‘Auction’ of panchayat posts: more allegations emerge in Tiruchi district

‘President, Vice-President posts sold for ₹10 lakh and ₹2.75 lakh’

15/12/2019,C. JAISANKARTIRUCHI

Allegations of the auctioning of the posts of president and vice-president in Valaiyur village panchayat and ward councillor in Mannachanallur panchayat union have surfaced in Tiruchi district, prompting the district administration to conduct an inquiry.

According to sources, a group of villagers held a meeting on Thursday night to discuss the local body elections. Stressing the importance of unity in the Mutharaiyar-dominated village, a few residents reportedly proposed three names as unanimous choices for the posts of president, vice-president and panchayat union ward member.

According to a petition submitted to the Block Development Officer of Mannachanallur by a group of people from Valaiyur, the posts of president and vice-president were auctioned to persons going by the names of Rengaraj and Anand, for ₹10 lakh and ₹2.75 lakh, respectively. Similarly, the villagers were asked to support the candidature of Murugan, the husband of M. Parameswari — the AIADMK MLA from Mannachanallur Assembly constituency — for the Mannachanallur panchayat union ward member’s post, in exchange for the payment of ₹15 lakh towards the development of Valaiyur.

However, Ms. Parameswari denied the allegation, saying her husband had sought a ticket from the party, and no decision had been taken on that yet.

Meanwhile, acting on a direction from Collector S. Sivarasu, officials of the Rural Development department conducted enquiries. But a majority of the 25 persons with whom the officials held enquiries reportedly said the complaint was ‘motivated’.

Mr. Sivarasu told The Hindu that a group of persons apparently held a meeting and attempted to influence the villagers into supporting certain candidates. But the posts in question were not auctioned. Officials of the Rural Development department had been asked to closely monitor developments in the village.

As far as the panchayat union ward member’s post was concerned, the people of one village cannot decide the outcome of the poll as the ward was spread across four villages. More than two persons had filed nomination papers for the panchayat union ward member’s post, he said.

GRH doctor assaulted by patient’s kin

15/12/2019, STAFF REPORTER,MADURAI

Doctors at Government Rajaji Hospital staged a demonstration here on Saturday morning after a doctor on duty in the labour ward of Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) building was allegedly assaulted by a patient’s attendants.

The patient was referred to the GRH from a primary health care centre in Othakadai at 5.30 a.m. after she experienced contractions. The attendants, including the patient’s mother, picked up a quarrel with doctor Malathi Sriram, after seeking a ‘painless delivery.’

G. Arivoli, Service Postgraduate doctor, said the patient who was set to undergo a natural birth procedure began experiencing contractions early in the morning. “ When the doctor asked the woman to remove her slippers outside the labour room, a procedure followed to keep the premises clean and sterile, the attendants assaulted her,” he said. The doctor suffered injuries on her mouth and eyes and has been admitted to the trauma care ward of the hospital.

Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association president K. Senthil said doors that facilitate access with key cards must be fixed in important areas to protect the staff, as such assault incidents were on the rise.

Dean J. Sangumani said that as demanded by the doctors, police protection had been augmented and two women private security personnel stationed outside the labour ward. The security personnel on duty when the incident happened had been suspended for inaction.

The patient delivered a child safely through caesarean procedure at 10 a.m, he said. Based on a complaint from Dr. Malathi Sriram, GRH police have registered an FIR against two people - Murugeswari and Rajarajeswari - under Tamil Nadu Hospital Protection Act and other sections of the IPC.

Resident doctors continued their protest through the night outside the CEmONC building, stating that the hospital was yet to lodge a complaint from its side against the assailants.

Non-service postgraduate J. Michael said the police was yet to trace one of the two accused.

25% FASTag lanes to accept all forms of payment for a month

Hybrid lanes to ease traffic and avoid hardships to public: govt.

15/12/2019, PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

No waiting: The government had earlier extended the date to December 15 for making FASTag mandatory. S. SIVA SARAVANAN

To avert inconvenience to citizens, the government said on Saturday that up to 25% of FASTag lanes at the National Highway toll plazas would be treated as hybrid lanes for a month.

The hybrid lane will accept FASTag and other modes of payment. The government had earlier announced rollout of mandatory FASTag for electronic toll collection from December 1, which was later extended to December 15, 2019.

“Considering the request of the NHAI and further that citizens are not put to inconvenience... it is decided that depending on the traffic pile-up at high traffic volume fee plazas, not more than 25% of the FASTag lanes may be temporarily converted to hybrid lanes,” the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.

This should be considered on a case-to-case basis, the Ministry added.

“A daily evaluation of such cases should be made to take necessary corrective action,” it said. It should be ensured that at least 75% lanes of every fee plaza remain operational as FASTag lanes, it added.

Temporary measure

The Ministry clarified that it is a temporary measure to be adopted for 30 days only to facilitate smooth flow of traffic.

The National Electronic Toll Collection programme, the flagship initiative of the Ministry, has been implemented on a pan-India basis in order to remove bottlenecks and ensure seamless movement of traffic and collection of user fee, using passive radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

A customer may dial the helpline number ‘1033’ for any assistance related to FASTags, the Ministry had said, and added that they could also reach out to banks to obtain FASTags.

10 Bhopal varsity students held for ‘causing violence’

They were protesting against ‘caste bias’

15/12/2019, SIDHARTH YADAV,BHOPAL

The police late on Friday arrested 10 students and removed several others from the premises of the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication here while they were staging a sit-in demanding the suspension of two adjunct professors, including Dilip Mandal, for alleged caste bias in classrooms, on Twitter and public fora. They were released on Saturday.

“A case has been registered against 10 students and unidentified persons for causing violence on the campus and preventing the staff from carrying out their duties,” said the police.

Stating the protest was instigated by right-wing groups attempting to stall efforts at “desaffronising” the campus, Deepak Tiwari, the Vice-Chancellor, told The Hindu, “The university stands for freedom of expression and academics. It functions on the principles of the Constitution and no other ideology. There will be no tolerance against violence.” He added that the students had broken a gate outside his office.

The students said the protest was independent and not supported by any outside group. “We didn’t cause any violence and whoever came to us from outside, we refused their support. This is not just a protest by general category students, there are those from backward communities too,” said a first year student of media management, requesting anonymity.

“Mr. Mandal questioned students for wearing religious threads on their wrists and tilak on foreheads. Before speaking to anyone, he asked their surname first, attempting to divide students on caste lines. He is spreading viciousness against Brahmins on Twitter, ” said a student of electronic media.

Toll plazas to add cash lanes for the time being

Only 37% of vehicles in State have acquired FASTags

15/12/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Non-availibility of FASTags has been a major problem for motorists. File photoB. Jothi Ramalingam

With the December 15 deadline for FASTags here and several motorists yet to get cards, toll plazas will have more lanes accepting cash for 30 more days.

In a communication, the Centre has directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to convert 25% of FASTag lanes at toll plazas, temporarily, to hybrid lanes that will also accept cash.

An NHAI source explained that all 48 toll plazas in the State already had two extreme lanes for cash-only vehicles.

This new notification would allow two more lanes to accept cash.

“A daily evaluation has to be taken up and summary reports must be sent to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways,” the communication said.

In Tamil Nadu, only 37% of vehicles have converted to FASTags, despite it being a State with better coverage. The State has 482 lanes across toll plazas.

Dearth of cards

Non-availability of FASTag radio frequency ID cards, linked to either bank accounts or e-wallets, from which the fee will automatically be deducted when the vehicle passes the plaza, has been a major problem.

Though at least 22 banks sell the tags, the number of cards provided to the State seems to be inadequate.

Motorists have also been complaining of money being deducted from their balance, despite the vehicle remaining at home.

Traffic diversions for match at Chepauk
15/12/2019, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

The city traffic police have announced diversions around Triplicane in view of the cricket match between India and the West Indies, to be played at the M.A. Chidambaram Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

The traffic arrangements/diversions would be effected between 12.30 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Bells Road will be one-way, with entry on Wallajah Road and no entry from Bharathi Salai. This will be reversed when the match is over. Vehicles from Kamarajar Salai going towards Bharathi Salai will not be allowed, except MTC buses and those with passes. Canal Road will be one-way, with entry from Bharathi Salai, and no entry from Wallajah Road.

Vehicles with passes bearing letters M, P, T, W, and MTC buses coming from Anna Salai into Wallajah Road will be allowed on Bells Road. Vehicles bearing letters B and R will not be allowed on Bells Road, and will be directed to park at MRTS and Pattabiram Gate. Vehicles coming from War Memorial and Gandhi Statue, with passes bearing letters M, P, T and W only, and MTC buses will be allowed through Bharathi Salai, Canal Road. Other vehicles will have to be parked on Foreshore Road, opposite PWD office.

Cars and two-wheelers coming from Anna Salai will take Wallajah Road, Labour Statue, Kamarajar Salai and park on Foreshore Road and Swami Sivanandha Salai. Vehicles coming from the War Memorial will take Kamarjarar Salai and park on Foreshore Road and Swami Sivanandha Salai. Those coming from Gandhi Statue will take Kamarajar Salai and the service road to park on Foreshore Road and Swami Sivanandha Salai.

