Ex-min will not appear before DVAC

Ex-min will not appear before DVAC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:01.10.2021

Former Tamil Nadu transport minister and AIADMK leader M R Vijayabaskar will not appear before the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption in connection with a disproportionate assets case, DVAC sources said.

"Vijayabaskar has sought time till the completion of the local body polls," a source said. Vijayabaskar is an accused in the disproportionate assets case registered by the DVAC. The DVAC had summoned him to appear in its Chennai office on Thursday. A case was registered against him July 21 for disporportionate assets to the tune of ₹2.68 crore. Also, he had allegedly bought ₹8 crore properties in the names of his family members.

Your ride is here! Chennai turns to carpooling to save a few rupees

Your ride is here! Chennai turns to carpooling to save a few rupees

After A Covid Lull, Leading Carpooling Apps Report A Surge In Users As Offices Reopen

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

01.10.2021

As people return to workplaces, car pooling, which turned non-existent during the lockdown, is once again rising to prominence. More than four lakh people in the city are subscribed to various carpooling apps, revealed data from top private companies in this sector.

Pre-Covid, major apps got around 15,000 bookings a day. But their service came to an abrupt halt during the lockdown. While the government began relaxing curbs, trains and buses were off the tracks and roads for a long time. Meanwhile, cab-aggregators like Ola and Uber too suspended ride-sharing options. So, office-goers who could not afford to take a cab solo or buy vehicles turned to carpooling.

With few buses, no trains and unregulated auto rickshaw services, Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) has emerged the most popular route for carpooling in Chennai. Other top areas include Guindy, Ashok Nagar, Kodambakkam and Adyar. In the suburbs, such apps are mostly used by people travelling to Ambattur and Perambur.

“With more IT companies opening up now, we expect the numbers to go up in the coming days,” said K N M Rao, founder and CEO of Quick Ride, a leading carpooling app.

These apps are very user-friendly. Any user who owns a car can offer a ride from point A to B. Other users in the vicinity get a notification and can accept the ride offer in case they too are travelling on the same route. At the end of the trip, the app generates the rate based on distance travelled.

“Carpooling definitely helps in reducing traffic congestion, pollution levels and helps save on fuel cost,” said J Sivasubramaniam from Institute of Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP).

A back-ofthe-envelope calculation shows that a car owner can save at least ₹50,000 every year should they opt for carpooling.

Besides mobile apps, there are hundreds of social media pages and WhatsApp groups where users regularly post messages on ride offers and seat availability. Most posts are put up the previous evening so interested people can confirm bookings at the earliest. Over a period of time, trends show that commuters choose the same set of co-riders with whom they feel comfortable and safe, say carpooling operators.

Naveen Pandiarajan, a Renault Nissan employee, is a part of a WhastApp group named ‘RN Carpool’. This group has been helping him and his friends, residing in and around Perumbakkam and Sembakkam, travel to their offices for nearly two years.

“We take turns driving our cars so there is no fatigue. By carpooling, we end up saving at least ₹2,000 every month,” said Naveen.

PTR faces minor hassle at airport

PTR faces minor hassle at airport

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:91.10.2021

Tamil Nadu finance minister PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan faced a minor hassle at the domestic terminal of the city airport after a CISF personnel asked him about the two laptops in his cabin bag at the security check on Thursday. The minister was to board an early morning flight from Chennai to Tuticorin.

The CISF personnel who was manning the baggage scanners raised a question about the two laptops in the bag that was placed for screening. The security personnel usually insist that all gadgets are taken out and kept in separate trays for scanning.

However, his questions gave the impression that he was insisting that two gadgets should not be in the bag. This led to a flutter and senior officers intervened to resolve the issue.

An official of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said that this was a case of miscommunication as the CISF personnel wanted the minister to place the laptops and a tablet on separate trays.

“There is no rule saying that more than one laptop cannot be carried in flight. The security personnel raised a question because the gadgets were not taken out. Officials who were nearby intervened and solved the issue. The minister boarded the flight on time," he added.

Job scam: CMDA likely to terminate 18 employees

Job scam: CMDA likely to terminate 18 employees

Yogesh.Kabirdoss@timesgroup.com

Chennai:

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has decided to terminate the services of at least 18 employees who were illegally recruited and issued appointment orders just a day before the model code of conduct for TN assembly polls kicked in on February 25. The candidates did not possess either the required educational qualification or the age criterion prescribed in the notification.

Sources told TOI that notices calling upon the employees to explain why their services should not be terminated were served to them on Monday. They have been given 15 days to reply to the notice.

A chief planner of the agency who played a key role in the recruitment drive and was in charge of the administration at that time, and another administrative officer who was part of the (recruitment) drive have been charge sheeted by the CMDA for irregularities. “The two officials overlooked prescribed qualifications in appointing the 18 candidates,” a senior CMDA official told TOI.

Sixty-thousand applications were received by the CMDA for 131 junior assistant, steno-typist grade III, typist, field man and messenger job vacancies. Of the selected employees, 18 who were absorbed for Grade IV and III level postings were found ineligible even to apply for the posts.

Despite 30-yr age cap, 39-year-old was hired

Yet, they were appointed by the previous AIADMK government just a day before the commencement of the poll code. Though the employment notification mentioned 30 years as upper age limit, one person aged 39 years was recruited. Another candidate, selected as junior assistant, did not possess a degree at the time of appointment though a degree was the mandatory educational qualification for the post. A written test was conducted for positions of junior assistant, steno-typist grade III and typist, followed by physical interviews for 275 candidates who were shortlisted from out of the 44,000 applicants. About 16,000 individuals applied for 53 vacant field man and messenger posts for which interviews alone were conducted.

