Accomodate Ponnaiyah medical college students in private colleges

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | J STALIN

PublishedFeb 8, 2019, 1:40 am IST

The single judge had passed an order to send a proposal to the MCI to accommodate these students in government medical colleges.

Madras high court

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has permitted the state government to file a petition seeking modification of its interim order, which directed the state government to submit a fresh proposal to the Board of Governors in Supersession of Medical Council of India for accommodating 108 students of the defunct Ponnaiyah Ramajayam Institute of Medical Sciences (PRIMS) in 22 government medical colleges in the state.

Additional Advocate General Narmada Sampath mentioned seeking clarification/modification of the interim order dated February 1, before a division bench comprising Justices M Sathyanarayanan and P Rajamanickam.

AAG Narmada Sampath submitted that the Essentiality Certificate does not contemplate that the students should be accommodated only in government medical colleges. The state government took a stand before a single judge that the government medical colleges were overloaded since they have already accommodated the students of another defunct institution, Annai Medical College, as per the directive of this court. Therefore, it would not be possible to accommodate these students in government medical colleges. They could be accommodated in 10 private medical colleges.

After obtaining the nod from the 10 private medical colleges to accommodate the students, the state government sent a proposal to the MCI, which also gave its approval. However, the students insisted that they should be accommodated only in government medical colleges like Annai Medical College students.

The single judge had passed an order to send a proposal to the MCI to accommodate these students in government medical colleges. Against which, the state government has filed the present appeal, she added and sought modification of the interim order to the effect that these students could be accommodated only in private medical colleges.

Advocate VP Raman, appearing for MCI, submitted that if the state government now wants to accommodate the students in private medical colleges, it has to get the proposal from the private medical colleges. If the state government sent proposals for both, the MCI will consider the same, he added.

Senior counsels P Wilson and S Silambannan, appearing for the students, submitted that as per the Essentiality Certificate issued by the state government, if a private medical college was shut down, it was the responsibility of the state government to take care of the interest of the students. Though the private medical colleges expressed their willingness to accommodate these students as per the stand of the state government, the colleges lack infrastructure facilities.

A unique situation has arisen. Accommodating the Annai Medical College students has nothing to do with these students. These students also belong to the same 2016-17 batch, but they wanted to join the second year students of government colleges, who just finished their first year and are doing their second year. The Annai Medical College students have already joined the  second year as students of government medical colleges and they are going to complete their second year now, they added. Asking the AAG to file a proper petition, the bench said it would hear the matter on February 13.

There are other ways to earn money, Madras HC tells govt

DECCAN CHRONICLE.

PublishedFeb 8, 2019, 5:30 am IST

There are surely other ways of making revenues apart from selling liquor from its TASMAC shops, the court told the government.

Madras High Court


Madurai: Lamenting that liquor has destroyed an entire generation in Tamil Nadu, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has counseled the state government it is imperative at least now to protect future generations from the evil impact of booze.

There are surely other ways of making revenues apart from selling liquor from its TASMAC shops, the court told the government.

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation from Ramkumar Adhithan of Tiruchendur seeking revision of TASMAC timings, a division bench comprising Justices N Kirubakaran and S S Sundar raised several questions at the government in its handling of liquor sales to make money for the state exchequer - such as whether the rules regarding the sale of alcohol are being strictly followed and if CCTV cameras have been installed in the TASMAC shops and bars.

When liquor flowed out of the TASMAC shops and bars round-the-clock, there was no point discussing the revision of timings in these establishments, said the worried judges.

In his PIL, petitioner Ramkumar pointed out that TN government had earned Rs 31,244 crore from TASMAC sales last year and it was even setting targets for liquor sales, particularly during the festival times. Also, Tamil Nadu accounted for the most number of people consuming liquor, he said, adding that the TASMAC shops functioned from 12 pm to 10 pm with bar facilities for drinking and parking lots.

Sharing the petitioner's concerns, the court told the government there surely are better ways of raising revenues. Also the villagers at their gram sabha meetings could pass resolutions against setting up TASMAC shops in their locality, said the judges while asking the government to respond to the PIL by February 28, when the petition would be taken up next for hearing.

Tejas Express travel time cut by 30 minutes

Much to the excitement of the commuters, the Railway Board has decided to cut short the journey time of yet-to-be-introduced Madurai-Chennai Egmore Tejas Express by half-an-hour.

Published: 08th February 2019 04:25 AM 

Tejas Express (File | PTI)

By Vinodh Arulappan

Express News Service

MADURAI: Much to the excitement of the commuters, the Railway Board has decided to cut short the journey time of yet-to-be-introduced Madurai-Chennai Egmore Tejas Express by half-an-hour. The board, on Wednesday, issued a notification that the India’s first semi-high speed fully air-conditioned train would leave Egmore station at 6 am and would reach Madurai at 12.30 pm.

Further, the train will have two commercial stoppages at Tiruchirappalli and Kodaikanal Road junctions. The train will have two-minute stoppages at Tiruchy and Kodai Road junction. Meanwhile, the Chennai-bound Tejas Express will depart from Madurai junction at 3 pm and will reach Egmore junction at 9.30 pm. The train will stop at Kodai Road junction at 3.28 pm for two minutes. It will reach Tiruchy Junction at 4.50 pm and will leave by 4.52 pm.

The Board also announced that the Tejas Express will be operated six days in a week, except on Thursdays. The turn round train, Tejas Express’s primary maintenance and the Round trip Brake Power Certificate (RBPC) - (the trains run round the clock and come in for a short maintenance service of two hours) will be under the control of Chennai Egmore station.


The train comprising 15 coaches with exclusive amenities like CCTV, Wi-Fi facilities, modular toilets, luxurious seat will have 12 AC Chair Car coaches (LWCZAC), one First class Chair Car (LWFCZAC) and two Generator Varns (LWLRRM-02).

Earlier, it was announced Tejas Express would take around seven hours to reach the destination.

Can’t pay electricity bill online February 8-11

From February 8 to 11, online service to pay electricity bill, will not be in service for localities in the North zone, said a Tangedco release.

Published: 08th February 2019 05:08 AM 

Image used for representational purpose only.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: From February 8 to 11, online service to pay the electricity bill, will not be in service for localities in the North zone, said a Tangedco release. Also, offline centres present in the north zone of Chennai, will also be closed on February 9 but will be functional on the other two days.

Online and offline services pertaining to areas including Tondiarpet, Perambur, Vyasarpadi, Ponneri, T Nagar, Mylapore, Egmore and Anna Salai will be shut as maintenance works need to be carried out, said the release. Online services will not be functional from 4.30 pm on February 8 till 8am on February 11.

Convicts to operate petrol bunk soon

R. Rajaram

TIRUCHI, FEBRUARY 08, 2019 00:00 IST

24 convicts serving lengthy sentences in Tiruchi Central Prison have been chosen for the job.

G_GNANAVELMURUGAN

The outlet is being constructed a little away from Pudukottai District Jail

Convicts lodged at Tiruchi Central Prison who have been engaged in a slew of prison industrial units as a rehabilitation measure would now be involved in a new venture of operating a petrol bunk.

The Prison Department will soon start running a petrol bunk that is coming up on a piece of land belonging to it along a main thoroughfare in neighbouring Pudukottai. Construction of the fuel outlet which is located a little away from Pudukottai District Jail is in full swing.

Prison authorities told The Hindu on Thursday that a select group of 24 convicts serving lengthy sentences in Tiruchi Central Prison have been chosen to operate the fuel outlet since the District Jail at Pudukottai Town does not accommodate convicts.

A committee in the Central Prison has hand-picked the convicts after examining their physical condition as well as their conduct inside the prison.

