Beneficiaries wait after receiving the dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the Government Omandurar Medical College Hospital, in Chennai. (PTI)Tamil Nadu Chennai News September 16, 17 Highlights: Tamil Nadu reported 1669 fresh covid cases today taking the total number of active cases to 16, 843. The state also recorded 17 deaths and 1565 recoveries. With 205 new cases Coimbatore reported highest covid number among districts followed by Chennai’s 196.
Following the success of the mega vaccination drive in Chennai last week, Chennai’s civic body, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has announced another mega vaccination drive in the city on September 19. A total of 1.88 lakh people had been vaccinated in Chennai last week.
Tamil Nadu recorded 1,693 positive cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, bringing the state tally to 26,40,361. Among these, Chennai reported 202 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,47,076. The state recorded 25 deaths on Thursday, putting the state toll at 35,271. 24 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 1,548 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 25,88,334.
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Tamil Nadu on Friday opposed the idea of bringing fuels under the goods and services tax (GST) by saying the petrol and diesel remain one of the last vestiges of a State's right to manage its own revenue, according to Finance Minister of the State P T Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. Addressing the GST Council led by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajan raised concerns that the Centre has been increasing tax on petrol and diesel between 500 per cent and 1,000 per cent since 2014. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu reported 1669 fresh covid cases today taking the total number of active cases to 16843. The state also recorded 17 deaths, and 1565 recoveries. With 205 new cases Coimbatore reported highest covid number among districts followed by Chennai's 196.
Air warriors of the Air Force Station in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu have undertaken a 700-km journey on bicycles between Thanjavur and Mahabalipuram, 65 km from here, to commemorate the golden jubilee celebrations of the victory in the war against Pakistan in 1971. Sixteen air warriors began the trip on September 10 from Thanjavur and the journey was flagged off by Commander of the Air Force Station P A Shah, a defence press release said. (PTI)
Actor-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) is set to face the Tamil Nadu rural local body elections alone. The party high command has taken the decision following its poor performance in the 2021 assembly polls in which MNM joined hands with parties like All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi and Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi, which hardly had any vote share in the state.
Taking to Twitter Thursday, Haasan made the announcement while assuring that he will campaign in all nine districts in which the polls are being held in two phases. Read More
Actor-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) is set to face the Tamil Nadu rural local body elections alone. The party high command has taken the decision following its poor performance in the 2021 assembly polls in which MNM joined hands with parties like All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi and Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi, which hardly had any vote share in the state.
Taking to Twitter Thursday, Haasan made the announcement while assuring that he will campaign in all nine districts in which the polls are being held in two phases. Read More
Chennai and several other parts of Tamil Nadu is expected to receive moderate rain for the next two hours.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday led the State in observing the 143rd birth anniversary of rationalist leader E V Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar, as Social Justice Day. Paying rich tributes to the reformer, the Chief Minister said the rationalist sowed the seeds of social justice in the minds of the people around. Tamil Nadu was resurrected only after his birth. "I took the pledge of social justice on such a glorious birthday. Entire Tamil Nadu undertook the pledge. We will set up an egalitarian society on your path," he tweeted. (PTI)
A total of 46,46,233 people have been vaccinated in Chennai till date, with 13,457 people inoculated on Thursday alone, according to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
Among these, 34,88,915 people have been administered Covishield, with 24,27,557 people having taken the first dose and 10,61,358 people having taken the second dose.
A total of 11,57,318 people have been administered Covaxin, with 6,94,779 people having taken the first dose and 4,62,539 people having taken the second dose.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin extended greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday today.
The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has said that 61,762 saplings have been planted till Thursday as a part of the civic body's tree plantation drive in the city. Of these, 1050 were planted on Thursday alone.
Here are the details:
North Chennai - 222
Central Chennai - 392
South Chennai - 436
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and paid tribute to social reformer Periyar on his 113th birth anniversary today.
Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday said that only those who have got their Covid-19 shots will be eligible for government benefits in the Union Territory (UT).
Tamilisai chaired a state-level Covid-19 task force meeting at Raj Nivas to discuss the strategies and measures to intensify the ongoing vaccination drive by collaborating with NGOs and other activists. Dr G Sriramulu, the director of the health department, chief secretary Ashwani Kumar, and other public health officials were present in the meeting.
