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EC announces bye-polls to four pending assembly seats in TN on May 19

April 9, 2019, 5:08 am
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TN Bye-elections
Bye-polls to four assembly constituencies -- Suluru, Aravakurichi, Thirparankundram and Ottapidaram(SC)-- will be held on Sunday, May 19.
TNM Staff
The Election Commission announced bye-polls to four pending Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu. In a statement on Thursday, the EC announced bye-polls to Sulur, Aravakurichi, Thiruparankundram and Ottapidaram Assembly constituencies on May 19. The EC announcement comes weeks after the DMK, the main opposition party in the state, called for the conduct of the pending bye-elections. According to the poll agency, the EC decided to hold bye-elections to fill the vacancies after "taking into consideration various factors like local festivals, electoral rolls, weather conditions, etc." While a gazette notification will be issued on April 22, the last date for filing nominations will be April 29. Nominations would be scrutinized by April 30 and candidates can withdraw their candidatures by May 2. Results would be announced on May 23. With this announcement, vacancies to all Tamil Nadu’s 234 seats will be filled post May 23. The EC had earlier announced bye-elections to 18 Assembly constituencies to be held simultaneously along with the Lok Sabha Elections on April 18.  The Aravakurichi and Ottapidaram constituencies have been without representative in the state assembly since September 2017. MLAs V Senthil Balaji and R Kandaraj were disqualified along with 16 of their colleagues under the Anti-Defection law. The MLAs, who were supporting ousted AIADMK Deputy General Secretary, now AMMK leader and RK Nagar MLA TTV Dhinakaran, were disqualified on the grounds that they had “voluntarily given up their party membership”. AIADMK’s Thiruparankundram MLA AK Bose passed away in office in August last year, necessitating a bye-poll in his constituency. Elections to these three seats were not announced along with Lok Sabha and 18 bye-polls as petitions on them were pending in the courts. The DMK had moved the Supreme Court after the Election Commission announced bye-polls to only 18 out of the 21 vacancies. While the apex court had in March disposed off the petitions stating it could not decide the poll dates, the Election Commission had then informed the SC that it would announce polls within a ‘reasonable time’. MLA R Kanagaraj of the ruling AIADMK passed away after a cardiac arrest in March this year throwing open the Sulur Assembly seat. The bye-elections to the 22 seats will seal the fate of the Eddapadi Palaniswami-led government that is presently sitting on a wafer-thin majority. With 113 MLAs excluding the Speaker, the AIADMK needs to win at least five constituencies to stay in power. The majority mark in the TN Assembly with a strength of 235 legislators is 118. 
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BJP goes to EC, wants action on Tamil Twitter user for tweets mocking manifesto

April 9, 2019, 6:05 am
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Controversy
Sonia Arunkumar who goes by the handle Rajakumaari had tweeted satirical posts on the BJP manifesto released on Monday.
Priyanka Thirumurthy
The Tamil Nadu BJP has filed an official complaint to the Election Commission of India against Twitter user and former journalist Sonia Arunkumar, who goes by the handle Rajakumaari. The party's legal wing has called her 'anti-social' and demanded that she face immediate action for 'tweeting images with false statements' on the template of the BJP manifesto. The party's complaint comes following a series of 10 tweets by Sonia on Monday following the release of the BJP manifesto in New Delhi. The first tweet is titled 'He who takes the knife, will die because of the knife' and she has shared four images that at first glance look like the BJP manifesto. The content however is satirical in nature and includes jibes like - we will ban Dalits from entering streets with temples to maintain their sanctity, minimum balance in bank accounts will be made Rs.10,000, Eighth standard students will learn about Veer Savarkar's Hindutva texts in school, 98.6% reservation for Brahmins, appointment of a godman to advice state governments and more.  கத்தி எடுத்தவனுக்கு கத்தியால தான் சாவு  1. pic.twitter.com/rWxgvYm9VC— Sonia Arunkumar (@rajakumaari) April 8, 2019  "We had seen in the above Twitter account that our election manifesto was immediately upon release forged and being circulated," reads the BJP's complaint. "We had also seen that the above account holder is being followed by 56,900 persons. Such tweets have been retweeted by office bearers of DMK IT wing. It is seen from her profile that she is an active follower of LTTE organisation, which is banned in our nation. Such anti-socials should be faced with severe action.  It is brought to our notice that some other such persons also manipulating our official election manifesto and retweeting such forged materials. We need urgent action in this regard," the party demands. Responding to the complaint, Sonia tells TNM, "I didn't even make these memes. I got them on Whatsapp and was just sharing it. So many other have also shared it, why single me out? Moreover social media offers us the freedom of speech and expression to make such sarcastic comments." But the BJP maintains that its actions are democratic and terms Sonia a repeat offender."A month back she tweeted a picture of the Prime Minister in the Kumbh mela and insinuated that he should be swept away by the water and die," says Narayanan, spokesperson for the Tamil Nadu BJP. "She has to apologise for partaking in this illegal activity. Changing the manifesto and putting it is an act of forgery. We believe that she made it herself and lot of others have shared it. The posts are misleading, demeaning and derogatory in nature. Law will take its course in this matter," he adds. Sonia responded, "What action has the BJP taken against people like SVe Sekhar who spoke derogatorily about women or H Raja who said the Periyar statues should be destroyed? The party is merely trying to show their might because they are in power. Their functionaries make fun of Stalin and other leaders, even speak badly to women. Will they stop that?"  
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On April 18, TN restaurants to provide 10% discount on bill to those who vote

April 9, 2019, 6:42 am
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Lok Sabha 2019
The discount can be availed after 6 pm in most restaurants across Tamil Nadu.
Megha Kaveri
Hot Chips website
Come election day, voters in Tamil Nadu can avail a 10% discount on their bill in prominent restaurants in the state if they vote. The discount can be availed by customers by displaying the voting mark on their index fingers and their voter ID cards. The Tamil Nadu Hotels Association (TNHA), an umbrella association with close to 10,000 hotels under it across the state, has announced the discount on bills of customers who have voted. The outlets in which this discount will be applicable include Hotel Saravana Bhavan, Hotel Sangeetha, Hot Chips, Vasantha Bhavan etc. Speaking to TNM about the decision, R Srinivasan, the secretary of TNHA, said that this is a small way to ensure more people vote in cities. “On the date of polling, people can avail this offer after 6 pm in most restaurants across Tamil Nadu. Since voting ends at 6 pm, we have fixed this cutoff. This is just a small and humble contribution to the nation from us,” he said. Around 1,200 hotels in Chennai are members of the association. TNHA decided to implement the idea after a district electoral officer suggested that they use different rubber stamps on the bill to increase voter turnout. However, members of the association thought the discount was a better idea to encourage voting and went ahead with it, Srinivasan added. According to Srinivas, customers can walk into any prominent restaurant and avail the discount, but it is not mandatory for the restaurant to have displayed the announcement of the offer in their outlet. “We had a short period to consult all members. Hence the office-bearers had a meeting and we took a decision. We urge the members to stand with us and support us in this endeavour,” Srinivasan added. The Election Commission of India has adopted several mechanisms to ensure 100% voter turnout in Tamil Nadu. Trichy district election officers have undertaken various campaigns like distributing free cloth bags in markets with the message to vote printed on them, distributing printed bookmarks with the ECI message on them, etc.
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PM Modi addresses rally in Coimbatore, woos women and first-time voters in TN

