Kilambakkam bus terminus to open partially before elections

Kilambakkam bus terminus to open partially before elections

The portion which caters to MTC buses will be opened now, and the file has been sent to the government.

Published: 23rd February 2021 04:51 AM 

Work for a mega bus terminus in progress at Kilambakkam on the outskrirts of the city despite stumbling blocks | SUNISH P SURENDRAN

By C Shivakumar

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The new mofussil bus terminus at Kilambakkam, for which the foundation was laid last year, will open partially before the model code of conduct comes into force for the Assembly elections.Official source told Express that the bus terminus could open by the end of this month through video-conferencing.

The portion which caters to MTC buses will be opened now, and the file has been sent to the government. The bus terminus is being built to cater to south-bound buses, and there is also a plan to link it with the Metro linking the airport stretch. It is learnt that the first phase extension from Chennai Airport to Kilambakkam where the new terminus is proposed is likely to be 16-km stretch along the GST Road. The feasibility study has been completed and the stretch will be an elevated one, said sources.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the entire terminus would take at least five to six months more to get completed. Sources said there were design issues and a committee was formed to look into it. It is learnt that CMDA is mulling on going in for a new technology which will not only complete the work but also cut down cost and also ensure the earlier design doesn’t undergo change.

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority is planning to change the construction methodology so that the elevation structures are being casted as pre-engineered structure, using structural steel members. The project, which was expected to be completed before March 2021, was delayed due to non-availability of migrant workforce following the pandemic. The new terminus once completed is expected to cater to about 1.5 lakh passengers with a parking space for 250 buses, 270 cars and 3,500 two-wheelers.

President to be chief guest at CUG convocation today

President to be chief guest at CUG convocation today

23.02.2021 

President Ram Nath Kovind will be the chief guest at the third convocation of Gandhinagar-based Central University of Gujarat (CUG) on Tuesday evening. The event will be held at Mahatma Mandir. Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal will also attend the convocation where 244 degrees including 73 PhDs will be awarded.

GNLU holds workshop on digital literacy

GNLU’s Centre for Women and Child Rights organized a workshop on Digital Literacy and Online Safety. Janice Varghese, a speaker at the event, said that application permissions are often overlooked by users. “One must also understand concepts of digital footprints, cybercrime and ways of redress,” she said. TNN

24-year-old physio hangs self

24-year-old physio hangs self

Was Unhappy About Man Her Parents Had Chosen For Her

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:23.02.2021 

A 24-year-old woman from the Kubernagar area of city on Sunday morning was found dead from a hotel room in the Vastrapur area of city. Police officers inquiring into the case said that she had committed suicide by hanging herself with a ceiling fan as she was not happy with her parents choosing a man as her groom whom she did not like.

The deceased was identified as Kajal Sachdev, a resident of Shivsagar Bungalows in Kubernagar. According to Vastrapur police, Sachdev had checked in in room number 207 on the second floor of the the hotel off Gurukul Road at around 3pm on Saturday.

“As she did not respond on Sunday, a hotel staffer informed the assistant manager about the guest’s suspicious behavious,” said a police officer.

“An assistant manager of the hotel called a technician to open the door. The technician opened the room door with a master key and found Sachdev hanging,” added the police officer.

The hotel staff called an ambulance and police for the further medicolegal procedure. “Paramedics of the 108 ambulance service declared her dead and police filed a complaint of accidental death and began an investigation after sending her body for a postmortem,” said the police officer.

The officer said that Sachdev was a physiotherapist who did not join any institute and working individually.

“She used to attend people in person to get rid them of their physical pain. However, she could not express her mental agony to anyone else,” said a police officer of Vastrapur.

He said that they have questioned a few friends and family members about the reason behind her suicide. “They told us that she was aggrieved with her arranged marriage. She did not want to marry that man. This could be the reason behind her suicide,” said the officer.

Court dismisses petition against intercaste marriage

Court dismisses petition against intercaste marriage

Anand.Bodh @timesgroup.com

Shimla:23.02.2021 

A girl is not cattle or a non-living thing but a living, independent soul having rights to exercise her discretion according to her wishes on attaining the age of discretion, said Himachal Pradesh high court as it disposed of a petition related to the marriage of an upper caste woman with a Scheduled Caste man.

The high court said that unlike ancient Western belief wherein a female was supposed to be created by God from the rib of a man for the enjoyment of man, in India, a female has always been considered not only equal but at a higher pedestal than the male since the Vedic era, except for evils of the medieval period, which must be eradicated in the present era.

Justice Vivek Singh Thakur said the woman was at liberty to go and reside wherever she wants and the opposition to marriage between a couple from different castes is the result of spiritual as well as religious ignorance leading to behaviour in violation of constitutional mandate.