According to a statement by the government, Tamilisai stressed on intensifying the inoculation drive to achieve a 100 per cent vaccination status.
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A police van and a car collided in Kannamangalam village near Arni in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu on Friday, killing a 60-year-old and injuring at least 11 others.
An official from the Kannamangalam police said the van was carrying staff working at the Tiruvannamalai Superintendent of Police’s office. It crashed into a car with four people who were on their way to Gudiyatham from Chengam at around 8.30 am.
At least eight staff members, who are employed to maintain records at the SP office, and three passengers in the car were injured in the accident. They are admitted to a government hospital.
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Underlining the right to freedom of speech and expression as critical in a democracy, the Madras High Court on Thursday stayed the operation of a key provision of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, enacted in May, that set up an oversight mechanism by the Central government to regulate social media and digital media platforms.
“Prima facie, there is substance to the petitioner’s grievance that the oversight mechanism to control the media by the Government may rob the media of its independence and the fourth pillar of democracy may not at all be there,” a bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavulu observed while staying the operation of Rule 9(1) and 9(3) of the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
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Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami offered tribute to social reformer Periyar on his 113th birth anniversary today.
The Tamil Nadu government’s efforts to exit the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) system for admission to undergraduate medical colleges make for unsound policy. The state assembly this week passed a bill restoring the system of admission on the basis of Class XII marks — an electoral promise of the DMK government — which now awaits the President’s approval.
The state has pointed to the data gathered by a nine-member government committee as the rationale for such a legislation. Indeed, the panel has highlighted a worrying trend: The proportion of students from rural areas, economically weaker backgrounds, Tamil-medium schools, and state board schools has decreased significantly in Tamil Nadu’s medical colleges since the state moved to NEET in 2017-18.
Switching back to the older system, which the state claims has served its robust public health system well, will correct the skew in favour of the privileged, the government reasons. A spate of suicides by students appearing for the entrance test also makes for an emotive issue, especially in a state with an enviably high percentage of students enrolled in higher education. However, it appears that a politics of Tamil subnationalism is also stopping the DMK government from acknowledging gaps in the state curriculum and forcing it into unnecessary hard positions.
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Celebrating the 143rd birth anniversary of Dravidian ideologue EV Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar, Chief Minister MK Stalin paid floral tributes to the social reformer in Anna Salai on Friday. Stalin was joined by cabinet ministers Durai Murugan, Sekar Babu and KN Nehru, and MPs TR Balu and K Kanimozhi, among others.
The chief minister said Periyar laid the foundation for the growth of Tamil society in the last century and his teachings will continue to pave the way for the future.
He later left for the state Secretariat to take a pledge alongside government officials affirming that they will follow the social reformer’s ideology which is based on social justice, self-respect, rationalism and equality.
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday launched a day-long Annadhanam scheme at three renowned temples in the state benefiting about 7,500 devotees.
The Annadhanam scheme at the famous Sri Subrahmanya Swamy temple at Tiruchendur, Mariamman temple in Samayapuram and Sri Subrahmanya Swamy temple at Thiruthani will be operated from 8 am to 10 pm. At present this scheme is being implemented at 754 temples across the State, a release from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments said.
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Puducherry Lieutenant Governor and Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan extended birthday greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 71st birthday today.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said he will personally monitor, in real-time, the progress of implementation of various welfare measures undertaken by his government and urged officials of the state government to expeditiously take up their implementation.
Chairing a review meeting of secretaries of various state government departments, here, Stalin recalled his party DMK's 500-odd promises made for the April 6 Assembly polls and said he will monitor the various initiatives through a "dash board."
Pointing out that a slew of announcements have been made in the Governor's address and the budget, besides district-specific ones and those made in the state Assembly, Stalin sought for the official's "total cooperation" in their implementation.
"... I will monitor the ministers vis-a-vis implementation of the announcements. I have been insisting for the last two days that I will directly monitor them. Not just ministers, my monitoring will be in such a way that it would pertain to the secretary concerned completing the job on time," Stalin said.