April 9, 2019, 7:50 pm
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Lok Sabha 2019
Citing the free cooking gas scheme and housing for the poor, Modi said they have benefited women across the nation.
IANS
Criticising the Congress and the DMK for being anti-woman, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his campaign in Coimbatore on Tuesday, said his government's schemes had benefited the women and time has come for women to led the development. Addressing a rally, Modi said: "The Congress and the DMK are anti-women parties. The Congress leaders have made worst statements against women." On the DMK, Modi said the Tamil party was patriarchal. "Never forget how badly the DMK leaders treated Jayalalithaa (late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu)," he said. Citing the free cooking gas scheme and the housing for the poor, Modi said they have benefited the women across the nation. Harping on the women theme, he said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had increased the maternity leave to 26 weeks from 12 weeks under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Turning to the first-time voters, Modi said, "These elections are special. My young friends born in 21st century will be taking part in democratic process for the first time," and urged them to vote for a higher cause and make the occasion memorable. Seeking their vote for the BJP, Modi said: "Send out a message that you believe in developmental, not in divisive and dynastic politics." The 2019 Lok Sabha elections would decide India's direction in the 21st century, he added."These elections are a contest between pro-people NDA and anti-people opposition. The NDA promises stable government, while the opposition government will be unstable. This is a fight between our mission of serving the poor against opposition wanting to capture power," Modi claimed. On security issues, Modi said the NDA government accorded top priority to defence and security, while the opposition lacked any plan. Recalling the serial bomb blast that rocked Coimbatore in 1998, Modi said the people know what the Congress government at the Centre and the DMK government in Tamil Nadu did then. "Today's India is different. Anyone who dares to attack India will get a strong response. We will pay back in the same coin with compound interest," Modi remarked. Wondering about the opposition's suspicion on the actuality of the surgical strike and the air attack on terror camps, Modi said Tamil Nadu had a special role to play in the nation's security. The defence corridor, coming up in Tamil Nadu, would attract huge investments and provide jobs, he added. Coming back to his pet agenda, Modi asked was it a crime to be a nationalist. "I want to tell the opposition it's our nationalism that ensured that every Indian family has a bank account; that launched world's largest healthcare scheme; that motivated us to provide the electricity to over 18,000 villages; that led us to launch pension scheme for 42 crore Indians; enabled us to provide 1.5 crore homes for poor," he said."We were nationalists, we are nationalist and we will be nationalist. The Congress manifesto is a document that all anti-India forces were waiting for. It made all terrorists happy," the BJP leader said. On the Congress manifesto, Modi said it didn't say a single word about middle class, and added, "A vote for that party is a vote for higher taxes." Modi said hatred of the Congress for middle class was not new as a party leader asked why the middle class was worried about price rise. The Prime Minister said the middle class was the backbone of the country and the NDA government had kept the prices under check. "We will ensure that the hard-earned money and the talent of middle class are devoted to empowerment of India. If the Congress and allies raise your taxes, they will also destroy your culture and tradition," Modi said.
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Madras HC stays Rs 100 crore fine imposed by NGT on TN govt over polluting rivers

April 9, 2019, 9:12 pm
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Law
The stay on Tuesday was granted on a writ petition from Tamil Nadu government challenging the February 13 orders of NGT.
TNM Staff
The Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed the imposition of Rs 100 crore fine by National Green Tribunal (NGT) on the Tamil Nadu government. The fine of Rs 100 crore was slapped on the state government in an interim order by the Tribunal on February 13 for failing to control pollution and restoring Chennai’s waterways within 36 months from April 2015.  The stay on Tuesday was granted by a division bench of Justices R Subbiah and Krishnan Ramasamy, while passing interim orders on a writ petition from Tamil Nadu government challenging the February 13 orders of NGT.  In the strongly worded order, the NGT had not only criticised the state government for failing to take action against entities responsible for polluting the waterways viz. the Adyar, the Cooum and the Buckingham Canal, but also accused them of complacency and colluding with the polluters. According to a report in Times of India, the state moved the present appeal before the High Court on the ground that the tribunal's order “suffered non-application of mind, was based on mistake of fact and contrary to the principles of natural justice, arbitrary and unreasonable.”  In addition to the stay on penalty, the Bench also issued notices to NGT and to Jawahar Shanmugam, a social activist and one of the petitioners.  In January 2019, a status report submitted said that the Chennai River Restoration Trust (CRRT) had taken strenuous efforts for revamping Cooum and Adyar rivers in Phase I and Phase II.  Recently, on February 11, the state government filed an affidavit “stating the Eco Restoration Plan had been prepared for restoration of the Cooum River which is to be implemented in three phases in eight years. Major activities will be completed in three years.”  This plan has been named the “Integrated Cooum River Eco-Restoration Project” and for this, Rs 604.77 crore have been sanctioned for 60 sub-projects.
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AMMK Theni candidate booked for allegedly raping a woman in 2015

April 9, 2019, 11:10 pm
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Crime
The case allegedly dates back to 2015 and the incident took place in the candidate’s hospital.
TNM Staff
A rape case has been registered on Tuesday in the Theni All-Woman Police Station against K Kathirkamu, former MLA and AMMK candidate in Periyakulam Assembly bye-election. According to The Hindu, the police registered the case following a viral video that was being circulated on the messaging platform WhatsApp. A complaint was obtained from a 36-year-old woman on Monday following which the police registered an FIR under sections 376 (rape), 417 (cheating) and 506 (1) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. The woman’s complaint was based on the incident which allegedly took place in October 2015. However, Kathirkamu has denied the allegations and stated that there was no truth to the incident and that a similar issue had cropped up three years ago. Kathirkamu is a medical practitioner who runs a hospital in Allinagaram in Theni district. The complainant had stated that the incident took place at his hospital. The news report further states that AIADMK functionaries in Periyakulam stated that Kathirkamu has been having an affair and the AIADMK had nothing to do with registration of the case. Speaking to reporters, Kathirkamu called the complaint an attempt to foil his chances of winning the elections. It is interesting to note that Kathirkamu is one among the 18 MLAs disqualified by the assembly Speaker in 2017. He won an AIADMK ticket from Periyakulam in 2016 and has been chosen to contest from the same constituency for AMMK this time. Eighteen of the 22 bye-polls due in the state are on account of these MLAs being disqualified by the Madras High Court in October last year under the Anti Defection Law for declaring their support to TTV Dhinakaran. Dhinakaran has announced poll candidates for all 39 Parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu as well as the 18 bye-poll segments. 
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11-yr-old's rape and murder in Chennai: SC stays Dhasvanth's death penalty

