Can’t bear dowry torture faced by daughter: Kerala man in video before ending life

Can’t bear dowry torture faced by daughter: Kerala man in video before ending life

The family on Tuesday handed over a copy of a video recorded by 46-year-old Moosakutty of Mampad just before his death to Nilambur police.

Published: 06th October 2021 06:17 AM 

By Express News Service

MALAPPURAM: A 20-year-old woman and her family in Malappuram have alleged that the brutal domestic violence she had to suffer from her husband demanding more dowry for over a year drove her father to end his life on September 23. She said she was even tied to a cot in her husband’s house to restrict her movement.

The family on Tuesday handed over a copy of a video recorded by 46-year-old Moosakutty of Mampad just before his death to Nilambur police. In the video, he is heard saying he was forced to take the extreme step since he was not able to bear the thought of the pain being suffered by his daughter at the hands of her husband Abdul Hameed, 28, of Othayi.

Moosakutty was found hanging in a rubber plantation that comes under Wandoor police station limits. Before ending his life, he shot a video on his mobile phone. In the video, the rubber tapping worker, who earned only a meagre income daily, expresses concern that his son-in-law has been constantly demanding gold from him to keep his daughter with him.

On September 28, Hiba’s brother Ashraful Rilshad had lodged a complaint with Wandoor police raising suspicion that Abdul Hameed’s dowry harassment was behind his father’s suicide.

‘Persistent pressure forced dad to end life’

Malappuram: Abdul Hameed married Hiba on January 12, 2020. Ashraful, 23, told TNIE, “During the marriage, we gave him 18 sovereigns of gold as a present. After the marriage, he demanded some more gold. Then, we gave him six more sovereigns, which belonged to my mother.

Recently, he again asked for ten more sovereigns. We are not wealthy enough to arrange that much gold. Later, he told us, we will have to find a new husband for Hiba in that case.” Ashraful added that the persistent pressure from Abdul Hameed forced his father to commit suicide.

Nilambur Inspector of Police Binu T S said they have launched an investigation into the dowry-related complaint and Wandoor Inspector Gopakumar E said they are investigating the suicide case. All attempts to contact Abdul Hameed for his comments failed.

Car park, mall likely to open at Chennai airport on December 15

Car park, mall likely to open at Chennai airport on December 15

The Multi-Level Car Parking (MLCP) complex at the airport will also house entertainment and shopping facilities.

Published: 05th October 2021 04:34 AM 

A view of the food court inside the under-construction MLCP. (Photo | Ashwin Prasath)

By C Shivakumar

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Flyers from Chennai could soon heave a sigh of relief as the city airport is expected to have additional parking slots catering to more than 2,000 vehicles from December 15. What’s more, the Multi-Level Car Parking (MLCP) complex will also house entertainment and shopping facilities.

A Chennai Airport official told TNIE that more than 90 per cent of work has been completed on both the east and west blocks of MLCP and it may open by December 15. The MLCP will have a five-screen multiplex, two food courts, retail shops, kids’ engagement stores, bars and restaurants. The five-screen multiplex will come up in an area of 42,331 sq ft. Passengers who have to wait for a long time for their flights can access the commercial area or watch a film before starting their journey.

Once inaugurated, it will make the Chennai Airport the first in the country to have multi-modal connectivity. “You can take the road, suburban train or Metro. You will have all modes of transport available,” said the official.

The airport has planned the MLCP with a long-term vision and it is expected to ease traffic congestion for several years. Even local residents will be allowed in the commercial area and the multiplex. The airport had demarcated 4.25 acres of land in two parcels at Chennai International Airport for constructing the MCLP and commercial facilities.

The parcels are located on either sides of the airport Metro station, between two Metro viaducts and the airport terminal building.

Coming soon

Parking lot for more than 2,000 vehicles

Five-screen multiplex, two food courts and retail shops

Bars and restaurants

Babus may face action for illegal recruitments

Babus may face action for illegal recruitments

A top CMDA official told TNIE the two officials have been chargesheeted for the illegal recruitment. “Inquiry has been instituted and the chargesheet handed over to the two officials.

Published: 06th October 2021 06:47 AM 

By C Shivakumar

Express News Service

CHENNAI: A Chief Planner and a former administrative officer of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) could face termination from service for recruiting 18 people who lacked required qualifications and serving them with appointment orders just a day before the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the Assembly elections came into force.

A top CMDA official told TNIE the two officials have been chargesheeted for the illegal recruitment. “Inquiry has been instituted and the chargesheet handed over to the two officials. Only after legal inquiry under the service rules will a decision be taken,” the official added. “If the charges are proved, they might be terminated,” the official told TNIE.

Meanwhile, the 18 employees, who were served showcause notices, have moved the Madras High Court and got a stay on the cancellation of their appointments.

The CMDA, according to sources, conducted interviews on February 22 and February 23 for 131 posts and issued appointment orders a day before the MCC came into force, which was announced on February 26. “These 18 were selected bending the rules as they are not eligible for the postings,” said the official.