For this purpose, there will a "dash board" and he would keep an eye on the developments via a screen at his room, he added. The dash board shall have information relating to "Physical" and "Financial" target and he will review the progress twice a week based on this dash board, Stalin informed.
He also called for better coordination among departments to ensure there was no delay in implementing projects and schemes. (PTI)
Meanwhile, in a separate release, Stalin announced setting up a committee to monitor if social justice was being followed in the state properly. This proposed committee, which will have government authorities, academicians and legal experts, will monitor if social justice is properly followed in education, jobs and promotions, he said. (PTI)
A 17-year-old National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) aspirant allegedly attempted to immolate herself on Thursday in connection with the test, said police.
She had sustained burns in the process and is undergoing treatment at the government hospital at Chengalpattu near Chennai.
“The girl apparently wrote the test on September 12 and appeared apprehensive of the outcome of results. She immolated herself when she was alone at home in Urapakkam,” a senior police officer said. He however declined to reveal further details but said the student had sustained 60 percent burn injuries.
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The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) searches at over 20 premises and locations related to former AIADMK Minister K C Veeramani on Thursday are being seen by the party as part of pressure tactics on it, as it struggles to contain dissension since it lost power earlier this year.
The raids coincided with the wedding of AIADMK rebel-turned-AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran’s daughter. The function passed without an event, with party luminaries keeping away. Leaders had been waiting with bated breath to see who turned up — as a sign on which side Dhinakaran’s aunt and late Jayalalithaa confidante V K Sasikala would lean.
Several AIADMK MLAs, including in both the E Palaniswami and O Paneerselvam camps, are reportedly in talks with Sasikala. “The general feeling is she is the only leader who can bring together the AIADMK. There are fears that Palaniswami (the former chief minister) may be summoned soon for questioning in the Kodanadu estate robbery case and murders, as he has been named by the accused. At least 20 AIADMK MLAs are in talks with the Sasikala camp, including former ministers… Some have serious issues with Dhinakaran but not Sasikala,” a former AIADMK leader said.
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The school education minister of Tamil Nadu, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, on Thursday said that 148 pupils have tested positive for Covid-19 after physical classes resumed for high school students on September 1. He added about 35 lakh pupils in the state study in Classes IX to XII, of which nearly 28 lakh have attended the physical classes so far.
He was addressing mediapersons after submitting a report to Chief Minister MK Stalin on the resumption of physical classes for students of Standard I to VIII. Anbil said the CM told him that a decision would be taken based on the feedback provided by the department of public health and medical experts at a Covid-19 review meeting, which is likely to be held towards the end of this month.
“Even if one student tests positive, the classroom concerned would be shut for three days. The entire area would also be sanitized. If students don’t feel safe to attend the physical classes, we are not going to force them. We are following this standard operating procedure,” Anbil said.
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Tamil Nadu Governor-designate, R N Ravi, arrived in Chennai on Thursday, days after being shifted from Nagaland to the southern state to the gubernatorial post.
Chief Minister M K Stalin, accompanied by his senior cabinet colleagues including Duraimurugan and K N Nehru, received Ravi at the airport, the government said.
Ravi is expected to be sworn-in in the coming days. President Ram Nath Kovind had last week appointed Ravi as Governor of Tamil Nadu, replacing Banwarilal Purohit, who has been since shifted to Punjab. (PTI)
Tangedco has announced a power cut in parts of Chennai today from 9 am to 2 pm for maintenance work.
Here are the affected areas:
Tambaram:
Radha Nagar: Kumarapuram, Periyar Nagar, Kurinji Nagar, Senthi Nagar and surrounding areas.
Adyar: Appar Street, Tiger Varadachari Road, Rukumani Nagar, Beach Road, Paari Street, Gangai Street, Thirumurgan Street and surrounding areas
Thiruvanmiyur:
Velachery: Dhandeeswaram Nagar
Arumbakkam: Srinivasa Nagar, Semathamman Nagar, Nerkundram, Krishna Nagar, Kamarajar Street, Perumal Koil Street and surrounding areas
Tondiarpet: Manali New Town, Vichoor, Sidco Estate, Ezhil Nagar, Ganapathy Nagar, Sriram Nagar, Napalayam, Ponniamman Nagar, MRF Nagar and surrounding areas
Sembium: Parimalam Nagar, Akbar Nagar, Suriya Nagar, Kanniappan Street and surrounding areas.
