The relaxations will be in place between February 1-15. (PTI)Chennai, Tamil Nadu News Highlights: The Tamil Nadu government has withdrawn the night curfew imposed from 10 pm to 5 am and has decided to re-open schools for students of Classes 1-12 from February 1. The government has also withdrawn the complete lockdown on January 30 (Sunday). Schools for students of Classes I-XII will commence from February 1. Social, cultural, and political gatherings will continue to be restricted. The relaxations will be in place between February 1-15.
In Chennai-related news, following the cancellation of the total lockdown on Sundays by the Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai Metro will resume normal services today from 5.30 am to 11.00 pm on all weekdays with existing peak hour services from 8 am to 11 am in the morning and from 5 pm to 8 pm in the evening with five-minute headway during Peak hours and 10-minute headway during non-peak hours.
Also, A day after the state government announced that all colleges and universities, except those that serve as Covid Care Centres (CCC), would reopen for physical classes from February 1 following Covid-19 guidelines, Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy clarified that the semester examinations will be held online.
A day after the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission announced that the urban local body polls in the state would be held on February 19, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Thursday launched 45 flying squad teams to maintain surveillance and enforce the Model Code of Conduct.
According to a statement from the GCC, 45 flying squad teams have been formed, which will comprise assistant executive engineers, two police personnel, and one videographer. The flying squad teams will inspect all 200 wards on a shift basis. Read more
Having tasted success in the 2021 rural local body elections, the fans of actor Vijay are gearing up with vigour for their next challenge — the urban local body polls. As many as 169 members of Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (TVMI), a fan club-turned welfare organisation, had contested for various posts in the rural local body election in the nine districts and of them 129 got elected.
The performance sprung a surprise in the state’s political arena as even the well-known parties like actor Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam or Seeman’s Naam Tamizhar Katchi failed to open their account. It may be noted that during the last local body polls, posters were pasted in areas like Madurai by the members of TVMI that read “We are coming in 2021 local body polls, we are going to provide good governance in 2026 (indicating the state assembly polls).” Read more
The Forest Department of the Tamil Nadu government would launch the annual State-level bird census for coastal and migratory birds on January 28 and 29. Shekhar Kumar Niraj, principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) and chief wildlife warden (CWW), made this statement on Thursday.
Yogesh Kumar Meena, wildlife warden, Nagapattinam, was made the nodal officer for the waterbird count. The PCCF said district forest officers, wildlife wardens, and deputy directors, should involve scientific organisations, civil society, and individuals for the exercise. The two-day census would throw better light on birds. (PTI)
The Cybercrime wing of the Chennai Police on Friday registered a case against BJP Youth Wing leader Vinoj P Selvam for allegedly posting defamatory content on Twitter, and for spreading rumours.
According to the police, Elangovan of Kilpauk had lodged a complaint against Selvam alleging that he had posted defamatory content which intended to create fear and hatred amongst people.
An FIR has been filed against Selvam under sections 153, 505(1)(b) and 505 of the Indian Penal Code.
A day after the state government announced that all colleges and universities, except those that serve as Covid Care Centres (CCC), would reopen for physical classes from February 1 following Covid-19 guidelines, Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy clarified that the semester examinations will be held online.
Addressing reporters, Ponmudy said the recent announcement from the government to conduct physical classes from February 1 has led to several questions from students and their parents as the education department had already announced that the semester examinations were scheduled to take place in December will be held online from February 1. Read more
A 30 year-old man, suspected to be a Bangladeshi with a Look Out Circular (LOC) pending against him was held at the airport here on Thursday, officials said. The man, hailing from Surat in Gujarat, was an Indian passport holder and was at the airport here to board a Sharjah-bound flight, they said.
When he came for departure clearance, officials found that the LOC has been issued against him by the FRRO Mumbai, suspecting that he might be a Bangladeshi and detained him for further enquiry. (PTI)
Following the cancellation of the total lockdown on Sundays by the Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai Metro will resume normal services today from 5.30 am to 11.00 pm on all weekdays with existing peak hour services from 8 am to 11 am in the morning and from 5 pm to 8 pm in the evening with 5-minute headway during Peak hours and 10-minute headway during Non-peak hours.
Metro Train services will run on Sundays with an existing train timing schedule from 7 am to 10 pm with 10 minutes headway throughout the day. There will be no peak hour service.
BJP national president J P Nadda on Thursday constituted a four-member committee to ascertain the facts leading to a 17-year-old girl student’s death by suicide in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu earlier this month, and submit a report to him soon. The panel, comprising Parliamentarian Sandhya Ray from Madhya Pradesh, Vijayashanti from Telangana, Chitra Tai Wagh of Maharashtra and Geetha Vivekananda of Karnataka, would visit Thanjavur to ascertain the facts. Read more
A day after a row erupted over some of its staff reportedly not standing up when Tamil Thaai Vazhthu, the Tamil anthem, was played during the Republic Day celebrations at its office here, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said it respects the customs and practices followed in each region of the country and assured its stance with the Tamil Nadu government as well. Read more
A teenage financier was hacked to death at Annur, about 35 km from here, by two of his friends, police said on Thursday. The 19-year-old victim was standing at a traffic signal when two men hacked him to death, the police said. Later, the two surrendered to the police.
