HC calls for files related to probe against Minister
Bhalaji owned assets disproportionate to income: PIL

15/08/2019, B. TILAK CHANDAR,MADURAI

Earlier, a preliminary inquiry report and a status report on the investigation in the case were submitted to a Division Bench.

The Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Secretary to the Public Department to submit files pertaining to the investigation into allegations of disproportionate assets against Minister for Milk and Dairy Development K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji.

Earlier, a preliminary inquiry report and a status report on the investigation in the case were submitted to a Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and B. Pugalendhi.

‘No sources’

The court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by R. Mahendran of Madurai in 2013. The petitioner had complained that Mr. Bhalaji, in 2011, while contesting the Assembly elections, had declared that he had no known sources of income.

However, the petitioner claimed that Mr. Bhalaji was in possession of immovable and movable assets.

The Minister had also purchased huge tracts of land and registered them under value, he said, and sought a probe into the alleged disproportionate assets of the Minister.

The court had directed the DVAC to probe the allegations against the Minister from 1996, when he held the post of vice-president of the Tiruthangal town panchayat, now a Municipality, in Virudhunagar district.

Two trains to Mumbai cancelled

15/08/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Southern Railway has cancelled two trains due to heavy rainfall and water-logging in Mumbai division of Central Railway and landslides.

Train No.19567 Thoothukudi-Okha weekly express scheduled to leave Thoothukudi on August 18 and Train No.11044 Madurai–Lokmanya Tilak weekly express scheduled to leave Madurai on August 17 and 24 have been cancelled.

High Court imposes cost on Karur DEO
For failure to abide by its order
15/08/2019, STAFF REPORTER,MADURAI

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday imposed a cost of ₹10,000 on the District Educational Officer, Karur, for failing to abide by its order.

Justice D. Krishnakumar imposed the cost for failing to file a counter affidavit or appear before the court. The HC Bench was hearing a petition filed by K. Balasubramanian, a retired school headmaster of Pasupathipalayam.

The petitioner said that when he retired in 2018 after 32 years in service, certain benefits, like encashment of earned leave, were not disbursed to him.

He alleged that the District Educational Officer, had demanded bribe to release the benefits and sought a direction to the official to disburse the benefits.

The court had directed the official to file a counter affidavit, but he did not. He was then asked to appear before the court to offer an explanation on August 14. With the official failing to appear as per its order, the court imposed a cost on him.

The official was asked to appear before the court during the next hearing, which was adjourned by a week.

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HC: Bribes for death certificates the worst

K.Kaushik@timesgroup.com

Madurai:15.08.2019

Observing that the worst form of corruption is that of village administrative officers (VAO) demanding and accepting bribe for issuance of birth and death certificates, the Madras high court on Wednesday directed higher officials and the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC) to inspect taluk offices and VAO offices to prevent corrupt activities. Justice S M Subramaniam gave the direction in a plea by A Kaleeswari who sought a government job on compassionate ground following the death of her ‘second husband,’ D Ambedkar.

Ambedkar was working as a watchman in a government department. He divorced his first wife and married Kaleeswari. Though Kaleeswari was married already, she did not get divorce from her first husband before marrying Ambedkar.

When Kaleeswari sought for an appointment under compassionate ground, her application was rejected by an order dated May 27, 2014. Hence, the petitioner moved the high court Madurai bench seeking to quash the order.

The petitioner’s counsel stated that Kaleeswari’s claim was rejected merely on the ground that the daughter of the first wife of the deceased employee raised objection and added that the order is liable to be set aside.

The counsel also said though the VAO of A Lakshmiapuram village had issued a certificate for the marriage between Ambedkar and Kaleeswari and mentioned it was their second marriage. It was further recorded in the certificate that the petitioner had got divorce from her first husband.

Justice Subramaniam observed that VAOs are issuing certificates to any person without maintaining a register.

TN consumer forum gets notice over pay dispute of staff

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:15.08.2019

State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has sought a report from the registrar of State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) and the pay and accounts officer at the Madras high court as to why the salary for the non-judicial member of SCDRC has not been paid at revised rates.

S M Murugesshan, member, SCDRC, had earlier written to the authorities concerned airing his grievance. According to his petition, the Supreme Court in August 2018 had suggested measures after a committee was formed to inspect the composition and functioning of consumer forums at district and state level throughout the country.

Accordingly, a government order was passed by the Tamil Nadu government on September 7, 2018.

According to Murugesshan’s petition, he had sent representations to the chief secretary, the registrar of SCDRC, but has not received any response.

He also sought directions from the commission to instruct the registrar, SCDRC and concerned authorities to give him ₹10 lakh as compensation.

SR cancels eight trains

Chennai:15.08.2019

Southern Railway has announced cancellation of eight trains. An official release said train no.12163 Dadar – Chennai Egmore Express from August 15 to 22,

train no.12164 Chennai Egmore - Dadar Express from August 17 to 22, 

Ahmedabad- Chennai Central bi-weekly express train no.19420 on August 17 and 21,

 train no.19419 weekly express from Chennai Central to Ahmedabad on August 18 and 22, 

the train between Sainagar Shirdi - Chennai Central 22602 bi-weekly express on August 23, 

train no.22601 Chennai Central - Sainagar Shirdi weekly express on August 21, 

train no.22919 Chennai Central - Ahmedabad Humsafar express on August 21, 

train no.22920 Ahmedabad - Chennai Central Humsafar express on August 19, will be cancelled.

FOR 3 TRANSPORT CORPORATIONS

MTC gets 235 swanky new buses
Part Of Fleet Of 500 Buses For State Corporations

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:15.08.2019

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday flagged off 500 new buses purchased at a cost of ₹154 crore for different transport corporations in the state.

The lion’s share of the fleet, 235 buses, will go to Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) in Chennai.

The State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) got 118 buses, while the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) got 147 buses — 60 for the Salem division, 25 for Kumbakonam, 14 for Tirunelveli, 18 for Villupuram, 16 for Coimbatore and 14 for Madurai. “All the new buses are as per the All India motor vehicle quality control (AIS-052-ARAI) design and approval for bus body. They have several new features. For the sake of passengers getting in and out of the buses, the footboard will be at a lower level and the doors will be automatic,” said a press release.

Other features include independent seats as in MTC buses, a bigger gangway for passengers to stand without

choking each other in case the vehicle is crowded , announcement of the various stops, a stick holding rink and a reminder bell when the stops arrive for the differently-abled passengers, an LED route board, fan, reverse horn with sensor for drivers and LED tubelights.

Deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, ministers, chief secretary K Shanmugam and other senior officials were present on the occasion. Later, Palaniswami, Panneerselvam and some of their ministerial colleagues went inside a few of the buses and posed for pictures .

The new SETC buses, have been provided with sleeper facilities and toilets, said the release. On behalf of the transport department, nearly ₹1,500 crore has been spent in two phases to purchase 5000 new buses and orders have been issued. “In the last two and half years, 4381 new buses have been introduced at a cost of ₹1,314 crore,” said the release.

Of the 4,381 buses, TNSTC (Villupuram and Kumbakonam) received the maximum number of buses, 823, followed by MTC with 695 buses, TNSTC (Salem) 652 and Coimbatore 476. Madurai and Tirunelveli have received 219 and 201 buses.

BRAND NEW: A lower level footboard, automatic doors, and a reminder bell for the disabled are among the new features

Man, 32, leaps to death from 26th floor

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:15.08.2019

A 32-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the 26th floor of an apartment in Sozhinganallur on Tuesday.

Police said Eashwar Rao of Andhra Pradesh used to work in a software firm in the locality. The incident happened at Pinnacle Crest apartments around 11.30 pm.

Police said Rao visited the apartment in the morning on the day and returned there in the evening after meeting his aunt's family in Nungambakkam. Around midnight, a security guard heard a loud sound near the garden on the second floor of the Block 2. They rushed to the area and found a man lying dead in a pool of blood.

Later, the Semmanchery police sent body to Government Royapettah Hospital for postmortem. Preliminary investigations revealed Rao lost his parents and was addicted to drugs. “He lost his job as well. He used to stay with friends. He was last staying in Thoraipakkam,” said police. The apartment residents said he often visited the gym in the building and added that he must be known to someone in the apartment to gain entry.