April 10, 2019, 12:31 am
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Court
The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Dhasvanth, who raped and murdered a 11-year-old girl in Chennai in 2017.
Priyanka Thirumurthy
Nine months after the Madras High Court upheld the death sentence awarded to S Dhasvanth, who sexually assaulted and murdered a 11-year-old girl in Chennai, the Supreme Court has ordered an interim stay on the execution of the punishment. This, after the accused approached the Supreme Court against the conviction and death sentence. The petition was heard on April 8 by a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjiv Khanna. After considering the matter, the bench said they were of the view that no fault can be found with the conviction of the accused petitioner under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (Murder) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual offence Act, 2012 (POCSO). And while rejecting a plea challenging his conviction, the apex court has observed they will look into the quantum of punishment."Issue notice confined to the question of sentence. In the meantime, the sentence of death penalty awarded shall not be executed," reads the SC's order copy. The Supreme Court's decision comes after the Madras High Court upheld the trial court's decision to sentence him to death. In the High Court, Dhasvanth alleged that the investigation in the case was not satisfactory. He claimed that the dates mentioned by various witnesses did not corroborate and that the investigation was done with the sole intention to convict him. The Chengalpet court which first held trial in the matter, examined 30 witnesses, 45 documents and 19 pieces of evidence. In all, he has been awarded 46 years of rigorous imprisonment. Responding to the latest developments in the case, Sherin Bosko, the founder of Nakshatra, an organisation that works to support families of sexually abused children in court, says, "There is already a high rise is crime against women and children across the country. The Supreme Court's judgement in this case will prove to be a precedent for all other such brutal cases and perpetrators across the country will be emboldened. Even recently in Mumbai, a child rapist was released early and he just ended up raping and murdering another child. We cannot have this happen again." Background The 11-year-old victim went missing from the apartment complex she stayed in with her family in Chennai’s Mugalivakkam on February 6, 2017. The Chennai police arrested Dhasvanth, who also lived in the same building. He had lured her away with a dog, and then sexually assaulted and killed her. In December 2017, on the very first day of the trial, Dhasvanth was reprimanded by the court for ‘confessing’ to the crime so that the trial could be done away with. He wrote a six-page letter to the court, which was rejected by judge P Velmurugan, who also said that the accused “could not play with the courts.” Meanwhile, the techie seemed to show little remorse for his actions as the victim's father had earlier told TNM that he had been repeatedly threatened by Dhasvanth in the court premises. He said that Dhasvanth had threatened to murder his son as well. The most significant turning point in the case came on December 2, 2017, when Dhasvanth ’s mother was found bludgeoned to death while he was out on bail. Dhasvanth, who was out on bail, had allegedly killed her and escaped with her jewelry, which he split with David and James, two jail mates from Puzhal Central Prison whom he had befriended. He was caught by the police on December 6 in Mumbai, only to escape a day later. He was re-arrested the very next day, when he was found a few kilometres away from the Vile Parle area from where he had escaped. Dhasvanth also reportedly confessed to killing his mother and said that he would have killed his father Sekhar as well had he not been late in returning from work that day. Things changed for him after his mother’s death. His father withdrew the legal support he was providing for Dhasvanth. The state has been providing him legal aid since then.   
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TN govt bans summer classes in schools, parents welcome move

April 10, 2019, 3:24 am
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Education
The circular said that the prohibition was ordered to enable the students to get to know their extended families and mingle with them.
Megha Kaveri
Image for representation/PTI
A recent circular from the Director of Matriculation Schools in Tamil Nadu prohibiting schools across the state from conducting special classes in summer is being welcomed by stakeholders. On Tuesday, a circular issued by the Director stated that it is mandatory to provide holidays for students during the summer since there is possibility of them contracting diseases which spread in the heat. “Summer vacation is a good opportunity for the students to go to their native places, mingle with their extended family, know the importance of family, and improve their relationships,” stated the circular. The circular further said that action will be taken on schools if parents file a complaint regarding violation of the rule. This circular has been widely appreciated by several parents in Tamil Nadu. Speaking to TNM, KR Nandhakumar, State Secretary, Tamil Nadu Matriculation, Higher Secondary, and CBSE Schools Association says, “Books have not yet come for the higher class students so it makes no sense to conduct classes. Also, it is already scorching hot across the state. Hence I think it is good that such an order has been issued. It will help students take care of their health better and to be with their families.” S Arumainathan, President of the Tamil Nadu Students-Parents Welfare Association, says, “It will curb unnecessary classes that schools organise these days with the main motive of getting money. Vacations and holidays are intended to help students do social activities and get a sense of life.” However, he adds that despite the state government bringing in such moves, they are rarely implemented in reality. “We have seen so many such orders and rules. I can say with confidence that most of them lack proper supervision on the ground. I would prefer that such orders are strictly followed up on by the authorities,” he says. School teachers and managements however say they are awaiting more clarity on the circular. A correspondent in a leading private school in Pollachi says that basically it is a great decision to give rest to the children. “But we need more information on what classes the circular is talking about. If it is about the summer camps that we conduct for various extracurricular activities, then it is already optional. It provides a safe environment to children whose both parents are working professionals and cannot leave their kids home alone and hence for such parents, these classes are useful. However, if it is for the classes we conduct for class 9 and 11 students, then I think it is impractical,” she says. Explaining her take on the circular, she says that it is impossible for any school in Tamil Nadu to complete the portions for class 9 and 11 students within the fixed parameters of school hours. “We already have a lot of restrictions, like no classes on Sundays, no classes beyond actual working hours, no classes on public and government holidays etc. Over and above this, if more restrictions are placed, it becomes challenging for the teachers to complete teaching the portions for these students,” she says. However, she adds that it is good to give the students a mandatory holiday for two weeks for them to relax and rejuvenate themselves.
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FIR against DMK Duraimurugan’s son Kathir after Rs 10 crore seized by I-T dept

April 10, 2019, 3:30 am
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Lok Sabha 2019
The FIR has been registered for lying in the affidavit and for attempts at bribery.
Megha Kaveri
Days after the Income Tax department searched the house of senior DMK leader Duraimurugan, his son DM Kathir Anand and a few of his close associates, the Katpadi police has registered an FIR against DM Kathir Anand and two of his men. DM Kathir Anand is DMK’s candidate for Vellore parliamentary constituency for the upcoming general elections. The FIR, which was registered on Monday, included the names of Poonjolai Srinivasan, a local DMK functionary and Damodaran apart from Kathir Anand. In the FIR, it has been stated that according to the election affidavit filed by DM Kathir Anand, the cash possessed by himself and his wife stood at Rs 7.43 lakh. However, on April 1, when the officers from the Income Tax department conducted search in Damodaran’s properties, they seized Rs 11.48 crore. “Poonjolai Srinivasan then contacted the Income Tax authorities and accepted that the amount seized from Damodaran’s properties belonged to him and that it was kept there to distribute to voters,” read the FIR. It further states that officials from the Income Tax department were not allowed to enter Duraimurugan's house and at that time this money could have been moved from the location. The Katpadi police, hence, registered an FIR against Kathir Anand, Poonjolai Srinivasan and Damodaran under sections 125A (Penalty for filing false affidavit) of the Representation of the People Act 1951 and 171E (Punishment for bribery) and 171B (Bribery related to exercise of electoral right) of the IPC. The Income Tax department searched Duraimurugan’s house in the wee hours of March 30 and then followed it up on April 1 with a search in the cement godown.  The search, carried out on information received by the District Electoral Officer of Vellore, ended in the officers seizing almost Rs 11 crore from the godown. The amount was stacked in gunny sacks, big shopping bags and cartons. While Kathir Anand is contesting on a DMK ticket, Puthiya Needhi Katchi founder AC Shanmugam is the candidate of AIADMK+ alliance. Shanmugam is a businessman and the chancellor of Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute. TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK has fielded Pandurangan in Vellore while Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam has picked R Suresh to contest from the constituency. 
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Is the Chennai pitch not suited for T20 cricket? Experts explain MS Dhoni's statement

