A G Perarivalan (File)Tamil Nadu Telangana Coronavirus Assembly Elections 2021 January 20, 21 Highlights: Tamil Nadu recorded 549 positive cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the state tally to 8,32,415. Among these, Chennai reported 150 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 2,29,537. The state recorded nine deaths on Wednesday, putting the state toll at 12,290. All nine of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. The state discharged 713 patients following treatment, putting the total number of recoveries at 8,14,811.
A total of 26 passengers who had returned to Tamil Nadu from UK and 20 of their primary contacts have tested positive for COVID-19 till date. Among the 26 primary cases, 20 of them who tested negative in their follow up RT-PCR test have been discharged and kept under home quarantine. Similarly, 18 of the 20 contact cases have been discharged and kept under home quarantine. Among the 26 primary cases, nine cases were reported in Chennai, three each in Thanjavur, Madurai, Nilgiris and Chengalpattu and one each in Theni, Nagapattinam, Coimbatore, Karur and Virudhunagar. Among the 20 contact cases, six were reported in Chennai, three in Thanjavur, two each in Nilgiris and Theni, four in Chengalpattu and three in Nagapattinam.
The massive crop loss due to excess rain in Cauvery delta region is likely to become an issue in the upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu with more than six lakh farmers hit by the loss of samba paddy crop that was ready for harvest. This comes months after similar damage due to Cyclone Nivar. After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said he conveyed the seriousness of the issue to the Centre and sought its help. “We are estimating the damage, relief will be declared soon,” he said.
Also Read | 6.26 crore voters in Tamil Nadu, women continue to surpass men
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V K Sasikala (PTI)
Director Selvaraghavan has signed multiple movies with his brother Dhanush. His collaboration with Dhanush has always struck gold at the box office. While the two have already announced Ayirathil Oruvan 2 and Naane Varuven, the director recently opened up about Pudhupettai 2 as well.
In an interview to Ananda Vikatan, Selvaraghavan revealed that he will also be doing a sequel to Pudhupettai before starting Ayirathil Oruvan 2. “It (Naane Varuven) is not Pudhupettai 2. In between this and Ayirathil Oruvan 2, Pudhupettai sequel will be released and Kokki Kumar will come back,” the director said.
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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday launched door delivery of rice to ration card holders along with a fleet of 2,500 Mobile Dispensing Units from Vijayawada. The CM flagged off the fleet of vehicles today.
The CM said that he was moved by the plight of elderly and differently-abled people who were kept waiting in long queues to get the ration supplies. “My government has taken the initiative to provide good quality rice and other ration supplies right at the doorstep of the ration cardholders. The government aims to deliver good quality rice to the cardholder through a mobile vehicle, with an additional cost of Rs 830 crore per annum to the government,” he said.
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The option entry for the Andhra Pradesh Engineering, Agriculture and Medicine Common Entrance Test (AP EAMCET) 2020 second round of counselling will begin on January 21. The candidates who want to take admission through EAMCET counselling can do so through the website- apeamcet.nic.in.
The last date to choose options is January 23. “If vacancy is not available in option number 1, option number 2 will be considered for allotment, if vacancy is also not available in option number 2, option number 3 will be considered for allotment and so on. The allotment will not proceed to the next rank candidate till the list of candidate’s options is completely searched for availability of a seat,” the official statement mentioned.
The round 1 counselling was earlier commenced on December 28.
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A cheating case has been registered against Telugu actor, his father and others for allegedly duping a man here in connection with the sale of car on discount, police said on Wednesday.
The man, in his complaint to the police, accused the actor Viswant, his father and others of offering him the car worth Rs 25 lakh for Rs 17 lakh in September 2017.
In the complaint filed on January 8, the victim said he paid Rs 12.5 lakh to them and took the vehicle but he was not given the vehicle ownership documents, the police said.