Crowds pack Kanchi temple two days before end of Athi Varadar fest

Ex-PM Gowda, Rajini, Wife Were Among Visitors

Sivakumar.B@timesgroup.com

Chennai:15.08.2019

In two days, the idol of Athi Varadar is set to go back into the tank at Kancheepuram’s Devarajaperumal temple where it had remained for 40 years and the number of devotees arriving for darshan has soared, keeping the authorities on their toes.

Since midnight on Tuesday, a host of VVIPs including superstar Rajinikanth and his wife and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda along with his son and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumarasamy had streamed into the shrine. Rajinikanth and his wife, who remained in the shrine for about 30 miniutes, were honoured with shawls and garlands and a special arathi was performed, sources in the temple administration said. As the couple were about to leave, the star struck priests snapped pictures of the star and took selfies with him.

Later, Deve Gowda and Kumarasamy came along with their families.

“It is due to God’s blessings that we had very good rainfall this year and the Cauvery river is flooding. Both (Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) are sharing the water and farmers from both the states will benefit. We had good a darshan of the Lord,” Gowda told reporters.

K S Masthan, DMK legislator from Chengam assembly constituency who came with his family memebers, told reporters that he was excited to see a statue that would again be seen by the public only after 40 years and added that he had no problem in going to a temple though he was a Muslim.

On Thursday, Kancheepuram collector K Ponnaiah said, VIP darshan will be stopped at 12pm for a special ritual (garuda sevai) and resumed at 5pm. Devotees in the general queue, however, will be allowed to stream in throughout the day.

“Similarly, there will be no separate queue for VIPs and VVIPs on the last day,” said Ponniah.

Devotees on the last day will be allowed from 5am until all those in the queue have had darshan. “...After this we will not allow anyone in and the preparation to take the statue back into the water body will start,” said the collector.

Ponnaiah, who had been caught in a controversy after a video showing him scolding a policeman went viral on social media, on Wednesday was effusive in his praise of officials from all departments for having made the 48-day festival, which began on July 1, a success. “Except for a few policemen, all others from police as well as from other departments have done excellent work and have helped the devotees. Nearly 80 lakh devotees have so far had darshan,” said Ponniah.

TILL THE FEST LASTS: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda visits Devarajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram on Wednesday. Other VVIP’s who visited the temple on the day included his son and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumarasamy, actor Rajinikanth and his wife. With just two days to go before the idol of Athi Varadar is placed back into the tank inside the temple, the number of devotees visiting the temple has increased

HC dismisses plea seeking direction to govt to extend festival by ten more days
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:15.08.2019

The Madras high court on Wednesday refused to direct the state government to extend Athi Varadar dharsan by 10 more days and warned the petitioner, a Vaishnava organisation, of imposing ₹1 lakh as cost for moving such a plea.

Such decisions can be taken only by the state government and the department concerned, Justice P D Audikesavalu said while dismissing the plea moved by International Sri Vaishnava Ramanuja Samrajaya Sabha.

When the plea came up for hearing, the petitioner submitted that the chief minister has already expressed his willingness to extend the darshan days.

Denying any such statement from the chief minister, the government informed the court that the state has already decided not to extend the darshan days and that the idol would be placed inside the tank as scheduled on August 17.

Recording the submission, the court dismissed the plea, granting liberty to the petitioner to seek the relief through a PIL before the appropriate bench.

Similarly, while hearing a separate plea moved by K Ashokan, a resident of West Mambalam seeking direction to the authorities to clean and renovate the temple tank before immersing Athi Varadar into it, the court directed the Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to test the quality of the water before filling it in “Anantha Saras” in which “Adi Athi Varadar” is going to rest for another 40 years.

According to petitioner, owing to the climate change and various other anthropocentric reasons, the temple tanks in various other places had become unusable.

The district administrations and the officials of TNPCB had found the tanks are uninhabitable to the organisms. Based on research, the authorities had zeroed in on bioremediation to clean the tanks. The same treatment is required for the tank in Varadaraja Perumal temple in Kanchipuram.

The ‘Anantha Saras’, where the idol of Athi Varadar is going to be immersed for the next 40 years, is also uninhabitable to the organisms, petitioner claimed.


The court warned the petitioner, a Vaishnava organisation, of imposing ₹1 lakh as cost for moving such a plea

Pay 1k for riding without helmet

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

15.08.2019

With higher penalties for traffic violations such as riding without a helmet and drunk driving, the revised fines for traffic offences is all set to be implemented in Chennai this week.

For those riding without helmets, the fine will be ₹1,000 and a three-month suspension of licence.

The revised system will focus on underage motorists. In case of accidents involving such riders or drivers, the guardian or owner of the vehicle will be held responsible. They will have to pay ₹25,000 as penalty or undergo three years’ imprisonment. The amended act provides for a penalty of ₹10,000 on anyone blocking the way of an ambulance. Bikers who engage in racing will have to pay a penalty of ₹5,000.

Officials who earlier had powers to impound documents can now cancel licences.

EMIs, no full cash for accident victims: HC
Sureshkumar.K@timesgroup.com

Chennai:15.08.2019

Victims of motor vehicle accidents in Tamil Nadu will no longer get lump-sum compensation from insurance companies as the Madras high court has ordered implementation of Motor Accident Claims Annuity Deposit Scheme (MACAD) from October 1. As per the scheme, compensation awarded to victims will be deposited in banks and disbursed to them in Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs) for a fixed term. No loan, advance or full withdrawal will be allowed on the deposits made out of award amounts without the permission of the court.

Justice P N Prakash, referring to the scheme proposed by the Supreme Court through an order issued on March 5, said it would ensure that the victims would have total control over the compensation and that they would not have to suffer any ‘leakage’.

As per the scheme, a savings bank account would be opened in the names of the victims in a nationalized bank near their houses and the compensation would be deposited for a fixed term. Every month, the victims would get a fixed sum of the principal and interest.

Ex-judge to check duplicate claims

The bank will not permit any joint names to be added in the savings bank account of the victims, nor cheque book or debit card facility will be provided. Justice Prakash was passing the order on a plea moved by Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited to check double claims made in different tribunals for the same accident, in collusion with police and advocates. Winding up the hearing, the judge said: “The implementation of MACAD Scheme shall be on and from October 1 for practical and realistic reasons. There shall be no exception made to this MACAD Scheme compliance, even in claims which are settled by way of compromise by Alternate Dispute Resolution mode, be it in Lok Adalat or Mediation dispensations, except as may be provided for in the Scheme itself, for reasons to be recorded in writing by the Claims Tribunals.”

During the course of hearing, the court appointed former judge of the high court, Justice K Chandru, to examine if duplicate claims in respect of the same accident were a widespread phenomenon in the state and, if so, to ascertain whether such case briefs were sold to counsel for monetary consideration.

After steps taken by the expert committee, 276 motor accident claim petitions worth ₹48.22 crore stood withdrawn across the state.

TOI gets even bigger, adds 1.4 lakh readers
Increases Lead To 14,000 Over The Hindu In Chennai

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
15.08.2019

The world’s biggest English newspaper just keeps getting bigger. On the back of a huge increase in readership in the first quarter of 2019, The Times of India has grown again in Q2 — at a time when almost all other newspapers outside the Times Group have shrunk.

The Times of India has a readership larger than the combined readership of the next three general English dailies from outside the group, the latest Indian Readership Survey (IRS) has revealed. What’s more, TOI’s main paper added 1.4 lakh readers over the last quarter at a time when all the non-group papers in this category put together lost 1.8 lakh readers. The IRS for the second quarter of 2019 shows that TOI has an average issue readership (AIR) of 60.4 lakh, way larger than the 36.1 lakh readers that its closest competitor, Hindustan Times has. The Hindu with 18.8 lakh readers and The Telegraph with 4.9 lakh are far behind.

In Chennai, where Q1 had seen TOI and The Hindu in a close race, TOI has now pulled clear and leads by about 14,000 readers. Now TOI has an average issue readership of 2.65 lakh against The Hindu’s 2.51lakh.

In Delhi, the gap between HT and TOI in average readership has narrowed significantly.

Growth in TOI’s total readership about 6% from 15.2m to 16.1m

A quarter ago, HT led by about 5 lakh readers. That has now been reduced to 3.5 lakh with TOI adding about 10,000 readers while HT has dropped 1.4 lakh. In total readership, TOI with 20.58 lakh readers has overtaken HT

(20.54 lakh) in Delhi.

