Tamil Nadu: Chennai Silks showroom catches fire in Villupuram

By Karala Marx L | Express News Service | Published: 30th March 2018 02:41 AM |


Image used for representational purpose.

VILLUPURAM: The Chennai Silks showroom in Villupuram caught fire on Thursday evening. No casualty was reported in the incident. According to sources, the four-storey showroom is located near the Villupuram-Tiruchy NH near Vazhudareddy.

The building that houses a jewellery showroom, provisional store, hotel besides Chennai Silks witnesses more than 1,000 footfalls everyday and around 250 employees work.The incident took place around 7 pm after an electrical fluctuation was allegedly reported from the hotel’s kitchen at the basement. Soon, black smoke spread to all floors creating panic. The customers and the workers ran helter skelter and safely exited the building.

On information, the fire and rescue service personnel rushed to the spot and after a two-hour struggle put out the fire.Some of the workers of the Chennai Silks expressed concern over the safety in case of emergencies and urged the district administration to conduct an inspection in the showroom to check for safety measures.

Villupuram SP S Jeyakumar confirmed that there were no casualties in the incident, adding that a thorough investigation is needed to find the reason for the fire and safety concerns would be addressed. Public relation officer of Chennai Silks Villupuram, Prabhu, could not be reached for comments. This is not the fire incident for the brand. On May 31, 2017, fire engulfed the seven-storey Chennai Silks building in T Nagar, Chennai. The fire destroyed all the goods in the showroom and the building crumbled after burning for a day.

Workers express safety concerns

Some of the workers of Chennai Silks expressed concern over the safety in case of emergencies and urged the district administration to conduct an inspection to check for safety measures. Villupuram SP S Jeyakumar said a thorough investigation is needed to find reason for the fire.

Over nine-tenths of work permits given to spouses of H1B visa holders are from India: Report

By PTI | Published: 29th March 2018 09:06 PM |
THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS  

 

Image used for representational purpose.

WASHINGTON: The US has issued employment authorisation documents to more than 71,000 spouses of H-1B visa holders, over 90 percent of whom are Indians, a report said today.

The previous Obama administration had started issuing employment authorisation or work permits to the spouses of H-1B visas in 2015.

The spouses or dependents of H-1B visa holders come to the US on H-4 visas, who before 2015 were not authorised to work.
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"As of June 2017, USCIS had granted 71,287 initial (versus renewal) employment authorisation documents to H-4 spouses," the Migration Policy Institute said in a report.

"Of those H-4 spouses with work authorisation as of early 2017, 94 per cent were women, and the vast majority, 93 per cent, were from India, while four per cent were from China," said the Institute, which obtained the information from US Citizenship and Immigration Services under the Freedom of Information Act, which is similar to India's Right to Information Act.

The Trump administration has signalled it plans to end the programme this year, likely with a proposed regulation in June.

The Obama administration in 2015 put into place a programme to grant work authorisation to H-4 visa holders whose spouses had been on an H-1B visa for more than six years and were in the process of applying for a green card, said the Migration Policy Institute in its report.

THE IDLI MEDLEY 

On World Idli Day, today, here’s seeing how the humble steamed dumpling (albeit shapely) of rice batter has conquered the world

Jyothi.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com 30.03.2018

As far as celebrating life goes, we do celebrate many ‘days’, from Valentine’s Day to World Toilet Day, but this particular one sure does leave a yummy taste behind. And before you shout marketing gimmick, let’s tell you, it’s World Idli Day, today! Yup, the humble idli is now going places — what with surveys adjudging it as the ‘healthiest breakfast’, and more and more varieties getting added to its ‘repertoire’ — a plate of idli, these days can be had all over the world, be it the US, the UK, or places in Europe like Germany and France. And though it still remains our fave breakfast, we sure have elevated the idli to a gourmet cuisine, what with the varieties available out there! Geeta Doctor, food critic, gives us another angle to the idli’s rising popularity: “Now it’s becoming sexier as well,” she laughs. “You can have square and triangle idlis, too, without actually changing its original quality. It can also be packaged very easily — and in many ways, the idli is the first Indian fast food out there. One can even travel with it, you see, as you can keep it for a couple of days and it won’t spoil. So, the idli is that round, multidimensional food that appeals to the Indian need for both, variety and individuality!”