An app to find a parking slot in city

15/12/2019,CHENNAI

The Chennai Corporation has started implementing the

‘On Street Smart Parking Management System’ in 7,667 slots across the city from Friday. Motorists have to download the Greater Chennai Corporation Smart Parking mobile application to find a slot and pay the fee by cash or card to the attendant.

Eight email tools to help you organise your inbox better

Email apps and plug-ins can make your digital life easier to manage and stay organised

in.pcmag.com  15.12.2019

While the world has moved on to team chat apps and social networks, are you still struggling with prioritising email replies, following up on emails and unsubscribing from mailing lists? The good news is that there are amazing tools to manage emails. Here are some of the best apps and services you should explore:

Boomerang (for Gmail)

Boomerang for Gmail tracks messages you send, alerts you if a recipient doesn’t reply, and lets you schedule when to send an email you have drafted ahead of time. This add-on service for Gmail is great for business people who don’t need a full-scale email marketing tool, but do need help keeping track of messages they send.

Crystal (for Chrome)

Crystal, which is a browser plug-in, tells you about the person you’re emailing so you can change your tone to suit them. Crystal learns about your email recipient based on their online persona and then suggests phrases to use that will appeal to them. While it isn’t a foolproof method for writing better emails, it could help make inroads with new clients and colleagues.

Drag (for Gmail)

Here’s another email plug-in for when your inbox is your to-do list: Drag. It turns Gmail into a kanban board. Your emails become cards that you

can move around the board to keep track of their status. You can make columns for emails that you must reply to today, messages that are pending a response, and so forth.

eM Client (Windows only)

If you communicate in a few different languages but aren’t perfectly fluent in all of them, eM Client is right up your alley. This email client app for Windows includes language translation features. It’s also one of the better apps you’ll find for putting email, calendar, contacts, and tasks into one interface.

Front

Front is an email app for teams. It’s designed for groups of people who manage an inbox together, such as a small business where everyone answers emails sent to a generic company address. Front not only lets a group of people access the same inbox but can also delegate tasks.

Polymail (iOS, macOS, web)

Polymail is an email client app for sales teams. It has an option to connect to Salesforce so that you can pull in relevant information about the people you need to email. It also tracks mails, letting you know when someone opens a message you sent. Other team features include stats about how much time each team member spends reading mail, and who is most likely to get a response.

Mailbird (for Windows)

Mailbird is an email client app for Windows that lets you customise the look of your inbox. You can connect to multiple email accounts and streamline everything into one view. It can also integrate with popular business apps, too, such as Asana and Slack.

Why a teacher, a civil engineer, and a BCom grad taught themselves coding

Free or almost-free online courses in programming are opening up new opportunities for non-techies

Shobita.Dhar@timesgroup.com

15.12.2019

Till recently, Mariam Fatima taught social studies at a private school in Delhi. “After my marriage, I moved to Bengaluru and didn’t want to take up teaching again. I started exploring different avenues and coding caught my attention. Initially, I did some free courses from Khan Academy and Codeacademy to understand if I could do this. Then I enrolled in a programming course on Udacity in 2016,” says the 29-year-old who found the leap from humanities to technology difficult but not impossible.

“It required motivation and persistence, but not maths,” says Fatima who is now fluent in Javascript ES6, HTML 5 and CSS 3. After completing her course, she got a job with a startup in Bengaluru as a web developer. Last year, she and her husband moved to Berlin, and now she teaches web development to refugees and those on unemployment benefits.

Whether it’s non-techies like Fatima who want to switch careers or engineers who realise that languages like Python can boost their pay packets and futureproof their jobs, the rank of DIY programmers is only rising.

A 2018 survey by HackerRank found that 33% developers in India are selftaught and 37% picked up the skills partly from school and partly on their own. In other words, over two-thirds of developers are self-taught. One of the major reasons for this trend is the absence of programming and coding education in schools. Even at the college level, technology courses lack updated content on programming and provide very little practical experience.

“I am studying computer science engineering but 80% of my curriculum is theory and just 20% is practical. We are taught only the basic concepts,” says Mrinal Jain, a third-year B.Tech student and web development consultant in Indore. In his second year, Jain learnt CSS, HTML and Javascript (programming languages) from W3school, an online educational tool that helped him bag a job as a consultant web developer. “There’s a huge gap between technical skills taught to us in college and skills needed by the industry. For example, in college we are taught C, a programming language developed in the 70s, while most big companies expect their employees to know Java, C++, Python and React. So, students try to fill this gap by taking up online courses,” says Jain, who is also a community manager with Free Code Camp (India), a non-profit community making web development accessible to all.

Code is the language of the modern world. Whether it’s the app that gets you a date or the car that knows how many kilometres to go till the petrol runs out, any smart device needs code instructions to tell it how to operate and communicate with the outside world. It’s no surprise that the appetite for learning programming languages is growing. As many as 190,000 Indians have enrolled in Coursera’s Programming for Everybody by Michigan University, making it the online platform’s second most popular course in India after machine learning. It teaches the basics of Python while Udemy’s Complete Python Bootcamp: From Zero to Hero in Python 3 launched earlier this year has 77,329 users globally, including a sizeable number from India. “Every industry is hungry for programming talent –– from healthcare to hospitality, e-commerce to education... Today, most technical jobs require basic programming skills. And so it comes as no surprise that at Udacity, our School of Programming is one of the most popular schools,” says Gabriel Dalporto, CEO, Udacity. On EdX, CS50 Introduction to Computer Science, an introduction to programming from Harvard, was the most popular course of 2019. Most of these portals offer a mix of paid and free courses. Coursera also offers fee waivers to deserving candidates.

Earlier, companies would hire students from engineering colleges and then train them with the specific programming skills they needed. “Nowadays, students are ready with programming and software application skills when these companies come for campus placements,” says Amit Shekhar, who taught himself programming after realising that he had wasted four years doing civil engineering from IIT. Shekhar, who feels that the key to becoming a good programmer is practice, has co-founded Mindorks and AfterAcademy, both online ed-tech platforms.

A vanilla engineering or MBA degree is no longer enough, says Vaibhav Srivastav, a data science consultant with Deloitte Consulting India Pvt Ltd. “Those who don’t know the latest programming language, machine learning or data science are let go off easily when companies want to downsize while those who keep updating their tech skills get better appraisals and promotions,” explains the engineering graduate who had already completed online courses in Python, data science and machine learning by the time he graduated from college. “And I continue to learn,” says 24-year-old Srivastav, who has completed 25 online courses so far.

For non-techies, coding can be the difference between a non career and a flourishing one. It was six years ago, when Junaid Qureshi realised that his B.Com degree and a diploma course were getting him nowhere in life. At the age when people enjoy well-settled career, Qureshi was still working in a full-time job as a network engineer earning Rs 6,500 per month. On a friend’s suggestion, Qureshi signed up for a free online courses in programming. Two months later he bagged a web developer’s job in WittyFeed, an online content startup, in Indore with a jump of 200%. “With this job I got everything, more than I ever expected. Now, I own a house and a car, plus I have grown immensely as a professional,” says Qureshi, 39.





After learning coding, I got a job with a 200% hike. Now, I own a house and a car, plus I have grown immensely as a professional

—JUNAID QURESHI

WEB DEVELOPER, WITTYFEED

ATMs go dry in Guwahati, onions sell for ₹`250 per kg

Prabin.Kalita@timesgroup.com

Guwahati:15.12.2019

The ongoing anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) agitation has completely disrupted normal life in Guwahati, with people having to face severe food shortage and sky-high prices, no cash in ATMs and defunct card-swiping machines. Also, most fuel stations have gone dry due to supply disruptions or have been crippled by lack of cash and internet facilities.

Food prices have shot up sharply with onions hitting ₹250/kg and potatoes being sold for ₹60/kg after markets reopened at 9am on Saturday as part of a seven-hour relaxation in curfew. The price of lean chicken now is ₹500/kg and rohu fish ₹420/kg. A bundle of spinach, which usually sells for ₹10, is now selling for ₹60.

Guwahati — which saw five days of intense protests marred by large-scale violence and vandalism leading to the imposition of curfew — is completely dependent on vegetables supplied from areas on its outskirts, which are then sold to retailers at the city’s wholesale market.

The wholesalers said they could buy limited stocks of vegetables, and whatever was available was sold out within hours of the market opening on Saturday morning.

Since last Sunday, hundreds of trucks carrying agricultural products have been stranded at Srirampur and Boxirhat on the West Bengal-Assam border. “The supply chain has been completely disrupted. The government needs to take immediate steps to restore it,” said Sisir Dev Kalita, secretary general of Assam Chamber of Commerce. “With no supply, this price rise was inevitable. We have appealed to traders to keep the prices at the lowest possible level. We expect the markets to be normal from Monday,” he added.

Besides the problem of demand-supply mismatch, the morning also saw a severe crisis of cash in the city. Long queues formed outside the handful of ATMs that had some cash in them, and even these were emptied quickly. ATMs in the city have not been replenished with cash for the past three days. To add to people’s misery, PoS machines have been rendered useless because of the suspension of mobile internet.

