Weightage for internal marks in engineering up from 20% to 40%

Weightage for internal marks in engineering up from 20% to 40%

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:12.11.2021

For students of affiliated colleges of Anna University stuttering at 60% overall fail rate, here is some good news. The university’s new regulation for 2021 has doubled the internal assessment weightage for awarding marks from 20% to 40%. The cumulative grade point average (CGPA) for getting first class has also been brought down from 7 CGPA to 6.5 CGPA. Just 25% of engineering students cleared all the subjects in the first semester in January 2019, shows data.

The new regulation also allows students to take a study break for up to a year for job or entrepreneurship and has scrapped a 2017 rule that mandated students to compulsorily complete arrears in four attempts. Students can also do up to two online courses in a semester against one course under current rule.

“Earlier, study break was allowed only on medical grounds,” an official said.

Theory courses with lab to have 50:50 weightage

The new changes were part of the plan to impart uniformity in engineering education. While affiliated colleges follow an 80%:20% weightage system for end-semester exams and internal tests, at autonomous colleges and university departments it is 60%:40% and 50%: 50%.

As per the new regulation, theory courses with laboratory components will have 50%:50% weightage for end-semester exams and internal assessment. For laboratory courses, it will be 60% for internal assessment in end-semester exams.

The number of internal assessments has been cut from 3 to 2 per semester. “There will be two internal assessments in each semester, each for 100 marks. An individual assignment or case study or seminar or mini project will carry 40 marks while a written test will be for 60 marks. The candidate’s score for 200 marks will be converted to 40 marks.” End-semester exams will be for 100 marks and the score will be converted into 60 marks.

Anna University vicechancellor R Velraj said, “The new regulations will give more flexibility to students.”

As per the earlier regulation, students must complete arrears in four attempts or redo the course in fifth semester.

The university has also allowed students to appear for arrears in subsequent semesters.

P Deiva Sundari, principal, KCG College of Technology, said, “The increase in weightage for internal assessment including assignment and case studies, mini projects will help students get more active learning. It has given more space for outcome-based education.”

The university also introduced a new grade “C”. “Students who clear the exam with 50 marks will get C grade,” an official said. It has included science club, literary club and fine arts club apart from NCC and NSS to inculcate scientific temper among students.

Velachery, Madipakkam inundated for 2nd time this week

Velachery, Madipakkam inundated for 2nd time this week

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:12.11.2021

The respite from Sunday’s rains was shortlived for residents of several neighbourhoods in Velachery, suburban Madipakkam, Puzhuthivakkam, Adambakkam and surrounding areas as they once again woke up to flooded streets on Thursday. Water entered the ground floor of several houses in low lying areas.

While main roads were not entirely flooded, some stretches along Madipakkam Main Road, Sabari Salai and Velachery Main Road had more than 4ft of water, making commuting in vehicles difficult.

Traffic movement was cut off on a small stretch of Puzhuthivakkam Main Road near the Corporation Zone 14 office and cars from low lying areas in Madipakkam and Velachery were back on the flyover on Thursday.

Interior roads and low-lying residential neighbourhoods bore the brunt of the rain. In Velachery, Ram Nagar, AGS Colony, Dhandeeswaram, Tansi Nagar, Vijayanagar, Selva Nagar, Bhuvaneswari Nagar were completely inundated.

“Some of us took refuge in neighbour’s houses on the first floor. Authorities had stationed boats and rescued the elderly and those willing to move to safety,” said K Ramanathan of AGS Colony.

Residents of Otteri Salai, Nethaji Street and New India Colony Road in Puzhuthivakkam and Ram Nagar (north) in Madipakkam were among the worst affected as water entered the ground floor of several homes. “Authorities did a poor job by not overseeing contractors, who take up storm water drain work. The drains were not deep enough and hence their water carrying capacity was reduced, leading to flooding. There has to be some kind of accountability,” said M Patel, a software engineer who stays in Otteri Salai.

Officials said water from most areas was diverted to nearby waterbodies —Madipakkam lake and Puzhuthivakkam lake, but the houses which are below the road level were inundated. “The problem in these areas is that storm water drains from several areas are diverted through these channels to drain into Pallikaranai marsh. In case of heavy rain, the capacity of the drain is exceeded and water starts seeping out from manholes too,” an official with zone 14 said.

