Tamil Nadu

Politics

‘Salary for housewives’: Kamal Haasan says in his party MNM’s ‘Vision Document’

File image/PTI

In an effort to "re-imagine Tamizh Nadu", actor-politician Kamal Haasan has announced his party Makkal Needhi Maiam's (MNM) plans to generate jobs and revive the economy. Salary for housewives, stop doling of mere benefit, empower people and create an environment the promotes entrepreneurial spirit are some of the components of 'Enterprise Economy' announced by Kamal on Friday in Chennai. Kamal, who is the president of MNM, tweeted the party's 'Vision Document - Tamizh Nadu 2021', which gives pointers of MNM’s ideas for the state and its people. "With the centrist ideology, at MNM we are on a special mission to bring about two-fold change: Reimagining Tamizh Nadu and Revolutionising politics," he said in the document, which can be considered MNM’s first move towards the 2021-Assembly polls campaign. Recognising the labour put in by housewives in Tamil Nadu, the Vision Document announced that housewives will be paid for the work they do in their homes. "Housewife itself is a big job and should be paid commensurately. Paying housewives for doing their job is an idea whose time has truly come and we shall ensure it," the document said. With regard to the need to reimagine Tamil Nadu, he said rampant corruption has belittled the state's image and underutilised its potential to create a thriving economy. According to him, prosperity to every Tamilian can be achieved on the back of an 'enterprise economy' that would generate jobs. According to the document, 'Enterprise Politics' will touch farmers, road-side vendors, self-help group participants, fishermen, small and big businessmen. Showing Japan and Singapore as examples for prosperous countries, the MNM President said that was possible due to "visionary leaders who rose above petty politics and small interests". According to him, an enterprise is the greatest idea ever occurred to mankind, defining the very essence of human society but Tamil Nadu seems to have missed the enterprise revolution bus. Slamming both the Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu for announcing freebies during elections, he said that the general lack of hunger and imagination fuelled by mere welfare and electoral politics has left Tamil Nadu wanting for more. He also added that the direction the state has been on, in the last few years, is worrying. "We need to stop doling out mere benefits and empower our people with platforms to help them to achieve more via ambition and enterprise," he said.

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CAA

Jakob Lindenthal was asked to leave the country on December 23 after he was spotted at multiple anti-CAA rallies Chennai.

TNM Staff

File Image

Months after he was made to leave India for participating in a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the government of India has cancelled the visa of Jakob Lindenthal, the German exchange student at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M). According to reports, Jakob was informed by the Indian Embassy in Germany on February 8 that his visa has been revoked. Jakob’s visa was valid from June 2019 until June 2020. He told the Indian Express that he was not given any reason for this decision. He was earlier advised by the Embassy not to re-enter India on his current visa. A student of Technical University-Dresden (TUD), Jakob Lindenthal was studying Physics in IIT-M as a part of an exchange programme. He had joined the exchange programme in IIT-M in July, 2019 and was scheduled to complete his coursework in May this year. Speaking to the Indian Express, TUD confirmed that Jakob’s visa has indeed been cancelled. The university also informed that he had completed one semester in IIT-M and will be receiving transcripts of records from IIT-M for the completed term. Jakob Lindenthal was asked to leave the country in the last week of December, after he was spotted at multiple rallies in Chennai against the CAA. On December 23, he was called to the Immigration Department to discuss his Residence Permit, but he was allegedly asked for his views on CAA. According to a friend, Jakob was told that he indulged in activities that were beyond the permitted scope of his visa and hence he has to leave the country immediately. Jakob’s offer to issue a letter of apology was also rejected by the immigration officials, who then allegedly threatened to deport him if he did not leave by himself. Jakob’s slogans during the protest marches had garnered a lot of attention since they had compared what was unfolding in India to the Nazi regime in Germany. He had told TNM during a protest in Chepauk that the ruling government is clearly discriminating against one section of the people, despite the country’s Constitution being secular. “I am from Germany and I am aware of what happens when this form of discrimination is taken too far," he said.

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Transportation

According to CMRL officers, the landowners will be given a rate higher than the market price for their lands.