The willingness of the convicts have been obtained and their good behaviour has been taken into account to engage them at the upcoming petrol bunk, a senior Prison officer said.

Necessary training had been imparted to the chosen convicts to operate the fuel outlet of the Indian Oil Corporation.

“The construction of the outlet is in an advanced stage of completion and is expected to be commissioned soon”, said the officer. The new activity would be on similar lines as that of the Prison Bazaar situated at the entrance of the Tiruchi Central Prison where a group of convicts have been engaged in the manufacture and sale of eateries, the officer added.

The convicts chosen for working at the fuel outlet would be under the direct supervision of a team of jail personnel who would be deployed there, the authorities said. The plan is to run the outlet in two shifts to begin with and the convicts would be accommodated in the erstwhile sub jail functioning within the premises of the District Jail at Pudukottai. Wages for the convicts would be deposited in the prisoners bank account and the money would be given to them, said the officer.

The selected convicts were lodged in the Central Prison for committing murders and serving lengthy incarceration.

The twin objective behind this move was to engage convicts in a productive vocation which would fetch them wages besides helping them in getting over a feeling of isolation and depression by mingling with the public, the officer added.

Bike taxi service launched

STAFF REPORTER

SALEM, FEBRUARY 08, 2019 00:00 IST

Bike taxis hit the road in Salem on Thursday.

E.Lakshmi NarayananE_LakshmiNarayanan

Bengaluru-based Rapido Bike has launched bike taxi service in Salem on Thursday.

The organisation has already launched the service in 25 cities in the country, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchi and Madurai. It was flagged off by M. Nirmal Raj, senior expansion manager, Rapido, Manoj Ravi Kanti, expansion manager and Murugan, city head, Salem Rapido.

Mr. Nirmal Raj said that the aim was to provide economical, convenient and high-quality transport facilities for individual commuters, especially those who need to travel far or have to get somewhere quickly. He said that commuters could travel at an introductory rate of Rs. 15 up to 3 km.

According to him, commuters need to download the Rapido mobile app and book their ride. A rider, also known as a Rapido ‘Captain’, will pick up and drop the customer. The company also issues shower caps and helmets to all its Captains and customers, and puts great emphasis on road safety rules and regulations.

HC seeks report on vacancies in GHs

STAFF REPORTER

MADURAI, FEBRUARY 08, 2019 00:00 IST

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday sought a response from the State government on vacancies in key posts in government hospitals. It also sought information on basic facilities available at these hospitals.

A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and S. S. Sundar passed the direction on a public interest litigation petition that sought a direction to fill vacancies of doctors and improve basic facilities at Government Headquarters Hospital in Ramanathapuram.

The petitioner, G. Thirumurugan of Ramanathapuram, claimed that due to vacancies people of the region, who were dependent on the hospital for healthcare, suffered.

People from humble background visited the government hospitals and quality treatment could not be denied to them for lack of doctors. The State must take steps to ensure that the vacancies were filled. Also, adequate and latest infrastructure must be ensured at the GHs for the benefit of the public, he said.

High Court orders compensation of Rs. 3 lakh to woman

STAFF REPORTER

MADURAI, FEBRUARY 08, 2019 00:00 IST

Taking into account the plight of a young mother, cheated by her lover who reneged on marriage promise, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has ordered the man to pay a compensation of Rs. 3 lakh to the woman.

Justice J. Nisha Banu, invoking the power of the court under Section 357 (3) of the Code of Criminal procedure (Order to pay compensation), ordered that the compensation must be paid to the victim within four weeks. It must be deposited in a nationalised bank so that the Dalit woman and the child could take care of themselves, the court said.

The court observed that a young woman had fallen prey to the lust of a man under the garb of a love affair and she had become a mother. The child would face trauma and humiliation as a result of this. The conduct of the man could not be condoned by the court, the judge said and ordered the man to undergo one-year rigorous imprisonment as directed by a lower court.

The court was hearing the criminal appeal preferred by the man against a lower court order that had convicted him on the charges of cheating the woman. In his appeal, he contended that they were in a relationship by mutual consent and that he never promised to marry her.

The man is said to have pursued the woman from Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district and she had consented to a relationship on the promise that he would marry her. When the girl’s parents learnt that she was pregnant, they approached the man and asked her to marry her.

However, he is said to have asked them to talk to his uncle, the eldest in the family, about it.

But his uncle is said to have rejected the proposal outright. With the man not contesting the fact that the child was his and DNA test too proving the same, the court dismissed the criminal appeal preferred by him and directed the trial court to secure and commit him to undergo the remaining period of the sentence.

No security for vehicles at Tambaram station: commuters

R. Srikanth

CHENNAI, FEBRUARY 08, 2019 00:00 IST



Unsecure zone:In the absence of a contractor, commuters are faced with the risk of theft when they park their vehicles.B. Velankanni Raj

Thousands of two-wheelers are left unguarded

Thousands of commuters at the Tambaram railway station have been parking their vehicles with a prayer that it would not be stolen from the parking yard.

The Tambaram railway station is one of the busiest stations in the city and witnesses a footfall of more than one lakh a day. People from several residential localities near Tambaram take the suburban trains for commute.

Thousands of commuters bring their two-wheelers and park them in the station. However, in the absence of a contractor to take care of the vehicles at the parking yard, it has caused concern among them about the safety of their vehicles. Also, the commuters face hardships in retrieving the vehicles as there is no regulation.

S. Purushothaman, a resident of Selaiyur, said nine high-end bikes were stolen last month and despite complaining to the railway authorities, no action was taken.

A senior official of the Chennai division of Southern Railway said a tender calling for a contractor was recently advertised for manning the parking yard spread over 5,700 sq.m. But no contractor was willing to apply, citing high cost.

Panneerselvam to present budget today

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, FEBRUARY 08, 2019 00:00 IST



The Business Advisory Committee of the House will finalise the schedule and duration of the budget session.File Photo

Opposition expected to raise several important issues during the session

Amidst expectations of populist announcements by the ruling AIADMK government ahead of the Lok Sabha polls this summer and fears of rising financial crunch, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam (also holding the Finance portfolio) is scheduled to present the State Budget for 2019-20 in the Assembly on Friday.

The speech of the Finance Minister is expected to go on for about two hours.

The Pongal gift of Rs. 1,000 for a ration card announced during the last Assembly session in January and the huge amount of funds spent on Cyclone Gaja relief operations might be the largest parts of expenditure, which is expected to reflect in the budget.

The budget session may also see the Opposition raise the Kodanad estate heist-cum-murder case, legal developments in the closure of Sterlite Copper plant, shortage of drinking water in various places across the State and the temporarily withdrawn strike by the Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Organisations and Government Employees' Organisations (JACTTO-GEO) among others. On Friday, the Business Advisory Committee of the House would discuss and finalise the schedule and duration of the budget session. After a debate on the budget speech of the Deputy CM for a few days, Mr. Panneerselvam would give his reply to the debate in the House on the last day of the session.

Not notified

As on date, 21 seats in the House are vacant including the seats earlier held by 18 disqualified MLAs, the ones held by deceased legislators M. Karunanidhi and A.K. Bose and the seat held by former Minister P. Balakrishna Reddy [vacancy not notified] following his conviction in a criminal case.

As on date, 21 seats in the House are vacant including the seats earlier held by 18 disqualified MLAs

Amazon brings back offers, fast deliveries

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:  08.02.2019

After a week of operational disruptions, discounts and fast deliveries are making a comeback for users across Amazon India as top sellers like Cloudtail, Appario and Amazon Retail returned on the platform on Thursday.

