Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Billionaire hires 12 servants for daughter headed to UK univ

Naomi Canton TNN

London:12.09.2018 TOI

An Indian billionaire has put out an advert for 12 servants to look after his daughter when she starts her four-year course at St Andrews University in Scotland this month.

The advert posted by Silver Swan Recruitment, which specialises in finding staff for British private estates, states that a wealthy Indian family is looking for a butler, gardener, three housekeepers, house manager, lady’s maid, chauffeur, chef and three footmen to look after their daughter, who will reside in a nearby mansion.

The job description for a “cheerful and energetic” lady’s maid said they would be responsible for “waking principal up, liaising with other staff regarding routine and schedule, assisting with grooming, wardrobe management and personal shopping”.

The footmen will be responsible for serving meals, laying the table and keeping the house clean. They will also be required to open doors for the student “wherever possible”, the ad said. The roles are said to pay about £30k (₹28 lakh) a year. The ad states that the “the family are very formal so are looking for experienced staff ” and that the “rest of the family will be staying intermittently”.

Students in the UK normally stay in a hall of residence during their first year and move out into houseshares in later years and most live frugal lives on limited budgets.

A spokeswoman for St Andrews University, which is where Prince William met Kate, said they did not object to such a lifestyle and had no concerns about the student fitting in. “It is the student’s private life. They can live how they want. We have students coming here from all over the world and they do not have to stay in halls of residence,” the spokeswoman said. She added: “We don’t have confirmation of any of this. It was just put on a job advert by Silver Swan. It is not related to us at all. This is a matter for the student and her family. They have posted the ad privately.”

A spokesman for Silver Swan Recruitment said: “We have pretty much filled all the positions now so the advert is closed, and we have taken it down. We cannot comment on this further as it is extremely confidential.”

St Andrews University

T’gana driver highly experienced, won award

Passersby Tried Unbolting Emergency Door To Rescue Victims, But It Failed To Open

Syed Akbar & Shiv Kumar Pinna TNN

Hyderabad:12.09.2018

The devout, the daily labour and the students. Little did they know that they were boarding the bus to death when they left home on Tuesday morning.

The devout had visited the temple of Sri Anjaneya Swamy, the labour were in search of livelihood and the students were on their way to schools and colleges. The bus met with an accident a short while after they had boarded it. A pall of gloom descended on three of the seven villages abutting Kondagattu as news of the accident reached there. Many victims were from Sanivarampet, Dabbu Timmayyapalle and Himatraopet villages.

The bus driver was highly experienced and won an award. The passengers thought they were in the safe hands. But fate willed otherwise.

“It was a smooth journey though the bus was packed to the last inch. It happened all of a sudden. In a flash of a second the vehicle fell down from the ghat road,” said Anjan Kumar, a villager of Rekurthi, who was following the bus on his two-wheeler. “It was all over in no time,” he said in a choked voice.

The bus was coming down the ghat road, he said adding that it soon veered away from the path.

“I thought that the driver would apply brakes and gain control,” he said.

Those passing through the ghat road rushed to the spot and broke open glass panes. They also attempted to open the emergency exit door. It did not open.

Soon more villagers gathered and pulled out victims. The district administration arranged 20 ambulances. The ghat road is not guarded with a protective wall. Officials said the road would be fenced soon.

PALL OF GLOOM: Families mourn the loss of their loved ones who died in the Kondagattu ghat road bus accident on Tuesday. Most of the victims were aged 40 and above

Post of Vice Chancellor TOI 12.09.2018

Govt can’t fix timeframe for governor, says Jayakumar

Chennai:12.09.2018

The government cannot fix a timeframe for governor Banwarilal Purohit to act on the resolution passed by the cabinet recommending release of the seven Rajiv Gandi case convicts, fisheries minister D Jayakumar said on Tuesday. The cabinet on Sunday resolved to remit the sentence of all seven convicts under Article 161 of the Constitution.

“He is a constitutional head of the state. The state government hopes the governor will respect the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu which has been reflected in the cabinet resolution,” he said. The Supreme Court while disposing last week the Centre’s petition challenging the decision of the state in 2014 to remit the sentences, put the onus on the governor to decide on the clemency plea of one convicts, A G Perarivalan, under Article 161.

On the Congress opposition to release of convicts, Jayakumar said the DMK, an ally of the Congress should exert pressure on the latter to reconsider its view. “Is DMK leader M K Stalin ready to urge the Congress to be in line with the state of Tamil Nadu on remitting the sentence? If he is not ready, then there is no need for him to be in the alliance. I would say it is opportunism,” the minister said. TNN

NEWS DIGEST

Dr MGR Research Institute holds 27th convocation

The 27th convocation of Dr M G R Educational and Research Institute at Maduravoyal was organised here on Monday. A total of 2303 degrees were awarded to the successful students of various courses in engineering, medical and management. Governor Banwarilal Purohit delivered the convocation address.

Times Ascent quiz on Sept 15: The Times Ascent 'Engineering Mastermind Quiz', will be organized between 2pm and 6.30pm on September 15. The Chennai zonal round and grand finale will be held at ITC Grand Chola in Guindy.

MK statue to be installed at Anna Arivalayam: A bronze statue of former chief minister M Karunanidhi will be installed at the party headquarters in a few days. The statue is being made at Tiruvallur and DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday visited the place to see the statue and suggested a few changes to sthapati Sirpi Dheenadayalan.

Best teacher award for Velammal school teacher: Jessy Samuel, a teacher of Velammal Main School, Mogappair campus, was honoured with the best teacher award for her service in the field of education. The programme was organized by the Lions Club, Periamet.

Taj Connemara reopens after renovation: The iconic Taj Connemara relaunched on Tuesday after undergoing an extensive renovation and redesign. The 120-year old structure is a relic of the colonial era and is named after Lord Connemara, then governor of Madras.

Three-day knowledge carnival at VIT ends: The fourth edition of technoVIT’18, a three-day technical extravaganza was organised between September 6 and 8 at VIT Chennai. About 10,000 students from more than 200 colleges participated in the event.

2 students held for using fake Paytm to dupe store of ₹30k

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:12.09.2018

Police on Tuesday arrested two college students for cheating a supermarket owner in Thoraipakkam of ₹30,000 by claiming to have paid through Paytm while actually using a spoof app.

A court sent the arrested men — Kiran, a 20-year-old catering college student, and Stelly, a 22-year-old engineering student — to jail. Police registered a case against seven others for their involvement in the crime. Investigators are searching for them.

A police officer said the students, who always came in a group, had been buying eatables and packed goods for the past three months and paying through Paytm. They would show the screen saying ‘paid’ to Velraj, who owned the supermarket, and leave with the goods.

When Velraj recently verified his bank accounts, he found there was a shortage of ₹30,000 with regard to goods sold and money received. He questioned Kiran, who is from Bengaluru resident, and Stelly, fom Kerala, who said it would take some time for the money to be transferred from their accounts to his.

Not convinced, he again questioned them on their next visit and then informed the Thoraipakkam police. A team arrived at the spot and detained the two students at the police station.

During interrogation, the two men confessed to cheating the shop owner using a spoof Paytm app. “They said they used the same modus operandi to cheat a few other small shops in the locality. We are taking complaints from the owners of the shops where they made purchases for between ₹2,000 and ₹5,000,” the officer said.

“Velraj, the supermarket owner in Thoraipakkam, failed to check his account immediately after the purchases were made as he thought the money would be credited to his account after a delay and that he would receive an SMS later. Caught up in his hectic daily schedule, he forgot to check his account,” he said.

TN guv can’t release Rajiv convicts sans nod of Centre: MHA official

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:12.09.2018

Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit will have to consult the Centre on the state government’s recommendation for release of seven people convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, a home ministry official said.

The official said since the case was investigated by the CBI-led multi-disciplinary monitoring agency (MDMA),

the governor had to forward the remission file relating to the seven convicts to the Centre for a view.

Section 435 of the Criminal Procedure Code requires state governments to act after consultation with the central government in cases investigated by the Delhi Special Police Establishment constituted under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, or by any other agency empowered to investigate an offence under any central Act.

“This is the correct legal position. The (remission) file will have to be routed through the Centre,” a senior home ministry officer told TOI on Tuesday.

RAJIV CASE

‘Centre unlikely to revise its earlier stand conveyed to SC’

The AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu had on Sunday recommended to the governor to release the convicts, a move hailed by most political parties in the state.

The CBI-led MDMA, probing the larger conspiracy behind the assassination, had told the Supreme Court a few months ago that the investigation in the case was “still open” and letters rogatory had been issued to different countries, including Sri Lanka, where some persons required to be investigated were residing.

The official said the Centre was unlikely to revise its earlier stand, conveyed to the SC in August, that releasing the seven convicts would set a wrong precedent as the terror act was directed at a former PM.

“The central government, in pursuance of Section 435 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, does not concur with the proposal of Tamil Nadu government contained in the communication letter dated March 2, 2016, for grant of further remission of sentence of these seven convicts,” the government had said in its reply to the apex court.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated at a poll rally on the night of May 21, 1991, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber.

› Min: Govt can’t fix timeframe for guv, P 11

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

விற்பனைக்கு வந்தது 6ஜி.பி ரேம் கொண்ட மோட்டோ ஜி6 பிளஸ் !!!

டர்போ பவர் அடாப்டர் மூலம் 7 மணி நேரத்துக்கான சார்ஜை 15 நிமிடங்களில் ஏற்றலாம்.

மோட்டோ ஜி6 பிளஸ் ஸ்மார்ட்ஃபோன் இந்தியாவில் அறிமுகமானது. ஜி6 மற்றும் ஜி6 பிளே மொபைகளின் தொடர்ச்சியாக ஜி6 பிளஸ் வெளியாகியுள்ளது. ஜி6 சீரிஸில் இந்த ஸ்மார்ட்ஃபோனுக்கு பெரிய டிஸ்பிளேவும், அதிக வேகமான பிராசஸரும் இருக்கிறது.

