The string of deaths related to NEET comes at a time when the Tamil Nadu government has passed a bill to do away with it in the state and allow for admissions to undergraduate courses in medicine, dentistry, Indian medicine and homoeopathy based on class 12 marks. (File photo)Tamil Nadu Chennai News September 13, 14, 15 Highlights: 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.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, expressing concern over the future of thousands of workers and allied industries, AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam sought Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s immediate intervention in the issue concerning the American auto major Ford Motor’s decision to shut its operations and ensure the company’s facility at Maraimalai Nagar is kept afloat.
Such a move, the former Chief Minister contended, would augur well for the industrial growth in the State and also safeguard jobs of the workers. “The news regarding the closure of the plants in India is shocking. It has come amid a move to bring new jobs to Tamil Nadu based on the fact that workers can survive if industries grow,” Panneerselvam said. He appealed to the Chief Minister to provide relief to the employees by sustaining the industrial climate in the State.
Ford Motor had earlier announced that it will shut its two manufacturing plants (Maraimalai Nagar and Sanand in Gujarat) in India and sell only imported vehicles in the country, as part of a restructuring exercise.
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Over one kg of gold worth Rs 65 lakh was seized from a 28-year-old woman who arrived here 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)
Tamil Nadu on Wednesday added 1,658 new Covid-19 infections pushing the overall caseload to 26,38,668 till date, while 29 people succumbed to the virus, taking the toll to 35,246.
Recoveries were less when compared to the new infections with 1,542 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, aggregating to 25,86,786 leaving 16,636 active infections, a medical bulletin said.
A total of 1,50,740 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined to 4,46,77,820.
The majority of new infections were recorded in four districts-- Chennai leading with 226 cases, Coimbatore 224, Erode 130, Chengalpet 126. Perambalur recorded the least number of new infections with five.
Thirty districts reported new cases in double digits, while there were no fresh deaths in 24 districts. (PTI)
The Indian Maritime University (IMU) in Chennai 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. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin Wednesday tweeted a message requesting students to stay strong, and assuring them that the government will not give up its effort to have the entrance exam scrapped in the state.
In his message, Stalin also said, “I was shattered to pieces hearing the news of death of these students. I am right now in the same mood as I was in 2017 when Anitha, who was a student, died by suicide. I am worried and I don’t want another such incident. Your (students’) lives are priceless. It is important not just for you, but also for the nation. You are the future of this country. I request you not to take your own life and leave your parents in a state of suffering. All of you should study with the confidence that you can become doctors, and nothing can stop you from achieving your goal. Not just in education, you should become great personalities by building your self-confidence as well. Destiny can be defeated by wisdom.” Read more
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 here. 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. (PTI)
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 student 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. Read more
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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Prices of petrol and diesel remained steady across the country for the tenth consecutive day on Wednesday, September 15, 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 is priced at Rs. 98.96 per litre and diesel costs Rs. 93.26 per litre.
Barely three days since the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a bill to restore the medical admissions mechanism that existed in the state before the introduction of NEET, a student in Vellore died by suicide today.
This is the third student to die by suicide due to NEET this week alone.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin Tuesday inaugurated a genome sequencing laboratory at the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMS) campus in Chennai.
Addressing reporters, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said the facility, which has been set up at a cost of Rs 4 crore, would help identify the variants of SARS CoV-2 sooner. He said no other government in the country has set up such a facility on its own.
He added that with the support of the central government, there were 23 genome labs in the country; in south India, there are labs in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
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Two persons lost their lives after a car hit a two-wheeler on the Electronic City flyover in Bengaluru on Tuesday night. They were heading in the direction of Hosur from Bengaluru on a Tamil Nadu registered vehicle, when they were knocked off the flyover and fell to their death on the highway below the flyover.
The driver of the car –Maruti Suzuki Baleno — was unconscious and is admitted in a hospital, according to local reports.
The crash occurred around 9.45 pm on Tuesday night and the identity of the couple was not initially established. They have now been identified as Pritham and Krithika from Tamil Nadu. They were reportedly working in Bengaluru.