“To begin with a plate of idli is actually a dieter’s delight,” says Ganapathy R, a collegian, who’s on a diet these days. “With the chutneys, which are also non-fattening and healthy, one can have all the tastes that a dieting tongue usually craves,” he adds. And for Malathy Ramani, a housewife, “The idli is the fastest possible breakfast when one is running helter-skelter in the morning. I pack it for both, my husband and me, and the kids have it before going to school. Usually, you will always find idli batter in the house,” she laughs.

A plate of idli is also seen as a no-nonsense snack by many rushing to work, which perhaps accounts for the fact that apart from proper eat-out places like the Murugan Idli, Saravana Bhavan and Adyar Ananda Bhavan (places known for their idli varieties), almost every street in the city is seeing a mushrooming of idli-kadais, sort of pop-up, makeshift thallu-vandis that sell idli only for a certain duration of time in the mornings. One such place is right outside Haddows Park, and L Raja, the guy who runs it, says, “Everyone from offices all around come here for tea and a bite in the mornings. I open at around 7am every day, and am sold out by 9.30am. I sell around 300 idlis daily.” Yet another place is Srinivasa mama’s kadai in one of the busiest by lanes of KK Nagar, and amidst a very demanding crowd, one of the guy busy packing idlis, shouts out, “Neenga 11am kku vaango. Right now, I cannot talk. Can you see the crowd?”



IDLI DOWN THE AGES



In 920 CE, Shivakotiacharya, the Kannada writer, in Vaddaradhane, has mentioned ‘iddalige’, prepared only from a black gram (urad dal) batter. Chavundaraya II, the author of the earliest available Kannada encyclopaedia, Lokopakara (1025 CE), also describes the preparation of idli

The Gujarati work Varanaka Samuchaya (1520 CE) mentions ‘idari’, and ‘idada’ (a non-fermented version of dhokla)

And the earliest Tamil work to mention idli, is Maccapuranam, dated to the 17th century

IDLI IS THE PERFECT FOOD IN TERMS OF NUTRITION

There is yet another reason why the idli remains an evergreen favourite. As Geeta puts it, “In terms of nutrition, it is the perfect food. A combination of rice and lentil; starch and protein. And it is also fermented, adding to its healthy food quotient. One can have it with potato, with chutney, with veg or non-veg side dishes. And I have had the idli in a five-star environment as well as the most saatvik, ashram-kind of space — I have had it, at Thiruvannamalai, famed for Ramana Maharshi. The ashram would serve tiny idlis, very frugally, with a smidgeon of podi, so that like the soul’s longing for light, you craved for more! So, the idli can be the most simple, and the most exotic dish at the same time.”

And, the idli is taking on exotic avatars as well. As Dr Wasim Mohideen, author of Chennai Foody, informs, “Recently, at the Times Food Awards, Chef Sandeep from Cafe Mercara displayed a fabulous version of the idli. Baked in a glass dish, with the batter sticking to the sides, he poured Mangalore fish curry on top.

Soaking up the gravy the idly transformed into a magical version of itself.” Maybe, seeing the demand for idli made a lot of business sense to those who’ve jumped into the food delivering wagon in the city, for, World Idli Day is being celebrated even by the likes of Uber Eats, Zomato and Swiggy. “Idli has been part of every Chennaiite’s staple diet, be it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. With restaurants adding their twist to this traditional south Indian delicacy, consumers now have several varieties of idlis to choose from the Uber Eats app today, including the famous Ceylon kothu idli from Vasantha Bhavan, the traditional 14 Idli from Saravana Bhavan and the healthy millet ghee mini idli from Millet Magic Meal. Our aim to is to help Chennaiites discover the best of food available in Chennai through the perfect pairing of restaurant partners, our technology and the Uber delivery network; and this World Idli Day, consumers can choose their favourite idlis that can be delivered to their doorstep via our app,” reveals an Uber Eats spokesperson. And as per a Swiggy delivery man, “Many people order idlis in the mornings and evenings.” Which only goes to show that in this world of health snacks and fast-eats, the idli is quietly building its reputation, and no matter which part of the country you are in today, fact is, you are never really far away from a place of idlisambar! 







WHAT YOU CAN EAT TODAY, AND WHERE!


