Tamil Nadu Chennai July 26, 27 Highlights: TN records 1,767 Covid-19 cases and 29 deaths

“When can I eat chocolates,”? is the question posed often by four year-old Isakkiyammal at a government-run children’s hospital here. While eating sweets should have been a very ordinary thing for a child of that age, it is not so for her. The little one and her parents have been enduring a nightmarish struggle for about four months now after she ingested by mistake what they believe is bleaching powder. Subsequently, it became pretty hard for her to even swallow her saliva, leave alone eat or drink anything

Isakkiyammal’s humble working class parents, hailing from Shencottah, a little town in south Tamil Nadu, say they knocked on the doors of a number of government hospitals before getting their child admitted here. The child is being treated in the ICU of the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children at Egmore here, a renowned Tamil Nadu government run facility.

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A division bench of the Madras High Court comprising Justices S Duraisamy and R Hemalatha Tuesday stayed the judgment of a single bench which had passed critical remarks against actor Vijay and imposed on him a fine of Rs one lakh for filing a petition seeking exemption from paying entry tax on his Rolls Royce Ghost car imported from England in 2012.

The high court had Thursday granted permission to the Tamil actor to challenge the order of the single bench and expunge its scathing remarks against him.

Senior advocate Vijay Narayan, who appeared on behalf of the actor Tuesday, said Vijay was ready to pay the tax amount and there was no justification for the adverse comments. He said similar cases were dismissed by the bench, but adverse comments were made only on the plea moved by the actor. He added that such remarks could hurt any human being.

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A total of 30,24,272 people have been vaccinated in Chennai till date, with 21,876 people inoculated on Monday alone, according to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).

The M K Stalin-led DMK government Monday issued a government order for implementation of 10.5 per cent reservation for the Vanniyar community with retrospective effect from February 26, 2021, the date on which the law was passed in the state Assembly during the previous AIADMK regime.

The move comes weeks after the Supreme Court refused to stay the legislation.

The government has revised the 200-point roster prescribed in Schedule V of the Tamil Nadu Government Servants (Condition of Service) Act, 2016 in order to enforce the reservation.

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Petrol and diesel prices were steady across the country for the tenth consecutive day on Tuesday, July 27, 2021. Petrol had touched fresh record highs on July 17, when it rose by 30 paise per litre in the national capital, while diesel prices were kept unchanged.

In Chennai, petrol is priced at Rs. 102.49 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 94.39 per litre.

The Delhi Police Cyber Cell arrested three men who allegedly extorted money from people by telling them they had been found watching porn online and that it’s illegal. The accused allegedly sent fake police notices to their targets, asking them to pay a fine of Rs 3,000 or face legal action.

Police said the gang, whose mastermind operates from Cambodia, managed to extort more than Rs 30 lakh from thousands across the country in the last six months. Police claim they travelled more than 2,000 km in Tamil Nadu for a week to nab the accused.

DCP (Cyber Cell) Anyesh Roy said, “There were a few complaints online about fake ads and pop-ups warning internet users that they were caught watching pornography and it’s illegal. These notices also had UPI payment and QR code payment options to pay the ‘fines’.”

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A total of 77,540 posters have been removed across Chennai till Monday as a part of the Greater Chennai Corporation's (GCC) poster removal drive in the city.

Here are the details:

North Chennai - 18,204

Central Chennai - 21,558

South Chennai - 37,778

Actor Yashika Aannand has been booked under various IPC sections after the car she was driving crashed on East Coast Road, Mahabalipuram in Chennai on Saturday night. As per reports, the cops have also confiscated her driving license in connection with the case.

Yashika’s SUV car lost control, rammed into a railing and fell into a roadside pit, killing one of the passengers of the car immediately. The victim was identified as Vallichatti Bhavani, 28, who was employed in the UK as a software engineer. The native of Hyderabad, Vallichatti had come to Chennai just a few days ago to spend some time with her friends. She was supposed to take a flight back to the UK on Sunday night.