April 10, 2019, 6:37 am
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Sport
After the IPL match against KKR on Tuesday, Dhoni said, "I don't think we want to be playing on these tracks."
Priyanka Thirumurthy
(Image for representation)
The fourth IPL match in Chennai saw home team Chennai Super Kings clinch a comfortable seven wicket win over the Kolkata Knight riders to seal the top spot in the IPL 2019 table. But despite the victory, CSK captain MS Dhoni expressed dissatisfaction over the condition of the pitch at the MA Chidambaram stadium. KKR, which batted first managed to score only 108 runs. KKR’s 50 came up only in the 12th over, indicating that their batsmen couldn't adapt to the surface at Chepauk. And despite the low score, Chennai played it safe and took the match into the 17th over before registering their second victory in succession. In the post match presentation, Dhoni said, "I don't think we want to be playing on these tracks. It becomes too low scoring. It becomes slightly difficult for our batsmen as well. We have been cribbing about the track but we have ended up winning the game." This is not the first time that the Chepauk pitch has come under scrutiny. After the opening match of the IPL saw Royal Challengers Bengaluru led by Virat Kohli being bundled out for 70 in 17.1 overs, both captains had commented on the slowness of the track. Dhoni said, “I never expected the wicket to play how it actually played and it was too slow and it just reminded me of the 2011 Champions League wicket. I feel if the wicket stays like this, it will be very tough for us also. The wicket definitely needs to be a lot better than where it is right now, even with dew it was still spinning big. I feel it needs to be high-scoring.“ Kohli, who is also the Indian captain, meanwhile commented, “It wasn’t easy to bat on, looked much better surface though." When TNM spoke to experts and former cricketers who have played professionally in Chennai, they confirmed that the pitch was indeed not conducive for the T20 format where audiences expect the bat to dominate the ball and high scores are the order of the day. However, they pointed out that teams need to adapt to the pitch and devise a strategy accordingly.'Chennai heat responsible' Speaking to TNM, former Indian cricketer Hemang Badani says the pitch used to have good bounce till about 15 years ago, before it was relaid. But for the last 10 years, it has always been a slow track."The point Dhoni was trying to make is that he wasn't enjoying playing on these tracks. He means pitches should be better than this and more suitable for T20 cricket. But the Chepauk track has traditionally been slow. It is not like a Bombay or a Mohali where high scores are common. You hardly have anyone scoring 200 here," he says. "It is not going to change and I know this because I've played here for several years since I am a local boy. Because of the heat in Chennai, the pitches tend to get dry and crack easily. The problem is the temperatures in the city. No matter how much water they put, how much they roll the surface, you will have this problem because it is summer," he explains. Former Indian cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath too agrees that the heat could be responsible for the state of the pitch. But he argues that the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), which manages the pitch, could have been better prepared."Too much cricket has been played on the Chennai track and to be honest, I don't think they had enough time to prepare. There is absolutely no grass on the track from what I see and this is not something that will happen overnight. It is a three-week process for grass to be ready," he says. "In addition to this, the heat makes it very dry. You can't water the wicket before the game. The people managing the field also can't do much about it now, they should have started at least a month back," he adds. Both former cricketers however dismiss any disappointment from teams over the nature of the pitch. ‘Teams need to strategise'"The pitch is not as bad as they make it out to be. Atleast 120-130 runs can be scored," says Badrinath. Hemang meanwhile points out that CSK seems to have no problem hitting big scores on the field. On April 6, the home team managed to score 160 runs in the first innings against Punjab on the same pitch. Similarly, in the match before this in Chepauk, CSK scored 175 when they batted first against Rajasthan Royals. "When Chennai can do it why can't the others? There is a way of playing on this pitch and the other teams have not exhibited ability or strategy," says Hemang. "Players have to adapt to the pitch and conditions in the city they are playing in, not the other way round. They are professionals, they need to be able to cope."     
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TN CM promises to implement Madras HC order on Salem-Chennai expressway

April 10, 2019, 8:44 pm
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Salem-Chennai expressway
Tamil Nadu Minister KT Rajenthira Balaji had earlier said that the government would be appealing the decision to stall the project.
TNM Staff
Days after the Madras High Court quashed land acquisition proceedings for the controversial Chennai-Salem expressway, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has promised to implement the order. In an exclusive interview with The Hindu, the chief minister said that the state was duty-bound to enforce the orders of the High Court. "This is an industrial belt and we believe that the eight-lane road would boost industry and infrastructure leading to employment. But the State is duty-bound to enforce court orders," he told the newspaper.  The chief minister's statement comes a day after Milk and Dairy Development Minister KT Rajenthra Bhalaji said that the state government would file an appeal in the Supreme Court on the verdict stalling the Rs 10,000 crore project.“The expressway is very crucial for the development of the industrial sector in the State,” he had said, adding that a discussion would be held with alliance partners.  The proposed project, under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, was all set to acquire 1,900 hectares of land along the districts of Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvannamalai, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, and Salem. However, the project which raised eyebrows for its sudden proposal and prompt approval, met with many protests by farmers living along the proposed route.  The Madras High Court’s verdict came on a bunch of petitions filed by farmers and the PMK, which is now in the AIADMK-led alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. PMK was among the first parties to protest land acquisition for the Rs 10,000 crore project. On Monday, a bench of Justices TS Sivagnanam and V Bhavani Subbaroyan of the Madras High Court, said that the benefits of the project were illusory.  Chief Minister Palaniswami had batted for the project, even stating in the assembly that the Tamil Nadu government had fought for the project and that only 41 acres of forest land would be acquired. The court, however, rubbished these arguments, and ordered a reversal of all land records mutated by the government.
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TN woman dies after childbirth at a private hospital, relatives allege medical negligence

April 10, 2019, 9:11 pm
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Crime
The relatives also claim that the FIR filed by them was edited to leave out details about the hospital.
Anjana Shekar
A 33-year-old pregnant woman from Chellankuppam village in Kilpennathur Block in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai District lost her life on early Tuesday after undergoing an emergency caesarean section at a private hospital in Tiruvannamalai. The victim, identified as Kavitha, who already has two daughters, gave birth to a healthy baby boy, before she died due to severe blood loss. Speaking to TNM, Kavitha’s relative Elumalai said, “She was getting her check-ups done at JIPMER Hospital in Pondicherry where she was asked to undergo treatment for being anaemic. Three months ago, her husband Sivakumar met with an accident and was paralysed below the hip. As a result she could not travel far for her treatment and decided to get it done at a hospital nearby.” On April 8, Kavitha visited Balaji Nursing Home in Tiruvannamalai, about 15 kilometres from her village, along with her sister-in-law, for a blood transfusion to improve her anemic state. Elumalai alleges that though Kavitha had gone to the hospital at 10.30 am, she was only given the treatment at 6.00 pm. Kavitha’s family alleges that the doctors at Balaji Hospital told them at the time that an emergency caesarean section had to be performed. The hospital however stated that they had asked her relatives to take her to JIPMER for the procedure. As no one was available to tend to her, the relatives allegedly asked doctors to perform the surgery at Balaji Hospital itself. Her family, however, claims that the hospital told them it was a critical situation and that the procedure had to be done at once. “JIPMER had given her due date as April 18 only, but still they did an emergency caesarean section on her,” says Elumalai, further alleging that the hospital performed a family planning operation on her after the delivery. He added that doctors had allegedly gotten permission from her husband to do so. Speaking to TNM, Dr R Gunasekaran of Balaji Nursing Home says the caesarean section was performed only after consent had been obtained from Kavitha’s family. “Her last delivery, 5 years ago, was done via caesarean section as well and done at JIPMER. Even at that time she’d had a blood transfusion. When she presented to our hospital, she was anemic so we asked her to go to JIPMER following the transfusion. We only performed the surgery at the request of her family. She was fine for about an hour and a half post operatively. At around 11.00 pm she began bleeding profusely and we immediately transferred her to the government hospital as we didn’t have sufficient blood here.” While the hospital maintains that there are no faults on their part, Elumalai alleges that Kavitha was dead even before she could be taken to the Government Hospital. “They sent her body in an auto, not even an ambulance was used. Her sister-in-law who was with her also found that she had no pulse at that point,” he claims. Dr R Gunasekaran, however, claims that since no ambulance drivers were available an auto was arranged for the sake of urgency. A protest was staged outside Tiruvannamalai town police station on Tuesday by over 50 villagers following which the police were called in to pacify the crowd. Kavitha’s kin has alleged that her death has been caused as a result of medical negligence and have also claimed that the FIR they filed at Tiruvannamalai Town police station on Tuesday was edited to leave out details about the hospital. Denying allegations of a watered down FIR Tiruvannamalai town, Deputy Superintendent of Police Annadurai said, “We have registered an FIR under 174 CRPC (cause of death). The case is currently being investigated. We have taken their complaint as is.”
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State Human Rights Commission seeks report from Idol Wing chief Pon Manickavel