Amazon has restructured its stake in holding companies of both Cloudtail and Appario Retail to be compliant with updated norms. Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy’s investment firm Catamaran has increased its stake in Prione Business Service, the holding company for Cloudtail, to 76% from 51%. Similarly, the Ashok Patni family office will also hike stake in Appario parent Frontizo Business Service to 76%.

The US-based retailer is quickly filling up products that were not available on the platform since the new FDI rules kicked in on February 1, with Cloudtail alone adding 3,00,000 products in 12 hours after returning, according to Marketpulse, which tracks seller data.

Amazon is not planning to change the board structure of either Prione or Frontizo, where several company executives, including India head Amit Agarwal, are directors, according to sources briefed on the matter. While Amazon India has 4 lakh sellers on the platform, Appario and Cloudtail together move at least 50% of daily volumes, according to estimates.

Flipkart, too, has held talks with large offline distributors to work closely with them to ensure adequate listing on its marketplace and faster deliveries. Both Amazon and the Flipkart group (including Myntra and Jabong) are clocking daily shipments of 6-7 lakhs each. Amazon is still awaiting clarity on whether retail chain Shoppers Stop — where it holds a 5% stake — can start selling again, according to sources briefed on the matter.

While sales were hit by the rules effective February 1, both Amazon and Flipkart are now expected to bring back normalcy to their daily operations in the coming days. Several other products like Amazon devices are now estimated to be delivered within a day or two from the estimate of 36-40 days hours after the policy was implemented.

The range of discounting has also gone up on products across categories. The large sellers are part of what is called the Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) programme, which ensures adequate inventory and faster shipping, once an order is placed on the platform.

“It was expected that Amazon would take four to six weeks before it can get back to a regular scale of dayto-day business after the new FDI clarifications were effective from February. With Cloudtail and Appario back on Amazon, it would definitely help the company to cut the turnaround time by at least two weeks. However, a clearer picture would emerge in the next few days once things stabilise,” said Satish Meena, senior forecast analyst at Forrester.

The new policy puts a series of curbs on how both Amazon India and Flipkart operate — restricting discounts, no ownership in sellers on the marketplace platform and disallowing exclusive product launches — forcing them to restructure operations and take a hit on sales. As reported by TOI on Monday, a new set of sellers like Sigma Online and Meera-Enterprises have also come on Amazon to cover private labels, smartphones and grocery products.

WB has highest number of child marriages now

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
08.02.2019

If you thought Bimaru states topped in child marriages, think again. West Bengal now has the highest incidence of girls aged between15 and19 years being married off, far ahead of states like Rajasthan that one traditionally associated with child brides.

However, the findings of the National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4), conducted in 2015-16, show a steady decline across states, barring a marginal increase in two states – Himachal Pradesh and Manipur. The national average is now 11.9% At the time NFHS-3 was conducted in 2005-06, Bihar topped in child marriages, with a prevalence as high as 47.8%; Jharkhand was at number 2 with 44.7% and Rajasthan at number 3 with 40.4%. Bengal came in fourth with 34%.

But in the 10 years since then, some of the Bimaru states — Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh — managed to reduce the incidence of child marriage by over 20 percentage points. In the same period, Bengal managed only an 8.4 percentage point reduction.

District-level analysis using NFHS-4 reveals that Murshibad (39.9%) in Bengal shows the highest prevalence of child marriage amongst 15-19-year-olds, followed by Gandhinagar

(39.3%) in Gujarat and Bhilwara (36.4%) in Rajasthan. However, Bihar has the maximum number of districts with high prevalence

(20), followed by Bengal (14) and Jharkhand (11).

Not surprisingly, child marriage is far more prevalent in rural areas — for rural areas, it is 14.1% on an average, while it is 6.9% in urban India. It is also directly linked to income — the more educated and well-off the girl’s family is, the less likely it is to marry the child off.

The highest prevalence of child marriage is reported amongst Scheduled Tribe girls (15%) followed by Scheduled Castes (13%). However, amongst the top 10 states with highest prevalence of child marriage, it cuts across caste groups. For instance, in Maharashtra, 38% of child brides — the highest percentage — belonged to forward castes.

CBI asks Kolkata police chief to appear on Feb 9 in Shillong

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:08.02.2019

The CBI has summoned Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar to appear for questioning on February 9 in Shillong.

The Supreme Court had directed Kumar to appear before the CBI while restricting the agency from taking any coercive action.

CBI sources said they would grill Kumar on the documents, pen drives, hard drives and statements of various people which were not provided by the West Bengal SIT, headed by him before the probe was transferred to the central agency.

The agency has claimed that the SIT deliberately hid or destroyed crucial evidence in the multi-crore Saradha and Rose Valley scams, in which several Trinamool Congress leaders are under the scanner.

The agency on Thursday attached 10 officers from its Delhi, Bhopal and Lucknow units to its Kolkata office till February 20 to provide additional manpower during questioning of some high-profile suspects, including Kumar.

A team of superintendent of police Jagroop S Gusinha from its special unit in New Delhi accompanied by additional SP V M Mittal, Surendra Kumar Malik, Chander Deep, DSPs Atul Hajela, Alok Kumar Sahi and P K Srivastava, inspectors Hari Shankar Chand, Ritesh Danhi and Surajit Das will camp in Kolkata, an official order said.

It said these officers will be temporarily attached to CBI, EO-IV, Kolkata. They have been asked to reach Kolkata by Friday and will be stationed there tentatively up to February 20.

Always go by the law: Top court tells CBI officer

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:08.02.2019

Giving a piece of advice to young government officers to always go by the law and not blindly follow the instructions of senior officers and political bosses, the Supreme Court told a CBI officer on Thursday that “the law is your only master”.

After being slammed by the court for transferring its officer supervising the shelter home rape cases of Bihar, the CBI filed an affidavit within an hour through superintendent of police Devender Singh, who is part of the probe team and was present in court.

Finding that the affidavit was not filed by the competent authority as the officer was of SP rank and it should have been filed by a senior officer, a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna asked him on whose instruction he had filed the affidavit.

The officer replied that it was done on the instruction of former interim CBI chief M Nageswara Rao who is at present working as additional director in the agency.

The bench advised the officer to be cautious while filing an affidavit in court. “Never ever file an affidavit on anyone’s order without personal satisfaction. The law is your only master, not politicians and bureaucrats. Always keep it in mind,” the court said.

Setting an example, IAS officer to spend just ₹18K for son’s wedding

Umamaheswara.Rao@timesgroup.com

Visakhapatnam:  08.02.2019

At a time when the weddings have turned into ostentatious affairs, it may be a surprise for many to hear that an IAS officer is going to spend just ₹18,000 on his son’s marriage in Visakhapatnam on February 10.

This is not the first time for the Visakhapatnam metropolitan region development authority (VMRDA) metropolitan commissioner P Basanth Kumar to break the stereotype. He conducted his daughter’s wedding in Radha Soami Satsang Sabha, Dayalbagh with just ₹16,100 in September 2017. In fact, Basanth Kumar himself set an example to the society way back in 1988 when his marriage expenditure was only ₹2,345.

Speaking to TOI, Basanth Kumar said that his in-laws kept him waiting for a few weeks when he proposed the ‘wedding with a difference’ in 1988. “Finally, they agreed to my proposal of registered marriage under the Special Marriage Act. Only 25 guests were invited for my wedding and it cost me nearly ₹2,345,” he said. Kumar said that his son’s wedding would be a collaborative effort of his colleagues, members of Radha Soami Satsang Sabha and others, which otherwise would not have been possible with just ₹18,000.