TOI’s main paper has gained 1.4 lakh readers across India over the first quarter of the year while HT’s has lost 1.2 lakh. Even compared to Hindu, TOI’s gain in readership over this quarter has been more than twice as much, while Telegraph has seen its readership go down albeit slightly.

In terms of total readership, TOI has grown about 6% from 15.2 million to 16.1 million – again larger than HT, Hindu and Telegraph put together. The Economic Times, a Times Group publication, is in fourth position among English dailies with 10.1 lakh readers, an increase of 27,000 readers vs the last quarter while Mint lost 32,000 readers and now has less than a third the readership of Economic Times.

Mumbai Mirror, a Times Group publication, is in fifth spot in the AIR pecking order with 8.2 lakh readers. Like TOI, it has added readers at a time when its competitor has declined. While Mumbai Mirror’s readership rose from 8 lakh in the first quarter, Mid-Day saw readership drop from 3.7 lakh to 3.6 lakh. Bangalore Mirror also gained about 35,000 readers going from 1.5 lakh to 1.9 lakh, an impressive gain in just one quarter.

TOI’s leadership cuts across the country, with the newspaper widening its lead in markets where it was already the leader and closing the gap with the competition in the few cities where it is not yet numero uno. In Pune and Ahmedabad, such rivals as there are were not part of the IRS. In Mumbai, TOI’s main paper has 13.2 lakh readers to HT’s 8.7.

For full report, www.toi.in

உச்சத்திலும் உச்சம் தொட்டது தங்கம்; பவுன் ரூ.29 ஆயிரத்தை தாண்டியது

Updated : ஆக 14, 2019 00:40 | Added : ஆக 14, 2019 00:38

சென்னை: தமிழகத்தில் தங்கம் விற்பனையில் முதல் முறையாக 22 காரட் ஆபரண தங்கம் பவுன் விலை 29 ஆயிரம் ரூபாயை தாண்டி புதிய சாதனை படைத்துள்ளது.

அமெரிக்கா- சீனா இடையிலான வர்த்தக போர் உள்ளிட்ட சர்வதேச நிலவரங்களால் அமெரிக்க டாலர் மதிப்பு குறைந்து வருகிறது. இதனால் டாலரில் அதிகளவில் முதலீடு செய்திருந்த முதலீட்டாளர்கள் தங்கத்தில் முதலீடு செய்து வருகின்றனர். இதையடுத்து சர்வதேச சந்தையில் ஜூலை இறுதியில் இருந்து தங்கம் விலை உயர்ந்து வருகிறது. இந்தியாவிலும் தங்கம் விலை எப்போதும் இல்லாத வகையில் அதிகரித்து வருகிறது.

கடந்த 1ம் தேதி கிராம் தங்கம் 3,310 ரூபாய்க்கும் பவுன் 26 ஆயிரத்து 480 ரூபாய்க்கும் விற்றது. அதற்கு அடுத்த நாளே கிராம் 3,383 ரூபாயாகவும் பவுன் 27 ஆயிரத்து 64 ரூபாயாகவும் அதிகரித்து புதிய சாதனை படைத்தது. பின் ஐந்து நாட்களில் அதாவது 7ம் தேதி கிராம் தங்கம் 3,547 ரூபாய்; பவுன் 28 ஆயிரத்து 376 ரூபாய் என்ற புதிய உச்சத்தை எட்டியது. நேற்று முன்தினம் கிராம் தங்கம் 3,603 ரூபாய்க்கும் பவுன் 28 ஆயிரத்து 824 ரூபாய்க்கும் விற்பனை செய்யப்பட்டது. கிராம் வெள்ளி 49 ரூபாய்க்கு விற்பனையானது.

இந்நிலையில் நேற்று தங்கம் கிராமுக்கு 24 ரூபாய் அதிகரித்து 3627 ரூபாய்க்கு விற்பனையானது. பவுன் 192 ரூபாய் அதிகரித்து 29 ஆயிரத்து 16 ரூபாய்க்கு விற்பனை செய்யப்பட்டது. இதையடுத்து முதல் முறையாக பவுன் விலை 29 ஆயிரம் ரூபாயை தாண்டியுள்ளது. இரு வாரத்தில் மட்டும் தங்கத்தின் விலை பவுனுக்கு 2,536 ரூபாய் உயர்ந்துள்ளது. மாத இறுதிக்குள் 30 ஆயிரம் ரூபாயை தாண்டும் என எதிர்பார்க்கப்படுகிறது.

500 புதிய பஸ்கள் சேவை இன்று துவக்கம்

Added : ஆக 13, 2019 22:18

சென்னை : தமிழக அரசு போக்குவரத்து கழகத்தில், 70 சதவீத பஸ்கள் பழைய, பயன்படுத்த முடியாத நிலையில் இருந்தன.

இதனால், விபத்துக்கள் அதிகரித்ததுடன், பயணியரும், அரசு பஸ் பயணத்தை தவிர்த்து வந்தனர்.இந்நிலையில், படிப்படியாக, அரசு போக்குவரத்து கழகத்தில், புதிய பஸ்கள் இணைக்கப்பட்டு வருகின்றன.இன்று, தலைமை செயலகத்தில் நடக்கும் நிகழ்ச்சியில், 500 புதிய பஸ்களின் சேவையை, முதல்வர், இ.பி.எஸ்., துவக்கி வைக்கிறார்.

Gold seen at Rs 40,000 before Diwali

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | SANGEETHA G

Published Aug 14, 2019, 4:04 am IST

However, analysts still believe gold will resume the bull-run and touch Rs 40,000 in the Indian market before Diwali.

Comex gold too gained $28 initially and lost $55 per ounce during the course of the session.

Chennai: Gold prices remained highly volatile on Tuesday as they touched all-time high levels during the early part of the session, only to fall Rs 1,300 per 10 gm later in the evening. Comex gold too gained $28 initially and lost $55 per ounce during the course of the session. However, analysts still believe gold will resume the bull-run and touch Rs 40,000 in the Indian market before Diwali.

In the Comex futures market, near-month contract of gold initially moved up to $1,546 per ounce during the intraday on Tuesday from the previous close of $1,519. With strong fundamentals supporting safe haven demand for gold, the Hong Kong protests acted as a geo-political trigger for increased purchases by investors, said Jateen Trivedi, Technical Research Analyst at Bonanza Portfolio.

The protests in Hong Kong against the Chinese government continued on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Argentina’s stock markets fell 35 per cent and the currency by 25 per cent after the president was trounced in the primary election. The currency’s fall was viewed by the markets in the back-drop of the ongoing currency war between the US and China. The trade war has been a pushing up gold prices in the past few days.

However, later in the evening on Tuesday US Trade Representative updated that additional tariffs on some Chinese goods, including cell phones and laptops, will be delayed till December 15. This saw a sharp rise in equity markets and sell-off in bullion.

From $1,546, gold prices came down to $1,490. Silver too fell from a high of $17.48 an ounce to $16.51.

In the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold had moved up to Rs 38,660, a new all-time high, from the previous day’s close of Rs 38,240. Silver had gained close to 2 per cent in the MCX to touch Rs 44,585. The rupee had added to the glitter of the gold when it further depreciated to six-month low of 71.4 on Tuesday.

However, after the trade update from the US, gold in the MCX too fell to a low of Rs 37,344, losing more than Rs 1,300 in a session. Silver too fell from Rs 44,585 per kg to Rs 43,250.

“Trade update has led to a knee-jerk reaction in the market. However, the broader fundamentals, which have been triggering the bull-run in bullion, are still intact. Hence we still expect that gold can move up further in the medium-term,’ said Trivedi.

“With gold coming closer to Rs 39,000 levels, it won’t take much longer to touch Rs 40,000. We might probably see those levels before Diwali if the fundamentals remain strong. In the international market, we can look forward for $1,600 - $1,650 levels,” he said.

“We expect gold to remain firm on various economic issues across the globe, although mild profit booking may keep prices under pressure near key resistance levels,’ said Abhishek Bansal, Chair-man, Abans Group.

Jet Airways directed to pay Rs 1 lakh compensation for preponing flight without informing

The apex consumer commission held the Jet was deficient in rendering services by not intimating of the change in schedule of the flight which left more than 10 hrs before scheduled departure.

Published: 13th August 2019 08:05 PM 

Jet Airways aircraft (File Photo | PTI)

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The apex consumer commission has directed Jet Airways to pay a compensation of Rs 1 lakh along with interest to a Chhattisgarh resident for preponing a flight without informing him in June 2012 due to which he could not appear in an examination scheduled for the next day.