Children punished for arriving late to school

Perambalur: Video of students being caned goes viral, inquiry on

Children punished for arriving late to school

Published: 02nd October 2021 05:28 AM |

Screengrab of video showing headmistress Vandarkuzhali hitting students in Perambalur

By P Thiruselvam

Express News Service

PERAMBALUR: The headmistress of a government higher secondary school in Kunnam taluk has drawn the ire of many following a recent video of her beating up students for arriving late to the institution going viral. The Chief Educational Officer (CEO) has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

On Thursday morning, over 20 students, including girls, of the school in S Adudurai village turned up late for classes reportedly due to delay by government buses. Seeing this, headmistress Vandarkuzhali lined up the students and beat them up with a cane. Unable to bear the pain, some girl students are seen frowning and sobbing in a video that recorded the incident.

Following a few students informing their parents of the incident after returning home in the evening, complaints were placed with the district CEO, R Arivazhagan. Subsequently, the CEO directed Veppur District Educational Officer Kulanthairajan to hold an enquiry into the matter and to submit a report. Vandarkuzhali, teachers, students and parents are being questioned.

Authorities are also probing the matter of students having purportedly shot the viral video when they are not allowed to bring phones to school. Most of our children travel to school by government buses. These buses are late to our village. In this situation, the students were late to school as the buses were late. How can the headmistress beat them? This is against government rules. The girls were also beaten up. The district administration should take stern action against the headmistress, irate parents of the affected students said.

Mentioning that the students would have arrived earlier had they been informed kindly, the parents added such incidents only make them lose confidence in government schools, where enrolment is already low.

CEO Arivazhagan said, “I cannot take action because she is the headmistress. I learned about this and have been investigating. It has been revealed there is already another charge against her. After the final hearing, I will submit a report on the two incidents to the Joint Director of School Education. They will take action.”

More students to get free rides, but smart-bus-pass route avoided again

More students to get free rides, but smart-bus-pass route avoided again

Over five years ago, the Transport Department proposed to introduce smart cards to monitor expenses incurred in offering subsidised travel.

Published: 02nd October 2021 07:03 AM 

By Express News Service


CHENNAI: Over five years ago, the Transport Department proposed to introduce smart cards to monitor expenses incurred in offering subsidised travel. But the plan remains a non-starter, even as transport corporations are reeling under a fund crunch.

The Transport Department had in 2015-16 proposed to introduce smart bus pass cards with a barcode or QR code to prevent the misuse of travel concessions given to school and college students in government buses. The government had intended to use digital scanners to read these cards.

Monitoring of free bus passes was necessitated after the number of beneficiaries exceeded 32 lakh in 2015, when the State government extended the free-travel facility to students of community colleges, government-aided private ITIs, music colleges, and Chennai Corporation ITIs. Besides, students of private arts and science colleges, polytechnic and engineering colleges are eligible for a 50 per cent fee concession in government buses. Till 2013, free travel was only allowed for students of schools and government colleges, polytechnic institutes and ITIs.

The expenses incurred by transport corporations through free travel stood at Rs 440-450 crore per year till 2013-14, and rose to Rs 730 crore in the next few years. For 2021-22, the government earmarked Rs 1,300 crore for seven transport corporations.


During the previous regime, the then transport minister MR Vijayabhaskar repeatedly said smart cards for students would be rolled out between 2018 and 2019. But the proposal remained on paper, allegedly due to issues in finalising contractors.

With schools set to reopen for Classes 1 to 8, the Transport Department’s engineering arm — Institute of Road Transport (IRT) — recently invited bids for issuing bus pass cards to 25.21 lakh students. “These cards will be regular plastic cards without additional security features. We have started working to issue regular bus passes,” said an IRT official.

A senior MTC official said, “Only when schools reopen will we know the actual number of beneficiaries, and only then will bus passes be issued. As of now, there is no plan to issue smart cards.”

Cost of free rides continues to rise

Free travel cost transport corporations Rs 440-450 crore per year till 2013-14, and the expenses rose to Rs 730 crore in the next few years. This year, the government has earmarked Rs 1,300 crore

MP Med varsity lodges FIR against its official

CAMPUS CONTROVERSY

MP Med varsity lodges FIR against its official

...For Not Returning 911 Answersheets

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jabalpur:02.10.2021

In a new controversy at MP Medical Sciences University the varsity had lodged a complaint with police that more than 900 answersheets that were sent to deputy registrar for signature are not being returned by her. The deputy registrar has also threatened to move the state women commission.

In-charge vice-chancellor of Madhya Pradesh Medical Sciences University, Dr Prabhat Budholiya said, “Answer sheets were sent to the deputy registrar Dr Puja Sharma for her signature, but she had not returned 911 copies. A notice was issued to her for returning the answersheets, in which it was said that if she fails to return the answersheets by September 16, then an FIR will be lodged against her. In her reply to the notice, she said she doesn’t have any answersheets. We have made a formal complaint with Garha police station in this regard on September 28.”

Garha police station incharge, Rakesh Tiwari said, “A written complaint has been made by university management. It is being investigated. Police have issued a notice to the university and asked it to provide some documents. Apart from it notice has been issued to both the parties for registering their statements.”

Deputy registrar, Dr Puja Sharma said, “The university management had issued notice asking me for returning the answersheets of paramedical students. The management was provided the receipt and receiving letter related to submission of these answersheets that were already submitted. The management is now asking me to return the answersheets of nursing students, which were not given to me.”

“I was a member of the committee that was constituted for probing into the scams related to illegal appointments and I am being harassed for that. As per norms, there should have been an departmental enquiry, but a complaint was made against me to the police,” she said.