“Being a follower of Radha Soami Satsang, I cannot spend more than ₹18,000 on my son’s marriage. The expenditure limit is stipulated based on the income group of a person,” said Kumar. When asked how he could pull off the wedding ceremony with just ₹18,000, Kumar said that the flowers and vegetables for the marriage will be supplied by the farms located in Dayalbagh Nagar in Visakhapatnam and they will be paid accordingly.

“In the run up to the marriage, we will conduct a Friday satsang on February 8. Only ₹10 should be spent on each guest. Fortunately, the 200 families located in the Dayalbagh Nagar prepared the snacks for just ₹7. Governor ESL Narasimhan will participate in the satsang and give his blessings to the couple,” he said.

Full report on www.toi.in

Married off at 13, girl delivers girl a year later

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Tirupur:08.02.2019

A 14-year-old girl gave birth to a baby girl at the Tirupur government hospital on Monday raising the possibility of action under the Pocso Act against her 22-year-old husband. Inquiries by the authorities revealed the girl had been married off at 13 to a relative last April.

Officials from the Tirupur district child protection unit and social welfare department have visited the hospital and interviewed the girl, her husband, her parents and her in-laws.

The girl and her child are doing well; the hospital administration has decided to prolong their stay to monitor them.

Child protection unit sources said the girl’s parents who hailed from Madurai migrated to Tirupur district six years ago for work. They went to work in a copra drying unit in Kangeyam while the girl attended a government school nearby.

After she completed Class VIII, the parents pulled the girl out of school and made her work with them in the copra unit.

In April last year, the minor girl was married off to her relative who worked in the same unit. Three months ago, the family and the young couple moved to another copra drying unit in Uthukuli.

“Along with the social welfare department, we conducted an inquiry. The husband may be booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, and Justice Juvenile (Care and Protection of children) Act,” said D Vasanth Kumar, Tirupur district child protection officer.

“We will submit a report on the issue before the child welfare committee, which will take a call on legal procedures and rehabilitation programmes if needed,” he said.

“If the mother and her family are found to be unfit or unwilling to raise the newborn, the baby will be sent to a government-recognized children home,” Vasanth added.

In April last year, the minor girl was married to a 22-year-old relative. The husband is likely to face charges under the Pocso Act, Prohibition of Child marriage Act, and Justice Juvenile (Care and Protection of children) Act

Pay ₹3L relief or get 3-yr RI, HC tells man who cheated woman

Srikkanth.D@timesgroup.com

Madurai:08.02.2019

An accused, who was sentenced to one year in jail by a Thanjavur court in 2007 for refusing to marry the woman he impregnated had his appeal turned down by the Madurai bench of the Madras high court. The court also directed the man to pay ₹3 lakh to the woman, failing which he would have to undergo three years rigorous imprisonment, in addition to the trial court’s sentence.

Justice J Nisha Banu dismissed the appeal by the accused, Senthil Kumar, who was initially booked under sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act along with Section 417 (cheating) for refusing to marry a lower caste woman after impregnating her. The trial court found him guilty under Section 417 and acquitted him of other charges. The DNA report submitted before the trial court also proved the accused is the biological father of the child.

In the appeal, the accused’s counsel contended that there is no evidence to show that he promised to marry her and there was no deception involved and the woman, an adult, wilfully entered into the relationship with the man. To this, the court responded that in these cases, court cannot expect evidence from other aspects and that without the assurance of marriage, it could not have been possible for a woman to have sexual intercourse with a man.

“No prudent girl would allow a man to have sexual intercourse just for lust, that too, in Indian culture. It has its own values from time immemorial,” the court observed. The court also dismissed other contentions by the accused as means to escape from the clutches of law. The accused has to be held responsible for the stigma attached and directed him to pay ₹3 lakh to the victim, failing which, the district collector of Thanjavur is directed to recover the sum from the accused and pay the victim.

Minister chides Stalin for remark on GIM investors
Chennai:08.02.2019

Tamil Nadu Industries minister M C Sampath on Thursday chided DMK president M K Stalin for questioning the status of investors, who had entered into MoUs with the state government in the recently concluded Global Investors Meet (GIM). Stalin on Wednesday had said the state government had dragged people from roadside and defaulters in receipt of notices from banks to sign MoUs during GIM.

“Several leading Indian companies like TVS, MRF, Adani and Birla as well as several multinationals including Hyundai and Yamaha among others had entered into MoUs during the GIM, which was also attended by several delegates representing various embassies. Stalin is unable to digest the success of GIM,” Sampath said. He said, in any industrial investment, money required for a project is borrowed from banks. “It is surprising that Stalin, who had handled the industries portfolio, was not aware of this,” he said. TNN

Tejas Express to Madurai not to roll on Sunday, likely on Feb 27
Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com

Chennai:08.02.2019

The Railway Board on Wednesday night gave the green signal to Southern Railway to run the Tejas Express from Chennai to Madurai. Top railway sources said, however, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not inaugurate the train on February 10 as was decided earlier. He is likely to inaugurate the train on February 27 when he visits Nagercoil and Kanyakumari.

“Tejas has been ready to be flagged off for a month. It has been waiting at the Basin Bridge yard,” said a railways official. Once operational, the train will leave Chennai Egmore at 6am and roll into Madurai station six hours and 30 minutes later. It will only stop at Trichy and Kodai Road. In the return direction, it will start from Madurai at 3pm and reach Chennai at 9:30pm.

Travellers are disappointed with the delay. “We were expecting it during Pongal holidays,” said J Mahendran, a frequent traveller between Chennai and Madurai.

The journey time of four hours and 23 minutes and four hours and 38 minutes between Chennai and Trichy is aimed at giving a tough fight to airlines, said senior officials. From Chennai, the train will reach Kodai Road at 11:38am, which means tourists from the state capital can reach Kodaikanal by noon. In the return direction, the train will reach Kodai Road at 3:28pm.

Tejas Express has onboard wifi, a CCTV system, modular toilets and better seats. It will be the first premier train linking Chennai Egmore with southern districts. Tickets may cost around ₹1,000 for a chair-car seat if the dynamic pricing is taken into account. An executive class seat will cost around ₹2,000.

WILL HAVE TO WAIT

Sloppy road repairs leave Chromepet residents unhappy

Shruti.Suresh@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  08.02.2019

Residents in Chromepet and Pallavaram are apprehensive about the Pallavaram municipality’s plans to relay several roads saying they won’t be milled properly, which could lead to flooding when it rains. Milling is the process of removing previous layers so that the height of the road does not rise with every relaying.

The fears were sparked by the way VOC Street and Hanumar Koil Street were relaid over six days ago. While VOC Street was milled and relaid, Hanumar Koil Street, which was in good shape to begin with, just got a fresh layer of bitumen that is already coming off in patches.

“We were informed that only patchwork will be carried out to fill road cuts as the rest of the Hanumar Koil Street was in a good condition. But in two nights, the entire stretch was laid,” said David Manohar, a civic activist.

Shops and houses along Hanumar Koil Stree are already low-lying with water entering the premises every rainy season. Now, the height of the road has increased by more than an inch. “We have put a concrete strip to prevent rainwater from entering, but each time the road is relaid our houses end up even lower compared to the street level,” said a hardware store owner.

Madras HC had ordered that road height should be maintained and that none can be re-laid without milling the existing road.

Chromepet residents’ fears that the roads won’t be milled appear justified. Tender documents accessed by TOI for package seven, which includes relaying of more than ten roads in wards 19, 21 and 22 of Chromepet show that only one (Mageswari Nagar 1st Street) was to be milled. “Krishna Nagar 1st , 2nd , and 3rd streets have not been relaid in 10 years. Even now, if milling is not done, it will lead to heavy inundation during rains,” said Udaya, a resident. He added that gravel was laid in patches to cover road cuts, which had led to bumpy stretches.