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Tamil Nadu recorded 1,693 positive cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, bringing the state tally to 26,40,361. Among these, Chennai reported 202 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,47,076. The state recorded 25 deaths on Thursday, putting the state toll at 35,271. 24 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 1,548 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 25,88,334.
As of Thursday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 16,756. Till date, 15,41,394 males, 10,98,929 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, 4,48,31,541 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,53,721 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 298 Covid-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 229 are private facilities.
Following the success of the mega vaccination drive in Chennai last week, Chennai's civic body, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has announced another mega vaccination drive in the city on September 19. A total of 1.88 lakh people had been vaccinated in Chennai last week.
Vanakkam Chennai!
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.
Tamil Nadu on Thursday logged 1,693 new Coronavirus cases, taking the overall caseload to 26,40,361. With 25 more deaths, the death toll has risen to 35,271. According to a bulletin from the health department here, 1,548 COVID-19 positive patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 25,88,334. The number of active cases including isolation as of today remain at 16,756. Six districts contributed to the maximum number of fresh cases-- Coimbatore with 206 new infections, Chennai 202, Chengalpattu 135, Erode 134, Tiruppur 110 and Thanjavur 108. Perambalur, Theni, Thirupathur, Virudhunagar and Thoothukudi saw new cases in single digits, while 27 districts reported new cases below 100. (PTI)
The school education minister of Tamil Nadu, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, on Thursday said that 148 pupils have tested positive for Covid-19 after physical classes resumed for high school students on September 1. He added about 35 lakh pupils in the state study in Classes IX to XII, of which nearly 28 lakh have attended the physical classes so far.
He was addressing mediapersons after submitting a report to Chief Minister MK Stalin on the resumption of physical classes for students of Standard I to VIII. Anbil said the CM told him that a decision would be taken based on the feedback provided by the department of public health and medical experts at a Covid-19 review meeting, which is likely to be held towards the end of this month.
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A total of 64 students who were studying in a private nursing college in Saravanampatti in Coimbatore have tested positive for Covid-19 in a span of nine days. The Coimbatore Corporation has now made it mandatory for all educational institutions to quarantine hostel students from other states for 10 days.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner Raja Gopal Sunkara said seven students from Kerala reached Coimbatore in August end as the institutions were set to reopen on September 1. The students showed no symptoms at the time of crossing the state border and the RT-PCR tests were negative. However, after a few days, two of them had tested positive.
The civic body has issued a notice to the college asking them to explain why there was a delay in intimating them about the positive cases and has levied a fine of Rs 10,000.
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The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has said that 60,597 saplings have been planted till Wednesday as a part of the civic body's tree plantation drive in the city. Of these, 1470 were planted on Wednesday alone.
Here are the details:
North Chennai - 196
Central Chennai - 548
South Chennai - 726
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) announced that train set No. 15 was the first train set to complete its overhaul by CMRL's in-house team on Wednesday. CMRL said that the cost of overhauling is Rs. 1.77 crore and the entire process takes 40 days.
Tamil Nadu Minister for Water Resources Durai Murugan Thursday visited the family of NEET aspirant, Soundarya, who had died by suicide on Wednesday.
Prices of petrol and diesel remained steady across the country for the 11th successive day on Thursday, September 16, 2021. The prices of the key auto fuels were last revised on September 5 when petrol and diesel prices were cut by 15 paise per litre each in the national capital.
In Chennai, petrol costs Rs. 98.96 per litre and diesel costs Rs. 93.26 per litre.
Director Sundar C’s Aranmanai 3, which is the third installment in his horror-comedy franchise, is set to hit screens on October 14. The filmmakers made the official announcement on Wednesday.
It comes as a huge relief for the exhibitors in Tamil Nadu as several high-profile movies are releasing directly on OTT platforms owing to the ongoing pandemic. Aranmanai 3 was supposed to open in cinemas on May 14 however, the second wave of Covid-19 upended the film’s release plans. The trade experts are of the opinion that the upcoming horror-comedy has the potential to bring the crowd back to the box office again.