The commission held that Jet Airways India Limited was deficient in rendering services by not intimating to Dr Akash Lalwani the change in schedule of the flight, which left more than 10 hours before the scheduled departure.

Lalwani had booked his flight ticket through an online portal, Yahoo Tour and Travels, booking tickets on behalf of Jet Airways.

The commission said that it was for Jet Airways to ascertain the details of Lalwani and intimate him of the change in flight schedule.


"Though the case of Yahoo Tour and Travels is that it had provided all the details of the complainant to Jet Airways assuming that the details were not provided, it was for Jet Airways to ascertain the details of the passenger from the travel agent and intimate the change of time to him.

"That admittedly was not done. Therefore, Jet Airways India Ltd. was clearly deficient in rendering services to the complainant it having not intimated the change in the schedule time of the flight to him," Presiding of the commission V K Jain said.

According to Lalwani's complaint, he had booked a flight to from Raipur to Kolkata on June 9, 2012.

The flight which was to depart at 9.25 pm was combined with another flight which left at 10.40 am, more than 10 hours before the scheduled departure.

The early departure led to Lalwani missing the flight due to which he could not appear in an examination scheduled for 9 am on June 10, the next day at Kolkata.

He filed a complaint with the district forum, which had directed Jet Airways and Yahoo Tour and Travels to refund Rs 38,432, comprising expenditure incurred on appearing for the examination including air ticket, taxi fare, and cost of books.

The district forum also awarded Rs 11 lakh as compensation to Lalwani, which was challenged in the state commission by both Jet Airways and Yahoo Tour and Travels.

The state consumer commission modified the compensation amount to Rs 1 lakh while maintaining the direction for payment of Rs 38,432 with interest.

The state commission's order was challenged by both, the airlines and the online travel booking site, in the NCDRC.

No takers for Tamil medium engineering courses in Anna University's constituent colleges

Since most companies prefer to recruit students fluent in English, meagre number of students join the Tamil medium courses.

Published: 14th August 2019 01:21 AM |

A file photo of Anna University | Express

By Binita Jaiswal

Express News Service

CHENNAI: There are no takers for Tamil medium engineering courses provided by Anna University’s constituent colleges.

The records of the University reveals that only Tiruchirappalli campus has managed to fill 36 % of its seats in Tamil medium engineering courses while the remaining 11 constituent colleges, which offer Civil engineering and Mechanical engineering courses in Tamil medium, are able to attract only single digit students. The enrollment percentage in Tamil medium courses in these 11 constituent colleges ranges in
between 1.6% to 6% .

The data provided by the university to Express shows that Tiruchirappalli has 120 seats in Tamil medium while this year only 44 students have taken admission. The constituent colleges at Villupuram and Tindivanam have 60 seats each but this year they have received only 3 and 4 students respectively. Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram campuses have 120 seats each while they have 8 and 7 students enrolled respectively for this year. Dindigul, Nagercoil and Thirukkuvalai colleges have a sanctioned strength of 120 seats each in Tamil medium but the colleges have received only 3 students each. Panruti and Pattukkottai campuses, which also have strength of 120 seats, have got only 2 and 1 students respectively this year. However, the scenario is worse in Arani and Ariyalur campuses as not a single student has opted for these colleges. Arani has 60 seats in Tamil medium while Ariyalur has 120 seats.

The Anna University officials are worried over the scenario. According to sources in the university, the Tamil medium engineering courses were started 2010 in Anna University and since inception the response
was not that good. But this year things have gone from bad to worse.

“Except one, all other colleges have negligible admissions in Tamil medium. It will be really difficult for colleges to manage the courses with such handful of students,” said a faculty of Anna University.

The officials of Anna University also expressed that Tamil medium engineering courses are not able to attract students as the job opportunities are not much. “Even if a student chooses to study Tamil  medium engineering course they do not find appropriate jobs as the companies focus mainly on recruiting students who are good at English communication,” said a professor of the university.

Sources in the university said they have plans to propose in the upcoming Syndicate meeting for curtailment of seats in Tamil medium in the constituent colleges.

Rectify defects or provide new TV to consumer, forum directs retail outlet

Though the TV set was returned to the customer, the fault was not at all rectified, he claimed.

Published: 13th August 2019 06:39 AM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: After a Sony television set purchased by a Chennai resident developed faults later, a consumer forum directed Reliance Retail Ltd to provide a new television set along with a compensation of `10,000 if the company was unable to rectify the defect.

K Mohan Raj said in his petition said that on February 6, 2015, he purchased a 32-inch LED TV from the Reliance Retail showroom after paying `36,900, with a one-year warranty and care plan that offered post-purchase service on payment of `3,667. However, during the first week of July 2016, the TV set’s power light conked out. The technicians took the set for service. Though the TV set was returned to the customer, the fault was not at all rectified, he claimed.

Mohan Raj issued a legal notice to the company and also lodged a complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai, seeking a compensation of `3 lakh. In spite of receipt of the notice, Reliance Retail Ltd failed to appear before the forum and was set ex-parte.

Considering the evidence submitted, the forum, presided over by M Mony and member Baskarkumaravel, observed that Reliance Retail Ltd had not come forward to rectify the defects in the Sony LED television despite several complaints by Mohan Raj.

Emergency power shutdown in parts of Chennai on August 14, check list here

As a part of emergency maintenance works, Tangedco will be suspending power supply in parts of Avadi, Adyar, Kodungaiyur and other areas.

Published: 13th August 2019 06:43 PM

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: For carrying out emergency maintenance work, power supply will be suspended by Tangedco on Wednesday (August 14) from 9 am to 5 pm in these following areas.

According to a statement from Tangedco, power supply will be resumed before 5 pm if work is completed. Here is the full list:

ADYAR: Sri Ram Nagar, Pallippattu Main Road, Ethiraj Street, Yoki Garden, Kadasamy st, 2nd , 3rd and 4th Main Road, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canal Cross Road, 4th Cross Road, Crescent Avenue Road, Canal bank road, 1st Main Road, Sasthiri Nagar, 4th, 5th and 6th Cross St, Sasthiri Nagar.

KOTTIVAKKAM: New Beach Road 52, 51, 58, 59, 64, 65, 61, 62, 56, 70, 71, 54, 53, 39, 44, 3, 48, 47 11, 1, 2nd streets, 3, 7, 8th Main Road, Kurinji Flats, Bhaghatsingh Salai, Shivani Flat, Kurinji Extension, RTO office.


BESANT NAGAR: 1st to 3rd Street Sivakamipuram, Gangai Amman St, Kamarajar Salai, Rajiv Gandhi Salai, 1st to 3rd St Malaviya Avenue, MG road, RK Nagar Main Road, 1st to 3rd St RK Nagar, Maruntheeswar Nagar, Sunnambu Kalvai Main Road.

VELACHERY WEST: Part of Velachery Tambaram Main Road, Sankara Avenue, Ganapathy Nagar, Part of Nehru Nagar, Kamarajapuram, Ramaniyam Flat.

KODUNGAIYUR: Abirami Avenue 1,5,6,7,8 streets, KKD Nagar 4 and 5th Block, Sidco 1st Main Road, 3rd Main Road, Solai Amman Koil St, Selvaperumal Koil St, Part of TH Road.

AVADI: Jothi Nagar, JB Nagar, 60 Feet Road, Nagammai nagar, Antony Nagar, ESI Anna Nagar, Siva Sakthi Nagar, Devi Nagar.

Madras HC turns down plea against NEET
Only during the course of hearing of this case, the fact that the Centre had rejected the bills came to light.

Published: 14th August 2019 06:26 AM 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court has disposed of a batch of public interest petitions challenging the applicability of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance-Test (NEET) for medical admissions in Tamil Nadu.

During the course of hearing on the pleas recently, a bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad was informed that the Central government had rejected the two Bills sent by Tamil Nadu government in September 2017. The Bills, unanimously passed in the Assembly, had sought exemption to Tamil Nadu from the mandatory national entrance exam.

When the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday, petitioners’ senior counsel R Viduthalai argued that the Centre should have given the reasons for the rejection.

The bench, however, disposed of the petitions after observing that “the propriety, illegality or irregularity or any other can be challenged in a writ or certiorari or declaration, as the case may be, subject of course to the pleadings, material and the maintainability of such writ petitions.” The bench, however, granted liberty to the petitioners to challenge the order of rejection subject to the maintainability of the same.

