The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has increased the number of flying squads in the city from 45 to 90, three days ahead of the Tamil Nadu urban local body polls. The flying squads will check distribution of cash and gift items to electors across the 200 wards in the city. The decision was taken Tuesday during a review meeting held between GCC Commissioner Gangandeep Singh Bedi and Commissioner of Police Shankar Jiwal. “The number of flying squad teams will be increased to 90 from 45 from Thursday. Each zone will have 6 teams,” Bedi said.
READ | Chennai: Flying squads increased to 90 ahead of TN urban local body polls
Seven persons were recently arrested for allegedly beheading a 25-year-old man and injuring his friend Sunday during a drunken brawl near Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, said the police. The man, identified as M Satheesh, a resident of Mayiladuthurai, worked at a private company near Serangadu. According to the police, Sunday, since the office was closed, he and his friend Ranjith (20) consumed alcohol in a secluded area.
READ | Tamil Nadu: Youth beheaded during drunken brawl, 7 arrested
The Tamil Nadu urban local body polls are all set to take place in less than three days and since campaigns will come to a halt at Thursday 6 pm, leaders of various parties are giving one last push to grab the voters’ attention.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin has been very busy doing the virtual campaigns over the last few days. In his latest video, Stalin said his government has delivered most of the promises they made ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls.
Tamil Nadu recorded 1,252 new coronavirus cases and six virus-related deaths on Thursday, taking the statewide count to 34,41,783 and the toll to 37,962.
With 4,768 COVID-19 patients getting discharged after treatment on Thursday, the cumulative recoveries have increased to 33,80,049, a bulletin from the state health department said.
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The total active cases, including isolation, further declined to 23,772 from 27,294 on Wednesday, it said. The state which registered 1,310 fresh infections on Wednesday, continued to maintain the trend on Thursday too. (PTI)
A Romanian national who made headlines campaigning for the DMK ahead of the urban local body polls has received a notice to appear before the Bureau of Immigration over the alleged violation of visa rules.
The bureau asked Negoita Stefan Marius, who holds a business visa (e-visa), to appear at its office in Chennai on Friday with his original documents and an explanation for allegedly violating visa rules by participating in activities that are not part of the stated purpose of his visit to India. “Non-compliance of above directions will render you liable for prosecution under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act, 1946,” the notice read. Click here to read more
The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday informed the Madras High Court that Chief Minister M K Stalin has given his consent for the formation of a separate Press Council for Tamil Nadu, as directed by the court earlier.
While passing orders on a writ petition from one S Sekaran, who claimed himself as a journalist and levelled various allegations against the then IG (Idol Theft Wing-CID) A G Pon Manickavel, a division bench headed by Justice N Kirubakaran (since retired) on August 19, 2021, among other things, had directed the government to form a separate body to regulate the media-persons, in addition to the Press Council of India in New Delhi.
The State Council should be headed by retired judges of the Supreme Court or the State High Court, the bench added and granted three-months time to comply with this direction. (PTI)
The high-decibel campaign by the ruling DMK and main opposition AIADMK besides others for the urban civic polls witnessed in the past 10 days in Tamil Nadu ended on Thursday and the stage is set for voting on February 19. The no-holds-barred campaign, especially during the past 10 days, ended at 6 PM across Tamil Nadu.
As many as 57,778 candidates are in the fray for 12,607 posts of ward members in 648 urban local bodies. However, a variation is likely considering the death of candidates in some wards.
The TN State Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements to ensure peaceful voting on February 19 which includes appropriate security arrangements, moving EVMs to voting centres and flying squads. Counting of votes would commence on February 22. (PTI)
“All parties take money to get work done. I am 94 years old. What am I going to do with money? Vote for me and together we will bring a change to this place,” Kamakshi Subramaniyan, a civic activist contesting the upcoming Tamil Nadu local body elections, said to voters at Urur Olcott Kuppam in Chennai’s Besant Nagar on Wednesday.
An Independent candidate in the corporation’s ward 174, the nonagenarian walked the lanes holding the hands of her team members as an announcer blared out her name from an autorickshaw carrying her campaign hoarding—her only in-person campaign event for Saturday’s election. Read the full story by Varsha Sriram
In view of the upcoming Tamil Nadu urban local body polls scheduled on Saturday (February 19), the Tamil Nadu government has announced the next three days are dry days in the state. From 10 am on February 17 (Thursday) to 12 am midnigt on February 19 (Saturday), the state will observe a dry day where no alcohol will be sold or served. The counting day on February 22 (Tuesday) will also be considered a dry day.