மோட்டோ ஜி6 பிளஸ் விலை:

6ஜி.பி ரேம்/ 64ஜி.பி மெமரி கொண்ட ஜி6 பிளஸின் விலை 22,499 ரூபாய். அமேசான், மோட்டோ ஹப்ஸ் மற்றும் மோட்டோவின் ஆஃப்லைன் விற்பனை நிலையங்களில் இன்று முதல் கிடைக்கும். இண்டிகோ கருப்பு நிறுத்தில் மட்டும் தான் விற்பனைக்கு கிடைக்கும். பேடிஎம் மால் ஆப்பில் வாங்குபவர்களுக்கு 3000 ரூபாய் கேஷ்பேக் கிடைக்கிறது.
ஜி6 பிளஸ் ஸ்மார்ட்ஃபோனின் சிறப்பம்சங்கள்:

இரண்டு நானோ சிம் ஸ்லாட்கள் கொண்ட இந்த ஸ்மார்ட்ஃபோன், ஆண்ட்ராய்டு 8.0 ஓரியோ அவுட் ஆஃப் தி பாக்ஸ் இயங்குதளத்தில் கட்டமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. ஆண்ட்ராய்டு பை அப்டேட் பின்னர் கொடுக்கப்படும். 5.93 இன்ச், 18:9 ஆஸ்பெக்ட் ரேஷியோ தொடு திரை கொண்டது. ஸ்னாப்டிராகன் 630 பிராசஸர் இடம் பெற்றுள்ளது. 6 ஜி.பி ரேம், வேகம் சேர்க்கிறது. 64 ஜி.பி ஃபோன் மெமரியும், எஸ்.டி கார்டு மூலம் 128 ஜி.பி அளவுக்கு ஸ்டோரேஜை நீட்டித்துக் கொள்ளவும் முடியும். எஸ்.டி கார்டுக்கென தனி ஸ்லாட் உள்ளது.

பின் பக்கத்தில், 12 மெகா பிக்சல் பிரைமரி சென்சாரும், 5 மெகா பிக்சல் செகண்டரி சென்சாரும் கொண்ட டூயல் கேமராவும் உள்ளது. முன் பக்கத்தில் 8 மெகா பிக்சல் சென்சார் கொண்ட செல்ஃபி கேமராவும் இருக்கிறது. டூயல் டோன், டூயல் லென்ஸ் எல்.இ.டி ஃபிளாஷ் பின் பக்கத்திலும், முன்பக்கம் செல்ஃபி ஃபிளாஷும் உள்ளது.

நெட்வொர்க் தொடர்பை பொறுத்தவரை 4ஜி எல்.டி.இ, வைஃபை 802.11, ப்ளூடூத் வி5.0, மைக்ரோ யூ.எஸ்.பி டைப் சி, ஜி.பி.எஸ், 3.5மிமீ ஹெட்ஃபோன் ஜாக்கும் இதில் உள்ளது. 3200mAh பேட்டரி கொண்டது. டர்போ பவர் அடாப்டர் மூலம் 7 மணி நேரத்துக்கான சார்ஜை 15 நிமிடங்களில் ஏற்றலாம். இதன் எடை165 கிராம்.

MGR medical varsity to launch 13 new courses

The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University is going to launch 13 new courses from this academic year.

Published: 11th September 2018 05:35 AM |

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University is going to launch 13 new courses from this academic year. According to officials, the university will launch four Masters’ degree, five postgraduate diploma courses and also four post-doctoral fellowship programme from this academic year.

The M.Sc course will be offered in Respiratory Therapy, Sports and Fitness Psychology, Sports and Fitness Nutrition, and Biomechanics Kinesiology. Postgraduate diploma course offered is in Clinical Research, Bioinformatics, Exercise Psychology, Public Health Journalism and Health Education. Post-doctoral fellowship on offer is in Otology, Emergency medicine, Advance Electrocardiology (ECG), and Clinical Electrophysiology.

Dr S Geethalakshmi, the Vice-Chancellor, told Express, “An expert committee was formed for framing the syllabus and curriculum. The curriculum is ready for all courses to be offered from this academic year. Sale of applications will begin following advertisement in newspapers”.There will be only limited seats in all these courses. M.Sc will be offered for two years, postgraduate diploma one year and post-doctoral fellowship programme for one year, said officials.

MGR medical varsity to launch 13 new courses

The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University is going to launch 13 new courses from this academic year.

Published: 11th September 2018 05:35 AM |

Tamil Nadu: 35 government quota BDS seats, 505 management seats in self-aided colleges lie vacant

At the end of the counselling, 35 government quota BDS seats and 505 management seats in self-financing colleges remained vacant.

Published: 11th September 2018 05:36 AM |

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: At the end of the counselling, 35 government quota BDS seats and 505 management seats in self-financing colleges remained vacant.

The selection committee of the Directorate of Medical Education wound up the counselling on Monday. “It was the end of the counselling. We had called candidates with just NEET pass marks to fill the seats. But, the candidates preferred only MBBS seats. They were even ready to take NEET next year for it. So, BDS seats remained vacant. The remaining seats will be surrendered back to the colleges concerned,” said selection committee Secretary Dr G Selvarajan.

On Monday, 318 candidates attended the counselling for government quota BDS seats in self-financing colleges, and 237 seats were allotted and there were 35 vacant seats. For management quota seats, 65 candidates attended, and 64 were allotted seats and 505 seats remained vacant.

The selection committee invited applications from candidates last month for government quota seats in self-financing dental colleges and management seats after seats were not filled. The committee notification had said candidates with not less than 119 NEET marks can attend the counselling in general category and for the SC/ST/OBCs, UG NEET 2018 score should be not less than 96.The counselling to fill BDS government quota and management seats in self financing dental colleges was held from August 27 to 30.

St Thomas Mount deaths in Chennai: Railway staff may face charges
The alteration of the FIR was a fallout of the statement of witnesses, say police.

Published: 11th September 2018 05:49 AM |

Police altered the FIR in the case on Monday. | (File | EPS)

By B Anbuselvan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: A few railway employees, including loco pilot, guard and station masters, who were on duty on July 24 when five passengers who travelled on the foot-board of a train were killed after hitting the concrete fence at St Thomas Mount station, are likely to be charged with causing death due to negligence.

On Monday, the Mambalam Government Railway Police inquiring into the incident have altered the first information report (FIR), invoking sections 304 (a) (causing death due to negligence not amounting to culpable homicide ), 279 (driving vehicle endangering the human life), 337 (causing hurt by act of endangering life) and 338 (causing grievous hurt to others negligently) of the Indian Penal Code. On July 24, the case was registered under IPC Section 174 (accidental death).

The alteration of the FIR was a fallout of the statement of witnesses, say police. “Many witnesses said were not warned about operating the train in fast line. We also suspect that the train may have exceeded the caution speed while entering into the platform 3 at St. Thomas Mount. So, the FIR has been altered to fix the accountability,” P K Ravi, Deputy Superintendent of Police, GRP, told Express.

On Saturday motorman Manoj Pazhavilla and guard Balaji, who were on duty in the Chennai — Tirumalpur suburban train on July 24, the day of the accident, were interrogated by the GRP. The police also recorded the statements of station masters of Guindy, St Thomas Mount and Beach stations. Railway officials have told the police that EMU trains are permitted to maintain 40 kmph speed while entering into the platform and subsequently decelerate it to zero. On July 24, the EMU was operated at the speed of 38 kmph, said police.

The police suspect that railway employees may have failed to take enough precautionary measures while diverting the train to the fast line during rush hour. “We were informed that the operational wing had to issue a mandatory warning to all staff including loco pilot, guard and station masters when they decided to run a train on fast line. We have asked the railway employees to submit the caution order issued at the Beach station,” added Ravi. The police have not named any railway employee in the FIR so far. “After an inquiry, accordingly we will fix accountability,” said the GRP police personnel.

In a nutshell:

On July 24, case registered under section 174 (accidental death) of IPC.

Mambalam GRP inquired with 35 witnesses and five railway employees.

Police suspect negligence in safety precautions and overspeed while entering into the platform at Mount station.

FIR altered, invoking section 304 (a) (causing death due to negligence), 279 (endangering the human life), 337 (causing hurt) and 338 (causing hurt negligently) of IPC.

Southern Railway says caution order issued to operate on fast line and train was at the speed of 38 kmph while entering into the platform 3 at Mount.

EMUs allowed to maintain 40 kmph while entering into platform claims Southern Railway.

Courses in paramedical sciences

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

TIRUCHI, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 00:00 IST

The Tamil Nadu MGR Medical University has approved the proposal of K.A.P. Viswanatham Government Medical College to offer eight degree courses on paramedical sciences. G. Anitha, Dean of the college told The Hindu that duration of the courses would be three years. B.Sc, Radiology and Imaging Technology, Critical Care Technology, Dialysis Technology, Operation Theatre Technology, Physician Assistants, Accident and Emergency Care Technology and Medical Lab Technology were among the courses approved by the Tamil Nadu MGR Medical University.

The intake of each course would 20 students. A total of 160 students would be admitted.

Department of Treasuries and Accounts to become paperless from November

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

TIRUCHI, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 00:00 IST

Sensitisation programme for officers on IFHRMS held

The Department of Treasuries and Accounts will become paperless from November, according to Tenkasi S. Jawahar, Principal Secretary/Commissioner of Treasury Accounts.

He was addressing a sensitisation programme for treasury officers on the Integrated Financial and Human Resources Management System (IFHRMS).

He said that preparatory works on launching the IFHRMS had reached the advanced level. As per the schedule, a digitalised system for streamlining treasury operations will be launched in November. The existing system will be eased out on October 31. “The new system will completely eliminate paper based entry transactions,” he said.

Mr. Jawahar said the works on digitalising the service records of about 9 lakh government employees was almost complete. This would enable the officials to upload the payment details of employees, promotion, transfer, leave and other service details regularly. There would be no room for displacing service records.

He said the new system would simply the task of preparing pay bills. All 29,000 drawing and disbursing officers in the State could prepare the pay bill through online. They would have to submit the pay bills to the treasury office through online.

