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Tamil Nadu man crashes lover’s wedding and tries to tie thali

Tamil Nadu man crashes lover’s wedding and tries to tie thali

Unwilling to stay put and watch his lover get married to another man, a 24-year-old snatched the ‘thaali’ from the priest and tried to tie it around the woman’s neck.

Published: 10th September 2022 03:31 AM

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Unwilling to stay put and watch his lover get married to another man, a 24-year-old snatched the ‘thaali’ from the priest and tried to tie it around the woman’s neck. He was stopped and beaten up by the crowd at the venue, but now has a chance to fulfil his dream.

It was all part of a plan, a police investigation revealed. For, shortly before the wedding, the woman had sent a text to the man, asking him to “come and get” her.

The dramatic incident unfolded around 7 am at a wedding hall at Netaji Nagar in Tondiarpet, Chennai, on Friday.

“Just as the priest picked up the ‘thaali’ to hand it to the groom, a man on the stage snatched it and attempted to tie it around the bride,” said the police, adding that before he could tie the knot, a group of men dragged him away and beat him up.

The police arrived, and came to know that the intruder and the 20-year-old bride were colleagues and in a relationship. No case was registered, and the cops informed the intruder’s family about the incident.

Meanwhile, as the families of the bride and the groom engaged in a quarrel, the police intervened and the wedding was postponed. The families of the intruder and the bride are now in talks to get them married, police said. Both of them work at a luxury hotel.

Revise order fixing 50 per cent med seat fee on par with govt colleges: Madras HC to NMC

Revise order fixing 50 per cent med seat fee on par with govt colleges: Madras HC to NMC

The bench ordered the National Medical Commission to come out with a fresh office memorandum and said the fee structure under the present system may continue till that exercise is completed.

Published: 10th September 2022 03:54 AM

By R Sivakumar

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday ordered the National Medical Commission (NMC) to reconsider its direction to private medical colleges and deemed universities to collect government fixed fee for 50% of their seats, saying that such an arrangement is impermissible and would affect merit.

The first bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N Mala passed the orders on a batch of petitions filed by the Education Promotion Society for India and private medical colleges and deemed universities challenging the NMC’s office memorandum issued earlier this year.

The bench ordered the National Medical Commission to come out with a fresh office memorandum and said the fee structure under the present system may continue till that exercise is completed. If there is huge difference in fee structure between two sets of students, then it may result in sacrificing the merit of the candidates because after filling the first 50% seats on a par with the fee collected by government medical colleges, the remaining seats would be given to next meritorious students and if candidates are not in a position to pay the high fee, students with lesser merit would be given admission.

This would ultimately result in sacrificing merit and in worst-case scenario may lead to seats going vacant causing loss to the institutions and the nation if candidates down the merit list are not ready to pay the high fee, the bench said. The expert committee set up by the National Medical Commission had failed to take into account these facts while making recommendation for restructuring the fee of private medical educational institutions, the judges said. “The expert committee could not visualize that if there would be huge difference in the fee structure for two sets of students, it may result in sacrificing the merit,” the bench said.

‘Arrangement not permissible in the light of SC judgments’

The petitioners had challenged Section 10 (1) (i) of NMC Act, 2019, and office memorandum dated February 3, 2022, which provides for fee of 50% seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities to be on a par with the government medical colleges and guidelines for fixation of fee and other charges to cover the cost incurred by the institutions for the remaining 50% seats.

The petitioners contended that students admitted under second 50% seats (with fee ranging from Rs 40 lakh to 70 lakh) would have to subsidise those admitted for first 50% seats for a fee on a par with government colleges (ranging from R18,000 to R20,000 per year). The court held that this arrangement is not permissible in the light of the apex court judgments in the case of TMA Pai Foundation and others and Islamic Academy of Education and another

‘Will affect merit, lead to vacancies’

Chennai: The petitioners had contended that students admitted to 50% seats for fee ranging from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 70 lakh would have to subsidise those admitted to 50% seats for a fee on a par with government colleges (Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000 per year). This fee difference would result in sacrificing merit and may lead to seats in private institutions going vacant.

Part-time staff in government departments can work till age of 60: Tamil Nadu CM

Part-time staff in government departments can work till age of 60: Tamil Nadu CM

Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday said temporary and part-time employees in all government departments will be permitted to work till they attain the age of 60.

Published: 11th September 2022 04:11 AM

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday said temporary and part-time employees in all government departments will be permitted to work till they attain the age of 60. Currently, the age limit is 58. Speaking at the State conference of the Joint Action Council of Teachers’ Organisations-Government Employees Organisations (Jacto-Geo), the CM recalled the DMK’s long association with teachers and government employees and said they were the reason for the DMK government to return to power in the State.

Stalin also said transparent online transfer counselling will be conducted for 16,000 temporary and part-time teachers and other employees who were not given transfer for a long time from October 15. A new district officer for primary education will be created in every district and a separate district-level posting will be created for administering private schools, he said. To address the long-pending demand of Anglo-Indian schools, order has been issued to bring all such schools under a single system for better administration, Stalin said.