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AIADMK coordinator and leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami paid floral tributes to former Chief Minister C N Annadurai on his 113th birth anniversary today.
The Madras High Court has set aside a notification of the central government, fixing 120 kmph as the speed limit for vehicles plying on highways.
A division bench of Justices N Kirubakaran (since retired) and Justice T V Thamilselvi, which quashed the notification dated April 6, 2018, recently, also directed the Centre and the State to issue fresh notifications with decreased speed limit.
Originally, while passing interim orders on an appeal on March 3 this year, the bench, the other member being Justice Abdul Quddhose, increased the compensation amount from Rs 18.43 lakh to Rs 1.50 crore to the appellant — a dentist, who had suffered 90 per cent disability due to a road accident occurred in April 2013 in Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu.
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In a State where water bodies develop for a few months following rains and leave no sign in the dry season, the channels have to be left undisturbed and areas that fill up with water in the wet season must be equally protected to allow for the collection of water, the Madras High Court ruled on Tuesday.
Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu gave the ruling Tuesday, while passing further interim orders on a PIL from Arappor Iyakkam, a non-governmental organisation fighting against corruption.
Petitioner Iyakkam had alleged that the government had constructed a police station on the Thamaraikeni lake in Semmancherry near Sholinganallur in Chennai and prayed the court to restore the lake.
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin paid his respects to former Chief Minister C N Annadurai on his 113th birthday in Chennai today.
Tired of taunts from his grandparents who constantly compared him with cousins, a 16-year-old boy in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district set their house on fire Monday, killing the duo, police said. The minor, who has confessed to the crime, has been booked under IPC section 302 (murder).
Speaking to indianexpress.com, Attur DSP Immanuel Gnanasekar said the couple’s grandson, a Class XI student at a government school in the neighbourhood, has surrendered before the Attur police and confessed to the crime.
On Monday morning, neighbours heard screams from the house of Kaatu Raja (70) and his wife Kaasiyammal (60) and rushed to the spot. Seeing the house on flames, they attempted to douse the fire. The house was also locked and their attempts to break the door open failed.
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The headmaster of a government school in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram has been suspended for allegedly asking students to shift materials from the school laboratory after four Class XII students sustained injuries when an acid bottle fell down and its contents spilled on them Monday.
Villupuram Special Branch Inspector Gurumurthy said the headmaster of the higher secondary school in Kandamangalam has been booked. “He had asked the students to shift the materials in the lab to another room during which a bottle broke and acid spilled on the students. Based on a complaint by the mother of one of the victims, we have registered an FIR and booked the headmaster under IPC sections 285 (endangering life) and 338 (causing grievous hurt),” he said.
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A purported act by the fans of actor Rajinikanth, where they sprinkled the blood of a goat on the first look poster of the superstar’s upcoming flick Annathae on Tuesday earned a sharp rebuke from the star’s side, calling it ‘obnoxious.’
V M Sudhakar, Administrator of the All India Rajinikanth Rasikar Mandram (Fans Club) and considered close to the top star, strongly condemned the incident and said it was “regrettable.”
A video doing the rounds in social media purportedly showed some persons, believed to be fans of Rajinikanth, slaying a goat and sprinkling its blood on the first look poster of the film, with the incident drawing widespread condemnation for its sheer brutality.
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A girl who appeared for NEET and aspired to pursue medical education died by suicide at a village in Ariyalur District Tuesday, the second such death within two days in Tamil Nadu, with the incident seeing a repeat of the main opposition AIADMK hitting out at the DMK regime, while Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday vowed to continue the legal fight to remove the test.
Hours after her death, the Chief Minister assured students and parents that there would be no compromise in the legal struggle to fully remove NEET.
Pointing to the passage of a Bill in the Assembly on September 13, Stalin said, “right from the beginning, we are opposing NEET, which is shattering the dreams of Tamil Nadu students to pursue medical education. We have started a legal struggle in full swing with the passing of the Bill, supported by all parties, barring the BJP.”
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The DMK on Tuesday announced the party’s two candidates for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha bye-elections to fill the two vacant seats from Tamil Nadu contrary to expectation in some Congress quarters that the regional party may give one seat to ally Congress.
