அதிகரிக்கும் இன்டர்நெட் பயன்பாடு; வேகமெடுக்கும், 'டிஜிட்டல்' ஊடகம்

Updated : ஜூலை 24, 2019 06:41 | Added : ஜூலை 24, 2019 06:40 |

மும்பை: 'டிஜிட்டல்' ஊடகத் துறை, 2021ல், 35 ஆயிரம் கோடி ரூபாய் சந்தையாக உருவெடுக்கும் என, பிக்கி - -இ.ஒய்., நிறுவன ஆய்வறிக்கை தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

இது குறித்து, இந்த ஆய்வறிக்கையில் மேலும் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளதாவது: நாட்டில், 'இன்டர்நெட்' எனும், இணையத்தை பயன்படுத்துபவர்கள் எண்ணிக்கை, வேகமாக அதிகரித்து வருவதால், டிஜிட்டல் ஊடகத் துறை, விரைவான வளர்ச்சியை கண்டு வருகிறது. இதையடுத்து, இத்துறையானது, நடப்பு ஆண்டிலேயே, சினிமா துறையை பின்னுக்குத் தள்ளிவிடும்.

டிஜிட்டல் ஊடகத் துறையானது, 2021ல், 35 ஆயிரத்து, 190 கோடி ரூபாய் மதிப்புள்ள துறை என்ற நிலையை எட்டிவிடும். சினிமா துறையின் மதிப்பு, கடந்த ஆண்டில், 17 ஆயிரத்து, 250 கோடி ரூபாயாக இருந்தது. 2019ல் இத்துறையானது, 19 ஆயிரத்து, 320 கோடி ரூபாய் சந்தையாக இருக்கும் என, கணிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. அச்சு ஊடகத்தைப் பொறுத்தவரை, அதன் மதிப்பு, கடந்த ஆண்டில், 30 ஆயிரத்து, 360 கோடி ரூபாயாக மதிப்பிடப்பட்டது. 2021ல், இத்துறை மதிப்பு, 33 ஆயிரத்து, 120 கோடி ரூபாயாக இருக்கும் என, கணிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

கடந்த ஆண்டில், டிஜிட்டல் ஊடகத்தின் மதிப்பு, 42 சதவீத வளர்ச்சியை அடைந்து, 16 ஆயிரத்து, 560 கோடி ரூபாயாக இருந்தது. இந்த வளர்ச்சி வேகத்துக்கு முக்கியமான காரணம், நாட்டில், மொபைல் போன் வைத்திருப்பவர்கள், அதை பயன்படுத்தும் மொத்த நேரத்தில், 30 சதவீதத்தை, பொழுதுபோக்குகளில் செலவழிக்கின்றனர் என்பது தான். இதன் அடிப்படையில், டிஜிட்டல் ஊடகம், 2019ல், 22 ஆயிரத்து, 80 கோடி ரூபாய் மதிப்பு உள்ளதாக வளர்ச்சியுறும் என, கணிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

கடந்த ஆண்டில், 32.50 கோடி பேர், 'வீடியோ' பார்வையாளர்களாகவும், 15 கோடி பேர், 'ஆடியோ' சேவையை பயன்படுத்துபவர்களாகவும் இருந்துள்ளனர். வரும், 2021ல், பணம் செலுத்தி, வீடியோ சேவையை பெறுபவர்கள் எண்ணிக்கை, மூன்று கோடியிலிருந்து, 3.5 கோடியாக இருக்கும். ஆடியோவை பொறுத்தவரை, 60 லட்சத்திலிருந்து 70 லட்சம் பேர், பணம் செலுத்தி சேவை பெறுபவர்களாக இருப்பர். இவ்வாறு, அந்த ஆய்வில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

CAG report unearths misappropriation, theft of Rs 14.94 crore in govt depts

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | J.V. SIVA PRASANNA KUMAR

Published Jul 23, 2019, 6:14 am IST

The government is advised to check the parking of funds in other departments also, and take appropriate corrective measures.

Tamil Nadu government

Chennai: As many as 26 government departments have caused a total loss of Rs. 14.94 crore to the State government due to theft, misappropriation and shortage. As on March end, 2018, 363 cases of misappropriation, shortage, theft and loss involving the sum are pending disposal.

As per Article 294 of the Tamil Nadu Financial Code stipulates that heads of office should report all cases of defalcations or loss of public moneys, stores or other movable or immovable properties to the AG (A&E).

But the reasons for pendency of cases were given by the heads of departments as awaiting departmental and criminal investigation, department action initiated but not finalised, criminal proceedings finalised but recovery of amount still pending and awaiting orders for recovery or write off besides pending in courts of law.

But, the Financial Code prescribes the principles and procedures to be followed for enforcing responsibility for losses and disposal of such cases. While some of the theft cases have been pending for about five years, the misappropriation cases are pending for about 11 to 15 years.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India which unearthed ‘serious lapses’ told the government in its State Finance Audit Report ending March 2018, not to park money outside government account but draw as and when required. “The government is advised to check the parking of funds in other departments also, and take appropriate corrective measures,” the report said.

During the period from 2015-16 to 2017-18 government funds were kept in banks and it was noticed that out of 422 bank accounts, 153 had a balance of Rs 201.31 crore and were not operated for more than a year. The bank accounts were inoperative except for interest credit and bank charges. Non-operation of these accounts for more than a year indicted that these funds were not required immediately and hence keeping these amounts in bank accounts was not in order.

The report also found that seven Pay and Accounts Offices (PAO) had 55,296 cheques for `69.30 crore remaining unencashed (June 2018) for periods upto 30 years. The government has taken no steps to resolve the long pending issues.

Thalapathy to thalaivar, Stalin has graduated

It’s a promotion of sorts. It has been some time since MK Stalin took over the reins of DMK, but the party cadres are just receiving instructions to address him appropriately.

Published: 24th July 2019 04:33 AM |

MK Stalin | Express

By S Kumaresan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: It’s a promotion of sorts. It has been some time since MK Stalin took over the reins of DMK, but the party cadres are just receiving instructions to address him appropriately. Functionaries say internal instructions are being given to address the party president as Thalaivar (leader), and not by his popular title Thalapathy (commander).



In a State where even newcomers in the film industry are keen on having fancy titles for themselves, the change, party insiders say, is only logical. It has been learnt that two MLAs close to Stalin are personally instructing leaders and functionaries to ensure this change in address.

Power shut down for maintenance on Wednesday

Power supply will be suspended from 9 am to 4 pm on Wednesday in the following areas.

Published: 23rd July 2019 06:03 AM |

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Power supply will be suspended from 9 am to 4 pm on Wednesday in the following areas:

K.K.NAGAR AREA : KK Nagar, Ashok Nagar, MGR Nagar, Ekkattuthangal, Kalaimagal Nagar, Balaji Nagar, Visalakshi Nagar, a part of West Mambalam, Brindavan Extension, Nakkeran St, a part of Guindy, Jhafferkhanpet, West KK Nagar, a part of Nesapakkam and a part of Vadapalani.


MATHUR: Mathur and MMDA, Periya Mathur and Chinna Mathur, Aavin Quarters, CPCL Nagar, Vadaperumbakkam, Chettimedu, Kanniamman Nagar, Parvathipuram, M.R.H Road, Ranga Garden, Manjambakkam, V.S Mani Nagar, Manali, Kamarajar Salai, Ayapakkam Kovil, Nedunchelian Salai, Azeez Nagar, Amma Unavagam in Manjampakkam.

AYAPAKKAM : ICF Colony main road, Ayapakkam TNHB I, II , III, Ambattur road, Kuppam, Kalaivanar Nagar, Melayanambakkam, a part of Vanagaram, Ayapakkam - Thiruverkadu main road, Bhavani Nagar, Gayathri Nagar, Chelliamman Nagar, Green Garden, Ayappakkam Village, MGR Puram, TG Anna Nagar, TNHB 608 and 808 flats, Vijaya Nagar, Ayyappa Nagar, Koladi main road, PKM St, Sivapatham St.

KODUNGAIYUR : Andal Nagar I , II St, Annai Therasa St, Munuswamy St, Govinda Swamy St, Manali road, Lakshmi Amman Nagar 1 to 3 rd St, Thendral Nagar 1 to 8 th St, , Annai Avenue 1 to 3rd St, Kadambadi Amman 4th St, Raghavendra Nagar, Ganesh Nagar, Ganesh Nagar extn and the entire Suganthammal Nagar.

SIRUSERI : L&T Phase -II and SIPCOT(State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu).

TIDEL PARK AREA : Kottivakkam MGR Nagar, VSI Estate Phase-II and Judges Colony.

SHOLIGANALLUR: MGR St, Ezhil Nagar, Part of Village High Road, School Road and TNHB(Tamil Nadu Housing Board). THORAIPAKKAM : Subramani Street.