"All FL1 to FL11 (except FL6) licensed premises shall be closed and there shall be no sale of liquor on the above mentioned days. Hence it is instructed to prohibit the sale of any liquor on the above mentioned period / days and to report compliance if any violation immediately," a press release from District Collector Vijaya Rani said.
With two days to go for the upcoming Tamil nadu urban local body polls scheduled to be held on February 19, here's a quick of all the ID proofs that you can carry while going to vote, in case you do not have your voters id with you.
The Madras High Court on Wednesday advised the government officials not to succumb to the pressures exerted by certain industrialists, who use "seemai karuvelam trees" as ingredients for their products, against their eradication. Industrial lobby may be powerful but we should not yield to its pressure, the court said.
"My request to the officials here is to kindly serve the people of the State. Make an independent study on the ill effects of the trees (prosopis juliflora) and how it is dealt with in other States," Chief Justice MN Bhandari said when the batch of PIL petitions to eradicate the same came up before the full bench for further hearing.
The CJ added that he knows that the tree in contention is used by certain industries. "Don't think I am an outsider. I am from Tamil Nadu," the CJ said and added that he knows what is happening here.
Earlier, Additional Advocate-general Silambannan told the bench, Justices N Satish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy being the other judges, that a policy was under formulation for eradication of the Karuvelam trees and the same was being given final touches. The document would be made public at the earliest, he said, adding that thousands of such trees had been uprooted, as ordered by the court earlier. The matter is adjourned till March 18. (PTI)
BJP MLA and president of all-India Mahila Morcha Vanathi Srinivasan on Wednesday accused the election and police officials of remaining mute spectator to the alleged distribution of gifts and money to the voters by the DMK cadres, particularly those from Karur District. The BJP workers had caught red-handed the DMK workers with the money and gifts, but the police supported the ruling party members and did not take action, said Vanathi to reporters here.
Despite the BJP workers alerting the election officials in this regard, there was a delay in their arrival to the scene and the alleged culprits fled, she said. The DMK cadres used to threaten businessmen and other workers of dire consequences if they did not vote for their candidates, she claimed.
Stating that DMK, which had lost all the 10 seats in the district in the last Assembly elections, was hellbent to win the local body elections by hook or crook, said the MLA. (PTI)
With the highly anticipated Tamil Nadu urban local body polls scheduled to take place on February 19, candidates across political parties have been campaigning in full force for the last few weeks.
While the restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic might have caused difficulties for parties to organise mega campaign rallies and meetings, that did not stop them from finding ways to reach out to their voters. What stood out the most was how candidates and political parties across Tamil Nadu employed digital and social media platforms to connect and communicate with the voters. Read more
The Madras High Court has allowed a Sri Lankan woman, arrested earlier for overstaying in the country, return to her nation. Justice GR Swaminathan gave the direction recently, on a petition from the 19 year-old woman who came to India when she was 16 years on a valid travel document but overstayed.
That led to registration of the impugned FIR and she was arrested, the judge said. Even after grant of bail, she was not allowed to leave the prison. 'In my view, the petitioner has more than suffered the punishment for the offences which she had technically committed. In my view, this can be taken as sufficient punishment. There is no need to subject her to the trial,' the judge said.
'The impugned prosecution deserves to be terminated in the interest of justice. It is, accordingly, terminated. I am not quashing the FIR as such. I am only terminating the prosecution. The authorities concerned are directed to permit the petitioner to leave India. Foreign Regional Registration Office, Chennai, is directed to grant the necessary permission to the petitioner,' the judge ruled. (PTI)
A DMK candidate constesting from Athani, Anthiyur Taluk, died of a heart attack on Wednesday. So, the local body election for the Athani Town panchayat (3rd ward) has been postponed, said officials. Ayyappan (51) undertook hectic campaigning till Tuesday night. He then went home and took rest. This morning, he developed heart pain and died on the way to a government hospital after being referred to it by doctors of a private facility.
