Unused gifted land can be reclaimed by donor, says HC

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, NOVEMBER 13, 2017 00:00 IST

UPDATED: NOVEMBER 13, 2017 04:59 IST

Permits re-conveyance when not used for intended purpose

The Madras High Court has ruled that private lands gifted to the government for specific purposes such as establishing schools and hospitals could be reclaimed either by the donors themselves or their legal heirs if the properties had not been used for the intended purpose for long.

Pronouncing the judgment, Justices K.K. Sasidharan and P. Velmurugan directed the State to consider a request made by P. Bagyalakshmi to return 2.5 acres, at Vadakkipalayam village in Pollachi Taluk of Coimbatore district, which had been gifted by her father in 1964 for establishing a school and naming it after him.

The judges pointed out that school education department officials had not disputed the gift deed executed in April 1964 with a specific condition that a school should be constructed there in his name.

They also said that it was a fact that a school in the locality was constructed elsewhere and not on the gifted land.

“The gift of the land was given for a specific purpose. The construction of school building in the name of the donor was the sole object of the gift. There is a marked difference between acquisition of land and the demand for re-conveyance later on account of the failure to utilise the land for the purpose for which it was acquired and a gift of land for a particular public purpose and claim made by the donor for return of land on the ground that the land was not used for the particular purpose for which it was gifted.

“In case it is a compulsory acquisition for a public purpose, the scope of re-conveyance under Section 48-B of the Land Acquisition Act is very limited. However, in a case of this nature, when the purpose of gift failed to materialise, the donor would be justified in claiming the land back,” the judges observed.

இனிய’ பெண்கள் கவனிக்க…

Published : 11 Nov 2017 11:08 IST

டி. செல்வகுமார்

உலக நீரிழிவு நாள்: நவம்பர் 14

வீட்டுக்கு வீடு வாசல் இருக்கிறதோ இல்லையோ, இன்று வீடுதோறும் நீரிழிவு நோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட ஒருவராவது இருக்கிறார். வயது வித்தியாசம் இல்லாமல் சிறுவர் முதல் பெரியவர்வரை நீரிழிவால் இன்றைக்கு பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்கள். நீரிழிவு நோயாளிகள் நம் நாட்டில் அதிகம்!

 

மனித உடலில் உள்ள இன்சுலின் என்கிற முக்கியமான ஹார்மோன் உற்பத்தியாவதிலும், அதன் செயல்பாடுகளில் குறை ஏற்படுவதாலும் ரத்தத்தில் சர்க்கரை அளவு அதிகரித்து நீரிழிவு நோய் வருகிறது. இந்த நோய் வருவதற்கு பரம்பரையும் முக்கியக் காரணம். பெற்றோர் சர்க்கரை நோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தால் குழந்தைகளுக்கும் இந்நோய் வருவதற்கு 80 சதவீத சாத்தியம் இருப்பது ஆய்வில் கண்டறியப்பட்டுள்ளது.

பெண்ணே ‘கரு’

இந்த நோய்க்கு, 1923-ல் இன்சுலின் மருந்து கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டது. அதைக் கண்டுபிடித்த கனடா நாட்டு மருத்துவர் ஃபிரெட்ரிக் பேண்டிங்கின் பிறந்த நாளான நவம்பர் 14-ம் தேதி, ‘உலக நீரிழிவு நோய்’ நாளாக 1991-ம் ஆண்டு முதல் கடைப்பிடிக்கப்பட்டு வருகிறது. ஒவ்வோர் ஆண்டும் கருப்பொருள் ஒன்றை மையப்படுத்தி இந்த நாள் அனுசரிக்கப்படுகிறது. இந்த ஆண்டுக்கான கருப்பொருள் ‘பெண்ணும் நீரிழிவும்’!

“பொதுவாக வீடுகளில் ஆண்கள் சாப்பிட்ட பிறகு மீதமுள்ளதை சாப்பிடுவதை பெண்கள் வழக்கமாகக் கொண்டுள்ளனர். நீரிழிவு நோய்க்கு விரதமும் கூடாது, விருந்தும் ஆகாது. யார் எந்தப் பழக்கம் உள்ளவர்களாக இருந்தாலும் நீரிழிவு நோய் வந்துவிட்டால், உணவில் கட்டுப்பாடு அவசியம்” என்ற அறிவுரையுடன் தொடங்கினார் சென்னை சூளைமேட்டைச் சேர்ந்த நீரிழிவு நோய் சிறப்பு மருத்துவர் ஏ.பன்னீர்செல்வம். இந்த ஆண்டு கருப்பொருள் குறித்து அவர் பகிர்ந்துகொண்டார்:

குடும்ப ஆதரவே ஆதாரம்

“உடலில் சுரக்கும் இன்சுலின் போதுமான அளவு இல்லாமல் போவதால் 20 வயதைக் கடந்த பெண்களுக்கு நீரிழிவு நோய் வருகிறது. குடும்பத்தில் அம்மா அல்லது அப்பாவுக்கு நீரிழிவு நோய் இருந்தாலோ, உடல் பருமனாக இருந்தாலோ நீரிழிவு நோய் பாதிப்பதற்கான சாத்தியம் அதிகம். இதன் பின்விளைவுகள் பல பெண்களுக்குத் தெரிவதில்லை” என்றவர், நீரிழிவு நோய் ஏற்படுவதற்கான சாத்தியக்கூறுகளைப் பட்டியலிட்டார்.