I-T dept sets target of Rs 92,500 crore collection for Tamil Nadu, Pondy
He said Tamil Nadu is ranked fourth when it comes to tax collection.

Published: 24th July 2019 04:36 AM |

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: File your tax returns before the stipulated time or you will end up paying a fine ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 on the basis of your annual income, according to Income-Tax commissioner N Rengaraj. He said this year Tamil Nadu and Puducherry region of I-T department has a target of Rs 92,500 crore tax collection. So far, it had collected Rs 16,560 crore, which is 18 per cent of the target.



He said Tamil Nadu is ranked fourth when it comes to tax collection. Last year, the target was Rs 85,000 crore and the department managed to collect taxes to the tune of Rs 75,100 crore. He said 46.35 lakh persons in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry had filed their returns. This financial year 4.27 lakh people have filed returns, he said. In India, till June, a total of 71,54,471 persons have filed their returns.

He said those who have less than Rs 5 lakh income and who could not file returns by July 31, will be penalised Rs 1,000 if they file returns later. For those whose salary is above Rs 5 lakh per annum and who fail to file their returns, they will be penalised Rs 5,000 if they file their returns between August and December.

Last date to file returns extended to August 31

The last date for filing income tax returns for the assessment year 2019-20 has been extended to August 31 for a certain category of taxpayers. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the due date, added a statement

UGC list of fake universities: 14 out of 23 around since 2005

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI, JULY 24, 2019 00:00 IST

Yet to close doors despite Anti-Malpractice Cell’s efforts

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a list of 23 fake universities which are “self-styled, unrecognised institutions functioning in contravention of the UGC Act”, warning students not to be taken in by their claims. Most of these institutions have been on the UGC’s watchlist for well over a decade, despite the regulator’s annual claim that its Anti-Malpractice Cell (AMPC) has been taking appropriate legal action against them.

Out of the 23 institutions in Tuesday’s public notice, as many as 14 of them also appear on the 2005-06 list of fake universities published by UGC. These long-term offenders include four institutions in Delhi: Commercial University, United Nations University, Vocational University and ADR-Centric Juridical University. Seven institutions in Uttar Pradesh have also been on the list since 2005: Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Mahila Gram Vidyapith/Vishwavidyalaya, Gandhi Hindi Vidyapeeth, National University of Electro Complex Homeopathy, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Open University, Uttar Pradesh Vishwavidyalaya and the Maharana Partap Shiksha Niketan Vishwavidyalaya.

Others, which seem to have existed for the last 14 years despite UGC’s watchlist, include the Badaganvi Sarkar World Open University Education Society (Karnataka), St. John's University (Kerala) and Raja Arabic University (Maharashtra).

The Anti-Malpractice Cell of the UGC was set up in 1995 to deal with complaints regarding fake universities. Through the years, the UGC’s annual reports have documented FIRs and show cause notices filed against some of these institutions. Despite the Cell’s efforts, many of the institutions have yet to shut their doors.

Plea to extend scholarship to management quota students

STAFF REPORTER

MADURAI, JULY 24, 2019 00:00 IST

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered notice to the Centre and the State on a public interest litigation petition that sought a direction to extend the post matric scholarship to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students admitted under the management quota.

A Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and B. Pugalendhi ordered notice and adjourned the hearing till August 20.

The petition was filed by K. Palanivelu of Madurai, who challenged the new Post Matric Scheme, 2018, that restricted the scholarship to students admitted under the government quota alone.

The petitioner said the scheme was introduced to provide financial assistance to SC and ST students studying post-matriculation to enable them to complete their education.

The petitioner pointed out that under the new scheme introduced in 2018 the scholarship was denied to students admitted under the management quota.

Discriminatory

The scheme was discriminatory in nature and violated Article 46 (Promotion of education and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections) and Article 14 (Equality before law) of the Constitution.

The petitioner sought a direction to extend the scheme to students admitted under the management quota too.

Do you have proof of T.N. having received NEET Bills: HC to Centre

Mohamed Imranullah S.

CHENNAI, JULY 24, 2019 00:00 IST

Court grants time till August 1 for Union Home Secretary to file an affidavit

The Madras High Court on Tuesday asked the Centre whether it was in possession of any acknowledgement to prove that the State government had received way back in September 2017 the authenticated copies of its two anti-NEET Bills that were reportedly returned by the Union Home Ministry after the President withheld his assent to them.

The query was raised when a batch of public interest litigation petitions came up for hearing before a Division Bench of Justices S. Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad. The judges asked senior Central government panel counsel A. Kumaraguru if there were any documents to substantiate the claim of the Bills having been returned to the State.

When the counsel expressed his difficulty in answering the question without any specific instructions from the Home Ministry, the judges sought to know the answer from the State government. However, they could not elicit any answer from the State too, since Government Pleader (in-charge) Jayaprakash Narayan was not present in the court hall.

Later, the judges adjourned the cases to August 1 for the filing of an affidavit by the Union Home Secretary, as directed by them on July 5, setting out details regarding the dates on which the Bills were withheld and returned to the State government. They refused to go by an affidavit filed by Raju S. Vaidya, an officer in the rank of Deputy Secretary in the Ministry.

Though Mr. Kumaraguru said the Home Secretary could not file the affidavit as he was busy with the ongoing Parliament session in New Delhi, the judges refused to accept that, and insisted that the affidavit should be filed only by the official to whom the direction had been issued, and not by his subordinates.

Bringing uniformity

The Centre had, in 2017, done away with different procedures followed in different States for admitting students in medical colleges, and introduced a common entrance exam called the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) by amending the Medical Council of India Act of 1956, which was a Central legislation.

However, in order to circumvent the Central law and to obtain an exemption from NEET for students from Tamil Nadu, the State legislature passed the Tamil Nadu Admission to MBBS and BDS Courses Bill and the Tamil Nadu Admission to Postgraduate Courses in Medicine and Dentistry Bill in February 2017.

Since the State Bills were repugnant to the Central law, they required Presidential assent under Article 201 of the Constitution and, accordingly, got forwarded to the Centre for obtaining such assent. It was at this juncture that the four PIL petitions were filed in the High Court in 2017, seeking a direction to the government to obtain the Presidential assent at the earliest.

After gathering dust for the last two years, the cases were taken up for hearing earlier this month, and the court was told that the President had withheld his assent to the Bills on September 18, 2017, and that they were returned to the State government on September 22, 2017. The disclosure led to a furore in political circles.

Since the State Bills were repugnant to the Central law, they required Presidential assent under Article 201 of the Constitution

No change in communal rank for med aspirant: HC

tnn | Jul 23, 2019, 04.23 AM IST

The Madurai bench of the Madras high court set aside the order of a single judge in an appeal moved by the National Testing Agency (NTA) of central government against revising the communal rank of a medical aspirant.

In the petition, the agency submitted that any change in the ranking list would cause repercussions throughout the country and that other students who were careful in mentioning their category would be affected.

When the petition was heard on Monday, the agency submitted that though several opportunities were given to the petitioner, it was not utilized by them.

Recording the submission, a division bench of Justice K Ravichandrabaabu and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy set aside the order of the single judge to revise the communal rank of a medical aspirant.

It can be recalled that M Vikram Balaji, a minor represented by his father V Maran, a resident of Periyakulam in Theni district stated that the school in which his son was studying had engaged some private consultants and they inadvertently entered his son’s communal category as OBC instead of SC at the time of application for NEET exam.

He said that if his son’s communal category is corrected as SC there is an imminent chance for him to get medical admission. If not, he may miss his chance of getting admission for MBBS course. Hearing the plea, a single judge directed the authorities concerned to correct the communal category and to modify his communal category rank within two weeks.

Plan for 1,200sqft buildings in 30 days: Tamil Nadu deputy CM

TNN | Jul 21, 2019, 12.40 PM IST

CHENNAI: Constructions less than 1,200sqft in area awaiting planning permission for more than 30 days will be deemed approved, deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam said on Saturday. This would largely benefit small projects such as independent houses, whose constructions are stalled due to inordinate delay in obtaining the plan sanction.

In the assembly, Panneerselvam, who holds housing and urban development department portfolio, said the move will be applicable for all constructions across Tamil Nadu, including areas under the jurisdiction of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).

While the CMDA has delegated powers to local bodies including Greater Chennai Corporation to provide planning permissions for basic constructions such as ground+one or stilt+two buildings, the respective local bodies issue the permits in rest of Tamil Nadu.

Builders’ Association of India’s Southern Centre chairman, S Ramaprabhu, said the move would speed up the clearance of applications for planning permissions. “If applicants provide all documents required for issuing planning permission but there is a delay, it would be considered as deemed sanction. Independent houses will be the largest beneficiaries,” he said.