KANCHIPURAM IDLI (Sri Ganesh Bhavan)

RAAGI SEMIYA IDLI (Hotel Sri Mangalam Biga)

THATTU IDLI (Creams Grihhma Bhojanam)

COCKTAIL IDLI (Tawa 9)

GHEE KAIMA IDLI WITH RAITA (Sarvana Bhavan)

KADUBU IDLI AND CHETTINAD IDLI (Sangeetha)

CEYLON KOTHU IDLI AND PASU NEI MINI IDLI (Vasant Bhavan)

14 MINI IDLI (Sarvana Bhavan)

NATTU KOZHI IDLI (Sammy's Dosa Kall)

SZECHWAN IDLI (Sri Akshaya's)

MILLET GHEE MINI IDLI (Millet Magic)

FACT

South Indian food is the most preferred cuisine in Chennai Chennai enjoys their breakfast more than any other city with the most number of restaurants/eateries opening before 8am. And no prizes for guessing what they sell most!

IDLI IN INDIA

Though we have perfected the process of making fluffy melt-in-the-mouth idlis, the ‘idli’ goes by various names in our country. As already mentioned, it’s idada in Gujarat, and sannas in Goa; it’s veggie-infused, spiced version is known as the Kanchipuram idlis, and the khotigge and mudde idlis are it’s steamed-in-the leaves Mangalorean version. Then there’s enduri pitha of Odisha, and over the years, rava idlis (made of semolina) and millet idlis have also come about, thanks to the demand by fitness freaks.

THE FOREIGN HAND?

There are those who say that the idli was brought to south India by the early Arab settlers and vice versa (References available at the Al-Azhar University Library in Cairo suggest Arab traders in the southern belt brought the idli to their part of the world when they married and settled down in India), and many who aver that the round, white version of the modern-day idli might have come from Indonesia, which is known for consuming fermented food. KT Achaya, an eminent food historian, in one of his expositions, has revealed how, perhaps, cooks employed by the Hindu kings of the local Indonesian kingdoms may have invented the steamed idli there, and brought the recipe to India during the period 800-1200 CE. He also suggests that Indonesia's kedli, is very similar to the idli, and is a steamed cake of rice flour, as is the Indonesian bura, which is rice cake cooked in coconut milk, served with spicy coconut powder.

CBSE Fails 


TIMES OF INDIA 30.03.2018

Leaks of board exam papers embarrass the institution and harass students

Because of leaked question papers, CBSE has declared that students will have to retake the Class XII Economics exam held on Monday and the Class X Math exam held on Wednesday. Beyond being a huge embarrassment for the authorities, this is unconscionably traumatic for students across the country – particularly in a year in which the compulsory Class X board exam was brought back. As for the Class XII retest, it may have a domino effect on several other competitive exams and college entrances. Many students claim that exam papers for other subjects too have been leaked this year. All of this casts a big shadow over the CBSE exam process – affecting 28 lakh students.

A copy of the leaked Class X Maths paper was reportedly delivered to the office of the CBSE chairperson a day before the exam. Usually, separate question papers are set for Delhi, the rest of India, schools outside India, and there’s also a reserve. Had this procedure been followed, the leaked paper could have been replaced with the reserve paper, preventing the scandal of test and retest. But this year all the zones were given one common question paper against the usual norm, reducing room to mitigate the leak. It’s a classic illustration of the dangers of over-centralised education.

While a criminal syndicate is suspected of carrying out the leaks, the issue of accountability at CBSE can’t be whitewashed. True, scamsters make the most of modern technology. From ‘remote’ cheating in the online exam for the staff selection commission (SSC) to the Cambridge Analytica case, this is of course a really widespread challenge today. But for that very reason, protecting data calls for sophisticated security measures. CBSE’s board exams may determine the future of India’s children, but it failed to rise to the challenge.

This is a young country but its leadership does a terrible job of addressing youth issues. From the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh to various school state boards, criminal gangs that guarantee results have mushroomed. But authorities are only able to nab small fry, emboldening masterminds to continue operations. The need of the hour is higher conviction of scamsters, greater accountability of institutions like CBSE, and of course better exam security. Otherwise students will lose faith in the exam system, not to mention that everything in education should not hang on exams in the first place.

No passports to babus under lens for graft

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 30.03.2018

New Delhi: The government has decided to deny passports to officers being investigated or prosecuted in corruption cases or facing FIR registered by a government entity after a preliminary inquiry. Such officers will not be given vigilance clearance needed for grant of passport, according to revised guidelines.

Vigilance clearance may also be denied to an officer under suspension or where a chargesheet has been issued against the officer in disciplinary proceedings that are pending.

While denial of vigilance clearance for passport on ground of pending criminal proceedings is not new, government officers will now also be deprived of a passport in case sanction for their investigation and prosecution in a case filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act or any other criminal matter has been granted by a competent authority.