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A total of 46,32,776 people have been vaccinated in Chennai till date, with 13,271 people inoculated on Wednesday alone, according to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
Among these, 34,75,868 people have been administered Covishield, with 24,21,181 people having taken the first dose and 10,54,687 people having taken the second dose.
A total of 11,56,908 people have been administered Covaxin, with 6,94,659 people having taken the first dose and 4,62,249 people having taken the second dose.
Incidents of circulation of “false/fake news” and rumours, a crime under the Indian Penal Code, saw nearly a three-fold rise in 2020 over 2019, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.
A total of 1,527 cases of fake news were recorded in the pandemic year — a 214 per cent increase — against 486 cases in 2019 and 280 cases in 2018, when the category was first included.
Telangana with 273 cases tops the list of states followed by Tamil Nadu (188) and Uttar Pradesh (166). Hyderabad tops the list of cities with 208 cases, followed by Chennai (42) and Delhi (30).
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In a year impacted massively by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, overall crime numbers in the country increased by 28 per cent in 2020 over the non-pandemic year 2019, according to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). However, this increase has been largely attributed to crimes registered for Covid-19 violations as other crimes actually decreased in 2020 compared to 2019.
The NCRB released its crime data for 2020 on Tuesday, recording 66,01,285 cognizable crimes comprising 42,54,356 Indian Penal Code (IPC) crimes and 23,46,929 Special and Local Laws crimes. It shows an increase of 14,45,127 (28%) in registration of cases over 2019 (51,56,158 cases). Crime rate (number of cases registered per one lakh population) increased from 385.5 in 2019 to 487.8 in 2020.
According to the data, two states, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, recorded abnormal spike in IPC crimes. From 1.39 lakh cases in 2019 in Gujarat, the figures jumped to 3.81 lakh in 2020, recording an increase of 174 per cent. In Tamil Nadu, it was even starker – IPC cases increased from 1.68 lakh in 2019 to 8.91 lakh, a jump of 430 per cent.
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The Madras High Court on Wednesday said authorities concerned should not hesitate to arrest encroachers of temple lands under the stringent Goondas Act, saying such fraudulent act was a crime against the society.
Passing final orders on a writ petition pertaining to Sri Audikesava Perumal Peyazhwar Devasthanam temple in Mylapore, the court also directed the State government to effect publication of advertisements in respect of all the temples across the state, calling upon the encroachers/illegal occupants to surrender the possession of all such properties voluntarily before the competent authorities within a stipulated period, failing which, stern action should be taken against them under the relevant provisions of the Act and Penal laws, howsoever high they are.
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The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption police launched searches at 28 premises allegedly linked to former Tamil Nadu minister KC Veeramani. The search operation, which began around 7 am, is underway at Tiruppathur, Krishnagiri, Ranipet, Vellore, Chennai, Tiruvannamalai, among others. In Chennai, the raids are ongoing at four places.
The DVAC sleuths have registered a case against Veeramani under the Prevention of Corruption Act. In the FIR, the DVAC stated that Veeramani, while serving as the Tamil Nadu Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration Department, “intentionally enriched himself illicitly” and “was in possession of pecuniary resources and properties” in the name of his mother.
The DVAC said the AIADMK leader has acquired assets worth Rs 28.7 crore in excess, which works out to be “654 per cent out of his total income”. It is to be noted that anti-corruption watchdog and NGO Arappor Iyakkam had lodged a complaint with DVAC against the former minister in August.
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The Indian Maritime University (IMU) here has signed agreements with several national and international organisations for exchange of information on research and educational programmes, the varsity's Vice Chancellor Malini V Shankar said on Wednesday. Short-term training programmes, seminars, webinars, conferences and workshops on topics of mutual interest will be organised jointly as per the MoU. Also, there will be exchange of faculty and students for limited purposes of education and research, she said.