The development comes in the backdrop of the government launching a regularisation scheme for unapproved plots in 2017.

As per government data, 3,434 applications were received in Chennai Metropolitan Area, while nearly six lakh applications were filed across rest of the state for regularisation under the amnesty scheme. “Under such circumstances, the new announcement would ease construction in the regularised unapproved plots,” Ramaprabhu added.

The state government has also eased the norms for obtaining planning permission for industrial buildings for a specified area.

Panneerselvam said industries constructing buildings within an area of 25,000sqft and not exceeding the height of 18.30m in approved industrial layouts can self certify the planning permissions.

Applicants need not visit any office after filing their documents for the purpose, he said, adding that orders for the purpose would be issued soon.

DVAC raids 20 houses, offices of cops, Tasmac staff

TNN | Jul 21, 2019, 01.42 PM IST

CHENNAI: Two days after Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), Kancheepuram, booked 10 police, Tasmac and PEW officials including former DSP of Mamallapuram R Subburaju, the agency’s sleuths on Saturday raided 20 houses and offices linked to the accused in different districts.

The others booked are T Kannan, former Tiruporur inspector, A Ahamed Ullah, former assistant commissioner (excise), Kancheepuram, M Balakrishnan, former assistant commissioner (excise), Kancheepuram, V A Ravichandran, DSP (PEW), Kancheepuram, M Pandi, former Kelambakkam inspector, and M Chiranjeevi, former Mamallapuram inspector.

Several officers on the list had been transferred after Tasmac agent Nellaiyappan of Tiruporur committed suicide in front of the Mamallapuram police station on May 28 after accusing them of demanding huge bribe to run bars illegally.

The house of DSP Subburaju in Palavakkam, former ADSP (Prohibition Enforcement Wing, Kancheepuram) A Manikkavelu’s official quarters in Mylapore, Madurantakam PEW inspector A Arockiaraj’s house in Chidambaram, apart from the office of former district manager (Tasmac) Iyyavu in Kancheepuram were among those raided on Saturday, said DVAC sources.

Gold, cash, fixed deposit receipts and several other crucial documents are said to have been seized. The DVAC first information report (FIR) said only five of the 106 Tasmac bars functioning in Kancheepuram district that includes several Chennai suburbs are legal.

The FIR said Chiranjeevi collected bribe from illegal bar owners between May 2018 and February 2019 and gave it to senior jurisdictional police officers. Manikkavelu recommended that inspector Chiranjeevi be given additional charge of PEW units in Kancheepuram to collect bribes for himself and others, said the FIR.

Inspector Arockiaraj, who held additional charge of PEW Mamallapuram, allegedly allowed illegal bars to sell liquor from other states, it added.

100-plus e-seva centres in city shut afteroperators lose access to Aadhaar website

TNN | Jul 23, 2019, 04.33 AM IST

CHENNAI: For 58-year-old Kamakshi Baby of Sholinganallur, getting her phone number changed in her Aadhaar enrolment has been a two-month struggle. Reason? The e-seva centre in her area which receives about 75 such petitions every day has not been functioning. It is not just this area, more than 100 centres out of the total 158 in Chennai have been shut down in the past two months.
Residents have been asked to travel to other zonal offices, some 20km away, to change addresses and make corrections in their Aadhaar cards.

“I was asked to change the contact details in my Aadhaar card that is linked to my provident fund. But the centre that usually functions has been shut and I have no idea where to go. They say a few centres in Adyar, Kodambakkam are functioning but they are really far,” said Kamakshi.

Across the city, e-seva centres are run by the Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable Television (TAC TV). Corporation zonal offices and taluk offices have e-seva centres. Apart from these, private companies have been given permission to make changes in Aadhaar.

As per the UIDAI website, certified operator/supervisor certificate is mandatory to perform Aadhaar enrolment and get a job at these centres. “These employees are given a salary of Rs 6,750 a month and have to work from 10 am to 5pm,” said V Gopalakrishnan, a resident of KK Nagar who has passed the exam. However, when they commit mistakes, the central government website takes note of it. When mistakes are committed on a regular basis, their access to the website is blocked.

P Shankar, managing director, TAC TV, said, “Last month, about 123 operators lost the access due to mistakes and last week another 20-odd lost the access. We appoint two operators at each e-seva centre. Now, we are facing a huge shortage in manpower as we need to get their access cleared from the central government which is a lengthy process,” he said. Shankar said there are plans to create a talent pool to ensure such a problem doesn’t arise again. “This will be resolved soon,” he said.

Meanwhile, corporation zonal offices are accepting these petitions.

Just one round to go, 90% seats in 52% TN engg colleges vacant

Ragu Raman | Jul 24, 2019, 04.07 AM IST

Chennai: Of the 470 colleges in the state that took part in engineering counselling, 250 or 52% of the colleges could not even fill 10% of seats at the end of the third round.

Of the 250, 35 colleges failed to fill even one seat, while 117 colleges managed to fill less than 10 seats in the online counselling. Including the final allotment given to 24,131 students on Tuesday by the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) committee, only 45,663 or 27% seats have been filled against the 1,67,101 seats available for counselling. With just a round to go, 1,27,438 seats are still vacant.

“Three colleges have filled 100% seats and 36 colleges filled more than 80% seats,” said career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi. College of Engineering, Guindy, Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi, and Indian Institute of Handloom Technology, Salem, are the three government institutions that have filled 100% seats. Of the 36 colleges that filled more than 80% seats, 18 are government colleges.

“While students preferred computer science, IT and electronics and communication engineering, courses such as civil engineering, mechanical, electronics instrumentation have found few takers,” he said. ”Even courses such as automobile engineering and biomedical engineering have lost steam,” career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi.

Though 37,598 students were called for the final and fourth round, the cut-off marks for the round is 114.75 to 77.5 marks.

“Students who have scored less than 60% of marks would have already joined other courses or management seats in engineering colleges. So, there are chances that more than 50% of the students might skip the fourth round,” principal of a city college said.

Experts said the admission figures for 250 colleges will not improve drastically in the last round. “There might be a marginal increase in the admission in fourth round. But it would be extremely difficult to run colleges with such poor admissions,” another principal told TOI. He further said the students who joined will lose interest after seeing the poor strength. “Many faculty members in these colleges might lose their jobs,” he said.

Of the 69 colleges that have filled more than 50% of seats, most of them belong to Chennai and Coimbatore regions.

Anna University’s former vice-chancellor E Balagurusamy said without 40% admission, engineering colleges would not even be in a position to pay electricity charge or afford labourers to maintain their campuses.

“For the last three to four years, admissions were poor. But engineering colleges hoping for a reversal of trend kept running the colleges. Now it is clear engineering colleges cannot improve admissions. It’s time Anna University and state government held a meeting with managements of engineering colleges to decide on the way forward,” he said.

“When around one lakh students are joining the engineering courses (through counselling and management quota), we have more than two lakh seats. These seats have to be reduced,” he added.

You’ll have to pay up if mechanic crashes your car

TNN | Jul 24, 2019, 04.17 AM IST

Chennai: If your car is involved in an accident while at the service centre, your insurer will still have to pay compensation and not the service centre, according to a motor accidents claims tribunal in the city. 

The tribunal directed the insurer of the vehicle to pay Rs 18.35 lakh to the parents of a 15-year-old boy- P.Sriram, who was fatally knocked down by a car taken on a test drive after service.

Sriram was riding pillion on a motorbike, which was hit by the car near Velachery. The teenager’s parents, M Palanivel and P Malliga, moved a petition seeking compensation of Rs 12 lakh. In response, the owner of the vehicle submitted that it was in the possession of the service centre at the time of the accident and he was in no way connected to it.

The vehicle insurer submitted that the service centre could test drive vehicles using ‘trade plates’ with an insurance policy issued for the purpose. Any liability would thus be that of the insurer of the ‘trade plates’, who issues policy to cover third party liability .

According to counsel for the service centre and its insurer, the vehicle concerned would be driven using ‘trade plates’, which were normally issued for the limited purpose of taking the vehicle from the showroom to the regional transport office (RTO) for vehicle registration.

After perusing the documents submitted and the arguments made, tribunal judge S.Umamaheshwari held that the accident was due to the rash and negligent driving of the technician of the service centre. However, the judge held that the vehicle insurer is liable to pay compensation and cannot expect the service centre to use ‘trade plates’.

“The scope of trade plate policy is a limited one and it cannot be utilized once the vehicles are sold. Though the accident happened when the vehicle was in the custody of the service centre, it is admitted by the owner and vehicle insurer that the vehicle was handed over for service,” the tribunal held and directed that the parents be paid Rs 18.35 lakh as compensation.