HC: CMRL has no authority to penalise mask-less commuters

HC: CMRL has no authority to penalise mask-less commuters

Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:12.11.2021

The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) cannot levy ₹200 as penalty on commuters found without masks, as the Madras high court has restrained CMRL from doing so for want of authority.

“The best-intentioned actions, not backed by the authority of law, cannot stand. Though the intention of CMRL is laudable, it lacks authority to impose and collect fines,” the court said on Thursday.

The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu, passing orders on a PIL moved by advocate R Muthukrishnan, said: “…the authority to impose such a penalty could not have been appropriated by the CMRL without the law governing the CMRL expressly conferring jurisdiction on such a body to impose a penalty.”

If at all, the state may have imposed such a penalty, assuming that the ordinance and the subsequent enactment were and are valid by treating a metro station and metro coach as public places.

However, just because the state had the authority to impose the penalty, it would not imply that CMRL could draw therefrom or had the power or jurisdiction to impose such a fine, however well-intentioned the same may have been, the court added.

As to ₹87,000 penalty already collected by CMRL, the court said, “Since the quantum appears to be rather meagre, CMRL is permitted to retain the amount.”

No response on helplines a concern

No response on helplines a concern

Saranya.Chakrapani@timesgroup.com

12.11.2021

Days after the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) released helpline numbers to reach people in inundated neighbourhoods, and appointed senior IAS officers to oversee relief work, complaints are cropping up on how calls are not being followed up on, or responded to.

Rama Prabhakar, a resident of Mandaiveli’s Srinivasan Street, woke up to almost three feet of water flooding the road outside her home on Thursday. It entered the ground floor of their apartment in no time, ruining furniture and electronics devices. The family says they lodged a complaint on GCC’s Namma Chennai app in the morning and called their helpline 1913 soon after that. “They answered our calls and acknowledged our complaint, but didn’t follow up.

“By afternoon, their lines had gone busy and we had to pump out the water ourselves, when the rains subsided,” says Rama.

Several residents also alleged that they were asked to wait until the rain subsided before water could be pumped out of their homes. Angry residents in neighbourhoods like Korattur and Shanmugam Pillai Street in Mylapore said that their homes were inundated with sewage-contaminated rainwater and no action was taken despite persistent calls to the GCC helpline. Yamini Thirumaran, a resident of Perumal Mudali Street in Royapettah said that she had shared photos of an uninhabited bungalow’s compound wall that had broken into their premises and a large broken tree branch that was precariously hanging over their roof, with the local IAS officer, but never heard back. “When we called 1913, our complaint was brushed off,” she said. While the ‘100’ Police helpline too remained busy for most part of the day, in neighbourhoods like Teynampet and parts of south Chennai like Sholinganallur, GCC and supervising officials were appreciated for being prompt with complaints.

The Tangedco helpline 9498794987 too came under attack on Thursday, after residents from various parts of the city alleged that they were unable to reach them throughout the day.

Deputy Commissioner of Education, D Sneha, from the control room, said inundation around distribution transformers prevented them from restoring power in some neighbourhoods. She added that these areas are being prioritised.

RESIDENTS SAID WHEN THEY CALLED HELPLINES, THEY WERE ASKED TO WAIT UNTIL THE RAIN SUBSIDED

Woman cop, who carried sick man on shoulder, is now an internet sensation

Woman cop, who carried sick man on shoulder, is now an internet sensation

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

12.11.2021

Inspector Rajeshwari of T P Chathiram, who was clearing an uprooted tree, received a call about a man lying unconscious at a cemetery at 8.30 pm. She rushed there believing the man would could be saved. A tree had fallen on him during the incessant rain that lashed Chennai.

The cop carried him on her shoulders to reach an autorickshaw which she had arranged for a hospital. In a 2-minute video that has now gone viral, Rajeshwari can be seen running frantically, carrying the man on her shoulders and shouting out to her colleagues there that he should be saved at any cost. She had covered him with blanket.

The man, identified as 28-year-old Udhayakumar, was admitted to an ICU and is said to be recovering well.i

Inspector Rajeshwari’s is no stranger to selfless public service. She had led a team that investigated sexual assault on a 11-year-old girl by over a dozen men in Ayanavaram in Chennai in 2018. In 1992, Rajeshwari received an appreciation letter for her exemplary work for saving lives in the Mahamaham stampede.

