Indian Express archives say Marina not sought for late Tamil Nadu CM Kamaraj
Instead, the Congress leaders were reported to have expressed satisfaction over the memorials that the then Karunanidhi-led government approved for the late Congress leader.
 
Published: 10th August 2018 05:48 AM 
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Then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Kamaraj (2nd left) with DMK leaders (from left) M Karunanidhi, E V K Sampath and M G 
Ramachandran. | (File | EPS)

By B Anbuselvan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Even as the controversy refuses to die over whether DMK president Karunanidhi denied a memorial for the late Chief Minister, Kamarajar, on the Marina beach, the archives of the editions of The Indian Express and Dinamani in 1975 show that there was no such demand, at least publicly made.

Instead, the Congress leaders were reported to have expressed satisfaction over the memorials that the then Karunanidhi-led government approved for the late Congress leader.

Kamarajar died on October 2, 1975. According to Dinamani edition dated October 5, 1975, the then CM Karunanidhi said that Kamaraj memorial would be built at the Gandhi Mandapam in Guindy at the cost of `6 lakh. The government had also agreed to convert Kamaraj’s house in Virudhungar into a memorial.

“Amidst heavy rain, Karunanidhi visited the Raj Bhavan garden (the erstwhile name of the place) to identify the location for building the Kamaraj memorial. He was accompanied by former Congress secretary Tindivanam K Ramamurthy,” said a report published in Dinamani on October 4, 1975.

While now, the concerns are over the memorial encroaching on eco-sensitive coastal zones, back then an acre of forest land was cleared for Kamarajar’s cremation at Guindy (at that time, the entire area including IIT Madras campus was a forest).

“PWD officials worked through night to clear about one acre of forest area for the funeral on Friday,” read the report in The Indian Express edition, dated October 4, 1975.

Despite a wide coverage given to Kamarajar’s death and related news, there was no record of any demand made for a memorial for him at the Marina. Incidentally, on October 15 in 1975, former Chief Minister M Bhaktavatsalam appreciated the efforts made by Karunanidhi, Dinamani had reported.

NRI advisory by dghs 09.08.2018

Counselling for MBBS, BDS admissions rescheduled

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, AUGUST 10, 2018 00:00 IST

To be conducted from August 11 to 13

The Directorate of Medical Education has rescheduled the second phase of counselling session for MBBS/BDS in government colleges and government seats in self-financing medical and dental colleges. The session that was scheduled to be conducted from August 10 to 12 will be conducted from August 11 to 13.

The rescheduling was necessitated as the Director-General of Health Services said that for all the participating candidates of online undergraduate (MBBS and BDS) courses counselling the last date for reporting with respect to seats allotted in round-2 had been extended till 4 p.m. on Thursday.

The rescheduling was to arrive at the seat matrix before the date of counselling, a DME release said. The detailed schedule will be hosted on official websites (www.tnhealth.org/ www.tn medicalselection.org) shortly.

The counselling for five-years integrated M.Sc courses offered at College of Engineering Guindy campus, Anna University, has been rescheduled on August 13, said the Director, Admissions Anna University. It was scheduled for August 8.

Shared car rides from Metro stations to begin today

Sunitha Sekar

CHENNAI, AUGUST 10, 2018 00:00 IST

The service will help improve last-mile connectivity

Three years after starting its first service, Chennai Metro Rail is now stepping up efforts to provide last-mile connectivity to commuters by beginning shared car rides and share autos in and around its stations from Friday.

Passengers can travel a distance of 3 km in and around each station and pay a fixed amount of Rs. 10 for a share auto and Rs. 15 for shared car services.

This will be of great helpful to commuters, given thelack of mini-bus services from Metro Rail stations.

According to officials of the CMRL, they have chosen select stations for both shared car and auto services.

The shared car services will be available in Koyambedu, Alandur, Vadapalani and Anna Nagar East Metro Rail stations and share autos at AG-DMS, Guindy, Alandur, St. Thomas Mount, Ekkatuthangal and Ashok Nagar stations, officials said.