No govt award for teachers giving private tuitions

TNN | Jul 24, 2019, 04.45 AM IST

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has barred teachers, who handle private tuitions, from applying for the government’s best teacher award. The award, named after former president S Radhakrishnan, is distributed to around 300-odd teachers from state board schools. The award includes a cash prize and a medal.

Guidelines for nominating candidates were released on Saturday. Accordingly, those who handle tuition classes against the law were barred from applying. Service conduct rules and Right of Children for Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, ban the same. Those working with commercial bias and members of private school boards are also restricted this time.

A district-level committee will shortlist applications. It is the responsibility of the teams to ensure that applicants don't have pending criminal cases against their names and are not affiliated to any political party.

Teachers and headmasters with minimum 15 and 20 years of experience respectively can apply. Awards will be distributed on September 5. TNN

More showers, cloudy skies likely today: Weathermen

TNN | Jul 24, 2019, 06.04 AM IST

CHENNAI: Cloudy skies are likely in the city on Wednesday with chances of more showers. “The sky condition is likely to be generally cloudy. Light to moderate rain is likely in some areas,” a Met department forecast said.

On Tuesday, the suburbs received more rain than the core areas. Different parts received rain ranging from drizzles to light rain with the sky remaining cloudy throughout the day. Chengalpet, Sriperumbudur, Mamallapuram and Ponneri received 1cm rain till 8.30am.

Nungambakkam recorded 1.6mm of rain and Meenambakkam 5.1mm. The day was cool and pleasant with a maximum temperature at 34.5°C in Nungambakkam and 34°C in Meenambakkam.

The rain was triggered by a cyclonic circulation lying between south Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu coast, a Met official said. “It is expected to continue for one more day,” he added.

With the monsoon weakening in Kerala, the convergence was expected in leeward region and Tamil Nadu will see convective rain, private weather blogger Pradeep John said, adding that such rain had been missing for the last three days because of upper air circulation.

The city received mild rain in the day on Monday after clouds moved in from the sea. This type of cloud movement, private weather bloggers said, is a rare occurrence in July. Usually, the city receives rain because of convective clouds triggered by the high temperature during the day.

The city has received 132.2mm rain since June 1 against the expected normal of 140.7mm, a deficit of 6%. It is expected to receive a few more spells of rain in August due to the break monsoon in the northern parts of the country.

City man dies after taking injection for pain at pharmacy, owner held

A Selvaraj | Jul 24, 2019, 04.04 AM IST

Chennai: A tailor with shoulder pain died on Monday after being administered an injection by a medical store owner at Ambattur, police said. Baskaran, the owner and quack, was arrested and sent to jail on Tuesday.

The victim, 42-year-old Kumar of Madhang Kuppam near Ambattur, had been struggling with an aching shoulder for the past two weeks and got treated at a private hospital. Around 8.30pm on Monday, when the pain persisted, he went to Baskaran’s Sri Sakthi Medicals on Surapattu-Ambattur Road.

Kumar showed the hospital’s medical prescription to Baskaran, 52, who gave a medicine. Kumar remained at the store that doubles up as a small nursing home with a bed for administering intravenous fluids such as saline. After an hour, Baskaran administered Kumar an injection to reduce pain. But he swooned. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him dead. The body was sent to the Government Stanley Medical Hospital for postmortem.

The Ambattur police registered a case on a complaint from Kumar’s wife, Meena, and slapped a case under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC and arrested Baskaran. Ambattur police inspector Porkodi said, “The medical shop owner administered a pain-killer injection to Kumar.”

On Tuesday morning, about half-a-dozen people from Madhang Kuppam and nearby areas queued up in front of Sri Sakthi Medicals, unaware that Baskaran had been arrested for the death of a man the previous night. Many said Baskaran, who has a B.Pharm degree, ran a medical store near MGR Statue for about 15 years before shifting to the current location at the end of 2018. A man who runs a fabricating in the area, said, “Four months ago, when a juvenile was hit by a car Baskaran gave him first aid and saved his life. One of my staff who slit his hand while cutting a glass sheet was given first aid by Baskaran and later taken to hospital.”

Most of the residents swore by Baskaran. Mukundan, who runs a briyani shop, said: “I suffered from severe cold for the past two days and he gave me medicine and administered an injection on Monday evening. I am perfectly alright now.”

Others said Baskaran never administer an injection to newcomers and onkly gave them to regular ‘patients’. Even the deceased Kumar, the said, was a regular at Baskaran’s store and often collected medicines.

Athi Varadar to be placed in standing position from Aug 1
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:24.07.2019

The deity of Athi Varadar would be placed in a standing position from August 1, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced on Tuesday.

“We have to follow the agama (in performing the rituals for Athi Varadar). I also went around the temple and reviewed the arrangements,” said the chief minister after holding a review meeting with the officials of Hindu religious and charitable endownments (HR&CE) department, police officers and officials of the district administration. Earlier, Palaniswami offered prayers at the Devarajaswamy temple and worshipped Athi Varadar.

After a gap of 40 years, Athi Varadar was taken out from the temple tank on July 1 and placed in a reclining position for the devotees to offer worship.

The CM was visiting the temple for the first time, after last Thursday’s stampede that claimed the lives of five devotees. “We will make even better arrangements when Athi Varadar arises next time, if we are alive with his blessings,” the CM said.

So far, a total of 30.50 lakh devotees have visited the temple and offered prayers. Special arrangements have been made for the differently abled and elderly persons coming to the temple. Necessary measures have been taken to attend to the medical needs of the devotees, he said.

However, some persons with disabilities complained that lack of facilities was causing hassles during worship. S Sridaran, a differently abled devotee from Chennai, said there were hardly any wheelchairs for senior citizens.

"We could find about 200 wheelchairs at the exit of the temple and almost nothing at the entrance. Poor arrangements and absence of information to access car parking forced my daughter to walk for five kilometres with me in the wheelchair on Monday," he said.

TIME FOR DEVOTION: Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami offers worship to Athi Varadar at Kancheepuram on Tuesday

Writ Petition Not Maintainable Against Termination Of Teacher By Private School Management: SC Upholds Patna HC Judgment [Read Order]

Writ Petition Not Maintainable Against Termination Of Teacher By Private School Management: SC Upholds Patna HC Judgment [Read Order]: The Supreme Court has upheld a Patna High Court judgment that held that the Management Committee of Private School is not 'State' within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India and a...

Chennai, Tamil Nadu News July 19 Highlights: CM requests Madras HC judgements in Tamil; NIA to interrogate 16 arrested terrorists

Catch the latest news in Tamil Nadu and Chennai as we bring you live updates on water scarcity, traffic, Tamil Nadu politics, Tamil movie releases, weather forecasts, rains, local and civic issues and events near you in Chennai.

By Express Web Desk |Chennai |Updated: July 19, 2019 7:44:29 pm

Chennai, Tamil Nadu News July 19 Highlights: The Poonamallee Special Court today granted the NIA permission to interrogate the 16 terrorists who had been arrested in Chennai on July 15. (Representational Image)

Chennai, Tamil Nadu News July 19 Highlights: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy (EPS) announced the creation of two new districts in Tamil Nadu by bifurcating Tirunelveli and Kanchipuram on Thursday. The government will be carving Tenkasi out of Tirunelveli and Chengalpattu from Kanchipuram, he said.

Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) party Thursday decided not to field a candidate for the Vellore parliamentary election scheduled for August 5. In a press release, the MNM party said the parliamentary election in Vellore was postponed on the complaint of cash distribution and several cases were filed related to that.

With both MNM and AMMK out of the race, the election will be a direct contest between DMK’s Kathir Anand and AIADMK-NDA alliance candidate A C Shanmugam.

LIVE BLOG

Get Chennai, Tamil Nadu news today with live updates on weather, traffic, train services, airlines, politics, movies, civic issues and much more through the day. Also read our Bangalore News Live Updates | For updates in Tamil, follow our IETamil Live Blog |

19:38 (IST)19 Jul 2019

CM writes to Ravi Shankar Prasad to make HC judgements available in Tamil

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami wrote to Union Minister of Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad on July 18 and thanked him for making the judgements of the Supreme Court available in regional languages, including Tamil. In the letter which was tweeted on the CM's official handle today, the Chief Minister urged Prasad to make the judgements of the Madras High Court available in Tamil as well.

Text of the D.O. letter dated 18.7.2019 of Thiru Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu addressed to @rsprasad Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice, Communications, Electronics and Information and Technology.

Text of the D.O. letter dated 18.7.2019 of Thiru Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu addressed to @rsprasad Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice, Communications, Electronics and Information and Technology.


19:25 (IST)19 Jul 2019

NIA granted permission to interrogate 16 terrorists arrested in Chennai

The Poonamallee Special Court at Poonamallee in Chennai granted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) permission today to interrogate the 16 people who had been arrested on July 15 in Chennai for providing funds to the terrosist organisation, Ansarullah.