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Director Siva’s upcoming film Annaatthe starring Superstar Rajinikanth would have released in cinemas for Pongal, had everything gone according to the plan. However, the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown threw a wrench into the plans of the filmmakers.
There was about 40 percent of the movie remaining to be shot. During the second week of December, Rajinikanth resumed the shooting in Hyderabad with all precautions in place. However, the shooting was suspended a few days later after COVID-19 outbreak on the sets. And Rajinikanth was hospitalised due to severe blood pressure fluctuations. It is said that the shooting has been postponed by a few months now.
The buzz is Siva is now preparing to start the pre-production work on his next film with Suriya during this break. He has plans to start shooting Suriya’s film from the second half of 2021.
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Two ruling TRS MLAs in Telangana on Wednesday spoke in public in favour of making the party’s Working President and minister K T Rama Rao the Chief Minister.
This is probably the first time that some ruling party leaders have spoken in public about making Rama Rao, son of TRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, the CM.
There had been some talk in the past about 44-year-old Rama Rao taking over the reins from his father, but he had dismissed it.
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Former AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, who was rushed to a Bengaluru hospital on Wednesday evening, has diagnosed with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) but is stable now.
Dr. Manoj Kumar HV, dean and director, Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, Bengaluru, said that Sasikala can be discharged in 2-3 days. “She was admitted to hospital with the complaint of fever, cough, and breathlessness but now she is stable. She was diagnosed with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) but her RT-PCR report has come out negative.”
Sasikala was taken to Victoria Hospital for CT Scan on Thursday morning. “Sasikala’s fever has come down and her oxygen saturation is normal. She was walking around and had her breakfast in the morning. We don’t think there is any problem now. Since she has SARI symptoms we have referred for a CT Scan,” Dr Manoj Kumar added.
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Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit is expected to take a decision on the pardon recommendation of Perarivalan, who is currently serving a life sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, over the next three to four days, said the Solicitor General on Thursday.
The Tamil Nadu cabinet had submitted the recommendations for Rajiv convicts' release in September, 2018, under Article 161. While the Governor cannot reject the recommendation, there is no limit to arrive at the decision either.
The massive crop loss due to excess rain in Cauvery delta region is likely to become an issue in the upcoming elections in Tamil Nadu with more than six lakh farmers hit by the loss of samba paddy crop that was ready for harvest. This comes months after similar damage due to Cyclone Nivar.
After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said he conveyed the seriousness of the issue to the Centre and sought its help. “We are estimating the damage, relief will be declared soon,” he said.
The Chief Minister’s remarks came days after DMK president M K Stalin accused the AIADMK government of failing to reach out to the farmers and claimed that many were yet to receive full compensation for crop losses owing to the cyclone. He said the Chief Minister was adding salt to injury by saying that they are yet to assess the damage.
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Following the announcement of the 110 km-long Mega Streets Project in Chennai last year, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Wednesday announced that 25 km of roads across the city will be revamped for ‘quick wins’. Additionally, the designs and details for about 100 km of roads are ready as well.
Under ‘quick wins’, a few portions of the proposed 110 km long project will be revamped initially. The GCC has already identified consultants for the same after issuing tenders.
“We cannot focus on all 110-km of roads right now under the project owing to paucity of funds. Under quick wins, we have chalked out certain portions of the roads to be revamped. Quick wins will focus on roads across Chennai, thus giving a city-wide representation. This will also ensure that there is no assumption that only T Nagar (Pedestrian Plaza) is getting revamped under the project”, G Prakash, IAS, the Commissioner of the GCC told indianexpress.com.
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Telangana recorded 226 fresh coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the total cases to over 2.92 lakh while one fatality pushed the toll to 1,584, the state government said on Thursday.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 39, followed by Karimnagar and Medchal Malkajgiri with 16 each, it said in a bulletin.
The total number of cases stood at 2, 92,621 while recoveries were at 2, 87,117. As many as 3,920 patients are under treatment and 31,647 samples were tested on Wednesday. Cumulatively, over 75.74 lakh samples have been tested. The samples tested per million population was over 2.03 lakh, the bulletin said.