TNM Staff

Image for representation/GN Ramaswami

In the attempt to avoid lengthy legal proceedings over land acquisition, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has set up a panel to conduct negotiations with the landowners directly. According to reports, the decision to set up a private negotiation committee was taken to expedite the process of acquisition after it encountered difficulties during land acquisition for Phase-1 of the rail network project. According to CMRL officers, the committee will hold talks with the landowners and convince them to give their land for a rate higher than the market price. The officials claimed that the landowners will not get the rates they are offering if the latter approach the court. The CMRL requires 117.12 hectares of land for Phase-2, according to the Times of India. CMRL, this time, is also reportedly making changes to its design and location of stations, in order to reduce the land requirements. The second phase of the 118.9-kilometre long metro rail network will officially be inaugurated in June this year. The second phase of the Metro, which will connect the city’s IT corridor to the northern suburbs, is slated to be completed by 2026. The phase, which will have 128 stations, will cost Rs 69,180 crore. The project will be jointly funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Centre and the state government. JICA had already approved a loan of Rs 20,196 crore and the government of Tamil Nadu has also granted administrative sanction for Rs 40,941 crore for the project. Meanwhile, a nine-kilometre-long line connecting Washermanpet to Wimco Nagar, which is part of Phase 1, will be open to the public by June. The announcement was made by Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries MC Sampath on Friday when he inaugurated the passenger entertainment system in metro trains. The minister also said that the delay in the Union government releasing funds for the project will not affect the construction work.

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Fire Accident

Fire engines and tankers from around the city have been deployed to aid in fire fighting measures.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

Youtube/Screengrab

A massive fire has broken out at a chemical godown in Chennai’s Madhavaram area. Several fire fighters and tankers have been sent to the spot to aid in containment efforts. More fire engines and metro tankers from Sengunram, Manali and Ambattur areas were also brought to aid in firefighting efforts. “Since mostly raw materials for medicines were being made at the factory, we don’t have any reason to believe that people in the nearby vicinities will be at any risk from the smoke or its pollutants. 500 firefighters are currently working to tackle the fire, and another 500 have arrived for the next shift who will also be dispatched to aid shortly. We currently have 26 firetrucks and 6 water tankers at the spot, another 10 vehicles will be arriving soon,” stated Sailendra Babu, DGP of Fire Services to media personnel at the spot. “We got a call at around 4pm telling us that there was a fire in a chemical godown. We have yet to get further details and don’t know the exact cause yet. Almost half of the water tankers and fire engines in the city have been sent to the spot,” stated one official from the Manali fire station. Visuals show thick black smoke engulfing surrounding buildings as groups of firefighters approach and try to put out the fire. Even as the fire services team is working to contain the fire, speculations are rife that people residing in the nearby areas may have to be evacuated. “The fire has been going on since around 3.30. There are a lot of black clouds and smoke completely engulfing the area. We don’t know how many people have been affected yet, but for now we need to ensure that all the firefighters are given the proper protective masks so that the situation can be further assessed,” explained on public health expert to PTTV. (This is a developing story)

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Crime

Nandhini had rejected Dinesh Kumar’s marriage proposal a month ago.

Megha Kaveri

A 21-year-old woman was killed in Coimbatore on Saturday by her friend, after she reportedly rejected his marriage proposal. According to the FIR registered based on a complaint filed by the woman’s mother, Nandhini (21) and Dinesh Kumar were friends since school days. Dinesh usually stopped by their house to visit Nandhini and speak with her. A month ago, he had visited their house and had proposed to Nandhini and asked her to marry him. “Nandhini told me that she refused to marry him and I had also called Dinesh and warned him about his behaviour. Hence, he was angry with her,” the FIR stated. On Friday, Nandhini’s parents stepped out for work leaving her alone in the house. “When I came back home around 4 pm, my daughter was lying on the floor with a dupatta around her neck and frothing from her mouth and cow dung powder was stuffed in her mouth. I inquired with the neighbours who said that Dinesh had visited the house around 3 pm and that he and Nandhini were arguing over something. One of our relatives who lives nearby came inside the house to see them both arguing and Dinesh trying to strangle her after stuffing her mouth with cow dung powder. The relative immediately called out for help during which Dinesh escaped from the house,” the FIR added. A case was initially registered against Dinesh under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC. Nandhini was rushed to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital where she died on Saturday. Speaking to TNM, a police officer from the Kovilpalayam police station said that Dinesh has also been admitted in the same hospital after he allegedly tried to kill himself. “We are waiting for the doctors to officially declare Nandhini dead. Based on that, the FIR will be altered to section 302 (murder) of the IPC,” he said. Dinesh Kumar is still in the hospital availing treatment.

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Controversy

The Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC) at IIT-M suggested that the ban had to do with recent student protests.