The Constitution, said the judge, is an embodiment of ancient values of ‘Bhartiya society’. Independence of thought of an individual is a fundamental feature of the Indian culture. “We are living in a state governed by the Constitution and discrimination on the basis of caste by denying of right to choose a spouse is in violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India,” he added.

Suppressing or oppressing freedom of an individual, which is contrary not only to his/her spiritual and religious rights but also constitutional rights, is to be deprecated. Balance is to be maintained between individual, family, and societal interests, and that should be in consonance with the constitutional mandate, according to the judgment.

Blaming the evils of the medieval period for wrong perceptions that have clouded the rich values and principles of Indian culture and civilization, the judgment said that right to marry, or not to marry, as well as the right to choose a spouse is a well-recognized right in Indian society since ancient era. Inter-caste marriages were also permissible in ancient Indian society.

‘No one is to be discriminated on account of sex, caste, creed, race, colour, or financial status,’ the Himachal Pradesh high court judge said

I-T raids yield over ₹785cr black money

I-T raids yield over ₹785cr black money

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:23.02.2021 

Searches by the income tax department on two business groups in Bhopal and Pune over the last week have unearthed black money (unaccounted income) of more than Rs 785 crore.

In the first case, tax officials searched 22 premises of a soya products manufacturer in Satna, Mumbai, Solapur and Kolkata on Thursday and seized unaccounted cash of Rs 8 crore and Rs 44 lakh in foreign currency. The search team also found nine bank lockers which have been sealed for further investigation.

“Digital evidence has revealed undisclosed income of over Rs 450 crore,” the I-T department said. The search team has seized laptops, hard drives and pen drives from the accused.

In the Pune case, I-T officials found details of undisclosed income of Rs 335 crore of a business group based in Sangamner. Searches were conducted at 34 locations across Maharashtra on Wednesday.

Male nurse arrested for filming his co-workers, docs in changing room

Male nurse arrested for filming his co-workers, docs in changing room

Accused Is A Contract Worker

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:23.02.2021 

Tilaknagar police on Sunday arrested a male nurse on charges of secretly recording videos of women doctors and nurses by placing his mobile phone in recording mode inside a changing room near the operation theatre at a government hospital.

The accused is Maruthesh, 31, a resident of Jayanagar and from Chitradurga. Maruthesh was appointed as a nurse on contract basis at the government-run Institute of Trauma and Orthopaedics in souther n Bengaluru.

According to police, the incident came to light around 9.30am on Friday, when a 28-year-old doctor entered the room to change her dress. She found a mobile phone in the room and learnt that some miscreant had placed it secretly in video-recording mode. The young doctor checked the phone’s gallery. She found a few videos of nurses and other women employees changing clothes. She found that the miscreant had deleted many such videos.

“The doctor restored several deleted videos from the recycle bin. We learnt that the mobile phone belonged to Maruthesh, a staff nurse appointed on contract basis. He had recorded the videos,” the institute director alleged in his complaint filed on Saturday.

Never shared videos: Miscreant

Tilaknagar police registered a case under IPC section 354C (voyeurism) and 201 (destroying evidence) against Marutesh, who confessed to his crime. He allegedly recorded the videos for personal viewing. “Marutesh claimed that he never shared the videos with any one. We have seized his mobile phone for forensic investigation, which may reveal how many videos he recorded, whether he shared them with anyone before he deleted them and other information,” said police.

Police produced Maruthesh before court, which remanded him in judicial custody.

A young doctor entered the changing room and found a mobile phone inside. She checked the phone’s gallery and found videos of nurses and other women employees changing clothes. Maruthesh had also deleted many of them

Just because he wants to look after child, man can’t stop maintenance to wife: HC

Just because he wants to look after child, man can’t stop maintenance to wife: HC

Vasantha.Kumar@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:23.02.2021 

Merely because a father is ready to take care of his child, he is not permitted to discontinue the maintenance he is required to pay his wife who has proved she is unable to maintain herself, the high court observed, while rejecting the review petition filed by a Bengalurean.

Nagesh (name changed), a resident of Bengaluru, had challenged a November 12, 2013 order of the family court directing him to pay Rs 10,000 per month as maintenance to his wife and minor daughter.

According to Nagesh, his wife Shanthi (name changed) had a diploma in commercial practice and was capable of earning a livelihood. He further claimed she had resigned from her job just to compel him to pay maintenance. He also stated that he wanted to look after his daughter.

On the other hand, his wife claimed she had quit the job to look after their daughter, who had a vision-related problem. She said Nagesh was employed in a private firm, earned a good salary and also had a house and agricultural property.

Considering the rival claims, Justice HB Prabhakara Sastry noted the child being a minor is unable to maintain herself. “A mere statement in the revision petition by the father that he desires to take care of his daughter would not exonerate him from giving maintenance to the child in compliance of the family court order,” the judge observed.

The man had challenged a family court order directing him to pay monthly maintenance of Rs 10,000 to his wife and minor daughter