Popular Tamil actor Suriya has criticised the Centre’s Draft National Education Policy (NEP), saying some of its provisions would leave students from villages in a disadvantaged state.
READ | Actor Suriya criticises Centre’s draft education policy, gets flak from politicians
“The new education policy decides the future of 30 crore students across the country, I’m anguished that no one has come forward to talk about this. The focus is much on entrance exams but not on quality and equal education to all the students. Without giving an equal education, how do you expect quality from students?“ he asked while speaking at the Sri Sivakumar Foundation’s 40th-anniversary function.
While the city has been reeling under an acute water crisis which peaked this summer, residents of Kasimedu have been hit hard, due to erratic Metrowater supply and no means to pay for expensive private tankers who have doubled their prices since the crisis began in Chennai.
READ | Chennai water crisis brings Kasimedu residents to their knees
Residents of Kasimedu, most of whom work at the Kasimedu Fish Market next to the harbour blamed the scanty rainfall for the ongoing water crisis.
The Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre (TNSTC) announced on Sunday that there will be a partial lunar eclipse from 01:30 am to 04:30 am on July 17. The eclipse will be visible across India and most of Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Indian ocean.
B M Birla Planetarium in Chennai will be making arrangements for the public to view the eclipse at the Periyar Science and Technology Centre along Gandhi Mandapam Road in the city.
The Southern Railway announced today that it had introduced special trains from Egmore railway station and Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M G Ramachandran Central station in Chennai for August and September to clear the extra rush of passengers.
With Chennai grappling with an acute drinking water crisis since April, startups in the state have come up with several innovations to help conserve water. However, many of them are for use at the consumer end of the spectrum, helping consumers conserve water and reduce their water costs.
During the hearing in court today regarding the reopening of the Sterlite plant in Tuticorin, the lawyer for the defence argued in court and said, "Vedanta cannot be made responsible for all environmental pollution in Tuticorin."
The hearing for the case will be held on Wednesday.
The 13th stage of enquiry against the firing in Tuticorin that left 13 people dead was held at the Government Guest House today. Summons were issued to 24 people for a four-day enquiry regarding the incident.
Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today participated in Human Chain Protest in Puducherry to oppose the move of the Central government to launch hydrocarbon projects in his state. "This Project will destroy agriculture and the fishermen also will suffer. I have written a letter to PM Narendra Modi and Petroleum Minister that I will not allow this project to take place anywhere in Puducherry," he said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs today said the NEET exemption bill raised by the Tamil Nadu government in February 2017 was rejected and sent back on September 22, 2017.
DMK MLA Poongothai Aladi Aruna requested the government to consider putting warning signs on confectionery boxes at the Tamil Nadu Assembly session today. "Our state has many diabetes patients, sweet boxes should have a warning sign on them such as the number of calories present and the sugar added", said the MLA.
In response, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that the government would consider the inputs given by Poongothai and will take necessary action towards the same.
Somnath, the three-year-old toddler who had been kidnapped by an unknown person from Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M G Ramachandran Central Station, Chennai on Monday morning was traced by police to Thiruporur in Chennai and rescued today afternoon. A special team, which had been formed to trace the child after his parents had lodged a complaint with the railway police are currently interrogating the man to get details of his identity.
Somnath had beem sleeping with his parents, both construction workers from Odisha at Chennai Central railway station and was discovered missing after his parents woke up at 2 am. Railway police sifted through CCTV footage and found the child being carried by a child lifter and leaving the Tambaram railway station at 12:45 am on Monday.
Rajathi Ammal, the wife of DMK scion and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi visited the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Kacheepuram today to offer prayers to Athi Varadar.
Union Minister for Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad announced in the Lok Sabha today that examinations for the Postal Department will be conducted in all regional languages, including Tamil. He added that the examination which was held on July 14 has been cancelled.
The announcement comes in the wake of political uproar in Tamil Nadu after the Postal Department had declared on July 12 that examinations will be conducted only in English and Hindi. The declaration was made two days before the examination, leading the DMK to satge a walk-out in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday.
Around 10 residents of New Colony in Chromepet, Chennai were diagnosed with diarrhoea after water from the Plar river, which is supplied by the Pallavaram municipality was found to be contaminated with sewage. The residents, most of them senior citizens were forced to seek medical help after continuous bouts of vomiting, stomach aches and head aches.
Municipal officials confirmed that sewage had seeped into the water due to a leak in the pipe and said that the fault has been fixed now.
The Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre (TNSTC) announced on Sunday that there will be a partial lunar eclipse from 01:30 am to 04:30 am on July 17. The eclipse will be visible across India and most of Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Indian ocean.
B M Birla planetarium in Chennai will be making arrangements for the public to view the eclipse at the Periyar Science and Technology Centre along Gandhi Mandapam Road in the city.
