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‘Govt threatening us’: TN state government employees to defy diktat on Jan 8-9 strike

January 7, 2019, 3:51 am
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Strike
The Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary had warned employees not to participate in the nationwide strike against the Centre’s labour laws.
Manasa Rao
File image/ For representation
A day after Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan issued a warning to state government employees asking them not to participate in the nationwide general strike against central government policies, the employees have vowed to defy the diktat, stating that the strike is a means to ‘vent their grievances.’ In a letter dated January 4, the Tamil Nadu government had stated that strict action will be taken against those government staff members found taking part in the strike. “I am to point out that strike or threat of strike or participation by Government Servants in strike or demonstration or any other form of agitation affecting the normal functioning of the government offices amount to violation of rules 20, 22 and 22 A of the Tamil Nadu Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1973,” the letter stated. Speaking to TNM, however, A Soundararajan, Tamil Nadu President of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), said that there were a multitude of issues for which the protest is taking place. “The strike is to vent our grievances. Strikes are a democratically accepted form of protest. Rules are there of course, so they are invoking. Point is that such threatening is undemocratic. The protest will happen despite the order. When people are striking, the government should view this with consideration. This is not the way for a democracy to function,” he said. “This government is doing this because it is fully under the central government. Those at the Centre are not controlling price rise. Petrol and diesel prices are under government control but even that is rising. Rupee value has been fluctuating. Rural distress among farmers is the biggest problem right now. There are 60-70 crore farmers in India. They are faced with cyclone, floods and drought. Loan waiver action should be taken. This is a corporate government. Unemployment is on the rise. Existing jobs are being snatched away with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence, especially in the auto industry. Labour laws are being amended and made toothless in order to favour landowners. Institutions like the Election Commission, Central Bureau of Investigation, Planning Commission and even the Supreme Court are being eroded,” he added. The CITU expects 20 crore people from across the country to participate in the strike. While there will be a farmers’ protest on January 8, a workers’ picketing is expected on January 9. According to the Chief Secretary’s letter, disciplinary action will be taken against government staff who violate the rules that deal with Integrity and devotion to duty, Strikes, and Procession and Meetings. “If any of the Government servants have not attended office, consequent of their participation in the proposed All India Strike, their period of absence has to be considered as unauthorised and they are not entitled to any pay and allowances on the basis of the principle of No Work – No Pay,” it read. Speaking to TNM, NL Sridharan, State President of the Tamil Nadu All Department Government Pensioners Association, said that it is routine for the government to issue such a circular. “We are doing this despite the circular. They want to break the strike but we have previously conducted 17-18 strikes like this. It is only through protest that we can express our grievance. And this is not just government employees and teachers taking part. All India central trade unions, All India State Employees Sammelan, Central Government Employees Sammelan and others are also participating. Our demand is that minimum wage for government employees should be at a minimum of Rs 18,000 and pension should be at a minimum of Rs 9,000,” he said. He added, “The Joint Action Council of the Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Organisations and Government Employees Organisations (JACTO-GEO) is also taking part.”
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Chennai gears up for The Hindu’s Lit for Life during Pongal

January 7, 2019, 4:00 am
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Literature
The literature festival will span across three days with workshops, discussions and exhibitions by subject experts and authors.
TNM Staff
Facebook/LitforLife
Chennai is gearing up to host The Hindu’s annual literature festival Lit for Life during the Pongal weekend. This year, the fest will commemorate the 20th anniversary of The Hindu’s literature supplement, Literary Review. Lit for Life, a one-evening event way back in 2010 when it was conceptualised, has now grown into a three-day event filled with discussions, workshops and exhibitions, all related to books and literature. Dr Nirmala Lakshman, Festival Director and Curator, says that the Lit for Life is an attempt at connecting literature to the masses. “LFL reflects the spirit of the times and celebrates free speech and expression. The idea is to connect literature to the masses and so, both in terms of curation and execution; it is as inclusive as possible. It is almost a decade since we started LFL and we are extremely happy with how it has evolved. We will have to up the ante for the 10th edition,” she adds. The festival will also see the awarding of The Hindu Prize which is given to recognise Indian writing in fiction. This year, a new category -- Non-Fiction -- has been added to the award and the winners for both the categories will be announced on January 13. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5,00,000 each, a trophy and a citation.The Hindu Young world Goodbooks Awards will also be presented at the festival Children will also be given their due share of merriment in the fest-- The Hindu Lit For Life Children’s Fest. Introduced in 2017, the Children’s Fest comprises workshops on science, reading, storytelling, theatre etc. This year, interactive sessions with authors of children’s books have also been scheduled over and above the existing sessions. Some of the confirmed speakers at this year’s Lit for Life are Arun Shourie, Audrey Truschke, S Peter Alphonse, Kanimozhi, Rajmohan Gandhi, Sanjay Pinto, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Jonathan Gil Harris. The full list of speakers is yet to be released by The Hindu.
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The making of 'Magizhchi': Composer Tenma on The Casteless Collective's first album