Mr. Jawahar said that the system had been encrypted with security features such as bio-metric authentication, digital signature and multiple firewall. It would drastically reduce paper work and eliminate manpower for physically carrying bills to the treasury. It would also save time and energy. Under the existing system, it takes at least six to 10 days to prepare pay bills. Under the new system, the payment would be routed through Reserve Bank of India's e-Kuber facility and settlement of bills would be done on the same day.

Collector K. Rajamani, Commissioner of Police A. Amalraj, District Judge S. Kumaraguru, Chief Conservator of Forest Yokesh Singh and senior officials participated.

Railways ordered to pay compensation to victim of rat bite on running train

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SALEM, SEPTEMBER 11, 2018 00:00 IST

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the Southern Railway to pay Rs. 32,000 as compensation to a passenger who was bitten by a rat on a running train.

P. Venkatachalam of Koottathupatti village in Vazhappadi block, in his complaint to the Forum, had stated that the incident happened when he was travelling by Salem – Chennai Express on August 8, 2014. When he tried to take his bag that was under the seat, a rat bit his index finger causing pain and bleeding.

He brought it to the notice of the train ticket examiner, who told him that there was no medicine in the first-aid box. However, he promised treatment when the train reached Vridhachalam junction.

Mr. Venkatachalam approached the station master after the train reached Vridhachalam junction, but he was told that there was no medicine available in the station. He registered a complaint in the complaints register at the station.

After the receipt of complaint, the station master gave him a copy with a false endorsement as if first-aid was given to the complainant.

The station master assured Mr. Venkatachalam proper treatment at the Egmore Railway Station. But, no one took care of the complainant at the Egmore station. The complainant said that he took treatment in a private hospital in Chennai and later at the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital in Salem city.

A few days later, the complainant received a letter from the Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Salem Division, stating that proper first-aid was given to the complainant.

Venkatachalam preferred a complaint with the Forum through the Federation of Consumer Organisations-Tamil Nadu (FEDCOT), seeking compensation for the mental agony he suffered and the expenses incurred for the treatment.

The Railways in its reply stated that first-aid was given to the complainant through a Siddha doctor who was travelling in the same coach. Though he was requested to stay back at Vridhachalam station for further treatment, he preferred to continue his journey. He did not utilise the emergency medical service at Egmore, it said.

The Forum, presided by R.V. R. Deenadayalan, president, and S. Rajalakshmi, member, observed that Railways was a major establishment and it was duty bound to keep the coaches clean. It was mandatory on the part of the Railways to stock the first-aid box with emergency medicines.

Deficiency in service

The failure of the Railways to keep the coaches clean and to stock the first-aid box with emergency medicines amounted to deficiency in service.

Smile not always a sign of happiness

It Can Be For Social Reasons, To Put People At Ease Or To Show Complex Emotions

London:11.09.2018

Smiling does not necessarily indicate that a person is happy, according to a study. It is widely believed that smiling means we are happy, and it usually occurs when we are engaging with another person or group of people. Researchers from the University of Sussex show this is not always the case. Sometimes we do smile simply because we are happy, but we also smile for social reasons and to put people at ease, as well as to show more complex emotions, such as resignation.

The way people often behave during one-to-one Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI) is as if they were socially engaged, researchers said. They asked 44 participants aged 18-35 to play a geography quiz game consisting of nine difficult questions so that they often got the answer wrong. Seated participants interacted with a computer alone in a room while their faces were video recorded.

After the quiz, the participants were asked to rate their subjective experience using a range of 12 emotions including ‘bored’, ‘interested’ and ‘frustrated’. Their facial expressions were computer analysed frame by frame in order to judge how much they were smiling based on a scale of 0 to 1.

“According to some researchers, a genuine smile reflects the inner state of cheerfulness or amusement,” said Harry Witchel from Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS). “However, Behavioural Ecology Theory suggests that all smiles are tools used in social interactions; that theory claims that cheerfulness is neither necessary nor sufficient for smiling,” Witchel said.

“Our study showed that in these Human-Computer Interaction experiments, smiling is not driven by happiness; it is associated with subjective engagement, which acts like a social fuel for smiling, even when socialising with a computer on your own,” he said.

The analysis broke down each of the questions into a question and answer period. Participants did not tend to smile during the period when they were trying to figure out the answers, researchers said. However, they did smile right after the computer game informed them if their answer was correct or wrong, and surprisingly, participants smiled more often when they got the answer wrong. “During these computerised quizzes, smiling was radically enhanced just after answering questions incorrectly,” Witchel added. PTI

DECODING A SMILE

Woman delivers boy on train for the second time

Ravindra.Uppar@timesgroup.com

Belagavi:11.09.2018

Yallawwa Mayur Gayakwad, 23, returning home to Raibag from Kolhapur for her third delivery, suffered labour pains mid-journey and gave birth to a baby boy on the train. The entire railway machinery got into a tizzy, organizing a makeshift ward and ensuring a safe delivery, but Yallawwa wasn’t too flustered. She had done the exact same thing a year ago.

Yallawwa lives with her husband and children in a rented house in Kolhapur. While Yallawwa works as a domestic help, her husband is a construction labourer. The couple have a girl and a boy, who was born in a running train near Hatakanagale railway station on the Maharashtra border a year ago. Expecting for the third time, Yallawwa boarded the Haripriya Express on Monday morning to return to her house in Shahu Park, 7km from Raibag town, for the delivery. Her sister-inlaw accompanied her on the less than three hours journey.

Around 9.30am, as the train neared Chinchali, about 15km from Raibag, Yallawwa developed labour pain. Sources said she was travelling in a crowded general compartment and seeing her in pain, passengers offered her a seat. But the pain intensified and Yallawwa realized it was time.

The railway staff called for the 108 ambulance to stand by at Raibag station but Yallawwa seemed ready to deliver on the running rain. The staff quickly vacated the compartment and covered it with bedsheets to create a labour room. Yallawwa’s sister-in-law and some elderly woman passengers then delivered the baby.

When the train pulled into Raibag, the ambulance staff gave first aid to mother and child and shifted them. The station master stopped the train for half an hour at Raibag, allowing for their safe transfer.

Health officer RH Rangannavar said mother and child were doing well at the Raibag taluk hospital and would be discharged in a day.

ALL IS WELL: Officials said the mother and child were doing well at the Raibag taluk hospital

Wedding called off as ‘bride is always on WhatsApp’

Nazar Abbas@timesgroup.com

Amroha:11.09.2018

A family in Uttar Pradesh’s Amroha called off the wedding of their son, alleging that the bride uses too much time on WhatsApp. According to a police complaint filed by the bride’s father, the groom’s father called up the family on Wednesday, the day of the wedding, and told them about their decision.

“We had no inkling about what was coming to us. My daughter was in the middle of preparationsfor her wedding and was very excited. We were waiting for the baraat and all the guests were present inside the house. Suddenly, the groom’s father called me up and said they were cancelling the wedding,” the bride’s father told TOI.

He alleged that the groom’s father had also demanded ₹70 lakh in dowry, a demand which they could not fulfill.

Amroha superintendent of police Vipin Tada said, “The bride’s father had approached the Naugawan Sadat police station with the complaint that the groom’s father had called off the wedding saying the girl uses too much WhatsApp. He also alleged that the groom’s family demanded ₹70 lakh in dowry.”

Woman wins 41-yr fight over ₹312 fee 13 years after death

Binay.Singh@timesgroup.com

Varanasi 11.09.2018

: Ganga Devi was always a fighter. So when the Mirzapur district magistrate served a property attachment notice on her after a dispute in 1975, she protested vehemently. Then 37, she challenged the action before the civil judge and won the case two years later in 1977.

Fate though had another, harder battle in store for her. During the course of the trial, the judge had asked Ganga to pay a court fee of ₹312, which she did. But just as she was ready to get the final copy of the order that was in her favour, someone noticed that Ganga hadn’t attached a receipt of the ₹312 that she had already shelled out. The “vital” document was missing.

It being her wont, Ganga refused to pay up again. The case hanged in court for 41 years as Ganga wouldn’t budge. The suit, filed in 1975, was finally disposed by Mirzapur civil judge (senior division) Lovely Jaiswal on August 31, 2018. Again in her favour. Ganga, of course, wasn’t there to witness the momentous occasion. She died in 2005. “Ganga Devi just didn’t want to pay the court fee of ₹312 for the second time,” a lawyer involved in the proceedings said.

Case continued due to an error in the file, says judge

Requesting anonymity, the lawyer added,“One must remember that Rs 312 four decades ago wasn’t such a small amount. She protested but her plea was not accepted and a case of ‘non-payment of court fee’ continued against her for the next 41 years. The file went through 11 judges, but Ganga Devi remained unheard.”

By the time the matter came up before Jaiswal, who detected the anomaly and after fresh probes found that the fee had indeed been deposited on April 9, 1977, Ganga’s family had given up on justice.

In her judgment, Jaiswal observed that no court fee was pending. “It seemed that the case continued due to an error in the file. Hence, the case is fit for disposal,” the civil judge pronounced. Nobody from Ganga’s family was present in court to celebrate. One of her family members received a copy of the order through speed post last week.

By the time the matter came up before the civil judge, the family had given up on justice

AIADMK to launch its own television channel, News J

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:11.09.2018

The ruling AIADMK will soon boast of its own brand new television channel. Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam will launch the logo, mobile application and the web portal of the channel, News J, on Wednesday at an event in Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai.

Funded by senior members of the cabinet, the company will launch a bouquet of three channels - beginning with a dedicated news channel to take the government’s achievements and programmes to the masses. “There is a need to counter the opposition’s criticism in the digital space. With Sasikala clan owning Jaya TV, we are left with no option but to go in for one of our own,” said a senior minister.

The trial run of the channel is likely to be completed in a month and a grand event is being planned in the city for the mega launch. A general entertainment channel (GEC) and one for music is also planned, post launch of the news channel.

Earlier, the party launched Namadhu Amma, a Tamil daily in February on the sidelines of Jayalalithaa’s birthday.