Some of the organisations which signed the MoU with IMU include the Dredging Corporation of India, National Institute of Ocean Technology, VOC Port Trust, and Institute of Marine Engineers, India. MoUs were signed with the Admiral Ushakov Maritime University, Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Mauritius, Batangas University, Philippines, and Erasmus University, Netherlands on the international level.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai, the Vice Chancellor said the curriculum has been overhauled to make it industry relevant in line with the National Education Policy, 2020. Accordingly, micro credit courses, table top exercises, electives and option to graduates in minor disciplines were introduced.
Some of the academic initiatives undertaken include establishing a chair for taking up research and consultancy projects, systemic improvement in exams / evaluation methods to build critical thinking skills in cadets and installing state of the art simulators in emerging areas to improve cadet learning experience, she said. This Central University has 3,115 students on its rolls on six campuses in Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Visakhapatnam besides 2,735 students in 18 affiliated maritime training institutes. (PTI)
The Madras High Court has upheld the orders of the authorities concerned to acquire lands owned by private persons and bodies in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts in Tamil Nadu for laying an outer ring road and providing various amenities.
Justice G K Ilanthiraiyan upheld the acquisition orders on Tuesday, while dismissing a batch of writ petitions from Dr D Anand and others challenging the government move.
“Overall, the respondents had duly followed the procedures as contemplated under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001 and the Rules for acquiring lands for the purpose of the Chennai outer ring road development work including project facilities such as interchanges, bus bays, truck lay byes, junction improvements, wayside amenities, major and minor junction improvements etc. These facilities are only part and parcel of the project road amenities and it is one of the facilities provided for the outer ring road phase-I,” the judge said and dismissed the petitions as without merits.
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The proportion of students from rural areas, economically weaker backgrounds, Tamil-medium schools, and state board affiliated schools in Tamil Nadu’s medical colleges has decreased significantly after the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) was introduced in 2017-18, according to data crunched by a government-appointed committee.
The panel’s findings formed the basis of the Tamil Nadu government’s move to scrap NEET for admission to MBBS programmes in the state.
The nine-member panel, tasked by the state government to assess the impact of NEET on medical admissions, found that the proportion of rural students fell from an average of 61.45% (pre-NEET) to 50.81% (post-NEET).
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Two doctors of Chennai-based Dr Agarwal's Eye Hospital have been awarded with the Secretariat Award 2021 of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
The 'prestigious' award has been given to Ashvin Agarwal, Chief Clinical officer and Executive Director, Dr Agarwal's Group of Eye Hospitals and Dr Soosan Jacob, Director and Chief, Dr. Agarwal's Refractive and Cornea Foundation, according to a release.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology is "the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons," it said. "The awards come as a recognition for their contributions to ophthalmology and ophthalmic education," it added.
Prof Amar Agarwal, Chairman, Dr Agarwal's Eye Hospital, greeted the two. (PTI)
The State must ensure that there is no further encroachment on any Meikal poramboke land, the Madras High Court said on Wednesday.
The bench was admitting and ordering notice on a PIL which complained of encroachment in Meikal poramboke lands in several districts and referred to a Supreme Court order to the effect that such grazing lands should not be used for any residential or industrial purpose.
For this purpose, the relevant Tahsildars and Revenue Officers should take immediate steps to remove encroachment, particularly the incremental encroachment by persons who may have legitimately occupied the original plots, before proceeding against rank encroachers who have settled in for want of any other place. The matter must receive the attention at the highest level, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu, said.
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DVAC officials are conducting raids at the home of KC Veeramani, former Tamil Nadu Minister for Commercial Tax. The minister had reported assets in excess of 654 per cent of his total income.
Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai Tuesday said the DMK government in the state was playing petty politics over NEET and accused the latter of pushing students into depression.
Annamalai criticised the DMK government while he was addressing mediapersons after taking part in a party event in Mayiladuthurai. The saffron party leader said the MK Stalin-led dispensation in the state should take responsibility for the loss of two young lives.
“A few days ago, a student called Dhanush had died by suicide. Now, another student, Kanimozhi, from Ariyalur has taken her life. I request the students to not do this. We will take care of those who politicise NEET. They (DMK) have politicised the issue, instigated the students and brought them to this situation. The people of Tamil Nadu will not forget this, the BJP will not forget this. You (DMK) stopped the students from preparing for the exam saying that it won’t happen in Tamil Nadu and at the last moment, you conceded that NEET will take place. Just imagine how much trauma the students have endured,” Annamalai said referring to the DMK government.