January 7, 2019, 4:48 am
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Music
TNM got in touch with Tenma, the band's producer and arranger, on their latest songs, their journey so far and what awaits the 19 member band.
Anjana Shekar
Deepak Bagavanth
On New Year's eve, The Casteless Collective’s debut album, Magizhchi, was launched. The launch itself was preceded by a three-day cultural event planned by director Pa Ranjith’s Neelam Cultural Centre. As the 19-member band walked around the pumped-up crowd waiting for the album’s launch in St Ebba’s School in Chennai, the cheering and loud claps from the audience, which drowned out every other sound that night, was proof enough of the band’s popularity. Their 'Ayappa' song sung by Isaivaani - the band’s only female performer - went viral on social media soon after it was performed on stage. The lines “I am sorry Ayappa na ulla vandha ennapa? Bayam kaati adakivekka pazhakaalam illappa” appeared to predict the events that were to follow a few days later - two women scaled the Sabarimala hill to pray to the deity while the state was focusing on another phenomenal feat performed by its women - the Women's Wall. Were they expecting the song to become an overnight sensation? “We are actually bowled over by the response. The song is trending in Kerala and we are quite happy. We’ve now been called to perform in Kerala,” says Tenma, the band’s music producer, arranger and leader. Formed a year ago in December 2017, The Casteless Collective was brought together by Pa Ranjith's Neelam Cultural Centre and an independent label 'Madras Records' run by indie artist Tenma. Bringing Magizhchi onstage With eight songs and one bonus instrumental track (‘Othadi’), Magizhchi is a genre-bending album with searing lyrics and foot-thumping beats. From the popular ‘Beef’ and ‘Quota’ songs with seething lines aimed at the authoritarian government to the funnily worded ‘Tik Tik' or ‘Naanga Platform’ to the pathos on farming crisis - ‘Vivasayam’ - the album discusses varied political topics that are most relevant to present times. The band, in fact, had performed a few of these songs last year, when they came up on stage for the very first time. “Most of the songs we performed last January itself. We actually wrote the songs in December 2017. But we tightened up the lyrics this time. We also wrote songs based on the current political events ('Ayappa') and there are a few that we couldn’t perform like the ‘Aama Sami song’ that goes “Ippola yarunga sami pakuraa”'. We wanted to include three more songs but due to lack of time we weren’t able to,” says Tenma. The band has performed a good number of songs that aren’t part of their Magizhchi album, like the New Year song, ‘Thathangu Tharikita Tharikita’, that was very well received when it was performed live on stage to welcome 2019. Then there’s ‘Pengalathan Kumbidaran Deivama’ another brilliant number by Isiaivaani. “We rewrote the lyrics with a different idea this time. The theme is around LGBTQ issues and women's empowerment. This time, it is structured around a brother’s support for his sister’s love with another person. This time, we had a lot more songs on women’s empowerment,” shares Tenma. He also admits that he has been scouting for more female singers to join The Casteless Collective. “I have been asked about this many times and I am on the lookout for singers. But the reason why we don’t have more women yet is that it is quite challenging to find someone who fits the bill and the TCC stage is quite competitive,” he adds. Isaivaani is proof for just how much more powerful a song can sound when it comes from a woman - both her songs ‘Beef’ and ‘Ayappa’ have been widely shared by many. Magizhchi isn't just an album that you can listen to in passing. It is an album that makes you want to grab at those lines floating through air to understand them better. And the man behind these powerful lines is Arivu. “Arivu writes a lot, sometimes it might be in meter, sometimes it might not, but Arivu and I constantly have political, musical and social conversations. But the main person behind the lyrical content of our songs is Jenny. She tightens our lyrics, makes sure the politics is right. She needs to be celebrated as an important thinker. She is very integral to the lyrical idea of TCC. Jenny was also the brains behind the 'Beef' and the 'Ayappa' songs,” says Tenma. Photo courtesy: Aruna Photography The journey thus far The album itself comes with a unique feat - it has been recorded using echo chamber technique. How did they work on this? “Echo chamber recording is something I wanted to give back to the recording industry. So many attempts have been made at chamber recording. In European productions, they take an orchestra inside a church to get the atmosphere of the church. Led Zeppelin has recorded in a mansion,” begins Tenma. But the idea itself came to him after they performed during the Museum Theatre’s Iyal Isai Nadagam festival in 2018. “It was a really unique sound and I liked it very much, so I checked with a couple of engineers. It was a huge risk but we flipped that risk. We recorded the percussion track in The Museum Theatre. It will be a unique experience when you listen to it,” he says. Credit for The Casteless Collective coming a long way in just a year must go to each of its artists. From sharing their very first stage together to becoming powerful performers in their own right, TCC band members have had a spectacular journey, and Tenma’s role in grooming them as stage performers is undeniable. “I trained all of them keeping in mind a specific international music icon. When you look at Balachander, you’ll see a James Brown in him. When you see Muthu he’ll remind you of Freddie Mercury. In fact, everyone in the band calls him Freddie ma…” he chuckles. Tenma tells us that he made the members devour international music videos. “I made Isaivaani watch a lot of Beyonce and MIA. There isn't a rapper on the planet that Arivu does not know of. He went through the whole bill from Logic to Kendrick Lamar to Lil Wayne - he devoured all of them,” he says adding, “I adore frontmen who can entertain the crowd. This is very important for a band. Currently, there are very few playback singers or band frontmen who know how to do frontmen duties. I am very proud of where the Casteless Collective has come. We have the best performers who can entertain in the country!” While it is evident that the band has gone through a transformation, have the audience's perceptions changed too? “I don’t think anything has changed yet. People have taken us seriously and TCC has become a cultural identity, but everything remains the same apart from that. We are only trying to build a conversation. Let it take its time,” says Tenma. Talking about the TCC's agenda, Tenma says, “Our songs are quite powerful but we don’t want to agitate people and make them angry with our politics. We understand our limits. The idea is to bring everyone together and live in harmony. This is Ambedkar’s ahimsa.” But Tenma is quite confident that it won’t be long before TCC goes international. “We’ve been receiving calls to perform, and not just in India. But this is something that I’ve been building for. I’ve always wanted to take the band international,” he smiles. The Casteless Collective will be performing at the Vikatan Awards on the 9th and will also travel to Kerala on the January 12. 
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TN Minister convicted after 20 years in stone pelting case

January 7, 2019, 5:41 am
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Court
The case pertains to a case of protest near Hosur in 1998 when members of the public agitated against spurious liquor being brewed in the region.
TNM Staff
In a blow to the AIADMK government, cabinet minister Balakrishna Reddy was convicted on Monday by a special court in connection with a 1998 case for damaging public properties. The court which handles cases against MLAs and MPs sentenced him to a three year jail term and fined him Rs.10,000, paving way for his disqualification as a member of the legislative assembly. The minister was granted bail by the court following the conviction, and the sentence was suspended pending trial in a higher court. Reports suggest that he will be approaching the Madras High Court on Tuesday. However, in view of his conviction, he stands automatically disqualified as an MLA as per the Representation of People Act. Section 8 of the RP Act deals with disqualification on conviction for certain offences: A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for varying terms shall be disqualified from the date of conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release. In addition to this, the convicted leader cannot continue to be a member of Parliament or the State Legislature. Case against Reddy The case pertains to a case of protest near Hosur in 1998 when members of the public agitated against spurious liquor being brewed in the region. According to reports, 108 members were accused of throwing stones at government vehicles including police vans. There were allegations of arson against the protesters. Over 20 years later, 16 demonstrators were convicted in the case. This is however not the first case against the Minister in High Court. In September 2018, a woman from Krishnagiri district moved the Madras High Court alleging that he had made attempts to grab land. According to a Times of India report, Anjana Reddy, who hails from Hosur, approached the Madras High Court stating that land belonging to her family was illegally transferred to Balakrishna Reddy's family. Anjana had claimed that she owns 32. 87 acres of agricultural land in Kempasandram village that originally belonged to her grandfather, Petha Hanuma Reddy, who bought it in 1885. She had alleged that the land had been transferred to the Minister's relatives by district revenue officials.  
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Dr Richard Beale in video: 'Jayalalithaa did not want to go abroad'

