Delay in finishing culvert hits MRTS commuters 

R. Srikanth 
 
CHENNAI, January 14, 2019 00:00 IST

Official says they are yet to take a soil test, after which tenders will be floated

The delay in completing a culvert linking the two sides of the service road along the railway track of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) between Velachery and Taramani railway stations is forcing hundreds of motorists to take a detour via residential areas.

The Southern Railway planned the service road along the railway track to provide easy connectivity between the three railway stations of Velachery, Perungudi and Taramani, way back in 2008.

Several delays

But the project has seen inordinate delays. Even after the railway completed the major portion of the 3.40-km road, the two sides of the road could not be linked because of the delay in the construction of the culvert near the Velachery railway station.

The culvert is important for facilitating rainwater to drain into the Pallikaranai marshland. The Southern Railway had promised its completion last year but is yet to finish the work.

A senior official of the Southern Railway said the soil test for the work is yet to be done. Tenders will be floated after that, he said.

Travel time up

At present, the delay in opening the service road, which creates shorter access to the Information Technology corridor of Rajiv Gandhi Salai, leads to logjams at Vijaya Nagar junction in Velachery, increasing their travel time and fuel cost.

S. Kumararaja, an office-bearer of Annai Indira Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, said it was disappointing to see almost all the MRTS project works getting delayed, including the extension to the St. Thomas Mount railway station.

It is disappointing to see almost all MRTS project works getting delayed

S. Kumararaja

Office-bearer, Annai Indira Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association

Call taxi catches fire in Chennai 

Special Correspondent 
 
CHENNAI, January 14, 2019 00:00 IST

Diver and passenger have a narrow escape

A cab attached to a call-taxi aggregator caught fire on the T.T.K. Road flyover on Saturday but the occupants narrowly escaped.

Costume designer Pallavi Singh booked a cab from T. Nagar to reach her house. Around 9 p.m., the car was on the flyover when she smelled something burning.

“Initially, she thought it was from outside. However, she spotted smoke inside the vehicle and alerted the driver. He told her there was nothing to worry. Subsequently, other motorists alerted the driver about the smoke coming from the vehicle,” said Subhadra Marimuthu, an advocate for Pallavi Singh.

The car stopped on the flyover and the two stepped out. “In a matter of seconds, the car went up in flames and my client was shocked. Her wallets and other valuables in it were gutted,” Ms. Subhadra said.

The Fire and Rescue service personnel were alerted and they reached the spot within minutes. “We stopped traffic beneath and on the flyover and doused the fire in sometime. Vehicles from Mylapore and Teynampet were pressed into service,” said Mohammed Ayub, station fire officer, Velachery.

Tamil Nadu’s biryani binge keeps cash registers ringing 

Sangeetha Kandavel 
 
CHENNAI, January 14, 2019 00:00 IST



There’s more space at the table, say established players

The growing appetite in Tamil Nadu for biryani has kept cash registers jingling across the State, with a fourfold increase in the number of restaurants serving the rice and meat (or vegetables) favourite.

According to analysts who track the industry, the organised biryani business in the State is pegged at Rs. 1,500 crore per year while the unorganised segment records a healthy Rs. 4,000 crore per year.

Currently, there are over 300 brands including well-known names — Anjappar, Buhari, Junior Kuppanna, Aasife Biryani, Dindigul Thalappakatti and Behrouz — that comprise the organised segment. Players in the organised space do an average business of Rs. 25 lakh per month which translates into Rs. 3 crore per annum per outlet. The cost of a serving of biryani at these restaurants ranges from a modest Rs. 180 for the vegetarian variant to Rs. 600 or more for the fully loaded non-vegetarian delicacy.

For every pocket

In the unorganised sector, costs range from as low as Rs. 50 to Rs. 120 per serving. Those operating in this category typically churn out around 10-15 kilos of biryani per day. (A kilo of biryani would serve 8-10 persons on an average). Restaurants in this space also offer smaller quantities like a ‘half biryani’ (priced at Rs. 70 to Rs. 90) and ‘quarter biryani’ (priced at Rs. 40- Rs. 60).