April 10, 2019, 9:58 pm
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This follows a complaint by former HR&CE Commissioner Veera Shanmugha Moni, who has alleged human rights violation over his arrest.
TNM Staff
YouTube Screenshot: Thandora
The State Human Rights Commission has sought a report from Idol Wing Special Officer Pon Manickavel following a complaint by former Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment department, M Veera Shanmugha Moni. The former HR&CE Commissioner was arrested on March 15 and has alleged human rights violations by court-appointed officer Pon Manickavel. The SHRC, which directed Pon Manickavel to file a report within four weeks, also asked if the arrest adhered to the guidelines framed by the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). According to a report in the Times of India, the former HR&CE chief had alleged that Senthilmaran, the inspector who had led his arrest, had not even allowed him to answer nature's call. Veera Shanmugha Moni also alleged that his family was not alerted about his arrest and that he had been denied basic amenities during his three-day custodial interrogation. The retired official was arrested on suspicion of misappropriation of funds at the Sri Ekambareswarar temple in Kancheepuram. According to a report in The Hindu, Veera Shanmugha Moni also alleged that when his wife was finally told about his arrest, she was given wrong information. A policeman had reportedly informed her that he was being taken to the Idol Wing's office in Guindy, when he was taken to Kumbakonam instead. “The acts of the Idol Wing headed by Pon Manickavel in making unnecessary arrest in a hasty manner without due process of law only shows that he has vested interest in projecting himself as a hero, aimed only to harass me and not for the purpose of meeting the ends of justice,” said the newspaper, quoting the complaint. While the retired officer was granted bail subsequently, his arrest is not the first to raise eyebrows on the conduct of the Idol Wing chief. In December last year, the arrest of HR&CE Additional Commissioner N Thirumagal had stirred a controversy, for the official was known to cooperate with the Idol Wing investigations. The arrest was also the latest in a list of officials that the HR&CE says have been targeted by Pon Manickavel. The HR&CE department, which has been at loggerheads with the Idol Wing, has seen multiple arrests of officials over the past couple of years and has alleged that it is being targeted by the officer.
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Vedanta, ONGC seek clearance to conduct study for hydrocarbon project in Cauvery basin

April 11, 2019, 12:58 am
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Environment
The hydrocarbon projects, proposed in 4 locations of Tamil Nadu and in 2 locations in Puducherry, have faced several protests from local residents.
Megha Kaveri
Image for representation/Nityanand Jayaraman
Two companies – Vedanta Limited and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) – have written to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) seeking its approval to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment study for setting up hydrocarbon wells in Cauvery bed in Tamil Nadu. The hydrocarbon projects, proposed in four locations of Tamil Nadu and in 2 locations in Puducherry, have faced several protests from local residents who state that this may impact the groundwater table in the area. The letters written by Vedanta and ONGC have sought permission to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study in the area which has been allotted to them to find out whether the project will impact the environment around. The EIA report is mandatory to apply for an Environmental Clearance and the clearance under the Coastal Regulatory Zone rules. While ONGC has requested granting approval for the Terms of Reference for the EIA study, Vedanta has also requested the Ministry for an exemption from conducting a public hearing in the areas where its exploratory projects are to come up. “Considering the project activities falling major area in offshore and the temporary and short term nature of the proposed project activities, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) is requested for Exemption of the public hearing,” reads the request letter sent by Vedanta to the MoEFCC. The government of India had signed contracts with Vedanta and INGC in October 2018 to carry out hydrocarbon exploration on around 6,000 square kilometres of the Cauvery delta region in Tamil Nadu. Based on the contract, Vedanta was granted permission to set up 274 hydrocarbon wells and ONGC was allotted 67 wells to conduct exploration. The exploratory wells by both the companies will come up in the districts of Nagapattinam, Villupuram, Cuddalore and Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu and Karaikkal and Puducherry districts of the Union Territory. While ONGC will set up hydrocarbon wells in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Bhuvanagiri and Thiruvarur at an outlay of Rs 5,150 crore, Vedanta will set up wells in Villupuram and Nagapattinam apart from the shallow waters of the Bay of Bengal at a cost of Rs 13,550 crore. The proposed hydrocarbon project has triggered a lot of protests over the past few years in Neduvasal with the farmers refusing to allow the project claiming that this would dry up the groundwater table in the region adversely affecting their livelihood. Last month, in Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district, one of the proposed locations, 200 people staged a 9-day sit-in seeking that the central government drop the exploratory project, alleging that the exploration would kill the fertility of their agricultural lands and the place will soon turn into a desert. All the major political parties of Tamil Nadu have resolved to announce the Cauvery delta region as a Protected Agricultural Zone if they win the elections in April.
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'We will decide fate of TN government' : AMMK's P Vetrivel tells TNM

April 11, 2019, 3:06 am
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Lok Sabha 2019
The bye-elections to the 22 seats will seal the fate of the Eddapadi Palaniswami-led government that is presently sitting on a wafer-thin majority.
Priyanka Thirumurthy
Screenshot from YouTube/News7
The Election Commission's announcement that all 22 bye-polls in Tamil Nadu will be held in the next few weeks has left the opposition parties elated ahead of the polls. DMK chief MK Stalin is confident that his party will win all 22 bye-elections and form the next government. But P Vetrivel, the MLA candidate from TTV Dhinakaran's AMMK, dismisses Stalin's euphoria and says it is his party that will decide the fate of the Tamil Nadu government. The bye-elections to the 22 seats will seal the fate of the Eddapadi Palaniswami-led government that is presently sitting on a wafer-thin majority. With 113 MLAs excluding the Speaker, the AIADMK needs to win at least five constituencies to stay in power. The majority mark in the TN Assembly with a strength of 235 legislators is 118."The Edappadi government is a minority government and the AMMK is sure to win several bye-poll constituencies, just like we won in RK Nagar. We will definitely decide what happens next to the state government," Vetrivel tells TNM. The AMMK leader is also contesting from the Perambur state assembly constituency where he was disqualified from in 2017. He, along with 17 other MLAs of the AIADMK had approached the Governor expressing lack of confidence in Edappadi Palaniswami as Chief Minister. Speaking about his constituency, Vetrivel says, "No development or any kind of work has happened here since my disqualification. The government believed it was punishing me and instead punished the people of my constituency." In the one year that he held the post, the AMMK leader says he had circled out the most important issues that need to be addressed."The Kodungaiyur dumping yard is the biggest bane of the people who live in Perambur. When I was in power I had already spoken to former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa about the issue and we agreed to reduce it to a 30 acre landfill and also begin processing the waste that is already present," he says. The landfill is currently 270 acres and residents in the area have constantly complained of contamination of the air and drinking water. "But she (Jayalalithaa) fell ill following this discussion and then later, we were at odds with Edappadi," he adds. In addition to this, Vetrivel explains that when TTV Dhinakaran was the deputy secretary of the AIADMK, it was decided that land would be alloted to Muslims, Christians and Hindus for the purpose of burial or cremation."I even spent Rs.4 crore from my funds to build a small bridge to access the grounds. But it was all brought to a halt when I was disqualified," says Vetrivel. "All I am asking is that the people allow me to finish what I have already started for this constituency," he adds. The AMMK leader dismisses competition from the DMK and AIADMK candidate from the constituency. He further dismisses the 'DMK bastion' tag that North Chennai holds."The DMK candidate RD Sekar had earlier won in this constituency as a Councillor and he failed to do enough work for the people, so they don't want him back," says Vetrivel. "If this was a DMK bastion, why did they lose deposit in the RK Nagar elections?" he asks. But what about allegations of all the parties bribing voters?"Cash for votes will always remain an allegation. There is not much we can do about it," he says. "Even if people take money, we know they will vote for the right party."  
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DMK is not anti-Hindu, says Stalin: Lists out things done by Karunanidhi for Hindus