Officials in the municipality said that only in the case of extremely worn out roads, was milling done before relaying then. “VOC Street was completely worn out and was milled and relaid. But the rest of the roads had only minor damage. If milling was done, then the entire base would have had to be removed. So, the top layer of bitumen was alone provided,” said the municipal engineer, Karuppiah Raja. He added that when the roads are relaid again, all four needed layers will be milled and relaid.

INADEQUATE WORK: Newly-laid Hanumar Koil Street near Hasthinapauram in Chromepet

Owner leaves keys behind, house burgled

Chennai:08.02.2019

Around 28 sovereigns of gold jewellery worth ₹7 lakh and ₹3,000 were stolen from a house in Triplicane on Wednesday.

The incident came to light on Thursday morning when the owner of the house, Thiruvengadam, who works for an ITcompany, returnedfrom a relative’s house along with his family members.

Thiruvengadam approached the Anna Square police station and lodged a complaint.

Police said the residents had locked the door and kept the keys, including those of the safe, near the window. “The thieves used the keys to open the door. There was no forced entry,” the officer said. “Besides the gold, some foreign currency is also missing,” he said.

Police are scanning CCTV camera footage from the area to trace the suspects. “They might have kept an eye on the family to learn about their ways before targeting the house” said an investigating officer. TNN

Brookfield eyes Jio’s ₹1.07L cr telecom assets in mega deal

Reeba Zachariah & Boby Kurian

Mumbai:08.02.2019

Brookfield Asset Management, one of the world’s top infrastructure and private equity investors, is in early talks to buy controlling shares in Reliance Jio’s telecom towers and fibre assets valued at over $15 billion (₹1.07 lakh crore), people directly aware of the matter said. The deal, if it happens, would be one of the largest M&As in India.

Jio, the telecom arm of India’s most valued company Reliance Industries (RIL), recently said it was spinning off tower and fibre into two separate entities, as part of an anticipated deleveraging exercise. RIL is keen on retiring and refinancing a chunk of its ₹3 lakh crore, or $40 billion, debt mostly soaked up to finance Jio’s disruptive roll-out.

Brookfield may become largest telecom infra player

Jio operates with a network of over 2.2 lakh towers, including third party ones, and around three lakh route kilometre of optic fibre, in serving a subscriber base fast approaching 300 million. Canada-based Brookfield, managing assets worth more than $330 billion globally, has been eyeing telecom infrastructure assets in Asia’s third largest economy for a while. Brookfield had purchased the loss-making East West Pipeline—a 1,400km pipeline connecting Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Bharuch in Gujarat—entity owned by Mukesh Ambani and family for $2 billion last year.

“Jio plans to take certain infrastructure assets out of the balance sheet as part of the de-leveraging exercise. It is exploring a deal with Brookfield to spin off assets which has the ability to carry huge debt when backed by long-term operating agreements,” aid a person familiar with the matter. Brookfield, which has built a rapport with RIL, along with its global sponsors are keen on a full acquisition, but details would be flushed out only as talks move forward. A potential stake buy in Jio’s assets could make Brookfield the largest telecom infrastructure player in the country. Brookfield was unavailable for comment. RIL didn’t respond to an email query sent on Wednesday till the time of going to press. Indus Towers, majorityowned by rival telcos Vodafone and Airtel, is merging with Bharti Infratel creating a $14 billion combine with 1.63 lakh towers. Private equity investor KKR and one of its sponsors Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board will hold 6% in the combined entity. KKR had bought into Bharti Infratel to trigger a $5 billion share purchase in the eventual combine, but the deal-making hasn’t progressed.

Jio’s infra assets could be valued anywhere between $12-15 billion depending on how it consolidates towers spread between its own, third party and those of the bankrupt Reliance Communications (RCom), which it was expected to buyout. Incidentally, Brookfield was close to acquiring Anil Ambani-owned RCom’s tower unit before the deal collapsed.

If the transaction with Brookfield gets completed, it will be a rare private equity deal within the broader RIL. In the past, the group has had a joint venture with New York-based DE Shaw for financial services.

Ransom attempt goes wrong, friends kill city engg student

A.Selvaraj @timesgroup.com

Chennai:08.02.2019

Police claim to have solved the murder of engineering student K Saravanan by arresting three people including two of his friends, who apparently kidnapped him for ransom. Saravanan’s body was recovered from a stone quarry at Kayar near Mamallapuram on January 28, a week after his mother had filed a missing complaint with the Adambakkam police.

Police said the three panicked and killed Saravanan when they came to know his mother had gone to police. They slit his wrists and made deep cuts on the head before tying up his hands and legs. They then attached stones to the body and threw it into the water-filled quarry, where it sank.

Police got a breakthrough when another of Saravanan’s friends got a text message from his mobile number on January 26 asking him for money. They traced the message to Puducherry and went there but found no trace of Saravanan.

Phone message provided police with breakthrough

The police then traced the mobile with its IMEI number to a man in Tiruvallur. He told them he had sold the phone to a dealer in Moore Market near Central railway station. The dealer told the police he had sold it to three men just a couple of days earlier.

This gave the police enough leads to crack the case using the wide network of CCTV cameras in and around the city. Mamallapuram DSP Subburaj said, “We monitored the suspects movements with the help of the CCTV cameras. As we were monitoring the footage, we called one of Saravanan’s friends Deepan Chakaravarthy to help us to identify suspects. However, he gave lame excuses and left for his house. Then he disappeared from his home.”

This roused the police’s suspicions and they traced and nabbed Deepan. Under sustained interrogation Deepam broke down and confessed. The police then arrested the other two as well.

The three — Deepan, 24, of Adambakkam, Rajesh, 23, of Keerapakkam, and Parthiban, 26, of Padianallur near Red Hills — had apparently hatched an elaborate plan to hire a truck and drive around with Saravanan in it while they waited for the ransom money. As part of the plan, Deepan who lived near Saravanan’s house had invited him to Guduvancherry on January 22. They bought liquor and went to Keerapakkam, where they all drank. Deepan Chakaravarthy alone and keep awake and alert to make ransom calls to Saravanan’s mother Sankari.

It was Deepan who found out that Saravanan’s mother had gone to the police late that night when he did not return home. They panicked and decided to kill Saravanan. The three reportedly told the police that drawing on the Kamal Haasan movie ‘Papanasam’, they decided to create alibis for themselves and divert attention away from them.

As part of this plan, they left Saravanan’s motorbike at the quarry but kept his sim card after destroying his phone. The bike is missing and police suspect someone else may have chanced upon and stolen it. The trio then decided to go to Puducherry and other places and use Saravanan’s sim card to keep up the pretence that he was alive.

But their game was up once Saravanan’s body surfaced on January 26.

The arrested trio with police personnel

₹25CR CASH, 12KG GOLD

I-T digs up TN graveyard to bring out ₹433cr unaccounted income
B.Sivakumar@timesgroup.com

Chennai:08.02.2019

Income tax officials who searched Saravana Stores ‘brahmandamai’ and realty firms Lotus Group and GSquare in Chennai and Coimbatore for more than a week had to dig up some graveyards to unearth cash, documents, gold and diamonds worth crores of rupees.

In all, ₹433 crore unaccounted income has been unearthed at the three business establishments. About ₹25 crore in cash, 12 kg gold and 626 carats of diamonds were also seized.