Only during the course of hearing of this case, the fact that the Centre had rejected the bills came to light.

7-month pregnant minor rescued from prostitution, woman arrested

A woman aged 24 has been arrested for allegedly forcing two minor girls into prostitution in the suburbs of North Chennai.

Published: 14th August 2019 06:30 AM

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A woman aged 24 has been arrested for allegedly forcing two minor girls into prostitution in the suburbs of North Chennai. When police rescued the girls, one of them, aged 17, was found to be seven-months pregnant.

Police said the main accused was one Indu, 24. She had allegedly befriended the girl in 2017, then aged 15, when she was standing at a bus stop in the city and crying. The victim’s mother had died and her father was believed to have abandoned her. Taking advantage of her situation, Indu offered to help her find a job.
“The accused brought the victim to her house and later forced her into prostitution.

The girl is seven months pregnant. Most men who visit the place have criminal cases, including chain snatching and robbery cases. Six months ago, a chain-snatching suspect from the same locality, had promised another 15-year-old girl that he would marry her. He allegedly kidnapped and brought the minor girl to Indu. The victim took refuge in Indu’s house and was later forced into trafficking,” said a police officer.

Police got information from a robbery suspect they arrested recently. A team raided Indu’s house on Monday and rescued the two minor girls, besides a few women.

Police said Indu accommodated all the women in her house and sent them to hotels and other houses to meet clients. A few other women escaped. A hunt is on for the suspects who raped the minors, police said.

Holiday declared

14/08/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,KOCHI

The District Collector has declared holiday for all educational institutions, including professional colleges, in Ernakulam on Wednesday in view of the continuing rain.

The holiday is applicable to schools under CBSE, ISCE, ISE streams; Kendriya Vidyalayas, and anganwadis.

Heavy rainfall warning for two more days

Death toll in monsoon-related incidents rises to 92 in State

14/08/2019, 

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Although rain has subsided, the Alappuzha- Changanassery road remains submerged on several stretches. A view of the road at Mankombu on Tuesday. Suresh Alleppey

The death toll in rain-related incidents in the State went up to 92 on Tuesday, even as the southwest monsoon again showed signs of intensifying over Kerala, sparking fresh fears of flooding.

The India Meteorology Department (IMD) has issued a heavy rainfall warning in eight districts for Wednesday. According to a bulletin issued by the weather office on Tuesday evening, the low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal is likely to become more marked during the next 48 hours, triggering widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall and extremely heavy falls at some places in Kerala.

A red alert indicating the likelihood of extremely heavy rainfall (above 204.4 mm) has been issued for Malappuram and Kozhikode while an orange alert indicating isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall (64.5 to 204.4 mm) is in place for Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts on Wednesday.

A holiday has been declared for educational institutions in Alappuzha, Idukki, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kannur on Wednesday.

Strong winds and rough seas are also likely along and off the coast of Kerala and Karnataka and the Lakshadweep areas till Thursday. Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea.

By Tuesday evening, 2,24,506 persons were shifted from flood-hit places to 1,243 relief camps across the State. As many as 1,057 houses were destroyed and 11,142 damaged. According to official figures, 34 persons were injured and 61 reported missing in various incidents as on Tuesday.

CM visits sites

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan, accompanied by senior officials, visited the flood-ravaged areas in Wayanad and Malappuram. The team comprising Chief Secretary Tom Jose, Additional Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta, State Police Chief Loknath Behera and Principal Secretary (Revenue) V. Venu made an aerial survey of the affected areas in an Indian Air Force helicopter.

Mr. Vijayan also visited various relief camps in Wayanad and Malappuram areas and reviewed the relief operations.

Admission without papers

14/08/2019, STAFF REPORTER, ,BENGALURU

Students who are victims of the flood in the State can be admitted to any school in the State without producing documents. This is to ensure no dropouts because of this natural calamity.

Many students have lost documents like birth certificates, SSLC marks cards, Aadhaar cards, etc. An official from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) said that students from over 18 districts would benefit from the move.

In another circular, the department asked officials to conduct a survey of the school buildings after the floods recede. It asked the Karnataka Textbook Society to provide textbooks to students who have lost them.

The Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka has decided to provide free education for children from flood hit areas.

The decision was taken after deliberating upon the issue by over 3,000 of their member schools.

State was not kept in the dark on anti-NEET Bills, govt. tells court

‘The information was shared in the Assembly in June 2018’

14/08/2019, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Denying the claim that the State was kept kept in the dark for two years with regard to the President having withheld his assent to two anti-NEET Bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly in February 2017, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday told the Madras High Court that the information was shared in the Assembly as early as on June 28, 2018.

Advocate-General Vijay Narayan submitted before a Division Bench of Justices S. Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad the proceedings of the debate that took place on the subject in the Assembly last year and said the information was shared by Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar to a query raised by none other than the Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin.

As per the proceedings published under the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Rules, Mr. Stalin wanted to know the status of the two Bills passed by the Assembly on February 1, 2017, since Rajya Sabha member T.K. Rangarajan of Communist Party of India (Marxist) had reportedly received a letter stating that the President’s office had not received the Bills.

Replying to it, the Health Minister clearly stated that the President had withheld his assent to the Bills and that the State government had written to the Centre seeking the reasons for having done so. Since the discussion had taken place on June 28, 2018, there was no question of the State or the Assembly having been kept in the dark on the issue, the A-G clarified.

He also brought it to the notice of the court that the State Law Secretary had written as many as 11 letters to the Union Home Ministry between October 25, 2017 and July 5, 2019 seeking reasons for the President having withheld assent so that the shortcomings, if any, in the two Bills could be rectified but there was no positive response so far.

The submissions were made during the hearing of a batch of public interest litigation petitions filed in 2017 seeking a direction to the State government to expedite the process of obtaining Presidential assent for the two Bills aimed at granting exemption for students of the State from writing National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) to gain admission in medical courses.

After recording his submission, the Division Bench disposed of all the cases since the prayer had become infructuous in view of the subsequent developments that had taken place.

The President had withheld his assent for the Bills on September 18, 2017. Therefore, the Union Home Ministry had returned them to the State government on September 22, 2017. The petitioners would have to file fresh writ petitions challenging the subsequent proceedings subject to their maintainability, the judges observed.

During the course of hearing, they also said the use of the term ‘withhold assent’ instead of ‘refuse assent’ in Article 201 of the Constitution might have led to a lot of confusion on the issue.

Minister orders departmental action against principal

14/08/2019, STAFF REPORTER ,COIMBATORE

Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said that departmental action would be initiated against the principal in-charge of the nursing college in Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for allegedly not being aware of the government schemes.

During his interaction with nursing students at CMCH, Mr. Vijayabaskar asked about various schemes in the health sector. They allegedly drew a blank.

The Minister then asked the principal (in-charge) about the schemes and she also allegedly did not know about them, following which he asked CMCH Dean B. Asokan to initiate departmental action against her.

Mr. Asokan could not be reached for a comment regarding the issue.

Later, Mr. Vijayabaskar, along with Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani, inaugurated the pneumococcal vaccination drive and the vascular surgery unit at CMCH.

With slump in demand, many private dental colleges slash fee
Dwindling job opportunities are said to be the cause

14/08/2019, TANU KULKARNI,BENGALURU

It is not just engineering colleges that are struggling to fill their seats. In view of poor demand, private dental colleges too have slashed their fee, with some charging only a half of what they are allowed to charge.

For the 2019-20 academic year, private dental colleges are allowed to charge ₹72,484 and ₹5.32 lakh annually for government and institutional quota seats, respectively. While all colleges are charging the full rate for government quota seats, many have changed the fee for institutional quota seats, which is now anywhere between ₹2.78 lakh and ₹4 lakh a year. Many of top dental colleges in Bengaluru are willing charge ₹5.32 lakh.

Over the last three to four years, NRI and management quota seats — categorised as ‘other’ — have also seen a decline in demand. This year, the fee is in the range of ₹2.78 lakh to ₹9.28 lakh.

Dental college managements point out that this is because of dwindling job opportunities in this sector. “Today, the number of dentists required is not very high,” the principal of a Bengaluru-based private dental college said.