The court directed the NIA to present the 16 people at the special court on July 26 at 5 pm.

19:08 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Athi Varadar gets Express Seva scheme

Trustees of the temple where the Athi Varadar festival is being held in Kancheepuram distict of Tamil Nadu announced today that they have intorduced an 'Express Seva' scheme for devotees. Through this scheme, devotees can offer prayers to lord Athi Varadar without having to wait in long queues.

According to the trustees, devotees can offer prayers from 6 pm to 10 pm everyday under the Express Seva scheme. It had been reported that 2.75 lakh devotees had thronged the temple on Thursday alone.

18:44 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Water from Jolarpettai to increase on Saturday

Officials from Metrowater announced on Thursday that the city will begin receiving 5.50 million litres a day (MLD) of water under the Chennai-Jolarpettai scheme from July 20. The water ferried by the wagons has been doubled after Metrowater procured the second set of rakes from Southern Railway this week.

The rakes provided by the Southern Railway were earlier being used to transport edible oil. The railway had cleaned and readied the rakes before handing them over to Metrowater to transport drinking water from Jolarpettai.The first train from Jolarpettai arrived in Chennai on July 12. Express Photo: Srinivas K

18:04 (IST)19 Jul 2019

TN CM unveiles the portrait of Ramasami Padayatchi in the TN assembly

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy today unveiled the portrait of S S Ramasamy Padayatchi, a former Tamil Nadu MP in the assembly today. The Vanniyar leader is the founder of Tamil Nadu Toilers' Party (TTP), which is considered to be a predecessor of Pattali Makkal Katchi.

தமிழக சட்டப்பேரவையில் முன்னாள் அமைச்சர் ராமசாமி படையாட்சியார் உருவப்படத்தை திறந்துவைக்கிறார் முதல்வர் பழனிசாமி

* சபாநாயகர் தனபால், துணை முதல்வர் ஓபிஎஸ், எதிர்க்கட்சித் தலைவர் மு.க.ஸ்டாலின், துணைத் தலைவர் துரைமுருகன் உள்ளிட்டோர் விழாவில் பங்கேற்பு #OPS #EPS #MKStalin



17:37 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Chennai Event: Music concert by Hariharan A

Renowned Ghazal and playback singer, Hariharan A will be performing a concert at YMCA Boys Town Higher Secondary School in Chennai on July 21 from 06:30 pm to 9 pm. Tickets for the show can be found online on BookMyShow.

17:13 (IST)19 Jul 2019

NPHH to not get more than 20 kg of rice for unregistered members

The government announced today that Non Priority Households (NPHH) who have failed to mention the names of the family members in their ration cards will be eligible to receive only up to 20 kg rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS). The order, which was passed orally has has been effected across Tamil Nadu.

தமிழகம் முழுவதும் ரேஷன் கடைகளில் இலவச அரிசி வழங்குவதற்கு கட்டுப்பாடு என தகவல்! #RationRice #RationCards



16:44 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Popularize the Amma youth sports scheme in the state, Minister Sengottaiyan appeals to department officials

Minister for school education, youth welfare, and sports development K. A Sengottaiyan has appealed to sports department officials to popularise the Amma youth sports scheme in the state. Chairing a meeting amidst district sports officers in Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Chennai on Thursday, he said the government allotted Rs 64.35 crore for promoting sports among the youths in rural areas. The minister added that sports personnel will be given adequate training to participate in the district and state-level competitions.

16:04 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Chennai-Japan flights from October 27

All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced on Thursday that flights between Chennai and Japan will commence opearation on October 27, 2019. In a press release given by the aviation company, the route will use Boeing 787-8 aircrafts to fly passengers from Chennai International Airport to Tokyo Narita International Airport.

15:32 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Chennai Event: French movie screening at Alliance Française of Madras

Alliance Française of Madras will be screening two French movies on July 21, as a part of its monthly movie screenings at their Centre in College Road, Chennai from 5 pm to 09:30 pm. Fidelio: Alice's Odyssey, directed by Lucie Borleteau will be screened from 5 pm to 7 pm. The second movie, The Connection, which has been directed by Cédric Jimenez will be screened from 7 pm to 09:30 pm.

15:10 (IST)19 Jul 2019

EPS sings response in TN Assembly Session

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami broke into a song at the State Legislative Assembly session today in response to a query in the assembly.

Congress Legislature party leader, K R Ramasamy raised a question regarding the rise in chain snatching cases in Tamil Nadu. In response, EPS sang a line from a popular Sivaji Ganesan film, which says, "Until a thief himself realises his behaviour and starts changing himself, we cannot destroy crime."

14:45 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Girl who was named 'Don't want' becomes ambassador for Save the Girl Child programme

A girl from Tamil Nadu, who was as a child named 'Vendam' in Tamil, which literally translates into 'Don't Want' was appointed as the ambassador of the Save the Girl Child Programme in Tamil Nadu by the Collector of Tiruvallur, a district near Chennai today.

‘வேண்டாம்’ என்ற பெயர் கொண்ட பெண்ணை தூதராக நியமித்தார் திருவள்ளூர் ஆட்சியர்!



14:19 (IST)19 Jul 2019

TN School Education Department releases time table for grades 10, 11, 12 state board exams

The Tamil Nadu School Education Department released the time table for the state board exams for grades 10, 11 and 12 for the academic year 2019-2020. As per the schedule, the board exams for class 10 will be held from March 17, 2020 to April 9, 2020, with the results expected to be announced on May 4, 2020.

The board exams for class 11 will be held from March 4, 2020 to March 26, 2020, with results to be announced on May 14, 2020. The exams for class 12 will be held between March 2, 2020 and March 24, 2020, with the results expected to be released on April 24, 2020.

13:55 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Nominations of Kathir Anand, A C Shanmugam halted

The nomination of Kathir Anand, which had been filed on July 18 was halted today following a petition that was filed against him. The petition questioned the Election Commission for allowing Kathir to contest the poll even as the case which was filed by the IT department after cash was seized from the homes of the aides of his father is still pending in court.

The nomination of A C Shanmugam, the candidate from the AIADMK-NDA alliance was halted today as well.

13:01 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Governor releases special postal covers for Athi Varadar

The Tamil Nadu postal cover brought out 1000 special covers at a cost of Rs. 50 each in the state on Thursday to commemorate the 44-day Athi Varadar festival at Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu. Governor Banwarilal Purohit released the covers, which were proposed by the Hindu religious and charitable endowments department at Raj Bhavan on Thursday.

12:10 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Southern Railway introduces EMU special locals from Arakkonam to Tiruttani

The Southern Railway announced on July 18 that EMU special local trains had been introduced from Arakkonam to Tiruttani from July 24 to July 28 to faciliate passengers going to Tiruttani, Tamil Nadu for the upcoming Adi Kritigai festival.

ADI – KRITHIGAI FESTIVAL SPECIALS



11:26 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Police register FIR against Arappor Iyakkam director

The Semmenchery police on Monday filed a case against Arappor Iyakkam coordinator Jayaram Venkatesan for spreading false information against the police authorities. According to the FIR, during the patrol duty, the police officials found Venkatesan and his organization members taking a video unauthorisedly of the police station which was under construction on 11 July. According to the reports, the police said that the environment activist had uploaded the video, portraying the police in a bad light, on social media. it was an attempt to create division among the community at a time when there is no water crisis, the police added.

11:12 (IST)19 Jul 2019

DMK MP's protest in parliament to scrap NEET

DMK and its ally MP's protested in parliament today demanding scrapping NEET. On 15 July, the Centre has turned down requests from Puducherry and Tamil Nadu governments to exempt students from appearing in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate and postgraduate medical admissions, according to the HRD Ministry.



10:35 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Counselling for veterinary courses from July 25

The Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) announced on Thursday that counselling for veterinary courses will begin on July 25 and will continue until July 27. The first session of counselling on July 25 will be held for special categories, namely sportspersons, wards of ex-servicemen and differently abled candidates. The details of the same can be found on the TANUVAS website.

10:06 (IST)19 Jul 2019

4 arrested for killing woman moneylender in city

The city police arrested four people in the city on Thursday for murdering a woman money lender from Royapettah on Monday. Policearrested Devi, Mani, Valli and Suresh for the murder of Alphonse Mary (45). The victim had gone missing from the Foreshore Estate Fish market on Monday , following which her husband lodged a missing persons complaint with Ice House police station.

After conducting enquiries, the police zeroed in on Mary's nieghbours Devi, her husband Mani and Valli. The trio had borrowed money from Mary and despite having repaid the amount, the trio claimed that Mary demanded more money. Following this, the trio invited Mary to Devi's house on Monday, where Mani hit her with an iron road and later used a pillow to smother her to death. Mani then called his friend, Suresh, an auto driver and the duo drove to Madurakantam where the dumped Mary's body in a well on Monday night.