On Saturday, the State Bank of India deployed mobile ATM vans to provide some relief to people. “We will carry out this service on Sunday as well,” an SBI official said.

Along with cash, fuel, too, was in short supply in the city.

Full report on www.toi.in

STEEP RISE: People buy vegetables during relaxed hours amid indefinite curfew in Guwahati on Saturday. Food prices have shot up sharply with chickens hitting ₹500/kg and potatoes being sold for ₹60/kg after markets reopened at 9am on Saturday

NHAI extends deadline for fixing FASTag on vehicles to January 15

Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:15.12.2019

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has extended the deadline for fixing FASTags on vehicles to January 15 as more than 50% of vehicles on the roads are yet to fix the radio frequency identification (RFID)-based FASTags to facilitate electronic toll collection and hassle-free movement at toll gates. The NHAI had earlier fixed December 15 as deadline for fixing FASTags.

Chairman of NHAI, Sukbir Singh Sandhu, has asked his regional officers to take call on converting Fastag lanes into hybrid lanes as a temporary measure. However, only 25% of the lanes at toll plazas will remain hybrid, accepting cash.

Demand for FASTags touched 1.96 lakh on December 6. An NHAI official said steps had been taken to meet the demand. Talks were held with Banks issuing FASTags and tag manufacturers, he said.

The chip used in the RFID tag is imported, which has a lead time of six weeks. The average production capacity of all the manufacturers is in the range of 30,000 to 50,000 per day, said the official.

The official cited delay in issuing FASTags as another reason for extension of the deadline. Before enforcing mandatory use of FASTags in all the 523 toll plazas in the country, including 48 in TN, enough tags should be made available, he said.

Once the percentage of vehicles with FASTags crosses 75%, the NHAI will usher in the compulsory Fastag regime, he said. After that, vehicles plying without FASTags along FASTag lanes will have to pay double the amount as toll.

CoA

Bad day for elderly in city as 4 killed in separate incidents

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:15.12.2019

Four elderly citizens died in separate incidents — one in a road accident, another of burns, a third slipped to death, while a fourth got electrocuted.

In Villivakkam, a 60-yearold woman knocked down by a speeding two-wheeler on Friday died hours later despite treatment. M Valliammal, a flower vendor from the locality, was trying to cross Chennai-Tiruvallur High Road at the SIDCO Nagar junction around 1.30pm when a twowheeler knocked her down. She fell unconscious and was rushed to the Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) hospital where she died in the evening. The Tirumangalam traffic investigation police registered a case and arrested two-wheeler rider G Kumaran, of Padi, for further investigation.

A 65-year-old woman died after she slipped and fell down a flight of stairs at Velachery. She suffered severe injuries on the head and died on the way to hospital. Police said Jothi lived in a first floor apartment. On Friday evening, she was climbing down from the first floor, when she slipped and rolled down the stairs. She was admitted to Government Royapettah Hospital (GRH) where doctors declared her dead on arrival.

In yet another accident, a septuagenarian celebrating Karthigai Deepam at her house in Adyar died of burns. Police said S Padma, 73, a resident of Kasturi Bai Nagar Second Main Road, was lighting diyas on December 10, on the eve of Karthigai Deepam when her clothes caught fire. Neighbours hearing her screams admitted her to a burns ward in private hospital in Teynampet. She died of burns on Friday. Her body was sent to Government Royapettah Hospital (GRH) for autopsy. Police have registered a case.

In another accident, a 54-year-old man identified as Srinivasan, of Triplicane, was electrocuted while consuming liquor under a thatched metal sheet shed at Evening Bazaar in Park Town. Police said Srinivasan went to a Tasmac outlet and was drinking outside. As it was raining, he took shelter under a metal sheet near the outlet. A snapped live cable came in contact with the metal sheet and he was electrocuted.

AU seeks affiliation for 500 colleges in TN

Varsity Is Awaiting IoE Tag

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:15.12.2019

Even as the wait for Institute of Eminence (IoE) status continues, Anna University has invited applications for renewal of affiliation to more than 500 engineering colleges for the next academic year.

The state government was mulling the launch of a new technical university to affiliate engineering colleges in the event that the university was accorded the IoE tag as it was believed that the university may lose its affiliation powers. “Before starting the university, a bill needs to be passed in the assembly to start a separate university. We are hopeful of passing it in the winter session and the new technical university may start functioning from the next academic year,” said a source in the higher education department. The state government is yet to grant the letter of commitment to Anna University, as mandated by the Union HRD ministry. The state has sought clarity on whether it could follow 69% reservation and whether Anna University can affiliate engineering colleges after getting IoE status. “After getting the assurance from central government on reservation, the state would issue the letter,” a source added.

Despite being shortlisted for IoE status, the university has been awaiting it for more than four months. Under IoE, it would get academic freedom and receive a grant of up to ₹1,000 crore from the Centre. “Colleges can submit their application towards continuation of provisional affiliation for the existing courses, variation in intake in the existing courses, new or additional courses of BE, BTech, BArch, ME, MTech, MArch, MBA and MCA programmes for academic year 2020-21,” the university said in its circular to principals of affiliated colleges. Colleges can submit their application in the web application “Affiliation Monitoring System”. The last date for submitting the application is January 10, 2020.

“For grant of affiliation, engineering colleges should strictly follow faculty-students ratio as per AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education). All certificates, PAN and Aadhaar details should be verified with originals of faculty members before uploading the details,” the circular said.


ANNA UNIVERSITY

UGC asks colleges to allocate one hour every day for sports & fitness

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:15.12.2019

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed colleges and universities across the country to allocate from 45 minutes to 60 minutes every day for physical activities and sports from January 2020.

“The academic routine of the institution may be reworked in such a way that the “fitness hour” is allocated for each class, so that each class has adequate space for its activity,” the commission said in its guidelines for implementing “Fit India Campaign” in higher educational institutions.

The institutions can decide on the activities they want to undertake during the fitness hour. “It can range from athletics, outdoor/indoor sport, yoga, cycling, swimming or any other kind of physical activity that contributes towards fitness,” the guidelines said.

The commission has also asked institutions to constitute a fitness club to organise sports competitions and submit to it monthly action plan for sports activities at the institution level by first week of January.

The commission said it would intimate month-wise themes to give country-wide focus to health and fitness issues.

GAME ON: The UGC guideline is part of the ‘Fit India Campaign’

City colleges say it’s difficult to allot 1 hour daily for sports

City colleges, however, expressed difficulty in allotting one hour daily for sports activites as most of them run two shifts.

“We give lot of importance to physical and mental fitness in our college. Many activities including yoga, Zumba classes are being conducted for students. But we have only 25 hours a week and giving one hour every day for fitness would be tough; one hour every week is possible,” said Lalitha Balakrishnan, principal of MOP Vaishnav College for Women.

M G Ragunathan, principal, Guru Nanak College also said sparing one hour every day for shift one students would be tough.

“It’s a welcome move by the UGC. But the first shift is being conducted from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm and second shift is being conducted from 1.40 pm to 6.40 pm. It is possible to allocate one hour every day for second shift,” he added.

P Duraisamy, vice-chancellor, Madras University, welcomed the move and said it would promote physical health.

When asked about the possibility of allocating one hour out of five hours every day, he said, “The one hour should be over and above the instructional hours.”

TN govt cites Centre order; CBI to probe IIT-M suicide

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:15.12.2019

Citing a directive from the Centre, the state government on Saturday transferred the probe into the death of IIT-Madras student Fathima Latheef to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Madras high court had on Friday suggested that the probe ‘may be’ transferred to the central agency.

The order comes 10 days after the deceased woman’s father Abdul Latheef met PM Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. The 19-year-old, a humanities student of IIT-M, was found hanging in her hostel room on November 9. The TN order transferring the case to CBI on Saturday said, “The government has decided to accept the proposal of the DGP and commissioner of police to transfer the case.”


Top officers recommended case transfer

The order recalled a December 11 communique from an under secretary of Union ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions requesting the state government to furnish the proposal regarding transfer of the case following necessary guidelines. It also forwarded a letter from the Union ministry of home affairs, informing that the case be investigated by the CBI to ascertain the exact cause of death.

Greater Chennai police commissioner A K Viswananthan on Saturday gave the proposal to transfer the case “as there are demands from various quarters for entrusting the investigation with the CBI.” Director-general of state police J K Tripathy concurred with it and recommended the transfer.

The notification read: “Under Section 6of theDelhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, the governor of Tamil Nadu hereby accords his consent to the extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of the Delhi Special Police Establishment in the whole of the state of Tamil Nadu to investigate the case registered in Greater Chennai, Central Crime Branch-I Crime No.327 of 2019 registered under Section 174of CrPC,1973.”

After Fathima was found dead in her IIT-M hostel room on Nov 9 and an alleged suicide note on her mobile pointed to three faculty members as the cause of death, there was a huge uproar.

Housing deparment responds to audit observations

It is learnt the final audit reports have to be submitted to Finance Ministry (or the State finance department) which then submits it to Parliament or the Governor. 

Published: 13th December 2019 06:39 AM 

 |By  C Shivakumar

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Housing and Urban Development Department is yet to address the audit observations by Principal Accountant-General (General & Social Sector Audit), which functions under Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India, for the last six months, sources in Principal Accountant-General’s office said.