According to the principal, the managements of many dental colleges did not want the fee hiked for 2019-20. However, the government increased the fee by 15% as their respective associations fought for it. “The top dental colleges that make up for 10% of the colleges will get their seats filled as students will be willing to pay for these seats. But the remaining colleges will have no takers. So colleges are willingly reducing the fee,” the principal said.

Several dental colleges deployed agents to help them fill seats after the introduction of NEET. “With this, students from across the country can choose colleges in the State. For the most part, agents have been promised up to 30% of the annual fee if they are able to pursue students to take their management and NRI quota seats when the seats are surrendered to the colleges after the mop-up round,” a senior professor said.

‘No unqualified teachers in affiliated colleges’
MKU’s reply comes on HC direction

14/08/2019, SANJANA GANESH

There are no unqualified teachers in the affiliated colleges of Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU), according to an affidavit filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court by Registrar (in-charge) R. Sudha. The HC Bench had directed the MKU, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University and the University of Madras to ensure adherence to UGC norms on a contempt petition filed by a former professor, M. Anandakrishnan.

MKU Vice-Chancellor M. Krishnan told The Hindu on Tuesday that vacancies created by unqualified teachers would be filled up as per UGC norms in a month.

The retired professor filed the petition following ‘failure of the universities’ to adhere to the order of the court, which had directed that those recruited as teachers must possess a Ph.D. or should have cleared National Eligibility Test (NET) or State-level Eligibility Test (SLET).

Dr. Krishnan and the Registrar (in-charge) confirmed that there were no unqualified teachers in the university and its 100 affiliated colleges.

“We can be assured that all appointments have been made at the MKU, its constituent colleges and the day college as per UGC norms,” said Dr. Krishnan.

Madurai Kamaraj, Manonmaniam Sundaranar, Mother Teresa and Alagappa University Teachers’ Association (MUTA) treasurer A.T. Senthamaraikannan welcomed the appointment of qualified teachers.

“But it is a request to colleges and the university that they should allow the teachers employed now to continue in service. Many of them have worked for years with a pittance for salary. They can surely qualify themselves, if enough leeway is given to them,” he said.

Though the university authorities claim that there were no qualified teachers in the affiliated colleges, a teacher from Yadava College, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that most of the unqualified teachers had been removed. But some continued to work in nearby colleges. They had made special request to their colleges, he said.

R. Murali, convenor, Save Higher Education Movement – Tamil Nadu, said that the MKU had finally responded to their petition and taken action. However, if a six-month extension was provided by the government and a special SLET conducted, the teachers in service could qualify themselves, he said.

The HC had, on July 18, directed the Registrar to submit a report to the UGC on the number of unqualified teachers and action initiated against them.

Nursery student raped in school, sweeper held

14/08/2019,NEW DELHI

A five-year-old nursery student was allegedly raped inside a school in south Delhi’s Chittaranjan Park. The accused, a sweeper, has been arrested, the police said.

Woman dead in Sydney knife rampage

14/08/2019, REUTERS,SYDNEY

A man went on a stabbing rampage in Sydney on Tuesday, killing a woman and wounding another before he was restrained by members of the public, police said, adding that they were not treating it as a terrorist incident.

The 21-year-old man, who police did not name, was carrying a knife and a computer thumb drive containing information about deadly attacks in North America and New Zealand, police said.

Video images on Twitter showed him yelling and waving what appeared to be a long-bladed knife. He was later restrained by passers-by.

57.3% allopathic practitioners not qualified: Health Ministry
CMs of all States have been asked to take appropriate action
14/08/2019, BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN,NEW DELHI

The Union Health Ministry has warned that an uneven distribution of qualified doctors puts rural patients at risk. “At present, 57.3% of personnel currently practising allopathic medicine do not have a medical qualification,” says the Ministry’s data, adding that this puts rural patients at risk given the high density of doctors in urban areas and India’s poor doctor-population ratio of 1:1456 as compared with the World Health Organisation standards of 1:1000.

‘A huge skew’

“There is a huge skew in the distribution of doctors working in the urban and rural areas. Consequently, most of our rural and poor population is denied good quality care, leaving them in the clutches of quacks,” said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

Section 15 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, prohibits a person other than a medical practitioner enrolled on a State Medical Register to practice medicine in the State.

“We have requested all Chief Ministers of all the States to take appropriate action under the law against quacks, and also to evolve suitable policies to ensure availability of a quality health workforce in rural areas,” said a senior health official.

According to government records, a total of 11,46,044 allopathic doctors were registered with the State Medical Councils/ Medical Council of India as on December 31, 2018.

Mid-level professionals

Professor K. Srinath Reddy of the Public Health Foundation of India noted that the wide gaps in comprehensive primary healthcare services for many rural areas need to be filled through competent mid-level healthcare providers who are adequately trained, technologically enabled and legally empowered.

The Health Ministry states that it is now looking into bringing in mid-level healthcare providers to relieve overburdened specialists.

MHA nod for CM’s visit to U.S., U.K.

MGR was the last T.N. CM to go to the West to woo investors

14/08/2019, T. RAMAKRISHNAN,CHENNAI

When Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami leaves later this month for a 10-day visit to the United Kingdom and the United States to attract industrial investments, he will be the first Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to go to the West in 40 years.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs formally gave its clearance for the CM’s visit. Now, the file will make its way to the Prime Minister’s Office for final approval from PM Narendra Modi.

Between late October and early December in 1978, M.G. Ramachandran, as Chief Minister, undertook a five-week-long trip to the US, Japan and Singapore for attracting investments to Tamil Nadu.

In January 1999, M. Karunanidhi made a three-day trip to Singapore and interacted with representatives of the business community. In July 1970, he went to Europe on a three-week-long visit for a similar purpose.

As per the present plan, Mr. Palaniswami will leave for London on August 28 and return to Chennai on September 7.

In the U.S., he will go to New York and California to hold interactions with representatives of business and industry. There will also be separate meetings with potential investors who hail from Tamil Nadu. In January last, the State government held the second edition of the Global Investors’ Meet.

The Chief Minister will be accompanied by Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar in the U.K. leg of the trip, while the Ministers for Industry, Information Technology and Dairy Development — M.C. Sampath, R.B. Udhayakumar and K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji — will accompany Mr. Palaniswami in the U.S. Besides, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam, Secretaries to CM and secretaries of the departments concerned will be part of the contingent.

Expressing confidence that the visit would yield benefits for the State, senior government officials handling the visit point out that a high-profile trip is bound to generate greater visibility for the State, apart from those at the helm of affairs getting first-hand knowledge of the state of affairs of various sectors in a country like the U.S.

On the one-to-one relationship between such a visit and the fructification of projects, K. Venkatesan, former State Finance Secretary, who accompanied MGR to the U.S. in 1978, says it is not easy to establish that, and this holds good for any such visit. However, every government will, and has to, make efforts to attract foreign investment, even though it is well-known that investors consider a number of factors before taking their decisions.

K. R. Shanmugam, Director and Professor, Madras School of Economics, says that the move of the government is ‘essential’, given the prevailing “low investor sentiment” in the country.

Referring to a number of visits undertaken by former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu to many countries, Dr. Shanmugam says the impact of such visits is not known.

To a question whether the visit to the U.K. would be purposeful, given the impact of Brexit, a senior official in the Tamil Nadu governmentsays the situation provides an ‘opportunity’ which should be made use of.

Judge tells erring students to clean up their act — and Kamaraj Memorial House

They had attended class in an inebriated state earlier this year

14/08/2019, B. TILAK CHANDAR,MADURAI

Eight students of the Devanga Arts College in Aruppukottai, Virudhunagar district, who attended a class in an inebriated state, have been asked by the Bench of the Madras High Court to clean the Kamaraj Memorial House in Virudhunagar and hold placards highlighting the ill effects of alcohol this Independence Day, with the objective of reforming them. The court was hearing a writ petition filed by the boys, who were issued Transfer Certificates by the college. They sought a direction to be permitted to continue their studies in the college.

Quoting a couplet from Tirukkural (Chapter 93 Kallunnamai), Justice R. Suresh Kumar observed that as a punishment to ensure that the students mend their ways in future, they were to face a different kind of reciprocal action.

The students were directed to visit the Kamaraj Memorial House, the birthplace of K. Kamaraj, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu who advocated the prohibition of alcohol, on Independence day (August 15). They were asked to report to the caretaker of the memorial by 10 a.m.