January 7, 2019, 6:52 pm
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Jayalalithaa death
The latest video development emerges in the light of the Arumugasamy Commission locking horns with Apollo Hospitals.
TNM Staff
In a new development in the demise of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, a video has now surfaced that shows United Kingdom-based intensivist Dr Richard Beale saying that the late leader herself had refused to fly abroad for treatment. The video which aired on Times Now on Monday was purportedly shot after Dr Richard Beale’s press conference in Chennai in February 2017. The video shows the doctor speaking to a man off camera. Even as the unidentified man is congratulating Dr Beale on handling the press conference 'very well', the doctor remarks, "It was difficult. We are trying to stay away from the politics as much as possible, I mean, you know you do your best." Confirming earlier reports that the Chief Minister herself had refused to fly abroad for treatment, Dr Beale says in response to a question on the same, "To be honest, she (Jayalalithaa) just asked me whether it was necessary and I think, if we had said she must go, they would have said yes. I think, it was exactly what I said at the meeting. At the beginning, it was a difficult balance. Later, madam herself didn't want to go ." When the unidentified person says that Jayalalithaa's close aide VK Sasikala 'should have made Jayalalithaa understand that she should come' in an apparent reference to travelling abroad, the doctor reflects, "But then, you know, you look back yourself at these things and you always wonder you should have done things slightly differently." Dr Beale is then interrupted by the person and asked why Apollo didn't call him after November 2. The doctor says that he didn't know."I was in touch with Babu (Dr Babu Abraham). But exactly why I was not able to come in.. or what they felt.. She was certainly improving. So I think they felt she was making progress and it was not necessary," he says. The latest video development emerges in the light of the Arumugasamy Commission locking horns with Apollo Hospitals, with the Commission’s counsel accusing the hospital of colluding with VK Sasikala to not provide Jayalalithaa with the 'best recommended treatment'. TIMES NOW accesses video where Dr Richard Beale, the Doctor treating Former TN CM J. Jayalalithaa, reveals that the former CM refused to go abroad for treatment #JayaDeathProbeTwist pic.twitter.com/vEuFTnDnCv — TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 7, 2019 TNM had reported last week that in his deposition, Dr Senthil Kumar, chief of the critical care unit in Apollo hospitals, stated that Jayalalithaa's health would not accommodate travel to hospitals abroad till the third week of October 2016. It was after this that the hospital broached the topic with government officials. Health Minister Vijayabaskar was part of this discussion, according to the doctor. This is in direct contradiction to the recent claims made by Law Minister CVe Shanmugam, that the cabinet was completely unaware of any deliberation on shifting the late Chief Minister abroad for treatment. “In the third week of October, when the Hospital discussed this, Minister Vijayabaskar, the Health Secretary, Chief Secretary and other higher officials were present there. But they said that madam (Jayalalithaa) will not accept this (travelling abroad)," deposed Dr Senthil Kumar. "London doctor Richard Beale directly spoke to Amma about getting treatment abroad. When he came out, he said that she refused to do this," he had told the probe panel. Dr Babu Abraham’s deposition too backs this version of events. “Dr Richard Beale told me he spoke to Amma and Sasikala about going abroad for treatment. He came out and said ‘Very strong-willed lady. I could not convince her to shift abroad'," he had said. He further added that he was not shocked by this decision, as Apollo Hospitals offers superior nursing care.
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After conviction, Tamil Nadu Minister Balakrishna Reddy resigns

January 7, 2019, 6:56 pm
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Politics
Balakrishna Reddy was convicted in connection with a 1998 case for damaging public properties.
TNM Staff
Facebook: BalaReddyOffl
Hours after Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister P Balakrishna Reddy was convicted in a 1998 case for damaging public properties, he stepped down from his post in what came as an embarrassment for the ruling AIADMK government in the state. Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has accepted the Minister’s resignation, assigning the portfolio instead to School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan. In a statement to the media on Monday, the Raj Bhavan said, “The Hon'ble Governor of Tamil Nadu has accepted the resignation of Thiru P Balakrishna Reddy, from the Council of Ministers. Based on the recommendation of the Chief Minister the Portfolio of Youth Welfare and Sports Development has been allocated to Thiru KA Sengottaiyan, Minister for School Education who shall be re-designated as Minister for School Education, Youth Welfare and Sports Development.” The resignation came shortly after Balakrishna Reddy visited the residence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, where the duo reportedly consulted Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan and Advocate General Vijay Narayan. The special court in Chennai, handling cases against MLAs and MPs, sentenced Balakrishna Reddy to a three-year jail term with a fine of Rs.10,000, paving the way for his disqualification as a member of the legislative assembly. However, the Minister was granted bail by the court following the conviction, and the sentence was suspended pending trial in a higher court. Reports suggest that he will be approaching the Madras High Court on Tuesday. However, in view of his conviction, he promptly stands disqualified as an MLA as per the provisions of the Representation of People Act. The case pertains to a case of protest near Hosur in 1998 when members of the public agitated against spurious liquor being brewed in the region. According to reports, 108 members were accused of throwing stones at government vehicles including police vans. There were allegations of arson against the protesters. Over 20 years later, 16 demonstrators were convicted in the case.
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10 pc quota for economically weaker upper castes: TN parties divided on ‘political move’

January 8, 2019, 2:07 am
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Reservation Bill
The AIADMK is willing to hear out the Centre while DMK and VCK term the move an electoral gimmick that won't withstand legal scrutiny.
Priyanka Thirumurthy
Ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections, the Union cabinet on Monday introduced a controversial bill in Parliament, seeking to provide 10% reservation to economically backward members among the 'general category' in government higher education institutes and jobs. And although parties like the Congress have termed the proposal an “election stunt” even as they support the quota for economically weaker sections, in Tamil Nadu, opinion is divided over the Modi government’s move.   The state which is deeply divided along caste lines has a 69% reservation in place for socially disadvantaged groups. This is against even the Supreme Court order from 1992 which said that reservations beyond 50% will be against article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution but is protected from judicial review by the Ninth Schedule. And now with the Centre proposing further reservations based on economic status, the AIADMK is willing to hear out the Centre while DMK and VCK term the move an electoral gimmick that won't withstand legal scrutiny. "Tabling such a bill in 11th hour in Parliament certainly raises questions regarding the Centre's intent," admits, AIADMK spokesperson Satyan Rajan. "But it is too early to jump to a conclusion. We are looking to study the proposal completely before taking a stand on the matter. If there are weaker sections of the society that will be benefited by this bill, we must discuss it," he adds.  The AIADMK is, however, mindful of the Congress' strong presence in the Rajya Sabha and points out it is unlikely to pass if opposed, due to the lack of numbers. The DMK and VCK, two Dravidian parties whose ideology is based on opposing caste hierarchy, however, point out that the proposal is unconstitutional. "There is no constitutional mechanism to provide reservation for economically backward people and the Supreme Court has made that clear in the past," says A Sarvanan, DMK spokesperson, quoting the Indira Sawhney case. When hearing the 1992 case, the apex court said that such quotas cannot be provided for poverty alone. It has to be poverty plus social and educational backwardness and the backwardness should reflect historic injustice through generations. "The BJP is aware that this proposal won't stand legal scrutiny and will face severe opposition in Parliament. This is basically a desperate effort on their end to maintain an upper caste vote bank," he adds.  The VCK further points out that if anybody protest this bill, it should be the forward castes. "This is fraud on people of the forward caste just to retain votes. They are deceiving these people for political gains through divisional methods," says the party's general secretary D Ravikumar. "Also, changing criteria of reservation from social to economic shows that the BJP is attempting to abolish caste-based reservation. This was their plan all along anyway. But attempts to tamper with the Constitution won't work."
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After his apology, Madras HC recalls arrest warrant of TN Higher Education Secretary