The case fatality rate in the state was 0.54 per cent while the recovery rate in Telangana was 98.11 per cent. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu has implemented a slew of measures since 2016, bringing down its road accidents by 38% and deaths in the same by over 54%, winning the state an award this week from the Centre. Commending the state, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari asked everyone to follow “the Tamil Nadu model”.
With around two crore driver licences, a little over three crore registered vehicles and one of the largest road networks in India — over 66,000 km — Tamil Nadu regularly tops states in number of annual road accidents, and ranked second in total deaths in 2019. Currently, the state accounts for around 13.7% of all road accidents in India and around 11% of road deaths. However, the state believes it has turned a corner.
“The next aim is to have zero deaths. We have not set a date, but we are working on it,” says M Manakumar, Additional Transport Commissioner, Tamil Nadu.
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Residents of a tiny Indian village surrounded by rice paddies flocked to a Hindu temple, setting off firecrackers and praying and as they watched Kamala Harris, who has strong roots to the village, take her oath of office and become the U.S. vice president on Wednesday.
Groups of women in bright saris and men wearing white dhoti pants watched the inauguration live as reporters broadcast the villager’s celebrations to millions of Indians. The villagers chanted “Long live Kamala Harris” while holding portraits of her and blasted off fireworks the moment she took the oath.
Earlier, the villages adorned their temple with flowers, offering special prayers for Harris’ success. Her maternal grandfather was born in the village of Thulasendrapuram, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) from the southern coastal city of Chennai.
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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will hit the campaign trail on Saturday in Tamil Nadu where assembly elections are likely to be held in April-May, party state unit chief K S Azhagiri said on Wednesday.
He also asserted the present Congress-DMK alliance would continue for the elections and said it would be a welcome development if actor-politician Kamal Haasan joined the combine.
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Just days ahead of the release of Vijay’s Master, certain scenes from the movie got leaked on the internet. It sent a shock wave across the industry as the revival of the country’s film exhibition business hinged on the success and failure of Master.
The members of the Tamil film fraternity and the makers of Master came together to request people to stop sharing the leaked clips online.
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The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) conducted 356 fever clinics in Chennai on Wednesday. A total of 21,303 people attended the clinics, with swabs collected from 152 people who were identified with ILI symptoms, while others were provided with medication for minor ailments.
The most number of camps were held in Adyar (Zone 13) where 37 camps had been set up, while Manali (Zone 2) had the least with five camps.
A 42-year-old ambulance driver in Nirmal district who was vaccinated on Tuesday died in the early hours of Wednesday after complaining of chest pain. The Telangana government has said that primary investigation suggested that the death was not related to the vaccine.
The health care worker was given Covishield at Kuntala Primary Health Centre in Nirmal district. “At about 2.30 am on January 20, he is said to have developed chest pain and was brought dead to the District Hospital at Nirmal around 5.30 am. Preliminary findings suggest that the death seems to be unrelated to vaccination. As per the guidelines, postmortem will be conducted by a team of doctors. The district AEFI (Adverse Event Following Immunization) committee is examining the matter and will submit its report to the state AEFI committee which will submit it to the Centre,” Director of Public Health, G Srinivas Rao, said in a statement.
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A total of 236 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 118 arrivals and 118 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.
Tangedco has announced a powercut in parts of Chennai today from 9 am to 2 pm to carry out maintenance work.
Here are the affected areas:
As schools across Telangana are scheduled to open from February 1 for students of class 9 and above, parents and private schools’ management registered their concerns during a meeting with Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy Tuesday.
Apart from raising long pending issues of school fee regulation, representatives of the Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) requested the minister to ensure that all teaching and non-teaching staff in schools are tested for coronavirus infection, before commencing classes.