In a day-long task, the students were directed to clean the memorial and assist visitors till 4 p.m. (with a lunch break). Then, the students shall, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., hold placards outside the premises on the ill effects of alcohol consumption. The college shall depute a teaching staff to monitor the students, the court said. The exercise shall be verified and overseen by the Inspector of Police, Virudhunagar Town Police Station, and a report on the same shall be submitted, the court said. The case was then posted for reporting compliance on August 19.

Earlier this year, the second-year students had attended class in a state of inebriation after taking part in a friend’s birthday party. The teacher in charge of the class brought this to the notice of the Head of the Department, who in turn informed the Principal of the college. Following a disciplinary inquiry, a transfer was recommended after the students completed the academic year.

Taking into account that the students had admitted their mistake and belonged to a humble background, the court observed that if their education was hindered, their career could get affected. If they were sent out abruptly pursuant to the disciplinary action, they might not get admission in other colleges, the court said.

Reformative punishment

“If a punishment is inflicted on a guilty person, such punishment must be in the nature of reforming the person who had been inflicted with the punishment”, the court observed.

The court said the students shall be permitted to continue their final year/third year in the college, after the payment of the course fees, following the completion of the exercise. However, if they fail to take up the task, the college can take disciplinary action against them, the court said.

SHRC seeks report on Collector pulling up police inspector
Commission wants to know whether his action violated human rights

14/08/2019, VIVEK NARAYANAN,CHENNAI

Rajinikanth at the Devarajaswamy Temple to worship Athi Varadar in the early hours of Wednesday.special arrangementB. Velankanni Raj

The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), Tamil Nadu, has called for a detailed report from the Chief Secretary and others on Kancheepuram Collector P. Ponniah giving a public dressing down to an Inspector on duty at the Athi Varadar darshan queue.

Taking suo motu cognisance of a report published in The Hindu on August 11, the SHRC directed the Chief Secretary, the Director-General of Police and the Kancheepuram Collector to explain whether the Collector verbally abusing, threatening and reprimanding the Inspector of Police inside the temple in the presence of devotees and other police personnel amounted to violation of human rights.

The notice comes a day after Mr. Ponniah clarified in a television interview that his outburst was not intentional.

The video of the Collector reprimanding the Inspector went viral on social media drawing criticism from various quarters, including serving and retired police personnel. The allegation against the police official was that he allowed some common people to access the VIP entry.

The Commission also sought to know the action taken by the government against the Collector following the incident. If the report is not submitted within two weeks, the Commission would take such action as it deems fit and proper.

RTI query

Meanwhile, V. E. Shanmugayya, a police inspector from Tiruchi, has filed a petition under RTI to Kancheepuram Collectorate seeking the provision under which VVIP, VIP and general public categorisation was made for Athi Varadar darshan.

He sought a copy of the list VVIP/VIPs who had darshan since July 1, and also information on how the Collector issued VIP pass to Varichur Selvam of Madurai.

The Tamil Nadu chapter of the IPS Officers Association appreciated the police force for ensuring peaceful conduct of the festival and has asked all sections of society to respect policemen and cooperate with them to discharge their duties.

Residents complain

Meanwhile, residents of Kancheepuram claimed that the policemen were preventing them from moving freely inside the town.

“We are not even able to go to medical shops or markets. Business has been affected as vehicles of our clients, from other States, are not allowed to enter the town. Vehicles are stopped on the outskirts and diverted,” said a resident.

A senior police officer agreed that such incidents would have happened as there were security personnel from other districts who would not have been aware of local streets or the residents.

“Besides there are lot of outsiders trying to gain entry into town claiming to be local residents,” said a police officer.

Besides, he blamed poor planning as the reason for the chaos.

“People are bringing printouts of the passes, without proper signature or credentials to gain entry. The local administration and police should have held a meeting with residents before the festival began. Basic facilities were provided days after the event started,” he added.

The Collector could not be reached for his comments.

5.5-kg benign mass removed from woman

14/08/2019, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

A benign mass weighing 5.5 kg was removed from a 50-year-old woman at Voluntary Health Services (VHS).

The woman approached the gynaecological department of VHS with complaints of abdominal distension.

A team of doctors from the Department of Obstetrics evaluated her for surgical procedure.

Vacancies in government colleges raise concerns

No full-time Principals in 41 instutions; guest lecturers’ allocation cut by 20%

14/08/2019, PON VASANTH B.A.,CHENNAI

Concerns have been raised over vacancies in government arts, science, and education colleges with 41 colleges not having full-time principals and the Higher Education Department recently reducing the allocation of guest lecturers by 20%.

Tamil Nadu has a total of 99 government arts, science, and education colleges. This is excluding the 14 constituent colleges of State-run universities that were recently converted as government colleges. Of these 99, sources from the Department confirmed that 41 did not have full-time principals with senior faculty members acting as “principals (in-charge)”.

Officials highlighted that similar vacancies were present in administrative positions at the Directorate of Collegiate Education (DCE), for which senior principals are appointed. Of the 12 administrative posts, which included eight Regional Joint Directors (RJDs), three Joint Directors, and the Director, seven are being held by persons appointed as “(in-charge)”.

S. Suresh, a joint secretary with Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers’ Association, said non-filling of these vacancies not only resulted in administrative inefficiencies, but were also an additional financial burden.

“For instance, a senior faculty member acting as principal (in-charge) is paid around 20% of his salary as an incentive over and above his salary, every month. A person being promoted and appointed as a full-time principal will not cost as much,” he said.

Similarly, to manage the large number of vacancies among the teaching faculty, the Higher Education Department sanctions permission to temporarily engage Guest Lecturers (GL) on a consolidated pay of ₹15,000 per month.

This year, against the request of DCE to engage 2,653 GLs for Shift 1 in government colleges, the Department sanctioned only 2,120, which is roughly 20% less than the requirement. The approved strength is also lesser than the 2,423 GLs engaged during the last academic year.

A.R. Nagarajan, advisor, Tamil Nadu NET/SLET Association, said the cut was unreasonable since new vacancies must have arisen this year with the retirement of staff. “Importantly, the government has done this despite introducing 81 new courses this year,” he added.

K.P. Anbalagan, Higher Education Minister, said steps to fill vacancies of principals in colleges categorised as Grade I are almost over.

‘Solution on hand’

“We normally promote those from Grade II category and appoint them in Grade I. The vacancies in Grade II will be filled subsequently. Orders on that can be expected soon,” he said.

On GL shortage, he said that 81 new courses will not be affected as separate allocations have been earmarked. “For the remaining, we will be getting some surplus from the Annamalai University. We will ensure that required number of faculty are available for students,” he added.

Government of India

Air India flights to and from HK suspended until further info
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

14.08.2019

The ongoing unrest in Hong Kong forcing frequent closure of its international airport (HKIA) — first on Monday and then again from Tuesday evening — has affected several people, who were to travel between India and rest of the world via this major transit hub. Air India has suspended flights to and from Hong Kong till further information “in view of prevailing situation”.

On Tuesday evening, HKIA posted on their website, “Terminal operations at Hong Kong International Airport have been seriously disrupted, and all check-in processes have now been suspended.” This came after Cathay Pacific issued a travel advisory on their website saying travellers are “encouraged to postpone of non-essential travel” from HKIA till Wednesday.

There are about 75 weekly flights between Indian cities and Hong Kong operated by Cathay Pacific, Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet. While flights were expected to resume from Tuesday night, the closure of HKIA meant they have again been cancelled. Since it’s the start of the busy student travel season in the US and Australia, travel majors say many from India who were to go via Hong Kong are now alternate arrangements.

“This is the peak student travel period for both North America and Australia. We are getting requests from travellers to re-book their travel,” travel portal Yatra COO Sharat Dhall said, adding, “Airlines are giving full refunds for cancelled flights and are allowing rebooking at the same fare.”

Blind women detect breast cancer early
Women MTEs Use Tactile Strips To Examine Patients
Ambika.Pandit@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:14.08.2019

Using their power of touch, five blind women over the last four months have been able to detect precancerous or cancerous lesions in 17 women (or 3.5% of over 500 women examined) in C K Birla Hospital for Women in Gurgaon. Their findings were affirmed medically by radiological tests — mammograms and ultrasounds.

These outcomes draw attention towards the need for early detection of cancer through regular examinations. This first of its kind study claims high levels of accuracy through physical examinations carried out by visually impaired women especially trained using tactile strips to map every centimetre of the breast. The Medical Tactile Examiners (MTEs) are able to detect small lumps between 0.5 millimetres to 1 centimetres.

