‘Cancellations hit more than 1L IndiGo flyers till May’

New Delhi:30.07.2018

More than 1.08 lakh passengers were affected because of the large-scale flight cancellations by IndiGo, government data has revealed.

During the first five months of the year, up to May, the carrier cancelled 1,824 flights, impacting 1,08,549 passengers, the highest among the domestic carriers.

The figures were shared by minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. TNN

All’s not well between EPS and OPS

Deputy CM Asserts Himself In Party By Raising Steering Committee Issue

D.Govardan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:30.07.2018

Despite the public posturing of all’s well and claims of bonhomie between chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam, the tug-ofwar continues between the party and the government.

It started on July 16, when I-T searches were carried out in the state on the premises of a highway contractor. The same evening, at an internal meeting held at the party headquarters in Chennai, OPS asserted himself for the first time in the open, by raising the issue of the steering committee.

“At the meeting, convened to discuss the party membership drive and strategise for the Lok Sabha polls next year, when several leaders pointed out the large number of vacant party posts lying unfilled for a long time, OPS stood up and raised the issue of the steering committee not being set up,” said an AIADMK leader, who attended the meeting.

“Why talk about other party posts when even the steering committee, which was planned, is yet to be formed and a resolution too was passed at the party’s general council to pave way for collective leadership,” OPS had asked. His speech was received with loud applause, with several leaders in the party even standing up to acknowledge it, the leader said.

While this did not go well with the EPS camp, they were in for a shock a little later, when hardly a few applauded EPS’s speech in the end. Around this time, OPS had also started returning party joint statements unsigned to push his demand for a steering committee further. “The EPS camp had planned to increase the number of party districts and decided to split 2-3 existing ones initially and appoint new district secretaries of their choice. This was turned down by OPS, who refused to sign,” a party insider said.

Simultaneously, OPS stealthily planned his visit to New Delhi on July 23, ostensibly to meet Union defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman the next day. While several party MPs lined up at the airport to receive him, a few others, who could not, met him at Tamil Nadu House. This rattled EPS further.

“As if waiting for an opportunity, EPS told reporters in Chennai that OPS had gone to thank the defence minister for her help in providing an Army chopper to airlift his ailing brother to Chennai. A surprised OPS had to acknowledge the same to reporters in New Delhi, which eventually resulted in his carefully laid plans going awry,” pointed out another leader.

While an embarrassed OPS had to quickly beat a retreat to Chennai and said, “One needs a strong heart to bear everything,” the EPS camp rejoiced. A day later, the state government informed the Madras high court that it has already started preliminary investigations into the assets owned by OPS and his family.

“The investigations may not proceed much, but the mere information to the court was enough to checkmate OPS. There could be a pause now for a few days, before someone makes the next move.,” the leader said.


STRAINED TIES: EPS told reporters in Chennai that OPS had gone to thank the defence minister for her help in providing an Army chopper to airlift his ailing brother to Chennai. A surprised OPS had to acknowledge the same to reporters in New Delhi

Anti-venom from south India may not work across country

Snakes From Different Regions Don’t Have Similar Toxins

Oppili.P@timesgroup.com  30.07.2018

Rajendran, a member of the Irula tribe, takes a Russel’s viper from a pot by its neck and brings it towards a beaker on a table. Agitated, the snake bares its fangs, and bites instantly at the glass capped with a stretched rubber cloth. Within seconds, the viper drains 2ml of deadly toxins into the beaker.

Every day, Rajendran and his colleagues at the Irula Snake Catcher’s Industrial Cooperative Society functioning from the premises of Crocodile Bank in Vadanemmeli, repeat the act. The facility is the onl government-run snake venom extraction unit in the country which supplies polyvalent venom (contains neutralizing antibodies raised against two or more species of snakes) to Haffkine Institute, Serum Institute of India and other anti-venom serum manufacturers. But the venom supplied from this unit is facing a new problem. Serum made from venom of snakes endemic to south India is not very effective in other regions.

In a recent incident in the Northeast, a snakebite victim died even after administering several vials of antivenom serum that was prepared from polyvalent venom from the south.

Principal scientist from Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology’s (CCMB) laboratory for conservation of endangered species, Hyderabad, G Umapathy said if anti-venom was prepared from venom sourced from the south, it could be ineffective elsewhere. In the Irula society, four venoms from the ‘big four’ — Indian cobra, common krait, Russell’s viper and saw-scaled viper — are mixed and made into polyvalent venom. Instead of making polyvalent venom, monoclonal venom (obtained from a single species) has to be extracted and it has to be used for making the antivenom serum effective, he said.

Senior principal scientist at CCMB Karthikeyan Vasudevan said snakes from different geographic regions would have different venoms. A snake injects venom to kill its prey and not human beings. “Prey varies across regions and so does the venom. Hence, serum made from venom extracted in the south is not effective for snake bite victims in other regions.