09:31 (IST)19 Jul 2019

4 die at Athi Varadar festival

Four people, including two women died during the Athi Varadar festival at the Deverajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram on Thursday. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that the four devotees, three of them aged above 50 years had died due to pre-existing conditions. Unable to put up with fatigue and exhaustion due to the huge swell of crowd that had thronged the temple on Thursday, about 31 devotees had fainted and had to be rushed to a nearby hospital.

The CM announced a compensation of Rs. 1 lakh each to the kin of the four deceased and a youngster from Andhra Pradesh who had died on July 3 over alleged police high-handedness. Meanwhile, DMK leader Stalin condemned the deaths and urged the government to implement proper security measures to manage the huge crowds. He also asked the government to provide solatium to the family of the victims.

09:04 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Chennai-Ahmedabad weekly special train to not stop at Daund and Lonavala

The Southern Railway announced on July 18 that thw weekly special from Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M G Ramachandran Central Station to Ahmedabad will not have comemrcial stoppage at Lonavala and Daund in August and September.


08:38 (IST)19 Jul 2019

16 dead in two road accidents in TN

Sixteen people were killed in two different accidents in Tamil Nadu late Wednesday night. In the first accident, 10 people, including eight contract workers from Jharkhand, were killed after their pick-up truck collided with an omnibus at Villupurum district around 02:45 am. In the second accident, six people died after the mini passenger van they were travelling in fell into a culvert that was 20-feet deep at Thoothukudi district at 1 am.

Police suspected that the drivers involved in both accidents had dozed off behind the wheel before the accidents.

08:18 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Chennai weather for the day

Weather forecasters have predicted another day of rain in Chennai, with miminum and maximum temperatures expected to be 27C and 33C respectively today. The sky will remain cloudy throughout the day, with chances of rain predicted in certain areas of the city.

The Tamil Nadu Weatherman took to Twitetr in the morning and tweeted that Chennai is in for a pleasant day today, with light showers and drizzles expected to grace the city.

After 15 hours of slow inch by inch movement, the massive clouds which formed near Nellore have reached Northern suburbs of Chennai but have weakened a lot. Its going to be pleasant day for the City with drizzles / light rains from stratiform.



08:05 (IST)19 Jul 2019

Welcome to today's live blog

Good morning!
Welcome to the live blog from Chennai where we bring to you the latest updates on water crisis, rains, traffic, weather, politics, movies, culture and civic issues in the city. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the city in real time.

The NIA claimed that it had “learnt that the accused persons and their associates had collected funds and made preparations to carry out terrorist attacks in India, with the intention of establishing Islamic rule in India”. (Representational Image)

Residents of Krishna Apartments on Poonamallee High Road in Chennai were left bewildered last Saturday, when they saw their apartment block on TV and a man being led away. With no clue to what was happening in their complex, the residents found out much later that man, Syed Mohammed Bukhari, was being questioned in an alleged terror case.

Meanwhile, the Wahdat-e-Islami Hind, on its part, has maintained it is a religious organisation with no connection to radical thought.

With Chennai grappling with an acute drinking water crisis since April, startups in the state have come up with several innovations to help conserve water.

However, many of them are for use at the consumer end of the spectrum, helping consumers conserve water and reduce their water costs.

Athi Varadar: Why this little-known religious event is drawing huge crowds

The temple town of Kanchipuram, 72 km from the heart of Chennai, had been gearing up for this festival for quite a few years. The 48-day festival commenced on July 1 and will go on till August 17.

Written by Janardhan Koushik |Chennai |Updated: July 20, 2019 10:59:18 am

The temple town of Kanchipuram had been gearing up for this festival for quite a few years. The 48-day festival commenced on July 1 and it goes on till August 17. (Express Photo)

The Athi Varadar festival in Tamil Nadu is in the spotlight after four people died in a stampede there on Thursday. The incident reportedly occurred following rumors that authorities were planning to cut short the darshan timings. People standing in queues in a narrow line became impatient and started to push in a bid to move forward.

The temple town of Kanchipuram, 72 km from the heart of Chennai, had been gearing up for this festival for quite a few years. The 48-day festival commenced on July 1 and will go on till August 17.

The massive surge of people from across the country to visit Athi Varadar should have alarmed the Kanchipuram authorities to be better prepared with all necessary arrangements for the festivals. The small town of Kanchipuram certainly couldn’t hold more than one lakh devotees every day. District collector P Ponniah even went on record stating that he was expecting close to 30,000-50,000 devotees per day, but on an average almost double the number is turning up daily.

President Ramnath Kovind and Governor Banwarilal Purohit have also attended the Athi Varadar festival. Durga Stalin, wife of DMK leader Stalin, and Rajathi Ammal, wife of Karunanidhi and mother of DMK MP Kanimozhi, were among those who stood in a queue for a glimpse of Athi Varadar.

There were colorful characters too. Madurai-based don Varichiyur Selvam and his gang members were allowed to sit near the pedestal of Athi Varadar, which created a furor in the state. They allegedly received a VVIP donor pass from local politicians in the area.

The massive surge of people from across the country to visit Athi Varadar should have alarmed the Kanchipuram authorities to be better prepared with all the arrangements. (Express Photo)

Athi Varadar is a nine-feet idol made out of the fig (Athi pazham in Tamil) tree and is brought out from the Anantasaras (the temple tank) in Kanchipuram Vardharaja Perumal Temple once in 40 years. Though there is no written history of when the ritual actually began, people believe it is many centuries old.

Kamala, a resident of Tambaram, feels the grace and excitement is high only this time. “Born in 1954, I had the opportunity to visit Athi Varadar in 79’. There was no rush, no VIP culture; we got the blessings and returned home just like how we come back after visiting other temples. Even in Tamil Nadu, many of them didn’t know this event. But now I hear people even from other states are visiting Athi Varadar daily,” she added.

It is a beeline to the Athi Varadar festival from President Ramnath Govind to Tamil Nadu Ministers to celebrities, as everyone is in line for a glimpse of Athi Varadar. (Express Photo)

Some angry devotees have taken to social media to convey their bitter experience. They have complained about the lack of proper parking facilities, drinking water and toilets as well as what is seen as the rude behavior of some of the staff. Others complained that the authorities and police officers were keen on making sure their family and friends catch a glimpse of the deity ahead of the public.

“It was a terrible experience. And the Irony is that commoners like us wait for a long time and cross all these hurdles to pray before the deity, while others are getting VVIP treatment,” said Ragothaman, a resident of Perungalathur.

UP man gets Rs 128-crore electricity bill for using ‘fan and light’

Asserting that nobody in the electricity office listens to him, the man said, "No one listens to our pleas, how will we submit that amount? When we went to complain about it,we were told that they won't resume our electricity connection unless we pay the bill."

By Express Web Desk |New Delhi |Published: July 21, 2019 9:47:32 am

“We only use fan and light. How can the amount be so high? We are poor. How we will pay such a large amount,” Shamim’s wife questioned. (ANI)

A resident of Chamri village in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur has received an electricity bill of Rs 128,45,95,444, new agency ANI reported.
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Shamim, who lives with his wife Khairu Nisha, said the electricity department has cut off his connection for not clearing the bill. “No one listens to our pleas, how will we submit that amount? When we went to complain about it, we were told that they won’t resume our electricity connection unless we pay the bill,” Shamin told ANI.

“I am running from pillar to post but no one is listening. It seems that the electricity department wants me to pay the bill for the whole Hapur,” he added.

His wife Nisha said the couple use only a fan and light inside their home. “We only use fan and light. How can the amount be so high? We are poor. How we will pay such a large amount,” she said.
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“It seems that the electricity department wants me to pay the bill for the whole Hapur,” the man said.

However, authorities said it was “no big deal” and they would rectify it once the couple provide a copy of the bill

Assistant Electrical Engineer Ram Sharan said, “This must be a technical fault. If they provide us the bill we will issue them an updated one after rectifying the technical fault in the system. This is no big deal. Technical faults do take place.”

Malabika Sarkar appointed Ashoka University’s new VC after Pratap Bhanu Mehta resigns

Malabika Sarkar, who is the third VC of the Ashoka University, said she looked forward to working with the faculty and students to build a world class university.

EDUCATION Updated: Jul 21, 2019 09:30 IST

HT Correspondent

Hindustan Times, New Delhi Malabika Sarkar (HT File)

Ashoka University on Saturday appointed Malabika Sarkar as the varsity’s first female vice chancellor. She has previously served as Principal Advisor (Academic) and former Dean of Faculty and Research at the varsity.

