his Pali Hill residence in Bandra before the coffin was led to Santacruz. The bier was lifted by nephews Rehan, actor Ayub Khan, Imran and Saqib, and Farooqui. The last rites were completed at 5pm.

Santacruz Kabrastan is where the family graves are located. It is also the resting place for most of Hindi cinema’s yesteryear celebrities. Saira Banu’s mother, veteran actress Naseem Bano, her grandmother and other family elders are buried here along with Madhubala, Mohammed Rafi, Sahir Ludhianvi, Naushad, Ali Sardar Jafri, Talat Mahmood, K A Abbas, Parveen Babi and Tahir Hussain. In fact, Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu had requested the government to grant the trust a neighbouring plot to accommodate more graves.

On Wednesday a stream of dignitaries from Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, his son Aaditya, film celebrities Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi, Shah Rukh Khan, Vidya Balan, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Ranbir Kapoor and Subhash Ghai went to offer condolence to the family at the bungalow. Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek visited the gravesite. A sea of blue ticks offered tribute on Twitter, from President Ram Nath Kovind and PM Narendra Modi to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and South superstars Mammooty and Chiranjeevi.

Pvt hosps can buy 3 times daily vax used

Pvt hosps can buy 3 times daily vax used

Mumbai:08.07.2021

The Centre has revised the formula for fixing the cap on vaccines allowed for private hospitals per month, reports Sumitra Debroy.

Under the new ‘maximum order quantity’ (MOQ) plan for each facility private players can now place orders based on triple the average daily consumption of one of their best performing weeks of the previous month.

Earlier, it was double the average daily consumption of the vaccine. The decision was communicated to private hospitals across the country through a series of online meetings on Wednesday. Central officials told the private centres that they could start placing orders through Co-Win from the next few days in four instalments or at one go. Private hospitals were supposed to place vaccine orders from July 1 through CoWin, but they haven’t been able to do so.

Chief ministership not post; it’s a responsibility: Stalin

Chief ministership not post; it’s a responsibility: Stalin

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Trichy:08.07.2021

Chief minister M K Stalin took a pledge on Wednesday that he will treat chief ministership as a responsibility to serve people and not as a post. He conveyed his resolve through jottings made in the visitors’ book at Muthuvelar Noolagam-Anjugam Padippagam, two libraries in Thirukkuvalai functioning as a memorial of the parents of M Karunanidhi.

Stalin was visiting his ancestral house in Nagapattinam district for the first time after taking charge as CM, on the second day of his visit to the delta districts. He wrote that he has become chief minister because of the efforts and hard work of Udanpirappugal (blood brothers in Tamil) as termed by his father. “Thalaivar Kalaignar (M Karunanidhi) will often say that post (chief minister) means responsibility. Should serve people with responsibility. Bearing that in mind, my journey will continue by treating chief ministership as a responsibility. This is the pledge I take at his (Karunanidhi) birthplace (house),” the CM wrote.

En route to Thirukkuvalai, the CM received petitions from locals. He stopped by at Pinnavasal village to congratulate a newly married couple who was waiting for the convoy outside a wedding hall.

Earlier in the day, he inaugurated the comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (CEmONC) building at Tiruvarur government medical college hospital. The facility has 200 beds for maternal care and 50 for intensive neonatal care. The CM then felicitated district collector P Gayathri Krishnan for vaccinating all 2,334 residents against Covid-19 in Kattur village near Koradacherry town in Tiruvarur district.

BACK TO THE ROOTS: CM M K Stalin with his family at their ancestral house in Thirukkuvalai village in Nagapattinam district

TN tells HC it’s examining Centre’s proposal on AIIMS

TN tells HC it’s examining Centre’s proposal on AIIMS

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:06.07.2021

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday informed the Madras high court that the three suggestions given by the Centre on temporary arrangements to accommodate 150 MBBS students in AIIMS Madurai has to be examined by the institute’s body which is likely to meet on July 16.

In the counter, the health secretary stated that the state government would examine the proposals subject to feasibility, based on the outcome of the meeting. With regard to commencing outpatient department (OPD) services in a temporary campus, a detailed report would be finalised and the next level meeting would be held on July 16. It is anticipated that the matter would also be discussed in the meeting. He further stated that the state is proactive in providing land and other regulatory clearances as and when received. The state government would be pleased if the actual construction of AIIMS is expedited and necessary approval is obtained for providing services and also allowing admission in college.

A division bench of justice T S Sivagnanam and justice S Ananthi said in the light of the stand taken by the state, the court was deferring the hearing in the case till July 26 and directed the state to file a status report in this regard. During the previous hearing, the secretary of the Union ministry of health and family welfare in the counter affidavit had stated that they were keen on starting services of AIIMS Madurai subject to availability of alternate space for starting MBBS classes and OPD services.