On learning about the death, the Election Department of the district postponed the poll and said the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission would announce a fresh date for the election. (PTI)
There used to be a spate of promises from parties after the announcement of elections. Later, the promises vanish into thin air once the polls are held and are over, said chief of Makkal Neeethi Maiam (MNM) Kamal Haasan on Wednesday. Those who promised to abolish NEET in Tamil Nadu are now speaking to set up training centres for the test, he told reporters.
Joining issue with those who termed MNM as the 'B' team of the BJP, he said he was not bothered about the victory or the defeat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the hijab (scarf) controversy, the film actor-turned politician said only one party was behind it and other parties did not consider it as an issue.
He said the MNM candidates have taken a pledge to organise ward and area-wise meetings in the line of gram sabhas once the party wins the polls. (PTI)
Within nine months of the DMK rule, 10 crore people were vaccinated against Covid-19 and steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government ensured dip in active cases and deaths, said Udhayanidhi Stalin, MLA and secretary of the DMK Youth Wing, on Wednesday. He said this here while canvassing for the DMK and its allies for the urban local body elections on February 19.
Udhayanidhi listed the developmental works implemented by the government and said his father and Chief Minister M K Stalin would honour the DMK's election promise of granting the monthly cash dole of Rs 1,000 to each woman head across the State. He said he is proud to say that only the DMK government has granted 50 per cent of seats to women in the civic elections. This shows how the present government respects women and their empowerment, he said adding that everyone should cast their votes for the party and its alliance partners. (PTI)
The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to remove at once, all the posters put up by political parties in furtherance of the local body elections, scheduled for February 19, throughout Chennai. The first bench of Chief Justice M N Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, which gave the direction while passing orders on a PIL petition from city resident P Arumugam, a contestant in the elections, also directed the authorities that the posters and other materials should be removed at the cost of the political parties concerned. Any violation of this directive would attract contempt of court proceedings, the bench warned. Read more
The campaigning for the upcoming Tamil Nadu urban local body polls will come to an end at 6 pm today, according to the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC). The urban local body polls will take place on February 19 in a single phase. A total of 57,778 candidates are in the fray for 12,607 posts in 21 corporations, 138 municipalities, and 490 town panchayats. The counting of votes will take place on February 22.
Welcome to today’s live blog. We bring to you the latest news on Covid-19, politics, features, entertainment, sports, weather, art and culture from across Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Follow our live blog and @ie_chennai to stay up to date with what’s happening in the state.
“All parties take money to get work done. I am 94 years old. What am I going to do with money? Vote for me and together we will bring a change to this place,” Kamakshi Subramaniyan, a civic activist contesting the upcoming Tamil Nadu local body elections, said to voters at Ulur Olcott Kuppam in Chennai’s Besant Nagar on Wednesday.
An independent candidate in the corporation’s ward 174, the nonagenarian walked the lanes holding the hands of her team members as an announcer blared out her name from an autorickshaw carrying her campaign hoarding—her only in-person campaign event for Saturday’s election. Varsha Sriram reports
The campaign by parties in Tamil Nadu for the upcoming urban civic polls reached a fever pitch on Wednesday with the ruling DMK asserting that it has fulfilled most of its assurances made ahead of 2021 Assembly election while the main opposition AIADMK slammed it for not implementing promises.
DMK president M K Stalin in a virtual address for the February 19 local polls said a majority of assurances made by his party in the run up to the Assembly election have been fulfilled.
In his campaign, AIADMK top leader and former Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Wednesday slammed the ruling DMK as a 'corporate' entity. "The DMK is not a political party, it is a corporate company," he said in his campaign at Krishnagiri district. (PTI)
BJP MLA and president of all-India Mahila Morcha Vanathi Srinivasan on Wednesday accused the election and police officials of remaining mute spectator to the alleged distribution of gifts and money to the voters by the DMK cadres, particularly those from Karur District.
The BJP workers had caught red-handed the DMK workers with the money and gifts, but the police supported the ruling party members and did not take action, said Vanathi to reporters here.
Despite the BJP workers alerting the election officials in this regard, there was a delay in their arrival to the scene and the alleged culprits fled, she said. The DMK cadres used to threaten businessmen and other workers of dire consequences if they did not vote for their candidates, she claimed. (PTI)
A newly married man and his mother died while his father and wife sustained serious injuries when their car collided head-on with a lorry in Coimbatore on Wednesday.