Sources in the Congress said the DMK had agreed to consider the party’s request for a Rajya Sabha seat while finalising the seat-sharing deal for the Assembly elections earlier this year. They said the DMK assurance had come after the Congress agreed to settle for 25 Assembly seats.
On Tuesday, Stalin announced the party’s two candidates – Kanimozhi N V N Somu and K R N Rajeshkumar. Kanimozhi is the daughter of late Union minister N V N Somu. Rajeshkumar is DMK’s Namakkal (East) district in charge.
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The Pattali Makkal Katchi, which aligned with the AIADMK for the Assembly polls on Tuesday announced that it would be facing the rural civic polls to nine districts on October 6 and 9 all alone, considering the party’s growth.
The decision to contest alone was taken unanimously following a virtual meeting of party functionaries held Tuesday evening, PMK president G K Mani said in a statement.
In the meeting presided by party founder-leader S Ramadoss and the party’s youth wing chief Anbumani Ramadoss, office-bearers expressed a view that the party should go it alone considering growth prospects, he added.
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Expressing concern over the future of thousands of workers and allied industries, AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam on Tuesday sought Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin's immediate intervention in the issue concerning the American auto major Ford Motor's decision to shut its operations and ensure the company's facility at Maraimalai Nagar is kept afloat.
Such a move, the former Chief Minister contended, would augur well for the industrial growth in the State and also safeguard jobs of the workers. "The news regarding the closure of the plants in India is shocking. It has come amid a move to bring new jobs to Tamil Nadu based on the fact that workers can survive if industries grow," Panneerselvam said. He appealed to the Chief Minister to provide relief to the employees by sustaining the industrial climate in the State.
On Thursday, Ford Motor announced that it will shut its two manufacturing plants (Maraimalai Nagar and Sanand in Gujarat) in India and sell only imported vehicles in the country, as part of a restructuring exercise.
In a statement in Chennai, Panneerselvam said Ford announced closure of its plant in Maraimalai Nagar in the second quarter of next year due to huge accumulating losses and lack of growth in a difficult market. "The move will affect the future of about 4,000 direct employees and also that of about 40,000 indirect workers. The future of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) dependent on Ford Motor is also very bleak," the AIADMK coordinator said.
Maintaining that the State government has a responsibility to protect the workers and industrial climate in Tamil Nadu, he said "therefore, I urge Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin to intervene and resolve the issue." Panneerselvam recalled that during her tenure, former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa took various steps to promote industries besides creating a conducive atmosphere in the State. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu recorded 1,591 positive cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, bringing the state tally to 26,37,010. Among these, Chennai reported 212 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,46,646. The state recorded 27 deaths on Tuesday, putting the state toll at 35,217. 23 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 1,537 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 25,85,244.
As of Tuesday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 16,549. Till date, 15,39,499 males, 10,97,473 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, 4,45,27,080 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,52,296 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 297 Covid-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 228 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, 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.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday passed a Bill to dispense with the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET) and allow admission to medical courses based on Class 12 marks to “ensure social justice”. The Permanent Exemption Bill for NEET exempts medical aspirants in Tamil Nadu from taking NEET examination for admission to UG degree courses in Indian medicine, dentistry and homeopathy.
As Chief Minister M K Stalin tabled the Bill in the state Assembly, almost all other parties, including the main opposition AIADMK and its ally PMK, supported the Bill. The BJP, however, staged a walkout, protesting against it.
Stalin introduced the Bill based on the recommendation of the high-level committee led by retired judge AK Rajan, which submitted its report in July.
The retired Madras High Court Judge had said the report was prepared after looking into around 86,000 representations from various stakeholders, a majority of whom said they don’t want NEET.
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NLC India Limited (NLCIL) honoured Olympian Sajan Prakash by naming its 50-metre swimming pool after him and presenting the swimmer a cash award of Rs 5 lakh. Prakash represented India at 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
A section of employees at the manufacturing facility of auto maker Ford India near here on Tuesday staged a protest against the decision of the US-based company to close the factory and sought the intervention of the Tamil Nadu government, Union sources said.