Interestingly, the party has roped in Hansraj Saxena, a former close aide of Sun Network’s chairman Kalanithi Maran, and that organisation’s chief operating officer. With kith and kin of the senior ministers occupying the higher posts in the channel, it will be a news channel with a difference with plans to do away debates, sources said.

“As the opposition parties are taking on the government for deteriorating law and order situation, the channel will boast successful cracking of cases by the police,” an insider said. The party is facing the heat of corruption charges against CM, deputy CM and ministers like S P Velumani and C Vijayabaskar. The I-T and CBI searches have been latest embarrassment.

The channel comes in the wake of leaders complaining that the achievements, including Cauvery Water Management Authority, have been overshadowed by the opposition allegations. The management has deployed correspondents and stringers in all districts going by the soaring popularity of Tamil news channels in the last two decades.

Funded by senior members of the cabinet, the company will launch of a bouquet of three channels - beginning with a dedicated news channel

Med student turns farmhand to bail out family

Balajee.CR@timesgroup.com

Trichy: 11.09.2018

The hands that train with scalpels through the week pluck weeds on weekends. P Kanimozhi’s impoverished family to mortgaged or sold everything it had to fund her MBBS course at a private college and she is now making sure it doesn’t starve.

During weekends, Kanimozhi, who belongs to the Arunthathiyar community, works on a farm for a meagre ₹150 a day to supplement what her father P Pichaimani, 45, a farmer at Veppanthattai in Permabalur, makes.

The 21-year-old, who in 2014 managed to secure a government quota seat at Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College at Siruvachur in Perambalur, fears she will have to discontinue her studies in the final year if she is not able to pay the fees.

The annual fee, Kanimozhi said, was around ₹5 lakh, of which around ₹3 lakh was provided by the state government as scholarship under the scheme for scheduled castes. But the scholarship is only for 4 years and 6 months.

Kanimozhi’s paltry earnings can only pay for her family’s daily expenses. “Along with my mother, I go to farms and do various types of work like removing weeds. My family has been struggling with poverty and meeting the medical expenses of my sister, who has a hearing impairment,” she said.

N Selvaraj, at whose farm Kanimozhi has been working from 7am to 1pm a day during the past few weekends, said: “In Veppanthattai, dailywagers go to farms wherever required. As far as I know, Kanimozhi has been doing this work for over two years and in recent weekends she has been working at my farm. Though I have advised her not to do such work as she’s an MBBS student, she said that she was doing it so that she could help her family.”

Her father said he had mortgaged all he could to pay ₹8,80,000 as fees so far and he had nothing left. “I was a daily-wage worker in Dubai for a few years, but after suffering an accident I returned home and have been farming on a one-acre plot of land. I sold my wife’s jewellery and mortgaged my farming land to pay Kanimozhi’s fees. My only dream is to make sure my daughter finishes her MBBS course,” he said.

College sources said the due date for Kanimozhi to pay the pending fee was in February. They said that knowing her situation, at no point did they compel her to pay the fee or ask her not to attend classes. “We always understand when a student is struggling financially. She’s regularly coming to college. If she had brought up the issue straight to us, we would’ve seen what could be done,” the source added.

SUPHILL BATTLE: P Kanimozhi works on a farm on weekends for just ₹150 a day so that her family does not starve

TN made its own interpretation

Jayaraj Sivan & Julie Mariappan | TNN 11.09.2018

The Tamil Nadu cabinet’s decision to release all the seven convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and the debates surrounding the issue turn out to be a case of the political class in the state making much sound and fury about the Supreme Court observation in the A G Perarivalan case.

The September 6 observation of the apex court - which states that Tamil Nadu governor is naturally “at liberty to decide” on Perarivalan’s application filed before him under Article 161 of the Constitution “as deemed fit” – is not an adjudicatory judgment and does not make any marked difference in the earlier stated position regarding the jurisdictional aspects of the case.

While considering the state government’s remission power under Section 435 of CrPC, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the SC, on December 2, 2015, had ruled that states could not remit sentences of convicts in cases investigated by central agencies under any central law. The Constitution Bench made it amply clear that the Centre’s concurrence was mandatory for states to decide on remission in cases involving heinous crimes, especially when national interest was at stake. Now, Tamil Nadu government is invoking Article 161 of the Constitution, arguing that it can decide on the remission of not only Perarivalan, but the remaining six people as well.

Following the cabinet decision, the government on Monday sent individual case files of all the seven convicts to governor Banwarilal Purohit, seeking their release. The government has also enclosed the legal opinion provided by its advocate general Vijay Narayan to drive home its argument.

The opposition parties in Tamil Nadu, including the DMK and the PMK, jumped the gun to celebrate the SC order following incorrect reporting by a section of media. Perhaps, sensing that the issue lends itself for some political mileage, the state government has sought to play it to the gallery. “In this case, TN government has kept the political reasoning to the fore, pushing the law around the case to the back seat,” said senior advocate K M Vijayan.

Law minister C V Shanmugam said the convicts had completed a quarter century in prison. “The government is very firm. After the SC order, we wasted no time in adhering to it,” he said, expressing hope that Purohit also would act fast.

“The Supreme Court has specifically given the liberty to the governor to consider the application of Perarivalan under Article 161 of the Constitution. My opinion goes on to say that what transpires in the case of Perarivalan will apply to all since they have also made similar applications to the state. That is logical,” Narayan told TOI. His argument is that since the only sentence they serve now is under Section 302 of IPC, which falls in the state list, Tamil Nadu government is well within its rights to decide their release. Given the Centre’s objection, the governor may not play ball though.

DECISION AWAITS

Guv’s options range from traditional to adventurous

All Eyes On Governor’s Next Move On The Issue Of Rajiv Murder Convicts

A.Subramani and B Sivakumar | TNN 11.10.2018

Now that the Tamil Nadu cabinet’s decision to release the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case is fait accompli, there are at least three theoretical possibilities. The options open to the Tamil Nadu governor range from the conventional to the adventurous, irrespective of the legal and political advice he gets.

One, he can sit on the cabinet recommendation endlessly, as Article 161 of the Constitution does not prescribe any time limit for him to take a decision on the cabinet resolution. Two, he can return the resolution to the cabinet for clarification or reconsideration. The third option, which could be the most adventurous, is he can reject the resolution prompting the stake-holders to take the issue to courts, where it will be a time-consuming process. Former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash Kashyap said under Article 161, the governor did not have any time limit for giving his decision. “He can consult the Centre, legal experts or just sit on it for whatever time he wants to. The Article does not mention any provision for the governor to act on an assembly or cabinet resolution,” said Kashyap. Justice D Hariparanthaman, former judge of the Madras high court, while conceding that there was no constitutional deadline for the governor to take a decision, said if there was inordinate delay, people could go to court for a direction for early disposal. “There is no bar as the governor too is a constitutional creature,” he said. As for the ‘theoretical third possibility’ of returning to the state cabinet for reconsideration or for clarification, Justice Hariparanthaman said: “In my experience I have not seen a precedent where the decision of a state cabinet decision was rejected by the governor. It will be against constitutional scheme of things.”

In 1999, governor of Tamil Nadu Fatima Beevi returned the proposal to commute the death sentence of Nalini Sriharan into one of imprisonment for life only because the state government had first merely forwarded the advocate-general’s opinion to the government. After the high court held that the opinion could not replace the procedure of getting advice from the council of ministers, the Tamil Nadu cabinet sent a duly adopted resolution to the governor, leading to Nalini escaping the gallows.

Former solicitor general of India Mohan Parasaran said now it was for the Centre to apply its mind and take a decision. “Though the SC has clearly said the state government has powers to decide on releasing the convicts and has turned down the Centre’s argument on the issue, the governor has the option of getting opinions, legal or otherwise,” said Parasaran. Asked whether the case will once again go to the SC, the constitution expert said it was too early for the case to be once again heard by the SC.

Giant plane with 53 tonnes cargo lands at airport

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:11.10.2018

A giant Antonov AN-124 aircraft operated by Russian freight company Volga-Dnepr Airlines landed at Chennai airport on Sunday. The plane landed with 53.46 tonnes of machinery including windmill components from Xi’an Xianyang in China. The whole freight was unloaded and had to be carried on 13 trucks.

This is first time an AN-124 aircraft is landing here with a considerable amount of payload. Since Chennai airport is a major gateway to south India, such hauls are expected to be a regular occurrence in future, a press release said.

AN-124 aircraft is designed for long-range delivery and air dropping of heavy and large cargo. It has a payload capacity of up to 150 tonne. The aircraft is currently at Bay 104 and is expected to leave the airport at 11:30am on Tuesday. “It is a plane that falls into the category of A380 aircraft in terms of size. We have only one bay for such planes,” a senior Airports Authority of India official said. The wingspan of the plane is too wide that it cannot be brought anywhere near the terminals.

Unloading was a challenge. The plane comes with a huge crane that can be used to unload the cargo. “Antonov planes bring cargo of unusual size. Trailer trucks had to be driven along the road that runs along the perimeter and had to cover 7km to reach the plane,” said another official.

The Antonov AN-124, which has a payload capacity of up to 150 tonnes, is currently at Bay 104

COVER BLOWN

Man impersonates friend at Isro exam, caught red-handed
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 11.09.2018

A 24-year-old man from Haryana was arrested for impersonating his friend at an examination held for a clerical post at Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).

On Sunday, around 2,800 candidates attended the national-level examination conducted at a deemed university in Semmancheri.

The man has been identified as Ajay; he was impersonating his friend Manish.

Police said around 12.45pm, the invigilator stopped near Ajay who was trying to hide an object. When the invigilator asked him to hand it over, Ajay refused. But the invigilator frisked him and found a phone from which he was sending photos of the question paper to his accomplices who were sending him answers.

When the examiner checked the hall ticket, he found that the photograph did not match Ajay’s face. They learnt that the original candidate, Manish, did not attend the examination and it was his friend Ajay who had been sent in instead. “The examination was about to end when the invigilator caught the candidate red-handed,” said an investigating officer.