According to police, the family had come to arrange for a reception to the newly-wed couple when the mishap occurred. Investigations are on. (PTI)
A DMK candidate constesting from Athani, Anthiyur Taluk, died of a heart attack on Wednesday. So, the local body election for the Athani Town panchayat (3rd ward) has been postponed, said officials.
Ayyappan (51) undertook hectic campaigning till Tuesday night. He then went home and took rest. This morning, he developed heart pain and died on the way to a government hospital after being referred to it by doctors of a private facility.
On learning about the death, the Election Department of the district postponed the poll and said the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission would announce a fresh date for the election. (PTI)
'Maasi Magam' festival was celebrated here with religious fervour and spiritual gaiety on Wednesday. Processional deities of a large number of shrines from within Puducherry and also from neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu were placed on the seashore in the coastal village of Vaithikuppam from early this morning for worship after the 'theerthavari' (ceremonial bath) in the Bay of Bengal.
Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan accompanied by PWD Minister K Lakshminarayanan offered worship. Maasi Magam is a festival which is celebrated on the Full Moon day in the Tamil month of Maasi (February-March). The festival was a low-key affair over the last two years because of the pandemic. With the number of cases of infection declining, the festival was held this year. Policemen were deployed on the seashore to meet any eventuality.
All schools remained closed in Puducherry and Karaikal regions on account of the festival. (PTI)
The Tamil Nadu urban local body polls are all set to take place in less than three days and since campaigns will come to a halt at Thursday 6 pm, leaders of various parties are giving one last push to grab the voters’ attention. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin has been very busy doing the virtual campaigns over the last few days. In his latest video, Stalin said his government has delivered most of the promises they made ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls. Read more
Nursery schools across Tamil Nadu reopened on Wednesday after a long gap of two years, amidst a sharp decline in coronavirus positive cases, and with the government insisting that face masks are not mandatory for kindergarten children. Teachers welcomed the students with balloons, chocolates and flowers on day one to help them cope up with a new environment. Several schools which have been conducting online classes, too, shifted to the physical mode today.
"Making them adapt to a new atmosphere which is different from the familiar comforts of their homes will be our primary task. We will start teaching lessons thereafter," a teacher of a leading nursery school here said. "Face masks have been made mandatory for children aged five and above," Medical and Family Welfare Minister Ma Subramanian said.
"This means that the kindergarten children need not wear masks," he told reporters here when his attention was drawn to the children not wearing the face masks. The schools have been told to strictly adhere to the SoP on COVID-19 safety precautions. On February 15, the state government issued a GO (government order) permitting play schools and nursery schools to function from today while allowing exhibitions to be held. (PTI)
The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has increased the number of flying squads in the city from 45 to 90, three days ahead of the Tamil Nadu urban local body polls. The flying squads will check distribution of cash and gift items to electors across the 200 wards in the city. The decision was taken Tuesday during a review meeting held between GCC Commissioner Gangandeep Singh Bedi and Commissioner of Police Shankar Jiwal.
“The number of flying squad teams will be increased to 90 from 45 from Thursday. Each zone will have 6 teams,” Bedi said. Further, more than 18,000 police personnel and 4,000 home guard personnel will be deployed on the day of polling. Read more
Seven persons were recently arrested for allegedly beheading a 25-year-old man and injuring his friend Sunday during a drunken brawl near Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, said the police. The man, identified as M Satheesh, a resident of Mayiladuthurai, worked at a private company near Serangadu. According to the police, Sunday, since the office was closed, he and his friend Ranjith (20) consumed alcohol in a secluded area.
Later, an argument broke out between the duo and a gang of seven men over some issue. All the seven were under the influence of alcohol and attacked Satheesh and Ranjith, said the police. The latter managed to flee the area with grievous injuries and informed Nallur rural police. Read more
After slamming a BJP functionary and two others for filing frivolous petitions in the name of public interest litigations (PILs), the Madras High Court has imposed costs on them, to deter them from indulging in similar activities in the future. The BJP functionary pulled up was Syed Ibrahim, the national secretary of the party's Minorities Wing. The court imposed Rs 10,000 for filing the PIL, that too by suppressing facts relating to the issue.