Talking about the improvement in State’s revenue under his government, the CM said, “The State has witnessed improvement in all sectors. The State has recorded around 52% growth in revenue in the first quarter of the financial year compared to the same period last year as per CAG report. Many businesses have come forward to invest in Tamil Nadu, and this will contribute to robust industrial growth in the State,” the CM said.

‘10,338 posts created in 16 months’

The chief minister also said a total of 10,338 new posts were created across departments over the past 16 months to provide government services effectively.

The CM recalled the welfare measures implemented by successive DMK-led governments over the years, including increasing maternity leave to 12 months for women employees and increasing benefits under government employees’ health insurance scheme.

About Rs.98.45 crore was provided to 409 frontline workers who lost their lives while on duty during Covid-19, he said. The Chief Minister also said under the government employees’ health insurance scheme, a total of 75,574 employees got Rs 349.63 crore worth of medical treatment for various diseases.

Education in hands of unqualified people spoils lives of students: Madras HC

Education in hands of unqualified people spoils lives of students: Madras HC

Madras High Court has ordered a compensation of Rs 11 lakh to a B.Arch applicant who was denied admission five years ago.

Published: 11th September 2022 05:23 AM

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Saying that education has not only become commercial but also fallen into the hands of unqualified people, the Madras High Court has ordered a compensation of Rs 11 lakh to a B.Arch applicant who was denied admission five years ago on the pretext of not having a pass in the National Aptitude Test for Architecture (NATA), though it was not compulsory as per Supreme Court orders.

Referring to the petition becoming infructuous due to the passage of time, Justice R Subramanian said, “I don’t think justice will be done if I am to throw out the petition as the secretary for the Engineering Admissions had not only acted in utter disregard of the clarifications issued by the first respondent, but has also disobeyed positive directions of this court.”

He said the facts on the matter would demonstrate how “unsafe are the lives of our youngsters” in the hands of “unscrupulous academicians and executives”, who preside over the very vital rights of the youngsters and decide on the policies of education.

“Unfortunately in the recent days, education has become commercial and also fallen into the hands of either unqualified persons or persons who because of their educational qualification that is appended to their names become intellectually arrogant and take decisions which spoil the lives of young students,” Justice Subramanian said.

The petitioner, V Amrutha of Chennai, after clearing Class 12 examination in 2017, appeared for JEE II, which is necessary for B.Arch admissions, and obtained 226 out of 390 against the minimum pass mark of 81. Since the girl could not upload the application for admission as the prospectus stressed NATA pass for admission, she approached the High Court. Subsequent to orders of the Court, she submitted the application but it was rejected.

The judge ordered a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the petitioner while condemning the Secretary of Engineering Admissions for outrageous and inexplicable conduct. He ordered payment of the compensation within four weeks at 9% interest per annum from the date of an order of the court dated June 30, 2017 in the case. Moreover, the judge ordered the Secretary of the Engineering Admissions to pay Rs 1 lakh compensation separately.

Skywalk at new Kilambakkam mofussil terminus?

The new mofussil bus terminus in Kilambakkam could get a rail link via a skywalk, as the State government is considering the feasibility of this, official sources have said.

Published: 10th September 2022 06:18 AM |

The bus terminus is set to be launched by December | martin louis

By C Shivakumar

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The new mofussil bus terminus in Kilambakkam could get a rail link via a skywalk, as the State government is considering the feasibility of this, official sources have said. The bus terminus, built at a cost of Rs 393.74 crore to improve connectivity to south Tamil Nadu, could face accessibility issues as passengers would have to depend on Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses to get there. It is expected to be inaugurated by December end.

The initial September deadline promised by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) member secretary Anshul Mishra after the Assembly session could not be met. A feasibility study is being conducted to build a skywalk linking the bus terminus to the Vandalur station.

While efforts are on to meet the December deadline, officials are looking at various alternatives to improve connectivity from the outskirts to the city. With the Chennai Metro Rail expansion from Chennai Airport to Kilambakkam unlikely to materialise in the next couple of years, the State is now looking at providing a rail link to help commuters reach the city quickly, sources said.

It is learnt that Indian Railways is examining the possibility of building an additional platform that could be linked to the proposed skywalk. Sources said the Railways is particular about the space required. But the government seems keen to start the work before the bus terminus is inaugurated and the Railways concurs.

The skywalk and additional platform at Vandalur station will take nine months to build. This platform will cater only to suburban trains, said sources. Kilambakkam could become the next transport hub, with the State government conducting a feasibility study on linking Phase-II of Chennai Metro Rail’s Corridor 3 (between Madhavaram and Siruseri) with Kelambakkam and Kilambakkam.

As for the proposal for a Metro link between Kilambakkam and the airport, the stretch has not yet been considered under the second phase of the Chennai Metro. Sources said it will be included in this phase, but funding issues could delay the project.