The university staff informed ISRO officials in Sriharikota and K Udhyakiran, administrative officer, handed over Ajay to the Semmancheri police. Police, who booked Ajay for cheating and impersonation, have launched a hunt to nab Manish.

Euthanasia: HC appoints expert panel to examine nine-year-old

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 11.09.2018

The Madras high court on Monday constituted a committee comprising medical experts to examine a nineyear-old child who is in persistent vegetative state (PVS) since his birth and directed it to file its recommendation on the plea moved by the boy’s father seeking permission for passive euthanasia.

A division bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice S Baskaran passed the interim order on the plea moved by R Thirumeni, father of T Paavendhan.

The committee comprises N Thilothammal, former professor of pediatric neurology, T Ravichandran, director, institute of social paediatrics, Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, and Bala Ramachandran, chief, paediatric critical care unit, Kanchi Kamakoti Child Trust Hospital, Chennai. It has been directed to examine the child and file reports on the present status of the child, whether he fulfils criteria for PVS and whether the said state of the child is treatable.

This apart, the bench has directed the central and state governments to find out whether the government itself or any other NGO can maintain the child since he has normal respiration and digestion.

Earlier, when the plea came up for hearing, the petitioner's counsel N Kavitha Rameshwar submitted the financial constraints involved in taking care of the child but said those were was not the sole reason which prompted his father to approach the court with such a plea. “The father would have gone to any extent to help his son, had there been any possibility for cure,” she added.

When Rameshwar submitted that the present plea would be a fit case for euthanasia if the committee found that there was no scope for reversal of the child’s state, the bench said, “We cannot simply pass orders in such sensitive case. The court has to be careful or it will be prickling our conscience forever.”

According to the petitioner, his son is in PVS since 2008. He suffers epileptic seizures 10 to 20 times a day when controlled by medicines.

30% dental seats not taken as govt counselling ends

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 11.09.2018

At the end of mopup counselling, 30% of BDS seats, including 35 seats in government quota remained vacant in self-financing dental colleges across the state. The Directorate of Medical Education will hand over 540 vacant seats to managements of private colleges who will be allowed to independently admit students based on NEET 2018 scores.

Last week, the selection committee in charge of admissions called for fresh applications after it exhausted the previous rank lists with 264 seats in government quota and more than 600 seats in management quota vacant at the end of four days of counselling. College managements also reduced fees from ₹6 lakh to ₹2 lakh. Yet, many did not turn up for counselling on Monday. A total of 318 candidates came for seats in government quota, 65 for management quota. “We allotted seats for 237 seats under government quota and 64 under management quota,” said selection committee secretary Dr N Selvarajan.

Many students are not interested in dentistry as prospects are not lucrative, said senior dentist Dr S M Balaji, state nominee to the Dental Council of India. Students who did not make it to MBBS said they would take a break and write NEET next year.

New MCI body to take time

Times of India 11.09.2018

With the tenure of 80 of the 103 members of the MCI coming to an end, the health ministry has written to states and university senates to start the process of electing new members to the council.

சென்னை - புரி எக்ஸ்பிரஸ் ரத்து

Added : செப் 11, 2018 01:55

சென்னை: சென்னை - புரி வாராந்திர எக்ஸ்பிரஸ் ரயில் ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டுஉள்ளது.சென்னை சென்ட்ரலில் இருந்து, ஒடிசா மாநிலம், புரி நகருக்கு, வாராந்திர எக்ஸ்பிரஸ் ரயில் இயக்கப்பட்டு வருகிறது.தற்போது, புரி ரயில் நிலையத்தில் மேம்பாட்டு பணி நடப்பதால், இந்த ரயில், இருவழிகளிலும் ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது.புரியில் இருந்து, சென்னை சென்ட்ரலுக்கு, வரும், 16 மற்றும் 23ம் தேதிகளிலும், சென்னை சென்ட்ரலில் இருந்து, புரிக்கு, 17 மற்றும் 24ம் தேதிகளிலும் இயக்கப்படும் ரயில்கள் ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளன.

டாக்டர்கள் போராட்டம்: மாணவர்கள் பாதிப்பு

Added : செப் 11, 2018 01:50

கோவை: அரசு மருத்துவர்கள் தொடர்ந்து நடத்தி வரும் ஒத்துழையாமை போராட்டத்தால், மருத்துவ மாணவர்கள் பாதிக்கும் நிலை ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது. மத்திய அரசு ஊழியர்களுக்கு இணையான ஊதியம் வழங்கக் கோரி, ஆறு மாதங்களாக, தமிழ்நாடு அரசு மருத்துவர்கள் சங்கம் சார்பில், போராட்டங்கள் நடத்தப்பட்டு வருகின்றன. கடந்த, 27ம் தேதி முதல், மருத்துவர்கள், ஒத்துழையாமை நடவடிக்கையில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகின்றனர்.மருத்துவர்களுக்கான, 'வாட்ஸ் ஆப்' குழுவில் இருந்து, அனைத்து மருத்துவர்களும் வெளியேறி உள்ளனர்.அரசு அளிக்கும் உத்தரவு களுக்கும், கோப்புகளில் கையெழுத்து இடுவதை தவிர்க்கவும், இவ்வித நடவடிக்கையை மேற்கொள்வதாக, மருத்துவர்கள் தரப்பில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது.இந்நிலையில், மருத்துவக் கல்லுாரி மருத்துவர்கள், மருத்துவ மாணவர்களுக்கான வகுப்புகளை எடுக்காமல் புறக்கணிப்பதால், மாணவர்கள் பாதிக்கும் நிலை ஏற்பட்டுள்ளதாக, புகார் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.மாணவர்களின் நலன் கருதி, மருத்துவர்கள் வகுப்புகளை நடத்த ஒத்துழைக்க வேண்டும் என, கோரிக்கை விடப்பட்டு உள்ளது.தமிழ்நாடு அரசு மருத்துவர்கள் சங்க மாநில செயலர் ரவிசங்கர் கூறியதாவது:பொதுமக்களும், நோயாளிகளும் பாதிக்கப்படக் கூடாது என்ற நோக்கிலும், கோரிக்கையை வலியுறுத்தியும், எங்கள் போராட்டம் நடந்து வருகிறது. ஒரு பகுதியாகவே, வகுப்பு புறக்கணிப்பு போராட்டம் உள்ளது. கோரிக்கையை நிறைவேற்ற அரசு பரிசீலிக்க வேண்டும்.இவ்வாறு அவர் கூறினார்.

'வாட்ஸ் ஆப்'ல் மூழ்கிய மணமகள்; திருமணத்தை நிறுத்தினார் மணமகன்

Added : செப் 11, 2018 00:36

லக்னோ : உத்தரப்பிரதேசத்தில் 'வாட்ஸ் ஆப்'பே கதி என்று கிடந்த மணமகளை திருமணம் செய்ய மணமகன் மறுத்ததால் திருமணம் நிறுத்தப்பட்டது.

உத்தரப்பிரதேச மாநிலம் நவுகாகான் சதத் கிராமத்தைச் சேர்ந்த பெண்ணுக்கு திருமணம் நிச்சயிக்கப்பட்டிருந்தது. தன் குடும்பத்தினர் மற்றும் சுற்றத்தினருடன் திருமணம் நடக்கும் இடத்தில் மணப்பெண் காத்திருந்தார். ஆனால் மணமகன் வீட்டார் வரவில்லை.

பெண்ணின் தந்தை மணமகன் வீட்டாரை அலைபேசியில் தொடர்பு கொண்டார். அப்போது மணமகன் வீட்டார் 'உங்கள் மகள் வாட்ஸ் அப்பில் அதிக நேரத்தை செலவிடுவது எங்களுக்குப் பிடிக்கவில்லை. அவரை திருமணம் செய்ய மணமகன் மறுத்துவிட்டார். அதனால் திருமணத்தை நிறுத்தி விட்டோம்,' என தெரிவித்தனர்.

அதிர்ந்து போன மணமகளின் தந்தை மணமகன் வீட்டார் மீது போலீசில் புகார் அளித்தார். அதில் மணப்பெண் வாட்ஸ் அப்பில் அதிக நேரம் செலவளிக்கிறார் என்பதெல்லாம் சும்மா! மணமகன் வீட்டார் அதிகப்படியாகக் கேட்ட 65 லட்ச ரூபாய் வரதட்சணையை தரவில்லை என்பதே திருமணம் நிறுத்தப்பட்டதின் உண்மையான காரணம் என்று தெரிவித்திருந்தார்.

பகீபுராவைச் சேர்ந்த மணமகனின் தந்தை ஹுமார் ஹைதர், ''ஆம் நாங்கள் தான் திருமணத்தைத் தடுத்து நிறுத்தினோம். மணப்பெண் எந்நேரமும் வாட்ஸ் ஆப்பில் மூழ்கியிருக்கிறார். திருமணம் நெருங்கும் வேளையில் கூட அவர் மணமகனின் பெற்றோரான எங்களுக்கு வாட்ஸ் அப் செய்திகளை அனுப்பும் அளவுக்கு அதில் அடிமையாகிக் கிடக்கிறார். இந்தப் பழக்கம் எங்கள் குடும்பத்துக்கு ஒத்துவராது. எனவே அந்த மணப்பெண் வேண்டாம்,'' என போலீசாரிடம் தெரிவித்தார்.

திருமணம் தடுத்து நிறுத்தப்பட்டதன் உண்மையான காரணம் குறித்து போலீசார் விசாரணை நடத்தி வருகின்றனர்.