He sought the court to lift the curbs on him for campaigning for his party men in Ward 95 in the ensuing Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation election to be held on February 19. He contended that the police, at the instigation of the ruling party, was not allowing him to enter into the said ward for electioneering. (PTI)
A mega expo and book fair will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here as part of the science week celebration - Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate (science is revered all over) - to be held under the aegis of Ministry of Culture & the Office of the PSA, Govt of India, from February 22 to 28. The event to be held as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav will have five themes: Annals of science, Milestones of Modern S&T, Swadeshi Paramparik inventions & innovations, Transforming India and Bringing out stories of people in science.
The Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre will play a pivotal role in conducting this event. Accordingly, various events have been planned for all seven days in Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli, according to a release here.
The week-long Vigyan Sarvatra Pujyate aims to pay homage and showcase India's achievements in 75 years of Independence and the Centre's science and technology organisations in close partnership with state agencies have chalked out programmes to be held throughout the country. (PTI)
The Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC) Tuesday said that the campaigning for the upcoming Tamil Nadu urban local body polls will come to an end at 6 pm on February 17 (Thursday). The urban local body polls will take place on February 19 in a single phase. A total of 57,778 candidates are in the fray for 12,607 posts in 21 corporations, 138 municipalities, and 490 town panchayats. The counting of votes will take place on February 22.
The first bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday categorically stated it would not direct the Erode district Collector to withdraw his notifications banning movement of motor vehicles on Bannari-Karapallam stretch of Coimbatore-Bengaluru national highway running through the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) during the night.
The bench of Chief Justice M N Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy pointed out that it had not passed any order banning the vehicular movement on the stretch. It had only directed the Erode Collector to strictly implement his notifications issued in 2018 and 2019, which was not given effect to, following protest from the members of the public, then. Read more
The main opposition AIADMK on Tuesday urged Chief Minister M K Stalin to pay special attention to the Mullaiperiyar issue to establish Tamil Nadu’s rights and prevent inspections by Kerala without the state’s permission. The Mullaiperiyar reservoir is both owned and maintained by the Tamil Nadu government, AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam said adding this is an indisputable fact. Read more
By supporting the contentious three farm laws, AIADMK top leader K Palaniswami ‘betrayed’ the farmers of the entire country and he should apologise to them for the ‘betrayal’, DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Tuesday.
Referring to the Cauvery and Mekedatu issues, Stalin alleged that while in power Palaniswami betrayed farmers of Cauvery delta districts and by supporting the three farms (now repealed) he betrayed the ryots of the entire country. Read more
The Tamil Nadu School Education Department Tuesday suspended the Chief Education Officer (CEO) of Tiruvannamalai, S Arul Selvam, after the question papers of the revision tests for Classes X and XII got leaked on social media recently. While the police have filed a case in the incident, the Education department officials gave Villupuram CEO K Krishnapriya additional responsibility of Tiruvannamalai district.
The question papers of Social Science, English, Business Mathematics and Biology revision tests were leaked on consecutive days, said officials. The department’s action comes a day after it said it will initiate criminal action against two state government schools in Tiruvannamalai for allegedly leaking the revision test question papers before the scheduled exam date. Read more
The Southern Railway police on Monday arrested a 23-year-old man for allegedly masturbating in front of a woman inside ladies compartment of a local train going from Nungambakkam to Tambaram on February 9. The accused has been identified as Lakshmanan, a resident of Meenamabakkam. He was arrested from Chrompet and handed over to the Tambaram railway police and a case was registered under section 354-A (sexual harassment) of the IPC. Read more
New cases of Covid-19 continue to decline in Tamil Nadu. On Tuesday, a total of 1,325 fresh cases were recorded, taking the overall tally to 34,39,221. With 14 more people succumbing to the disease, the toll reached 37,496. A total of 85,969 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. With 5,894 people having been discharged, the active cases stood at 31,368.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin will inaugurate the 45th edition of the Chennai Book Fair organised by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI) today. The 19-day event will begin with the chief minister presenting the ‘Kalaignar Karunanidhi Porkizhi Virudhugal’ literary award along with other BAPASI awards to eminent writers and Tamil scholars.
Welcome to today’s live blog. We bring to you the latest news on Covid-19, politics, features, entertainment, sports, weather, art and culture from across Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Follow our live blog and @ie_chennai to stay up to date with what’s happening in the state.