Parents told the minister that children would be more prone to the virus and their safety would be at risk if physical classes are started. Responding to this, the minister told them that physical classes will not be mandatory. If parents are unwilling to send their children to schools, they can continue with online classes. She assured parents that physical attendance will not be mandatory and that the students will not be detained for shortage of attendance.
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Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo Wednesday released the total electorate in Tamil Nadu. A total of 6,26,74,446 voters are in the state including 3,18,28,727 women, 3,08,38,473 men and 7,246 third gender persons.
As per the final electoral rolls, the Shozhinganllur assembly constituency located in the Chengalpet district continues to hold the highest number of electors. The constituency has 6,94,845 electors including 3,48,262 men, 3,46,476 women and 107 third gender persons. Kavundanpalayam in Coimbatore with 4,61,000 and Madavaram in Chennai with 4,50,717 occupy the second and third spots. On the contrary, the Harbour assembly constituency in Chennai continues to hold the lowest number of electors with 1,76,272. There are 91,936 men, 84,281 women and 55 third gender persons in this constituency.
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Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s close aide and ousted AIADMK leader VK Sasikala was Wednesday taken to Bowring hospital from the Parappana Agrahara jail in Bengaluru, after she complained of fever.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, Nandeesha HL, the Parappana Agrahara police station inspector, said, “Sasikala was suffering from fever and has been taken to Bowring hospital for treatment. As per my information, she will be back to prison today itself.”
Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital said Sasikala’s condition was stable.
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A total of 26 passengers who had returned to Tamil Nadu from UK and 20 of their primary contacts have tested positive for COVID-19 till date. Among the 26 primary cases, 20 of them who tested negative in their follow up RT-PCR test have been discharged and kept under home quarantine. Similarly, 18 of the 20 contact cases have been discharged and kept under home quarantine.
Among the 26 primary cases, nine cases were reported in Chennai, three each in Thanjavur, Madurai, Nilgiris and Chengalpattu and one each in Theni, Nagapattinam, Coimbatore, Karur and Virudhunagar. Among the 20 contact cases, six were reported in Chennai, three in Thanjavur, two each in Nilgiris and Theni, four in Chengalpattu and three in Nagapattinam.
A total of 2300 passengers had travelled to Tamil Nadu from UK between November 25 and December 23, of which 2146 have been tested. Among these, 24 have tested positive, 2122 have tested negative and the tracing of more passengers is underway. Additionally, 3977 close contacts of the 2146 passengers who had tested negative were also tested for COVID-19 and were found to be negative.
A total of 601 passengers had travelled to Tamil Nadu from UK between January 8 and January 20, of which 501 have been tested. Among these, two have tested positive, 456 have tested negative and the results of 43 passengers are awaited. Tracing of further passengers is underway.
All the UK returnees and their contacts have been kept in isolation wards, according to the Tamil Nadu Health Department.
Tamil Nadu recorded 549 positive cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the state tally to 8,32,415. Among these, Chennai reported 150 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 2,29,537.
The state recorded nine deaths on Wednesday, putting the state toll at 12,290. All nine of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. The state discharged 713 patients following treatment, putting the total number of recoveries at 8,14,811.
As of Wednesday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 5314. Till date, 5,03,147 males, 3,29,234 females and 34 transgenders have tested positive for the virus in the state.
According to a bulletin released by the Health and Family Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu, 1,53,91,518 samples from the state have been sent for testing till date, with 60,249 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 252 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 68 are government and 184 are private facilities.
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Welcome to the live blog from Chennai and Hyderabad where we bring to you the latest updates on Tamil Nadu elections 2021, COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, UK COVID-19 virus in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and more across Chennai and Hyderabad throughout the day. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the states in real time.
A 42-year-old healthcare worker in Hyderabad died on Wednesday, a day after he was inoculated with the anti-coronavirus vaccine. However, the Telangana government said it was not linked to the vaccine shot, even as the postmortem of the deceased is yet to be conducted.