Sathish D. Nagasamy, managing director of the Dindigul Thalappakatti chain, one of the early players in the biryani space, said, “This is a huge market and the demand is high. Even if another 100 shops come up, the demand will only go up.”

His kitchens turn out over 4,000 kg of biryani every day. “More than 40,000 people consume biryani from our outlets across Tamil Nadu,” he said, adding, “There is a huge space for vegetarian biryani, a market which remains untapped.”

Aasife Biriyani, another big player, sells over 30,000 servings per day across its restaurants in the State. P.J. Dilip Kumar, director- Marketing, Aasife Biriyani Pvt Ltd, said, “This is one food item which makes you feel complete — it fills your stomach. It’s cost effective too. You end up paying Rs. 170 for a vegetarian meal, if you add another Rs. 20 you can have a vegetarian biryani.”

A market analyst said while the biryani sector has immense potential, the fact that the major players are family-run businesses is a major hurdle to expansion. “Decision making is a key issue. But things are slowly changing with the next generation coming into business,” he said. “Even if there is a slight variation in taste, you will end up losing customers. It is also a highly labour-intensive business,” he added.

Hyderabad: Lecturer arrested for abetting suicide of 17-year-old student

DECCAN CHRONICLE.

PublishedJan 12, 2019, 12:48 am IST

Abhignya, 17, an intermediate second year student of Velocity junior college.

The girl committed suicide by hanging at her residence in Motinagar on January 3. A case of suspicious death has been registered.

Hyderabad: In a new twist to the suicide on January 3 of a 17-year-old student, the SR Nagar police are now interrogating a member of the college faculty. The girl committed suicide by hanging at her residence in Motinagar on January 3. A case of suspicious death has been registered.

Abhignya, 17, an intermediate second year student of Velocity junior college. Police say her college lecturer, Rajni Kanth, is suspected to be involved in her death.

“January 3, around 6:30 pm, while her father, D. Chandra Shekar, 46, a private employee, and his wife went for a walk and her elder sister, Sai Harika, 18, was giving tuitions, Abhignya committed suicide by hanging in the bedroom,” said sub-inspector P. Mahendar of the SR Nagar police.

She was rushed to a nearby private hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. A case has been booked under Section 174 (suspicious death) of the CrPC and an investigation is underway.

“We will be altering the case to abetment to suicide and other sections if we have to, based on further investigation. We are waiting for the call records and are interrogating the faculty member and other witnesses,” said inspector S. Murali Krishna.

Speaking to DC, Panjagutta ACP, Vijay Kumar said that following the allegations against the lecturer’s involvement made by the media, we tried to check Abhignya’s phone but failed to gain access. We then checked the call records of Rajni Kanth and found that they had spoken over the phone for hours. The lecturer was taken into custody by the SR Nagar police on Friday evening.

Chennai: Insurance company to pay Rs 23 lakh to dead contractor’s kin

DECCAN CHRONICLE.

PublishedJan 10, 2019, 6:55 am IST

The insurance firm was thereby liable to pay a compensation of Rs 22.71 lakh to the petitioner and his kin, the judge said.

The accident happened three years ago. Victim (Ganapathy) was riding a TVS XL motorcycleon Chennai-Tiruvallur High Road (CTH Road) at Mannurpet. As he was nearing Parthasarathy street junction, a Tata Sumo van came hurtling and hit the two-wheeler, resulting in him sustaining fatal injuries. (Representational Image)

Chennai: The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Chennai, directed an insurance firm to pay a compensation of Rs 22.71 lakh to the family members of a 32-year-old contractor, who died in a road accident three years ago.

In the petition, Ms Kayalvizhi submitted that her husband V. Ganapathy, 32, a contractor, had also been engaged in supplying tea packets and snacks to shops. He earned an income of Rs 50,000 per month. On March 29, 2015, at about 11.30 am, Ganapathy was riding a TVS XL motorcycle (registration no. TN 20 BU 9336) on Chennai-Tiruvallur High Road (CTH Road) at Mannurpet. When he was nearing Parthasarathy street junction, a Tata Sumo van (registration no TN 05 AT 0856), came in a very rash and negligent manner endangering to public safety, hit the two-wheeler. As a result he sustained fatal injuries and died on the way to the hospital. A case was registered against the van driver.