They said there has been pendency of 55 inspection reports dating as far back as February 2010 according to data from Principal Accountant-General (General & Social Sector Audit), accessed by Express. Usually, all audit observations are sent to ministry, department or public sector units or State government companies concerned for response.

The ministry or State government departments have to respond to such ‘draft paragraphs’, as each observation is called, within a reasonable time frame and may also discuss them with officers of CAG. Following the response, unresolved issues are included in an inspection report issued to the head of the audited entity (as well as the administrative head) with the most important issues being compiled into the audit report released to the public. According to information available, it is learnt that the office of Principal Accountant-General has been pursuing the issue for the last six months seeking reply for settlement of these long-pending observations. Of the 55 pending inspection reports, Slum Clearance board has 18 pending inspection reports, the highest among the units in Housing and Urban development department, followed by Directorate of Town and Country Planning (17) and Registrar of Cooperative Housing Societies (10).

It is learnt the final audit reports have to be submitted to Finance Ministry (or the State finance department) which then submits it to Parliament or the Governor. The highest pendency is from Revenue and Disaster management (182

Financial crunch? Govt service PG docs not paid for over a year

The finance department has objected to disbursal of salaries because of financial crisis; they cited there is surplus of post graduates in the government service
 
Published: 13th December 2019 06:44 AM |

For representational purposes

By Sinduja Jane

Express News Service

CHENNAI: For 15 months, service postgraduate doctors at the Rajah Muthiah Medical College have allegedly not received their salary. With this being the only source of income for most families, several of these doctors of the 2018-21 batch approached the Director of Medical Education on Thursday, saying it was becoming increasingly difficult to balance their personal and academic expenses.

“We joined post graduation with the hope of receiving this salary amount,” read a letter addressed to the DME. “As service candidates, we have not received any stipend. Our salary is the only source of income for most of our families.” Speaking to Express, DME R Narayanababu said the salary money was being processed.

“As per the new policy, salary will not be given to service post graduates studying in self-financing medical colleges,” he said. “Salary will be paid only to postgraduate students in government medical colleges and at Rajah Muthiah Medical College. We are in the process of processing the salary. They will get it...”

Speaking to Express, a student said they had been making representations to the government for the past one year. “Nothing has happened so far, apart from promises that things will be set right shortly. We are still dependent on our parents for money.” A source said the reason why the salaries were not dispensed was the ‘looming financial crisis’.

“The finance department has objected to disbursal of salaries, as there is a financial crisis. They also cited there is surplus of postgraduates in the government service. So, they stopped. They paid the salary only in 2016-2017,” the source said. “Service postgraduates sign bonds, saying they will take up government service after completing their course,” says a government doctor.

“So, technically, government should be paying them salaries as they are service doctors. The government, however, keeps arguing that students are not serving the public while studying the course and hence, there is no need to pay them salaries. This should be addressed legally.”

Victim’s mother moves SC opposing convict’s review plea 

14/12/2019 , Press Trust of India, New Delhi

The mother of the 2012 gangrape-murder victimon Friday moved the Supreme Court to oppose a review plea by one of the four men sentenced to death in the case.

Akshay Kumar’s petition, seeking a review of the apex court’s 2017 verdict giving him capital punishment, is scheduled to be heard by a three-judge Bench on December 17.

The counsel appearing for the victim’s mother mentioned the matter before a Bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and said “they are opposing the convict’s review plea”. The Bench said the lawyer for the victim’s mother will be heard on December 17.

On July 9 last, the apex court dismissed the review pleas filed by the other three convicts — Mukesh (30), Pawan Gupta (23) and Vinay Sharma (24) — in the case, saying no grounds have been made out by them for review of the 2017 verdict.

‘Pollution kills’

Akshay’s review plea, filed through advocate A.P. Singh, referred to the health risks due to the rising pollution level in Delhi and said: “Life is going short to short, then why death penalty”.

Nirbhaya case: court to hear on Dec. 18 plea seeking issuance of death warrants 

‘Review plea of one convict pending before SC for Tuesday’
 
14/12/2019 , Press Trust of India, New Delhi

A Delhi court will on Wednesday hear a plea seeking issuance of death warrants against the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape-and-murder case.

Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora on Friday deferred the matter till December 18, noting that the review petition of one of the convicts was pending before the Supreme Court for Tuesday.

The court was hearing a petition of Nirbhaya’s parents, seeking to expedite the process to execute the convicts. “At least, I have to wait till the time review petition is pending,” the Judge said.

‘Wait for the outcome’

“My view is that once the review is pending before the Supreme Court, let us wait for the outcome,” the Judge said.

He added: “Since his [Akshay Kumar] review petition is pending before the top court for December 17, I would adjourn it for December 18.”

Urging the court to issue death warrants, the prosecution said: “The court can issue death warrant. Nothing prevents court from issuing death warrants.”

‘Delay tactics’

During the hearing, the parents of Nirbhaya told the court that the convict was doing delay tactics. Later, the convicts — Akshay, Mukesh, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma — were produced before the court through videoconferencing in an in-chamber proceeding and the judge verified their identity.

Protest against gang-rape rocks Patna 

Students burn tyres and hurl stones, police use water cannons and canes; two accused surrender

14/12/2019 , special correspondent, PATNA 


 
Fight for safety: Water cannons being used to disperse students who were protesting against the gang-rape of a college student, in Patna on Friday. Ranjeet Kumar

The Bihar capital witnessed high drama on Friday as hundreds of Patna University students took to the streets to protest against the gang-rape of a college student. A large number of students gathered near Kargil Chowk, set fire to tyres and shouted slogans against the government.

The youth hurled stones at police personnel accusing them of “trying to shield the perpetrators”. Police used water cannons and canes to quell the protest.

A 20-year-old student of a college affiliated to the university lodged a police complaint on Thursday that four persons, including a senior student of the college, had gang-raped her on December 9. She initially kept silent as the perpetrators had warned her of dire consequences if she informed anyone. But one of her friends informed her father.

One of the accused is believed to be a friend of the girl. Two of the four accused persons have surrendered before a city court. One was arrested earlier and the fourth is at large. “We will arrest the fourth accused soon,” said a police officer.

Meanwhile, the Opposition targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the increasing incidents of rapes in the State. “Every day, there is an incident of rape and gang-rape happening in the State, but the Chief Minister is busy with his Jal, Jivan, Hariyali Yatra,” said RJD MLA Vijay Prakash Yadav.

HC allows JACTTO-GEO agitator to travel abroad

14/12/2019 , Staff Reporter , MADURAI

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has allowed a government teacher, facing disciplinary proceedings for taking part in the JACTTO-GEO strike, to travel abroad for a period of 45 days.

The court was hearing the petition filed by G. Bharathi from Pudukkottai district. He sought government’s permission to travel to Singapore from December 6, 2019 to January 19, 2020 to visit his daughter, who was about to deliver a baby. Citing pendency of disciplinary proceedings, the authorities denied him permission to travel abroad.

Justice M.S. Ramesh observed that there was no progress in the disciplinary proceedings even after 11 months from the date of issue of the charge memo. The court said the reason assigned by the petitioner was tenable and permitted him to travel to Singapore.

The court directed the petitioner to submit an undertaking that he would return to India on or before January 20, 2020 and cooperate with the disciplinary proceedings.

‘Alcohol found in Disha’s viscera 

14/12/2019 , , Abhinay Deshpande, Hyderabad

The accused in the rape and murder of Disha forced soft drink laced with alcohol down her throat as they raped her, confirmed the State Forensic Science reports submitted to the Telangana police.

“The victim’s liver contain alcohol traces, which confirms the accused persons’ confession that they forced her to drink alcohol,” a senior police officer said.

He said forensic experts gave the report after they examined Disha’s viscera during post-mortem. The accused — Mohammed Arif, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen and Ch. Chennakeshvulu — had raped Disha on an open plot near Tondupally toll gate.

The 27-year-old veterinarian was a ‘teetotaller,’ her family told the police.

On Thursday, the investigators said the DNA taken from the burnt body found at the Chatanpalli underpass matched with that of Disha’s parents.

In poll season, ‘auctioning’ of panchayat posts is the flavour
Practice prevalent in panchayats where president’s post is reserved for SCs, STs
 
14/12/2019 , T. Ramakrishnan, CHENNAI

Police personnel guarding the panchayat union office in Madurai as filing of nomination papers got under way for the elections to rural local bodies. S. JAMES S_James

The ‘phenomenon’ of auctioning the post of president of village panchayats appears to be back in full force, ever since the process of filing of nomination papers in the elections to rural local bodies in 27 districts began on Monday.

In the last five days, there have been reports of how the ‘phenomenon’ occurred in Panaikulam panchayat, Pennagaram block of Dharmapuri district, for about ₹ 25 lakh; Thirumangalakottai (East), Orathanadu of Thanjavur for ₹32 lakh; Athanakurichi, Mudukulathur of Ramanathapuram for ₹21 lakh and Nadukuppam, Panruti of Cuddalore for ₹50 lakh.