Telangana’s Director of Public Health and Welfare said the male worker was vaccinated on January 19 in Kuntala PHC, Nirmal District of Hyderabad. A day later, he developed chest pain and was brought dead to District Hospital, Nirmal at around 5:30 am.
“Preliminary findings suggest that the dead seems to be unrelated to the vaccination. As per the guidelines, postmortem will be conducted by a team of doctors,” a statement issued by the Director of Public Health and Welfare read.
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As schools across Telangana are scheduled to open from February 1 for students of class 9 and above, parents and private schools’ management registered their concerns during a meeting with Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy Tuesday.
Apart from raising long pending issues of school fee regulation, representatives of the Hyderabad School Parents Association (HSPA) requested the minister to ensure that all teaching and non-teaching staff in schools are tested for coronavirus infection, before commencing classes.
Parents told the minister that children would be more prone to the virus and their safety would be at risk if physical classes are started. Responding to this, the minister told them that physical classes will not be mandatory. If parents are unwilling to send their children to schools, they can continue with online classes. She assured parents that physical attendance will not be mandatory and that the students will not be detained for shortage of attendance.
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V.K Sasikala, a close aide of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa who is serving jail sentence in Parappana Agrahara central prison in Bengaluru, was taken to Bowring hospital in Bengaluru on Wednesday morning after she complained of fever, police officials confirmed to Indianexpress.com
Sasikala, who was set to be released from jail on the morning of January 27, had fever on Wednesday and was taken for treatment. Speaking to Indianexpress.com, Parappana Agrahara police station inspector, Nandeesha HL, said “Sasikala was suffering from fever and now she has been taken to Bowring hospital for treatment. As per my information now, she will be back to prison today itself.”
Sasikala will complete her four-year prison term on that day.“She is eligible for release on January 27 during the morning hours,” prison officials reportedly informed her lawyer Raja Senthoor Pandian.
Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo Wednesday released the total electorate in Tamil Nadu. A total of 6,26,74,446 voters are in the state including 3,18,28,727 women, 3,08,38,473 men and 7,246 third gender persons.
As per the final electoral rolls, the Shozhinganllur assembly constituency located in the Chengalpet district continues to hold the highest number of electors. The constituency has 6,94,845 electors including 3,48,262 men, 3,46,476 women and 107 third gender persons. Kavundanpalayam in Coimbatore with 4,61,000 and Madavaram in Chennai with 4,50,717 occupy the second and third spots. On the contrary, the Harbour assembly constituency in Chennai continues to hold the lowest number of electors with 1,76,272. There are 91,936 men, 84,281 women and 55 third gender persons in this constituency.
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Three days into the COVID-19 vaccination drive in the State, Telangana has vaccinated close to 70,000 healthcare workers and recorded 77 cases of adverse events following immunization (AEFI). The state achieved a cumulative performance of 74 percent inoculation against the target.
On Tuesday, as many as 51,997 healthcare workers among the identified target of 73673 beneficiaries were vaccinated and 51 AEFI cases were reported.
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Thalapathy Vijay’s latest film Master counties to give reasons to the distributors and exhibitors across the country to smile. A week after the release, the film is still drawing massive crowds in Tamil Nadu. And the film is also bringing cheers to the box office in neighbouring states, including Karnataka, Kerala, and the Telugu states.
The producers, however, have remained tight-lipped about the total collection so far. However, some unconfirmed reports peg the film’s first week India collection is around Rs 140 crore. While film distributor Tirupur Subramaniam refused to talk about the box office collection of Master in terms of hard numbers, he simply said the response of the public has exceeded the expectations.
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Actor Kamal Haasan took to Twitter on Tuesday to thank the doctors who performed a surgery on his leg.
“The operation was a success. Thanks to the (medical) team at Sri Ramachandra Hospital. I will be at the hospital until the wound heals. I will continue to be active on social media and will remain in your hearts. People’s love is medicine. I will meet you all in person soon,” Kamal wrote on his Twitter account.