அடிக்கடி சிறுநீர் கழித்தல், பிறப்புறுப்பில் அரிப்பு, அதிக தாகம் எடுத்தல், நாக்கு வறட்சி, அதிகப் பசி, சோர்வு, எடை குறைதல், தோலில் அரிப்பு, மயக்கம் போன்ற அறிகுறிகள் இருக்கும் பெண்கள் உடனடியாக ரத்தம், சிறுநீர் பரிசோதனை செய்துகொள்ள வேண்டும். அதில் நீரிழிவு நோய் இருப்பது உறுதி செய்யப்பட்டால் அந்தப் பெண் மட்டுமல்லாமல் அவரைச் சார்ந்திருப்பவர்களும் ஒத்துழைத்தால் மட்டுமே நீரிழிவு நோயைக் கட்டுக்குள் வைத்திருக்க முடியும், என்கிறார்.

“முறையான உணவுக் கட்டுப்பாடு, நடைப்பயிற்சி, உடற்பயிற்சி போன்றவற்றின் மூலம் சர்க்கரையை கட்டுப்பாட்டில் வைத்திருக்க முடியும். நீரிழிவு நோய் உள்ள பெண்கள் நேரம் தவறாமல் சாப்பிடாவிட்டால் சர்க்கரை அளவு குறைந்து நினைவிழக்கும் அபாயம் உள்ளது. அளவுக்கு அதிகம் சாப்பிடுபவர்கள், இனிப்பு சாப்பிடுபவர்கள் ஆகியோருக்கு நீரிழிவு நோய் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் இல்லாமல் பல தொந்தரவுகளைக் கொடுக்கும். ஒரு பெண்ணுக்கு நீரிழிவு நோய் ஏற்பட்டால் அவர் மட்டுமல்மாமல் அவருடன் இருப்பவர்களுக்கும் பொறுப்பு அதிகம். ஏனென்றால் குடும்பத்தில் இருக்கும் அனைவரையும் அக்கறையுடன் கவனித்துக் கொள்ளும் பெண்கள், தங்களைக் கவனித்துக் கொள்வதில்லை. இந்த வழக்கத்தைப் பெண்கள் மாற்றிக்கொள்ள வேண்டும்.

மேலும், மாதவிடாய் நின்ற பெண்களிடம் நீரிழிவு நோய் அதிகமாகக் காணப்படுகிறது. இந்தப் பெண்களுக்கு நீரிழிவு நோயுடன் உயர் ரத்த அழுத்தமும் இதய ரத்தக் குழாய் நோயும் இருக்கும். எனவே, மாதவிடாய் நின்ற பெண்களுக்கு நீரிழிவு நோய் இருந்தால் தனி கவனம் தேவைப்படுகிறது.” என்கிறார் பன்னீர்செல்வம்.

பேறுகாலத்தில் கவனிப்பு

சில பெண்களுக்கு சிறு வயதிலே நீரிழிவு நோய் வந்துவிட்டால், தொடக்கக் காலத்தில் இருந்தே நீரிழிவு நோயைக் கட்டுக்குள் வைத்திருக்க வேண்டும். குறிப்பாகப் பேறுகாலத்துக்கு முன்பு நீரிழிவு நோயை முழுமையாகக் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் வைத்திருக்க வேண்டும். குழந்தை பெற்றெடுக்கும்வரை அவ்வப்போது ரத்தப் பரிசோதனை செய்து, நீரிழிவு நோய் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் இருப்பதை உறுதிப்படுத்திக்கொள்ள வேண்டும். இல்லாவிட்டால், கரு கலைந்து போகலாம். குறைப்பிரசவமாகி குழந்தை ஊனமாகவோ, மந்த புத்தியுடனோ, அதிக எடையுடனோ பிறக்கும் ஆபத்தும் உள்ளது.

டாக்டர் பன்னீர்செல்வம்

 

இது குறித்து பன்னீர்செல்வம் மேலும் கூறும்போது, “ரத்தப் பரிசோதனையில் சர்க்கரையின் அளவு சாப்பிட்ட பின் இரண்டு மணி நேரம் கழித்து 120 மில்லி கிராமுக்குக் குறைவாக இருக்க வேண்டும். சர்க்கரை அளவு அதிகமாக இருந்தால் கருவில் இருக்கும் குழந்தைக்கு 6 அல்லது 7-வது மாதத்தில் பாதிப்பு ஏற்படலாம். புத்தி மந்தமாகவோ அல்லது 3.5 கிலோவுக்கு அதிகமான எடையிலோ குழந்தை வளரும். நீரிழிவு நோயைக் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் வைத்திருந்தால் இந்த பாதிப்புகள் நிச்சயம் ஏற்படாது.

பிரசவத்துக்குப் பிறகு மாதம் ஒருமுறை அல்லது மூன்று மாதங்களுக்கு ஒருமுறையாவது பரிசோதனை செய்துகொண்டு, தேவையான சிகிச்சையை எடுத்துக்கொள்ள வேண்டும். பொதுவாக, பிரசவத்துக்குப் பிறகு நீரிழிவு நோய் இல்லாமலாகி விடும். இருந்தாலும், முறையான உணவு முறையும் உடற்பயிற்சியும் இல்லாவிட்டால் நீரிழிவு நோய் மீண்டும் வருவதற்கு சாத்தியமுள்ளது” என்றார்.

நீரிழிவின்றி ஆரரோக்கியமாக வாழட்டும் பெண்கள்!

Rajdhani Express route

BENGALURU, NOVEMBER 12, 2017 00:00 IST

UPDATED: NOVEMBER 12, 2017 03:38 IST

The KSR Bengaluru — Hazrat Nizamuddin — KSR Bengaluru Rajdhani Express (22691/22692) will continue to run via Gooty — Kalluru till March 31 for operational reasons, a release from SWR said. The Railways has cancelled the following trains: Howrah — Yeshwantpur Duranto Express (12245) (journey commencing on November 19) and Yeshwantpur — Howrah Duranto Express (12246) (commencing on November 21) for want of rakes.