Chief Minister M K Stalin, Industries minister Thangam Thennarasu and senior government officials reportedly held a meeting at the Secretariat to decide on further course of action.
In a statement, the Chennai Ford Employees Union expressed 'shock' over the decision to shut the manufacturing unit and demanded that the management take alternative steps towards ensuring that the livelihood of the nearly 2,700 employees does not get affected.
The Union urged the company not to close the facility and in the exigency of a closure, it should ensure the management accommodates the employees to another production unit so that livelihood of the employees does not get affected.
(PTI)
The headmaster of a government school in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram has been suspended for allegedly asking students to shift materials from the school laboratory after four Class XII students sustained injuries when an acid bottle fell down and its contents spilled on them Monday.
Villupuram Special Branch Inspector Gurumurthy said the headmaster of the higher secondary school in Kandamangalam has been booked. “He had asked the students to shift the materials in the lab to another room during which a bottle broke and acid spilled on the students. Based on a complaint by the mother of one of the victims, we have registered an FIR and booked the headmaster under IPC sections 285 (endangering life) and 338 (causing grievous hurt),” he said.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, district collector D Mohan said he was regularly monitoring the condition of the students who were provided treatment at a private hospital near Ariyur in Puducherry.
A 16-year-old boy has killed his grandparents by setting the house on fire. The shocking incident had taken place at Kothambadi village near Attur in Salem district of Tamil Nadu.
According to the police, Kaatu Raja (70) and his wife Kaasiyammal (60) had been staying in their house. On Monday morning, on hearing the scream of the couple, the neighbours had reached the house and attempted to doze off the blaze. They saw the house been locked and attempts to break the door open didn’t succeed. They had alerted the fire and rescue personnel who reached the house and attempted to rescue the senior citizens. As both had suffered severe burns, they succumbed to the injuries. The bodies were sent to Attur government hospital for postmortem.
Speaking to Indianexpress.com, Attur DSP Immanuel Gnanasekar said the minor who is studying class XI at a government school in the neighborhood had surrendered before the Attur police and confessed that he had committed the crime.
The Madras High Court admitted and ordered notice on a PIL from a service organisation and also a legislator of the ruling DMK, seeking to declare unconstitutional Sec. 57 of the Constitution (the 42nd Amendment) Act 1976 , insofar as it took away the field of education from the State List to the Concurrent List of the Union government.
After impleading the Tamil Nadu government as a party-respondent in the case by itself, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu ordered the notice, returnable in eight weeks, to the state and central governments. The matter will be taken up for hearing after 10 weeks, the bench said.
(PTI)
The Tamil Nadu government Tuesday issued a Government Order withdrawing 5,570 cases registered against those who protested against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), three farm laws, Register of Citizens (NRC), Salem-Chennai eight-lane expressway, methane extraction, Neutrino and Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. Cases registered by the erstwhile AIADMK regime against the media have also been withdrawn.
Of the 5,570 cases, 2,831 cases were filed against those who protested farm laws.
During his speech in the assembly on Monday, MK Stalin said seven hundred life convicts who had been serving life sentences will be released on the occasion of the birth anniversary of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister CN Annadurai on September 15. During his reply to the debate on the demand for grants in the police department, Stalin said the government will take steps to prematurely release the inmates as a gesture of goodwill and on humanitarian grounds.
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On the day the Tamil Nadu government passed a bill exempting the state from NEET, a 17-year-old aspirant from Thularankurichi village in Tamil Nadu’s Ariyalur district allegedly died by suicide fearing she wouldn’t clear the exam.
The victim, identified as Kanimozhi, reportedly had secured 562.28 out of 600 marks in Class XII examination. Kanimozhi’s parents, Karunanidhi and Jayalakshmi, are advocates.
As per local media reports, Kanimozhi wrote the NEET exam on Sunday at a school in Thanjavur and was allegedly upset that she did not do well in the exam. The Udayarpalayam police said they received the information about the suicide on Tuesday morning and they immediately registered a case under section 174 CrPC and have sent the body for postmortem.