The simultaneous searches at 72 places belonging to Saravana Stores owner Yogarathinam Pondurai, his associate Ramajayam alias Bala, owner of Lotus Group and GSquare, and their associates would have come a cropper if not for the leads officials got about a vehicle carrying valuables and documents doing the rounds in Chennai. “Some police officials had tipped off owners of business establishments, including Pondurai and Bala, about possible I-T searches as heavy police protection had been sought and many cars were hired by the I-T department to transport officials,” said a senior I-T official.

‘Staff deleted records from computers’

The official said, “Pondurai and Bala put most documents, huge amount of cash, gold and diamonds in an SUV and instructed the driver to just keep driving across the city. Their staff deleted all records from the computers and CCTV footages. Following questioning, we came to know about the SUV carrying cash and valuables. We intercepted it with the help of police. Not much could be seized from the vehicle, but we got information about several bags of valuables buried in burial grounds and dumped in some buildings.”

In all, ₹433 crore unaccounted income has been traced in the three business establishments. The sleuths also seized ₹25 crore in cash, 12 kg gold and 626 carats diamonds.

The protracted operation ended only after 9 days. “We have got evidence of huge business transactions between Pondurai and Bala. About ₹284 crore unaccounted income was traced in Pondurai’s business establishments and about ₹149 crore was detected in the two firms owned by Bala,” he said.

The I-T department has engaged a team of IT professionals to reconstruct all the data deleted from the seized computers.

Pondurai, Bala, their partners and business associates were dealing in huge amount of cash, the official said. “A property worth ₹180 crore was bought by them, entirely using cash, in Chennai,” said the official.

It took sustained questioning to extract information from owners and employees of all the three companies, officials said.

CMDA-DTCP merger, a common pool of town planners in Tamil Nadu

The government has already brought all the construction and planning norms under one rule book — Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019.

Published: 07th February 2019 03:51 AM 

By C Shivakumar

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Soon, Tamil Nadu will have a common pool of town planners who are well acquainted with the Development Control Regulations and hence, facilitate planned urban and rural development. 

The government is planning to merge the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) to achieve this integration.

This merger, a top official told Express, would happen before the recruitment of the next batch of town planners. The government has already brought all the construction and planning norms under one rule book — Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019.

Earlier on June 5, 2017, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had announced in the Assembly that a separate cadre of town planners would be created at the State level with the DTCP Commissioner as its controlling authority. Initially, there were also plans to rope in local bodies for the setting up of the common cadre. However, the plan has now been kept in abeyance due to administrative issues. Sources say that involving the local bodies would take much more time as they will have to be brought on board. Still, there are many more challenges remaining to be addressed.


Both the CMDA and the DTCP have a shortage of qualified town planners. As per information available with Express, of the 232 CMDA employees, only 56 are qualified town planners. Similarly, the DTCP and its subordinate offices have only 10 planners with post-graduate degrees. The creation of a common cadre, if implemented soon, is likely to solve this problem. Currently, the DTCP has a sanctioned strength of 801 but has only 267 permanent staff.

It is learnt that there is a huge backlog of vacancies at the levels of the Joint Director, Deputy Director and Assistant Director which are being filled by temporary staff. As of now, the Directorate of Town Panchayats and Directorate of Rural Development do not have a separate town planning wing. By considering the Town and Country Planning Organisation guidelines, a tentative module for establishment in the following departments has been worked out.

Big plans

Although the common cadre for local bodies is likely to be delayed, sources said that requirement of tentative teams of planners for Corporations, municipalities and panchayat is being worked out

Anna University order to retain faculty members’ certificates stayed

It would also be useful to prevent the same teaching staff name being listed out by multiple institutions at the time of affiliation, he said.

Published: 07th February 2019 05:47 AM 

Anna University (File | EPS)

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has stayed all proceedings pursuant to an order, dated December 4, 2018, of the Anna University, which directed its affiliated colleges to retain original certificates and other documents produced for verification at the time of appointment.

Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana granted the injunction while passing interim orders on a writ petition from the All India Private Educational Institutions Association, represented by its State general secretary K Palaniyappan of Saligramam, on Wednesday.

The stay will be in respect of the members of the petitioner association alone.

The main prayer is to quash the December 2018 order and instead, to direct the university to formulate the ‘pan-India’ mechanism to monitor the services of the staff members of the private educational institutions affiliated to it, ensure their viability and provide academic support to the students.

Petitioner’s senior counsel K M Vijayan submitted that there were instances of the teaching faculties and other staff leaving the institution without informing the management in the middle of the academic year. It caused serious hardship both to the management and the students. There are also lot of complaints that a faculty member is shown working in different colleges. Complaints in this regard are being published and this is against law. Moreover, the very same notification was challenged and the High Court granted an interim stay on the order on December 19 in respect of another petitioner.


Vijayan added that the movement of the teaching staff can be monitored by the university if the ‘pan-India’ mechanism is created. Under this, the university can have a track of such teaching staff to ensure the safety of the students. It would also be useful to prevent the same teaching staff name being listed out by multiple institutions at the time of affiliation, he said.

Chennai Police Commissioner launches mobile app that will help trace stolen mobiles

Once the buyer of second-hand mobile inserts a SIM card, they will get an SMS stating that the phone had been stolen.

Published: 06th February 2019 05:25 PM 

Actor Vijay Setupathi launches the 'DIGICOP' app in the presence of Chennai Police Commissioner Dr. AK Vishwanathan. (Photo| Debdutta Mitra)
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Feel apprehensive about buying a second-hand phone? Well, Chennai police's new mobile app will help set your mind at ease. The app, DIGI COP, launched on Wednesday, can tell a buyer if the mobile phone they have purchased second hand is a stolen mobile or not.

The app was launched, by the City Police Commissioner Dr. AK Viswanathan in the presence of actor Vijay Sethupathi, to cut down on mobile theft cases. “The user can also lodge mobile theft complaints using the app and can check if the user’s mobile is in the police list of retrieved mobiles. The user can also know if their stolen two-wheeler had been traced by the police,” a press release from the Commissioner's office said.

According to police, the victim of a mobile theft can register their complaint with the police mentioning IMEI number along with the phone number, so once the buyer of second-hand mobile inserts a SIM card, they will get an SMS stating that the phone had been stolen. The app will also notify the complainant that their mobile had been traced.

Through the app, the user can also know the traffic condition in the city and also information about nearby police stations. The police department is expected to add more features to the app in the future.

One more medical college for Hassan?

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

HASSAN, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST



The Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences was sanctioned during the JD(S)-BJP coalition rule in 2006.


Hassan district is expected to get one more government medical college when the budget is presented by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on February 8. This time, according to sources, the CM will sanction a medical college for his native place Holenarasipur.

The Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS), established in Hassan city, was sanctioned during the JD(S)-BJP coalition rule in 2006.

Public Works Minister H.D. Revanna, who is also in-charge of Hassan district, had instructed Revenue Department officers to identify suitable land of 25 acres in Holenarasipur for the medical college last week. The officers have proposed a few places. The Minister will finalise one among them soon.

Holenarasipur Assembly constituency, now represented by H.D. Revanna, has seven government first grade colleges, considered to be the highest in any Assembly constituency in the State. Recently, the government approved a government engineering college and a polytechnic college at Mosale Hosahalli. Tenders have been floated for construction of engineering college at a cost of Rs. 58 crore and polytechnic college at a cost of Rs. 12.5 crore.

Besides this, the district is expected to get a Horticulture college sanctioned in the budget.

Withdraw Universities Amendment Act’

STAFF REPORTER

DHARWAD, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST



Students taking part in a protest demonstration demanding withdrawal of the Karnataka State Universities (Amendment) Act 2017 in Dharwad on Wednesday.SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT


Students from different educational institutions take out protest rally in Dharwad


Students from different educational institutions took out a protest rally under the aegis of the ABVP demanding withdrawal of the Karnataka State Universities (Amendment) Act 2017, which, they said, is detrimental to the higher education sector.