மானாமதுரை மண்பாண்டம் சிங்கப்பூர் இயக்குனர் பெருமிதம்

Added : செப் 11, 2018 05:39

மானாமதுரை: ''சிவகங்கை மாவட்டம் மானாமதுரையில் தயாராகும் மண்பாண்ட பொருட்கள் தமிழர்களின் கலாசாரத்திற்கு எடுத்துக்காட்டாக உள்ளது,'' என ஆவணப்பட இயக்குனர் லட்சுமி பெருமிதத்துடன் தெரிவித்தார்.மானாமதுரையில் ஆண்டு்தோறும் சீசனிற்கு தகுந்தாற்போல் 200க்கும் தொழிலாளர்கள்மண்பாண்ட பொருட்களை செய்து வருகின்றனர். இவற்றில் பொங்கல் பானைகள்,மண்கூஜாக்கள்,கடம்,உள்ளிட்ட பொருட்கள் சிங்கப்பூர்,மலேசியா,ஆஸ்திரேலியா,கனடா,ஜப்பான்,அமெரிக்காவிற்கு விற்பனைக்கு அனுப்பப்படுகிறது.சிங்கப்பூர்தமிழரும்,ஆவணப்பட இயக்குனருமான லட்சுமி55, மானாமதுரைக்கு வந்து பொங்கல் பானைகளை தொழிலாளர்கள் எவ்வாறு தயார் செய்கிறார்கள் என்று ஆவணப்படம் எடுத்தார். இதனை சிங்கப்பூரில் உள்ள தொலைக்காட்சியில் பொங்கலன்று ஒளிபரப்ப திட்டமிட்டுள்ளார்.இது குறித்து அவர் கூறுகையில், ''பனையை தயாரிப்பது மட்டுமல்லாமல், மதுரை மல்லிகை பூ,தமிழர்களின் பாரம்பரிய உடையான வேட்டி,சேலை போன்றவற்றை பற்றியும் படம் எடுக்க உள்ளோம்,'' என்றார்.

துணை மருத்துவம் : மாணவர்கள் ஆர்வம்

Added : செப் 11, 2018 01:57

சென்னை: பி.எஸ்சி., நர்சிங் உள்ளிட்ட, துணை மருத்துவ படிப்புகளில் சேர, மாணவர்கள் ஆர்வமாக உள்ளனர். ஒரே நாளில், 5,191 பேர் விண்ணப்பங்கள் பெற்றுள்ளனர்.அரசு மற்றும் தனியார் மருத்துவ கல்லுாரிகளில், பி.எஸ்சி., நர்சிங், பி.பார்ம்., - பி.பி.டி., உள்ளிட்ட, 15 துணை மருத்துவ படிப்புகள் உள்ளன. இந்த படிப்புகளுக்கு, அரசு ஒதுக்கீட்டில், 8,000; நிர்வாக ஒதுக்கீட்டில், 4,000த்திற்கும் மேற்பட்ட இடங்கள் உள்ளன. இதற்கான மாணவர் சேர்க்கை, பிளஸ் 2 மதிப்பெண் அடிப்படையில் நடைபெற உள்ளது.மாணவர் சேர்க்கைக்கான, விண்ணப்ப வினியோகம், 22 அரசு மருத்துவ கல்லுாரிகளில் நேற்று துவங்கியது. முதல் நாளில், 5,191 பேர் விண்ணப்பங்கள் பெற்றுள்ளனர். மேலும், www.tnhealth.org; www.tnmedicalselection.org என்ற இணையதளங்களிலும், விண்ணப்பங்களை பதிவிறக்கம் செய்து கொள்ளலாம்.விண்ணப்பங்களை, வரும், 19ம் தேதி வரை பெறலாம். பூர்த்தி செய்த விண்ணப்பங்களை, 20ம் தேதிக்குள், கீழ்ப்பாக்கம், மருத்துவ மாணவர் சேர்க்கை குழு செயலர் அலுவலகத்தில் சமர்ப்பிக்க வேண்டும்.

மாநில செய்திகள்

தினந்தோறும் புதிய உச்சத்தை எட்டும் பெட்ரோல், டீசல் விலை ! வாகன ஓட்டிகள் திண்டாட்டம்

சென்னையில் இன்றும் பெட்ரோல் விலை 14 காசுகள் உயர்ந்து லிட்டருக்கு ரூ.84.05 ஆக விற்பனை செய்யப்படுகிறது. அதே போல், டீசல் விலை 15 காசுகள் உயர்ந்து லிட்டருக்கு ரூ.77.13 ஆக விற்பனை செய்யப்படுகிறது. #PetrolPrice

பதிவு: செப்டம்பர் 11, 2018 06:42 AM
சென்னை,

சர்வதேச சந்தையில் கச்சா எண்ணெய் விலைக்கு ஏற்ப இந்தியாவில் எண்ணெய் நிறுவனங்கள் பெட்ரோல் மற்றும் டீசல் விலையை நிர்ணயித்து கொள்ள மத்திய அரசு அனுமதி வழங்கியிருந்தது. பெட்ரோல், டீசல் விலை கடந்த ஆண்டு ஜூன் மாதம் முதல் தினந்தோறும் நிர்ணயிக்கப்படுகிறது. ஆரம்பத்தில் லிட்டருக்கு ஒற்றை இலக்க பைசா அளவில் 2 பைசா, 5 பைசா என்ற அளவில் உயர்த்தப்பட்டு வந்தது. அதே அளவு அவ்வப்போது குறைக்கப்பட்டும் வந்தது.

ஆனால் சமீப காலமாக அமெரிக்க டாலருக்கு நிகரான ரூபாயின் மதிப்பு தொடர் சரிவை சந்தித்து வருவதால், பெட்ரோல், டீசல் விலை உயர்வு இரட்டை இலக்க பைசாக்களில் 25 பைசா, 40 பைசா என்ற அளவில் தினந்தோறும் உயர்ந்து வருகிறது. இவற்றின் விலையை ஓரளவு குறைப்பதற்கு வசதியாக, மத்திய அரசு உற்பத்தி வரியை குறைக்க முடியாது என திட்டவட்டமாக கூறி விட்டது. மாநில அரசுகளும் மதிப்பு கூட்டு வரியை குறைக்க முன்வரவில்லை.

இப்படி பெட்ரோல், டீசல் விலை தினமும் உயர்ந்து சாதாரண மக்களையும், வாகன ஓட்டிகளையும் வதைத்து வருகிற நிலையில், இது தொடர்பாகவோ, டாலருக்கு நிகரான ரூபாய் மதிப்பு வீழ்ச்சி பற்றியோ பிரதமர் நரேந்திர மோடியும் சரி, பிற மத்திய மந்திரிகளும் சரி வாய் திறக்காமல் மவுனம் காத்து வருவது எதிர்க்கட்சிகளின் சாடலுக்கு வழி வகுத்து உள்ளது.

இதனிடையே எண்ணெய் நிறுவனங்கள் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிவிப்பில், சென்னையில் பெட்ரோல் விலை 14 காசுகள் அதிகரித்து லிட்டருக்கு ரூ.84.05 ஆகவும், டீசல் விலை 15 காசுகள் அதிகரித்து லிட்டருக்கு ரூ.77.13 ஆகவும் விற்பனையாகிறது.

தேசிய செய்திகள்

7 பேரை விடுதலை செய்வது தொடர்பான தீர்ப்பின் நகல் நீதிமன்ற இணையதளத்தில் வெளியானது

ராஜீவ் கொலை வழக்கில் தண்டனை பெற்று சிறையில் உள்ள 7 பேரை விடுதலை செய்வது தொடர்பாக சுப்ரீம் கோர்ட் பிறப்பித்த தீர்ப்பின் நகல் நீதிமன்ற இணையதளத்தில் வெளியாகியுள்ளது.

பதிவு: செப்டம்பர் 08, 2018 14:25 PM
புதுடெல்லி

முருகன், சாந்தன், பேரறிவாளன் உள்ளிட்ட 7 பேரை விடுதலை செய்வதற்கு எதிரான மத்திய அரசின் மனு மீது சுப்ரீம் கோர்ட்டில் தொடர்ந்து விசாரணை நடைபெற்று வந்தது.

சுப்ரீம் கோர்ட்டில் நீதிபதிகள் ரஞ்சன் கோகாய், நவீன் சின்கா, கே.என்.ஜோசப் ஆகியோர் அடங்கிய அமர்வு முன்பு மத்திய அரசின் மனு நேற்று மீண்டும் விசாரணைக்கு வந்தது.

இரு தரப்பு வாதங்களையும் கேட்ட நீதிபதிகள், சிறையில் இருக்கும் 7 பேரையும் விடுதலை செய்வதற்கு எதிராக மத்திய அரசு தாக்கல் செய்துள்ள மனுவை ஏற்றுக் கொள்வதற்கு முகாந்திரம் ஏதும் இல்லை என்றும், எனவே அந்த மனுவின் மீதான விசாரணையை முடித்து வைப்பதாகவும் கூறினார்கள்.

அத்துடன், அரசியல் சாசனப்பிரிவு 161-ன் கீழ் தமிழக அரசு, 7 பேரையும் விடுதலை செய்வது தொடர்பாக ஒரு முடிவை எடுத்து, அதை மாநில கவர்னரின் பரிசீலனைக்கு அனுப்பி வைக்கலாம் என்றும் கூறினார்கள்.

பேரறிவாளன் அளித்த மனுவின் அடிப்படையில் தமிழக ஆளுநர் முடிவெடுக்கலாம் என்று தீர்ப்பு வழங்கியது. இந்த தீர்ப்பின் நகல் இன்று உச்ச நீதிமன்றத்தின் இணையதளத்தில் வெளியிடப்பட்டது.

அதில், பிரிவு 161ஐ பயன்படுத்த ஆளுநருக்கு முழு அதிகாரம் உள்ளது என்று உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளது. அரசியல் சாசனம் 161ன் கீழ் விடுதலை செய்யும்படி மனு அளித்திருந்தார் பேரறிவாளன். அதன்படி, விடுதலை செய்யக் கோரி ஆளுநருக்கு பேரறிவாளன் அளித்த மனு செல்லும் என்றும், மனுவை ஏற்று, தமிழக ஆளுநர் சுதந்திரமாக சட்டத்துக்கு உட்பட்டு முடிவெடுக்கலாம் என்றும் சுப்ரீம் கோர்ட் கூறியுள்ளது.