Lack of seats continues to worry NEET aspirants of Tamil Nadu

Wilson Thomas

COIMBATORE, NOVEMBER 12, 2017 00:00 IST

UPDATED: NOVEMBER 12, 2017 03:45 IST

Several students have chosen examination centres in other States

Lack of adequate seats at examination centres for those wanting to appear for NEET — post graduate courses in Tamil Nadu continues to worry aspirants in the State.

Though an additional 1,000 seats were shown for the six examination centres in Tamil Nadu a few days ago, they were opted by candidates in a day.

A day after the online application process began on October 31, applicants were shocked to find no seats available at the examination centres in Tamil Nadu - Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli.

Several students hence chose examination centres in other States when National Board of Examination (NBE) website showed unavailability of seats in centres within Tamil Nadu.

“There are more than 10,000 aspirants who wish to write NEET-PG in January 2018. Either the number of seats in the centres should be increased or the number of centres in the State to accommodate more students from Tamil Nadu,” said N. Ravisankar, State secretary of Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association (TNGDA).

With seats allotted to centres in Tamil Nadu being nil after two days, TNGDA had appealed to the NBE and Central Government to increase seats in all centres in order to accommodate applicants in their native State. Lack of seats was also coupled with technical glitches on the NBE website following which e-filing of a single application at times took more than six hours.

Mr. Ravisankar said that the Government and NBE should make arrangements for candidates to change their centres to their native States depending on the availability of seats.

“Some of the candidates had chosen centres in other States due lack of seats here. They should be given a chance to change centres. As the fee of the test itself is Rs. 3,750, candidates should not be put in a difficult situation to spend more for travel and accommodation. Around 4,000 doctors who are currently practising at Government and private hospitals in the State will also appear for the test,” Mr. Ravisankar said.

‘Children born to Muslim couple before marriage not legal heirs’

Mohamed Imranullah S.

CHENNAI, NOVEMBER 12, 2017 00:00 IST

UPDATED: NOVEMBER 12, 2017 04:21 IST

But High Court gives one-third share of father’s property to such a son, citing law

The Madras High Court has held that a child born to a Muslim couple before their marriage cannot be considered as a legal heir and consequently not entitled to a share in the biological father’s property.

However, the court permitted one such descendant to walk away with a lion’s share of his father’s property on the ground that the latter was entitled to bequeath one-third of his property to strangers as per Muslim law.

Justices R. Subbiah and P. Velmurugan passed the ruling while disposing of an appeal suit preferred by the second wife of Mohammed Ansar, a former employee of Southern Railways.

The appellant was aggrieved against an order passed by a lower court in favour of two daughters born to her husband through his first wife though he had left behind a will bequeathing his properties only to the second wife and her three children.

Will made in 1978

Resolving the dispute between the parties, the judges noted that Mr. Ansar had married his first wife in 1946 and gave birth to two girls who were married in 1962 and 1967 respectively. Subsequently, his first wife died and he married another woman in July 1969.

The couple begot a son three months before their marriage and gave birth to another son and a daughter after their marriage, in 1972 and 1974 respectively. The former railway employee executed a will in February 1978 bequeathing all his properties to his second wife and her three children and died in October 1981.

Pointing out that Muslim law states that an “illegitimate child is considered to be the child of its mother alone and as such it inherits from the mother alone,” the judges held that the first son born through the second wife of the deceased was not entitled to inherit his father’s property.

However, writing the judgement for the Bench, Mr. Justice Velmurugan pointed out that the same Muslim law permits a Muslim to bequeath one-third of his property to strangers.

Therefore, the judges ordered that the “illegitimate son” in the present case would be entitled to 20 out of 60 portions of his father’s properties since the genuineness of the registered will had not been disputed by the daughters born through the first wife of the deceased.

Shares to all

Observing that a Muslim could execute a will only with respect to one-third of his property and bequeathing more than that would require the legal heirs’ prior consent, which had not been obtained in the present case, the judges held that each of the two daughters born to Mr. Ansar through his first wife would be entitled to 6.5 out of the 60 portions of their father’s property.

This was in accordance with the apportionment permitted under Muslim law.

Since the law states that legitimate sons were entitled to inherit double the property than those to which legitimate daughters were entitled to, the Division Bench ordered that the second son born through the second wife would be entitled to 13 out of 60 portions.

Finally, it was held that the remaining 7.5 out of 60 shares would go to the second wife since she had a right over one-eighth of the property owned by her husband during his lifetime.

Doctor suspended for dengue post on FB

STAFF REPORTER

NOVEMBER 12, 2017 00:00 IST

UPDATED: NOVEMBER 12, 2017 04:14 IST

The West Bengal government has suspended a doctor of a public hospital for alleging in a social media post that the State government was suppressing data regarding the dengue outbreak. The doctor, Arunachal Dutta Choudhury, worked as a medical officer at the Barasat District Hospital in North 24 Parganas district, which according to the government, is the worst affected by dengue.

Relief at last for victims of Moulivakkam collapse

By Express News Service  |   Published: 11th November 2017 02:49 AM  |  

A boy explaining to his friend how was demolished at Moulivakkam in Chennai on Thursday.(Sunish P Surendran | EPS)

CHENNAI: Deputy Commissioner of Labour II court awarded compensation to the kin of Moulivakkam building collapse victims on Friday.

As per the order, `6.82-lakh compensation was awarded to V Nanda Gopal, son of Vasu, who died in the disaster.

Likewise, Deputy Commissioner of Labour II court awarded `8.36 lakh to Baby Saroja, wife of Arumugam, `6.03 lakh to Shanti, wife of Karuppaiah and `8.52 lakh to Vellikannan and Kalyani, parents of Thiruvenkadam. The compensation was awarded by the builders and the insurance company.

As many as 61 workers died after one of the under-construction twin residential towers came crashing down on a rainy day in Moulivakkam on June 28, 2014.