“Kamal Haasan was admitted to Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre for a follow-up surgery in view of a mild infection of his right leg bone. He underwent surgery for the removal of the infective focus in the Tibial bone. He is stable and recovering well,” the hospital had said in his press statement earlier.
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The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday quashed cases filed by the CID alleging insider trading in land transactions — during the tenure of the Telugu Desam Party — before the region between Krishna and Guntur districts was declared as the Amaravati Capital Region.
The CID had alleged that several TDP ministers, leaders, and party members had prior information that the region would be declared as the new capital and purchased vast tracts of land at low prices. It alleged that once the region was declared as capital, the land prices increased and those who had purchased lands benefited due to the rise in prices.
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against segmentation of national highway projects extending over 100 km into smaller packages to avoid environment impact assessment.
A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao, however, said it is not an expert on the issue and asked the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to set up an expert committee to examine if such segmentation was permissible and, if so, under what circumstance.
Setting aside a Madras High Court order, the bench also comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Ajay Rastogi said there is no requirement for securing environmental clearances for expanding NH 45-A Villuppuram-Nagapattinam Highway (extending 179.555 km in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) as land acquisition is not more than 40 m on existing alignments and 60 m on realignments or by-passes.
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The Income-Tax Department Wednesday raided close to 28 premises belonging to Paul Dhinakaran’s missionary ‘Jesus Calls’ for alleged tax evasion and foreign fund mismanagement.
The IT officers conducted searches in ‘Jesus Calls’ head office in Chennai, Dhinakaran’s residence, and in the Karunya Institute of Technology (deemed) located in Coimbatore. Other prayer towers located across the state are under the radar.
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Two police constables belonging to the armed reserved unit of Chennai Police died after a speeding BMW car rammed into their vehicle in north-west Chennai’s Mogappair area during the wee hours of Tuesday.
The deceased have been identified as B Ravindran (32) and V Karthik (34). According to the police, the incident took place at around 4:15-4:20 am when the two constables were on their way to Avadi to report for bandobast duty at the CMBT in Koyembedu.
The police said that Ravindran, who was riding the bike, attempted to take a right turn near a private school on Ambattur Estate road when a BMW car rammed into their vehicle. The CCTV visuals show the collision throwing the policemen off the bike to a certain distance.
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The ruling AIADMK has announced that Tamil Nadu Health Minister Dr. C Vijayabaskar will be administered the COVID-19 vaccine this Friday. The minister will be innoculated at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai.
A tiny, lush-green Indian village surrounded by rice paddy fields was beaming with joy Wednesday hours before its descendant, Kamala Harris, takes her oath of office and becomes the U.S. vice president.
Harris is set to make history as the first woman, first woman of color and first person of South Asian descent to hold the vice presidency.
A banner featuring US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris with a message wishing her the best is displayed in Thulasendrapuram, the hometown of Harris’ maternal grandfather, south of Chennai, Tamil Nadu state, India, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (AP Photo)In her maternal grandfather’s hometown of Thulasendrapuram, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) from the southern coastal city of Chennai, people were jubilant and gearing up for celebrations.
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Bharat Biotech has secured a fresh Letter of Comfort from the Centre for another 45 lakh doses of its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, sources said on Tuesday.
Out of those 45 lakh doses, the city-based vaccine maker will be supplying over eight lakh doses of Covaxin to some of the friendly countries such as Mauritius, Philippines and Myanmar, free of cost as good will gesture. They also said the company will be dispatching 20 lakh doses of the earlier order in a couple of days, from here.
“The company was given a fresh letter of comfort recently for supplying another 45 lakh doses of Covaxin. The doses will be dispatched as when the Ministry places orders with the company,” sources told PTI.
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In what raises questions of conflict of interest and propriety, a cement company part-owned by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s family, has received a bulk of the purchase orders for state government works in the first 10 months of the current financial year.
