Slapped with fines for cooking and eating it near the administrative block in June
The Jawaharlal Nehru University authorities have slapped fines on four students for flouting rules of the institution by preparing ‘biryani’ near the administrative block.
According to a notice issued by Chief Proctor Kaushal Kumar, fines between Rs. 6,000 and Rs. 10,000 have been slapped on the four students who allegedly prepared ‘biryani’ near the building in June.
“In a proctorial inquiry you have been found guilty of cooking food (biryani) near the stairs in front of the admin block and eating it thereafter along with other students,” the order said, adding that the act was serious in nature and calls for strict disciplinary action.
Warning the students to not involve in such activities in future, the order also set a deadline of 10 days for paying the fine, failing which more stringent action would be taken.
The Chief Proctor of the varsity was not available for comments.
To penalise the students, the order invoked a clause in JNU rules that deals with any act that may be considered by the Vice-Chancellor or any other competent authority to be violation of discipline and conduct.
One of the students, former students’ union general secretary Satarupa Chakraborty, who was slapped a fine of Rs. 10,000, was also found guilty of holding a protest demonstration and shouting slogans in the V-C’s office on the same day before cooking ‘biryani’.
On June 27, the then students’ union president Mohit Kumar Pandey and general secretary Ms. Chakraborty went to the V-C’s office to discuss some student-related issues and refused to leave till he heard them out. “Does a university proctor office run to monitor who cooks and eats biryani in a residential campus like JNU where such activities are a well-cherished practice, part of the culture and help build up community bonding among students coming from across the country,” Ms. Chakraborty asked.
Price surge seen as direct result of a three-day maintenance at Delhi airport
Air fares on the Delhi-Mumbai route soared for the second day on Thursday, with last minute economy class tickets selling for Rs. 15,000 each way. The price surge is seen as a direct result of a three-day maintenance leading to the closure of one runway at Delhi airport, and rising air pollution levels in the National Capital Region (NCR) which have resulted in cancellation of several non-stop flights.
Prices for Delhi-Mumbai flights for Friday, on online ticketing portal Cleartrip, showed that an the cost of a ticket on the 8 a.m. Jet Airways flight was Rs. 28,490 (economy) and Rs. 42,698 (business). An 8.30 a.m. Indigo flight ticket was priced at Rs. 25,093, while tickets on a 4 a.m. Air India flight — considered to be a red-eye flight — were selling for Rs. 19,717. Fares on Indigo’s flights between 9.30 a.m. and 10.35 a.m. were available for slightly lesser at Rs. 16,000.
Makemytrip, another online booking portal, showed early Friday morning tickets (before 6 a.m.) starting from Rs. 12,971 tapering down to Rs. 9,832 (6 a.m. to 12 noon) and Rs. 8,587 (after 6 p.m.).
In a statement, Balu Ramachandran, head, air and distribution, Cleartrip, said: “Delhi-Mumbai is among the busiest air routes in the country from both leisure and corporate travel perspectives. The runway closure in Delhi resulted in reduced flights and hence operating flights have high load factor. The last-minute fares skyrocketed as a result of this supply crunch.”
Mr. Ramachandran added that there was a drop in the bookings from Delhi compared to the daily average. “We have seen a 4.9% drop in bookings for air travel originating in Delhi between November 7 and 10. There is also a 5% increase in cancellations,” he added.
The GMR-led Delhi International Aviation Limited in an official statement announcing the closure of the runway had said, “IGI Airport’s runway 11/29 will remain closed from 12 a.m. on November 7 to 7 a.m. on November 10.”
From failing Class X to a distinction. How this Bihar girl challenged the board by approaching the Patna HC
DNA WEB TEAM | Updated: Oct 21, 2017, 06:02 PM IST, DNA webdesk
When the class 10 results were declared earlier this year, the board had failed Priyanka in the two subjects with 29 in science and 4 in Sanskrit.
In another case that highlights the ineptitude of the Bihar board, a Class X girl who had been failed by the board in two subjects - science and Sanskrit - has won a case against the board after the Patna High Court intervened. The board has also been ordered to pay the girl Rs 5 lakh as compensation.