April 11, 2019, 5:16 am
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Lok Sabha 2019
Lashing out at the BJP for calling the DMK an anti-Hindu party, Stalin said that BJP is not the gatekeeper of Hinduism.
Megha Kaveri
PTI
While development, federalism, communalism and Dravidian ideologies have been the main conversations around elections in Tamil Nadu this time, slowly but steadily, the accusation that the DMK is an anti-Hindu party has been made an election topic by the AIADMK and the BJP. Whether it’s posting Stalin’s videos criticising Hindu rituals, or Dravida Kazhagam leader Veeramani’s comments on Lord Krishna, the accusation that the DMK works against the rights of Hindus, seems to be one that MK Stalin could not ignore anymore. And this is perhaps why the DMK President chose to say during a political campaign that his party was not against Hindus or Hinduism. Stalin was at Tirunelveli, campaigning for the party’s candidate Gnanadiraviyam on Tuesday when he launched an attack on the BJP, accusing it of trying to spread rumours that DMK was an anti-Hindu party. “I am asking them if DMK is an anti-Hindu party, then who are all those people who are in DMK? Can they answer this question?” he said, adding that Hinduism does not belong to the BJP alone. “They are staging a drama like they are the gatekeepers of Hinduism,” he said. Pointing out the DMK’s manifesto which has a section specifically for the protection of religions, Stalin said that the party is not against any particular religion or caste. “DMK’s primary duty is to protect social harmony. We have clearly mentioned in our manifesto that the central and the state governments must protect the traditions of all religions without differentiating into majority and minority,” he said. He added that in the manifesto for the 2019 general elections, the DMK has stressed on the importance of forming a special team to check the theft of idols from temples.  Listing out DMK’s initiatives in the past, Stalin said that the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi had done a lot for the Hindus in the state. “In 1996, when DMK came back to power, it was the then Chief Minister Kalaignar who formed an expert advisory committee under the auspices of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department to give suggestions for the improvement of administration of temples. He recovered more temple properties than his predecessor and improved the revenues in temples,” he said. Adding that it was due to Karunanidhi’s efforts that a prohibition to sell temple land to private parties was put in place, Stalin said that it was also during the DMK regime that the maximum number of kumbabishekams took place in temples across the state. “He only brought in pension scheme for priests. He released aagama texts in Tamil. He released the books in praise of Lords Vinayaga, Murugan, Shiva and Perumal and enabled worship in Tamil. He also determined fair rent for the properties of temples. He provided free electrical lamps to temples which did not have enough money,” Stalin pointed out, and said that it was the DMK patriarch who passed a law which allowed people from any caste to become temple priests. “Even after all this, some people are saying that we are against Hindus,” he said. His comments on DMK’s efforts towards Hinduism comes days after he called the outrage against Veeramani a ‘planned RSS conspiracy’. Speaking to news agency ANI, Stalin defended Veeramani’s remarks on Lord Krishna and said that those comments were taken out of context. He also emphasised DMK’s stance when it comes to religion and said that temples must not become a haven for evil. Narrating an example from his personal life, Stalin pointed out that his wife Durga also frequently visits temples but not once has he asked her why she was going. Read: 'Planned RSS conspiracy': Stalin on outrage over Veeramani’s Lord Krishna comments
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Train services to and from Chennai to be hit on April 13, 14, 15: Full list of cancellations