An 11-storey apartment complex was being constructed by Prime Sristi Housing Private Limited. Another block at the same site was ordered to be demolished by the Supreme Court after a committee submitted its report to the apex court. The building was demolished on November 2, 2016. The state government had awarded a compensation of `7 lakh each to the relatives of victims.

Judges bribery case: Three-judge Supreme Court bench likely to hear plea tomorrow

By PTI  |   Published: 12th November 2017 05:31 PM  |  

Supreme Court of India | PTI

NEW DELHI: A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court is likely to hear tomorrow a plea claiming that alleged bribes were taken using the names of apex court judges promising to secure favourable settlement of a case.

A bench of justices J Chelameswar and S Abdul Nazeer had ordered on November 9 that the plea be heard by a five-judge Constitution bench of the senior-most judges of the apex court.

However, on November 10, in an unprecedented hearing, a five-judge constitution bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra had ruled that "no judge can take up a matter on his own, unless allocated by the chief justice of India, as he is the master of the roster".

Related Article
• Judges bribery case: Amid tussle, CJI Dipak Mishra says all cases to be listed before him
• Judges bribery case: Supreme Court overturns 2-judge bench order, says CJI "is the master of the court"
• 'Black day' in Supreme Court history: Lawyer Prashant Bhushan explains court ordeal

It had over-ruled the order of Justice Chelameswar directing a Constitution bench hearing, saying, "If any such order has been passed by any bench, that cannot hold the field as that will be running counter to the order passed by the Constitution bench." The plea filed by advocate Kamini Jaiswal is now listed for hearing before a bench of justices R K Agrawal, Arun Mishra and A M Khanwilkar at 3.30 pm tomorrow.

The hearing on November 10 had brought the tussle within top judiciary to the fore with the Constitution bench overturning the order of a two-judge bench to set up a larger bench to hear the graft case allegedly involving judges.

The showdown over the issue of supremacy of constituting a bench in which the authority of CJI, was allegedly undermined by a bench headed by Justice Chelameswar.

Justice Chelameswar, who is the senior-most judge after the CJI, had termed as "disturbing" the allegations levelled in a CBI FIR and had ordered setting up a bench of five top judges of the court as a petition by Jaiswal had claimed there were allegations against Justice Misra.

The CBI, in its FIR, lodged on September 19, has named several persons, including former Orissa High Court judge Ishrat Masroor Quddusi, as accused in an alleged corruption case.

Quddusi, who had also served as a judge in the Chhattisgarh High Court, was arrested along with Lucknow-based Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences' chairman B P Yadav, his son Palash Yadav and three others, for allegedly trying to settle a matter relating to a medical college barred from admitting new students.

After Supreme Court order, UGC to have power to close down institutes

KRITIKA SHARMA | Updated: Nov 7, 2017, 08:05 AM IST, DNA

At present, education regulators—UGC and AICTE, can only send notices and cancel affiliation for limited period

After a Supreme Court order recently banned technical education through distance mode and cancelled degrees of hundreds of students who passed out between 2001 and 2005, the central government is now working on the idea of strengthening the powers of its regulators.

Regulators for higher education — University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) — currently do not have the power to permanently close down an institution that isn't abiding by its norms. They can only send them notices and cancel their affiliation over non-adherence to norms, for a limited period, after which the institute will have to acquire a fresh affiliation.

The Supreme Court had on Friday suspended engineering degrees granted between 2001 and 2005 to all graduates through distance learning by JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth, Rajasthan, Institute of Advanced Studies in Education, Rajasthan (IASE), Allahabad Agricultural Institute, Allahabad, and Vinayak Mission Research Foundation (VMRF), Tamil Nadu, for want of adherence to statutory guidelines/policies. With this, the court also ruled that no institution will be allowed to run technical courses through distance mode.

"Our regulators do not have enough power. Had that been the case, a situation like this would not have arised where the court would have to cancel degrees of students. The UGC had sent notices to these institutes, asking them to stop technical education courses through distance mode; but, they did not adhere to the orders and continued offering the courses," said a senior Human Resource Development Ministry official.

"When we talk about a improving our regulatory authorities, we ought to give them more power, including that of deciding on closing down institutions when necessary," the official said.

The Supreme Court judgment had mentioned that the government should form a committee to look into regulatory mechanism in the field of higher education.

"The Union of India may constitute a three-member committee comprising eminent persons who have held high positions in the fields of education, investigation, administration, or law at national level within one month. The committee may examine the issues indicated above and suggest a road map for strengthening and setting up of oversight and regulatory mechanism in the relevant field of higher education and allied issues within six months," the court mentioned in its order.

UGC asks universities to setup chair in name of Dayanand Saraswati

UGC asks universities to setup chair in name of Dayanand Saraswati (DNA)

DNA CORRESPONDANT | Updated: Nov 10, 2017, 12:05 PM IST

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked universities to set up a chair in the name of renowned thinker Swami Dayanand Saraswati under category of Social Reformer.

The commission has set up a scheme to establish chairs under various renowned personalities and scholars across various universities.

Students are taught about life and times of these personalities under the programme. As an extension to this, the commission has now asked for establishing a chair in the name of Dayanand Saraswati.

The notice sent to all universities on Thursday read, "The universities desirous of setting up a chair in the name of Swami Dayanand Saraswati may sent their proposals and budget details to Secretary UGC within 15 days of publishing of this notice."

Dayanand Saraswati was a Hindu religious leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movements of the Vedic tradition. He was also a renowned scholar of the language.

AirAsia India offers base fare at Rs 99 for domestic travel

Press Trust of India, Mumbai, Nov 12 2017, 15:48 IST


The discounted ticket sale offers covers domestic destinations operated by AirAsia India such Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, New Delhi, Goa, among others, it said.

