Nagpur to get India’s 1st 4-deck transport bridge

Ashish.Roy@timesgroup.com

Nagpur:  4.11.2019

The country’s first-ofits-kind four-deck transport structure has been planned as part of Nagpur Metro near Kamptee Road. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has sanctioned ₹535 crore for the 5.3 kilometre flyover project, which includes the four-deck structure, to be built below the Metro viaduct.

In this four-deck structure, the first level is the Kamptee Road, second is Nagpur-Bhopal railway line, third is the flyover, and fourth is the Metro viaduct. In other places, Metro viaducts and flyovers exist above roads but not above railway lines.

The details on the structure’s funding and construction are still be clarified. The NHAI has asked MahaMetro to talk to the state government to recover the cost of the flyover. Metro has, however, written to NHAI pointing out that it is merely the implementing agency and hence ways to recover the cost should be discussed directly with the state government by NHAI officials.

NHAI’s attitude has enraged Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari. He convened a meeting of NHAI and MahaMetro officials on Sunday and told the highway officials to remove the cost recovery condition.

Making Indian engineers part of new-age workforce

The intelligent employees of the future will have to be agile in terms of adapting to technological inventions and products, writes Ayush Jaiswal

4.11.2019

The 2020 Indian Engineers will look dramatically different from their predecessors of even 10 years ago. It is safe to say that no other era could have possibly seen the level of disruption and dynamic shifts that the engineering graduates are witnessing today.

While the ecosystem, products and services are evolving at a rapid pace, Indian engineers are still struggle to access global opportunities at scale. So, what are the skillsets that Indian engineers need to keep in mind to be part of the future workforce? Here are some tips collected from more than 30,000+ engineers, partnering with some of the best tech companies across the world:

SOFT SKILLS

While the Indian education system focusses on academic learning, most institutions do not focus on soft skills.

From speaking in public forums to interacting with members across teams, these become key for engineers to become productive assets for their teams. Engineers grow to become versatile managers and interpersonal skills play an essential role.

LIVE PROJECTS

This is one of the most crucial elements that engineers need to integrate. Going beyond theoretical learning and working on live applications to solve problems, is key for honing the skills. From seeding an idea of building technology, it requires one to do practical application of their knowledge.

DYNAMIC TEAMS

Remote workforces are slowly becoming a popular way for companies to scale. Remote working and working with cross-functional teams across the company have become essential skills. From using tech tools to working with other teams across verticals on regular projects is a great way to integrate learning.

(The author is joint CEO and co-founder, Pesto) Full report on educationtimes.com

Admissions Notification

In six months, 10 bikers dead after hitting dogs in Madurai
Devanathan.Veerappan@timesgroup.com

Madurai:4.11.2019

Stray dogs have claimed the lives of at least 10 bikers in Madurai district in the last six months, which include three deaths on a single day on October 27. Though accidents due to dog hits are rampant in the city and rural areas of Madurai, deaths mostly happen in rural areas. This is because the vehicles involved in the accidents were at high speed as roads are comparatively traffic free in the rural areas.

The number of people injured in the accidents caused by dogs is also high. However, only a few non-fatal accidents were recorded by police as people don’t lodge complaints. A police officer said that only a few people tend to lodge complaints in case of accidents caused by dogs, since there was no opponent involved. Complaints are received only when the injuries are serious or the two-wheelers are severely damaged.

As per police records, at least 15 non-fatal accidents have taken place in Madurai district police limits in the last six months. But police officials said that there could be around 100 accidents on an average caused by dogs in a year.

Additional deputy superintendent of police V P Ganesan said that accidents turn fatal only when riders involve in rash driving. Three were three fatal accidents on Diwali day due to dog hits. In all the cases, victims were young and were driving at high speed.

CANINE TROUBLE

HC upholds conviction of murder accused

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:4.11.2019

The Madras high court has upheld the conviction and sentence awarded by a lower court to an accused who had murdered his wife at Tuticorin in 2008.

According to the prosecution, the appellant Manthiramoorthy was married in 2007 and used to frequently pick fights with his wife (the deceased) after getting drunk. On April 5, 2008, he strangulated his wife with her saree and attacked her with a kitchen knife, causing her death.

