Tamil Nadu: I-T dept seizes Rs 4.2 crore unaccounted cash

Tamil Nadu: I-T dept seizes Rs 4.2 crore unaccounted cash

TNN | Sep 2, 2020, 04.38 AM IST

COIMBATORE: A land transaction has landed two people in trouble after the investigation wing of the income tax department seized Rs 4.2 crore that the buyer paid the land seller over and above the guidance value at which the property was registered.

Registration department sources said a resident of Gobichettipalayam in Erode district had sold two acres of land to businessman Somasundaram, of Sri Nagar in the same locality.

Somasundaram is engaged in fertilizer sales and owns a company named Royal Fertilizer Corporation at Gobichettipalayam.

The land registration was done on Monday and they showed that the land was sold at Rs 80 lakh, which was its guideline value.

The sources said as per the market value, the land was worth Rs 5 crore. “The buyer had paid the seller Rs 4.2 crore in cash before registration. The seller kept the amount at his residence with a plan to distribute the same among 12 people.”

Meanwhile, I-T investigation wing officials in Coimbatore and Erode got a tip about the deal and conducted a surprise search at the house of the land seller and seized the cash on Monday night. The officials also conducted a raid at Somasundaram’s house and office.

“The cash is unaccounted. We have asked them to appear before the investigation officer of income tax department in Erode for further investigation," the source said.

The source said the income tax department would collect 30% tax on the unaccounted money and another 30% as penalty. The land buyer has to answer for the unaccounted money before the IT department sleuths.

Rlys to run 5 daily passenger trains from September 7

Rlys to run 5 daily passenger trains from September 7

TNN | Sep 4, 2020, 04.24 AM IST

Trichy: Railways has announced that five daily special trains will run via Trichy, two of them passing through Madurai too, from September 7 following the nod given by the state government in this regard. These are Trichy – Chennai, Karaikudi-Chennai, Mayiladuthurai-Coimbatore, Madurai-Chennai and Chennai-Tuticorin. The frequency and the number of trains are expected to be gradually increased in the coming days.

Trichy railway division had begun preparing coaches for resumption of services. A senior official said many rakes were being halted at various stations as they were operated to carry guest workers during the lockdown. However, with the available rakes in Trichy division, they can operate 80% of the trains, the official said.

The required overhauling, maintenance and repairing works on rakes have already been completed. Hence, they were ready to operate any number of trains at any time, official sources said.

Meanwhile, in view of the resumption of services, a team of Railway Protection Force (RPF) along with Government Railway Police (GRP) conducted a mock drill at Trichy railway junction on Thursday morning. The team comprising the bomb and dog squad along with personnel from both the forces executed the mock operation on board the workmen special train which arrived on platform number 2 from Thanjavur carrying employees. The exercise tested the preparedness of railway armed force, employees and their response time in case of an emergency situation like bomb threat or accident, RPF inspector Sridhar told TOI.

Tamil Nadu: Colleges, varsities gear up for final year/sem exams

Tamil Nadu: Colleges, varsities gear up for final year/sem exams

TNN | Sep 4, 2020, 07.48 AM IST

MADURAI: Many top colleges and universities are preparing to conduct semester exams for final year students following the state government’s announcement that they will happen after September 15. Plans are on to hold the exams offline with Covid-19 safety protocols as there is a feeling that there is no need for further delay as public transport also resumes on September 7.

“We are not really prepared to hold it for online mode this time as there are connectivity issues especially in rural areas. Possibility of malpractices is also a concern. However, offline mode of examination could be held easily with proper planning as there are only five papers,” said Dr K Pitchumani, vice-chancellor, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU). Heads of colleges and universities felt that with all public transport resuming and JEE Mains and NEET being conducted, it should not be much of an issue to hold the exams for final year students.