The modus operandi is that groups of people, said to belong to dominant communities in the given village panchayats, hold “informal gram sabha meetings” and ask the aspiring candidates for the post to deposit the prescribed amounts with them. “Often, the money so collected is set apart for corpus created for the development of local temples,” says G. Palanithurai, an expert in issues concerning Panchayat Raj. There is a perception that the State’s principal political parties — the AIADMK and the DMK — are not vociferous in condemning such cases.

In respect of Nadukuppam, the candidate concerned has denied the report regarding the auctioning.

District Collector V. Anbuselvan went on record saying that the administration will take “stringent action” in such instances. But panchayat activists and public spirited individuals feel the message from the authorities should have been much stronger.

Sumathi Chidambaranathan, former president of Adigathur Village Panchayat, Tiruvallur district, blames the district-level officials for their “laxity or indifference” as such practices are nothing new to the State. Had they been alert, visited troublesome village panchayats and advised people, the "auctioning" could have been averted, she says. This practice seems to be prevalent only in panchayats where the president’s posts are reserved for Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.

‘Electoral malpractice’

Pointing out that the “auctioning” of the posts should be considered an electoral malpractice, Santha Sheela Nair, former civil servant, who headed the departments of Municipal Administration, Water Supply and the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj between 2001 and 2006, says “more than the district-level officers, the State Election Commissioner should come down heavily, conduct enquiries and ban these people from contesting in the polls.

If he gets the elections declared in such cases null and void or disqualified those responsible, this will have an immediate impact and prevent it from escalating further.”

Responding to reports, R. Palaniswamy, State Election Commissioner, said the panel had been urging the District Collectors to pursue them closely and take punitive action. “We have told them to deal with sternly against all those who indulge in such activities. Our instruction to them is to have the cases filed both under the Indian Penal Code and the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act. In some districts, including Virudhunagar, FIRs have been filed,” he added.

DVAC gives clean chit to Rajenthra Bhalaji in wealth case 

Bench irked by agency’s ‘detailed’ probe instead of a preliminary inquiry; wonders how it expects HC to drop all proceedings based on the report 

14/12/2019 , Mohamed Imranullah S., CHENNAI

K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) has given a clean chit to Minister for Milk and Dairy Development K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji after holding “preliminary inquiry” into a complaint alleging that he amassed wealth disproportionate to known sources of income ever since he held the post of vice-president of Tiruthangal town panchayat (now a municipality) in Virudhunagar district in 1996.

However, a Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and R. Hemalatha on Friday doubted whether a 754-page report submitted by the DVAC could be termed as the outcome of a preliminary inquiry whose object was only to find out whether any cognizable offence had been made out in the complaint or not.

They said the police officers appear to have conducted a “detailed investigation in the guise of conducting a preliminary inquiry.” The judges failed to understand how the DVAC could expect the High Court to drop all proceedings on the basis of an exhaustive investigation conducted without even registering a First Information Report. “If your officers do not understand the difference between a preliminary inquiry and a regular investigation, we are helpless,” Justice Sathyanarayanan told State Public Prosecutor A. Natarajan who represented the DVAC. Appearing for the Minister, senior counsel I. Subramanian and M. Ajmal Khan said what had been done was only a preliminary inquiry and the investigators had to collect statements of witnesses and documentary evidences as per the DVAC manual.

Judge slams DVAC

Justice Sathyanarayanan questioned as to how the DVAC could give a clean chit to the Minister who was found to be in possession of assets disproportionate to his income though the unaccounted amount was less than 10%.

Later, the judges adjourned the case to January 23 since some of the case records were yet to be forwarded from the Madurai Bench of the High Court, where the case was filed, to its principal seat in Chennai.

Encroachments eat into Velachery High Road 

Shops, parked vehicles cause jams

14/12/2019 , R. Srikanth , CHENNAI 


 
A mechanic shop on the roadside adds to the chaos. B. Velankanni RajB. Velankanni Raj

Motorists using the Velachery High Road are a harassed lot, as a portion of it, near the Sardar Patel Road junction, crowded with parked vehicles, is causing congestion and traffic jams.

A small mechanic shed, installed a decade ago, on the margin of the busy road, has grown into a big one, and a few more shops and eateries have been put up, at the cost of the road users’ space.

S. Ellappa Raj, a resident of Kannigapuram, said visitors to the shops parked their vehicles on the road, drastically reducing the width of the carriageway. He wanted officials of the Chennai Corporation and the city traffic police to remove the encroachments to ease traffic on this crucial stretch.

A solution soon

Motorists claim that Corporation officials demolished a public convenience located near the shops a few years ago for paving a concrete road, but did not even “touch” the encroachments blocking the road.

A senior official of the Corporation said enumeration of encroachments on arterial roads had begun, and very soon, all encroachments would be removed. Hawkers and encroachments would be removed on N.S.C. Bose Road, L.B. Road in Thiruvanmiyur, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai and Arcot Road in Vadapalani shortly, he said.

HC dismisses plea for CBI probe into IIT-M student deaths 

‘Probe by city police does not appear to be tainted’
 
14/12/2019 , Legal Correspondent, CHENNAI

The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed two public interest litigation petitions — one seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into all student deaths reported inside Indian Institute of Technology - Madras campus since 2006 and another for a CBI investigation specifically into the recent death of humanities student Fathima Latheef of Kerala.

Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and N. Seshasayee dismissed the PIL petition filed by National Students Union of India, a wing of the Congress party, seeking CBI probe specifically into Fathima’s death and a Bench of Justices Sathyanarayanan and R. Hemalatha rejected the other petition filed by Kerala based politcian Saleem Madavoor alias Muhammed Saleem.

Passing identical but separate orders, both the Division Benches held that CBI probe could be ordered only in rare and exceptional cases and especially if it was found that the investigation was prima facie found to be tainted. “As of now, no such materials has been placed before this court warranting transfer of investigation to the CBI,” the judges concluded.

“No doubt, the brilliant academic career of an young student came to an end under tragic circumstances and this court can also understand the feelings/sentiments of the parents of the deceased... (but) this court cannot issue a mandamus (for a CBI probe) on the basis of mere sympathy or sentiment,” the judgements read.

Nevertheless, taking into consideration the agony undergone by the parents of the deceased, the judges directed the Central Crime Branch (CCB) personnel attached to the Greater Chennai police to submit a status report before the High Court on January 22 on the progress made by them in the investigation. Further, making it clear that the High Court could not issue any direction to the CCB on the manner in which the investigation should be conducted, the judges pointed out that the judicial magistrate concerned could however monitor the investigation and even order further probe if the final report was not found to be satisfactory.

Since it was claimed before the court that as many as 16 students had committed suicide on IIT-M campus since 2006, the judges said, it was high time that the IIT management began providing psychiatric counselling.

Premium parking lot reopens at Central railway station 

Facility remained closed for Metro work
 
14/12/2019 , Special Correspondent, CHENNAI

 
The premium parking lot at the Chennai Central railway station reopened in the first week of December.

The Southern Railway has reopened the premium car parking lot at the Central railway station from December first week.

The premium parking yard was kept closed because of the ongoing Metro Rail work, nearby. The reopening of the parking lot has helped passengers park their four-wheelers close to the entrance of the railway station for easier access.

Passengers visiting the Central railway station had been complaining about the closure of the premium parking lot and the poor amenities in the general parking yard.

The premium car parking lot had remained closed for more than one-and-half years. Now it has space to accommodate around 30 cars and the parking fee is ₹50 per hour, said a senior official of the Southern Railway. Previously, ₹30 was charged per hour.

Welcoming the opening of the parking lot, R. Vinodh, a resident of Ashok Nagar, also wanted the general parking yard at the railway station to be renovated by paving the floor with concrete, as the present floor was full of potholes.

Parking capacity

Railway officials said that the general parking yard for four-wheelers was being spruced up and would be opened by January. The general parking yard has a capacity for more than 70 four-wheelers.

Sleeping over 9hrs/night ups chances of stroke

14.12.2019

Sleeping more than nine hours a night or grabbing a lengthy afternoon nap raises the risk of suffering a stroke by up to a quarter, warns a new study.

Researchers found that people who sleep nine or more hours per night are 23% more likely to later have a stroke than people who sleep less than eight hours per night.

The study also showed that people over 60 who took a regular midday nap lasting more than 90 minutes were 25% more likely to later suffer a stroke than people who took a regular nap lasting from up to an hour or no nap at all.

The study, published in ‘Neurology’, involved 31,750 people in China with an average age of 62. The people did not have any history of stroke or other major health problems at the start of the study. Study author Xiaomin Zhang said: “More research is needed to understand how long naps and sleeping longer hours at night may be tied to an increased risk of stroke”.

The study participants were followed for an average of six years, during which time there were 1,557 stroke cases. The participants were questioned about their sleep and napping habits.

Zhang said midday napping is common in China. About 8% of the people took naps lasting more than 90 minutes, while 24% said they slept nine or more hours per night.