TNM Staff

Students belonging to the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) were instructed to not wear black to a lecture by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday. In Tamil Nadu, the colour black is associated with rationalism and the Dravidian ideology. The Vice President was delivering a lecture titled “India 2020 to 2030: Gen Y’s vision for the decade’ at the institute. The lecture was organised by Extra Mural Lectures, a student-run initiative that comes under the control of the IIT-M Dean of Students. An email from Extra Mural Lectures provides a set of instructions to students attending the event. The six instructions include no videography or photography, no mobile phones or electronic equipment allowed inside the venue, and no carry bags. But it’s the last instruction “Wearing black shirt/top is not allowed” that has raised eyebrows. Of late, the colour black has also been associated with protests and rebellion. The Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC) at IIT-M suggested that the ban had to do with recent student protests. “Ahead of the Vice-president's visit, afraid of protest in Pondicherry University police detained students for more than 20 hours, in IIT Madras they banned black shirts/tops,” APSC said. The student body was referring to the detention of over 100 students of Pondicherry University on February 25 ahead of Venkaiah Naidu’s visit to the institute. The students, who were protesting against the fee hike at the institute, were detained for over 18 hours, with police citing ‘security measures’ as the reason. IIT-Madras has in the recent past witnessed a number of student led agitations including against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the police crackdown on Jamia Millia Islamia students in New Delhi among others. The ban on black clothes isn’t the first such in Chennai. At Tamil magazine Thuglak’s 50th anniversary in January this year, the invite had specifically instructed attendees to not wear black. The event was attended by Venkaiah Naidu, actor Rajinikanth, Thuglak Editor S Gurumurthy among others. The Tamil Nadu Secretariat had also in the past issued instructions to not allow visitors who wear black following the jallikattu agitations in the state.

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I-T searches

The search action resulted in cash seizure of Rs 1 crore and detection of unaccounted income exceeding Rs 400 crore.

IANS

Image for Representation

The Income Tax Department has detected hidden cloud servers and unaccounted income exceeding Rs 400 crore from its searches in the premises of a Chennai-based business group. On February 25, the I-T Department had conducted a search in the case of a prominent business group based out of Chennai dealing in the business of non-ferrous metal processing in lead, copper and aluminium and money lending activities. The group is said to have reported a turnover of more than a thousand crore and is engaged in a number of businesses such as plastic manufacturing and financing activities, the CBDT said in a statement. Reports say it is Jain Metals, how but no official confirmation has been made. Evidence was also gathered for the introduction of unaccounted funds as bogus share premium in one of the group companies. A large number of property documents, promissory notes, post-dated cheques taken as collateral security in the money lending business were also recovered during the search. The search action resulted in cash seizure of Rs 1 crore and detection of unaccounted income exceeding Rs 400 crore. The investigations are still going on and the I-T Department is in the process of finalising the proceedings. The highlight of the search is the discovery of hidden cloud servers other than the servers regularly used by the group for accounting and containing unaccounted transaction details often referred by the group as "kaccha" accounts. Similarly, large amount of encrypted data was retrieved from a pen drive which was tracked and obtained from a third party premises. The pen drive and the database were decrypted to gather information about the unaccounted capital accumulated by the group, it said. (With inputs from IANS)

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Culinary Olympics

Yeshwanth is the first chef in the world to win four silver medals at the culinary Olympics, held in Germany earlier this month.

IANS

Facebook/Chef Soundarrajan

Chennai lad U Yeshwanth Kumar is only 16, but the young chap has carved out a niche for himself in the culinary world, making the country proud. Yeshwanth is the first chef in the world to win four silver medals at the culinary Olympics, held in Germany earlier this month. Competing against master chefs from 70 countries, Yeshwant won four silvers in different individual open category events -- classical vegetable and fruit carving, live vegetable and fruit carving, artistry made from pastillage and gum paste."Pitted against competitors much older and experienced than him, Yeshwanth has brought laurels to India... it is not a simple achievement," South India Chef's Association (SICA) President and celebrity chef K Damodaran told reporters on Saturday. Though there are team events, till date no Indian team has competed in the culinary Olympics, SICA officials said and added that the central government should sponsor such talent."Interestingly, the gold medal winner was aged about 50," said the teenager's father Umasankar Dhanapal, who himself is a chef and winner of bronze at the 2012 and 2016 culinary Olympics in the fruit carving event. According to him, carving for competition is far more intricate and complicated than carving some images on a fruit. "The fruit carvings we see in marriages and other functions are of basic level," he pointed out. "For live carving event, the theme was floral ecstasy and my son chose Thai carving that is much more difficult than Chinese style of carving," Dhanapal said. In Thai style, a person can use only one knife and no other tools, unlike Chinese style. Sculpting a precise image is very difficult with a single knife and it needs long hours of daily practice. Even the knife is made only in Thailand," he explained. The SICA presented the teenaged chef with a cheque for Rs 1 lakh as a token of appreciation. A total of 2,000 chefs had participated in the culinary Olympics 2020 held between February 14-19 at Stuttgart. "It was very challenging to hold the knife in freezing cold to executive delicate carvings on fruits and vegetables," Yeshwant said. Dhanapal said he did not participate this time over due to financial constraints but instead sent his son alone to Germany. In the 2016 culinary Olympics, Dhanapal won the bronze medal, and his son a diploma or fourth place. (With inputs from IANS)

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Strike

Over 1,700 packaged drinking water firms in Tamil Nadu are on strike against the Madras High Court directive to take action against unlicensed units and illegal extraction of water.