April 11, 2019, 11:47 pm
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Trains
Southern Railways is taking up major engineering works for the commissioning of the Arakkonam-Thakkolam detour line.
TNM Staff
Train services to and from Chennai will get affected on April 13, April 14 and April 15 owing to major engineering works taken up for the commissioning of the Arakkonam-Thakkolam detour line. According to Times of India, the Southern Railways had laid a detour line between Thakkolam and Arakkonam in January but the work on linking this line with the Arakkonam-Katpadi line was pending. The Southern Railways needs to turn off the electricity to do this work. The work that began on April 5 is expected to be completed on April 15. A press release by Southern Railways, lists the following the cancellations: CANCELLATION OF EXPRESS/MAIL TRAINS ·T. No 16057 CHENNAI CENTRAL – TIRUPATI Saptagiri Express scheduled to leave Chennai Central at 06.25 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 16054 TIRUPATI – CHENNAI CENTRAL Saptagiri Express scheduled to leave Tirupati at 10.00 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 16053 CHENNAI CENTRAL – TIRUPATI Saptagiri Express scheduled to leave Chennai Central at 14.15 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 16058 TIRUPATI – CHENNAI CENTRAL Saptagiri Express scheduled to leave Tirupati at 18.05 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 16203 CHENNAI CENTRAL – TIRUPATI Garudadri Express scheduled to leave Chennai Central at 16.35 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 16204 TIRUPATI – CHENNAI CENTRAL Garudadri Express scheduled to leave Tirupati at 06.45 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 12243 CHENNAI CENTRAL – COIMBATORE Shatabdi Express scheduled to leave Chennai Central at 07.10 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 12244 COIMBATORE – CHENNAI CENTRALShatabdi Express scheduled to leave Coimbatore at 15.05 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 22625 CHENNAI CENTRAL – KSR BENGALURU Double Decker Express scheduled to leave Chennai Central at 07.25 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 22626 KSR BENGALURU – CHENNAI CENTRAL Double Decker Express scheduled to leave KSR Bengaluru at 14.30 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 12028 KSR BENGALURU – CHENNAI CENTRAL Shatabdi Express scheduled to leave KSR Bengaluru at 06.00 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 12027 CHENNAI CENTRAL – KSR BENGALURU Shatabdi Express scheduled to leave Chennai Central at 17.30 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 16090 JOLARPETTAI – CHENNAI CENTRAL Yelagiri Express scheduled to leave Jolarpettai at 04.55 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled ·T. No 16089 CHENNAI CENTRAL – JOLARPETTAI Yelagiri Express scheduled to leave Chennai Central at 17.55 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled ·T. No 16086 JOLARPETTAI – ARAKKONAM Express scheduled to leave Jolarpettai at 06.55 hrs o­n 13th and 14th April, 2019 is cancelled ·T. No 16085 ARAKKONAM – JOLARPETTAI Express scheduled to leave Arakkonam at 18.05 hrs o­n 13th and 14th April, 2019 is cancelled CANCELLATION OF PASSENGERS TRAINS ·T. No 56001 CHENNAI CENTRAL – ARAKKONAM Passenger leaving Chennai Central at 13.10 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 56002 ARAKKONAM - CHENNAI CENTRAL Passenger leaving Arakkonam at 23.00 hrs o­n 14th and 15th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 56008 KATPADI – ARAKKONAM Passenger leaving Katpadi at 04.35 hrs o­n 14th and 15th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 56011 ARAKKONAM – KADAPA Passenger leaving Arakkonam at 07.05 hrs o­n 14th and 15th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 56012 KADAPA – ARAKKONAM Passenger leaving Kadapa at 14.45 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 56007 ARAKKONAM – KATPADI Passenger leaving Arakkonam at 21.00 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 56009 ARAKKONAM – VELLORE Passenger leaving Arakkonam at 07.10 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 56014 VELLORE – ARAKKONAM Passenger leaving Vellore at 10.00 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 56013 ARAKKONAM – VELLORE Passenger leaving Arakkonam at 13.05 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 56010 VELLORE – ARAKKONAM Passenger leaving Vellore at 16.35 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 56007 ARAKKONAM – KATPADI Passenger leaving Arakkonam at 21.00 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No. 56003 ARKKONAM – CHENGALPATTU Passenger leaving Arakkonam at 05.50 hrs o­n 13th and 14th April, 2019 is fully cancelled. ·T. No. 56006 CHENGALPATTU - ARKKONAM Passenger leaving Chengalpattu at 08.20 hrs o­n 13th and 14th April, 2019 is fully cancelled. ·T. No. 56005 ARKKONAM – CHENGALPATTU Passenger leaving Arakkonam at 17.30 hrs o­n 13th and 14th April, 2019 is fully cancelled. · T. No. 56004 CHENGALPATTU - ARKKONAM Passenger leaving Chengalpattu at 20.25 hrs o­n 13th and 14th April, 2019 is fully cancelled. CANCELATION OF MEMU/EMU PASSENGER TRAINS ·T. No 66018 VELLORE – CHENNAI BEACH MEMU local leaving Vellore at 07.15 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66017 CHENNAI BEACH – VELLORE MEMU local leaving Chennai Beach at 18.00 hrs o­n 13th and 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66047 MMC – TIRUPATI MEMU local leaving MMC at 09.50 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66048 TIRUPATI – MMC MEMU local leaving Tirupati at 15.05 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66015 MMC – ARAKKONAM MEMU local leaving MMC at 07.20 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66039 ARAKKONAM – TIRUPATI MEMU local leaving Arakkonam at 09.15 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66033 TIRUPATI – NELLORE MEMU local leaving Tirupati at 11.30 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66036 NELLORE – SULLURPETTA MEMU local leaving Nellore at 16.00 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66038 SULLURPETTA – MMC MEMU local leaving Sullurpetta at 18.35 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66035 MMC – SULLURPETTA MEMU local leaving MMC at 07.45 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66037 SULLURPETTA - NELLORE MEMU local leaving Sullurpetta at 10.05 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66034 NELLORE – TIRUPATI MEMU local leaving Nellore at 12.30 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66040 TIRUPATI – ARAKKONAM MEMU local leaving Tiruupati at 18.40 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66014 ARAKKONAM – MMC MEMU local leaving Arakkonam at 18.40 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66021 MMC – ARAKKONAM MEMU local leaving MMC at 19.10 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66049 ARAKKONAM – TIRUPATI MEMU local leaving Arakkonam at 20.40 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66051 MMC – AVADI MEMU local leaving MMC at 14.05 hrs from 11th to 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66052 AVADI – MMC MEMU local leaving Avadi at 14.50 hrs from 11th to 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66011 MMC – ARAKKONAM MEMU local leaving MMC at 15.50 hrs o­n 13th and 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No 66008 ARAKKONAM -MMC MEMU local leaving Arakkonam at 10.50 hrs o­n 13th and 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No. 43255 MMC – TIRUVALLUR EMU local leaving MMC at 23.10 hrs from 11th to 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. ·T. No. 43204 TIRUVALLUR - MMC EMU local leaving Tiruvallur at 05.30 hrs from 11th to 14th April, 2019 is cancelled. DIVERSION OF EXPRESS/MAIL TRAINS ·T. No 11044 MADURAI – MUMBAI LTT Weekly Express JOURNEY COMMENCING o­n 13.04.19 to be diverted via CHENGALPATTU, CHENNAI EGMORE AND ARAKKONAM. ·T. No. 22351 PATALIPUTRA – YESVATPUR Weekly Express JOURNEY COMMENCING o­n 12.04.2019 is diverted to run via GUDUR, RENIGUNTA, PAKALA, KATPADI & JOLARPETTAI skipping stopping at CHENNAI CENTRAL AND ARKKONAM. RESCHEDULING OF TRAIN SERVICE ·T. No 19419     CHENNAI CENTRAL – AHMEDABAD Weekly Express scheduled to leave CHENNAI CENTRAL at 20.10 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is rescheduled to leave CHENNAI CENTRAL at 00.15 hrs o­n 15th April, 2019 (late by 4 hours and 05 minutes). ·T. No 11028 CHENNAI CENTRAL – MUMBAI CSMT Express scheduled to leave CHENNAI CENTRAL at 23.55 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is rescheduled to leave CHENNAI CENTRAL at 00.55 hrs o­n 15th April, 2019 (late by 1 hour) ·T. No 22153 CHENNAI EGMORE – SALEM Express scheduled to leave CHENNAI EGMORE at 23.00 hrs o­n 14th April, 2019 is rescheduled to leave CHENNAI EGMORE at 01.00 hrs o­n 15th April, 2019 (late by 2 hours)  
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Madras HC refuses to restrain Stalin from making statements against SP Velumani

April 12, 2019, 12:34 am
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MK Stalin was booked on April 5 for his alleged defamatory remarks against Tamil Nadu Minister SP Velumani.
TNM Staff
In a blow to Tamil Nadu Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development SP Velumani, the Madras High Court has refused to issue a gag order against DMK President MK Stalin and restrain him from making any statements or speeches against the AIADMK leader. This comes a week after Stalin was booked for his alleged defamatory remark against Velumani. Stalin, who was speaking at an election rally in Coimbatore on April 4, alleged that Velumani was involved in corrupt practices in awarding local body tenders and that he is associated with one of the accused in the Pollachi sexual abuse case. Miffed over these allegations, Velumani had moved the High Court to pass a gag order on him. Justice R Subramanian on Thursday observed that political parties levelling such charges and allegations are common during elections, thus refusing to grant an ex parte interim injunction sought by Velumani. The court also directed Stalin to file his response to the plea by April 16. In his suit, Velumani sought Rs 1 crore from Stalin and DMK for the damages caused to him as a result of the defamatory speech against the Minister on April 4. Velumani said that Stalin had made baseless and unsubstantiated charges against him.  Velumani’s counsel had said, “These speeches were made to gain support for the candidates of DMK and its alliance parties contesting for the Lok Sabha election from Pollachi and Coimbatore constituencies.” According to a report by The Hindu, the Minister listed some of his achievements since his college days, He stated that from being elected as the president of Kuniyamuthur Town Panchayat in 2001, he went on to become its chairman when it became a municipality. He was elected from Perur Assembly constituency in 2006 and won from the Thondamuthur constituency in 2011. During his speech, Stalin, according to a report in TOI, had said that Velumani tops the list of corrupt leaders in the state and that they have sufficient evidence against the Minister to prove his involvement in corruption. “After we come to power, our first task will be to send Velumani to jail. The DVAC (Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption) will arrest him,” he reportedly said. Following this, AIADMK advocate T Ramachandran filed a complaint with the Thondamuthur police station in Coimbatore, based on which, an FIR was registered under against Stalin. KS Vetrivel, another AIADMK advocate, also filed a complaint with the Kuniyamuthur police station against Stalin, for making allegations against Velumani sans proof as well as for causing traffic congestion by bringing more than 100 vehicles in violation of the MCC. 
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Was Anna University’s internal inquiry into answer paper scam a mere sham?