People who were both long nappers and long sleepers were 85% more likely to later have a stroke than people who were moderate sleepers and nappers. DAILY MIRROR

Travelling pass of fighters misused: CAG

Vincent.Arockiaraj@timesgroup.com

Trichy:14.12.2019

The comptroller and auditor general (CAG) has pointed out serious violations on the part of railway finance officials in issuing free travelling passes to freedom fighters and their spouses. A report on railway finance has stated that the age of most of the beneficiaries is less than that of senior citizen category. Even a 10-year-old has been issued freedom fighter ticket under the concession code ‘FREEDM’. The report further said that in 15 instances, freedom fighter concession tickets were issued with pass number shown as ‘0’.

The audit report also observed the impact of the concessions allowed to passengers on railway earnings and the effectiveness of the existing internal control mechanism to check misuse of concessions.

The report for 2018 submitted recently by the CAG said that the age of 21% of the freedom fighter concessional passengers was less than 70 years, which indicates that the concessions were extended to people who were born after Independence.

According to the report, a total of 1,302 male passengers and 1,898 female passengers who were born after 1947 had been allowed free travel under freedom fighters’ concession. Of these, the age of 1,096 male and 580 female passengers was less than 60.

The CAG findings have raised apprehensions whether the pass holders required any eligibility to avail of free train travel across the country as there is no proper system to prevent irregular multiple booking on the same privilege pass, said the deputy general secretary of Dakshin Railway Employees Union (DREU), D Manoharan.

“The report has revealed that the passenger reservation system (PRS) does not have appropriate input control to validate the age of freedom fighters and allow booking tickets with freedom fighter concession duly linked with freedom fighter pass number. As per the report, the age of 1,096 male and 580 female passengers was less than 60. So, those people must have born only after 1959. If that was the case, how did these people come under freedom fighters’ category,” Manoharan asked.

Two minor girls from Tiruvarur sold by grandmom to mill for ₹20,000, rescued
Gokul.R@timesgroup.com

Trichy:14.12.2019

Two minor girls from Tiruvarur, who were sold by their grandmother to two women for ₹20,000, were rescued from a readymade garments unit in Coimbatore on Friday.

District child protection officer (DCPO) P Selvaraj of Tiruvarur district said that the girls — 13-year-old and 16-year-old — were rescued from the garment manufacturing unit and brought back to Tiruvarur on Friday.

“The girls will be produced before the child welfare committee (CWC) to record their statements, following which cases will be registered against the perpetrators. The committee will decide on their rehabilitation,” Selvaraj told TOI.

The girls’ father was an alcoholic and mother was the sole bread-winner of the family. The girls had one more 8-year-old sister.

While they struggled to make both ends meet, the grandmother of the girls got an offer from two women in Needamangalam in Tiruvarur district to send them to work in a mill in Coimbatore. They offered the family ₹10,000 for each girl.

Sources said that the girls were forced to discontinue their studies and sold off to the two women in November. The crime came to light nearly a week ago after the school administration noticed the absence of the girls for more than two weeks.

“In case of absence of children below14 years of age in the school for more than a week, it should be notified to Child Line and us. In this case also, we got a tip about the girls’ absence from school. Our team carried out an investigation and rescued the girls on Friday,” said Selvaraj. Sources said that the two women agents, the grandmother and the owner of the mill will be booked in the case.

Seat ‘sold’ for ₹15L in Tiruvarur

Gokul Rajendran TNN  14.12.2019

A video clip of a group of villagers auctioning the post of the panchayat president at Edamelaiyur in Tiruvarur district is the latest addition to the series of such events since the local body polls to the rural parts of Tamil Nadu was notified.

The 41-second clip of the village head declaring Chithra Ramachandran as unanimous choice for the post of village panchayat president of Edamelaiyur in Needamangalam union was doing the rounds on social media on Friday.

A man called Ramachandran also addressed the gathering and promised to work towards the welfare of the people.

The meeting was said to have been held in the village a couple of days ago.

Edamelaiyur panchayat with 1,500 voters has been reserved for general (women) category. The village heads allegedly decided to pick a suitable candidate through talks instead of facing contests from multiple aspirants. The village heads put up a condition that the aspirant should be ready to deposit ₹15 lakh for the construction of a competitive exam coaching centre for youths in the village. Chithra Ramachandran accepted the deal following which she was declared the only candidate. It was said that she also submitted her nomination papers to the returning officer on Thursday. Sources said one more woman also filed her nomination.

Court reserves order on Bedi’s interference in affairs of govt

Chennai:14.12.2019

The Madras high court has reserved its order on appeals moved by the Union government and lieutenant governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi challenging the court order that ruled Bedi had no powers to interfere with the day-today affairs of elected government of the Union territory.

Recording the final arguments put forth by all the parties, the first bench of Chief Justice A P Sahi and Justice Subramonium Prasad reserved the orders on Friday.

The issue pertains to a plea moved by Lakshminarayanan of the Congress challenging the communications from the Union home ministry vesting powers in the lieutenant governor. Allowing the plea, a single judge of the court held that the powers of the lieutenant governor to act as an administrator are restricted and applicable only in certain circumstances. Challenging the order, the Centre in its appeal said the single judge had erred in holding that the writ petitioner had locus standi to move such a plea. TNN

Owner of home for the elderly cheats inmate

Cops Rescue Woman, 79, Register Case

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:14.12.2019

Police have registered a case against the owner of a private home for the elderly at Teynampet after a 79-year-old woman who was staying there for the last one year alleged that she was cheated out of her money, jewellery and property.

The woman, M L Srivaran, was rescued from Selvi Memorial Home Society recently after she complained to the city corporation’s coordinator for shelter homes, Asha, on one of her visits there. Srivaran has been shifted to another home at Mogappair.

In her complaint to the Teynampet police, Srivaran said that soon after she went to live at Selvi Memorial Home in December 2018, the owner, Mary Thomas, sweet-talked her into revealing all details about her bank accounts and other property. When Srivaran fell ill, Mary Thomas took care of her but a few days later took her in an autorickshaw to the TNSC bank in Anna Nagar and made her withdraw cash and take gold jewellery from her locker saying she had spent a few lakhs of rupees on the medical treatment.

Srivaran complained that Mary took her to the bank branch thrice and made her take all her gold jewellery from the locker. Srivaran alleged that Mary also removed her gold jewellery from the PNB locker. Srivaran said Mary also took away the original registration documents of her house and forced her to assign power of attorney to a man named Vinayagam to sell her property. They also decamped with all the valuables from her house in Anna Nagar, Srivaran said.

Whenever corporation officials visited the home for inspection, Mary gave some medication to Srivaran and she blacked out, the elderly woman told police. Sometimes, she threatened her and asked her to pretend she was sleeping. On one occasion when Asha came to the home, Srivaran got a chance to reveal her plight and was rescued.

Srivaran and her husband retired from Punjab National Bank (PNB) and were living at their home in Anna Nagar. After her husband died of illness in 1995, Srivaran continued to stay alone at the house till 2018.

Srivaran told police that she would contact Kannagi, a friend who had retired from TNSC bank, whenever she needed something or wanted to chat with someone. In December 2018, Srivaran tried to reach Kannagi, but got no response. She then contacted a social activist after seeing her article in a newspaper and sought her help. The woman informed the Anna Nagar police and, through them, Srivaran got admission to the Selvi Memorial Home in Teynampet.


Whenever corporation officials visited the home for an inspection, Mary gave some medication to Srivaran and she blacked out, the elderly woman told police. Sometimes, she threatened her and told her to pretend she was sleeping

Property grab: HC lambasts lawyers, seeks edu details

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:14.12.2019

Censuring a group of lawyers who ransacked a guest house in the city and took illegal possession of the property, the Madras high court on Friday observed that such advocates are an insult to the profession.

It also directed the advocates concerned to disclose their educational details, including the colleges where they completed law degree, in two weeks.

“Did you study law only to get involved in such activities? It is understandable if a rowdy commits such offences. But when lawyers resort to such actions it affects the dignity of the profession,” a division bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and R Pongiappan said.

The issue pertains to a plea moved by the lessee of the property alleging that about 15 people had barged on to the premises on December 7 and claimed that they had an order from a civil court to evict him from the premises. They threatened his supervisor and other staff and told them to leave the premises besides verbally abusing him, the petitioner added.

MTC tests its new, revamped website

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:14.12.2019

After a three-year delay, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s (MTC) website, with updated features, is finally ready. A test run was conducted on Friday.

Comments were invited from the public on how to develop the revamped site. Those interested in offering suggestions can email the corporation at mtc@tn.gov.in.

However, the site is shut now for improvisations and based on suggestions from stakeholders, http://mmc.tn.gov.in will be formally launched by transport minister M R Vijayabaskar soon.

The site has route-wise details of bus operations along with timings and fare charts for different services (ordinary, deluxe and express). The list of all bus stops on a route will also be displayed alongside this, said an MTC official.

Official announcements, change in bus routes due to unexpected situations such as protests and rain will be uploaded regularly along with financial performance of the corporation and contact details of all senior officials and branch managers.

The old site was shut a few years ago and MTC’s internal technical team had worked on building the revamped site. “Bengaluru and Mumbai had introduced websites with real-time info a long time ago. It’s high time MTC launches it,” said R Rengachari, a transport activist. He said it will be a great help to students, office-goers and regular bus users, particularly senior citizens, to plan their work accordingly.