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The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has said that 57,911 saplings have been planted till Monday as a part of the civic body's tree plantation drive in the city. Of these, 1097 were planted on Sunday alone.
Here are the details:
North Chennai - 425
Central Chennai - 299
South Chennai - 373
The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India for the year ended March 2020 has found, what it said, serious lapses in higher education in Tamil Nadu. The lapses include poor or nil research output by many departments in universities. The report detected diversion of funds for research and development by the University of Madras to pay salaries and regular non-plan expenditure.
The report said the salaries paid to guest lecturers were much below the UGC-recommended salary of Rs 50,000. “The unfilled vacancies were filled up by appointing guest lecturers. As on March 2020, 4,084 guest lecturers were posted in government colleges with a salary of Rs 15,000 per month,” the report, tabled in the State Assembly on Monday, said.
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The latest industry buzz suggests the makers of the latest Tamil film Thalaivii, starring Kangana Ranaut, had arranged a special private screening for Superstar Rajinikanth. It is said the 70-year-old superstar was quite impressed with the movie and phoned director AL Vijay.
Even as Rajinikanth has not publically put out a statement about Thalaivii, his said appreciation for the film is making waves on social media.
Thalaivii is based on the life and times of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa. The film chronicles her beginnings in Tamil cinema, her relationship with matinee icon and political stalwart MGR and her subsequent rise in Tamil Nadu politics. Vijay had helmed the film from writer K. V. Vijayendra Prasad’s script. The film also stars Aravind Swami, Nassar, Bhagyashree, Raj Arjun, Madhoo, Jisshu Sengupta, Thambi Ramaiah, Shamna Kasim and Samuthirakani.
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A Bill to repeal a law on contract farming enacted during the previous AIADMK regime, and another one to enhance the pension for former MLAs from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 were among the Bills adopted by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday.
When the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion and Facilitation) Repeal Bill was taken up for consideration, the AIADMK opposed it.
Former Minister and MLA Agri SS Krishnamurthy said that this legislation on contract farming, enacted during the AIADMK regime, protected farmers from price fall and it guarded their interests. He wanted the government to reconsider its move and not repeal the Act.
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The Madras High Court on Monday dispensed with the appearance of AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam and joint co-ordinator K Palaniswami from appearing in person before the Special Court for MPs and MLAs, in connection with a defamation case filed by expelled party spokesperson V Pugalendhi.
While entertaining the complaint from Pugalendhi, the Special Court had directed the duo to appear before it on September 14.
Aggrieved, the duo had moved the Madras High Court to quash the proceedings pending before the Special Court and to dispense with the requirement of their presence before it.
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After initially suspecting that the woman whose body was found on the road in a mangled condition in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore last week had been thrown off a vehicle, police in Coimbatore have now found that she was mowed down by an Innova before being dragged along the road under another car.
Cops have detained Faizal, the owner of the Innova. The deceased woman has been identified as a resident of Kariyampalayam village near Annur in Coimbatore. The 74-year-old had been working at a private college canteen.
On September 6, the Coimbatore Traffic Investigation Wing (East) had found the half-naked body of a woman at Aviniashi road in Chinniyampalayam town. The body had been run over by several vehicles by the time the cops had arrived. CCTV footage showed that the body had come in contact with an SUV at 5.44 am. Since the woman’s face was completely damaged, identification wasn’t possible. Peelamedu police registered a case under CrPC section 174.
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The Tamil Nadu Farmers Association has said it was against the proposal of the State government to shift the Tamil Nadu Organic Certification Department from Coimbatore to Chennai.
In a memorandum submitted to Coimbatore District Collector on Monday, president of the association S Palanisamy said the organic farmers of the Kongu region, comprising eight western districts of the State, would face problems, including transportation if the department was shifted to the capital city.
A couple of days ago, president of the BJP agricultural wing G K Nagaraj met the Collector demanding withdrawal of the proposal failing which, the former said, the ryots would stage a demonstration on September 21 across the region. (PTI)
A NEET aspirant from Ariyalur died by suicide on Monday, on a day when the Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed a bill to scrap NEET in the state.