TNM Staff

Image for Representation

As the indefinite strike announced by packaged drinking water firms in Tamil Nadu enters its fourth day on Sunday, no respite seems to be in the offing with Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani asserting that the State would follow the Madras High Court directive in the matter on Saturday. People across the state are facing difficulties as the supply of packaged drinking water has started to dwindle. Over 1,700 packaged drinking water firms in Tamil Nadu announced an indefinite strike on Thursday against the Madras High Court directive to the State to take action against unlicensed units and illegal extraction of water. The striking firms had highlighted the need for no objection certificates (NOC) needed to extract groundwater. Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani on Saturday said the State government would follow the Madras High Court order with regard to the indefinite strike by packaged and can drinking water units. Speaking to reporters in Coimbatore, Minister Velumani said the court had directed the government to take action against illegal units and also those drawing water illegally and that the government would follow the court directive. According to a report in Times of India, panic-buying has set in with distributors and retailers hiking prices of water cans. With fresh stock expected to come in only when the strike ends, the limited availability of cans has made procurement challenging. According to reports, 1,612 units around Tamil Nadu were in possession of requisite licences while only 600 of these had no objection certificates from the Water Resources Department. The Central Ground Water Authority revised guidelines in 2014 to regulate groundwater extraction in the country. The Greater Tamil Nadu Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers’ Association has said that while they await no objection certificates from the government, they are only drawing limited quantities of water. According to The Hindu, the state, on average, sells around 25 crore litres of drinking water. (With inputs from PTI)

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Fire

The fire which had engulfed three blocks of the chemical godown began at 3.15 pm on Saturday.

Priyanka Thirumurthy

A massive fire that broke out in a chemical godown in Chennai's Madhavaram area has been brought under control by the fire department which has been engaged in efforts to douse the flame for close to 24 hours. Fire department officials present on the ground tell TNM that 90% of the work is done and they continue to spray water only to prevent any chances of reignition. The fire which had engulfed three blocks of the chemical godown began at 3.15 pm on Saturday. Over 500 police personnel were initially engaged in efforts to douse the massive fire as plumes of smoke darkened the sky above. Fire engines and metro water tankers from Sengunram, Manali and Ambattur areas were also rushed to the spot to aid in firefighting efforts. By 3 am, the firefighter had fought off the worst of the fire. They took a three-hour break till 6 am and then JCBs were employed to break down the weaker walls and allow water to flow into the buildings."So far, a total of 5,00,000 litres of water has been used to douse the flames," a fire department official from the site tells TNM. "32 fire department tankers and at least 100 water tankers from the Metro water department have come to the spot to provide the necessary water. Metro water sent 24 tankers in one back and they did about 5 rounds," he adds. According to the official, the fire is completely under control now."We are now spraying water in the surroundings to prevent it from erupting again. This will help cool down the debris as well," he adds. From 500, the number of fire service personnel engaged in dousing flames has reduced to 100. The cause for the fire, however, is yet to be determined."The cause will be investigated by the police department," says the official on the site. "But for that first, the forensics department will have to come and examine the area to see what the source of the fire is. They can't do that until we completely finish our operations," he adds. The fire department had already quelled fears of the smoke being toxic on Saturday, stating that residents in the vicinity will not be affected. Sailendra Babu, DGP of Fire Services told media personnel at the spot, "Since mostly raw materials for medicines were being made at the factory, we don’t have any reason to believe that people in the nearby vicinities will be at any risk from the smoke or its pollutants. “

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Water

Chennai, so far receives its water from four main reservoirs - Poondi, Cholavaram, Redhills and Chembarambakkam.

Anjana Shekar

Poondi Reservoir | Wikimedia Commons/ Image for Representation

With summer nearing, an additional fifth reservoir supplying water to Chennai may help avoid last year’s drought situation. The long-delayed Thervoy Kandigai reservoir, created by combining two lakes Thervoy Kandigai and Kannankottai in Tiruvallur district near Chennai is expected to be completed by this April, according to reports. Chennai, so far receives its water from four main reservoirs - Poondi, Cholavaram, Redhills and Chembarambakkam. The storage capacities of each total up to 11,257 million cubic feet (mcft). Now, the fifth reservoir will raise this capacity by 1000 mcft. When filled twice a year, this Thervoy Kandigai-Kannankottai reservoir can hold up to 1000 mcft. Thervoy Kandigai-Kannankottai reservoir will receive its water from Krishna River and the rains. Once completed, it will supply 65 Millions of Liters Per Day (MLD) water to the city. The new reservoir is a Rs 380 crore project that was first flagged off in 2013, expecting to be completed in 2015. But this project came to a standstill in just a year due to land acquisition problems. Reportedly, Rs 160 crore was spent to acquire lands from the Thervoy Kandigai and Kannankottai villages. Spread across 1495 acres, it included 806.73 acres of Patta lands, 633.67 acres of Poramboke lands and 54.60 acres of Reserve Forest area. Work restarted in 2018 and was expected to be completed before the North-East Monsoons last year. However, this deadline too passed without the reservoir being completed, this time the challenge coming in the form of rains. Now, almost 7 years since it was first proposed, the reservoir is nearing its completion. Speaking to TNM, an official from Metrowater Board confirmed that work was completed from their end. “We’ve completed pipe laying work, connecting the reservoir to the canal that will carry the water to the Poondi reservoir. Pipes were laid for about 17 kilometres,” he said. Minor work by Public Works Department is pending and is expected to be completed by this month. Water from this reservoir will be conveyed through 66 km long pipeline to Poondi reservoir, and from here it will be used to supply drinking water to the city. According to Water Resources Organisation, this additional storage will serve 30 days of drinking water supply to Chennai City. The summer of 2019 was one of the driest in the State of Tamil Nadu, with lakes, rivers and reservoirs drying up and ground water levels receding. The city of Chennai experienced its worst drought in decades, with its water scarcity becoming a topic of discussion world over.