There were cases reported in Rajasthan where the victims required several vials of anti-venom serum during treatment,” he said.

Chennai Snake Park executive director S Paulraj said for extracting venom, snakes are caught only from Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts. The government should start similar centres in other parts of the country, he said.

Your social media profile may now hold key to visa

Lubna.Kably@timesgroup.com  30.07.2018

Mind your step! These words have taken on a new meaning for globe-trotting individuals who are also active on social media.

Immigration and border security officials across several countries are keeping an eye on your social media trail and looking up your online profiles. This helps throw up inconsistencies in information submitted to immigration authorities, connections to extremist organisations-—if any, and even posts that could be considered hate speech under the host country’s laws. In addition, officials in some countries such as the US have the authority to search your electronic devices—be it your cell phone or laptop.

A white paper issued by Berry Appleman & Leiden (BAL), a global law firm, states that 30,200 searches of electronic devices were conducted by US border officials in fiscal 2017, a spike of 58% from the previous year.

Contrast this with fiscal 2015, where there were only 8,500 cases of searches of electronic device.

This trend of increased searches continues. Up to March 31, which in the US constitutes the first six months of fiscal 2018, nearly15,000 searches were conducted.



Visiting US? Prepare to unlock your phone

Basic Search Of Devices Can Be Conducted Even Without Any Suspicion

Although only a small percentage of travellers are likely to be so searched, those entering or exiting the US should be prepared in the event they are asked to unlock their cell phone or other device at the borders,” states BAL in its white paper ‘Social media and immigration’. A basic search of electronic devices can be conducted even without any suspicion of criminal conduct. An advanced search, which entails confiscating the device and sending it to a forensic lab, is carried out when officers have a reasonable suspicion of criminal violation or concerns of national security.

BAL advises companies to have policies in place to better equip their employees to deal with such scenarios. “When people are prepared,they are more likely to respond to a latenight encounter after a long international flight with a border official in a calm and reasoned manner, making it less likely for a confrontation to escalate,” says Stephanie Lewin, senior counsel in BAL’s San Francisco office. Under current US law, warrantless border searches are only allowed for data stored on the device itself. The border officials are not authorized to search information stored on the cloud through a traveller’s mobile device. Thus, travellers may take precautions such as limiting the number of devices they bring, or moving data on to the cloud and deleting sensitive information before they travel, states BAL. In addition to physical searches of digital equipment, several countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, UK and US are tracking social media footprints. Canadian consular officers assessing applications for permanent residency can take cognizance of any information that is publicly available, and applicants have received rejection letters based on anomalies detected.

“Employees applying for visas, work permits, or residency should expect that any details gathered from their social media platforms can be used as a basis to refuse their application,” says Brendan Kinne, director of global programs in BAL’s Houston office.

New Zealand’s immigration authorities confirmed last September that their officials opened social media accounts using pseudonyms, to verify information relating to visa applicants.

Scrutiny of social media footprint is likely to get tighter and US may be the first mover in this regard. As reported earlier by TOI, in March the US state department, proposed a broader plan to ask nearly all visa applicants for social media identifiers (say Twitter handles or Facebook profiles) used by them over the past five years (this plan does not include asking for passwords).

An advocate specialising in HR laws says that social media policies of India Inc typically debar an employee or a former employee from posting defamatory comments about the company, its employees or clients. Prohibiting posting of views on social media on policies adopted by a country, could trample upon freedom of expression.



BE PREPARED: When people are prepared,they are more likely to respond to a late-night encounter after a long international flight with a border official in a calm and reasoned manner, making it less likely for a confrontation to escalate, says Stephanie Lewin, senior counsel in Berry Appleman & Leiden’s San Francisco office

After couple’s suicide bid, kin get them married in ICU

HISAR LOVEBIRDS CONSUMED PESTICIDE TOGETHER

Kumar.Mukesh@timesgroup.com

Hisar:30.07.2018

Meet Gurmukh Singh, 23, of Hisar district’s Peeranwali village and Kusum, 22, of Hisar city’s Vidyut Nagar. Three days ago, this young couple attempted suicide by consuming an insecticide at a cybercafé in the city as their families were not ready to get them married. But the situation turned on its head by Saturday — Gurmukh and Kusum got hitched during a small function at the hospital they are being treated in.

Parentsof theduosaidthey had a changeof hearton seeing the condition of their children, both of who are being treated in theintensivecareunit(ICU). They are admitted in the ICU, but still dressed up like a bride and a groom for the function. For guests, the duo’s families invited the hospital staff.

A hospital staffer, who did notwanttobe named,saidGurmukh and Kusum studied together at DN College, Hisar. “They started off as friends, but they fell in love by the time they passed out of college nearly two years ago. Their families were not willing to get them married,” said the staffer.