Monday, September 10, 2018

"தூங்காமல், தினம் தினம் செத்துக்கொண்டிருக்கிறார் அபிராமி" - சிறையில் சந்தித்தவர் பேட்டி
எஸ்.மகேஷ் vikatan

சென்னை குன்றத்தூரில், குழந்தைகளைக் கொலைசெய்த வழக்கில் சிறையில் அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள அபிராமி, `தினம் தினம் தூங்காமல் செத்துக்கொண்டிருக்கிறேன்' என தன்னை சந்தித்த வழக்கறிஞரிடம் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

சென்னை குன்றத்தூரை அடுத்த மூன்றாம் கட்டளைப் பகுதியில், தான் பெற்ற இரண்டு குழந்தைகளையும் ஈவு இரக்கமின்றிக் கொலை செய்த அபிராமி என்ற பெண்ணை குன்றத்தூர் போலீஸார் கைதுசெய்து புழல் பெண்கள் சிறையில் அடைத்துள்ளனர். சிறையில் அபிராமியைச் சந்தித்த வழக்கறிஞர் ஒருவரிடம் பேசினோம். “சம்பவத்தன்று என்ன நடந்தது என்ற முதல் கேள்வியை கேட்டவுடன், தேம்பித் தேம்பி அழத் தொடங்கினார். அவருக்கு ஆறுதல் கூறப்பட்டது. சிறிது நேர அமைதிக்குப் பிறகு, அபிராமியிடம் அதே கேள்வியைக் கேட்டபோது,

``நான் தப்பு பண்ணிவிட்டேன்'' என்று கூறிய அவர் ,மீண்டும் அழத் தொடங்கினார். அப்போது, அங்கு வந்த சிறைத்துறை பெண் அதிகாரி ஒருவர், தன்னுடைய கண்களால் சக காவலர்களுக்கு சிக்னல் காட்டினார். உடனே அவர்கள் அபிராமி அருகில் வந்த காவலர்கள் ''உங்களுக்கு விருப்பம் இருந்தால் பேசுங்கள், இல்லையென்றால் சொல்லிவிட்டுச் செல்லுங்கள்'' என்றனர். அதைக் கேட்ட அபிராமி, ''நான் சொல்கிறேன்'' என்று பேசத் தொடங்கியிருக்கிறார்.

"நான் விஜய்யை காதலித்துதான் திருமணம் செய்தேன். எங்களின் குடும்ப வாழ்க்கை சந்தோஷமாகச் சென்றது. 3,500 ரூபாய் வாடகை வீட்டில் குடியிருந்தோம். அப்போது அஜய், மூன்று மாத குழந்தை. ஹவுஸ் ஓனர் அக்கா ரொம்ப நல்லவர். அவர்கள் வீட்டில்தான் அஜய் இருப்பான். எங்க அம்மா வீடும் பக்கத்தில்தான் உள்ளது. அவர்களும் ரொம்ப உதவியாக இருந்தார்கள். அடிக்கடி குடும்பத்தோடு ஜாலியாக வெளியில் செல்வோம். அப்போது ஒருநாள், குன்றத்தூரில் பிரபலமான அந்தப் பிரியாணி கடைக்கு விஜய் அழைத்துச்சென்றார். அங்குதான் சுந்தரத்தைப் பார்த்தேன். அவர், ஸ்பெஷலாகக் கவனித்தார்.

அடிக்கடி அந்த பிரியாணிக் கடைக்கு குடும்பத்தோடு சென்றுள்ளேன். இதனால், சுந்தரத்துக்கும் எனக்கும் பழக்கம் ஏற்பட்டது. ஆர்டர் செய்தால் பிரியாணியை வீட்டுக்கே சுந்தரம் வந்து கொடுப்பார். அப்போதுதான் எங்களுக்குள் நட்பு ஏற்பட்டது. முதலில் விஜய் எதுவும் சொல்லவில்லை. ஆனால், எங்களின் சில செயல்கள் விஜய்க்குப் பிடிக்காமல், என்னைக் கண்டித்தார். நான் கேட்கவில்லை. சுந்தரத்தின் பழக்கத்தை என்னால் விடமுடியவில்லை. அவர் சொல்படி நடந்தேன். அவருடன் சேர்ந்து வாழ விருப்பப்பட்டுதான் அந்தத் தவறை செய்துவிட்டேன்". ''குழந்தைகள் கொலையில் சுந்தரத்துக்கு தொடர்புண்டா?'' என்ற கேள்விக்கு, சிறிது நேரம் யோசித்த அபிராமி, "இல்லை" என்றார். ''அந்த மனநிலை எப்படி வந்தது'' என்றபோது, "எல்லாம் முடிந்துவிட்டது. அந்தச் சம்பவத்தை என்னால் மறக்க முடியாமல் ஒவ்வொரு நாள் இரவும் தூங்க முடியாமல் தினம் தினம் செத்துக்கொண்டிருக்கிறேன். இதற்கு மேல் என்னால் பேச முடிவில்லை" என்று கூறி, கண்ணீர் மல்க சிறை அறையை நோக்கிச் சென்றுவிட்டதாக வழக்கறிஞர் நம்மிடம் தெரிவித்தார்.

அபிராமி குறித்து வழக்கறிஞர் கூறிய இன்னொரு தகவல் அதிர்ச்சியாக இருந்தது. "மீடியாக்களில் வந்த செய்திகளுக்கு அபிராமி எந்த மறுப்பும் சொல்லவில்லை. அவரின் முகத்தில் பதற்றம் தெரிகிறது. தூங்காமல் அவரின் கண்கள் சிவப்பாக காணப்படுகின்றன. மனம் உடைந்து பேசுகிறார். 'குழந்தைகளைக் கொலைசெய்த எனக்கு மன்னிப்பே கிடையாது' என்பதை சந்திப்பின்போது அடிக்கடி கூறினார். அவருக்குத் தேவையான கவுன்சலிங் அளிக்கப்படுகிறது. 'ஒரு வாரம் கழித்து வாருங்கள் உண்மையைச் சொல்கிறேன்' என்று அபிராமி கூறியிருக்கிறார்" என்றார்.

TN Governor Banwarilal Purohit may consult Centre before giving nod

DECCAN CHRONICLE.

Published Sep 10, 2018, 12:41 am IST

A reporter asked minister Jayakumar if it was alright to release the convicts involved in the brutal killing of an ex-PM.

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Cabinet on Sunday recommended to Governor Banwarilal Purohit to release all the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case by invoking his powers under Art 161 of the Constitution.

A reporter asked minister Jayakumar if it was alright to release the convicts involved in the brutal killing of an ex-PM. “All that is past. The CBI probe and investigation is past. What is present? The Tamil people want their release”, shot back the minister.

The seven convicts — Murugan alias Sriharan, Nalini Sriharan, Santhan, A.G. Perarivalan, Jayakumar, Ravichandran, Robert Payas — have been in jail for the last 27 years amid several mercy petitions, court hearings, political rallies and human rights campaigns for their release. Perarivalan’s mother Arputhammal, who has been fighting relentlessly through the years for his release, choked with emotion while expressing gratitude to the government as she faced the TV cameras soon after meeting CM Palaniswami with a bouquet of flowers.

The initiative was inspired by the Supreme Court directive to the TN Governor on Thursday to consider the mercy plea of Perarivalan and take a decision as “deemed fit”. The government decided to stretch the relief to cover not just Perarivalan but all the seven.

The resolution was welcomed by almost everyone in the state, barring a few legal experts who expressed opinion that the Governor might not be a rubber-stamp the recommendation and choose to consult the Attorney General and the Centre.

Tamil Nadu: Hotel to pay man Rs 21,000 for cancellation of booking
But the forum dismissed this justification given by the hotel.

Published: 10th September 2018 05:14 AM
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A Haridwar-based hotel has been told by the District Consumers Disputes Redressal Forum of South Chennai to pay `21,000 as compensation to a city resident 11 years after it unilaterally cancelled a room booking made by the resident and also failed to reimburse the money.

The matter dates back to August 2007 when V Mohan Babu had booked a room in Ginger Hotels located at Haridwar, Uttarakhand for a day from August 15 to 16 and paid `999 through online booking. When he arrived at the hotel at 5 am on August 16, he was informed by the management that the booking was treated as ‘No Show’ and was cancelled.

“I was made to book another room at the same cost and they assured me that the previous amount would be refunded. But I did not receive any such refund,” said Babu in his complaint. The hotel, a TATA enterprise, in its defense, said that as the man did not state anything about the expected time of arrival and had not occupied the room till August 16 morning, the booking was cancelled according to the check-in and check-out time. But the forum dismissed this justification given by the hotel.

Banks should help students realise their dreams, says HC

STAFF REPORTER

MADURAI, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018 00:00 IST

Comes down heavily on ‘whimsical approach of banks’

Nationalised banks should assume larger social responsibility towards realisation of legitimate ambition of thousands of poor students who could otherwise ill afford to pursue higher education, observed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday.

The court was hearing the plea filed by a casual labourer who sought a direction to the Madurai branch of Andhra Bank to grant education loan to his daughter. Justice V. Parthiban directed the bank to consider the claim of the petitioner and sanction the loan within two weeks.

The court observed that grant of educational loan to aspiring students could not be perilously dependent on an whimsical approach of nationalised banks. The banks should not be allowed to fish out norms in order to deny educational loan to aspiring students.

“When the State has abdicated its primary responsibility in providing free education to its citizens and allowed a plethora of private players to run professional and other educational institutions, the mushrooming of such institutions has rendered education a costly affair. In such a scenario it is imperative on the part of nationalised banks to grant educational loans as far as possible to help poor students achieve their dream and goal,” Justice Parthiban said.

In the absence of any considered approach by the banks in alleviating the grievances of poor people who found it difficult to provide good education to their children, many deserving students would be denied of a chance to pursue higher education only because of their poverty and non-affordability. Such a situation would not advance the cause of a welfare State. Since the public had invested their money with the banks, the banks must subserve public interest as well, the court said.