Bharathi Cement Corporation Private Ltd — in which Reddy’s family holds 49 per cent stake, and his wife is a Director — received 14 per cent or 2,28,370.14 metric tonnes of all purchase orders for cement made by the state from April 2020 till January 18, 2021.
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Telangana reported 267 fresh coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the total caseload to over 2.92 lakh while two more fatalities pushed the toll to 1,583.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 55, followed by Karimnagar and Medchal Malkajgiri with 20 and 18 respectively, a government bulletin said on Wednesday.
The total number of cases stood at 2,92,395 while recoveries were 2,86,893. As many as 3,919 patients are under treatment and 27,471 samples were tested on Tuesday. Cumulatively, over 75.42 lakh samples have been tested. The samples tested per million population was over 2.02 lakh, the bulletin said.
The case fatality rate in the state was 0.54 per cent while the recovery rate in Telangana was 98.11 per cent. (PTI)
Activist and leader of Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha, Vattal Nagaraj has landed in a fresh soup after he, along with members of his outfit, damaged display boards of the state highways department in areas situated close to the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border. The roads connecting the two borders are dotted with ‘Welcome’ and ‘Thank You’ boards, erected on behalf of Erode district and highways departments.
The incident in question took place near the Ramapuram area in Thalavadi hills of Erode district on January 10, as about twenty members of the outfit, led by the Nagaraj, tore off stickers which had welcome messages in Tamil. They then proceeded to damage the boards, raising slogans that the welcome messages be scripted in Kannada. They further claimed that Thalavadi belongs to Karnataka.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, Nagaraj said “Thalavadi is Kannada land. I launched a protest in 1969, demanding that Thalavadi be annexed (from Tamil Nadu) and officially declared as part of Karnataka. The authorities here should put up Kannada boards. Not a single word (on these boards) is Kannada.”
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Early Tuesday, Dr Shanta, chairperson of The Cancer Institute at Adyar in Chennai, and doyen of oncology, who focused her expertise over half a century in trying to make cancer care affordable in the country, died of a heart attack. She was 93.
Born in 1927 in a family of achievers — both her maternal uncle S Chandrasekhar and maternal grandfather C V Raman are Nobel laureates — Shanta graduated in medicine in 1949 from Madras Medical College, later specialising in Gynaecology and Obstetrics.
She joined Adyar Cancer Institute in 1955, a year after it was founded by Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy, one of the first women graduates of medicine in India and a legislator. There, Shanta, along with Dr Reddy’s son Dr S Krishnamurthi, devoted their time and energies to working on cancer care as the hospital and research centre grew from being a four-bed unit to one with over 400 beds and patients from all over the country. It is said that in the early years of the institute, Shanta and Krishnamurthi were the only doctors on call. The institute also served to train several oncologists at a time when cancer care and research were at an infancy in the country.
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The grand memorial built for former Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa will be unveiled on January 27 by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.
Spread over 50,000 square feet, the structure is built at a cost of Rs 79.75 crore alongside the Marina Beach in Chennai.
The giant structure is right behind the memorial of former chief minister MG Ramachandran (MGR). As per the release, alongside the Deputy chief minister O Pannerselvam, Tamil Nadu cabinet minister, Parliament members, senior party functionaries will take part in the event which is scheduled to start around 11 am.
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The season of T-20 cricket may be over, but in Hyderabad T-20 games of another kind are underway. Anyone above 18 years of age can play the game and maybe take home a cup, though the T in this T-20 stands for ‘Traffic’.
In connection to the ongoing road safety awareness month, the Hyderabad Traffic Police has launched a new initiative to create awareness among motorists on traffic rules and road discipline to reduce accidents.
The department has set up workstations at the Traffic Training Institutes in Goshamahal and Begumpet, apart from the Traffic Control Room at its headquarters, where anyone interested can take the challenge. Those interested are posed with 20 questions, concerning road safety, rules and regulations, signs, and various kinds of road discipline, and given a minute to answer each of them. With 18 correct answers, one could win a ‘Traffic Cup’.