According to an NDTV report, Priyanka Singh scored 29 in science and 4 in Sanskrit. Singh, however, knew she had fared better in the examinations and had even applied for a revaluation. However, in her revised scores, her Sanskrit scores rose from 4 to 9 and science dropped from 29 to 7.
The girl then approached the Patna High Court, which ordered her answer sheet to be produced. However, the court also noticed that her handwriting was different from the handwriting in the sheets. Officials then tried pass off her answer sheet as someone elses, but the court ordered them to revaluate the papers.
The board then conceded that she should have scored 80% in science and 61% in Sanskrit.
Bihar made international headlines in 2015 when parents and friends were seen scaling the walls of examination centres to pass cheat sheets to students taking their board exam. Then, last year, the state was reduced to splotchy blushes after it turned out that toppers in Class 12 had in fact hired others to impersonate them
Smog in Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari steps in, orders water sprinkling on highways
DNA CORRESPONDENT | Updated: Nov 9, 2017, 06:28 PM IST, DNA correspondent
In the wake smog-induced 'health emergency' in the Capital, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has ordered some tough measures to help reducing air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
The slew of measures include water sprinkling at all construction sites, covering of dumpers transporting construction waste including flyash, covering of exposed soil at the construction sites and adherence to air quality norms by all plants and machinery.
An official release stated that the roads and highways officials have been directed by the minister to inspect the construction sites regularly to ensure that all the pollution control measures are adhered to in a strict manner.
The roads minister also mentioned that a thorough research needs to be carried out to find the cause of the pollution.
He said, this year the smog has descended despite the ban on crackers and restrain on burning of crops, adding that the Road Transport and Highways Ministry will offer all help to carry out such a research.
The ministry has taken up a plethora of highway projects around Delhi NCR, including the Delhi-Meerut expressway and the eastern peripheral expressway surrounding Delhi.
The Haryana government is also constructing the western expressway or the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway slated to be inaugurated by March next year.
Both eastern and western peripheral expressways are aimed at halving Delhi traffic by diverting vehicles passing via the capital and thus bring down pollution significantly.
Delhi youth ordered 166 phones and claimed refunds: Here's how he duped Amazon
Shivam cheated Amazon India by obtaining refund against the order placed earlier for mobile phones
The Delhi Police have arrested a 21-year-old youth for duping famous e-commerce website Amazon.
According to the police, the accused, identified as Shivam Chopra, used to order expensive mobile phones and after getting them delivered, he used to register complaints of getting empty boxes to raise a refund. The Delhi Police have also recovered 25 mobile phones, claiming that he allegedly ordered 166 phones from April to May this year, which is yet to be recovered.
Shivam allegedly also purchased almost 150 pre-activated SIM cards to order the phones. According to the police, Shivam's friend Sachin Jain has also been arrested, who used to help him.
"Shivam cheated Amazon India by obtaining refund against the order placed earlier for mobile phones. He used to order costly mobile phones of different companies like Samsung, i-phone, 1 Plus, etc," DCP north-west Milind Mahadeo Dumbere said.
"The company alleged that a total of 166 orders for mobile phones were placed. All the orders were purchased by this perpetrator through gift cards and later, he cancelled the order to claim refunds, which were again refunded to him in the form of gift cards," Dumbere added
This doc is always ready for TT
By Thushara Ann Mathew | Express News Service | Published: 08th November 2017 10:32 PM |
CHENNAI: With over 15 years of experience in cosmetic and plastic surgery, Dr M Rajkumar is not an unknown name in his field. It was his father’s dream of setting up a hospital that he set out to fulfil, when Dr Rajkumar built GMR Hospital in. A man of very few words, the doctor’s passion towards medicine is evident in the way he doesn’t elaborate on what he does. CE caught up with the Dr M Rajkumar, MD, GMR Hospital(Mogappair and Anna Nagar), between his busy schedules. Excerpts follow:
You followed your father’s dreams, but did you always want to become a doctor?
Photo: P Jawahar
Honestly, I thought I would end up becoming an engineer. That’s what I wanted to study. I loved mathematics and would sit and solve problems and wanted to learn more. But then I wanted to fulfil my father’s dream, he always wanted to set up a hospital and wished to see me as a doctor, and serving people. And I did my duty and fulfilled his vision and am extremely happy to have taken this route
As a child, were you more into sports or cultural activities? Do you still follow that passion? In school, I used to play a lot of sports mostly. I loved to play different games, and was especially fascinated by Table Tennis. I even went on to play at district level. I still have a passion for the game and manage to play whenever there is time.