The court was hearing the case of K. Alagarsamy of Madurai, a casual labourer, who sought a direction to the bank for the grant of Rs. 4.60 lakh as educational loan for his daughter A. Pavithra, currently pursuing B.Sc. Agriculture. When the petitioner approached the bank seeking the loan, he was denied it as he had defaulted on an agricultural loan obtained from the same bank earlier. The petitioner claimed that he had obtained a loan of Rs. 10,000 which was waived by the State government.

Pay via e-wallets for IOC gas cylinders soon

Deepa H. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018 00:00 IST

The need for cash payments will be eliminated with e-wallet payments.

IOC to train delivery boys

Soon, you can pay for your Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) refill by transferring cash from your e-wallet.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL), which has a customer base of 35 lakh in Chennai region alone, is in the process of providing training to gas delivery boys and distributors to use e-wallets.

According to sources in IOCL, every day around 77,000 refill bookings/deliveries are made in the Chennai region, which comprises Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Tiruvannamalai and Vellore districts. And most customers pay by cash. “Not all customers have the exact change and end up complaining that the gas delivery boy pockets the additional cash. If e-wallets are used, the need for cash is eliminated,” the official explained. However, a distributor, who had tried out payment using a particular e-wallet, said that not many customers were comfortable with the system.

Preference for cash

“They are afraid the app may take more money than necessary. They say it is not a fool-proof system and prefer to pay by cash. But there too, we have issues with gas delivery boys asking for extra money,” he said.

Already, IOCL customers have the option to book and pay for refills online, thus avoiding cash transactions. Just last month, this number rose from 0.6 to 0.8% (462 to 616 bookings), meaning more customers were opting for online transactions, the official said. However, distributors said they were not comfortable with the online system as they had to wait for two or three days for cash to be credited to their account. “But when we place orders, unless we pay cash upfront we will not get the load. We have to appoint someone to track the online transactions that are too small in number. It is not worth the effort,” said a distributor. Another distributor said that in case of holidays, it would take more than 48 hours for the money to be credited to their account.

Ph.D student alleges harassment by guide

R. Sujatha

CHENNAI, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018 00:00 IST

However, professor lists complaints against him

A Ph.D student of Presidency College has filed a complaint against his guide with the Anna Square police station alleging harassment.

The student has complained against an English professor of the college under The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, alleging that he was not being allowed to complete his course work. He also alleged that he had been asked to sign a letter that he would withdraw from the Ph.D programme.

The police said they were investigating the case. An officer said an inquiry was conducted with other students and faculty members in the department, besides former students of the professor. The complaint was filed a month ago and the police said investigation was still on.

‘Unacceptable requests’

Sakya Sakthi, an activist, said often SC students were asked to comply with unacceptable requests such as doing chores for their guides. He also complained that the scholarship money was inordinately delayed or denied to such students.

Students from SC/ST communities also had difficulty in understanding and were often asked to give up their studies as they could not meet the academic requirements, he said.

N. Bindu, the professor, said the candidate was a full-time student under her guideship, but had not been regular to college. He was admitted in 2014, and till 2018 he has not even chosen a research topic.

Surprising allegations

“How can he file a six-monthly report without a topic? He did not come to college regularly. I admitted him as he was honest and came with a recommendation. He should have presented a paper in an international seminar and in a national seminar by now,” she said.

The candidate did not appear for the inquiry instituted by the college either. On August 30, he was asked to sign an undertaking that he would make progress in one year. He was also advised to convert to a part-time research scholar, Ms. Bindu said.

Faculty members in other departments said they were surprised at the allegations against the professor as she was considered to be a good teacher.

The candidate could not be reached for comment.

HOW CAN MEDITATION CURE STRESS IN YOUNG ADULTS

times of india 10.09.2018

Stress and depression are the biggest ailments troubling the youth. However, what we need is to develop a capacity to handle negative stress, writes Master Shiv

World Health Organisation’s definition of health, as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, captures the broad tenets of wellness. Globally, stress and depression are the top causes of illness and disability among the youth. Suicide ranks second among the main causes of death in young adults. At its worst, stress and depression can lead to suicide. This is also one of the biggest challenges faced by students in India. Recognising stress and depression at an early stage is critical for reducing mental and physiological breakdown in youth.

The factors that contribute to high risk are lack of sleep, poor eating habits and inadequate exercise. All this encompass an ideal combination for depression to set in. Day-to-day challenges such as managing peer pressure, high cost of education, propensity to land a decent job after education and failed relationships also force youth to remain stressed.

Unfortunately, despite attempts to create awareness, societal stigma is associated with stress and depression in the youth. This dissuades the youth or the family members to accept it as a medical problem, thereby debarring them from looking for solutions or going in for counselling to eradicate this extremely crippling phenomenon.

IMPLICATIONS OF STRESS

A survey shows that globally, a substantial percentage of today’s youth is suffering from some form of stress and depression. A Yale University research says stress and depression reduce the area of our brain responsible for self-control, thus reducing our coping ability. This affects the cardiovascular system leading to hypertension, which dramatically increases the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure that is proven by crippling illnesses among the youth. Moreover, it also impacts the digestive system causing bowel problems. However, the effect is reversed once stress and depression is handled.

WHAT IS MINDFUL MEDITATION

Mindful Meditation is a unique technique where one is not directed at being different from how we already are. Instead, it helps us become aware of what is real and true, moment by moment. It teaches us how to be unconditionally present; in other words, it helps us to connect with whatever is happening around us.

If breathing is good, which it is, then paying attention to the breathing pattern as a phenomenon has unprecedented powers and how that can be attained by youth is what should be the focus. This is proven after extensive research into investigating the benefits of Mindful Meditation — a practice in which one sits quietly while focussing on one’s breathing and body. The technique helps us to analyse the past, foresee the future and plan the present while addressing the physiological and psychological aspects of individuals initially and in advanced stages. Focussed, rhythmic monosyllabic vibrations, when internalised, can create the rise of positive energy, thereby reducing toxins.

(The author is a practising lifestyle and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) coach)

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educationtimes.com

New law says seeking sexual favour ‘a bribe’

New Delhi: times 10.09.2018

Seeking and accepting sexual favours can be considered a bribe under the new anti-corruption law with the accused getting up to seven years jail term, a senior government official said on Sunday.

The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, incorporates the umbrella term “undue advantage”, which means any gratification other than legal remuneration and also includes expensive club memberships and hospitality, the official explained.

The word “gratification” is not limited to pecuniary gratifications or to gratifications estimable in money, says the amended anti-corruption law.

The act had been notified in late July by the central government after getting assent from President Ram Nath Kovind.

The 2018 law amends the 30-year-old Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, that covers instances of corruption by public servants. The amended law also has the provision to punish bribe givers with a jail term of maximum of seven years. Before this, bribe-givers were not covered in any domestic legislation to check corruption. PTI

CRACKING DOWN

Loco pilot walks off, train blocks crossing for 14 hrs

Vincent.Arockiaraj@timesgroup.com

Trichy: 10.09.2018

Scores of people in Kumbakonam, especially those in Sakkottai and Nachiyarkoil, were unable to pass through the manned level crossing adjoining the station for over 14 hours on Saturday as a goods train lay there blocking their passage. Railway sources said the loco pilot abandoned the train after informing his superior that his duty hours had come to an end and he was unable to continue. However, functionaries of the railway union have blamed the crew controllers’ wrong planning for the incident.

Kumbakonam and nearby areas in Thanjavur district are known to have a number of modern rice mills. Hence, loading or unloading of paddy bags at the goods yard located adjacent to the Kumbakonam railway station is routine. According to sources, as usual, a goods train piloted by N Velmurugan arrived at the yard in Kumbakonam and the process of loading paddy bags commenced. When the process got over, it was 3 am on Saturday by which time the crew’s duty hours were over.

Velmurugan had driven the loco up to Kumbakonam railway station and brought the engine to a halt on the third platform. Subsequently, he had informed the crew control at Trichy railway junction of his inability to continue as he had already crossed his duty time of 12 hours. Railway sources said that the goods train was bound for Pollachi. As the pilot could not be convinced to continue his duty further, the crew control authorities relieved him. Meanwhile, since the train comprised 41 goods wagons, it had extended beyond a manned level crossing (MLC).

Members of the public said the train was found halted at the station from 3 am till around 5.30pm on Saturday when it finally started chugging towards Trichy.

TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE

For UGC nod, Madras univ shifts staff to dist edu centre

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 10.09.2018

The regular departments of the University of Madras have lost 12 faculty members, two contract lecturers from constituent college and another contract lecturer, to the Institute of Distance Education (IDE) last week. The university syndicate unanimously gave its nod to the transfer in order to get the recognition of University Grants Commission to run some 50 courses sought after by 28,000 students during the previous academic year. Earlier, the UGC declined recognition on the grounds that there were insufficient faculty members.

As the UGC demands that there must be at least two fulltime faculty members at associate and assistant professor level per discipline for open and distance learning courses, some members from the regular departments — commerce, computer science, English, Tamil, mathematics, criminology, economics, history and psychology have been ‘temporarily’ shifted out. Two of four faculty members from English, two of six from Tamil, two of eight from mathematics and two of five from criminology departments were transferred. History department has only two teaching staff on its roll, hence contract lecturers from constituent college were shifted.

“Having five lecturers itself was insufficient and there is a need to increase the present strength. If the regular staff are asked to handle IDE, we will struggle. We have hired guest faculty to cope with the shortage,” said criminology professor and head, M Srinivasan. The department heads were kept in the dark and informed of the transfer, before an order copy was issued to the faculty.

Students of Tamil language and literature department are perturbed. “Our semester just started, and we have lost two lecturers. Research scholars are roped in to take classes,” said a first year PG student. The onemonth deadline by UGC to “rectify the deficiency” in IDE ends on September 16.

Vice-chancellor P Duraisamy said the move was temporary. “We will start the recruitment process. It will take at least one month to complete IDE admissions. By then, we will appoint staff, and they (regular staff) will return to parent departments,” Duraisamy said. The IDE director in-charge had an interface with the UGC on Friday to get recognition.

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