The protesters later held a protest dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office and submitted a memorandum addressed to Governor Vajubhai Vala.

They said that without discussing thoroughly with educationists, thinkers and stakeholders, the government has brought amendments to the State University Act 2017, which were against the very purpose of establishing universities.

They were also against UGC norms, they said. This Act has been tabled to allow politicians spread their tentacles in university education and spoil the learning atmosphere. Hence, the amended Act should be withdrawn.

This new Act is a den of confusions and hence, it should be replaced with a comprehensive policy for the progress of higher education and to safeguard the interests of students and also protect universities.

This apart, almost 50 % of teaching and non-teaching posts in State universities have fallen vacant and there is pressure on the existing faculty to complete the syllabus in time. The government without much delay should fill all vacant posts, they said.

The students said that the government’s move stipulates commercialisation of the education sector.

Education is not a commodity and the fruits of education should reach people of all communities and classes. The State is considered an education hub, the students said.

But in the last few months, the quality of higher education is deteriorating due to new policies. The Higher Education Minister is, in a hurried manner and lacking vision, bringing in several new policies which are detrimental to the education sector in the State, they said.

Applications invited for the post of V-C in KSOU

STAFF REPORTER

BENGALURU, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST

Karnataka State Open University, Mysuru, has invited applications for the post of Vice-Chancellor from eligible professors.

According to a release, applicants should have a minimum of 10 years’ working experience as Professor or equivalent post as per the guidelines of UGC and KSOU.

They should submit their application in triplicate, furnishing information such as educational qualification, research, academic and administrative experience in the specified format available atwww.ksoumysore.karna taka.gov.in, along with a self-declaration through the proper channel to the Special Secretary to Governor, P.B. No. 5033, Raj Bhavan, Bengaluru - 560001 by February 20, before 5.30 p.m.

Medical college asked to refund excess fees

STAFF REPORTER

BENGALURU, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST

Committee comes down heavily on the Davangere-based private college

Coming down heavily on a private medical college in Davangere, the Admission Overseeing Committee (AOC) has asked the college management to refund the excess fee charged over and above the tuition fee stipulated by the government.

The committee, in an order last month, asked J.J.M. Medical College to refund the excess fee collected from students for two academic years with a 6% interest.

The committee has also raised objection against the college asking institution-quota students to pay Rs. 1.13 lakh from the first year towards clinical fees. The fees was allegedly collected by the college as the students have to utilise facilities in the district government hospital.

The order states that the college, instead of charging tuition fee of Rs. 77,000 as prescribed for a student admitted under the government quota, collected Rs. 1.54 lakh. Further, students who were admitted under the institutional quota, who were supposed to pay Rs. 6.32 lakh a year, had to pay Rs. 8.23 lakh.

B. Manohar, chairman of the AOC, said the college should refund the excess fee for second year students admitted for the 2017–2018 as well as 2018–19 academic year with a 6% interest within a month.

The committee has also said that the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) will be directed to impose a fine of twice the amount collected and make recommendations to the Medical Council of India (MCI) to withdraw recognition and affiliation granted to the college.

S. Sachidananda, Vice-Chancellor, RGUHS, said they were awaiting the government direction.

Despite repeated attempts, authorities at J.J.M. Medical College could not be contacted for their response to this development.

MOs for Rs. 17 sent to PM

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

THANJAVUR, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST

Members of the Federation of Thamizhaga Vivasaya Sangangal on Wednesday sent money orders for Rs. 17 each, addressed to the Prime Minister at the Head Post Office, Thanjavur.

Disclosing this to the media, the federation’s State vice-president Sugumaran said that 15 farmers had sent money orders to the Prime Minister to register their protest against the income support scheme announced in the interim Budget.

“The Union government had failed to heed our demand of waiver of crop loans availed by farmers from the year 2016. And also it had turned a blind eye to the M.S.Swaminathan recommendations for enhancing income of farming community. Instead they had announced the annual support scheme which will work out to Rs. 17 per day,” he said.

Two more chances to clear UG, PG arrears

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

PUDUCHERRY, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST



This will help those admitted from 2003-04 onwards

All undergraduate and postgraduate students (except MBBS course) of affiliated institutions of Pondicherry Central University have been granted two additional chances as a one-time opportunity to clear arrears from the 2003-04 academic year.

According to a press note from the university, Vice-Chancellor Gurmeet Singh had obtained the concurrence of the Academic Council at its meeting on October 16 for this proposal. It would enable students to clear their arrears and get a degree.

The Academic Council (vide resolution 2018.80.48) had resolved to grant two additional chances (May 2019 and November 2019) as a one-time measure to all the undergraduate/postgraduate students of the affiliated colleges (except MBBS) admitted from the academic year 2003-2004 onwards and who could not complete the courses within the prescribed time.

The notification of the examination will be put up on the university website shortly, the press note said. The online registration for examination will be enabled after the notification is published.

Interested students should check the university website regularly for any updates in this regard or be in touch with their respective colleges.

MKU to start new courses

Pon Vasanth B.A

MADURAI, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST



Madurai Kamaraj University officials said steps would be taken to start the new courses in the coming academic year.


Madurai Kamaraj University has decided to offer new masters courses in Anthropology, Psychology, Gene Technology and Biomedical Sciences. Resolutions to this effect were passed at the meeting of the university’s Syndicate on Tuesday.

According to officials privy to the proceedings, the Biomedical Sciences course will be offered in collaboration with Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University. Similarly, the course in Psychology was likely to be offered in collaboration with M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation, university sources said.

Stating that steps would be taken to commence these courses in the coming academic year, officials said the existing faculty members and infrastructure would be adequate to handle the new courses.

Health Centre

The university had also decided to rededicate the health centre at the university with better facilities so that it could serve not only the staff members, but also people in rural areas around the university, a senior official said. “Everything is ready. The facility will be rededicated to the public within a few days,” the official said, adding it would be open from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Stating that there were a number of villages around the university, the official said the facility would be beneficial to the economically backward people from these villages as they could get basic tests for diabetes and hypertension done at a minimum cost of Rs. 10 to Rs. 20.

Stairs

Interestingly, 31 years after the installation of the statue of late Chief Minister K. Kamaraj, the university has taken steps to construct stairs to facilitate garlanding of the statue.

Until now, on important occasions, a wooden ladder would be brought on which the dignitaries would precariously climb to reach the top of the pedestal to garland the statue installed near the main entrance of the university.

The new Vice-Chancellor, M. Krishnan, had to do the same when he garlanded the statue before taking charge on January 2. Sources said a public sector bank had assured to sponsor the funds for this.

MKU gets tough on irregularities

STAFF REPORTER

MADURAI, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST



A committee, headed by a retired judge, will be formed to investigate complaints of corruption and other irregularities in the office of Additional Controller of Examinations in the Directorate of Distance Education of Madurai Kamaraj University.File photoR_ASHOK


Panel to review appointments, promotions made during Chelladurai’s tenure


Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) Syndicate that met on Tuesday passed a number of resolutions to initiate enquiries on complaints of irregularities. This has brought cheer to the lobby that has been campaigning to clean up the affairs of the varsity.

An important decision taken at the meeting was to constitute a committee to review all the appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff of the university and its constituents colleges, and promotions of faculty members made during the tenure of former Vice-Chancellor P.P. Chellathurai, whose appointment was set aside by the Madras High Court.

This was the first Syndicate meeting after the new Vice-Chancellor, M. Krishnan, took charge last month.