Two women were killed and one man was severely injured after the two-wheeler that they were riding triples on came under the wheels of a Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus near YMCA grounds in Nandanam, Chennai today after 9 am. The trio, from Andhra Pradesh, were on their way to Egmore at the time of the accident. Bhavani and Nagalakshmi, both in their twenties and riding pillion without helmets were killed on the spot, while the rider Shiva (22) was rushed to Rajiv Gandhi Hospital for treatment after losing consciousness.
A CCTV grab of the accident shows Shiva trying to overtake the bus from the left and hit another bike to his left, before losing balance and falling down. Police have registered a case and are tracing the kin of the deceased. The driver of the bus has been remanded to police custody.
A three-year-old child was kidnapped from Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M G Ramachandran Central Station, Chennai early Monday morning. The child, Somnath, was sleeping with his parents, both construction workers from Odisha at the railway station and was discovered missing after his parents woke up at 2 am. After the parents lodged a complaint at the Chennai Central railway police station, police sifted through CCTV footage and found the child being carried by a child lifter and leaving the Tambaram railway station at 12:45 am on Monday.
According to two clips released by the railway police, the toddler, dressed in red, can be seen being carried by the kidnapper who was dressed in a light blue shirt, dark jeans and a cap in the first clip. The second clip depicted the kidnapper entering Park Town railway station using the metro rail subway and boarding a train to Tambaram along with the child. The police have formed a special team to nab the kidnapper and rescue the child.
The Tamil Nadu Weatherman took to Facebook today to intrepret the thunderstorms and rain that had lashed the KTC (Kancheepuram Tiruvallur Chennai) region on Monday night. Commenting on the rain, he said, "Yesterday was just a start, I always that NW winds is most favorable for formation of thunderstorms with sea breeze moving in from SE and creating that perfect clash. For KTC, one day of another the clouds is going to move over Chennai."
The weather blogger predicted that KTC, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram could expect rains tonight.
PMK youth-wing leader Dr.Anbumani Ramadoss today said his party will form a separate committee to explore and resolve the new education policy. Actor Suriya criticized the new education policy stating the policy focuses much on entrance exams but not on quality and equal education to all the students. .
Today marks the 15th anniversary of the 2004 fire accident in Kumbakonam near Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. 94 students of Krishna English Medium School were charred to death inside classrooms as they had no proper exit to escape.
The Indian Institute of Technology established in 1959 in Madras has crossed 60 years. The alumni of IIT-Madras grandly celebrated the historic milestone. The alumni organized the Diamond Jubilee celebration across the world ranging from Seattle to Syndey, Berlin to Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Pune, etc on July 13th. Apart from celebrating, the alumni are also planning to give back to the institution which shaped their career. They are planning to contribute in numerous ways including mentoring students, providing them industry connect, helping their institution engage with corporates for CSR funding, etc.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced on Monday during the State Assembly session that the memorial of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will be constructed completely by the end of December this year. The memorial is being built in the shape of a phoenix.
A portion of the road at Suryanarayanan Chetty Street in Royapuram, Chennai caved in on Monday evening, thus causing a traffic congestion for hours. The road caved in 10 feet deep around 5 pm due to some damage in a Metrowater pipeline, said Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials, who had visited the site along with officials from Metrowater.
Last month, a portion of the road had caved in near Madhya Kailash Temple on Rajiv Gandhi IT Expressway in Chennai.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced during the Tamil Nadu Assembly session on Monday that three barrages will be built across the river Cauvery to boost the groundwater level in the area. Barrages will also be constructed along the Kollidam river. The barrges will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 495 crore.
A professor from the Zoology department of the Madras Christian College in Chennai was given the sack on Monday after the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) confirmed the allegations of sexual assault that were levelled against him. Students had written to the principal in February alleging that professor R Raveen had misbehaved with the students while on a college trip in January, while the accompanying professor, Samuel Tennyson had encouraged Raveen's actions.
After action against the duo was delayed, students had staged a protest on campus in April. following which the ICC was formed. The ICC found the allegations against the two professors to be true and while Raveen was sacked on Monday, Samuel is yet to be dismissed since a case field against him is pending in court.
Parts of Chennai received heavy rainfall on Monday night, with core areas in the city receiving 1 cm of rain. Nungambakkam, T Nagar, Guindy, Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur, Adyar, Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), East Coast Road (ECR), Mogappair and parts of North Chennai received heavy rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms on Monday night.
After the city received heavy rain on Monday, weather forecasters have predicted the minimum and maximum temperatures in Chennai today to be 28C and 34C respectively. The sky will remain partly cloudy, with rainfall expected in parts of the city either in the evening or at night . Core areas of the city received 1 cm of rain after an intense spell of rain on Monday.
Weather forecasters have predicted rain for two more days in the city, while other districts in Tamil Nadu are expected to receive rain over the next five days.
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