Do you have any fears or phobias?
I wouldn’t call it a phobia I guess, but I am extremely scared of cats and really am not very fond of them. In fact I am not very fond of animals or pets either.
What do you love most about the city?
Although I did my schooling in Vellore, I have been in the city for over the last 25 years. Home is where the heart is, and this is home. I love almost everything about the city. The theatres, beach, old statues, its old architecture, temples...the list just goes on. It’s a beautiful city with beautiful people.
Movies or books, what would you choose?
I would choose movies any day over books. I love watching movies and especially Tamil cinema has really fascinated me always. I am a huge fan of Rajinikanth and Nayanthara
Do you watch TV serials and reality shows? What is your opinion on that?
I don’t spend time to just watch serials, but when I sit down to eat and if my mother is watching then I just see them. I am not a huge fan of reality shows, especially Big Boss. I sat down with my daughter one day to watch it, because of all the hype, but immediately got up and left because I simply did not understand the concept behind it.
You mentioned your love for travelling; tell us a bit about it?
Oh yes, we love to travel as a family and make sure to go on at least one trip every year. I have been to Europe, Sikkim, Kashmir and so on. It is just really amazing to see different places and explore their culture and food. In fact it is on my bucket list to complete a tour of India. I would love to every nook and corner of this beautiful country.
Do you cook?
No, I cannot and don’t cook, but I love to eat (laughs). Biryani is my favourite dish and always would be hungry for a plate of it. I have tried different varieties of biryani and I love Ambur Star biriyani.
Passengers hit by fewer services as leaky MTC buses go to the workshop
By B Anbuselvan | Express News Service | Published: 09th November 2017 03:01 AM |
File: MTC buses | EPS
CHENNAI: It wasn’t just OLA or Uber, even Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus services were disrupted during the first spell of monsoon rains. While Chennai limped back to normalcy on Wednesday, commuters in the city had to face a lot of hardships as about 350 MTC bus services were cancelled in highly congested routes during the rains. Blame it on poor maintenance of vehicles and absence of MTC workers for the past four days.
Of the 350 buses, 230 were removed from the fleet due to roof leakage and damaged seats. Those buses were taken to their respective depots for repair work. Also, more than 100 conductors and drivers are yet to report for duty as their houses were damaged in the heavy rains, according to official sources. With a fleet capacity of 3,500 buses, the MTC caters to the 48 lakh population in the city and parts of Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts. The buses are operated along 833 routes from 33 depots.
During the last four days, there were fewer buses during rush hour at Tambaram, Chromepet, Poonamallee, Porur, Mangadu, Vandalur, Ayanavaram, Perambur, Kovilampakkam and Avadi areas, which subjected thousands of office-goers to hardship and forced many of them to opt for autos and cabs. “I regularly board 21G at Tambaram between 8 am and 9 to go to Alwarpet. As two bus services before 8.30 am were cancelled, the buses during morning hours were fully loaded. As there was no direct bus, we had to take two buses,” said K Venkatesan, a regular commuter from Tambaram.
The situation was no different for regular commuters who travel in T Nagar-Poonamalle (49A), Parrys-Tambaram (21G), Mandaveli-Poonamallee (54 F), Aynavaram-Besant Nagar (23C), Ambattur-Velachery (D70), Saidapet-Karani (51B), Perambur-Besant Nagar/Tiruvanmiyur (29C), Avadi-Anna square (27H) and MKB Nagar-Anna Square (2A) routes, as these bus services were also reduced.
Commuters demanded that the MTC develop a system to alert the passengers about cancellation of buses. “At a time when every government department uses social media to share information, what stops the MTC from sharing these details, asked K Rajendran of Mandaveli. He alleged that four services of 54F services have been cancelled in the morning hours since Monday.
However, MTC officials said that of 3,500 buses, they had managed to operate about 2,800 buses a day even during rainy season. “Most of the workers of MTC have returned to duty and about 95 per cent of scheduled services are operated,” claimed a senior official of the MTC.