Crestfallen because of their families’ refusal to allow them to marry, the couple met at a cybercafé near Devi Bhawan Temple and swallowed a pesticide. Gurmukh then informed his elder brother about the suicide attempt on the phone, and his family rushed to the spot and admittedthecoupletoBharat Hospital. Though there was an argumentwhen thefamilies of the couple met for the first time, anger gave way to conciliation after the guard of a doctor, Rubi Chauhan, intervened and asked them to think of their children.



HAPPY ENDING: Gurmukh Singh and Kusum getting married in hospital

High court slams disciplinary proceedings going on for years

Srikkanth.D@timesgroup.com

Madurai:30.07.3018

Coming down hard on disciplinary committees appointed in various government departments for the delay in their proceedings, the Madurai bench of the Madras high court has directed the authorities to expedite action to prevent losses to the government.

Pointing out that disciplinary proceedings had been kept in cold storage for years together in many cases, the court added that because of the pendency, the government had to pay subsistence allowance to the suspended employees without extracting any work from them.

Justice R Suresh Kumar made these observations while disposing of a petition from a helper of Pathamadai town panchayat in Tirunelveli district who was suspended in 2015. A Varusai Mohaideen moved the court as his suspension for pending disciplinary proceedings had not been reviewed till date. He had joined as a helper under the disabled quota in 2001. However, after 14 years, in 2015, he was issued suspension order claiming that his disability percentage was only 15% and not 50% as mentioned in the certificate produced by him when he joined. As per government directive, only those who have 40% disability and more are eligible to be employed under the quota. The petitioner’s counsel argued that there had been a prolonged suspension since 2015 because of the pending disciplinary proceedings.

The special government pleader told the court that the inquiry officer had submitted a report in April 2017 to the disciplinary authority and all charges against Varusai Mohaideen had been proved and only the final decision by the disciplinary authority was pending. Hearing the submissions, the court expressed surprise as to why the disciplinary authority had neither reviewed the suspension order nor taken any decision to pass a final order in the proceedings despite the inquiry officer submitting the report a year ago.

“Because of this lethargic attitude on the part of the disciplinary authority, the petitioner has unnecessarily suffered a lot, as he had been under prolonged suspension from 2015,” Justice Suresh Kumar said. He observed that apart from the agony faced by the employees, the government had to pay subsistence allowance to them, that too, initially 50% and subsequently 75% of salary. This amount was being paid to every suspended employee without extracting any work, the court said.

மனிதர்களை எடை போடும் மனம் தளராத மாற்றுத்திறனாளி

Added : ஜூலை 30, 2018 01:43



கை, கால் நன்றாக இருக்கும் போதே, பிச்சை எடுத்து பிழைப்பு நடத்துபவர்கள் பலர் உள்ள இந்த காலத்தில், இடது காலை இழந்த ஒருவர், பிச்சை எடுக்க விரும்பாமல், எடை பார்க்கும் இயந்திரம் மூலம் வாழ்க்கை நடத்தி வருகிறார்.
காஞ்சிபுரத்தை சேர்ந்தவர், டி.ஜி.கணேசன், 52; உப்பு மற்றும் கோலமாவு மண்டியின் உரிமையாளராக இருந்தார். விபத்தில் இடது காலை இழந்ததால், காஞ்சிபுரம் காமாட்சியம்மன் கோவில் வாசலில், உடல் எடை பார்க்கும் கருவியை வைத்து, வாழ்க்கையை ஓட்டி வருகிறார்.

இதுகுறித்து, அவர் கூறியதாவது: கடந்த, 25 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன், சொந்தமாக உப்பு மற்றும் கோலமாவு விற்பனை செய்யும் மண்டி வைத்திருந்தேன். கடையில் இருப்பு வைத்திருந்த, உப்பு மூட்டைகள் சரிந்து காலில் விழுந்ததில், காலை எடுக்க வேண்டிய நிலை ஏற்பட்டது.ஐந்து ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன், கண் பார்வை மங்கியதால், செயற்கை காலுடன் மாட்டு வண்டி ஓட்ட முடியவில்லை. அத்தொழிலை கைவிட்டேன். குடும்பம் நடத்துவதற்கு என்ன செய்வது என, யோசித்தேன்.

பிச்சை எடுக்கவும் மனம் வரவில்லை. இதனால், எடை பார்க்கும் கருவியை வாங்கி, கோவில்கள் அருகில் அமர்ந்தேன். கோவிலுக்கு வரும் பக்தர்கள் எடை பார்க்க, இரண்டு ரூபாய் வசூலிக்கிறேன். ஒரு நாளைக்கு, 100 ரூபாய் வருமானம் கிடைக்கும். சென்னை மெரினா பீச்சிற்கு சென்றால், 200 ரூபாய் கிடைக்கும்.இவ்வாறு, அவர், மனம் தளராமல் கூறினார்.

- நமது நிருபர் -