“Offline is the best way to hold the exams as it would ensure no student misses out. Logistics too should not be an issue after September 15,” said N Rajendran, VC of Alagappa University, Karaikudi. Madurai Kamaraj University VC Dr M Krishnan too said that discussions have been held with college principals and all are ready to conduct the exams following UGC guidelines. “Though we are yet to receive any communication from the state government, as an autonomous college, we have decided to hold the semester exams for final years from September 17 to 30. The same has been communicated to students. The exams will happen in two shifts following all precautions. All students have already paid the fees,” said Dr Davamani M Christober, principal, The American College, Madurai.

Final year students, many of whom are already working or have got admission for higher studies, are also looking to finish the exams soon. “It is a bit tough for us as we have to suddenly write the exams after months of postponement. But there is no point in waiting further. Just clearing it would be enough to ensure I can continue with my job. By now, all are aware of Covid-19 safety rules like hand washing, wearing masks and social distancing. Just like in any public place, it shouldn’t be difficult to follow,” said G Kaviya, a final year BSc IT student.

1,300km on scooter from J’khand to MP for pregnant wife’s exam

1,300km on scooter from J’khand to MP for pregnant wife’s exam

P.Naveen@timesgroup.com

Bhopal  04.09.2020

 Let’s go, she said. And they did.

Battling floods, torrential downpour and rain-battered roads, a couple from Jharkhand drove 1,300km on scooter, the pregnant wife sitting pillion, so that she could appear for her second-year exam for a diploma in elementary education in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

With one raincoat to share, Dasrath and Soni Manjhi set off from Jharkhand’s Gantatola village on August 28. Soni is seven months pregnant, and Dasrath was unwilling to risk travelling such a long distance by scooter — that too in peak monsoon — but she was determined not to miss a year.

“I am a non-matric school dropout. She has completed her first year. I want her to build her career, follow her dream. She will become a teacher once she completes the course, and we can give a better future to the one who will come into our life in two months,” Dasrath said.

“I can face any situation with the support of my husband,” said the braveheart mother-to-be. They have been married for nine months.

Dasrath, 37, works with a catering firm. “Trains aren’t running, and taxis asked for ₹25,000 to ₹30,000. We couldn’t afford it. This exam was important for her, so we decided to go by road,” Dasrath told TOI over phone on Thursday while Soni wrote her exam at Padma College in Gwalior. The centre was allotted to her at random.

They reached Gwalior on August 30 and word trickled out on Wednesday night.

“I have been flooded with calls since this morning. One call was apparently from the chief minister’s office. I was told that the MP government will help us with a return flight to Delhi and further transportation to our village in Jharkhand. They will send our scooter by railway parcel. That is more than we can ask for. We are overwhelmed,” said Dasrath.

Full report on www.toi.in

AGAINST ALL ODDS: Dasrath and Soni Manjhi

‘TN among 5 high-burden states showing decline in daily cases’
Health Ministry Data Shows State Saw Almost 24% Dip In Avg No. Of Cases

Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 04.09.2020

While active cases of Covid-19 are rising on a daily basis led by rapidly rising positive cases across the country, the health ministry data shows that the trajectory of average daily active cases in the five high-burden states have declined during the last week (August 27-September 2), as compared to the week of August 13-19.

Five high-burden states — Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu — account for 62% of active cases in the country. The data also shows that Tamil Nadu saw an almost 24% decrease in average number of daily active cases during August 27-September 2 as compared to August 13-19. In Maharashtra, it dropped by 6.8%. UP, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh also showed a decline by around 17%, 16% and 13.7% respectively. However, Maharashtra has recorded high numbers on a daily basis and has a worrying positivity rate that hovers around 20%.

There have been fluctuations in the week of August 20-26 where the number has gone up as compared to the August 13-19 week, but over all, in the three week period, the states have registered a decline.

Overall, active cases across the country are increasing consistently despite high number of recoveries on a daily basis. On Wednesday, 68,584 Covid-19 patients were discharged from either home isolation or hospital taking the total number of recoveries to nearly 30 lakh. Despite this, the active case-load of the country stood at 8,15,538, up from 8,01,282 a day ago. Not too long ago, the number was in the 7 lakh region.