January 8, 2019, 2:18 am
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Court
Mangat Ram Sharma, the top bureaucrat in the Higher Education Department had failed to honour the court summons in a contempt case.
TNM Staff
Facebook: @eepcind
The Madras High Court on Tuesday recalled the arrest of the Secretary of the Higher Education Department Mangat Ram Sharma for ‘deliberately avoiding appearance’ at court after he tendered an unconditional apology. The court was incensed after the senior IAS officer skipped summons in a contempt of court proceedings and issued a warrant for his arrest. In a scathing observation, Justice N Kirubakaran had said on Monday, “It is not as if he was asked to appear before this Court at short notice. On [December 15, 2018] itself, he was served. When that is so, he should have made arrangements to see to it that he appears before this Court. Contempt Proceedings are serious proceedings and they cannot be taken lightly, especially, by a higher official like the [Tamil Nadu Higher Education Secretary]. This Court has got every reason to believe that he had deliberately avoided appearance before this Court.” The Court had directed the registry to issue a bailable warrant, ordering the Commissioner of Police to arrest and produce the Higher Education Secretary before the court by January 9. The court was informed that the top bureaucrat was away in Vellore, attending a Syndicate Meeting of Thiruvalluvar University. According to one report in the Times of India, the court refused to reconsider its decision on Monday even as Mangat Ram Sharma ‘rushed to the court once he heard of the order and waited till evening.’ The Higher Education Secretary ought to have appeared in court in connection with a contempt of court petition filed by the Association of Self-Financing Arts Colleges against Bharathiar University. The Association had sought that the University not grant affiliations to conduct distance education through franchise institutions for the academic year 2016-17, according to ToI. The syndicate of the University had been summoned and all but Mangat Ram Sharma reportedly made an appearance before the court.
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Kallakurichi to become Tamil Nadu’s 33rd district, to be carved out of Villupuram

January 8, 2019, 2:52 am
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News
The district is expected to have four assembly constituencies and one parliamentary constituency.
Megha Kaveri
Kallakurichi is all set to become Tamil Nadu’s 33rd district. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami made the announcement on the floor of the assembly on Tuesday. The Chief Minister was giving a speech in the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly in response to the Governor’s speech when he said that in accordance with the requests made by C Ve Shanmugam, the law minister and the MLA from Ulundurpet assembly constituency in Villupuram district, the new district has been announced. He also added that since Villupuram covers a huge area, it was difficult for the administrators to govern the district. Currently, people from Kallakurichi have to travel at least 70 km to reach the district collectorate in Villupuram. The move to carve out a separate district is aimed at benefitting Kallakurichi residents, the CM said. The Chief Minister also stated that a separate IAS officer and other officers would be appointed to govern the district and that all details will be announced later. The decision was a result of a request pending for many years since the district has 11 assembly constituencies and three parliamentary constituencies. Villupuram is the fourth largest district in Tamil Nadu with an area of 7,217 sq km. The CM also stated that an IAS officer will be appointed as special officer to supervise the formation of the district. Kallakurichi district is expected to have four assembly constituencies and one parliamentary constituency. As of now, Kallakurichi is a municipality and a known centre for rice production. In February 2018, Kallakurichi MLA A Prabhu shifted from the Edappadi Palaniswami faction to TTV Dhinakaran’s camp. He attributed his shift of loyalty to the failure of the state government to form a separate district with Kallakurichi as its headquarters. Tiruppur was the newest district to be formed in Tamil Nadu before this announcement. It was formed in 2008 with parts from Coimbatore and Erode districts.
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TN plastic ban: How George Town traders are making the switch to green alternatives

January 8, 2019, 3:36 am
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Plastic Ban
Some plastic traders, on the other hand, have put up the shutters in protest, demanding more time to find sustainable, cost-effective alternatives to plastic.
Anjana Shekar
A warm January afternoon becomes slightly cooler the second you walk into Anderson Street located in Chennai’s George Town. The buildings, packed close to each other with just a needle’s gap between them, insulate the street from the outside world. Anderson Street is famed for its wholesale paper and plastics shops. On an ordinary day, one can barely walk five paces without bumping into another or swerving wildly to one side to make way for the fiercely fast hand-drawn trolleys. But a few days since Tamil Nadu Government’s plastic ban, it is evident that business is not as usual. One out of every three shops have downed their shutters with a white notice plastered on them: “TN Government has announced a ban on plastics beginning January 1, 2019. The Government has not heeded to our requests until today and so all plastic manufacturers and sellers will go on an indefinite strike until the ban exists - George Town Plastic Sellers Association.” This association is made up of close to 600 shop owners and over 50,000 workers. On day three of this ban, all plastic shops on Anderson Street have downed their shutters. Walking ahead, the crowd thins as the number of plastic shops increase from here on. And towards the end of Anderson Street, is a small gathering of bored adults, seated under a pandal. Behind them are wall paintings of Bagath Singh, Ambedkar and Dr Abdul Kalam and once again, the white paper bill announcing the indefinite strike makes an appearance. However, it was refreshing to find many shopowners plying their trade despite the challenges the ban poses. Making small steps to change While there are a few protesting against it, many others are looking at alternatives to overcome the crisis. Some are starting a new business while others are switching to alternative methods to ply their trade and daily chores. K Abbas Mandri, who has been running KAS Plastics for close to five years on Anna Pillai Street, is doing whatever he can to sustain his livelihood, even though he feels the ban is wrong. Outside his semi-shuttered shop, he is unwrapping a sack of red onions and stacking them on bamboo baskets. A pile of dark green leaves lie next to the onions. “The ban might be here to stay. One should whatever he can to keep his head above the water,” he says while sorting through the onion sacks. “I heard there’s a requirement for onions and I bought a few sacks today. Since the ban, some ask for mandarai leaves (from Mandarai tree or Bauhinia racemosa or Bidi leaf tree),” he adds. Mohamad Basith emptied the plastics at his wholesale plastic shop on Malayaperumal Street and has replaced them with multi-coloured daily sheet calendar boards adorned with gods from different faiths. With his legs swinging down from the raised platform he’s seated on, Mohamed says, “It’s a new year, people will need calendars. In fact, there is a huge demand for them now.” But even for those who sell alternatives - plantain leaves, for instance - cannot deny the practicality of plastic covers when it comes to daily chores. A jolly-looking Kumar, who has been cutting the green banana leaves into different sizes outside his shop, says that he and his boys were not been able to get lunch because the hotel, from where they usually buy food, had no covers to pack sambar. “The rice and curry they can pack with papers and banana leaves. What about sambar and curd?” he laughs adding, “I have 10 boys working for me here. All of them are not from the city and for them, food always comes from such hotels. This surely is a challenge. So, I am going to buy stainless steel vessels to help with packing food for my employees.” ‘We need more time’: Plastic traders In 2013, the Jayalalithaa government had announced the same ban, but soon after analysing the situation, revoked it. “We hope this Government does it too!” begins Sadik Basha, the owner of Kamaal and sons on Anderson Street. “We are only asking them to revise their ban. It is true that they gave us six-month advance notice but during this period, why didn’t the government announce or make provisions for alternatives. On Thursday morning, they seized bundles of paper tissues and paper cups from my shop because the wrapper covering them was a banned plastic. Plastic Packing is not banned; yet they seized bundles of plastic packing from our shops,” Sadik says. Babu, who has been running Euro Plastics for about 15 years on Malayaperumal Street near Anderson Street, adds, “The shops at George Town alone make several crores turnover. Today, no one is working. The Government will soon feel the pinch.” Reflecting on the hastiness of the ban, Sadik says, “They have extended the time for big corporate brands like Kurkure, Lays and Britannia until 2022. But they have taken away appalam packing covers and Kovilpatti snacks packing covers. The ones affected are always the small and local brands.” Expressing their concerns with the Government since the ban was first announced, George Town Plastic Sellers Association protested in December. However, the government refused to revoke the ban.  “We cannot make as much profit as we do from selling plastic. We need more time to find and switch to about the alternatives. Currently, the beetle nut plates and plantain leaves do not match up to the plastic industry’s level in terms of quantity and cost,” says Abbas. Kumar, who sells plantain leaves, explains why it will take time for small hotels to switch to alternatives. “This is my family business and I’ve my usual customers - the big hotels and restaurants - who buy the banana leaves no matter what. But now, I’m unable to provide these leaves to small hotels due to lack of stock. Unlike plastics, these leaves cannot be mass produced and cannot be stored either. Usually, the banana leaves come from Madurai, Theni and Kambam region. Every day, Chennai consumes 40 to 50 truck-loads. And all of this stock has a regular market.” p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 22.0px; font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; background-color: #ffffff} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 11.0px; font: 10.0px Arial; color: #222222; -webkit-text-stroke: #222222; background-color: #ffffff; min-height: 11.0px} span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
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Setback for TN govt, SC refuses to stay NGT order to reopen Sterlite plant