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The Tamil Nadu government has planned to vaccinate the most vulnerable sections soon and also train medical professionals to cope with the possible third wave of coronavirus, state Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said on Monday.

Also, localised infections would be closely monitored and all out efforts would be made to ensure the pandemic is under check, he said.

“Doctors and nurses would be trained to cope with the possible third wave and already the infrastructure at all the paediatric wards in the government hospitals across the state have been upgraded,” Radhakrishnan told PTI.

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A total of 139 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 70 arrivals and 69 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.

#AAI #Chennaiairport Domestic #Arrival/#Departure schedule for 27.07.2021.#WearAMask
@AAI_Official @pibchennai @IndiGo6E@airindiain @flyspicejet @GoFirstairways @FlyTruJet @AirAsiaIndia@the_hindu @TOIChennai @NewIndianXpress @dt_next @dinathanthi @dinamalarweb pic.twitter.com/2b1MiBU5ol

— Chennai (MAA) Airport (@aaichnairport) July 26, 2021

In response to a written question asked in the monsoon session of Lok Sabha on Monday, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan ruled out any proposal to rename the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras as IIT Chennai. Madras city was renamed Chennai in 1996 by the Tamil Nadu government.

“Whether the Union Government has received any proposal from any educational institution/individual or any organisations to change the name of IIT-Madras into IIT Chennai? If so, the details thereof; and the action taken/being taken by the Union Government on such proposals?” the question was asked in the Lok Sabha.

"Any such proposal for amending the name of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras is not under consideration of the government,” the education minister replied.

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The Madras High Court on Monday ordered notice to the Election Commission on petitions challenging the win of three candidates, including Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan, in the April 6 Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu. Justice V Bharathidasan ordered the notice to the respective successful candidates and the Election Commission of India, returnable by September 6.

Losing candidates from Katpadi, Viralimalai and Perundurai constituencies had challenged the election of Duraimurugan, C Vijayabaskar and S Jayakumar, respectively. Vijayabaskar and Jayakumar belong to the AIADMK. 

In his election petition, V Ramu of Gudiyatham, the AIADMK candidate, submitted that rival Duraimuguran won the election by a thin margin of 746 votes. He alleged the counting of postal votes was not conducted in the manner envisaged and mandated under the
Conduct of Election Rules and the Representation of the People Act, which materially affected his prospects. The Returning Officer failed to refer to the Handbook for Returning Officers issued by the EC, he contended and sought to declare the election of Duraimurugan as void, order re-verification and re-count of all the postal ballots and all votes in certain polling booths and consequently declare him as elected.

In his petition, DMK candidate M Palaniappan, who was defeated by Vijayabaskar in Viralimalai in Puthukottai district, challenged the former Health minister's election. He alleged that the AIADMK candidate, who won by a margin of 23,644 votes had misused his then official position and indulged in corrupt practices.

The third petitioner is KKC Balu of Kongunadu Desiya Makkal Katchi, who contested under the DMK banner and was defeated by a margin of 14,507 votes by AIADMK candidate Jayakumar from Perdundurai in Erode district. He alleged electoral irregularities by his victorious rival. (PTI)

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Monday told the Madras High Court that the Centre was on the verge of taking a decision on implementing reservation for OBCs under the All India Quota (AIQ) of seats for admission to medical courses in Tamil Nadu.

The process was in a “very advanced stage”, he told the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy when the contempt application from the DMK came up for further hearing on Monday.

The union government is on the verge of making its decision on the implementation of the reservation in the State-surrendered medical seats for the all India quota (AIQ) in non-central medical colleges in Tamil Nadu, Mehta said and pleaded for a week’s time to come up with the final decision.

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The Centre must not support Karnataka’s endeavour to build the Mekedatu dam and should expedite the Godavari-Cauvery link project, AIADMK top leaders O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

Briefing reporters in the national capital, AIADMK co-coordinator Palaniswami said that during the meeting, the party requested that the Central government must not support Karnataka’s endeavour to build the Mekedatu dam.