April 12, 2019, 12:47 am
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Exam paper scam
Sacked employees, a senior professor, and the VC speak to TNM about the inquiry that led to the termination of 38 employees from the university.
Megha Kaveri
It was a major scam that rocked the premier technical university in Tamil Nadu leading to the suspension of the then Controller of Examinations, GV Uma, and 38 other employees. In August 2018, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) filed an FIR against 10 academicians for their alleged involvement in the answer paper scam at Anna University, which happened in August 2017. The DVAC, during one of its surprise checks, had found evidence of the scam, which involved getting bribes from students to award more marks during revaluation of answer papers. Popularly known as paper chasing, the scam involved agents receiving money from students to trace their answer sheets and altering them in order to score more. The colleges affiliated to Anna University are divided into many zones for the purpose of valuation of answer sheets. Each zone has a zonal coordinator and a zonal officer, usually professors in the university, who lead a team of contractual workers comprising professional assistants to peons to drivers and labourers. After the university management suspected that a scam was going on, 38 contractual staff members were fired in several instalments from early 2018. The last batch of the employees were let go in March 2019, after the university conducted an internal probe into the issue. All those who have been sacked are daily wage employees whose contract lasts for six months at a time. A few of them have approached the court seeking justice for their wrongful termination. Speaking to TNM about the ordeal they had to face in the name of inquiry, Arun*, one of the employees who was fired, says that an inquiry committee was formed months after he was fired by the university. “We all got fired in different months, then in December 2018, the management called all of us for an inquiry at the university. But then the committee consisted of only university staff and no external members,” he says. The internal committee set up by the management consisted of the new Controller of Examinations, Dr M Venkatesan, Dr S Muttan from the ECE department, Dr K Sivakumar from the Science and Humanities department, Dr S Lakshmi from the Civil engineering department, and Professor S Sanjeevi from the Geology department. Inept inquiry? Vijay*, another employee who was sacked for his alleged involvement in the scam, tells TNM that the inquiry committee was not thorough. “The first issue about that committee was the timing. The university started transferring employees and shifting out zonal officers and coordinators recklessly since April 2018, immediately after Dr Venkatesan took charge as the CoE. If they suspected us, they could have asked us then itself. Why wait for seven months to question us?” he asks. Arun further says that none of the fired employees could possibly have been involved in the scam and that Dr Venkatesan too accepted it at one point. “Venkatesan told us that we did not do anything wrong. He said that they tried reasoning with the syndicate to leave our names out of the list of accused since they knew we were innocent. But he said that the syndicate was adamant and hence he could not do much about it,” he adds. Pointing out that the internal committee basically had a conflict of interest with the duty it was tasked with, Arun asks, “How can they say that their own colleagues were the ones who committed the mistake? This is why we do not believe this inquiry committee and its findings.” Arun also alleges that the inquiry committee asked all of them to give some names of those who might have been involved in the exam paper scam. “But how can we implicate and name someone randomly without even knowing anything about it? So we refused. We finally just wrote our thoughts on the matter and that we were not involved in any malpractice and gave it to them. However, the termination letter we were given says that the termination was based on our acceptance of the malpractice,” he explains. What the employees claim The employees’ main allegation is that the committee that fired them in an unfair manner did not take any action against their superior officers. “We were all administrative staff who took care of a range of duties like administration, final tallying of marks, auditing, data entry, etc. We were not even allowed to handle answer sheets apart from doing totalling,” says Arun. Shedding more light on Arun’s claim, Vijay says that though a few professors were stripped off their positions as zonal coordinators and officers, their position in the university has not changed. “These positions of zonal coordinators and zonal officers were additional charge for the professors. After the news of this scandal broke, though the professors were stripped off their zonal designations, their role in academics remains intact. In fact, a couple of them actually got promotions after the scam came out. The only people whose livelihood and reputation is affected is us,” he rues. A senior professor from the university, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, acknowledges this claim and adds that the staff members who were fired for this could not have functioned without an order from a superior officer. “When such is the case, why are these employees alone being punished and why are their superior officers let go?” he asks. The professor also says that the employees who were sacked were in the lowest rungs of the organisational hierarchy and were hired on a contractual basis. “I see this as an instance of exploitation of the vulnerable portion of employees. Apart from this grade of staff, their immediate superiors all come under the direct payroll of Anna University. This issue must be probed thoroughly with the help of impartial, external committee members,” he says. Prima-facie evidence present: VC The Vice Chancellor of Anna University, MK Surappa, meanwhile denied any irregularities in the inquiry conducted so far. Speaking to TNM, Surappa said that the sacking of the 38 employees was based on prima-facie evidence confirming their involvement in the scam. When asked about the apparent conflict of interest in the internal inquiry committee set up to probe the matter, Surappa said, “That is the university’s procedure. First we probe the issue internally and then appoint an external committee to substantiate the findings of the internal committee. I cannot give you a timeline of when that will happen though, since we are in the middle a lot of other things in the university.” Responding to the employees’ claim that they were not given space to explain their side, Surappa said that the employees who are not satisfied with the probe can write to him directly and that he would ensure they get justice in the case. Meanwhile CoE Dr Venkatesan refused to offer a comment on the matter when TNM contacted him on Thursday. *Name changed
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Will never let TN be ruled by Nagpur, Stalin will be next CM: Rahul Gandhi

April 12, 2019, 1:45 am
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Lok Sabha 2019
Speaking in Krishnagiri, the Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi focused on NYAY and farmers’ distress.
TNM Staff
Image from earlier
In the first of his four campaign rallies in Tamil Nadu on Friday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said he would never let the people of the state be ruled by Nagpur, a reference to the RSS headquarters. He expressed confidence that Tamil Nadu would be ruled by Congress ally DMK’s MK Stalin. Speaking in Krishnagiri, Rahul Gandhi said, “We will never let the people of Tamil Nadu be ruled by Nagpur. Tamil Nadu is going to be ruled from Tamil Nadu and MK Stalin is going to be the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.” Rahul Gandhi’s statement is a dig at the ruling AIADMK that has been accused of being controlled by the BJP-led Centre. The results of the bye-elections to 22 constituencies in the state, which is happening simultaneously with the Lok Sabha Elections, can potentially bring down the AIADMK government, which is presently sitting on a razor thin majority. If the DMK sweeps the bye-polls, Stalin could also stake claim to form the next government. The Congress chief’s campaign speech in Krishnagiri was focused on highlighting the party’s key promises for 2019 – including the NYAY scheme. “The moment Congress party comes to power in Delhi, we will identify the 20% poorest families in the country. We will make a list of the poorest people. And then after that, every one of these people will be given Rs 72000 every year. That’s Rs 3,60,000 in five years. Every single poor family will get this.”  He added that the scheme would revive India’s economy and help thousands of Tamil youngsters to get jobs. Raising the destruction brought upon by Cyclone Gaja, Rahul Gandhi slammed the AIADMK government for “insulting our farmers”. “Now I understand that farmers are facing a very difficult time. Cyclone Gaja destroyed the food base of Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery basin, 8 districts were completely destroyed. The AIADMK government insulted our farmers. 40 lakh farmers lost their work, Rs 6000 crore of MGNREGA money is due to them. Mr Narendra Modi took away the bonus that our farmer used to be given,” Promising that his party would bring about a separate farmers’ budget if the Congress was voted to power, Rahul Gandhi added, “In the beginning of the year itself that we will tell them what the govt of india is going to do for them. How much their MSP will raise. How much bonuses they will get, and what initiatives govt will take for farmers that year. This is a historic step and it will allow our farmers to plan for the future.”   Slamming the Centre for allowing economic fugitives like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallaya, who owe the country thousands of crores to banks, to escape, Rahul Gandhi went on to say, “Why is it that when you have 1000s of crores and you don’t pay a bank loan , you don’t go to jail. But when you’re a farmer and you don’t pay a bank loan back you go to jail. So, the moment we come to power, we want to change the law for farmers. We have taken another historic decision. After 2019, no farmer will be put in jail for not paying debt he owes to the bank. It is not fair that the richest people of the land do not go to jail but our farmers go to jail for the same crime.” Rahul Gandhi is also campaigning in Salem, Theni, and Madurai on Friday. Tamil Nadu goes to polls on April 18, while results will be announced on May 23.
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