The victim was a friend of the two and they were jointly running a finance company, the police said. When the 19-year-old quit the company and floated his own firm, the two got angry and decided to kill him, they said. (PTI)
No registering authority under the Registration Act shall register any document in respect of any land which has been notified as water body in the revenue records of the State, the Madras High Court ruled on Thursday.
The authorities concerned should mandatorily obtain a statement from the applicants, who want to register their property or seek approval for the layout or building construction or assessment of property tax or electricity or water connection, that the property concerned is not located on a water body, the first bench of Acting Chief Justice MN Bhandari and Justice P D Audikesavalu said. Read more
Anna University has decided to postpone the examinations for engineering students due to the local body elections in Tamil Nadu taking place on February 19. The first exam which was scheduled for February 19 has now been postponed to March 6, 2022.
Insisting that the dual language policy of Tamil and English being followed in Tamil Nadu is not a setback to students’ eligibility or in their opportunities, the government on Thursday rejected the idea of enforcing a three-language policy in the state and sought the Governor to expeditiously forward the NEET exemption bill for Presidential assent.
Reacting to Governor R N Ravi’s remarks during his 73rd Republic Day address to the people of Tamil Nadu, pertaining to exposing state’s school students to an opportunity to learn other Indian languages, Minister for Tamil Official Language and Culture & Industries Thangam Thennarasu said those aware of the history of agitations against language in Tamil Nadu would understand that “other Indian languages” would only mean the Centre’s agenda of thrusting Hindi. Read more
Two children in the age group of 8 to 13 years were killed in a building collapse near in Cuddalore on Thursday, when a group of three boys were playing there, police said. The incident took place at Old Ramapuram village when the building, constructed for the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees but not in use now, collapsed.
The roof and sidewall of the building suddenly caved in, trapping the boys under the debris, killing two on the spot, police said. Another boy with serious injuries has been admitted to the Cuddalore government hospital. Read more
Tamil Nadu Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said schools shut down as a part of precautions to prevent Covid-19 may reopen for higher secondary students in the first week of February.
Addressing reporters on the sidelines of a Republic Day event in Chennai, he said, “We are prioritising students of Classes X, XI, and XII. The assessment tests are already being conducted in schools as the students would be facing the board examination. With discussions over the lockdown relaxations scheduled to take place before this month’s end, we have placed a request to the Chief Minister’s Office to provide preference to reopen the schools as Covid cases are dropping,” he said. Read more
Tamil Nadu on Thursday recorded 28,515 cases, pushing the cumulative tally to 32,52,751. With 53 casualties, the toll reached 37,412. As many as 28,620 recovered in the last 24 hours, leaving 2,13,534 active cases in the state. Tamil Nadu’s positivity rate currently stands at 19.42 per cent.
The Tamil Nadu government has withdrawn the night curfew imposed from 10 pm to 5 am and has decided to re-open schools for students of Classes 1-12 from February 1. The government has also withdrawn the complete lockdown on January 30 (Sunday). Schools for students of Classes I-XII will commence from February 1. Social, cultural, and political gatherings will continue to be restricted.
The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) has announced that power will be suspended in parts of Chennai today for carrying out maintenance work in the city. Parts of Chennai will face a power shutdown from 9 am to 2 pm, with supply expected to resume before 2 pm if the work is completed.
KK Nagar: Ashok Nagar, Kodambakkam, Cholaimedu, Vadapalani, Chinmiyanagar, Valasaravakkam, Alagirinagar and above surrounding areas.
Pallavaram: GST road, Indira Gandhi road, Mariamman koil street, Chennai Silks A2B and above surrounding areas.
Ambattur/Thiruverkadu: Ponniamman nagar, Rajan kuppum, VGN Mahalakshimi nagar, Metro city, Agragaram IT cycle Vijayalakshmipuram, Venkatapuram, Cholapuram road, Ambattur Railway Station, Ambattur market, MTH road and above surrounding areas. Read more
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.
BJP national president J P Nadda on Thursday constituted a four-member committee to ascertain the facts leading to a
17-year-old girl student's death by suicide in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu earlier this month, and submit a report to him soon.
The panel, comprising Parliamentarian Sandhya Ray from Madhya Pradesh, Vijayashanti from Telangana, Chitra Tai Wagh of Maharashtra and Geetha Vivekananda of Karnataka, would visit Thanjavur to ascertain the facts.
The suicide of the plus two student stoked a row in the state with the BJP and Hindu organisations alleging that her death was triggered by an attempt to forcibly convert her to Christianity - a charge denied by the authorities and school management. Nevertheless, the BJP members led by party chief K Annamalai staged a day-long fast agitation at Valluvar Kottam here on January 25 demanding justice to the girl and also a CBI probe into her death besides a legislation for anti-conversion to prevent forcible conversions in the state. (PTI)