The Malaysian Budget carrier AirAsia today announced a discount sale, offering passengers one-way base fare at Rs 99 for a domestic journey across its Indian JV airline network and Rs 444 for international flights under a limited period offer.

However, the travel period under the offer, for which the bookings commence tonight, will be between May next year and January 2019, as per an airline statement today.

"Enjoy (base) fares from as low as Rs 99 to domestic destinations and (base) fares of Rs 444 for international destinations," the airline said.

In addition, for the customers planning an international trip to Johor Bahru from Kolkata; AirAsia Berhad will be offering zero base for seats in this segment, it said adding guests will only need to pay taxes for their flight.

Significantly, a major chunk of the air fares comprises fuel surcharge, airport fee, taxes and other charges.

"With base fares from as low as Rs 99 for travel next year, you can make use of this promo...We hope the partnerships that we have got into for this promotion will enable you to plan your holiday better," AirAsia India managing director and chief executive officer Amar Abrol was quoted as saying in the release.

AirAsia India is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and AirAsia.

The tickets under the sale offer will remain open for bookings from 2130 hours today to November 19, through the airline's website and mobile app only, AirAsia India said.

The discounted ticket sale offers covers domestic destinations operated by AirAsia India such Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, New Delhi, Goa, among others, it said.

The international destinations the sale offer is for flights to Kuala Lumpur from Tiruchirappalli, Kochi, Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and to Bali from Mumbai & Kolkata, Bangkok from Jaipur, Kolkata, Kochi, Chennai and Bengaluru, the statement said.

Besides, the offer can also be availed for flights connected by AirAsia Berhad, AirAsia X Berhad, Indonesia AirAsia X, Indonesia AirAsia and Thai AirAsia, according to the statement.

Under the year end sale scheme, AirAsia has also tied up with mobile wallet major MobiKwik, which will offer up to Rs 1000 discount on flight bookings, as well as Treebo hotels, which will offer a flat 25 per cent discount to AirAsia travellers availing sale offer tickets, the airline said.

Madras varsity exam scam: How the cheats operated

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | A RAGU RAMAN

PublishedNov 13, 2017, 1:56 am IST


The gang was splendidly organised using courier services to coordinate answer sheets.

University of Madras

Chennai: It has come to light that the examination system of Institute of Distance education (IDE) in University of Madras was systematically hacked by the nexus between the agents and study centers.

A leakage in the system of monitoring unused blank answer scripts was exploited by unscrupulous elements.

A student who affected in the racket said the agents used the couriers for their operations including receiving the blank answer sheets and the filled in answer sheets.

“They operated from outside the city. We were asked to assemble at a particular point after the exam and given blank answer sheets. They will give one or two days time to fill the answer scripts. After that they would send the sheets back to the study centers from outside the state using couriers,” they added.

“From sourcing the blank answer scripts and collecting the filled in answer sheets everything was well coordinated by the agents and study centers. In the digital era, they used couriers to outsmart our exam system,” a source privy to the investigations said.

The agents send the questions in WhatsApp on the day of exams. “If they managed to get around 400 students per year, they would make around Rs 6 to Rs 12 crores,” they pointed out. It is estimated that the scam was being run for at least last 10 years.

Sometimes the study centers which arrange for imposters would send two answer scripts – one that was written by the imposter and another one that of the filled answer scripts – for one candidate.”They even mess the answer scripts by not replacing the fake answer scripts,” they revealed.

Some professors blamed the university for negligence. “Because of financial constraints, the university did not send inspection squads to outside the state.

The agents and study centers exploited it to create a fake presence of the candidates during the exams,” they said. “No surprise squads are the main reason for the scam went unnoticed for severalyears,” they added. The VC has proactively ordered the inquiry and trying to plug the loopholes in the system.
How did the agents get hold of blank answer scripts? The study centers should have sent the unused blank answer scripts to the agents or they should have sourced it from within the university. Further inquiry is expected to reveal how the blank answer scripts are acquired and also if there are any moles within the university.

How the racket was operated?

Step 1: Agent identifies the vulnerable students who struggle to finish their courses when they visit university for paying the exam fee or other issues

Step 2 : He would tell the students that he can help them pass exams. The students who take the bait contact the agents at designated meeting points. In most of the cases, the agents claim that they were from university and show fake ID cards or credentials

Step 3 : After the initial negotiations they would agree for Rs 15,000 per paper. They would give instructions on which exam center to apply, preferably from outside the state

Step 4 : On the day of an exam, students receive question paper. Immediately they will be asked to meet again and given blank answer sheets. Either the student can write the exam at home or they can hire someone to fill the answer scripts for them for extra money.

Step 5: After collecting the answer scripts from the students, agents will courier those answer scripts to study centers from which they are supposed to write exam.

Step 6: Study centers which created the fake records as if the students physically appeared for the exam, will replace the dummy answer scripts with filled in answer scripts. Those answer scripts will be sent to university along with other regular answer sheets for evaluation

Is it the case of negligence?

There is negligence on part of the university as well. They did not maintain the proper account for unused answer scripts. Because of financial constraints, the university did not send examination squads to study centers from outside the state. No surprise squads are the main reason for the scam went unnoticed for several years - sources said

Distance Education cheats: University of Madras unearths major exam scam

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | A RAGU RAMAN
PublishedNov 13, 2017, 1:41 am IST


An inquiry by the university has revealed that students were given blank answer sheets by agents to write answers.

University of Madras

Chennai: Uncovering a major exam scam at the Institute of Distance Education, the University of Madras has withheld the results of over 500 candidates from Tamil Nadu who wrote exams from the centres outside the state.