“We have already given this job to a firm, which will carry out these services. We have finalised the 3-km route that they will pass through. The route chart will be posted at the concerned Metro stations for passengers to be aware of which areas these vehicles will cover,” an official said.

For a start, these cars and autos will run every half-hour from each of these stations. Eventually, their frequency will increase, he said.

“We want to first see how passengers take to this service and run it as a trial initially. Subsequently, in a few months, it will be made available in all stations and the frequency will go up to once every 10-15 minutes and match the train timings so that passengers need not wait for long,” he added.

NEET may be held only once, and offline, in ‘19

Manash Gohain TNN

New Delhi:10.08.2018

The national eligibility cum entrance test - UG (NEET-UG) may not be conducted twice in 2019 as planned. Also the ministry of human resource development is discussing a proposal of the health ministry to continue with the offline mode at least for 2019.

This would mean, according to a senior HRD official, “status quo for the undergraduate medical entrance test in 2019 with no change.”

Nearly a month ago the HRD minister Prakash Javadekar announced the ambitious plan to conduct the medical/ dental entrance along with the joint entrance examination (JEE) — main, for engineering twice a year by the newly formed national testing agency (NTA).

It was also announced that all the exams to be conducted by NTA would be computer based. The ministry also announced the tentative dates for the exams, according to which NEETUG was scheduled for February 2019 with a repeat on May 2019.

According to reliable sources, under pressure from the health ministry, MHRD is “reconsidering the decision to conduct NEET twice in 2019. Also the health ministry has proposed to continue the test on pen-paper mode in 2019.”

CASH FOR MARKS

Ex-controller of exams at Anna univ seeks bail

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  10.08.2018

Facing charges of irregularities in various academic affairs in Anna University during her stint as its controller of examinations, the university’s suspended professor GV Uma has moved the Madras high court for anticipatory bail.

When the matter came up for admission before Justice M Dhandapani on Thursday, the court ordered notice to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) and directed the agency to file its reply by August 14.

According to the petitioner, she held the post of controller of examinations from March 3, 2015 and March 2, 2018. During the said period, she conducted examinations for the university as well as colleges affiliated to it in a fair and transparent manner, she said. She added that the controller could neither influence the examiners nor the officers to award favourable marks to any student.

The DVAC so far has not conducted a proper inquiry and instead opted to array the petitioner in the scam, she added. She assured the court that she would abide by the conditions imposed by the court and cooperate with the investigation.

Govt docs to go on strike seeking better pay

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 10.08.2018

: At least 20,000 government doctors in Tamil Nadu will strike work, including patient care, by September if the government does not increase pay packages, a joint action committee of the government doctors’ association said.

Government doctors’ association president Dr K Senthil said doctors in government service get a salary that is lower than lecturers or professors at arts/science colleges, although government doctors work for at least 50 hours a week compared to 32 working hours of teaching faculty.

The doctors’ associations have kicked off a major three week ‘awareness drive’ among patients and members of the public about the service conditions and pay of government doctors.

On August 20, doctors from across the state will stage a dharna in front of the district collectorate. From September 1, doctors have decided to boycott all government meetings, classes for medicos, audits and MCI inspections. “None of this will affect patient care. But if we see no response from the government, we will be forced to boycott all out-patient care and elective surgeries,” he said.

Government doctors have made several representations to the government seeking pay parity. In March 2017, the associations submitted a 26-page document and demanded pay parity with central government doctors, time-bound promotions, similar work-based allowances and retirement age. The salary for doctors in state and central services is the same when they join duty, but doctors in central government services receive promotions in four, nine, 13 and 20 years, compared to eight, 15, 17 and 20 years in the state government.

A Tamil Nadu doctor joining a medical college takes home ₹56,100. They also get a 3% raise in basic pay every year. After nearly 8 years of service and one promotion in eight years, a government doctor receives a salary of ₹56,900. A government doctor in a medical college teaches medical students and provides supplementary support in patient care. “The special pay they get every month is just ₹100,” a senior government medical college doctor said.