January 8, 2019, 4:43 am
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Sterlite
The Tamil Nadu government had appealed against the National Green Tribunal’s December 15 order stating that it did not have jurisdiction in the matter.
TNM Staff
In a setback to the government of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court refused to stay the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) order allowing Sterlite to resume operations in its Thoothukudi plant. The top court sought Vedanta’s, the parent company of Sterlite, response on the state government’s appeal against the NGT order. This comes days after the Madurai bench of Madras High Court ordered that Sterlite should not be opened till January 21. The Supreme Court bench headed by justice RF Nariman, on Tuesday, refused to stay the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) order which permitted Vedanta to reopen its Sterlite Copper Smelter plant in Thoothukudi. “The directions that have been passed by the National Green Tribunal, by its judgment dated 15.12.2018, will continue to subsist and will be subject to the ultimate outcome of the appeal,” states the order. The apex court, however, denied Sterlite’s request to resume operations immediately and granted three weeks’ time for Sterlite to fulfill all the conditions imposed by the December 15-order of NGT. The hearings will continue once Vedanta files a response on the matter. The order came on an appeal filed by the government of Tamil Nadu against the NGT order. In its appeal, the state government had argued that the NGT did not have a jurisdiction in the matter and hence sought a stay on its order. The Tamil Nadu government had issued orders to seal the plant in May 2018 after the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board refused to renew operating license to the plant citing violations of environmental norms.  The NGT, in its December 15 order, had chastised the state government for its decision to shut down the Thoothukudi plant. It was on May 28, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) ordered the closure and disconnection of electricity supply under provisions of Section 33A of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and Section 31A of Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1971. After Vedanta moved the NGT against the closure orders, a three-member expert committee headed by former Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court Tarun Agarwal was formed to probe the matter. Taking the same line as the expert committee, NGT stated that as long as the company is willing to abide by the pollution control norms and also take further precautions, the state cannot shut down plants based on hyper-technicalities. NGT orders Sterlite plant to be opened, asks company to spend Rs 100cr for welfare The government of Tamil Nadu submitted in the Supreme Court that the NGT does not have the right to form any committee to look into the matter, and the observations made by the appointed committee were incorrect. The committee did not check the places which we had mentioned. If they had done that, they would have found that the levels of pollution in those areas were high, the state government submitted.
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TN Dalit youth found dead in Pune, family alleges caste crime

January 8, 2019, 6:02 am
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25-year-old Paranthaman was found dead in a lodge in Pune on January 4, days after he married Valli* from the Kallar community, whose family claimed that she was a minor.
Priyanka Thirumurthy
Protests broke out in Cuddalore district this week after the death of a Dalit man in Pune. Twenty five-year-old Paranthaman from Cuddalore was found hanging at a lodge in Pune on January 4. While the police say that this was a case of suicide, Paranthaman’s family have alleged that he was victim to a caste hate crime. Last week, Paranthaman married Valli*, who is from Madurai and belongs to the dominant Kallar caste. The couple married at a registrar’s office in Madurai. However, Paranthaman was soon arrested by the police under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, as Valli’s parents claimed she was a minor. According to Paranthaman's family, Valli* had used her Aadhaar card for identification purposes during the wedding, which stated that she was 20 years old. Her family had initially filed a missing persons complaint, Paranthaman’s relatives said, in which they had said she was over 18 years old. “But soon after news of their marriage reached them, they went to the Madurai court with school certificates to prove that Valli was a minor,” a relative said. She was then sent to a government home by the court and Paranthaman was booked under POCSO. Paranthaman was given conditional bail and told to sign a register at the Sindupatti police station in Madurai district everyday. "He came out on bail on January 2 and went to sign the register. On January 3, he spoke to us very normally and said that he was in Madurai," says Paranthaman's brother Moorthy, a lawyer, "But that night he was actually in Pune and was found hanging in the room the next morning at a lodge. Why would he go without even telling us?” “Valli has relatives in Pune and we believe that they killed my brother,” he alleges, “In addition to this they have given fake school certificates to make her seem like a minor.” Thirumangalam all women's police station inspector Sumathi however denied the allegations. "The parents proved in court that she is a minor and the court decided that she cannot decide on the marriage even though she wanted to be with him," says the investigating officer. "Moreover, he went to Pune by himself and killed himself because he couldn't be with her. There is CCTV footage of him checking in alone at the lodge. He heard that she was with relatives in Mumbai and went there. This is not a caste crime," she adds. Relatives of Paranthaman are however unconvinced. "We will wait for the post mortem report to know what happened," says Moorthy, "I know my brother, he was ready to fight, not die."
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Chennai’s St Thomas Mount, other areas to face a 7-hour power cut on Thursday