Immediately after MCC was announced on February 26, the officials started calling the candidates. “Usually, letters would be sent to candidates,” sources said, “But on February 26, this norm was not followed and officials used phones to inform the selected candidates. They were asked to report on Saturday (February 27) when a backdated appointment letter (February 25) was issued to them.”

Sources said the CMDA needs to re-evaluate its recruitment policy and the required strength, which was fixed in the 1980s. The current strength of CMDA is 819 posts. But even of this strength, 40 per cent of posts remain vacant. Moreover, many changes, too, have taken place in terms of traffic, transportation, and other infrastructure in the city over the past 40 years.

Computer Science remains top pick among engineering aspirants

Computer Science remains top pick among engineering aspirants

Of the 14,842 students who had been called for first-round counselling, 10,187 (68.6 per cent) were allotted seats.

Published: 06th October 2021 06:49 AM |

By Binita Jaiswal

Express News Service

CHENNAI: As expected, Computer Science and allied streams remained the favourites of top rank holders of the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admission (TNEA) this year. Almost 35 per cent of the seats allotted in the first round were for Computer Science and Engineering (CSE); this is almost 10 per cent more than last year.

As many as 3,572 seats were allotted in CSE stream. While 1,766 students opted for Electronics and Communication Engineering, only 478 chose mechanical engineering; for civil engineering, it was a meagre 245. This was revealed in the provisional seat allotment list, released by the TNEA on Tuesday for the first round.

Of the 14,842 students who had been called for first-round counselling, 10,187 (68.6 per cent) were allotted seats. That’s almost seven per cent rise from last year’s figures. Experts attributed this rise to 100 per cent pass percentage in Class XII results. “More students are interested in studying engineering,” said S Senthil, a faculty member of a private engineering college.

A major concern among experts is the waning popularity of government colleges. As per data available after the first round, government institutions, except for the College of Engineering Guindy (CEG) and the MIT campus of the Anna University, failed to attract top rank holders.

“There are not many takers for institutes like Alagappa College of Technology (ACTECH), Annamalai University, and the University College of Engineering. Only 286 of the 487 seats at ACTECH, 600 of the 640 seats at MIT, and 833 of the 902 seats at CEG were filled after the first round,” said career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi. He attributed the trend to poor infrastructure, lack of advanced laboratories, and lack of tie-ups with corporate bodies.

Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi, and two private colleges, SSN college of Engineering and Thiagarajar College of Engineering feature among the five most-preferred colleges in the first round.

Show us data to justify quota in promotion: SC

Show us data to justify quota in promotion: SC

Says SC, ST Representation Must’ve Risen

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:06.10.2021

Observing that reservation in promotion for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes cannot go on indefinitely but only till they are adequately represented, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to place data before it to justify continuance of the quota.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, Sanjiv Khanna and BR Gavai, which is examining the validity of the Centre’s decision to continue with the policy of reservation in promotion, asked attorney general KK Venugopal and ASG Balbir Singh repeatedly whether any exercise has been undertaken by the Centre after 1997 to find out the proportion of SC/ST employees in central government jobs.

‘Revert to NEET-SS pattern in 24 hours’

Lamenting that medical education has become a “business” aimed at filling up seats of private colleges, the Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the Centre, National Medical Commission and National Board of Examination 24 hours to reinstate the old question pattern of NEET-Super Speciality exams for 2021-22, reports Dhananjay Mahapatra. P 4

Need justification for reservation in promotion, says SC

The bench is hearing a plea of the Centre challenging the Delhi high court order quashing its notification granting reservation in promotion for SC/ST employees beyond the five-year period the Supreme Court had stipulated in the Indra Sawhney case.

“What exercise has the government done after 1997 to find out adequacy or inadequacy of their representation to continue with reservation in promotion... After a particular period of time, representation of SCs/STs is bound to to be more than 15 and 7.5%. We want to find out whether any exercise was undertaken by the government to get quantifiable data. Where is the data which say that there is deficiency in representation to justify reservation in promotion. Show us the data,” said the bench.

“How would you justify reservation in promotion? You are talking only about principles but not about data. There must be some justification for continuing with reservation in promotion,” the bench told the ASG.

As the court insisted, the AG said he would get back on Wednesday on whether there was quantifiable data of SC/ ST representation.

However, Venugopal told the court that in 1965, the percentage of SC and ST staff in central government jobs was 3.34% and 0.62% respectively which has risen to 17.5% and 6.82%. He said the SC-ST representation was more in Group C and Group D categories of jobs and less in A and B categories. The AG also contended that adequate representation means that their share in the government jobs should be proportionate to their share in the population.

In 2017, the Delhi high court had quashed the notification on a batch of pleas filed by general category government employees who approached the court through their lawyer Kumar Parimal. The HC accepted his submission that such a move made under Article 16 (4A) was not permissible without adequate data to prove inadequacy of representation and backwardness. The HC quashed the department of personnel and training’s Office Memorandum dated August 13, 1997.