Murugan’s induction into Union ministry could energise TN BJP

Murugan’s induction into Union ministry could energise TN BJP

Formulated Big-Ticket Entries Ahead Of Elections

Jayaraj Sivan and Shanmughasundaram.J TNN

Chennai:08.07.2021

To strengthen the party in Tamil Nadu before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP on Wednesday inducted party state president L Murugan into the Union ministry as a minister of state. He was given the portfolio of information and broadcasting, and fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy. Tamil Nadu had not had any representation in the Union ministry after minister of state for shipping Pon Radhakrishnan’s term ended in 2019. With Murugan’s shift to Delhi, the party central leadership will have to select a new chief for Tamil Nadu BJP. Probable candidates are former IPS officer K Annamalai and former minister and sitting MLA Nainar Nagendran.

Despite having one Lok Sabha member and five Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu and one RS member from Puducherry, the AIADMK once again missed out on the opportunity to join the Union ministry owing to infighting in the party. AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam had tried hard to get a berth for his son O P Raveendranath Kumar, but his efforts have gone in vain owing to opposition from party joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami.

Coming back to Murugan, he was the architect of some of the big-ticket entries into the BJP after he took over the reins of the state BJP in March last year. He made the entry a smooth affair, dispelling doubts about the entrylevel barrier, for many including V P Duraisamy, who was deputy general secretary in the DMK, R C Paul Kanagaraj, who merged his party Tamil Maanila Katchi with the BJP, DMK’s former MLA Ku Ka Selvam, former IPS officer K Annamalai, former IRS officer A Saravanakumaran and actress Khushbu Sundar.

Murugan’s electoral debut was in 2006 assembly elections in Sankari constituency. He contested unsuccessfully again from Rasipuram assembly segment in 2011. Before becoming the party state chief, Murugan was national SC/ST Commission vice chairman. Murugan’s roots are deep in the RSS. He joined the organisation during his school days itself. He joined the ABVP during his law college days in Chennai. He was the state coordinator of the struggle committee against the Ranganath Mishra Commission report. The BJP feared that the report, if implemented could eat into reservation for OBCs. The struggle committee’s national coordinator was President Ram Nath Kovind.

Murugan gave an aggressive face to the state BJP by training guns on the DMK. Sensing that Lord Ram and Ayodhya issues would not yield political dividends in Tamil Nadu, he took Lord Muruga’s vel into his hands to launch several state-wide campaigns like Vetrivel Yatra and Vel Pooja. The campaigns may have helped the party win four out of the 20 assembly seats (thereby ending a drought of 15 years without any representation in the assembly) it contested, but Murugan could not make it to the assembly from Dharapuram. He will now take the Rajya Sabha route to the Parliament.

SOARING UP: L Murugan has been given the portfolio of information and broadcasting, and fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy

NEWS DIGEST

08.07.2021

NEWS DIGEST

Man impregnates minor daughter of friend, arrested

A 49-year-old man who allegedly raped and impregnated his friend’s daughter in Tiruvallur district has been arrested under the Pocso Act. According to police, the accused, Saranraj, works as a driver in a private bus travel agency. His friend, a 40-yearold man, works in the same company in the district and lives with his wife and a 13-year-old daughter. Saranraj and his friend’s wife were in a relationship. She left the house along with her 13-year-old daughter to live alone when Saranraj raped the girl several times. Recently, the girl complained of stomach pain and was found to be pregnant. Police registered a case and arrested Saranraj, who was hiding in Tiruvannamalai, under the Pocso Act.

Man held for sending obscene messages to girl: A bus conductor who sent obscene SMSes and movie clips to a mobile phone number belonging to a Class VII student has been arrested from Chengalpet. The man who claimed to have helped her in her online classes, told her that he would send general knowledge questions and took her number. The girl who received the messages showed them to her parents who got him arrested. The accused, Sadam Hussai, 38, took the child's number three months ago and since then has been troubling her to read the SMSes and view the videos. Based on her parents' complaint, the Chengalpet police checked his phone and found him to have sent several messages to the girl. He has been booked and remanded in judicial custody.

FM’s gesture lauded on social media: Finance minister P Thiaga Rajan’s recent act of tending to an injured stray dog in the secretariat has attracted much praise from Twitter users. The minister who noticed the dog limping on three legs as he was leaving the secretariat on Saturday took it upon himself to get the dog treated. “She's very friendly with police on duty. They informed me that her right hind leg was injured in a car accident,” the minister had tweeted with a picture of the stray and said the dog will be taken for examination by a veterinarian. On Monday, he posted that he had ensured that the injured dog got the best treatment, which was praised widely.

Coimbatore: To get vaccination tokens people queue up a night in advance

Coimbatore: To get vaccination tokens people queue up a night in advance

Jul 04, 2021, 11:28AM ISTSource: TNN & Agencies

Desperate for vaccination people in Coimbatore queued up a night in advance for Covid vaccination tokens. Coimbatore is the worst-hit district in Tamil Nadu. People began queueing up from 9 pm on Friday to get a token for vaccination at Rakkipalayam panchayat union middle school. By 7.30 am on Saturday, the line had grown to about 800 to 1,000 people hoping to get their hands on 500 tokens. “The line was so long that only people who came before 4.30 am managed to get tokens,” said one of the people in line.