January 8, 2019, 7:22 pm
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Electricity
The power supply will be suspended for maintenance works and will be restored early if the maintenance works are completed.
TNM Staff
Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has announced power shutdown in some parts of Chennai on Thursday, January 10 from 9 am to 4 pm for maintenance work. However, if the maintenance work is completed before 4 pm, the power supply will be immediately restored by TANGEDCO. Here is the list of areas that will face power cut on Thursday: St Thomas mount area: Magazine road, Butt road, Military quarters and Hospital, Nandambakkam main road, Ramar koil street, St. Thomas mount, Wood creek county, Meenambakkam, Alandur, Nasarathpuram, Mount Poonamallee road, Burma colony, Sripuram colony, Police Office Road. Alwarthirunagar area: Brindavan nagar, Venkateshwara Nagar, Devikarumari Nagar, Part of Arcot Road, SVS Nagar 1st and 2nd Main Road, Jai Nagar, East kamakodi Nagar, Vani Nagar. Sembium area: Kodungaiyur, Madhavaram, Gandhinagar, Perambur east, Kolathur. Lakshmipuram: TH road, Teachers colony, Muthumariamman koil street, Kauveri salai, MH road, Chinna Kuzhandhai street (1 to 4), Raja street, SSV kovil street, Kamaraj salai, GNT road part, Gandhi nagar street (1 to 4), Jambuli street, Kattabomman main road, Kattabomman street (1 to 9), RV nagar, Seetharaman nagar, Kamaraj salai, St Mary’s road, sivasankaran street, KKR avenue, Pallavan salai, TVK nagar (part), Gowthamapuram Housing Board, Jawahar street, Rani Ammayar street, MPC street, EB road, Singara Mudali street, Indira nagar west, Chinnathamburan street, KKR nagar, Ambakkar nagar, Mictic colony, Kannabiraan kovil street, Talco Leather Estate, Jambuli colony, KKR town and Garden, Palaniyappa nagar, Thapal petti, Veerapandian street, Kamarajar nagar (1 to 9), Gandhiji street (1 to 7), Renukkamman kovil street (1 to 5), MPM street, BB road, Nelvayal road, Perambur High road, Erukanchery, Madhavaram area, Ponniammanmedu area, Leather Estate entire area, Karunanithi Nagar entire area, 200 feet ring Road, Ambedkar Nagar, Muthatamil Nagar, Kolathur area, Periyar Nagar, Vysarpadi, Maduma Nagar, Kakaji Nagar. Kodungaiyur area: Krishnamoorthi nagar, Annai sandhya nagar, Gandhi street, Anna street, Vivekananda street, Selvaraj street, Lingesa street, Murugan street, Lenin street, Lakshmi street, Navroj street, Saravanan street, Loganathan street, Valluvar street, Sannathi street, Bavani amman koil street, Jawahar street, Subramani street, Ambedkar street, TVK Link road, Padamavathi street, Balakrishnan street, Malliswari street, Sarvapalli street, Kakan ji street, Palani street, Balaji street, Thirumal street, Srinivasa street, Loorthumadha street. Manali area: Kamaraj salai, Chinnasekkadu, Balji palayam, Parthasarathy street, KK Thazhai, Avurikkollaimedu.
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Apsara Reddy becomes first transgender office-bearer in Congress

January 8, 2019, 8:11 pm
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Politics
Apsara Reddy, who was earlier with the AIADMK, has been appointed as the National General Secretary of the All India Mahila Congress.
TNM Staff
In a first, the Congress party has appointed Apsara Reddy, a trans woman, journalist and activist, as the National General Secretary of the party’s women’s wing – All India Mahila Congress (AIMC). The appointed was made by Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday. Following the appointment, Apsara became the first transgender person to be appointed as office-bearer in a national party. “Congress is truly a party that built India and sustained us for generations with good policy and a sensitive and inclusive approach in governance. Rahul Gandhi ji’s commitment to fair representation of women, women-centric manifesto goals and dynamism are truly inspiring and I would be delighted to serve women across the country under his leadership,” she said after joining Congress on Tuesday. Apsara was earlier a part of the BJP and the AIADMK. She quit BJP within a month of joining the party calling the party ‘regressive’ and then became the National Spokesperson of the AIADMK, a role offered to her by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. However, Apsara quit the AIADMK due to differences with the party. Known for her social activism since college-days, Apsara has also taken up high-profile cases of child rape and voiced out her support for the victims. Talking about her agenda as the new National General Secretary of the Women’s Unit, she said that she will work towards women’s economic empowerment, fighting against social injustices, helping women find their human rights and help contribute to the Congress party’s manifesto with women-centric policies. “I am truly excited to work with the dynamic President of the AIMC, Sushmita ji as she embodies strength, courage and a contagious determination to do the right-thing for women,” she added. Laying out her plans as the newly appointed General Secretary, she said, “I will meet with a cross-section of women to address issues pertaining to their rights. This coming election I will campaign vociferously against the fascist BJP dictatorship that drives a coloured agenda that reduces people to what they eat, how they pray and how they love!”
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'Bigg Boss' Shakthi booked for drunk driving in Chennai, granted bail

January 8, 2019, 11:53 pm
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Shakthi Vasudevan, who rammed his vehicle into a vehicle parked in Chennai’s Choolaimedu, was found in an inebriated state.
TNM Staff
Facebook/Shakthi Vasudevan
Actor Shakthi Vasudevan, who made his debut as a lead actor in 2007 with Thottal Poo Malarum, was booked for drunk driving on Tuesday in Chennai. The actor rammed his Ford Ecosport into a vehicle parked on Elangoadigal Street in Chennai’s Choolaimedu area. In videos that have emerged, Shakthi is seen getting out of the car in an inebriated state after the accident. In a video captured by those present at the scene, the actor can be seen slipping and falling down as soon as he steps out of the car. While those around him extend a hand to help him up, Shakthi is seen arguing with them and trying to get back into the driver’s seat of his car. Shakthi was accompanied by a friend, who was also drunk, per the video. Shakthi, who is the son of popular film producer P Vasu, was then taken to Anna Nagar Traffic Police Station, where he was booked for drunk driving. He was soon granted bail. According to a report in Times of India, he was booked under section 279 (rash driving) of IPC and section 185 (drunk driving) of Motor Vehicles Act. Shakthi recently shot to fame with his reality television stint on Vijay TV’s Bigg Boss. Actor Shakthi, who made his first film appearance as a child artiste in Sathyaraj’s Nadigan (1990), was last seen in director Gautham Krishna’s 7 Naatkal, which was released in 2017. Other celebrity drunk driving cases This, however, is not the first time a celebrity has been booked for drunk driving. In August last year, Tamil actor Vikram's son Dhruv was involved in an accident where he allegedly rammed into three autorickshaws in Teynampet. According to police sources, Dhruv was booked under section 279 (Rash driving or riding on a public way) and 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC, but was also granted bail immediately. Later in November, actor and dance choreographer Gayathri Raghuram, who became a household name soon after her appearance in the reality TV show Bigg Boss Tamil, was booked for drunk driving by Abhiramapuram Traffic Control Police. A case under Section 185 (Driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs) of the Motor Vehicles Act was filed against her. In October 2017, actor Jai was slapped with a fine of Rs 5,200 and a court suspended his driving license for six months over a drunk driving case. The actor was arrested after he drove under the influence of alcohol and crashed his Audi into a divider in Adyar.
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Tirunelveli Collector skips private playschools, admits her daughter in anganwadi