An inquiry by the university has revealed that students were given blank answer sheets by agents to write answers. To clear the exam they fixed Rs 15,000 per paper. Some touts who had joined hands with study centres from Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mysore and Mallapam in Kerala had been running this racket for several years. But for some complaints from disgruntled students the scam would not have come out.

A few months ago the university had received unanimous letters levelling allegations that candidates from Chennai were writing exams in Mumbai to clear their arrears. The letters also alleged that candidates were paying money to agents and that some staff members were also involved in the racket.

Following the letters, officials from Controller of Examinations verified the answer sheets of December 2016 exam. “Why candidates from Chennai or Tiruvallur have to go to all the way to Mumbai to write their exams?” was a troubling question that prompted the officials to start a full-fledged inquiry.

Some answer sheets had extraordinarily beautiful handwriting with no errors. This raised suspicion.

“We found same handwriting in many papers. One candidate had over 10 different handwritings for his arrear papers”, a source said adding that it strengthened suspicion.

Many of these candidates who had bulk arrears had cleared almost all the papers in one go. “Some candidates who had more than 15 arrears cleared 14 or 15 papers at one go, which is very difficult for even regular students”, the source disclosed.

Following the investigation, the Controller of Examinations had withheld the results of 500 candidates from Chennai and adjoining districts.

In connection with the scam, the university officials also caught an ex-temporary staff in IDE premises from whom they recovered register numbers and contact numbers of students.

Sources in the university said, after conducting enquiry with the students, the COE has released results of 50 candidates who gave credible reasons for writing exam in outside the state.

Madras University Vice-Chancellor S. Duraisamy, who took charge in May, formed an inquiry committee immediately after the matter was brought to his knowledge. “I have taken serious action and constituted an inquiry committee.

The committee is about to conclude its inquiry. We will place the inquiry report in Syndicate meeting and take the appropriate action”, Mr Duraisamy told DC

“We have withheld the recognition for four exam centres which were involved in the malpractices. We are making the system foolproof”, the VC reiterated.

NIT-Trichy bags FICCI ‘univ of the year’ award

TNN | Nov 12, 2017, 00:21 IST

Trichy: The FICCI higher education summit held in New Delhi has declared the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Trichy as 'The University of the Year'.

Director of NIT-T, Mini Shaji Thomas received the award, on Thursday night at the summit, from Dr Anil Sahasrabuddhe, AICTE chairman, in the presence of professor emeritus M M Sharma, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai.

FICCI adopted an elaborate two stage screening process for selecting the top institutes for the awards. The first stage consisted of online application followed by shortlisting institutes based on their merits and a final jury evaluation based on a face-to-face presentation, said a press release from NIT-T.

Evaluation parameters included curriculum & pedagogy (changes in coursework to accommodate trends, global standard in education imparted), technology (effective use of leading-edge technologies for pedagogy and curriculum delivery, use of technology for daily administrative activities), research (patents, research output flow, funds procured employability), institutional social responsibility, students (development of students, outreach to new students) and faculty (ability to adapt to change, professional development, attrition rate).

NIT-T, having undertaken a major academic transformation couple of years back and appearing almost on top of the list in terms of research publication, scored high on many of the yardsticks set for the award. The institute has made provisions for increasing the intellectual property of the institute with support for patenting.

NIT-T was all set to augment its faculty strength with the completion of the faculty recruitment process, according to the release, stating that NIT-T was ranked 11th amongst all technical institutions including the IITs and first amongst all NITs in the MHRD's National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) during 2017.

Salem to get flight to Chennai, Andhra cities before year-end

TNN | Nov 7, 2017, 15:48 IST



SALEM: Before next year, people of Salem and its neighbouring districts will have flight connectivity between Salem and Chennai and some cities in Andhra Pradesh, said K Mariappan, president of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Salem chapter.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Marippan said Salem Airport will be revived before end of December. "It is going to be a New Year gift to people of Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Erode districts," he said.

"The ministry of civil aviation had already approved a hyderabad-based airline company, Turbo Megha Airways Private Limited, to operate a 72-seater ATR aircraft under the UDAN scheme to provide regional connectivity between Salem and two or more cities at a concessional fare not exceeding Rs 2500," Marippan said.

The flight, which will be operated from Vijayawada, will be landing first at Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh and then to Chennai and from there to Salem. "On return from Salem it will land first at Chennai then to Mysore and finally to Vijayawada via Cuddapah," he added.

Price of tickets from Chennai to Salem will be Rs 1920 and from Salem to Chennai will be Rs 1750. "Out of 72 seats, this concessional rate will be applicable for 36 seats under RCS (regional connectivity scheme) on first-come-first-served basis," he said.

Turbo Megha Airways Private Limited was one of the five private airlines other than Spice Jet, Deccan Airlines, Airline Allied 3-IGIA Del-Bikaner and Air Odisha that was approved under the UDAN scheme to operate flights. Turbo Airways has already operating flights from Vijayawada to other cities in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana including Hyderabad, Vishakapatnam and Rajamundry.

Mariappan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, minister for civil aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pasupati, civil aviation ministry secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Salem district collector Rohini R Bhajibhakare for taking steps to revive Salem airport.

Audit reports put former registrar of varsity in the documents

TNN | Updated: Nov 10, 2017, 08:21 IST

COIMBATORE: Almost two years after K Angamuthu completed his term as the registrar of Periyar University, Salem, it has come to light that his appointment was under scanner since 2013 as satisfactory documents were not produced to support his qualification for the post. The audit report of 2012-13, a copy of which is with TOI, questions the appointment of Angamuthu as the director of physical education in 2004 and as the registrar in 2012.

Not only did Angamuthu acquire these positions illegally, he also drew salaries that were in excess from what he deserved. Besides Angamuthu, the audit reports, since 2004, have questioned the appointment of the librarian N Subramanian, and has also held him for drawing higher salaries for all these years.