About 16 districts depend on Cauvery river for its drinking water needs, besides farmers and the Prime Minister’s attention was drawn to this aspect, he told reporters.

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AIADMK leaders Edappadi K Palaniswami, O Panneerselvam and other party functionaries met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi today. pic.twitter.com/9mMpy7YBYn

— Express Chennai (@ie_chennai) July 26, 2021

Tangedco has announced a power cut in parts of Chennai from 9 am to 2 pm to carry out maintenance work.

Here are the affected areas:

Tambaram: Vengaivasal Main Road, Vembuliamman Koil Street, Velacherry Main Road, Anandha Nagar, Ranganathapuram, Srinivasa Street, Mambakkam Main Road, Rajesh Nagar and surrounding areas

KK Nagar: Gandhi Nagar, Elango Nagar, Indra Nagar, Rajiv Gandhi Street, MGR Street, Sai Nagar Annex, Baskar Colony, Anai Street, Gangai Amman Koil Street, Sakthi Nagar, Kambar Street, Bharathi Street and surrounding areas

Chitlapakkam: Ramakrishnapuram, Velachery Main Road, Dhanalakshimi Nagar, Sharma Nagar, Kalaivanar Park and surrounding areas

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Tamil Nadu recorded 1785 positive cases of Covid-19 on Monday, bringing the state tally to 25,50,282. Among these, Chennai reported 122 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,37,249. The state recorded 26 deaths on Monday, putting the state toll at 33,937. 20 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 2361 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 24,93,583.

As of Monday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 22,762. Till date, 14,90,054 males, 10,60,190 females and 38 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, 3,66,72,027 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,37,292 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 278 Covid-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 209 are private facilities.

Vanakkam Chennai!
Welcome to today’s live blog. We bring to you the latest news on Covid-19, politics, features, entertainment, sports, 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.

Tamil Nadu recorded 1,785 positive cases of Covid-19 on Monday, bringing the state tally to 25,50,282. Among these, Chennai reported 122 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,37,249. The state recorded 26 deaths on Monday, putting the state toll at 33,937. 20 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 2,361 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 24,93,583.

The Cyber Crime wing of Thiruvallur District Police have arrested a fraudster who swindled close to Rs 4 lakh from aspirants who wish to get a job in the police department.  The accused had collected money through Google Pay and other transactions and had even issued fake appointment orders.

According to the police, one Parthasarathy (21),  a resident of Nadukuthurai village in Thirunindravur had reportedly appeared in a written exam for the post of Gr-II Police constable held last year. Through his relatives, Parthasarathy had come to know about one Aravindhan (25) who had identified himself as a police officer.  Parthasarathy was informed that he was not selected in the test. Aravindhan had asked Parthasarathy to transfer a total of  Rs 4,67,207 promising that he would be getting an office assistant post in the district police office. The victim had transferred the money and was provided even an appointment order by the accused. 

After realizing that he was conned, Parthasarathy had approached the Thiruvallur district SP and sent the fake appointment letter and other details through WhatsApp. The SP ordered a probe into the incident and a team of officials under Lilly, the Inspector of Police, Cyber Crime Wing, and SI Manoj Prabhakar swung into action to nab the fraudster. The police said a mobile phone,  two sim cards, and many incriminating documents were seized.

AIADMK leaders Edappadi Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam alongside former minister SP Velumani, MP Raveeendranath Kumar, M Thambidurai met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Monday.

The meeting which went little over half an hour led to many speculations in Tamil Nadu’s political arena. Edappadi and Pannerselvam had left for New Delhi on Sunday on separate flights. After the meeting with PM, the AIADMK leaders told reporters that they discussed about various welfare measures related to Tamil Nadu

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A 58-year-old nurse, who was working at a primary health Centre in Tamil Nadu’s Karur, has been suspended after she was accused of fleeing with Covisheild vaccine doses and administering them at her house to local residents.