Senior police officers remember Rajeswari for her courage and humility. She was the only non-IPS officer to receive an award at a police conference a few years ago in Thrissur. She is known for rescuing destitute women.

A native of Theni district, Rajeshwari has emptied all her savings buying clothes and food every week for destitutes.

“I feel I should have some purpose in life and that would be helping the poor. It is more satisfying than anything else,” said Rajeshwari.

Cab rates up as public transport crippled

Cab rates up as public transport crippled

Ram Sundaram & Ayyappan V | TNN

12.11.2021

Demand for recovery and towing vehicles was high on Thursday as several vehicles got stuck in water-logged areas across the city.

“We received close to 25 rescue calls. But we are able to attend only half of them because of the excess rain. Majority of the calls were from Kodambakkam, Vadapalani, Arumbakkam and Taramani areas,” said S Renjith Kumar from OMR Towing Services in Perungudi. It cost ₹1,600 to ₹2,500 to recover a car.

Not just private vehicles, such agencies were instrumental in recovering even autos and taxis, which were the only form urban commute available in interior areas as public transportation crippled.

In some places, autos and cabs charged up to ₹900 for 10-km trips. “We did not have an option as not many were willing to enter our area,” said Inbarajan, a resident of Perambur.

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), Chennai has suspended services of close to 1,000 buses, according to official data.

MTC managed to operate 1,600 buses to help those leaving for work. But nearly threefourths among them were unable to complete the trips on time and come gor.

Long-distance buses too struggled to reach Chennai as parts of Madurantakam and Tambaram (along Chennai-Trichy highway) got inundated. So, buses had to wait for rain and wind speed to reduce for a safer commute. It extended travel time by at least 90 to 120 minutes on Thursday afternoon.

As far as trains were concerned, suburban services were delayed after tracks got flooded near Ambattur and Avadi along the Chennai-Thiruvallur route. However, railways cancelled only three services and operated the rest of the trains. But many of the services on Tambaram and Gummidipoondi route were delayed.

The Basin Bridge yard was flooded making it difficult for the staff to check trains and get them ready for service from Central. Long-distance express trains were operated as per schedule. As more rain is forecast, railways will operate suburban services on Sunday’s schedule on Friday.

Depression leaves city bruised; low-pressure likely tomorrow

Depression leaves city bruised; low-pressure likely tomorrow

14 Dead Across TN; Several Core City Areas Flooded

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:12.11.2021

The unrelenting showers that battered the city and northern regions of Tamil Nadu all through the night on Thursday slowed down later in the day as the depression over the Bay of Bengal crossed the coast near Chennai by evening.

The heavy rain and release of surplus water from dams, about 13,000 cusecs, has transformed several areas in the city into a water body with streets swirling with deluge and trash.

While at least 14 people were killed in rain-related incidents in the state so far, more than 1,000 tenements, mostly huts, suffered damage across Tamil Nadu.

IMD has forecast a new lowpressure over the south Andaman Sea on November 13 (Saturday). It will move northwest and become more marked around Monday. “The depression crossed the north Tamil Nadu coast close to Chennai between 5.30pm and 6.30pm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 45-55kmph gusting to 65kmph. It is very likely to move west-northwestwards and weaken gradually into a well-marked low pressure area on Friday morning,” said S Balachandran, DDG, IMD and added that the red alert for Chennai and neighbouring districts has been withdrawn.

The overnight rain left streets flooded in T Nagar, K K Nagar, Alwarpet, Velachery, and OMR, disrupted power supply, and uprooted 267 trees. On Thursday, 523 locations were water logged but only 68 could be cleared. Two roads, R K Mutt road in Mandaveli and Thirumalaipillai road in T Nagar, have caved in. The authorities used 55 boats to rescue the stranded and 570 motor pumps were used to pump out water. Eight subways still remain flooded.

Tambaram registered 23cm, Ennore 21cm, Nungambakkam 16cm and Meenambakkam 14cm. This was the second big spell after last weekend when Nungambakkam registered a record 22cm and Meenambakkam 11cm.