TOI is in possession of at least five audit reports between 2004 and 2014, where the auditing authorities have raised objections over the two staff members of the university. In 2004, the university had called for applications of the deputy director of physical education, and Angamuthu had applied for the same. In the same recruitment process, Subramanian applied for the post of librarian at the level of a professor.

According to the audit report of 2013-14, the minimum requirement for the director of physical education, according to the statutes of Periyar University formulated in 2003, is master's degree in physical education, a PhD in physical education or any other subject, at least 15 experience in teaching physical education, and the person should be at least 45 years but not more than 50 years. Also, the candidate should have served as a deputy director for five years before being appointed as the director.

Angamuthu's appointment is not based on UGC norms. So, the audit report stated that his pay scale should be in the band of 8000-275-13,500 as opposed to 16,400-45-20,000. "The individual did not serve as the deputy director of physical education in any university for five years. Hence the elevation to professor cadre had been objected in the university audit," said the audit report.

The audit report also questions the appointment of Angamuthu as the registrar of the university in 2012. He took charge in August 2012. The audit report said that Angamuthu did not possess 20 years of teaching/ research experience to become the registrar and he also did not have enough administrative experience.

Angamuthu was not reachable for a comment. However, Subramanian said, "We applied for the post based on the requirement. We were chosen by the university and if there is an objection the registrar of the university should answer."

Two arrested for duping private hospital cashier of Rs 8.87 lakh

TNN | Updated: Nov 12, 2017, 10:32 IST




Erode: A former employee of a private hospital who mimicked its managing director to take away Rs 8.87 lakh from the cashier was arrested along with his younger brother here on Friday night. The Veerappanchatram police have also recovered the amount from the duo.

The arrested were identified as G Arunshankar, 32, of Kacheri Veedhi in Erode town and G Sathiesh Sampath, 29.

According to the police, Arunshankar had a few months ago worked as the cashier with Sudha Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital. On October 6, he contacted the present cashier, V Karthick, 26, and imitating its managing director S Bhagayalakshmi, he asked the latter to handover Rs 8.87 lakh to her errand. A few minutes later, an unidentified person approached Karthick for money. "Karthick handed over Rs 8.87 lakh to the MD's errand," the police said.

Karthick later called up Bhagyalakshmi to inform her that he has handed over the money to her person. Bhagyalakshmi told him that she hadn't sent anyone to get the money.

Karthick subsequently lodged a complaint with the Veerappanchatram police, who formed a special team to probe the case. With the help of CCTV footages from the hospital, the police identified the culprits.

"We tracked their mobile phone tower locations and arrested them on Friday night. We have also recovered the money from the duo," the police said.

Arunshankar and Sathiesh were produced before a local court, which remanded them in judicial custody. The duo was later lodged at Erode sub-jail.

Sabarimala devotees seek better drinking water, toilet facilities

TNN | Nov 12, 2017, 00:20 IST

Madurai: While just four days left for the commencement of the Mandala-Makaravilakku season at Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple, demands for setting up more drinking water and toilet facilities for devotees passing through Madurai have been raised by devotees this time too. They have also demanded that information about temples in the district as well as their opening and closing timings besides route maps be displayed.

This year the season starts on November 16 and ends on January 20. On day one of the Tamil month of 'Karthigai', lakhs of devotees start fasting after adorning the holy "rudraksha mala" around their necks. It is customary of the pilgrims to travel in groups and visit ancient temples including Sri Meenakshi Amman temple and every year hundreds of vans and buses enter the district with thousands of devotees daily.

"But the facilities arranged for them in the past were not adequate. There should be sign boards guiding the pilgrims to temples and display of opening and closing timings. The present toilet facility available near Sri Meenakshi amman temple is not sufficient," said V P Manikandan, an ardent Ayyappa devotee in Madurai.

Devotees also want the temple authority to facilitate free food distribution at its parking lot situated at Ellis Nagar, 2 km away from the temple. Last year, the temple authority stopped the Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sangam (ABASS) from giving free food at the Ellis parking lot. ABASS spokesman O P Mani said, "We had been providing free food to devotees alighting at the Ellis Nagar parking lot for three years and we've appealed to the temple management to allow us this time too."

Sri Meenakshi Amman temple joint commissioner N Natarajan said many welfare works had been carried out at the temple's Ellis Nagar parking lot at a cost of Rs 1.59 crore. To fulfil a longstanding demand of devotees, wash basins would be installed at the five entrances of the temple soon. At present, the temple was maintaining free chappal stand at these entrances by engaging contractors. He said that during Sabarimala season, more than 10,000 devotees visited Sri Meenakhi amman temple a day.

"For their welfare, the temple's land was converted to a parking lot in 2013. Over the years, the parking area has undergone a facelift. Now, the entire ground has been covered with pavor blocks at Rs 1.18 crore. A toilet complex has been constructed at Rs 22.14 lakh. We are going to erect two high mast light towers there by the end of this month." The temple collection fetched Rs 9 lakh in 2015, but it rose to Rs 44.81 lakh last year.

Bio-metric access at Madurai airport

TNN | Updated: Nov 13, 2017, 00:38 IST

Madurai: The Madurai International Airport will be better secured soon, with the implementation of bio-metric access control system. Once, the system is in place, employees can enter into each zone in the airport only after stamping thumb impression in the system installed at the entry points.

At present paper based Airport Entry Permits (AEPs) is in use. AEPs would be manually checked for authorization and allowed by the security personnel. There are many departments working together at the airport and not all are allowed to access all the zones. In the AEP system, there will be markings on the individual's ID card specifying the zones where he/she is allowed. Whereas in the new system the information about authorized person in each zone would be preloaded.

"Apart from the staff from more than a dozen departments, there would also be outside workers engaged on time to time basis. In such cases, the system can be customized to provide access to them as well," said an authority from the airport.