The reasons for bus service disruption are plenty, said MTC unions. “According to Indian Road Congress, the average age of a bus is seven years or 6 lakh km, whichever is earlier. More than 80 per cent of the MTC fleet have exceeded the lifespan. Majority of MTC buses are not getting maintained properly due to lack of spare parts and shortage of technical staff. These buses will experience break down frequently during rainy days,” said K Natarajan, treasurer of Labour Progressive Federation.
Natarajan added that until new buses are added to the fleet, bus services in Chennai will not improve.
Pocket full of pink notes? Here’s why ATMs still dispense mostly Rs 2000 notes
By Nascimento Pinto | Online Desk | Published: 08th November 2017 11:21 AM |
Image used for representational purpose only.
What do you do if you want to pay your neighbourhood grocer or your autorickshaw driver? Bank ATMs continue to dispense mostly Rs 2,000 notes, one year since demonetisation, making it hard to get change for the pink note.
Vegetable vendors, auto drivers and small grocers seem to be the worst hit among city dwellers struggling for change. Bad mornings, they say, have become routine as either they or the customer tends to compromise or work on credit for lack of change.
So, why is it still difficult for the common man to get their hands on Rs 100 and Rs 500 notes even after one year of demonetisation? Darryl Sequeira, Bank Service Operations Manager at Yes Bank in Mumbai reveals, “There is no deficit of notes in the ATMs. But most banks prefer to load more of Rs 2,000 notes into ATMs so that they can cater to a larger number of people and dispense more money."
Confirming Sequeira’s revelations, a General Manager of Shamrao Vithal Cooperative (SVC) Bank Limited who does not wish to be named, said, “The bank’s main priority is to service more customers, and if there are more lower denomination notes, fewer people will get money (before the ATMs run out).” The math works this way. An ATM can dispense only 40 notes at a time. So, if you want to withdraw Rs 4,000 at the ATM, it can either dispense the amount as just two notes of Rs 2,000 each, or eight notes Rs 500 each or 40 notes of Rs 100 each (or a combination of denominations). So banks would rather fill up the ATMs with larger numbers of Rs 2000 notes than smaller denomination notes, as they can save time, money and manpower on refilling the ATM cassettes often.
The senior SVC bank official goes on to say that the number of transactions has gone up, and therefore the demand for lower denomination notes too, leading to scarcity. Whether this is because of demand naturally created by the need to provide change for the ubiquitous pink Rs 2,000 notes or whether it is because people are going back to using more cash than digital banking is unclear.
The dearth of Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes at ATMs could also be blamed on the logistics and schedules involved in re-filling of cash. "The availability of change also depends on the type of ATMs that customers are trying to withdraw from," says Sequeira. In a busy location, the ATM’s cash cassettes would have to be refilled twice a day; in less busy areas, they are filled only twice a week, while remote areas could be neglected while banks are busy focusing on keeping ATMs in areas of high transactions cash rich.
Inas, a Mumbai-based software developer for ATMs, who prefers to be known by a single name, sheds light on the back-end working of ATMs. “There are mainly two kinds of ATMs being used by banks - Indian and Japanese; most banks these days prefer the latter because they are known to better service customers. The availability of change also depends on whether the ATM is old or new because most old ones have two cassettes, while the newer ones have three cassettes,” he said.
The cassettes are used to place notes in the ATM, the amount of which is set by the bank through a software.
“Most banks use a combination of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500, or Rs 2,000 and Rs 100, thus creating a deficit for the third denomination, leading to the lack of necessary notes for customers in times of need,” said Inas.
Financial Software & Systems (FSS), a Chennai-based company that uses Base24, financial transactions managing software, does the back-end work with regard to ATM management. The software is maintained by project managers of the FSS and the ATMs are monitored by an FSS team that makes sure no machine runs out of cash. Once the number of notes have decreased to the last hundred, the team notifies the bank who then sends out their cash vans. And most banks have only two cash vans that cover an area with many ATMs depending on how big the branch is, says Inas.
Sacheth AS, a Mechanical engineer, one among thousands who have faced the pink note challenge say in and day out lets out his frustration. “It is impossible to get change at ATMs even after one year. I try all the machines but none of them seems to have Rs 100 and Rs 500, making it difficult for me to get change of Rs 50 and Rs 100 unless I go to a local supermarket. I have been successful in getting change at HDFC ATMs but that too is not always guaranteed," he says.
