City to get rain for four days next week: IMD Chennai Recorded 191% Excess This Month

City to get rain for four days next week: IMD Chennai Recorded 191% Excess This Month 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 19.10.2024

Chennai : A disturbance in the atmosphere may bring rain back to the city and north Tamil Nadu from next week. IMD officials said a trough might bring rain spells to north coastal and north interior Tamil Nadu for at least four days next week. For the next two days, the city and the suburbs may receive light to moderate intensity rain. The agency has also forecast a low pressure to form over the Bay of Bengal and intensify into a depression. Bloggers suggested that the system might skip the city. “An east-west trough may bring rainfall from Oct 21. North coastal and north interior districts may get rainfall for four days,” said an IMD official. 

The agency has also forecast that a fresh upper air cyclonic circulation is likely to form over the North Andaman Sea around Oct 20. Under its influence, a low pressure area is likely to form over the central Bay of Bengal around Oct 22. The system is likely to move northwestwards and intensify into a depression by Oct 24. Private forecasters earlier said the system might move towards the Odisha coast, which may lead to a marginal rise in temperature in the city as the winds may be concentrated around the weather system. “The system will be above our Chennai latitude when it enters the Andaman Sea. If the low pressure remains weak, it will be pushed towards Tamil Nadu by low-level easterlies. Mostly, it will intensify and move up,” blogger Pradeep John said in his post. Since Oct 1, Nungambakkam recorded 32 cm and Meenambakkam 27 cm. The Chennai subdivision recorded 30 cm, which is around 191% excess. During the same time, Tamil Nadu recorded 14 cm, around 73% excess.

Toxicity has been infused into the minds of people of Tamil Nadu over last 50 years, says Governor

Toxicity has been infused into the minds of people  of Tamil Nadu over last 50 years, says Governor

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI 19.10.2024

Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi on Friday said that there had been consistent attempts to isolate Tamil Nadu from the rest of the country, and that a lot of toxicity had been infused into the minds of the people over the past 50 years.

Speaking at the valedictory of the Hindi Month celebrations and the golden jubilee of Doordarshan Chennai, he said that he had visited every part of the State in the last three years and interacted with students of schools and colleges. While doing so, he had observed a growing enthusiasm among people for learning Hindi.

“The students of Tamil Nadu speak more refined Hindi than I do,” he added.

According to him, Hindi is not a language of imposition, and every language of the country should be celebrated. Some of the oldest universities, like Alagappa University and Annamalai University, were established by great philanthropists with the intention of teaching students Tamil and Sanskrit simultaneously, but today, Sanskrit departments were closed at these institutions, he said.

‘Cultural capital’

Mr. Ravi said that Tamil Nadu had always been a spiritual and cultural capital, and an inspiration for the other parts of the country.

“Toxic policies cannot separate Tamil Nadu from India and, in the last 50 years, a lot of toxicity has been infused into the minds of the people of Tamil Nadu,” he alleged.

“Out of 28 States in India, 27 have the three-language policy and Tamil Nadu is the only State that does not follow it. They do not want any other Indian language to enter the State. They want to break the communication of people of Tamil Nadu from the rest of the country,” Mr. Ravi said.

He said that according to the Annual Status of Education Report, 78% of government high school students could not read the textbooks of Class II.

“Doordarshan has the significant role of providing correct information to the people as most of the channels are compromised here,” he said.

CM justifies criticising Ravi citing his past attacks on Dravidianism

CM justifies criticising Ravi citing  his past attacks on Dravidianism

Why didn’t the Governor raise an objection when the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu was not sung in its entirety, at the very stage where the omission was made, asks Stalin. He recalls past instances of Ravi belittling Dravidian ideology and Tamil Nadu

The Hindu Bureau

Chennai 19.10.2024

Hours after Governor R.N. Ravi said he regretted Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s “racist remark” against him in the wake of a row over the omission of a verse on the glory of the Dravidian land during a rendition of the State song at an official function of DD Chennai, the Chief Minister stood his ground.

Reacting to Mr. Ravi’s statement, Mr. Stalin asked why the Governor did not raise an objection when the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu was not sung in its entirety, at the very stage where the omission was made, if it were true that he had indeed rendered the song with reverence.

The Governor could have corrected it then and there, he said. “If you [Governor] had done that, would there have been this reaction,” he asked.

Mr. Stalin went on to recall past instances of the Governor having made remarks belittling the Dravidian ideology and Tamil Nadu. “How could we forget you saying the State should not be called ‘Tamil Nadu’, but ‘Tamilagam’? You said it was the British who introduced the term ‘Dravidam’,” he said.

Referring to an interview in which the Governor said the Dravida model was an expired ideology, Mr. Stalin said, “This hatred has since developed, reaching all the way to the Tamil Thai Vaazhthu.”

If the Governor loved Tamil, why did he release an image of poet-saint Tiruvalluvar in saffron robes, Mr. Stalin asked, and accused the Governor of not adhering to convention and speaking about politics on a daily basis.