Similarly, there would be ID for the vehicles too. A sticker would be pasted on the vehicles, which can be read by the radio frequency identification system, to authorize the entry.

According to the airport authorities, once the new system comes in place, the information about those entering into each zone would be electronically recorded. When there is a need to review who were present in a particular area of the terminal at a given point of time, it can be easily obtained in no time.

Officials said that while the required systems have already arrived and all the points where the systems to be installed, have been marked, the system installation is expected to be completed soon.

An official said that bio-metric access control system is being implemented in all the major airports across the nation at the cost of Rs 33.23 by the bureau of civic aviation security, the regulatory authority of civil aviation security in India and Airport Authority of India.

Since, as many as 72 airports throughout the country is being covered, it takes time to complete, as works being completed at one after the other, said another official.

Actors entering politics disastrous: Prakash Raj

tnn | Updated: Nov 13, 2017, 00:24 IST

Chennai: It would be disastrous if actors enter politics just because they are popular, said actor and Tamil Film Producers' Council vice president Prakash Rajon Sunday.

Asked if he would support actors like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan if they entered politics, Prakash Raj said that he will vote as a responsible citizen and not as a fan. The National Award winner also clarified that he will not enter politics.

"Actors who come to politics must have a clear perception of the issues facing the country and win the trust of the people," said Prakash Raj while addressing reporters in Bengaluru.

The 52-year-old actor has been questioning the BJP-led central government on demonetisation and "silencing" of artists since last week through Twitter. In an interview earlier, the actor had said that national politics should be kept out of Tamil Nadu. "Before I vote, I look at the promises made by a party in the manifesto and what solutions it proposes to solve pressing issues."

Prakash Raj said that he is awaiting Kamal Haasan's manifesto before he can decide on whether to vote for him or not.

The 'Singham' star said, "If one wants to rule Tamil Nadu, he must be known to its people. He should have lived here 20-30 years and understood the local problems. National parties are only interested in encroaching on the state territory. They are not concerned about the issues concerning the state."

The 'Iruvar' actor also added that Rajinikanth who has lived in Tamil Nadu for more than 40 years is more a 'Tamil' than a 'Kannadiga'.

Vehicle dealer to pay Rs 1L fine for extra registration fee

TNN | Updated: Nov 13, 2017, 01:19 IST

Chennai: Charging even a penny in addition to government fixed fees for registration of new cars by car dealers/retailers as 'handling charges' would amount to unfair trade practice, a city consumer court has ruled.

Allowing a complaint moved by an aggrieved consumer, against a city-based Maruti car dealer, the North Chennai District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum comprising K Jayabalan, president, and M Uyirroli Kannan, member has granted Rs 1 lakh as compensation for the mental agony suffered by the complainant.

C Durgadevi, a resident of Hasthinapuram, Chennai bought a 'Maruti Swift Dzire Tour' through the dealer Popular Vehicles and Services Limited in Pallikaranai.

On February 11, 2015 she paid the initial booking amount of Rs 10,000. She was given an estimate of cost of the vehicle as Rs 7,20,244 (ex-showroom price of Rs 6,13,943, insurance cost Rs 25,873 and road tax and registration charges of Rs 80,428).

Durgadevi paid Rs 2,77,500 in cash on February 18, 2015. The balance was paid through an automobile loan. This apart, she was compelled to pay Rs 1,500 as affidavit charges for registration.

After registration of the car, the vehicle was delivered to her on February 25, 2015. A month later, when she received the original registration certificate, she was shocked to note that only Rs 61,796 was charged as registration charges by the authorities, while the dealer collected Rs 80,428 for the same.

On inquiry, she was informed by the dealer that the additional amount was for handling and service charge.

"The vehicle dealer is only acting as an agent of the buyer and when the customer avails the service of the dealer they are bound to pay the charges incurred for the same, which is informed well in advance to the customer at the time of booking the vehicle," the dealer said. Refusing to accept the contentions, the forum ordered the dealer to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation to Durgadevi.

Autorickshaw driver, 35, who died had an unblemished traffic record

TNN | Nov 13, 2017, 01:33 IST

Chennai: The first time 35-year-old B Rajesh decided to spend the night at his autorickshaw stand on Dr Radhakrishnan Salai turned out to be the last.

As it is to many auto drivers, the vehicle was a makeshift home to Rajesh, who died when a speeding car rammed his autorickshaw at 2.30am on Sunday. Rajesh, the sole breadwinner of his family, decided to retire for the night at the stand after dropping off a passenger on Dr Radhakrishnan Salai. It was also to get away from the mosquitoes in his Purasaiwalkam home.

Sunday's fatal accident was not the first for autorickshaw drivers in the area. Many drivers who witnessed the death of Arumugham, who was killed in a similar accident in September 2016, have moved from the locality since then.

Rajesh, a native of Parameshmangalam village near Arakkonam, is survived by his wife Gayathri and sons, Tamilselvan, 7, and Dhanush, 5.

On Sunday, Rajesh, spoke to his wife at 12.30am, saying he was ferrying a passenger to R K Salai. After finding many of his acquaintances sleeping at the stand, he too decided to spend the night in the vehicle.

"We received a call around 3am about the accident and rushed to the city," said Sampath, Rajesh's father-in-law. "He earned `300 daily and would come home on alternate days to see his children," he said.

Rajesh was also taking care of his elderly parents, who have both undergone surgeries recently.

Police had never booked Rajesh, an experienced driver, for a traffic violation. "Rajesh had been driving autos vehicle for 16 years and had never caused an accident," said his friend Sundaralingam, also from Arakkonam.

"For those arrested it would be few days of jail. But a family has lost a loved one and a breadwinner," said Venkatesan, an autorickshaw driver, who had parked a few metres from the accident spot.