Local shopkeepers, tea shops and roadside food vendors on the other hand, have devised an easier though troublesome solution to deal with the situation using the earliest concept of ‘udhaar’ for convenience. They allow regular customers to buy on credit till the bill reaches a significant amount or mostly let them pay at the end of the month. However, the lack of ready cash at their disposal makes it difficult for them to make the purchases needed to sell their wares.
Demonetisation has certainly made the simple task of transacting through cash tougher than before.
Alliance Air pilot refuses to fly beyond duty hours, some passengers travel by road
By PTI | Published: 09th November 2017 09:06 PM |
(Photo: Air India website)
JAIPUR: Forty passengers of a Jaipur-Delhi flight of Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, had a harrowing time after the pilot refused to fly, saying his duty hours were over.
Officials said some of the passengers were taken to Delhi by road while others were provided hotel accommodation and the rest were sent in another flight this morning.
"The pilot's duty-time got over and therefore, he could not take the flight," said J S Balhara, director, Sanganer airport, Jaipur.
He said the pilot cannot exceed duty hours for safety reasons as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) norms.
"The pilot and crew of a flight coming from Delhi was scheduled to take the flight (9I-644) from Jaipur to Delhi last night. But, the flight from Delhi was delayed and landed at Jaipur at 1.30 am," a staff at the Air India station office said.
The pilot refused to fly due to duty limitations prescribed by the DGCA, he said.
Some of the passengers were accommodated in hotels, some were taken to Delhi by road and others were sent in another flight this morning, he added.
Centre raises House Building Advace limit for employees to Rs 25 lakhs
By Kumar Vikram | Express News Service | Published: 09th November 2017 10:32 PM |
Image used for representational purpose. (Reuters)
NEW DELHI: Now, the Central government employees will be able to get more money as loan to build or buy their houses. In the move which may give boost to sluggish realty sector, the government on Thursday raised the maximum amount that a Central government employee can borrow from the government to Rs 25 lakh from Rs 7.50 lakh earlier.
The move is going to benefit about 50 lakh Central government employees across the country.
A senior official of the ministry of union urban affairs said that the Government has revised the House Building Advance (HBA) rules for Central Government Employees incorporating the accepted recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.
“This attractive package is expected to incentivize the government employee to buy house or flat by taking the revised HBA if required. This will give a fillip to the Housing infrastructure sector,” added the officer.
With the revision, the cost ceiling limit of the house which a Central government employee can construct or purchase has been revised to Rs 1 crore with a provison of upward revision of 25% in deserving cases. The earlier cost ceiling limit was Rs 30 lakhs.
Moreover, both spouses, if they are central government employees, are now eligible to take HBA either jointly, or separately. Earlier only one spouse was eligible for House Building Advance.
Apart from this, there is a provision for individuals migrating from home loans taken from Financial Institutions or Banks to HBA, if they so desire.
Now onwards, the rate of Interest on Housing Building Advance shall be at only one rate of 8.50 % at simple interest(in place of the earlier four slabs of bearing interest rates ranging from 6% to 9.50% for different slabs of HBA which ranged from Rs.50,000 to Rs 7,50,000).
As per the rules, this rate of interest will be reviewed every three years. All cases of subsequent tranches or installments of HBA being taken by the employee in different financial years will be governed by the applicable rate of interest in the year in which the HBA was sanctioned, in the event of change in the rate of interest.
The rules said that there is no change in the payment schedule and employees can pay the principal first in the first 15 years and interest thereafter in next five years in monthly installments.
I-T raids on Jaya TV UPDATES | It's a plot to bar Sasikala from politics, claims TTV Dhinakaran; documents seized from old channel office
By Online Desk | Published: 09th November 2017 07:59 AM |
Jaya TV managing director and chief executive officer Vivek Jayaraman is the nephew of VK Sasikala. (Facebook Photo | Vivek Jayaraman)
CHENNAI: Income Tax officials today at 6 am raided the office of Tamil channel Jaya TV here, which is perceived to be politically disposed in favour of deposed AIADMK leaders V K Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran, over allegations of tax evasion and alleged money laundering via newly-floated shell companies.