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Education

The CM said Rs 1,200 crore has been allocated in the 2020-21 budget in this regard.

IANS

File image

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday said that the State will admit 1,650 more students to its medical colleges from academic year 2021-22 in addition to 3,250 seats filled at present. He said Rs 1,200 crore has been allocated in the 2020-21 budget in this regard. Laying the foundation stone of a proposed government medical college in Ramanathapuram, CM Palaniswami said the State government had secured permission to build 11 more medical colleges with an outlay of Rs 4,500 crore to Rs 5,000 crore. The CM thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sanctioning the 11 new medical colleges in the State. Speaking at the function, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that Rs 23 crore has already been released for building the Ramanathapuram Government Medical College as the first installment of the central government's share. He said the Centre has decided to revise the teacher-student ratio and increase postgraduate seats in medical education in the country. During the last five years, more than 14,500 postgraduate seats have been created. According to him, the medical education is moving towards competence-based learning and there should be sharing of the best practices between various medical colleges and states for overall improvement in the area. Speaking at the inaugural event, the Chief Minister also said that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government will protect the minorities. He urged people not to believe rumours spread for political purposes. "Our government has always worked towards protecting the minorities. But some have been spreading rumours aginst the government for political gains. We urge the people not to believe in any of it," he said. (With inputs from IANS)

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CAA protest

The meeting was set up by the actor himself, after the Jama'ath demanded an explanation for his statement against religious leaders in February.

Priyanka Thirumurthy

Members of Ahlus Sunnath Wal Jama'ath met actor turned politician Rajinikanth on Sunday at his residence, to discuss his stand and statements made regarding protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The meeting was set up by the actor himself, after the Jama'ath demanded an explanation for his statement against those 'instigating' protests. On February, even as protests were underway in full swing across the state against CAA, Rajinikanth had cautioned students who were taking part in agitations. He claimed that the CAA will not affect Indian Muslims in any manner and adviced students to not fall prey to political parties which were attempting to promote their own agenda. The actor had further said a few political parties with vested interests were making this an issue and that some religious leaders have joined them in this (misguided) effort."We immediately wrote to him regarding this statement of his blaming religious leaders," says Khaja Mohinudeen Baqavi, the President of the Ahlus Sunnath Wal Jama'ath. "We asked how he could make a generalised statement like this and speak against protests when he didn't take into account the arguments we had against the Act. It was not right to make such statements without listening to our side of the story," he adds. Two weeks after the letter was sent, the Jama'ath, which has atleast 10,000 members received an acknowledgement regarding the letter."Rajinikanth called us and appreciated us for the letter we sent and said he wanted to meet us in person and discuss the issue," says the President. "We went to resident at 11am and spoke till 12.15 pm," he adds. In the course of discussion, Khaja says that the members pointed out that any law made on the basis of religion should not be allowed in the country. They further showed the actor articles written by legal experts and journalists regarding the religious discrimination in CAA. When Rajinikanth asked them what they had against the 'census', they elaborated on the issues."We told him we have no problem with the regular census which is done every ten years. However the National Population Registry (NPR) has questions that are unnecessary. Where do we go get birth details our parents?" he asks. Rajinikanth, according to Khaja was receptive to the issues raised and preached peace."He said that he wanted all religions to live together happily and said he would do anything to ensure this," says the Jama'ath leader. "His words comforted and he seems to have seen the issue form our prospective too."

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Aviation

The two new taxiways are being constructed as part of the phase 2 of the airport expansion project.