In case of deaths, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi and Tamil Nadu account for 70% of the total Covid-19 deaths in the country. However, only Karnataka and Delhi saw a surge week-on-week between these three weeks. “On a week-to-week basis, there has been 4.5% decrease in average daily deaths reported in Andhra Pradesh, 11.5% decline in Maharashtra and 18.2% decline in Tamil Nadu. On the other hand, Delhi has seen 50% and Karnataka 9.6% increase in average daily fatalities,” he said.

Full report on www.toi.in

King cobra sighting at 2,400m sets new altitude record for the species

King cobra sighting at 2,400m sets new altitude record for the species

Prashant.Jha@timesgroup.com

Nainital:04.09.2020

Forest officials in Uttarakhand have for the first time recorded sightings of king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) at heights of 2,200m to 2,400m in the Himalayas, a new altitude record for the species which has led to several experts calling for a detailed study on the how the world’s largest venomous snake was thriving at such elevations.

The observations, part of a report prepared by the Uttarakhand forest department’s research wing in Haldwani, a copy of which is with TOI, put the species’ habitat range as varying from 400m in Terai region to up to 2,400m in the hills. The report said that such a wide variation in habitat for a cold-blooded or ectothermic species was “unusual” and demands scientific investigation.

Reptiles are cold-blooded, meaning they depend on external heat sources for thermoregulation and generally prefer warmer climates. But during a ninemonth study, forest officials found nests of the snakeclassified as ‘vulnerable’ in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list— at heights of up to 2,400m in Mukteshwar (Nainital district) where winter temperatures are close to freezing and snowfall is common.

Chief conservator of forests (research) Sanjeev Chaturvedi, who led the study, said that the research involved field investigations as well as interviews with local residents. “This is the highest altitude at which a king cobra has ever been sighted,” Chaturvedi told TOI.

A study published in the journal Herpetology Notes in 2018 authored by Jignasu Dolia, a researcher at the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India, had mentioned the highest recorded altitude for the king cobra—India’s national reptile— at 2,303m after a hatchling was found in the Indian Veterinary Research Institute’s (IVRI) campus in Mukteshwar in 2012. The species has been sighted at 1,840m in Sikkim, 1,170m in Mizoram and 1,830m in the Nilgiris.

(Inputs by Shivani Azad)

Universities can hold exams for 1st & 2nd year UG courses: SC

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:04.09.2020

Lakhs of students in first and second year undergraduate courses may have to appear for examinations this year to get promoted to the next year as the Supreme Court on Thursday said the University Grants Commission (UGC) has left it to the discretion of universities whether or not to conduct such exams.

Ayush Yesudas, a Delhibased 24-year undergraduate student of Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou), through counsel Manish Pratap Singh, argued before a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R S Reddy and M R Shah that the July 22 notification of Ignou asking first and second year students to appear in examinations in December would not only keep them in confusion since many universities had decided to promote them to the next year without examination but also put them in grave danger because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The bench said the UGC had left it to the discretion of universities to hold or not to hold examinations for first and second year undergraduate students. “It is for each university to decide. UGC has given discretion. If a university decides to hold an examination, it is not subject to judicial review. We cannot start deciding whether examination is necessary or not. It (Ignou’s decision) does not violate the UGC’s July 6 guidelines,” the bench said.

Each year, around 2.5 lakh students enrol for various undergraduate courses offered by Ignou. This means, around five lakh students will have to prepare for first and second year undergraduate examinations in December. The petition, filed through Pratik Bombarde, said most students who enrolled in undergraduate courses of Ignou came from poor backgrounds and would find it difficult to appear in online examinations.

The bench had recently upheld UGC’s July 6 guidelines making it mandatory for final year undergraduate and postgraduate students to appear in examinations to be entitled to their degrees. However, it softened the September 30 deadline set by UGC for completion of final examinations by ruling that states, under the Disaster Management Act, could defer final examinations given the Covid-19 situation.