Simultaneous raids began at several other places including the office of Dr Namadhu MGR newspaper, the mouthpiece of the AIADMK party and Jaya TV MD and Sasikala's nephew Vivek Jayaraman's residence here in the city.
I-T sources said the raids are being conducted in almost 200 places connected to Sasikala and her extended family spread across various states and cities, including Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad, Delhi and other places.
Income tax sources told agencies that the search is in connection with unexplained routing of cash post-demonetisation through shell companies connected with them as well as aspects like dubious investments, fund flow and fudging of accounts. The searches at the TV channel's accounts branch here is part of 'Operation Clean Money', sources told PTI.
Here are all the latest updates:
BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan said, "Why this hue and cry over these raids? If they are comfortable that the sources of their assets, they can show their accounts and settle the issue. The charge that I-T department is being used to suppress them is meaningless because BJP does not think that you (TTV Dhinakaran) is not a challenge to us politically. To say that IT raids are vindictive action just because the raids are happening in the places of politicians is a wrong perception."
"Since many suspicions are raised about the I-T raids, the department is duty bound to clarify the real picture to the people," said TMC founder GK Vasan.
VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan said, "Today’s I-T raids are perceived by the people as politically motivated; Using I-T raids as a tool intimidate those who oppose the ruling party will bring down the image of the institution called I-T Department." VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan.
The deputy coordinator of the AIADMK faction led by EPS-OPS, R Vaithilingam said, "Such raids are not new. Already, many times, such raids have taken place."
"If those being raided by IT department keep their accounts clean, there is no need to worry. The AIADMK has no connection with these raids," said Anwar Razza, MP, a supporter of AIADMK EPS-OPS faction.
Tamil Nadu's opposition leader MK Stalin questions why so many frequent I-T raids were being conducted in Tamil Nadu. " The Union Minister under whom Income Tax department falls and authorities of the department must explain the reason for frequent I-T raids in Tamil Nadu," said DMK working president, Stalin. He wants to officials to make public the action taken on earlier I-T raids in the state.
"A total of 187 places are being raided. 10 groups who were owning shell companies are identified. They have made large deposits in banks. Raids were conducted in Manargudi also and almost all premises belonging to associates of Diwakaran were raided," said a top I-T official to The New Indian Express.
Poes Garden residence of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa was not raided. But a place close to it, which earlier housed JJ TV is raided. It is believed to contain some documents. "We have seized huge documents during the raids today," an IT official told Express.
IT sources also confirmed that no raids happened at TTV Dhinakaran's house.
House of Poongundran, who was functioning as a personal secretary to former chief minister J Jayalalithaa was also raided by IT officials. His house is located at Nehru Nagar Third Street at Adyar in Chennai.
"A total of 187 places are being raided. 10 groups who were owning shell companies are identified. They have made large deposits in banks. Raids were conducted in Mannargudi also and almost all premises belonging to associates of Diwakaran were raided," said a top IT official to Express.
A six member IT officials conducting raids at residences of TNPSC member Balusamy, advocate Senthil, Pandiyan and a travels agency owner Balasubramaniam in Namakkal town from morning 10 am.
Thanga Thamizhselvan, supporter of TTV Dhinakaran and one of the 18 MLAs disqualified says "Why IT failed to raid in the premises of those names found in the diaries of Sekar Reddy and Anbunathan ? Why single out VK Sasikala and TTV relatives?"
Vettrivel, one of the disqualified MLA and a strong supporter of Dhinakaran, "It is an attempt to attach Jaya Tv and other properties."
Six IT officials including three from Puducherry are at the TTV Dhinakaran's farmhouse in Bhoomiyarpalayam in Villupuram district. Since AIADMK party men blocked the path by parking cars, a police team came to the spot and cleared the way. The IT officials walked for about 500 metres to reach the place.
"The raids are a plot to prevent Sasikala to continue in politics. We will face this and overcome this," said TTV Dhinakaran, the sidelined leader of TN's ruling AIADMK party at a press conference. He denied any raid in his house so far. He says that only a few officials came to his residence.