TNM Staff

File Image

Aircrafts landing in Chennai airport can soon heave a sigh of relief as the construction of two new taxiways is nearing completion. According to reports, once completed, these taxiways will help airplanes move out of the runway faster and reach the parking bays. One taxiway under construction connects the main and the second runway. The other taxiway, which also connects to the main runway, will run parallel to it, allowing landing aircrafts an exit. The new taxiways hope to reduce traffic congestion in the airport. Apart from the taxiways, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) is also modifying the parking and the apron bays in order to make them fit to handle larger aircrafts like the Boeing 747. An official from AAI told the Times of India that the construction works are being carried out in small portions so that the flight operations to and from Chennai are not affected. A bend on the taxiway that runs parallel to the runway was causing slowdown of planes during their taxi to the Guindy-end of the main runway. The new taxiway is targeted at addressing this bottleneck. The new taxiways will also speed up the planes by 10 minutes during take-offs. The new taxiways are part of the airport expansion project Phase 2, aimed at increasing the aircraft handling capacity of Chennai airport. Once completed, Chennai airport aims to handle over 40 aircrafts in an hour. The project also intends to allow more airlines to have night parking facilities in the airport. The AAI has also floated tenders to finish the pending work on the two taxiways. Meanwhile, the new terminal in the airport is expected to be ready by September this year, which will increase the airport’s passenger handling capacity to 35 million passengers a year.

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Interview

In an interview to TNM, Jakob Lindenthal shares what made him join the anti-CAA protests in Chennai.

Megha Kaveri

On February 8, 24-year-old Jakob Lindenthal woke up to a message which said his visa to India has been revoked by the government of India. The information came from the Indian Embassy in Berlin, weeks after he was made to leave India for participating in the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Chennai. A Physics student from the Dresden University of Technology, Jakob was in the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) on an exchange programme spreading over two semesters. When protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act were at peak in Chennai, a placard which read ‘1933-1945 We have been there’ attracted attention. It was an obvious reference to the Nazi regime in Germany, when the Jews were systemically persecuted by the state under the leadership of Hitler. Soon, a picture of Jakob holding the placard went viral on social media, thus garnering attention from all quarters, more so because he was a foreigner who had expressed solidarity with the cause of the residents who were expressing dissent against a law passed by the government. Speaking to TNM from Dresden, Germany, Jakob says that he willingly joined the protests against CAA in Chennai because he saw his friends going for protest marches and he thought their reasons were valid. “I read CAA. And I read the reports about the first National Register of Citizens (NRC) implementation in Assam. If the same laws were passed in Germany I would certainly not remain silent either,” he says, when questioned if he had done his own research on the Act. On December 23, Jakob was called for a meeting by the Immigration department in Chennai to discuss his residence permit. He was on a year-long visa from June 2019 to June 2020, to complete two semesters in IIT-M. However, once inside the room, he was allegedly asked for his views on CAA. Jakob was told that he had indulged in activities beyond those permitted by the scope of his visa and was hence asked to leave the country immediately. His offer to submit an apology letter was also rejected by the Immigration officials. He says he never expected much help from IIT Madras, and called the actions of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) illegal in some ways. "I didn’t expect support from IITM as they are mostly BJP supporters. The official refused to give me any legal reasons for my deportation. This is clearly a breach of Indian law. Then she refused to inform me about my rights. She took my passport without any prior documentation of the process," he says. ‘Illiberal spirit of nationalism and traditionalism’ Jakob says that he liked his time in IIT-M, especially the spirit of campus life where everybody lived inside the campus as a single community. However, he says that IIT-M can do much better if not for the ‘illiberal spirit of nationalism’ and ‘traditionalism’. “Students are being policed there all the time. There were instances where students belonging to Hindu and Jain groups attacked people who were against the beef ban. And the university administration only cares about reputation instead of true social and academic progress, it was an uneasy and oppressive atmosphere at times which I had not felt in German universities,” he explains. Parallels on the placard Going back to his placards, which caught eyeballs, Jakob says that he does see some parallels between what happened in Germany during the Nazi regime and what is happening in India at present. “I was trying to compare the process toward fascism. That’s where I see some parallels. By slowly making Muslims second class citizens one can pave the way for future persecution. That’s the same way it was in Germany with the Jews.”

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NPR

Edappadi Palaniswami said Tamil Nadu would collect NPR details on the same lines as is done in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