“What kind of political civility is it to convert the Raj Bhavan into a political office or to belittle the Dravidian race,” Mr. Stalin asked.

The Chief Minister called out the Governor for having avoided mentioning the names of late social reformer ‘Periyar’ E.V. Ramasamy, architect of the Constitution B.R. Ambedkar, and former Chief Ministers K. Kamaraj, C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi during his customary address to the Assembly.

“If someone holding a Constitutional post becomes a puppet of a sectarian gang and intends to sow the seeds of sectarian ideas in the Tamil land, the people of Tamil Nadu would pour hot water on the idea,” he said.

“If you intend to continue in the post of the Governor, I request you to free yourself from the clutches of sectarian forces and discharge your duties enshrined in the Constitution,” the Chief Minister said.

HC to decide on death sentence to 4

HC to decide on death sentence to 4

The Hindu Bureau

MADURAI 19.10.2024

Hearing a referred trial, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday ordered notice to four persons awarded death sentence by the Special Court for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act Cases in Tirunelveli for the murder of three Scheduled Caste men.

A Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Poornima ordered notice to Ponnumani, Gurusamy, Muthukrishnan and Kaliraj who were awarded death sentence by the trial court and sought to ascertain whether appeals had been preferred against the trial court verdict.

The matter was posted for hearing to November 11.

The special court awarded death sentence to the four persons and life imprisonment to seven others for murdering three Scheduled Caste men at Udaippankulam in June 2014.

University’s staff union protests against delayed audit certificates

University’s staff union protests against delayed audit certificates

The Hindu Bureau

TIRUCHI 19.10.2024

Over 300 administrative staff of the Bharathidasan University (BDU) are on a sit-in protest on the varsity campus in Tiruchi since Thursday condemning non-issuance of audit certificates to retired employees.

According to a statement on Friday by Bharathidasan University Staff Welfare Association (BUSWA) since 2022, 33 outgoing administrative workers of the institution had not been issued audit certificates to make them eligible to claim their retirement benefits.

“The situation is dire as these benefits can help ease the financial burden faced by retirees. Despite furnishing all the required papers, A. Mubarak, assistant director (in-charge) of the Finance Department, is not issuing the audit certificates for two years,” M. Arunachalam, secretary, BUSWA, said in the statement.

Officials’ assurance

The sit-in protest began on Thursday afternoon and went on until midnight with the authorities promising to discuss the issue in the presence of senior local administration officials the following day.

On Friday evening, negotiations between the protesting staff and a team of officials, including the Regional Joint Director of Collegiate Education, Revenue Divisonal Officer, BDU controller of examinations, and police officers remained inconclusive.

The statement added that in view of the stalemate, administrative staff would stay away from preparations for BDU’s convocation ceremony scheduled to be held on October 29.

UGC’s draft guidelines for academic leaders inspired by ‘traditional wisdom’

UGC’s draft guidelines for academic leaders inspired by ‘traditional wisdom’

The guidelines stress on personal and institutional development for leadership.

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi  19.10.2024

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved the draft guidelines for institutional leadership development for higher education institutions (HEIs). The draft takes inspiration from the traditional wisdom of kaal, sthan, and patra (time, era/context, and the actor) to nurture leadership in academic institutions.

Commenting on the draft, UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar said nurturing and promoting leadership within HEIs was essential for navigating the complexities of running them. He added that the draft offered a comprehensive framework to develop the next generation of academic leaders. “These guidelines emphasise the importance of both personal and institutional development to foster effective leadership,” Mr. Kumar said.

Key areas addressed include the blend of artistry and science in leadership, underscoring the need for mentorship, continuous learning, and a deep understanding of the unique dynamics within each institution. According to the draft, leadership must balance administrative responsibilities with encouraging innovation, inclusivity, and industry collaboration.

The guidelines encourage institutions to develop tailored leadership programmes that meet local and national challenges, focusing on skill development, strategic visioning, and adaptive leadership. The effort is in line with the National Education Policy, 2020 and highlights the need to prepare faculty for leadership roles to adapt to new educational structures, such as multidisciplinary approaches, autonomy, and introducing an academic bank of credits.

The guidelines recommend a holistic approach by integrating leadership systems with personal development.

3% DA hike for government employees and teachers announced

3% DA hike for government employees and teachers announced

The Hindu Bureau

CHENNAI 19.10.2024

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday announced a 3% hike in the Dearness Allowance (DA) for government employees and teachers. The hike would be implemented with retrospective effect from July 1.

The move followed a similar announcement made by the Union government, an official press release said.

16 lakh to benefit

About 16 lakh government employees, teachers, pensioners, and family pensioners are expected to benefit from the Tamil Nadu government’s announcement.

The State government would incur an additional annual expenditure of ₹1,931 crore due to the announcement, the press release said.