People are watching everything, they understand what is going on. If the Centre thinks they can destroy us by conducting such raids, they are day-dreaming: TTV Dhinakaran pic.twitter.com/oALm1R4PBq
People are watching everything, they understand what is going on. If the Centre thinks they can destroy us by conducting such raids, they are day-dreaming: TTV Dhinakaran
He said the IT department will look at routing of funds within India and there are other agencies that look at routing of funds outside India.
Ten groups of IT officials were involved in "the search exercise taking place across Tamil Nadu, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi and other places", an IT official told IANS preferring anonymity.
I-T raids at seven places in Coimbatore including the house of Armugasamy, a sand businessman based in Coimbatore.
I-T raid in the premises of Dhinakaran's house and an arts college located in Sundarakkottai near Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district.
Raid in six places at Mannargudi, where most of Sasikala's family hails from.
Since morning, police personnel have been deployed in front of Dinakaran's farmhouse at Bhoomiyarpalayam near Auroville in Villupuram district. Around 9.15 am I-T people entered the premises to conduct the raids.
I-T raids at five places in Thanjavur including the house of M Natarajan, T V Mahadevan (deceased), V K Sundaravadanam.
I-T raid at Nerkuppai near Manamelkudi in the house of one EA Karthikeyan, former Manamelkudi Union chairman and district secretary of AIADMK (TTV Group) and brother of Aranthangi MLA Rathinasababathi.
A team of Income Tax officials from Chennai raided AIADMK Karnataka state secretary V Pugazhendhi's house in Bengaluru on Thursday morning. [READ FULL REPORT]
The raids, which began at 6 am today at the channel's office in Ekkatthuthangal, are still on.
Started by former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the channel is now controlled by jailed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala's family, led by her nephew Vivek Jayaraman.
Advocate Kasinathabharathi, who is affiliated to AIADMK alleged that the Centre was acting against those who were politically against it. “We will face these raids legally. We will not be cowed down by these raids,” he added.
Here is the list of places being raided:
1) Jaya TV office, Ekkattuthangal
2) TTV Dhinakaran's house, Adyar
3) Jaya TV MD Vivek Jayaraman (nephew of Sasikala) residence, Mahalingapuram
4) Jaya TV's old office, next to Jayalalithaa’s residence in Poes Garden
5) Jaya TV CEO Jayaraman's sister Krishnapriya's house in T Nagar. She is the daughter of Ilavarasi, where VK Sasikala stayed for five days during her parole.
6) Jazz Cinemas office, Ekkattuthangal and also inside Phoenix Mall, Velachery
7) Residence of M Natarajan in Thanjavur, husband of Sasikala
8) Sengamalathaayar college, Thanjavur owned by Divakaran, Sasikala’s brother
9) TTV Dhinakaran’s house at Mannargudi
10) State secretary of the AIADMK in Karnataka, V Pugazhendhi's residence, Bengaluru
17) Sundaravadanam and late TV Mahadevan residences, Thanjavur
18) house of S Kamaraj, district head of TTV faction of AIADMK near Aranthangi,
19) Residence of Senthil, advocate for Sasikala, at Namakkal
20) The house of Dr Venkatesh, another close relative of Sasikala, in Thanjavur
21) Sasikala's relative Kalia Perumal's house in Tiruchy
22) Premises of Midas Distilleries
23) Residence of Poongundran, who was functioning like personal secretary to former chief minister J Jayalalithaa
I-T raids at Sasikala's relative Kalia Perumal's house in Tiruchy. | (Express Photo | M K Ashok Kumar)
(With inputs from Express News Service and agencies)
Chennai: All local bodies to issue birth certificates online
DECCAN CHRONICLE. | RUDHRAN BARAASU PublishedNov 9, 2017, 6:29 am IST
Come November 14, the public can easily download birth certificate from anywhere through the local body server.
According to a source privy to the development, the CMA has started training its staff to issue birth and death certificates in local bodies.
Chennai: Good news for rural public and to the parents awaiting their children’s birth certificate. Come November 14, the public can easily download birth certificate from anywhere through the local body server.
“Commissionerate of municipal administration (CMA), with the guidance of directorate of public health (DPH), is all set to roll out dedicated online portal under central civil registration system, which is now a privilege of city residents,” said a confidential state official source. At present, the facility is provided only in metro cities and soon all the municipal and village panchayats will start issuing birth and death certificates online, he explained.