While making the norms for grant of vigilance clearance more stringent for officers facing charges of corruption, the new guidelines issued by the personnel ministry provide for leniency where the officer is required to attend to medical emergencies pertaining to himself or his close family members residing abroad.

SC: Daily wager entitled for gratuity if job is regularised

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com 30.03.2018

New Delhi: In a big relief to daily wage-earners who get regularised, the Supreme Court has ruled that such employees would be entitled to gratuity for theentire period of service and not just from the day of regularisation, as is the case now. The only catch is that they must have been in service continuously.

A bench of Justices R K Agrawal and Abhay Manohar Sapre quashed the order of the Chhattisgarh high court which had held that gratuity was to be decided on the basis of tenure of service on regular job and period of daily wage earning was not to be considered.

The HC had dismissed a plea of a state government employee, Netram Sahu, who had worked continuously for around 22 years as daily wager and thereafter his job was regularised and he worked for another three years before retirement.

The state government took the stand that the employee, working with the water resources department, could not be held eligible to claim the gratuity because out of the total period of 25 years of his service, he worked 22 years as daily wager and only three years as regular employee. It urged that he could not be said to have worked continuously for a period of five years as provided under the Act so as to make him eligible to claim gratuity.

HC agreed with the submission of the state government and refused to grant relief to the employee. He then moved the Supreme Court through his advocate Anshuman Srivastava challenging the HC’s decision.

After hearing both the parties, the apex court said that HC erred in deciding the case against Sahu and quashed the verdict.

“We do not agree with the submission of the state for more than one reason. First, the appellant has actually rendered the service for a period of 25 years. Second, the state actually regularised his services by passing the order.”

“Third, having regularised the services, the appellant became entitled to claim its benefit for counting the period of 22 years regardless of the post and the capacity on which he worked. Fourth, no provision under the Act was brought to our notice which disentitled him from claiming the gratuity nor any provision was broughtto our notice which prohibits him from taking benefit of hislong and continuous period of 22 years of service, which he rendered prior to his regularisation for calculating hiscontinuousservice of five years,” thebenchsaid.

The bench also imposed a cost of ₹25,000 on the state government to be paid to Sahu for denying him gratuity and forcing him to fight a long legal battle for seven years.

“In our considered opinion, once the state regularised his services, he became entitled to count his total period of service for claiming the gratuity amount subject to his proving continuous service of 5 years as specified under Section 2A of the Act(Payment of Gratuity Act) which, in this case, the appellant has duly proved,” it said.


PROVIDING RELIEF

Passengers leaving int’l arrival terminal hit a speed breaker

Suhashini R TNN   30,03.2018

Chennai: Travellers who walk out of the international arrival terminal face an inconvenience – a hump at the exit where they find it difficult to manoeuvre baggage-laden trolleys and wheelchairs.

The exit pathway was recently relocated to accommodate construction of a walkalator tube near international terminal. More than 10,000 people use the terminal every day.

The hump, located at the point where the pathway from the ground floor terminal joins the road under the flyover, affects passengers. The bags fall off the trolley, while airport staff members struggle to balance the wheelchair.

R Reddy, a frequent traveller, said that “international travellers have trolleys full of suitcases. They are not able to use the trolley. I helped a few passengers who were struggling with the trolleys. Many of the trolleys are not userfriendly, the hump complicates the problem”, he said.

People find it difficult because international passengers often bring several pieces of bags unlike domestic travellers.

The earlier exit, which also joins the road, did not have a hump as vehicles do not pass by that stretch.

Bala Kumaran, an airport taxi driver, said, “I have seen people drop their luggage and some trolleys topple. Many old people find it very difficult. Many of them do not pay attention when they walk out of the building as they do not expect a hindrance. The authorities should have removed the hump when they opened the exit.”

A senior official of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said, “The exit was opened as a temporary arrangement to route the passengers out of the building as the original entry had to be blocked for construction work. The hump is installed because the pathway leads to a road where vehicle movement is there. We don’t want the passengers to come in the way of the speeding vehicles. That will lead to accidents. The original entry will be restored soon.” The opening of the walkalator will also reduce the inconvenience of the passengers.

AAI has completed the work of the walkalator that connects metro rail station to the international terminal.

The entire length of walkalator tube will be opened on April 14.

BUMP AHEAD: A hump at the exit makes it difficult for travellers to manoeuvre baggage-laden trolleys and wheelchairs