January 9, 2019, 2:26 am
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Education
Shilpa Prabhakar Satish, who became the district’s first woman collector when she took charge in May 2018, says her daughter enjoys going to the anganwadi daily.
Priyanka Thirumurthy
At a time when parents across the state are in deep discussions over which play school to admit their wards in the coming summer, Tirunelveli’s first woman collector, Shilpa Prabhakar Satish, has chosen a government run anganwadi for her daughter. And the 2009 batch IAS officer, who took charge of the district in May last year, says she couldn’t be happier about her decision. About a month back, Collector Shilpa became aware that her young daughter had nobody to interact with at her camp office and no children of her age at the venue. Since schools in the area only admitted children above the age of three, that was out of the question. It was obvious to the Collector what she could do. “We have really good anganwadis in the district with good infrastructure. The one near my bungalow has everything that a child of my daughter’s age requires. These centres not just educate our children but also ensure holistic development,” says the Collector speaking to TNM. “They monitor the child’s nutritional intake, maintain health records and even counsel parents on dietary needs. What else does a child need?” she asks. The district authority further says that her daughter is extremely happy to go to the anganwadi every day. “She loves the place and enjoys meeting other children. She has picked up Tamil as well in her time there now. She is able to understand and talk a little,” she says. “All parents, irrespective of class, should consider sending their children to anganwadis,” she adds. In Tirunelveli alone, over 50,000 children currently attend anganwadis, with a majority of rural centres attending to at least 25 wards a day. In addition to encouraging more parents to use the government system, the Collector has also taken up a personal project in the district to improve the knowledge of English among government school children. As the former deputy commissioner of the education department in the Chennai Corporation, her knowledge of non-governmental organisations that work for children’s education came of use in the district. “We are collaborating with an NGO called Yoke for conducting English classes in the district for children who are eight to 10 years old. We are hoping to bring a love for the language in them, in order to help them catch up with government schools,” she says. “So many NGOs used to come up to me in Chennai but not too many are aware of the need for this volunteering in rural areas. We have currently been doing the project in Kodudhanallur for seven months and if it works well, I want to implement it across the district.”   
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Frost and low temperatures hurt tea cultivation in Tamil Nadu’s Ooty and Valparai

January 9, 2019, 4:27 am
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Though the picturesque frosty scene has brought tourists to the hill stations, tea workers are facing months of possible unemployment.
Megha Kaveri
The tea cultivation industry in Tamil Nadu is staring at months of potential unemployment as temperatures drop to single digits, leaving a blanket of frost in hill stations like Ooty in Nilgris and Valparai near Coimbatore. Though tourists have been flocking to the towns to witness the frosty picturesque scene, the tea farmers of Ooty and Valparai -- both prime areas of tea cultivation in the country -- are less welcoming of it. Manjai V Mohan, the elected director of the INDCO tea factory in Nilgiris, a part of the Nilgiris Small Tea Growers Service Industrial Cooperative Society Limited told TNM that this is the first time in over a decade that Ooty is facing this kind of frost. “Generally, this is the season we harvest tea leaves after good rainfall in October and November. But this year, the season has been colder, especially from December 31, 2018,” he says. Mohan says that that beyond the good pictures, the situation is grim. Tea workers earn wages between Rs 200 to Rs 250 per day, says Mohan, but they will likely lose their livelihood because of the chill. The total area in which tea is cultivated in Nilgiris is about 56,035 hectares and in Valparai, tea is cultivated in about 11,180 hectares, according to recent district data. “As far as tea plantations are concerned, once the crops succumb to frost, then it takes almost three months for the plant to spurt foliage again and grow. This means that people who are dependent on tea farms for survival won’t have work for three months,” he notes. Ooty has seen daily minimum temperatures ranging between 4 degree Celsius and 6 degree Celsius for the past 10 days, while the temperatures for the same period in 2018 were between 19 degree Celsius and 22 degree Celsius. Similarly in Valparai, temperatures have hit 3 degree Celsius, the lowest in the state, in the past 10 days. The range of daily minimum temperatures recorded in the hill station since January 1, 2019 is between 3 and 4.5 degree Celsius. The temperatures for the same period last year ranged from 23 degree Celsius to 24 degree Celsius. According to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, the optimum temperature for tea cultivation must range from 20 degree Celsius to 27 degree Celsius throughout the year. Hameed, a trade union leader for tea plantation workers in Valparai, said that they have only been getting out four hours of work a day since January 1 because of the weather. “The situation is so bad that we are able to go out only by 12 pm and have to turn back to our homes by 4 pm due to the chilly weather,” Hameed says. For 40-year-old Meena*, this is the worst she has seen in her 14 years in Valparai. A worker at a tea estate for the last 13 years, Meena says that this chill has affected the income of estate workers. “We get a fixed wage of Rs 300 per day, and an additional amount based on the quantity of tea leaves we pluck each day. Now, because of the frost, we get only the fixed wage,” she says, though she added that the fixed wage is a luxury afforded only for permanent workers like her. “The situation for temporary workers is really bad because the estates will ask them to leave for a month or two, until the situation gets better. So their income will be zero during that period. With the school admission season coming up, their situation is sad," she explains. Since this kind of weather is unexpected, tea plantations remained unprotected and exposed to the frost that came with the weather. “The tea which was grown in some areas in Valparai has gone bad and the crops which were grown in other areas are going to become useless. Once it goes bad, we cannot do anything,” Hameed says. This situation has pushed estate workers in Ooty to find ways to deal with the loss of income. “We are planning to request the government to provide us one-time relief this year, just like how they gave the people affected by Cyclone Gaja. This is a huge loss for us as producers, and the workers also suffer,” says Mohan. However, he says that workers are still deliberating on whether they should approach the government. *Name changed on request
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Watch: Tamil Nadu MP Thambidurai’s viral speech on social justice in Lok Sabha