TNM Staff

File image/PTI

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that people can choose to omit the three new questions in the National Population Register (NPR). He was speaking to reporters at Madurai airport on Sunday when he said that NPR will be carried out during the Census in Tamil Nadu and that people can choose to not answer the newly-added questions. He also said that the NPR details in Tamil Nadu would be collected on the same lines as is done in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “A central minister has also clarified that if the person wishes, he can divulge these details. It is not compulsory. They need not submit any proof for this information. It has been clarified,” he said. The three newly-added questions in the NPR form require citizens to provide details about the language spoken by the person, as well as the place of birth of their mother and father and details of the parents' Aadhar card, ration cards and voter IDs. He also pointed out that NPR is nothing new since it was implemented in 2010 during the UPA government. However, unlike the previous NPR, this time, the addition of the new questions has sparked protests with critics arguing that this is the first step towards implementing the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC), which would identify illegal migrants in the country. CM Edappadi Palaniswami had announced in December that the NPR exercise in Tamil Nadu will take place between April and September this year. The NPR exercise will take place simultaneously with the Census. Tamil Nadu has witnessed a number of protests in the recent past against the CAA, NRC and the NPR. In Chennai’s Washermanpet, a protest resembling the famed Shaheen Bagh protests in Delhi has been going on since February 14. In January this year, the Andhra Pradesh government said that it was planning to conduct the NPR exercise between April and September, but was quick to add that no documents were required to be submitted as part of the survey. "People are not required to submit any document to the enumerators during the NPR exercise. Enumerators are just required to record whatever answers are given by the people and not to press for any further answers to any query if they do not intend to give and also not to ask for any document," the Government Order (GO) stated. On the other hand, the KCR government in Telangana has maintained relative silence on the issue of NPR, even while it has been vocal in opposing the CAA. While reports suggested that the government may put the NPR exercise on hold, an official confirmation is awaited. Two states - Kerala and West Bengal- have refused to implement NPR.

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Elections

The Rajya Sabha polls to 55 seats in 17 states will be held on March 26.

IANS

File image/PTI

Tamil Nadu's principal opposition party, the DMK on Sunday announced its three candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in the state. In a statement issued here, DMK President MK Stalin announced Tiruchi Siva, Andhiyur Selvaraj and NR Elango would be the the party candidates for Rajya Sabha polls. Six members of Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu - Sasikala Pushpa, Vijila Sathyananth, S Muthukaruppan, AK Selvaraj (all AIADMK), Tiruchi Siva of DMK and TK Rangarajan of the CPI-M - will retire on April 2, the Election Commission of India had said. As per the Election Commission's schedule for biennial elections, the poll will be held on March 26 and counting of votes will happen on the same day. The ruling AIADMK has 125 members (including the Speaker) in the Assembly and the DMK and its allies have 106 members (DMK 98, Congress 7 and IUML 1). Hence both the parties - AIADMK and DMK - can win three seats each. Presently, the AIADMK has 10 members in the Rajya Sabha and the DMK has five. Post elections, the strength of AIADMK in Rajya Sabha is expected to fall to nine (if it fields its candidates for all the seats) and the DMK's strength will increase to seven. Retiring CPI-M member Rangarajan was elected to the Upper House with the AIADMK's support last time. But now, his party is aligned with DMK. Meanwhile, DMDK Treasurer Premalatha Vijayakanth said the party expects one Rajya Sabha seat as promised by the AIADMK earlier. Queried about DMDK's expectation, AIADMK Joint Coordinator and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had said the matter will be decided by the party high command.

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Death

Padmaja has worked in supporting roles in TV serials, commercials and movies.

TNM Staff

A 23-year-old Tamil actor was found dead at her house in Thiruvottiyur in Chennai on Sunday. According to a report in the Times of India, P Padmaja was living alone in her house in Kaladipet, around three kilometres from Thiruvottiyur in Chennai. She had recently separated from her husband Pawan over a domestic dispute. The couple also have a two-year-old son, who is being raised by a relative nearby. Padmaja and her husband used to visit their son on weekends at the relative’s place. Her body was discovered on Sunday after the owner of the house in which she stayed noticed that the house was locked from inside and the lights were switched off for two days. After he raised an alarm, the police reached the spot and broke open the lock of the house only to discover Padmaja dead inside the house. A police officer also told ToI that the preliminary inquiry has indicated that she may have killed herself unable to deal with the pressure of debts. She had made a video call to her sister on Saturday night and told her about her financial woes and that she was not able to secure proper roles in acting, the officer added. The police then recovered the body and sent it to the Government Stanley Hospital in Chennai for autopsy. A case has also been registered and an inquiry has been initiated on the case. Padmaja has reportedly acted in supporting roles in TV serials, commercials and in films. If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers. Tamil Nadu: State health department suicide helpline number - 104 Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in TN Andhra Pradesh: Life Suicide Prevention Helpline No.78930-78930 Roshni Helpline 1: 9166202000 Helpline 2: 9127848584 Karnataka: Sahai : 24-hour helpline numbers: 080- 65000111, 080-65000222 Kerala: Maithri helpline - 0484-2540530 Chaithram helpline: 0484-2361161 Both are 24-hour helpline numbers. Telangana: Telangana government suicide prevention toll free no - 104 Roshni- 040-66202000, 6620200SEVA- 09441778290, 040 - 27504682 (between 9 AM and 7 PM)

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Controversy

"Jagadeesh Kumar is someone who is accused of handling protests in JNU in an undemocratic manner and of violence against students," points out the HoD of the Political Science Department.