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Over one kg of gold worth Rs 65 lakh was seized from a 28-year-old woman who arrived in Chennai from Dubai on Wednesday, customs authorities said.
Acting on specific inputs from the Customs department in Cochin, the Chennai department officials intercepted the woman at the airport and retrieved the contraband that was concealed in her inner wear and rectum.
The gold weighed 1.34 kg and was of 24k purity, a press release said. The woman was arrested, it added. (PTI)
Tangedco has announced a power cut in parts of Chennai today from 9 am to 2 pm for maintenance work.
Here are the affected areas:
Porur: Parts of Porur, Mangala Nagar, Sakthi Nagar, Ramakrishna Nagar, Ranga Nagar, Moulivakkam, Parts of Kundrathur Road, Lakshimi Nagar, Chinna Porur and surrounding areas.
KK Nagar: Gopalamenon Road, Akbarabad 1st and 2nd Street, Tailors Estate 1st and 2nd Streets, Padmanaba Street and CRP Garden
Adyar: VGP Selva Nagar 1st Main Road and Muthu Krishnana Salai
West Mambalam I & II: Brindavanam Street, Janakiraman Street, Chakrapani Street, Subramani Nagar, Umapathy Street, Dhanasekaran Cross Street, Annumarkoil Street, Eswaran Koil Street, Sathyanarayana Street, Ellaiyamman Koil Street, Reddy Kuppam Road, Kodambakkam Road and surrounding areas
Perambur: Simpson Group of Companies, Periyar Nagar Moolakadai, Annai Sathya Nagar, Teachers Colony – 1st to 7 Streets; Gandhi Nagar, TH Road, Arul Nagar, Ganapathy Nagar, M.D Samy Nagar, Selvam Nagar and surrounding areas
Vysarpadi: 1st Main Road MMDA, Kamarajar Salai, MCG Avenue, Thiruvalluvar Nagar, Aavin Quarters, Metro Water Pump House and surrounding areas
Tambaram:
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The Madras High Court on Wednesday held that no homestay shall be permitted for tourists in the hilly Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.
Arbitrary sanctions or permission cannot be granted and there appears to be pure adhocism resorted to in such regard without an environmental impact assessment study or a cap put in, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu said.
It is becoming increasingly fashionable for residents in the area retreating into one corner of the property on weekends to open homestays for urban visitors to enjoy the beauties of nature. Till a plan is put in place upon appropriate studies being conducted and a viable scientific report being obtained, no further permission for homestays in the Nilgiris should be granted and the district authorities should conduct inspections to ensure that the homestay arrangements do not continue without any permission being obtained, the court ruled.
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Another National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET) aspirant allegedly died by suicide in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday over fears of failing in the medical entrance examination. The victim has been identified as Soundarya (17), a resident of Thalayarampattu village at Katpadi in Vellore district.
This is the third death linked to the entrance examination in four days in the state. On Sunday, 19-year-old Dhanush from Mettur near Salem, and on Tuesday, 17-year-old Kanimozhi from Ariyalur allegedly died by suicide for reasons suspected to be the same.
Katpadi DSP Palani told indianexpress.com that Soundarya had done her schooling in Thottapalayam and scored 510 marks out of 600 in the class 12 examination. Soundarya wrote the NEET examination at the Kingston College in Vellore on Sunday. According to sources, Soundarya had told her parents that she wouldn’t be able to clear the test. The parents consoled her that she could do well in the next attempt.
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Tamil Nadu recorded 1,658 positive cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, bringing the state tally to 26,38,668. Among these, Chennai reported 212 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,46,646. The state recorded 29 deaths on Wednesday, putting the state toll at 35,246. 28 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 1,542 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 25,86,786.
As of Wednesday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 16,636. Till date, 15,40,458 males, 10,98,172 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, 4,46,77,820 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,50,740 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 298 Covid-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 229 are private facilities.
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