She said the family members had depended on the income of Ganapathy. Hence, Venkatesan, owner of the van and National Insurance Company Ltd., insurer of the vehicle, were liable to pay a compensation of Rs 50 lakh. Neither Venkatesan nor the insurance firm's representative had appeared before the tribunal.

The judge, small causes court-III, S. Umamaheswari said the FIR copy, death report and post-mortem certificate filed by the petitioner clearly proved that the accident had occurred only due to the rash and negligent driving of the van driver. The insurance firm was thereby liable to pay a compensation of Rs 22.71 lakh to the petitioner and his kin, the judge said.

2 Korean women held for smuggling 24 kg gold

ANI

Published   Jan 12, 2019, 3:16 pm IST

The women came under the radar of customs officials when they were noticed walking in a suspicious manner, as if carrying heavy load.

‘12 gold bars weighing 1 kg each were recovered from each passenger. In total 24 gold bars weighing 1 kg each of 24 karat purity totally weighing 24 Kgs valued at Rs 8 crores was recovered,’ Office of the Chief Commissioner of Customs said. (Representational Image)

Chennai: Customs officials at the aerodrome here detained two South Korean women for allegedly smuggling 24 kilograms of gold worth Rs 8 crores on Saturday.

The two lady passengers came under the radar of the customs officials after they started walking in a suspicious manner in the vicinity of the airport as if they were carrying a heavy load.

The duo was later intercepted at the exit of the arrival hall and questioned by Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers.

"As both the passengers were evasive in their replies, they were taken for personal search along with their baggage. During their personal search the lady officer noticed that both the passengers were wearing mini shorts underneath their skirts and pajamas. 12 gold bars weighing 1 kg each were recovered from each passenger.

In total 24 gold bars weighing 1 kg each of 24 karat purity totally weighing 24 Kgs valued at Rs 8 crores was recovered," stated the Office of the Chief Commissioner of Customs in Chennai.

The two have been identified as Hanbyoul Jung (26) and Eunyoung Kim (26), belonging to the Republic of Korea. They had arrived from Hong Kong Via Cathay Pacific flight CX 631.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.

Bengaluru: Two IT employees held for data theft

DECCAN CHRONICLE.

PublishedJan 14, 2019, 5:59 am IST

Making use of their positions, the duo accessed a few crucial operations.

A technical team, on suspicion, verified their activities and found that the two had allegedly not only floated an IT company, but were also stealing data and diverting funds illegally. (Representational Image)

Bengaluru: Mahadevapura police have arrested two senior executives of an IT company for allegedly stealing data from the firm and diverting crores of rupees for the company that they had set up.

The accused, Prathap, 32, and Karthik, 35, worked as senior manager and operations manager respectively, in a software development firm located at the Export Promotion Industrial Park Zone. The firm has branches in different countries, the police said.

Abdul Ahad, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Whitefield, said the two were arrested after the company noticed their unauthorised absence and had not returned the company laptops.

A technical team, on suspicion, verified their activities and found that the two had allegedly not only floated an IT company, but were also stealing data and diverting funds illegally.

They had also accessed the company's client list to approach them for business.

According to the police, Prathap and Karthik joined the company in 2012 and 2013, respectively, and were eventually promoted. Making use of their positions, the duo accessed a few crucial operations.

In 2017, they set up an IT firm and allegedly started stealing confidential data, technology, and client database for their company, Captive Med Solutions, while they continued to work in the same place.

They were sent to the U.S. by the company on business trips. During their overseas stays, they allegedly cut business deals for their own company and also diverted funds for it.

From November, 2018 onwards they stopped reporting for work, but they neither submitted their resignation nor returned the company laptops.

Police said when the company checked with its operations team, it found that its intellectual property had been stolen and money diverted. Through its network administrator, the company was able to track Karthik's office laptop and found all the details in it.