Priyanka Thirumurthy

File image/PTI

The nomination of Jawaharlal Nehru University's Vice Chancellor (VC) Jagadeesh Kumar to a panel that will look for the new Vice Chancellor of Madras University, has been met with criticism. Faculty from Madras University have questioned the move on two counts - the first being that the Chancellor is mired in controversy over the way he handled the student protests that took place in JNU in January. The second reason stated is that Jagadeesh Kumar's qualifications and experience do not make him suitable for the role of selecting a vice chancellor for a state university. Jagadeesh Kumar was nominated to the panel by Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit. The other two members on the panel include P Ramasamy, the former vice chancellor of Alagappa University who is a syndicate nominee and P Maruthamuthu, former vice chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University who is a senate nominee. The three year tenure of the present Madras University Vice Chancellor Duraisamy ends in May. Speaking to TNM, Professor Ramu Manivannan, Head of the Department of Politics and Public Administration, says, "Jagadeesh Kumar is someone who is accused of handling protests in JNU in an undemocratic manner and of violence against students. It is not appropriate to have someone mired in such controversy as part of the search panel, especially when he has been accused of partisan behaviour. This decision is clearly made to push the BJP's agenda in Tamil Nadu's institutes as well." Ramu Mannivanan alleges that his selection would lead to the appointment of a Vice Chancellor who will promote the Centre's values and agenda."They are trying to promote the BJP and Hindutva in the country. This is a way for them to heckle the academic community in the country. We are not against national and international scholars being nominated or even people from outside the state. But we can't have someone who is the cause for the violence on the panel," says the professor. Another head of the department from the University on the condition of anonymity, told TNM that the opposition to this nomination amongst the staff was also because of the JNU VC's lack of experience regarding state universities. Jagadeesh Kumar has done both his post-graduation and PhD in IIT Madras before working in IIT Delhi, and finally became the JNU VC in 2016."Our concern is that this is a liberal arts university and we need an eminent social scientist to take its reigns. Jagadeesh Kumar only has experience handling central Universities and will not understand the requirements for a state run institute. First of all, we are starved for finances and two thirds of our faculty positions are vacant. The manner in which we deal with an issue is very different from an IIT or even JNU. Only those who have experience in a state run university can choose the right Vice Chancellor for us," says the professor. Former Anna University Vice Chancellor Balagurusamy too maintained that the decision to nominate the JNU VC to the panel could have been avoided."When someone is shrouded in such controversy, why should they be on such a panel?" he asks.

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Fake News

Police are on the lookout for the person who shared the fake news post which named a random restaurant with a Muslim name.

Anjana Shekar

There is no dearth of fake news being spread on social media. While some are done with an intent to spread misinformation, some are politically motivated, others are simply to create communal divides. A recent tweet that went viral on Twitter had pictures of a man serving biriyani followed by pictures of medicines. The accompanying text by Twitter user RD Singh (@RD_BANA) was Islamophobic and false in nature, spreading misinformation that a shop in Coimbatore was serving separate biriyani to Hindus laced with drugs that would make one impotent. “Biryani is cooked in separate vessels for Muslims and Hindus. The Biryani for Hindus is laced with tablets that makes one impotent. Restaurant in Coimbatore called Masha Allah of Rehman Bismillah was caught selling such Biryani. Beware! They’re getting at you in every possible way,” the tweet read. Screenshot of the tweet that has now been deleted Reacting to the tweet, the Coimbatore City Police issued a clarification from their official Twitter handle. Warning people against spreading false information, CCP said they were trying to trace the Twitter user. “Don’t spread fake news. Be responsible user of social media. No one should believe this tweet handle as it is spreading fake news. CCP is working to trace this handle,” the response reads. Don’t spread fake news. Be responsible user of social media. No one should believe this tweet handle as it is spreading fake news. CCP is working to trace this handle. — Coimbatore City Police (@policecbecity) March 2, 2020 Speaking to TNM, Coimbatore City Police Commissioner Sumit Sharan IPS says, “This is fake news, please do not believe it. We are trying to find out who the handle belongs to. We will take appropriate action once we find out.” A simple reverse image search of the pictures in the tweet shows that the image with the medicines is from 2019 when illegal drugs worth Rs 4 million were recovered from an elderly Sri Lankan man and his son. A report from Daily Mirror LK says the two were taken into custody following a tipoff. Similarly, the picture of the Muslim man serving biriyani is the thumbnail that appears for a 2016 video on YouTube titled ‘Indian Muslim festival DUM BIRYANI Preparation for 30 People & STREET FOOD’, which has over 40 lakh views. Several users were quick to point out that the news was fake and that the pictures of the medicines were actually from Sri Lanka. Following this, the user appears to have deleted the tweet. The user, whose bio reads “Honoured to be followed by Piyush Goyal Saheb”, has posted many similar claims.

Body 2:

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