According to a source privy to the development, the CMA has started training its staff to issue birth and death certificates in local bodies. If everything corresponds to the plan, the CMA is all set to roll out the new scheme this week, most probably by November 14.
“By using this service, the public can download certificates. No need to visit local body offices, or grease the palms of civic staff running from pillar to post,” added the source.
“According to the central government direction, all states ought to implement civil registration system. Once the service rolled out, the public can download certificates from www.tnurbanepay.tn.gov.in.” said a sanitary inspector with Chennai Corporation.
Presently, the CMA website is providing services related to issuance of building plan approval, road cut permission, professional tax assessment and trade licenses.
Compulsory singing of Vande Mataram: Madras HC reverses its order, says it’s up to TN govt to take a decision
Sureshkumar| TNN | Updated: Nov 9, 2017, 19:31 IST
HIGHLIGHTS
A single judge of the high court had made singing of Vande Mataram compulsory in schools and other establishments in TN
Now,a division bench of justices Huluvadi G Ramesh and R M T Teekaaa Raman has reversed the order.
The division bench has said it is up to the state govt to take a decision on the matter
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CHENNAI: Three months after a single judge of the Madras high court made singing of Vande Mataram compulsory in schools, government offices, private entities and industries in Tamil Nadu, a division bench of the court has modified the order and said it is up to the state to take a decision on the issue.
"As regards the order of the single judge, which mention about singing of Vande Mataram compulsorily in educational institutions, government offices and private companies, we are of the view that since it is a policy decision to be taken by the state, in modification of the order, we leave it to the discretion of the government to take decision on the matter," a division bench of justices Huluvadi G Ramesh and R M T Teekaaa Raman said.
The issue pertains to a plea moved by K Veeramani, who failed to clear the written test for the post of teacher (teacher eligibility test or TET) as he answered that Vande Mataram was written in Bengali.
After concluding that the song was originally written in Bengali and later translated into Sanskrit, Justice M V Muralidharan directed the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) to award one mark to the petitioner and to provide suitable appointment to him.
Assailing the order, TRB preferred an appeal. Allowing the appeal partially, the division bench said, "We are of the opinion that the manner in which the marks were awarded to the candidates, who participated in the TET and the selection process fall under the administrative domain of the government. It is well settled that the courts should not ordinarily interfere in the policy decision of the government, unless there is clear violation of some constitutional provision or the statute. We find no such violation in the case at hand."
"We leave it open to the board to deal with the case of the petitioner, after awarding one mark, on merits and in accordance with law. Consequently, the single order is set aside, insofar as it relates to directing the TRB to accommodate the petitioner in any suitable vacancy," the court said.
Singapore woman dies after weight-loss surgery in Chennai hospital
CHENNAI: A 35-year-old Singapore national died at a city hospital early on Thursday, hours after undergoing a liposuction surgery .
Police said Alicia Medanin Khan, who weighed 85kg, had been admitted to S R Multi Specialty Hospital in Arumbakkam on Wednesday morning. She had been continuo usly gaining weight and wanted to be fitter. She was shifted to the post-surgery intensive care unit around 5.30pm on Wednesday .
According to Khan's hus band Vijayakumar, a businessman in Singapore, doctors didn't allow him to meet his wife after the surgery as she had suffered complications. Doctors said she needed to be monitored for 24 hours before the surgery could be declared a success. At 1.30am on Thursday , Vijayakumar was informed that his wife had died of a sudden cardiac arrest. Vijayakumar said that though he demanded in writing details of his wife's health, doctors refused. The hospital then sent her body for autopsy .
Vijayakumar lodged a po lice complaint against the doctors and the hospital management for not disclosing his wife's health before and after surgery , alleging that his wife had died of medical negligence.
The Aminjikarai police have registered a case of unnatural death for now. "We will alter the case and include the doctors and hospital management if the autopsy report confirms death due to medical negligence," said an investigating officer.
Police sent the viscera for forensic examination to confirm if there was any complication. The death certificate issued by the hospital specifies the cause of death to be cardiac arrest. The hospital authorities said, "We completed the surgery at 5.30pm on Wednesday and the woman was shifted to the post-surgery ward under the surveillance of medical officers. After almost six hours she died of cardiac arrest."
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