All a passenger needs to know is the route number and this too will be available once the LAMB app is launched, said a senior transport department official.

The Locate and Access My Bus (LAMB) app will display a list of nearest bus stops available to commuter on a Google map. By choosing the stop name, the app will provide information on the estimated arrival time of the next five buses there with route numbers. The app will also provide a list of buses available between any two stops in the city, he added.



The revamped MTC website

'நிர்பயா' கொலையாளி சீராய்வு மனு: விசாரிக்கிறது உச்ச நீதிமன்றம்

Added : டிச 13, 2019 01:13

புதுடில்லி: டில்லியில் மருத்துவ மாணவி 'நிர்பயா' பாலியல் பலாத்காரம் மற்றும் கொலை வழக்கில் நான்கு குற்றவாளிகளுக்கான தூக்கு தண்டனை விரைவில் நிறைவேற்றப்படும் என எதிர்பார்க்கப்பட்டது.

இந்நிலையில் தனக்கு விதிக்கப்பட்ட தூக்கு தண்டனையை எதிர்த்து அக் ஷய் குமார் சிங் என்ற குற்றவாளி சீராய்வு மனுவை தாக்கல் செய்துள்ளார். அது 17ல் விசாரணைக்கு வருகிறது.டில்லியில் மருத்துவ மாணவி நிர்பயா 2012ல் ஓடும் பஸ்ஸில் ஆறு பேரால் பாலியல் பலாத்காரம் செய்யப்பட்டார். சித்திரவதை செய்து அவரை ஓடும் பஸ்ஸில் இருந்து தூக்கி வீசினர். இதில் பலத்த காயமடைந்த அவர் மருத்துவமனையில் உயிரிழந்தார்.

இந்த வழக்கில் ராம் சிங் என்பவர் சிறையில் தற்கொலை செய்தார். ஒரு சிறுவன் மீது சிறார் நீதிமன்றத்தில் வழக்கு தொடரப்பட்டது. மூன்று ஆண்டுகள் சீர்திருத்தப் பள்ளியில் இருந்த அவர் தற்போது விடுதலையாகி உள்ளார்.இந்த வழக்கில் குற்றஞ்சாட்டப்பட்ட பவன் குப்தா, அக் ஷய் குமார் சிங், வினய் சர்மா, முகேஷ் சிங் ஆகியோருக்கு தூக்கு தண்டனை விதிக்கப்பட்டது. இதை டில்லி உயர் நீதிமன்றம் உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் உறுதி செய்தன. இவர்களுக்கான தண்டனையை விரைந்து நிறைவேற்றுவதற்கான முயற்சிகள் நடந்து வருகின்றன.இந்நிலையில் அக் ஷய் குமார் சிங் சார்பில் உச்ச நீதிமன்றத்தில் சீராய்வு மனு தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது. அதன் மீது 17ம் தேதி விசாரிக்கப்படும் என அறிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. மற்ற மூன்று குற்றவாளிகள் தாக்கல் செய்த சீராய்வு மனுக்களை உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் கடந்தாண்டு தள்ளுபடி செய்திருந்தது.

தயார் நிலையில் சிறை

இதற்கிடையே டில்லி திஹார் சிறையில் இந்த நால்வரும் அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள பகுதிகளில் பாதுகாப்பு பலப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது. இங்கே பார்லிமென்ட் மீது தாக்குதல் நடத்திய வழக்கில் அப்சல் குருவுக்கு கடைசியாக 2013ல் தூக்கு தண்டனை நிறைவேற்றப்பட்டது.தற்போது தூக்கு தண்டனையை நிறைவேற்றும் 'ஹேங்மேன்' எனப்படும் ஊழியர் இல்லை. அதையடுத்து மற்ற சிறைகளின் உதவியை திஹார் சிறை நிர்வாகம் கேட்டுள்ளது.நால்வருக்கும் தூக்கு தண்டனையை நிறைவேற்ற தங்களுக்கு வாய்ப்பு அளிக்க வேண்டும் என 15 பேர் கடிதம் எழுதியுள்ளனர். அமெரிக்கா மற்றும் ஐரோப்பிய நாடான பிரிட்டனைச் சேர்ந்த தலா ஒருவரும் கடிதம் அனுப்பி உள்ளனர்.

டில்லி குருகிராம், மும்பை, சத்தீஸ்கர், கேரளா மற்றும் தமிழகத்தில் இருந்து வாய்ப்பு கேட்டு கடிதம் அனுப்பியுள்ளனர்.தற்போது திஹார் சிறையில் தூக்கு தண்டனை விதிக்கப்பட்டு 12 கைதிகள் உள்ளனர். இதில் நிர்பயா வழக்கின் குற்றவாளிகளுக்கு தான் முதலில் தண்டனை நிறைவேற்றப்படும் என எதிர்பார்க்கப்படுகிறது.

இதற்காக சிறை நிர்வாகம் அனைத்து ஏற்பாடுகளையும் செய்துள்ளது. பீஹாரின் பக்சார் சிறையில் இருந்து 10 தூக்கு கயிறுகள் வரவழைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.தண்டனை நிறைவேற்றப்படும் சிறை எண் 3-ல் உள்ள தூக்கு மேடை பகுதியும் தயார் நிலையில் வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

'துாக்கிலிடத் தயார்'
திஹார் சிறை நிர்வாகத்திடம் இருந்து உத்தர பிரதேச மாநிலம் மீரட்டில் உள்ள சிறை நிர்வாகத்துக்கு சமீபத்தில் ஒரு கடிதம் அனுப்பப்பட்டு உள்ளது.அதில் 'அனைத்து வாய்ப்புகள் முடிந்த நிலையில் தூக்கு தண்டனையை நிறைவேற்ற வேண்டியுள்ளது. தங்களுடைய சிறையில் உள்ள இரண்டு ஹேங்மேனை அனுப்பி வைக்க வேண்டும்' என கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது. ஆனால் யாருக்கு இந்த தண்டனை நிறைவேற்றப்பட உள்ளது என்பது தெரிவிக்கப்படவில்லை.

'மிகக் கொடூர குற்றம் செய்துள்ள நிர்பயா குற்றவாளிகள் உயிருடன் இருக்க தகுதியற்றவர்கள். அவர்களுக்கான தண்டனையை நிறைவேற்ற தயாராக உள்ளேன்' என மீரட் சிறையின் ஹேங்மேனான பவன் கூறியுள்ளதாக செய்திகள் வெளியாகி உள்ளன.

துணைவேந்தருக்கு கொலை மிரட்டல்

Added : டிச 12, 2019 21:04





தஞ்சாவூர்: தஞ்சை தமிழ் பல்கலைக்கழக துணைவேந்தருக்கு, கடிதம் மூலம் கொலை மிரட்டல்விடுத்த மர்ம நபர்களை, போலீசார் தேடி வருகின்றனர்.

தஞ்சாவூர் தமிழ் பல்கலைக்கழக துணைவேந்தர் பாலசுப்பிரமணியனுக்கு, இரண்டு நாட்களுக்கு முன், முகவரி இல்லாமல் ஒரு கடிதம் வந்துள்ளது. அதில் கூறியிருப்பதாவது:துணைவேந்தர் பணியில் சேர்ந்து, ஓராண்டு ஆகியும் பேராசிரியர்கள், பணியாளர்களுக்கு இதுவரை எந்த நல்லதையும் செய்யவில்லை. பொது இடங்களில் நல்லவர் போல காண்பித்து, திருட்டுத்தனமாக பல்வேறு விஷயங்களில் ஏமாற்றி வருகிறார்.துணைவேந்தர் என்பதை மறந்து, கீழ்தரமாகவும் நடந்து கொள்கிறார். தகுதி இருந்தும், ஓய்வு பெற்ற துணைவேந்தரின் நண்பர்கள் என்பதால், பலருக்கும் பதவி உயர்வு வழங்காமல் இருந்து வருகிறார். எங்களுக்கு தேவையான பணியிடங்களை விளம்பரப்படுத்தி, நேர்முக தேர்வுகள் நடத்தி, தகுதி அடிப்படையில் பணி அமர்த்த வேண்டும். இரண்டு வாரங்களில் செய்வீர்கள் என, நம்புகிறோம். அப்படி இல்லை என்றால், கொலை செய்வதற்கு கூட தயங்க மாட்டோம்.இவ்வாறு, அதில் குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.துணைவேந்தர் புகார்படி, பல்கலைக்கழக போலீசார் விசாரிக்கின்றனர்.