The professor has earlier served as the vice-chancellor of Presidency University in Kolkata and also as the head of English department at Jadavpur University. Sarkar was also a member of the University Grants Commission panel of experts in English and Foreign Languages and a panel member of NAAC.

Sarkar, who is the third VC of the university, said she looked forward to working with the faculty and students to build a world class university.

She succeeds Pratap Bhanu Mehta who stepped down as V-C to focus on his academic ambitions and will continue to teach at the university. “I am personally at a stage where I would like to complete some longstanding academic tasks that I had set myself. Therefore, it seemed an appropriate time to hand over the baton to very competent hands while continuing to play an even more active part in the academic life of the University, ” he added.

“With her experience at the helm of various prestigious institutions, she is well placed to take forward our mission of being a University where the finest minds engage with India’s brightest students,” founding VC and current Chancellor Rudrangshu Mukherjee said.

Disciplinary action against Rajasthan govt school teachers using mobile phones in classes

Reiterating the 2016 order, the state education department has issued a new order to ban mobile phone usage by teachers in the classrooms of the government schools in Rajasthan.

EDUCATION Updated: Jul 19, 2019 18:51 IST

HT Correspondent

Hindustan Times, Jaipur

Reiterating the 2016 order, the state education department has issued a new order to ban mobile phone usage by teachers in the classrooms of the government schools in Rajasthan. (HT file)

Reiterating the 2016 order, the state education department has issued a new order to ban mobile phone usage by teachers in the classrooms of the government schools in Rajasthan.

As per an order by the joint education officer of Bikaner and chief district education officer of Barmer, disciplinary action will be carried out against the teachers who use mobile phones during the classes.

Devlata, joint director, school education, Bikaner said it has been found in numerous inspections by the officials that the teachers are using mobile phones while taking classes in the presence of the students and even use mobile applications in addition to calling and texting while teaching.

“This affects the quality education in schools. Even as an order has been stated in the past, the condition did not change and it became really important to reiterate the order with a warning of disciplinary action,” said Devlata.

Similar concerns were listed in an order by Daluram Chaudhary, chief district education officer Barmer. “As per the inspection by the senior officials, it has been found that often the teachers are indulged in using social media applications due to which the teaching gets affected in classes,” said the notice.

The officials at other districts such as Jaipur, Pali and Udaipur said a similar order will be sent out in these districts as well. “Even after several warning, the teachers kept using phone and therefore disciplinary action against such teachers should be carried out. We are also planning to give a similar order soon,” said Bharat Kumar Mehta, joint director, Udaipur.

Shyam Sunder Solanki, joint director, Pali said that an order similar to the one in 2016 regarding the usage of mobile phones in classes is being issued for the government school in Pali too.

First Published: Jul 19, 2019 18:34 IST

RTI info: VNSGU VC charged twice for irregularities

TNN | Jul 18, 2019, 04.11 AM IST

Surat: Latest revelations about Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU) vice-chancellor, Shivendra Gupta, in replies to a Right to Information (RTI) application created ripples in the higher education fraternity in state.

Information received under RTI shows that Gupta was charge-sheeted twice for irregularities during his posting as an assistant engineer in the road and building department. Gupta was charge-sheeted for his unauthorized leaves of 1,038 days between 2002 to 2005. He also faced inquiry for alleged financial and operational irregularities.

RTI applicant Ajit Naik, a retired professor of a college affiliated to VNSGU, had earlier alleged that out of his service of 28 years, Gupta had remained on leave for around eight years. The RTI query also revealed that Gupta who joined R&B department as assistant engineer in 1980 remained on the same post till he took voluntary retirement in 2008. Naik demanded the details as per the service book of Gupta.

Apart from the latest revelations, qualification of Gupta, who was appointed as VNSGU VC in August 2017, are also being questioned. VNSGU did not reply to Naik’s queries about Gupta’s qualification and certificates to support it. Gupta claims he possess PhD in history and has vast teaching experience.

As per University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, a VC should possess at least 10 years of teaching experience apart from being a PhD scholar.

“Gupta was facing inquiry during his job in R&B department and to avoid facing the probe, he remained on long unauthorized leaves. He was charge sheeted twice and punished for the irregularities,” claimed Naik. Naik has already approached the Gujarat High Court challenging Gupta’s appointment.

Praful Desai, a resident from Vadodara, has also approached the high court challenging Gupta’s appointment. The HC is hearing petition of both Desai and Naik jointly.

Despite several attempts, Gupta was not available for his comments.

Once MBBS aspirant, one of Rajasthan’s ‘most wanted’ in police custody now

Virendra Khinchar was arrested for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of another alleged criminal Harish Jhakar.JAIPUR Updated: Jul 18, 2019 11:45 IST

Jaykishan Sharma
Hindustan Times, Jaipur

Vikram Khincha was arrested by Pali police from Jaitaran on Monday, July15, 2019.

From an MBBS aspirant to one of the “most wanted” criminals of Jodhpur range, the story of Virendra Khinchar is a lesson for youngsters on how life could be spoiled in the company of wrong people, said Pali superintendent of police (SP) Anand Sharma.

Khinchar (28), a native of Jhunjhunu district, is in the custody of Pali police for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of another alleged criminal Harish Jhakar (23). Khinchar was arrested by a team of Jaitaran police from Sandiya village in Pali district on Monday.

When police checked his background, they found that Khinchar studied biology, physics and chemistry in Class 11 and 12 and scored 80% marks in higher secondary board examination. He had cleared the national entrance test held for admission to MBBS course as well as a nursing entrance test.

“Khinchar couldn’t become doctor as he walked on the wrong path by choosing the company of wrong people. After Class 12, he left studies and started spending time with people involved in crime. Between 2010 and 2018, more than dozen cases of murder, loot, kidnapping, smuggling, burglary are registered against him across various police stations. A reward of Rs 3,000 was also declared on him by police,” said a police officer, familiar with the case.

The officer said that Khinchar spent the money he earned through committing crimes on living a luxurious life, buying sports bike and expensive cars.

But when his crime graph increased, he started hiding from police and his financial condition also started deteriorating, the officer added.

The Pali SP said that Khinchar was absconding for almost one and a half years. He was declared one of the most wanted criminals of the Jodhpur police range after he was found allegedly involved in the murder of another infamous criminal of the area, Harish Jakhar.

Sharing details of Khinchar’s arrest, Sharma said, “After dropping his aide Ravi Jat in Nagar Pali area on Monday afternoon, he had gone to forest area near Sandiya village when police rounded him up and asked to surrender. Khinchar pointed a pistol on his head and threatened police that he will kill himself. But later he was arrested.

“Khinchar, who was in hiding for last 18 months, spent time in Lakshmupuram area of Chennai and Karnal district of Haryana. In Haryana, he worked as salesman in liquor shop for sometime, where he used to earn Rs 8,000 per month. But because of police fear, he left Karnal and was hiding in various areas of Jodhpur and Pali. Further investigation is on.”

In February last year, a video clip showing Khinchar and his accomplice beating up Harish Jakhar with rods, had gone viral in Barmer.

Khinchar was arrested with his three accomplices, while his five other crime partners are still absconding.

Multiple cases of kidnapping and attempt to murder were registered against Jakhar too across various police stations of Jodhpur police range. Jakhar belonged to a criminal gang involved in the smuggling of weapons and doda post. He was kidnapped from Jodhpur on February 21 last year and his body was found the same day in Barmer.

First Published: Jul 18, 2019 11:39 IST

MBBS intern commits suicide; second such case in Rajasthan in 4 days

TNN | Jul 20, 2019, 09.36 PM IST

JAIPUR: A 23-year-old medical student committed suicide by hanging herself from ceiling of her room in girls’ hostel of government-run SP medical college of Bikaner on Saturday.
It is second such case of a medical student ending her life in the state. On Tuesday, a medical student had committed suicide, who was completing her post graduation (gynaecology) at Zanana hospital attached to Sawai Man Singh medical college.

The incident happened at around 6.30pm. When her hostel mates peeked through the windows of her room, they found her hanging from the ceiling. “Her brother was calling her but when she did not pick up the phone, he called her hostel mates to check why she was not picking his phone. When they looked inside the room through the window, they found her hanging,” said Govind Singh, station house officer, Jai Narayan Vyas Colony colony.

The door was locked from inside. To take her out, they had to break open the door. She was rushed to trauma centre, where she was declared brought dead.

The deceased has been identified as Manisha Kumawat, who was MBBS student and was completing her internship from the SP medical college. She was resident of Anoopshahr of Hanumangarh district.

Sadar circle officer Bhojraj Singh said, “We have deployed policemen at her room and also her room has been locked. We are waiting for her family members to come here to initiate investigation into the matter.”

She was staying in a single room in the girls’ hostel and was staying here for five years, he said.