The nurse, Dhanalakshmi, is a resident of Vedasandur Ayyanar Nagar in Dindigul. Sources said the Vedasandur block medical officer, Maheshwari, received information that a nurse had been administrating vaccines privately at her residence. On Sunday, the health department officials raided her residence and found several doses of Covisheild vaccines. The block medical officer had informed the deputy director of public health.

On Monday, the nurse was suspended by the Karur Municipality. An official from Karur Municipality Commissioner told indianexpress.com that eight vaccine vials were recovered from her residence.

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A Roman Catholic priest, George Ponniah, has been arrested in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai for allegedly making disparaging remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Hinduism, and also about the state’s DMK government.

Ponniah, who was arrested on Saturday, has been booked for promoting enmity between different religious groups under the IPC and also under the Epidemic Diseases Act for holding a meeting amid the pandemic.

One Stephen of the Arumanai Christian Association, who had organised the Father Stan Swamy memorial event on July 18 at which Ponniah made the remarks, was arrested on Sunday.

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Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged across the country for the ninth successive day on Monday, July 26, 2021. Petrol had touched fresh record highs on July 17, when it rose by 30 paise per litre in the national capital, while diesel prices were kept unchanged.

In Chennai, petrol is priced at Rs. 102.49 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 94.39 per litre.

The 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, which was suspended earlier this year because of the Covid-19 second wave, will resume with a clash between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) on September 19, BCCI has confirmed. The first match of the remainder of the season will be played in Dubai.

The 31 remaining matches will be played at three venues — Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah — with Dubai set to host the final on October 15. While Dubai will host the first qualifier on October 10, the eliminator and second qualifier will be played in Sharjah on October 11 and 13 respectively. In all, 13 matches will be held in Dubai, 10 in Sharjah and 8 in Abu Dhabi.

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The NIA has conducted searches at six locations in four districts of Tamil Nadu in a case related to Facebook posts by an extremist advocating the ideology of the Islamic State terror group and fundamentalist organisation Hizb-Ut-Tahrir, an official said on Sunday.

The searches were carried out in Thanjavur, Madurai, Theni and Tirunelveli districts at the residences of arrested accused Abdullah and his associates, the official of the NIA said.

In April, a complaint was received at Theppakulam police station that Abdullah had posted incendiary messages on Facebook, instigating people on religious grounds to wage war against India and establish Khilafat, thus threatening the unity, security and sovereignty of India, the official said.

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The NIA has conducted searches at six locations in four districts of Tamil Nadu in a case related to Facebook posts by an extremist advocating the ideology of the Islamic State terror group and fundamentalist organisation Hizb-Ut-Tahrir, an official said on Sunday.

The searches were carried out in Thanjavur, Madurai, Theni and Tirunelveli districts at the residences of arrested accused Abdullah and his associates, the official of the NIA said.

In April, a complaint was received at Theppakulam police station that Abdullah had posted incendiary messages on Facebook, instigating people on religious grounds to wage war against India and establish Khilafat, thus threatening the unity, security and sovereignty of India, the official said.

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A non-governmental organisation working in the field of eye care has distributed free of cost, protective glasses for stone workers and sunglasses for fishermen at Mamallapuram near Chennai.

As part of India Vision Institute's 'vision campaign' for communities at Mamallapuram in Chengelpet district, 300 protective glasses for stone workers and 200 sunglasses for fishermen were distributed on Saturday, a press release from the not-for-profit organisation said.

IVI's CEO Vinod Daniel said, "we work to provide access to vision screening and free glasses to those in need. In Tamil Nadu, IVI has provided over 30,000 glasses to adults and children in 130,000 screenings in Tamil Nadu. Nationally, some 90,000 adults and 300,000 children have benefited." (PTI)

M R Vijayabhaskar, former AIADMK Minister, acquired properties in the name of two partnership firms, a First Information Report lodged against him by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption has said.