January 9, 2019, 5:13 am
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Parliament
The AIADMK MP explained the basis of reservation in India, and why financial status of people cannot be equated to the social marginalisation of SCs, STs and OBCs.
TNM Staff
File image
AIADMK Lok Sabha MP and Deputy Speaker Thambidurai’s speech in Parliament about social justice, in the context of the government’s bill for 10% quota for ‘economically weaker sections’, has gone viral. While it’s unclear how the MP voted at the end of the debate – the bill was passed in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, with 323 MPs in support and only three against it despite several members calling it a political gimmick – in his speech he spoke about why ‘economically backward’ should not really be a criterion for reservations. And in doing so, he gave the House a history lesson on Tamil Nadu’s position on social justice for marginalised sections. Stating that he was compelled to express his views since his fellow AIADMK MPs have been suspended by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Thambidurai began, “The government has now introduced the Bill regarding 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections. First of all, I want to know as to what is the purpose of reservation? Honourable Finance Minister has explained so many things. Why do you want reservation? The country requires reservation for social justice.” Speaking about the caste system, and why the oppressive system has necessitated reservation for marginalised communities, Thambidurai said, “...in India, there is a Varna Ashrama system. In Manusmriti, so many castes are enumerated.” “In that system, we have Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. We are called Shudras. We are the lowest in the society. I am a Shudra and I am proud to be called a Shudra. Being Shudras, we have suffered a lot. For centuries, we suffered a lot and because of that, we asked for reservation policy for our upliftment. So many things like untouchability were there. For those reasons, the Dravidian Movement was started to fight for reservation,” he explained. “Now this government wants to give reservation to the economical weaker sections. But you have already announced so many schemes for the economically weaker sections. All the governments, including BJP governments and Congress governments, have started so many schemes for the economically weaker sections,” he said, citing examples like the Mudra Yojana, Swabhiman scheme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Yojana and other rural development, housing and scholarship schemes. “When the government has so many programmes to uplift the economically weaker sections, then why do you want reservation for them? I would say that you have failed to implement your programmes… That is why people are still economically weaker and this is why you are coming up with 10% reservation,” said Thambidurai. Further explaining why it’s wrong to equate a person’s financial status and their social marginalisation, Thambidurai said, “[Dr Ambedkar] was highly educated. He was born in an SC community. He was employed in Mumbai. He was highly educated but how did people treat him? He was humiliated, despite his education.” “That is why he said that reservation is important for the socially backward people,” he said, “In our country, the backward class people, especially Shudras, even after getting good education, are unable to achieve equality. Therefore, to achieve equality...the reservation policy was started in Tamil Nadu. The policy of reservation of seats in educational institutions and in government jobs for BCs, SCs, STs has a long history dating back to the year 1921.” “Even the Justice Party was started at that time. It said that human beings must be respected equally. Caste must be removed so that a person is respected. People in society are being differentiated because of the caste system. The forefathers of our Constitution took the word ‘social’ and not ‘economic’ as a criterion for providing reservation. So, whatever law the government is intending to make now is going to be struck down by the Supreme Court. The government is not going to succeed on this,” he asserted. Thambidurai went on to talk about Periyar, the Justice Party and the evolution of the Dravidian movement that is premised on social justice. “Even after more than 70 years of our Independence, caste system is prevalent in our country. In order to get rid of casteism, the first thing that we have to do is to empower the lower caste people. That should be our motive. In our state of Tamil Nadu, nearly 90% of people belong to the backward and most backward and SC/ST communities. Only 10% of the population belong to the upper caste. Only because of this movement we could secure justice for all those people belonging to lower castes, SCs and STs,” he said, adding that the introduction of the Ninth Schedule to the Indian Constitution enabled the 69% reservation in the state today, despite the Supreme Court capping it at 50%. “Certain sections of people are still not recognising the Shudras. That is the problem for us. They are not accepting us. If we go to villages, there is a two-tumbler policy existing there. Dalits cannot take water in the canteen. That is happening. So, first you think of the Scheduled Castes and bring policies so that they can come up economically. Only then can we resolve this problem,” he said. Thambidurai also pointed out that economic criterion is bound to change at any time whereas ‘casteism is a permanent curse in this country’. While it may help in elections, the MP expressed confidence that the Bill would not pass legal muster before the apex court. Watch:
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Madras HC stays proceedings against president of Chennai pub Off The Record

January 9, 2019, 7:07 pm
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Off The Record was accused of breaching the terms and conditions of its license and permit granted to it.
TNM Staff
Facebook: @offtherecordchennai
The Madras High Court has stayed proceedings against the president of the Gold Youth Movement Recreation Club, which runs Off The Record, a pub. The pub, located on Kodambakkam High Road in Nungambakkam, was raided by the city police for alleged license violations in September last year. The court ordered a stay on Monday following a submission by the club’s counsel.  Off The Record was accused of breaching the terms and conditions of its license and permit granted to it and allowing non-members of the club to consume liquor. Charges were registered under Section 24 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act. However, Justice N Anand Venkatesh granted an eight-week stay and directed a notice to Inspector of Police, Nungambakkam. However, according to the club’s submission to the Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, “The respondent police in the guise of raid in a hasty and hurried manner barged into the club and picked up two of the employees and took them to station and registered the F.I.R for the alleged offence and remanded them to judicial custody.” While C Saravanan, the owner of the club was admittedly not present during the raids, his counsel says that the police ‘falsely implicated [him] for the reasons best known to them and have also laid the final report.” “The petitioner respectfully submits that the respondent police without even being aware of the terms of the license granted with an pre conceived notion to register a case has orchestrated the alleged raid and has registered the F.I.R with false and baseless allegation and further has made the petitioner an accused though he is not in charge of the day to day to affairs of the club and have also conducted the investigation in a hurried manner and have filed the report and this clearly shows that the respondent police have acted high handed for the reasons best known to them,” states the petition. The petition further argues that according to the license, the club can supply liquor to its members as well as their guests, while the police have accused them 'on assumption that the petitioner should supply liquor only to its members'. The club argued that its President C Saravanan was not in charge of the day to day affairs of the club and that it was, in fact, handled by the secretary. In Tamil Nadu, the sale of liquor and the grant of bar license is regulated by the Tamil Nadu Liquor (License and Permit) Rules, 1981. According to its rules, licenses may be granted to non-proprietory clubs on the condition that they have been functioning for more than 3 years and that at least 50 of the members of the club have signified their willingness to obtain liquor from the said club. The privilege and the licence will be issued by the Commissioner on payment of an annual Privilege Fee of Rs.4,00,000, a Licence Fee of Rs. 5,000 and an Application Fee of Rs. 1,000.
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Parts of Chennai to face 8-hour power cut on Friday: Full list

January 9, 2019, 7:43 pm
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Power
TANGEDCO announced that power will be restored before the scheduled time if the maintenance works are completed early.
TNM Staff
Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has announced power cuts in parts of Chennai on Friday, January 11. Power will be shut down from 9 am to 5 pm for maintenance work. However, if the works are completed before 2 pm, the power supply will be resumed by TANGEDCO. Kolathur Thenpalani Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Laksmanan Nagar, Rajan Nagar, Subramaniyapuram, Mahathma Gandhi Nagar, Dhanrajpuram, Selvi Nagar, Jayanthi Nagar, Kumaran Nagar, Sai Nagar, GKM Colony (Part), Kambar Nagar, Asoka Avenue, Vetri Selvi Anbalagan Nagar, Arjun Nagar, Poombuhar Nagar(part), Venus Nagar, Teachers colony, Surapet Road, Villivakkam Road, Anthony Nagar, KC Garden, SRP Koil (North Part), Paper Mills Road(Part), Ramamoorthy colony, Vetri Nagar, Gopalapuram(Part). Nanganallur MMTC colony, Kannan nagar, Venugopalapuram, Hindu colony, Lakshmi nagar, Kanniga colony, Voltas colony, Visanathapuram, Nehru colony, SBI colony, Medavakkam main road, Krishna nagar, Gandhi nagar, Ram nagar, B.V.nagar, Palavanthangal, Nanganallur 36 to 49 th st, Balaji nagar, TNGO colony, MGR road, Ragupathi nagar, Nanganallur 1 to 6 th main road, MC Millian colony, Part of Ullagaram, Jayalakshmi nagar, Moovarasampet main road, Sabapathi nagar. Kodungaiyur 5,6,7,8, 9 Cross Street, 10,11,12,13 Central cross, West cross st, 10,11,12,13 East cross st. 5th, 6th Main Road, 2,3,4 link Road, Central Avenue Road, West Avenue Road, HT S/C (Erunkanchari pumping station), Pudhu Nagar. Vyasarpadi Industrial Estate Sastry nagar 1 to 18 th st area, BV colony 1 to 18 th st. area, Karimedu, Sanjay nagar, MPM st, Vyasar nagar, Shanthi nagar, Avvai nagar. Madhavaram Athinath Godown. V.S Mani Nagar part, MRH Road, 200 ft road, Natraj Nagar, Guru Ragaventhira nagar, Srinivasa nagar, Ring road housing sector.  
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