Higher Education Secretary Mangat Ram Sharma, Law Department Secretary S.S. Poovalingam, who are ex-officio members of the Syndiciate, also attended the meeting.

A resolution was passed to form a committee headed by a retired judge to investigate complaints of corruption and other irregularities in the office of Additional Controller of Examinations in the Directorate of Distance Education, which is now held by M. Rajarajan.

Sources privy to the proceedings said many complaints were received against the office, primarily in relation to conduct of examinations and issuance of certificates. The enquiry committee would not include anyone from the university, sources said.

Harassment complaint

The report of the Internal Complaints Committee on a harassment complaint filed by a female research scholar against Head of the Centre for Film and Electronic Media Studies K. Karnamaharajan, which found the Professor to be guilty, was discussed at the meeting.

University sources, however, said the punitive action to be taken against him would be finalised after seeking legal opinion.

On a report on the issues prevailing in six constituent colleges of the MKU, sources said the Syndicate decided to review the qualifications of the Principals and remove them if they did not meet the criteria and instead depute Professors of the MKU or appoint retired Professors as Principals.

Court seeks review of govt. land assigned to educational institutions

Legal Correspondent

CHENNAI, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST

Rejects writ petition filed by Vellore Institute of Technology

The Madras High Court has directed the State government to review all old assignment of government lands to private educational institutions as well as other entities in the State and take steps to retrieve the properties if such assignments were found to be irregular.

Justice S.M. Subramaniam directed the Revenue Secretary to issue suitable instructions to all Collectors in the State to verify and review the assignment of government lands to private bodies and submit reports to the government.

The order was passed while rejecting a writ petition filed by Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in 2005 seeking a direction to the State government to assign 41.92 acres of government poromboke land at Katpadi village in Vellore district in favour of the institution on payment of a reasonable consideration. Though the institution claimed that it was in occupation of the poromboke land, as well as other parcels of lands in its immediate vicinity, since its inception as Vellore Engineering College in 1984, the government refused to assign the property on the ground that it was required for construction of a government sports complex.

Additional Advocate General S.R. Rajagopal brought it to the notice of the court that the entire 41.92 acres of land had already been allotted to Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) for constructing a sports complex and encouraging the youngsters in the vicinity to participate in various sporting activities.

The entire 41.92 acres of land had been allotted to SDAT for constructing a sports complex

PM to open Metro Rail’s last stretch on Feb. 10

Sunitha Sekar

CHENNAI, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST




The 10-km line from AG-DMS to Washermanpet will complete the first phase


Finally, after years of waiting, commuters can travel through the entire 45-km of Chennai Metro Rail when the 10-km stretch from AG-DMS to Washermanpet opens on February 10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswamy will inaugurate the stretch from Tiruppur.

Highly placed sources told The Hindu that Mr. Modi will throw open the final stretch through video conference from Tiruppur.

“Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Housing And Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister for Industries M.C. Sampath are likely to be present for the inauguration ceremony at Chennai Central Metro Rail station,” a source said.

The construction of Chennai Metro Rail’s phase I project at a cost of Rs. 14,600 crore has been on for nearly seven years.

Underground

The final 10-km stretch from AG-DMS to Washermanpet is entirely underground and has stations at Washermanpet, Mannady, Madras High Court, Chennai Central, Government Estate, LIC, Thousand Lights and AG-DMS. The stretch received the final safety approval from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) in the last week of January.

Commuters can travel from Washermanpet to the Chennai airport, a distance of nearly 21 km, in about 45 minutes.

Live streaming of sub-registrar offices from February 15

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST





Besides providing quick and transparent services, it will check impersonation to a great extent


The Registration Department will start live streaming of registration of documents and marriages on February 15. Work on installation of Internet Protocol (IP) cameras will be completed next week. The recorded video would also be stored in the 575 offices of the Department for one year.

“This will reduce impersonation to a great extent,” said J. Kumaragurubaran, Inspector General of Registration Department.

According to officials, the new system has been conceived with the aim of providing quick and transparent services and providing evidence of document execution by the registrants. This is also expected to curtail the movement of touts in the offices and safeguard against illegal activities during the registration processes. Senior officials would be able to monitor the activities of sub-registrar offices from the headquarters and respective zonal offices.

The proceedings recorded at the time of registration of documents and marriages can be used to prove that the registration is fraudulent and would be permissible as evidence for any enquiry on impersonation or fraudulent registrations.

Copied in DVDs

The project has been designed as a self-revenue generating model. The video and snapshot recorded at the time of registration of a document or marriage will be copied in a DVD and will be given to the registrants on payment of Rs. 50 per DVD.

The vendor, appointed through ELCOT, will complete work on the viewing facility at the office of the Inspector General of Registration and nine Zonal DIG offices. The IP camera operators have been appointed by the identified vendor to work in all sub-registrar offices for preparing and writing the DVDs and maintaining the devices linked to IP cameras. Estimated cost of the project for five years is Rs. 90.33 crore.

All the 575 sub-registrar offices have been provided with three IP cameras. One to capture the registration recordings above the sub-registrar, the second at the entrance of the record room and the third outside the office premises. The facility would capture voice recording in the entire premises with precision.

The recordings will be saved in network video recorder of 12 TB capacity and stored for at least one year and it is programmed to be removed by first in first out method. After completion of the registration process, officials would return the document to the citizen along with DVD pouch in a ‘document preservation cover’.

Senior officials will be able to monitor the activities from the headquarters and zonal offices.

Officials

Leaky buildings force many residents to leave Perumbakkam

Vivek Narayanan

CHENNAI, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST



Those continuing to stay want TNSCB to rectify problem

It has been just three years since residents moved into the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) tenements in Ezhil Nagar, Perumbakkam, but already many of the houses have started leaking.

Many have shifted to rented houses near their old dwelling place because of the problem.

There are thousands of families living in Perumbakkam Ezhil Nagar tenements, who all moved in about three years ago.

“The leakage, due to poor pipeline and infrastructure, is present in all the blocks and particularly intense at the M, L,K, D, E and C blocks. We will be submitting a signed petition to the TNSCB chairman in the coming days,” said Kumar (name changed), a resident of the locality.

The residents have been pushed to the extreme as there has been no action from the TNSCB despite repeated complaints.

Many residents have placed buckets near the walls from where water drips.

“Every day we empty at least four such buckets,” he added. A newborn was lying on a wet bed in M Block and the family said they had no other option.

“The walls are always damp. When the water is pumped into the tank on the terrace, the leakage is more. We even tried painting the house to reduce the damage, but nothing works,” added Shyamala (name changed), another resident.

Due to this problem, many residents have vacated houses.

“Those who can afford rent in the city have moved out as it is impossible to even cook food or sleep inside the house. Most of them have a sore throat,” she added.

Dangerous situation

Even the rooms in which electricity meters are kept are leaking.

“We are living in constant danger. We are not sure when the building will come crumbling down. Whenever we inform the local TNSCB official, they just visit and ask us to do the patch work,” added another resident.

Residents want the TNSCB to rectify the problem permanently at the earliest.

“Even children fall ill often. The government should do something about it. They should form committees to monitor the condition of the buildings,” added Shyamala.

A senior TNSCB official said that they will be rectifying the issue.

Medical college asked to refund excess fees

BENGALURU, FEBRUARY 07, 2019 00:00 IST

Coming down heavily on a private medical college in Davangere, the Admission Overseeing Committee (AOC) has asked the college management to refund the excess fee charged over and above the tuition fee stipulated by the government. The committee, in an order last month, asked J.J.M. Medical College to refund the excess fee collected from students for two academic years with a 6% interest.