Vijayabhaskar, an AIADMK strongman hailing from Karur region in Tamil Nadu became a Minister for the first time in May 2016 when late J Jayalalithaa retained power that year following a win in Assembly polls.

The former Minister, who now faces a disproportionate assets case, continued to hold his transport department portfolio till the AIADMK lost power in the recently held Assembly polls and he too was defeated.

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The Flag Officer Commanding of Goa Naval Area, Rear Admiral Philipose G Pynumootil was on a two-day visit to the premier Leadership and Management Training Establishment in INS Agrani in Coimbatore from July 24.

The Admiral visited the training infrastructure of the unit including the newly set up Indigenisation Cell at INS Agrani. The cell has been set up to facilitate liaison between the Indian Navy, academic institutions and the industry houses in order to progress India's march towards Atmanirbhar Bharat, an official release said Sunday.

Philipose also dedicated the Lakshya (Pilotless Target Aerial Vehicle) model to the cell. The cell has begun to coordinate Navy's requirements with various local industries in Coimbatore and other districts of Tamil Nadu especially the South Defence Corridor stretching from Chennai, Salem, Coimbatore, Trichy and Hosur, the release added. (PTI)

The scheme to provide Covid vaccines free of cost to people in private hospitals in Tamil Nadu under the CSR initiative would be formally launched by Chief Minister M K Stalin on July 28.

The initiative follows the recent meeting the minister for medical and family welfare Ma Subramanian had with companies and representatives of various health care providers across the state.

“Chief Minister (M K Stalin) will formally inaugurate the scheme at Kaveri Hospital in the city on Wednesday (July 28). The funds to procure the vaccines under the CSR initiative will be borne by hotelier Adyar Anandha Bhavan and the hospital will be providing the jabs for free”, he said.

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Tangedco has announced a power cut in Chennai today from 9 am to 2 pm to carry out maintenance work.

Here are the affected areas:

Adyar: Besant Nagar Rukumani Street, Lakshmipuram, M.G Road, Sastri Nagar, Venkateshwara Nagar, Kakkan Colony, Kamarajar Salai and surrounding areas

Manali: Sadayankuppam, Barma Nagar and Irular Colony

Sembium: Simpson Group of Companies, Periyar Nagar Moolakadai, Teachers Colony, Gandhi Nagar, T H road, Arul Nagar, Venkateswara Colony, Subramaniyam Garden, Binny Nagar, Bank Colony, Roy Nagar, Kumaran Nagar, Vasu Nagar, Thanigachalam Nagar 80 Feet Road, Samy Ramalingam Colony - A, B and C Blocks and surrounding areas

Guindy: Rajbhavan, Guindy, Nanganullar, Madipakkam, Moovarasampet, Mugalivakkam, Ramapuram, St. Thomas Mount, Alandur, Adambakkam, T G Nagar, Vanuvampet, Puzhuthivakkam and surrounding areas

KK Nagar: Karanan Street, Gurudev Street, JJ Nagar, Bharathi Nagar, Andavar Street, Periyar Nagar, Saraswathi Nagar, Jeyaram Nagar, Dasarathapuram and surrounding areas

Thiruverkadu: Ponniamman Nagar, Rajankulpam, VGN Mahalakshmi Nagar, Metro City and Agraharam

Tamil Nadu recorded 1808 positive cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, bringing the state tally to 25,48,497. Among these, Chennai reported 126 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,37,124. The state recorded 22 deaths on Sunday, putting the state toll at 33,911. 21 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 2447 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 24,91,222.

As of Sunday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 23,364. Till date, 14,89,005 males, 10,59,454 females and 38 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, 3,65,34,735 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,44,219 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 278 Covid-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 209 are private facilities.

Vanakkam Chennai!
Welcome to the today’s live blog. We bring to you the latest news on Covid-19, politics, features, entertainment, sports, 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.