Voluntary organisation National Association for the Blind’s Centre for Blind Women in Delhi started training women to be MTEs last year to empower them professionally and financially. The nine-month course is being conducted in collaboration with German gynaecologist Dr Frank Hoffmann’s project “Discovering Hands”.

The training has been certified by Rehabilitation Council of Germany. Of the first group of seven MTEs, two were taken up by Fortis Hospital in Vasant Kunj and five by C K Birla Hospital for women in Gurgaon. Another batch of seven will soon be ready as MTEs.

MTEs are not a substitute for radiological testing, says doc

As per data from C K Birla Hospital, nearly 900 women from Delhi and NCR underwent ‘Tactile Breast Examination (TBE)’ along with ultrasound breast for those below 40 years and mammogram for those above 40 years of age.

In the last four months over 500 women were studied to evaluate the enhanced touch (Tactile Sensation) of a visually impaired MTEs.

The clinical findings of the study shared by Dr Mandeep S Malhotra, director, The Breast Centre at C K Birla Hospital for Women show that the MTEs have a very high level of sensitivity for detecting breast lesions.

“Of the 500 cases examined, the MTEs reported 70% as normal and detected changes in breasts of 30% women. Radiological examinations affirmed the findings with 70% women found to be normal.

Of the 30% with changes in breasts it turned out that in 15% there were changes but they were non cancerous, 11.5% had cysts or fibroids and as many as 17 women (3.5 %) had lesions that were either cancers or precancers,” Dr Malhotra said.

“Less than 2%, women, were into any kind of active breast screening and during follow-up said they had started doing self breast examination and would continue with regular check-ups,” Dr Malhotra added.

He, however, cautioned that MTEs were not a substitute for radiological testing but a supplementary check that mapped the entire breast area through a physical examination.

Dr Malhotra cited national statistics to point out that early detection was the need of the hour. “Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in India. Every year around 1.5 to 2 lakh new women are being diagnosed with breast cancer. As per ICMR data in urban areas 1 in 22 women are likely to be affected by breast cancer. 50% of them don’t survive beyond five years of the diagnosis,” he shared.

According to American Cancer Society Guidelines, the standard screening process of mammography, should start at the age of 45.

Full report on www.toi.in

Bedi hails HC order on med colleges
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Puducherry:14.08.2019

Lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi on Tuesday welcomed the division bench of Madras high court’s order upholding the single judge’s verdict that directed private medical colleges in Puducherry not to send any student out of the campus for not paying fees.

The divisional bench comprising Justice R Subbiah and Justice C Saravanan upheld the single judge’s verdict, which directed the private medical colleges ‘not to prevent the students from attending the classes’.

“There shall also be a direction to the institution not to send the students out of the campus on the ground that they have not paid the fees. The students should be allowed to attend the classes and the respondent shall also give the necessary attendance,” the bench quoted the single judge’s interim order.

Bedi said the division bench has reiterated the single judge order and added that medical colleges cannot send students out for not paying the fees. She lauded advocate V B R Menon for defending the medical students of Puducherry.

Menon has been working tirelessly with the Union human resources development ministry and Union health and family welfare ministry for the last three years to safeguard the rights of the students, she said “Puducherry cannot thank him enough. Those with vested interests, who were either conniving or negligent, are under investigation by CBI. A legacy of organised crime of medical seats selling finally stands nailed for now. We have to stay alert. Puducherry parents and students thank him and owe their medical careers to Menon’s singlehanded legal fight. Am happy the system now is getting technology-driven to prevent scope for future manipulations,” she said in a group post.

Nursing college principal earns min’s wrath

Pratiksha.Ramkumar@timesgroup.com

Coimbatore:14.08.2019

Health minister C Vijayabaskar on Tuesday ordered action against the principal (in-charge) of the nursing college in the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) after she failed to answer the questions he posed on various government schemes for women.

Vijayabaskar had visited CMCH to inaugurate the pneumococcal vaccination programme and honour the doctors, who had performed 2,750 angiograms.

While he was waiting for municipal administration minister S P Velumani to arrive at the venue, the minister, who was a practicing doctor before entering politics, used the opportunity to interact with the nursing students.

He quizzed them about the government schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, a cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women, Janani Suraksha Yojana, a programme for reducing maternal and infant mortality by promoting institutional delivery, and the cradle scheme.

“He became unhappy when the students failed to answer the questions,” a hospital source told TOI.

The minister then summoned the nursing college principal (in-charge) Dhanalakshmi, and asked her why any of the students, who should educate patients about the schemes, were not aware of them.

“Pulling her up for the students’ lack of knowledge, the minister asked her if she was aware of the schemes. Dhanalakshmi, who looked stunned, did not reply. An irate minister ordered CMCH dean Dr B Ashokan to take action against her,” said the official.

Vijayabaskar and Velumani later attended ‘Gift an Organ’, an event to promote organ transplantation, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Young Indians.

Russian Medical University

Rajiv convicts can’t claim release as matter of right, TN tells HC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:14.08.201`9

About a year after adopting a unanimous resolution in the state assembly for the release of all the seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the Tamil Nadu government did a partial somersault on Tuesday and said the convicts cannot claim release as a matter of right or privilege.

It was in September 2018 that the assembly resolved to take the Article 161 route and recommend to the state governor to order the premature release of the seven convicts in the case. It was followed up with letters and reminders to the governor and the Centre.

Meanwhile, Nalini Sriharan filed the present petition seeking a direction to the governor to release all seven convicts including herself.

The state government, in its counter-affidavit to the petition, referred to the Supreme Court judgment in this regard, and said it was for the appropriate government to pass appropriate orders in the case of premature release of prisoners. Such premature release of life convicts is prerogative of the government and no life convict can claim the same as a right and it is not matter of privilege.

The counter, filed before a division bench of Justice R Subbiah and Justice C Saravanan, also reiterated that life term meant imprisonment for life. It is a settled law that unless the life sentence is commuted or remitted by appropriate authority under the relevant provisions of the Constitution or the Code of Criminal Procedure, prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment is bound in law to serve the life term in prison and, therefore, the life imprisonment prisoners cannot claim premature release as a matter of right, argued the deputy secretary to government, home department, in his counter on Tuesday.

The bench then adjourned the hearing to August 20.

The deputy secretary referred to the order of the Supreme Court in a case filed by another life convict – A G Perarivalan – in the case, and said: “Based on the direction issued by the Supreme Court to the governor to decide on the application of AG Perarivalan as deemed fit, the proposal for premature release of the petitioner Nalini and six other life convicts under Article 161 of the Constitution of India, has been sent to governor of Tamil Nadu and the same is under consideration.”

That the state governor has not acted upon the recommendation of the state assembly to release all the seven convicts, is a subject matter of intense political debate for several months now.


CONTESTED: Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict Nalini Sriharan had filed a petition seeking a direction to the governor to release all seven convicts. The state in its counter-affidavit said life imprisonment prisoners cannot claim premature release as a matter of right or privilege

Pvt medical college moves high court to admit students

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:14.08.2019

The beleaguered Sri Muthukumaran Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, which is yet to be allowed to admit students for MBBS course this year, has knocked at the doors of the Madras high court to be included in the seat matrix.

The institution is in trouble after the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) issued notice for locking, sealing and demolition of at least seven buildings saying they were either without planning approval or were guilty of deviations. Citing this grave violation, the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University disallowed the college from being included on the list of college eligible to admit students for MBBS courses this year.

Noting that it was only a notice by the CMDA and that the buildings concerned could continue to be utilised, the petitioner said out of abundant caution the management had shown a list of alternative buildings to an inspection committee deputed by the university. It also gave an undertaking that adequate building facilities with necessary approvals would be constructed within three months.

“Suitable alternative buildings approved by the CMDA have been located for all the buildings which are under lock, seal and facing demolition notice of the CMDA, and they were also inspected by the inspection team,” she said.

Noting that the last counselling for allotment of MBBS seats by the selection committee was held on August 8, and that as per the Medical Council of India regulations, the admission process should be completed by August 31, it wanted the court order inclusion of the college in the seat matrix so that it could admit students for the academic year 2019-20.

Justice G Jayachandran, before whom the petition filed by chairperson of Sri Muthukumaran Educational Trust Gomathi Ammal, came up for admission on Tuesday, adjourned the hearing to August  19.