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A total of 255 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 128 arrivals and 127 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.
Tangedco has announced a powercut in parts of Chennai from 9 am to 2 pm today to carry out maintenance work.
Here are the affected areas:
Following his meetings in Delhi with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said there is no chance of ousted party general secretary V K Sasikala returning to AIADMK. “There is no chance… She is not at the party now,” he said.
When asked about ongoing talks about Sasikala’s return to the party ahead of her expected release from the Bangalore prison in a couple of days, CM Palaniswami said the decision taken by AIADMK was certain. “I can say that… 100%… there is no chance of Sasikala returning to AIADMK,” he said, adding that most of Sasikala supporters are back in AIADMK and that “only few people are there” in her camp now.
“Amma (late J Jayalalithaa) too had kept her away from the party. Only after Amma’s death, Sasikala entered the party. She was not in AIADMK when Amma was alive,” said CM Palaniswami, who was once the most trusted loyalist of Sasikala.
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A senior Customs officer from Chennai was handed over to the Enforcement Directorate for interrogation after he was caught with cash amounting to Rs 74,81,500 in his hand baggage when he checked-in to Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Tuesday morning to board a flight.
The cash was discovered by the Central Industrial Security Force on duty during regular checks. According to a CISF official, the person has been identified as Irfan Ahmed Mohammed, Superintendent of Customs at Chennai.
"He (Irfan) was on his way to board a Lucknow-bound IndiGo flight which was scheduled to leave at 10.20 am. His bag was checked at around 9.30 am as part of the regular baggage screening when notes amounting to Rs 74,81,500 were found in bundles of Rs 2,000 in his hand baggage, not concealed within anything," the official explained.
A total of 26 passengers who had returned to Tamil Nadu from UK and 20 of their primary contacts have tested positive for COVID-19 till date. Among the 26 primary cases, 19 of who tested negative in their follow up RT-PCR test have been discharged and kept under home quarantine. Similarly, 18 of the 20 contact cases have been discharged and kept under home quarantine.
Among the 26 primary cases, nine cases were reported in Chennai, three each in Thanjavur, Madurai, Nilgiris and Chengalpattu and one each in Theni, Nagapattinam, Coimbatore, Karur and Virudhunagar. Among the 20 contact cases, six were reported in Chennai, three in Thanjavur, two each in Nilgiris and Theni, four in Chengalpattu and three in Nagapattinam.
A total of 2300 passengers had travelled to Tamil Nadu from UK between November 25 and December 23, of which 2146 have been tested. Among these, 24 have tested positive, 2122 have tested negative and the tracing of more passengers is underway. Additionally, 3977 close contacts of the 2146 passengers who had tested negative were also tested for COVID-19 and were found to be negative.
A total of 590 passengers had travelled to Tamil Nadu from UK between January 8 and January 19, of which 431 have been tested. Among these, two have tested positive, 382 have tested negative and the results of 47 passengers are awaited. Tracing of further passengers is underway.
All the UK returnees and their contacts have been kept in isolation wards, according to the Tamil Nadu Health Department.
Tamil Nadu recorded 543 positive cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the state tally to 8,31,866. Among these, Chennai reported 152 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 2,29,386.
The state recorded nine deaths on Tuesday, putting the state toll at 12,281. All nine of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. The state discharged 772 patients following treatment, putting the total number of recoveries at 8,14,098.
As of Tuesday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 5487. Till date, 5,02,811 males, 3,29,021 females and 34 transgenders have tested positive for the virus in the state.
According to a bulletin released by the Health and Family Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu, 1,53,31,269 samples from the state have been sent for testing till date, with 51,461 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 252 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 68 are government and 184 are private facilities.
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Welcome to the live blog from Chennai and Hyderabad where we bring to you the latest updates on Tamil Nadu elections 2021, COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, UK COVID-19 virus in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and more across Chennai and Hyderabad throughout the day. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the states in real time.