Following this, police registered a murder case and arrested him. The Tuticorin additional sessions court/ fast track court I in an order on May 7, 2009, convicted the appellant and sentenced him to undergo life imprisonment.

The appellant then moved the Madurai bench of Madras high court in 2017, seeking relief from the order of the lower court.

His counsel submitted that the prosecution’s case is based on circumstantial evidence and the chain of circumstances has not been proved.

While confirming and upholding the order of the lower court, a division bench of Justices S Vaidyanathan and N Anand Venkatesh observed,“The appellant attacked the deceased in a grotesque manner. The conduct of the appellant... does not give any ground to modify his sentence.”

HC: FIR no bar for grant of passport

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:4.11.2019

Observing that pendency of FIR is not a bar for grant of passport, Madras high court directed the authorities concerned to consider the application submitted by a person and pass appropriate orders.

Madurai resident Prabakaran, the petitioner, had applied for a passport from the regional passport officer (RPO) at Madurai. After police verification, the regional passport officer sought clarification with regard to pendency of a case registered against him under IPC section 379 and section 21(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, at Kottampatti police station.

The petitioner appeared before the RPO in person and submitted his explanation on September  27. However, the passport officer did not issue a passport to the petitioner on the ground that a criminal case was pending against him.

The petitioner then moved the Madurai bench of Madras high court seeking a direction to the RPO, Madurai to issue him a passport.

According to the petitioner, the case is still in the FIR stage and a charge sheet has not been filed.

The special government pleader submitted that the case is still pending at the FIR stage and no further action has been taken.

Taking note of the submission, Justice M Govindaraj observed that pendency of FIR is not a bar for grant of passport. Hence, the judge directed the authorities concerned to consider the application submitted by the petitioner and pass appropriate orders within two months.

TN scraps edu qualification for DL

Move Aimed At Boosting Employment Opportunities For Drivers

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:4.11.2019

The Tamil Nadu government has removed the minimum educational qualification required for drivers while signing up for driving licences. The move, officials said, is meant to boost employment opportunities.

The change, effected on October 29, was made based on an order issued by the Union road transport ministry last month.

Earlier, a pass in Class VIII was deemed as the minimum education qualification needed for operating commercial vehicles like trucks, buses and taxis in Tamil Nadu. The rule was made a part of the original TN Motor Vehicles Rule, 1989, to ensure that drivers, travelling to other states on long routes, were able to read the names of places and warning messages on route/sign boards and record details on consignments or travel log sheets.

However, transport and commercial vehicle operators wanted this rule to be scrapped because of a shortage of drivers. Several members of lorry and bus owners' associations have submitted petitions in this regard.

There are over 6 lakh goods carriages and buses in Tamil Nadu but only 4 lakh regular drivers for these vehicles are available, according to official data.

“We hope the new rule will bridge this huge gap,” said C Dhanraj, secretary of TN Lorry Owners' Federation.

Seconding him, Ganesh from the All India Inter State Lorry Owners’ Association said that there was no need to look at the issue from the literacy angle as ability to read road signs and understand safe driving practices was more than enough to drive across the country.

Transport experts told TOI that there is no evidence to prove that people who have had a formal education drive safer.

Official data actually states that less than 11% accidents in TN (7,700) were caused by drivers with educational qualification up to Class VIII, while the accidents caused by those who were educated stood at 60,000.

Transport activist K Kathirmathiyon said drivers were misusing the shortage in their numbers as private bus operators do not take penal action against drivers if they are at fault.

However, the shortage of drivers didn’t translate into a rise in the salaries drawn by drivers. At present, their average pay is around ₹10,000-12,000 a month.

With better paying options like app-based cab aggregators available, there have been several instances where many truck drivers have presented fake stories about police demanding bribes on highways. The stigma around the job doesn’t attract many and shortage will be there, Ganesh added.

Responding to this, an official from the state transport department said that it was important to train drivers in not only basic driving and repair skills, but also on dealing with their irregular work conditions in order to retain quality drivers for a longer duration.