However, SP medical college principal Dr HS Kumar said, “There are no complaint filed by the medical student who committed suicide and also no complaint is filed against her. The police will investigate into the matter.”

Teachers assigned election duty seek better facilities

STAFF REPORTER

VELLORE, JULY 21, 2019 00:00 IST

Members of All Teachers Association Federation with District Election Officer A. Shanmuga SundramSpecial Arrangement

Demands include payment of arrears, exemption for sick

Representatives of the All Teachers Association Federation, led by convener S.N. Janardhanan, submitted a memorandum to the District Election Officer A. Shanmuga Sundram urging him to enhance the facilities provided to teachers who were allotted election work.

Their main demands include payment of the dues for teachers and government staff for assisting in election duties in April this year, issuing of Election Duty Certificate (EDC), exemptions for those who reported sick and those who were deputed for election duty in April this year.

They also pointed out that teachers and officials should be provided a vehicle to return home after the election duty. Mr. Shanmuga Sundram said that teachers were allowed to take leave during this period for emergency situations and medical conditions.

Pregnant women, mothers with infants, and those who reported sick were already exempted.

Others were not allowed to take leave as they are required as standbys in case of an emergency leading to short of hands, he explained to the office bearers of the associations.

Postal ballot

He assured that the postal ballot of all employees and teachers will be issued soon.

He also assured that Election Duty Certificate (EDC) will be distributed to the concerned employees and teachers in their election class and to their residential address.

State has 92 centenarians drawing govt. pension

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, JULY 21, 2019 00:00 IST

100% of their last basic pay is drawn

Tamil Nadu has 92 people, aged 100 or above, drawing pension or family pension from the State government.

What is significant is that they get 100% of their last basic pay drawn. For fixing the pension amount, the basic pay, as revised now, will only be taken into account. Family pensioners are, generally, spouses of government employees who died while in service or after retirement.

As part of a scheme being implemented on the basis of the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations, those in the age group of 80-84 will receive 20% of the revised basic pension/family pension as the additional quantum of pension/family pension; while those aged 85-89 years will get 30%; 90-94 years - 40%; 95-99 years - 50%; and 100 years and above - 100%.

The rationale behind giving additional pension to relatively older pensioners, as stated by the Pay Commission, is that these pensioners require “a better deal because their needs, especially those relating to health, increase with age”.

The State government has 62,392 pensioners aged 80 and above. They are among the overall population of pensioners and family pensioners, who number 7,37,699.

Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam informed the Assembly on Saturday that this year, Rs. 32,395.30 crore was allocated for pension and other retirement benefits, and Rs. 20.42 crore for social security and welfare. This will be equivalent to 16.39% of the total revenue receipts of the government.

What to do when you are molested on a train?

Mumbai:21.07.2019

A young woman from Delhi who was molested on a long-distance train last year has taken to Twitter to make victims aware of how to go about registering a police complaint and follow up on the case in court.

In an exhaustive thread, which has since been retweeted morethan 3,700times, she writes that the common perception that women have to visit a court repeatedly for hearings is just not true. At the same time, she mentions that law enforcement officers might encourage a woman to withdraw her case. “I’m still awaiting court’s order in the caseIfiled.ButIthoughtwriting it all down might be able to help people who are too scared to go through the entire process,” she told TOI.

The 26-year-old woman was travelling out of Delhi in December 2018 when the incident took place. “My co-passenger in a drunken stupor molested me in a full train. First thing you do, scream and alert people around you because they are potential witnesses. Even if they don’t help out, they are aware something like this has happened,” she wrote.

She addedthatonedid not need advocates as the state prosecutor would be fighting the case. “You have to go for just one court proceeding... . It is important to write down everything as seven months down the line, you wont remember things as clearly as you did... ,” she posted. TNN

She took world-class city beyond a slogan

From Flyovers And Metro Launch To Citizen Initiatives, Sheila Oversaw It All

Ambika.Pandit@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:21.07.2019

Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who passed away on Saturday afternoon, is remembered for making “world-class city” more than a slogan. The transformative story plays out in the many flyovers, launch of the Delhi Metro rail network and outreach to the civil society through the Bhagidari movement steered by residents’ welfare associations. The initiatives caught the popular imagination and paid political dividends as she grew in stature.

Sheila’s last political battle was her toughest challenge as she was constantly at odds with party functionaries determined to ally with AAP. She doubted AAP’s desire for an alliance and felt hurt when attempts were made to override her authority. More recently, she was distressed by reports of the party she had served for so long reducing her importance through a series of organisational actions.

She managed to raise hopes of a revival and a better performance in the assembly polls in 2020 and even a better bargain in case negotiations with AAP are renewed. But her death has left Congress without a face and a big void as there is no leader who would be able to generate consensus and become a rallying point in a tired and weather-beaten party.

In an interview to TOIafter the election results in May, Sheila was quick to take responsibility for defeat. On the Congress story, she was hopeful. “You get the kudos and brickbats. This is part of politics. The Congress is in the midst of a challenge but we shall overcome this too,” she said.

She was a spirited fighter with sharp administrative skills and political acumen that could out-think most rivals. Even when the already unmet deadlines for the 2010 Commonwealth Games appeared hard to achieve in the midst of an unrelenting monsoon, Sheila was seen personally overseeing cleaning operations at the Commonwealth Games Village.

But this was also the beginning of a downward slide. There were unrelenting attacks on corruption with the build-up of the Anna Hazare movement and birth of the Aam Aadmi Party. Her one-time success in privatising Delhi’s electricity distribution was also attacked for favouring private firms. Sheila was also at the receiving end of public anger that followed the Nirbhaya gangrape case of December 2012.

Sheila’s infamous dismissal of AAP as “monsoon pests”, clubbed with a strong anti-incumbency and anti-corruption campaigns, ended her innings in the assembly election of 2013. She was ruthlessly ousted as the New Delhi MLA by current CM Arvind Kejriwal. However, Sheila was never publicly bitter about being thrown into the storm again and again by her party.

From her debut in politics as MP from Kannauj in 1984, Sheila’s political journey was nothing short of dramatic, marked by an unprecedented rise, a steep fall and a comeback of sorts where Congress president Rahul Gandhi put his faith in her. Her last battle was fought from the seat that also happened to be her first parliamentary foray in Delhi in 1998. Congress’s success in the assembly in what came to be known as the “onion election” ousted BJP, which is yet to win the city polls since then.

The “outsider” got the better of stalwarts like Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. The opposition was then dominated by heavyweights like former CMs Madanlal Khurana and Sahib Singh Verma. She won her spurs by taking tough decisions on implementing the Supreme Court verdict on relocating polluting industries and then implementing the shift of public transport to CNG. There was a softer side to Sheila too as she focused on mindset-change by greening up the city, ‘say no to firecrackers’ campaign and working to highlight the culture of the city through the now famous “Delhi festivals”.

The years that followed saw her groom leaders as well as part ways with some of them. Former minister Ajay Maken was one of them. There were others who dithered but many stuck by her. She could be decisive in her politics as she decided to cut municipal bosses to size by controversially trifurcating the municipal corporation.

Sidelined after the 2013 election debacle till the January of 2019, Sheila was seen in the shadows of a party that was struggling to find its bearings in the city. That she believed in giving back to her party what she had received comes through in her response to a question TOI asked her before elections. Asked whether being the face of the party worried her, Sheila said, “Life is a risk. Even crossing a road is risky. So, I am not afraid. At this stage of life, I don’t have any personal ambition but I want to do this because I owe it to my party. This party has given me so much. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi made me a minister in the Union Cabinet and so much has happened since then.”


SPIRITED FIGHTER: Sheila had sharp administrative skills and political acumen to out-think most rivals

Third rebel MLA returns to AIADMK

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:21.07.2019

One more rebel MLA, A Prabhu, representing Kallakurichi assembly segment, on Saturday called on chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam at the secretariat. He submitted a memorandum to the CM seeking his intervention in meeting the demands of the constituency.

The other two rebel MLAs, V T Kalaiselvan and E Rathinasabapathy, who had supported AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran in the run up to the recent polls, had returned to the parent party recently.

“People have given me a chance and I have to realize their aspirations in the next two years. It was Amma (J Jayalalithaa) who gave me this opportunity. I will have to deliver the promises made during the elections,” the MLA told TOI. He was appointed AMMK IT wing secretary last year, after he rebelled against the AIADMK leadership.

Prabhu said he did not associate himself with Dhinakaran, after the latter floated a party. “I should in no way harm the government established by Amma. The EPS government has announced a district with Kallakurichi as headquarters. He has implemented many projects, including a fire station, primary health centre and upgradation of four schools, in my constituency. Many more are in the offing,” the legislator said.

All the three rebel MLAs had moved the court against speaker P Dhanapal’s show cause notice to disqualify them.