நீட்' ஆள் மாறாட்ட நபர்களின் படம் மருத்துவ கல்லுாரிகளில் ஒட்ட உத்தரவு

Added : டிச 12, 2019 22:59

கோவை: 'நீட்' தேர்வு ஆள் மாறாட்டத்தில், தேர்வு எழுதிய நபர்களின் புகைப்படங்களை, மருத்துவ கல்லுாரி, 'நோட்டீஸ்' போர்ட்டில் ஒட்ட உத்தரவிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

20 லட்சம் ரூபாய்

தமிழகத்தில், 'நீட்' தேர்வின் போது ஆள் மாறாட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்டது தொடர்பாக, ஒரு மாணவி உட்பட ஐந்து மாணவர்கள் கைது செய்யப்பட்டனர். இவர்களின் பெற்றோர் மற்றும் புரோக்கர்களும் சிக்கினர்.விசாரணையில், ஆள்மாறாட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்டு, கல்லுாரியில் சேர்ந்த மாணவர்கள், தங்களுக்கு பதிலாக தேர்வு எழுதிய நபர்களுக்கு, 20 லட்சம் ரூபாய் வரை கொடுத்தது கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டது. தேர்வு எழுதியவர்கள், பல்வேறு மருத்துவக் கல்லுாரியில் படிக்கும் மாணவர்கள் தான் என்பதும் தெரிந்தது. ஆனால், இவர்களின் முகவரி, போன் எண் போன்ற விபரங்கள் எதுவும் கிடைக்கவில்லை. இவர்களை கண்டறிவதில், குழப்பம் நீடித்து வருகிறது.

இதையடுத்து, ஆள் மாறாட்டத்தில் ஈடுபட்ட நபர்களின் பெயர் மற்றும் புகைப்படங்களை, நாடு முழுவதும் உள்ள மருத்துவக் கல்லுாரிகளில் ஒட்ட, சி.பி.சி.ஐ.டி., - எஸ்.பி., விஜயகுமார், இந்திய மருத்துவ கவுன்சிலிடம் கோரிக்கை வைத்தார். போலீஸ் அதிகாரி ஒருவர் கூறியதாவது:ஆள் மாறாட்டத்துக்கு முதுநிலை மருத்துவம் மற்றும் இளநிலை மருத்துவம் படிக்கும் மாணவர்கள் உதவி செய்தது, விசாரணையில் தெரிய வந்துள்ளது.

கோரிக்கை

இவர்கள் தேர்வு எழுதிய, 'ஹால் டிக்கெட்டில்' பெயர் மற்றும் புகைப்படம் இடம்பெற்றுள்ளது.அந்தப் பெயர் மற்றும் புகைப்படங்களை, நாடு முழுவதுமுள்ள மருத்துவக் கல்லுாரி நோட்டீஸ் போர்டுகளில் ஒட்ட கோரிக்கை வைக்கப்பட்டது. இதன்மூலம், இதர மாணவர்கள் மற்றும் பேராசிரியர்கள், அவர்களை அடையாளம் காண முடியும். இவ்வாறு, அவர் கூறினார்.

சென்னை - சீரடி இடையே மீண்டும் விமான போக்குவரத்து

Added : டிச 12, 2019 22:02

சென்னை: சென்னை - சீரடி இடையே விமான போக்குவரத்தினை ஸ்பைஸ் ஜெட் நிறுவனம் மீ்ண்டும் துவங்கி உள்ளது. நிர்வாக காரணங்களுக்காக நிறுத்தப்பட்டிருந்த விமான போக்குவரத்து மீண்டும் துவங்கப்பட்டுள்ளது குறித்து பக்தர்கள் மகிழ்ச்சியடைந்துள்ளனர்.

மறக்க முடியுமா...
Added : டிச 12, 2019 21:29




படம்: அந்த நாள்வெளியான ஆண்டு: 1954நடிகர்கள்: சிவாஜிகணேசன், பண்டரிபாய் இயக்கம்: வீணை எஸ்.பாலசந்தர்கடந்த, 1950களில், 20க்கும் மேற்பட்ட பாடல்களுடன் வெளிவந்த படங்களுக்கு மத்தியில், பாடல்கள், சண்டை காட்சிகள் இல்லாமல் வெளிவந்த கிரைம் படம் தான், அந்த நாள்.உலக புகழ் பெற்ற, ஜப்பானிய இயக்குனர் அகிரா குரோசாவா இயக்கிய, ராஷோமன் படத்தின் தழுவல். இரண்டாவது உலகப்போர் நிகழும் காலத்தில், சென்னையில் இருக்கும், 'ரேடியோ இன்ஜினியர்' சிவாஜிகணேசன், முதல் காட்சியிலேயே, துப்பாக்கியால் சுடப்பட்டு, இறந்து போகிறார்.வழக்கை துப்பறியும் அதிகாரியாக, ஜாவர் சீதாராமன், சிவாஜியின் வீட்டிற்கு செல்கிறார். அங்கு, சிவாஜியின் மனைவி, உறவினர், அக்கம்பக்கத்தினர் என, அனைவரிடமும், ஜாவர் சீதாராமன் விசாரிக்கிறார்.விசாரிக்கப்படும் நபர்கள், அவர்களின் பார்வையில், சம்பவத்தன்று நடந்ததை சொல்கின்றனர் என்பது தான், திரைக்கதையை வேகமெடுக்க செய்கிறது. கொலையை யார் செய்தது, ஏன் செய்தார் என்பதோடு படம் நிறைவு பெறுகிறது.இதே பாணியில், ராம், விருமாண்டி போன்ற படங்கள் வந்துள்ளன. இப்படியும் தமிழில் படங்கள் வந்துள்ளனவா என, ஆச்சரியமூட்டும், அந்த நாள்!

Court says Aadhaar is not citizenship proof, convicts Bangla woman
Rebecca.Samervel@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:13.12.2019

Iterating that Aadhaar card is not proof of citizenship, a magistrate court recently convicted and sentenced a 35-year-old woman to oneyear imprisonment for illegally entering and living in the country.

The Dahisar (East) resident, Jyoti Gazi alias Tasleema Robiul, was convicted under the Passport (Entry into India) Rules and the Foreigners Order. “It is pertinent to note that the PAN card, Aadhaar card or sale deed are not the documents sufficiently proving the nationality of any person. To establish one’s citizenship, normally one is required to give evidence of his date of birth, place of birth, name of his parents, their place of birth and citizenship. Sometimes, the place of birth of grandparents may also be relevant,” the magistrate court said.

The court said in such cases, the burden of proof is on the accused to prove that she is not a foreigner.

While Robiul claimed she was a West Bengal native who came to the city 15 years ago, the magistrate court observed it has been proved that she is a Bangladeshi citizen and had entered India without a valid passport and travel documents. It refused to grant leniency to Robiul on the grounds that she was a woman.

“To my mind, if such leniency is given, the same may prove dangerous to the national security and even to the legitimate rights of Indian citizens as because of such unauthorized entries, the foreigners can give taxation on the economy of India,” the court said. The court directed the prosecution to take deportation action against Robiul after she undergoes the sentence. Robiul was booked with 16 others in 2009. They “absconded” though and only she was tried.

Full report on www.toi.in

‘Convicts suffer from anxiety after mercy plea is rejected’

This was corroborated by other sources too.

Under the jail rules, implemented in 2018, the convicts as well as their families will be handed the death sentence in a red envelope during the 14-day period. The acknowledgement and date of its receipt have to be entered in a register with the superintendent. “During this period of 14 days, the convicts will be allowed to prepare their will and hand over their personal belongings under the supervision of the jail superintendent. A death row convict would also be shifted to a brightly lit, solitary confinement cell where they will be kept under the watch of a warden through the day,” said Gupta. Gupta recalled that convicts under death row often go into bouts of anxiety and depression after their mercy plea is rejected. “I remember in the cases of Ranga and Billa, Kartar and Ujagar Singh, we had to be extra careful about their health and mental condition before the actual execution took place. For the Nirbhaya case convicts, the jail authorities should be prepared for such circumstances,” he said.

On Thursday, Nirbhaya’s mother filed another petition asking the government to file a status report on steps being taken for execution of the four men and asked for expediting execution of death sentences.

›From P 1

Hanging of convicts in Nirbhaya case not likely in next few days

Somreet.Bhattacharya@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:13.12.2019

The hanging of the four Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case convicts may be imminent but it’s unlikely to take place in the next few days. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a review petition filed by one of the convicts, Akshay Singh, on December 17, although the 30-day window for filing mercy pleas is now over, Tihar Jail authorities said.

The jail authorities also have to give a 14-day period to the convicts to “mentally prepare” for the execution, write a will , etc.

Earlier this week, a review petition filed by one of the convicts, Pawan Gupta, was rejected by the apex court. Another convict, Vinay Sharma, who had appealed to the President, later withdrew the plea claiming that he did not sign it. He also sought for a permission to file a fresh plea. Speaking to TOI, former Tihar jailer Sunil Gupta explained that unlike in the past, jail authorities now have to follow jail rules drafted after the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Under this, the convicts will be granted a provision to seek a curative petition even after the mercy plea to the President is rejected. The petition is, however, subject to its admission by the court.

Gupta, who served as a jailor and legal officer with Tihar Jail since 1981 and has witnessed 14 hangings, including that of Afzal Guru, said the new prison rules, prepared on the basis of a petition by Shatrugan Chauhan, allow the death row convicts to meet their family, who will have to be clearly informed about the rejection of the mercy pleas, in writing well in advance of the hanging.

Tihar prepares to execute 4 together

For the first time, Tihar Jail authorities are preparing to execute four death row convicts together in the Nirbhaya case. Sources said a new technique is being tested to fit four nooses in the existing gallows with some design changes.

› Death sentence, P 14

BU Convocation 2019