SC said govt is talking only about principles but not about data

What exercise has the govt done after 1997 to find out adequacy or inadequacy of their (SC, ST) representation to continue with reservation in promotion... Show us the data. You are talking only about principles but not about data. There must be some justification for continuing with reservation in promotion

—SC bench to Centre

Only 500 allowed for Mys Dasara finale; -ve cert must

Only 500 allowed for Mys Dasara finale; -ve cert must

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru/Mysuru:06.10.2021

With the Dasara festival beginning on Thursday, the Karnataka government on Tuesday said only a maximum of 500 people will be allowed to attend Jumboo Savari (elephant procession) on Vijaya Dashami that marks the culmination of the nine-day festival at Mysuru Palace on October 15.

Guidelines issued by the government mandate a negative RT-PCR test report and at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine for officers and staff on duty and artists who perform at the festival.

Other attendees must wear facemask, maintain distance and ensure hand hygiene, the guidelines said.

Experts agree with WHO on booster shots

Are booster shots necessary after the two-jab course? Top scientists and virologists have concurred with the WHO view that Covid-19 vaccine booster doses may be needed only if there is evidence of insufficient protection against the virus over time. P 2

MYSURU DASARA

One vax dose a must for all participants, say guidelines

The local administration led by the district minister was urging the chief minister to allow at least 1,000 participants for the Dasara finale. But the CM turned down the request on the advice of the Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee. Last year, 50 participants and 300 viewers were allowed for cultural events in the festival.

Senior BJP functionary and former Congress chief minister SM Krishna will inaugurate the state’s flagship event atop Chamundi Hills on Thursday morning. Number of attendees for this event is restricted to 100.

According to guidelines, all participants, including government officials, will be asked to possess a negative RTPCR report (from a test done after October 4) to be allowed into the venues. They should have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine and carry proof of the same, the order read.

The order said that “strict compliance with the guidelines” was necessary to “prevent the spread of Covid-19” and added that the events which cannot be held with proper social distancing will remain cancelled.

Though a low-key Dasara due to Covid-19 restrictions, all events, including the inauguration, Jumboo Savari, cultural events and the Vijayadashami procession, will be livestreamed so that people are not deprived of the annual cultural events. “Arrangements have been made to use social-media platforms to telecast the events real time,” Mysuru district minister ST Somashekar said.

Heavy police security will be ensured at important venues where cultural events will take place.

How depression & anxiety affect the body

How depression & anxiety affect the body

Mental Stress Can Aid Disease, Hit Fightback

Jane E. Brody

06.10.2021

It’s no surprise that when a person gets a diagnosis of heart disease, cancer or some other life-limiting or life-threatening physical ailment, they become anxious or depressed. But the reverse can also be true: Undue anxiety or depression can foster the development of a serious physical disease, and even impede the ability to withstand or recover from one.

The human organism does not recognise the medical profession’s artificial separation of mental and physical ills. Rather, mind and body form a two-way street. What happens inside a person’s head can have damaging effects throughout the body, as well as the other way around. An untreated mental illness can significantly increase the risk of becoming physically ill, and physical disorders may result in behaviours that make mental conditions worse.

In studies that tracked how patients with breast cancer fared, for example, Dr David Spiegel and his colleagues at Stanford University School of Medicine showed decades ago that women whose depression was easing lived longer than those whose depression was getting worse. His research and other studies have clearly shown that “the brain is intimately connected to the body and the body to the brain,” Spiegel said in an interview. “The body tends to react to mental stress as if it was a physical stress.”

Many people are reluctant to seek treatment for emotional ills. Some people with anxiety or depression may fear being stigmatized, even if they recognize they have a serious psychological problem. Many attempt to self-treat their emotional distress by adopting behaviours like drinking too much or abusing drugs, which only adds insult to their preexisting injury. And sometimes, family members and friends inadvertently reinforce a person’s denial of mental distress by labeling it as “that’s just the way he is” and do nothing to encourage them to seek professional help.

Anxiety disorders affect nearly 20% of US adults. That means millions are beset by an overabundance of the fightor-flight response that primes the body for action. When you’re stressed, the brain responds by prompting the release of cortisol, nature’s builtin alarm system. It evolved to help animals facing physical threats by increasing respiration, raising the heart rate and redirecting blood flow from abdominal organs to muscles that assist in confronting or escaping danger.

These actions stem from the neurotransmitters epinephrine and norepinephrine, which stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and put the body on high alert. But when they are invoked too often and indiscriminately, the chronic overstimulation can result in all manner of physical ills, including indigestion, cramps, diarrhea or constipation, and an increased risk of heart attack or stroke.

“Depression diminishes a person’s capacity to analyze and respond rationally to stress,” Spiegel said. “They end up in a vicious cycle with limited capacity to get out of a negative mental state.” Potentially making matters worse, undue anxiety and depression often coexist, leaving people vulnerable to a panoply of physical ailments and an inability to adopt with needed therapy.

According to Dr John Frownfelter, treatment for any condition works better when doctors understand “the pressures patients face that affect their behavior and result in clinical harm.” NYT NEWS SERVICE

EMOTIONAL ILLS