Dejected over her performance in the exam, the student had taken the extreme step.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday passed a Bill to dispense with the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET) and allow admission to medical courses based on Class 12 marks to “ensure social justice”.
As Chief Minister M K Stalin tabled the Bill in the state Assembly, almost all other parties, including the main opposition AIADMK and its ally PMK, supported the Bill. The BJP, however, staged a walkout, protesting against it.
Stalin introduced the Bill based on the recommendation of the high-level committee led by retired judge AK Rajan, which submitted its report in July. The retired Madras High Court Judge had said the report was prepared after looking into around 86,000 representations from various stakeholders, a majority of whom said they don’t want NEET.
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Owing to Phase II works being carried out by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) on Arcot Road from Kodambakkam Power House to Arcot Road x 80 Feet Road junction, the Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) has announced traffic diversions in parts of Chennai for a year, effective from September 14 (Tuesday).
Click here for the list of diversions
Tangedco has announced a power cut in parts of Chennai today, from 9 am to 2 pm for maintenance work today.
Here are the affected areas:
Madhavaram: CMDA Trunk Terminal, Rajaji Street, Srinivasa Nagar, Parts of MRH Road, GNT Road, Vadaperumbakkam, Nethaji Street, Munusamy Nagar and nearby areas
Tambaram:
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Tamil Nadu recorded 1,580 positive cases of Covid-19 on Monday, bringing the state tally to 26,35,419. Among these, Chennai reported 185 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,46,434. The state recorded 22 deaths on Monday, putting the state toll at 35,190. 20 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 1,509 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 25,83,707.
As of Monday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 16,522. Till date, 15,38,598 males, 10,96,783 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, 4,43,74,784 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,53,584 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 297 Covid-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 228 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, 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.
The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India for the year ended March 2020 has found, what it said, serious lapses in higher education in Tamil Nadu. The lapses include poor or nil research output by many departments in universities. The report detected diversion of funds for research and development by the University of Madras to pay salaries and regular non-plan expenditure.
The report said the salaries paid to guest lecturers were much below the UGC-recommended salary of Rs 50,000. “The unfilled vacancies were filled up by appointing guest lecturers. As on March 2020, 4,084 guest lecturers were posted in government colleges with a salary of Rs 15,000 per month,” the report, tabled in the State Assembly on Monday, said.
The audit said the delay by the Tamil Nadu Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) in recruiting teachers caused vacancies to increase. Guest lecturers were taken on a contract basis to cater to the need and were not recruited through transparent merit-based recruitment process, the report said. Against the total sanctioned strength of 10,079 teachers in government colleges, 4,889 permanent teachers were on roll, leaving 5,190 posts - about 51 per cent - vacant. The vacancies in aided colleges were 22 per cent (2,380 vacancies against sanctioned strength of 10,610). The large number of vacancies were managed mainly by engaging full-time guest lecturers. (PTI)
A Bill to repeal a law on contract farming enacted during the previous AIADMK regime, and another one to enhance the pension for former MLAs from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 were among the Bills adopted by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday.
When the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion and Facilitation) Repeal Bill was taken up for consideration, the AIADMK opposed it.
Former Minister and MLA Agri SS Krishnamurthy said that this legislation on contract farming, enacted during the AIADMK regime, protected farmers from price fall and it guarded their interests. He wanted the government to reconsider its move and not repeal the Act.
The TN's contract farming and services legislation of 2019 was based on a model Bill then mooted by the Centre.
Minister for Agriculture, M R K Panneerselvam, replying said that if implemented, this law would lead to a situation wherein farmers would be compelled to get inputs from private firms and the price for produce could also be reduced by them by making claims vis-a-vis quality. (PTI)
Owing to Phase II works being carried out by Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) on Arcot Road from Kodambakkam Power House to Arcot Road x 80 Feet Road junction, the Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) has announced traffic diversions in parts of Chennai for a year, effective from September 14 (Tuesday). Read more
Tamil Nadu State Election Commissioner V Palanikumar on Monday notified the dates for the rural local body polls in the nine newly constituted districts in the state. Addressing reporters, he said the polls will be held in two phases on October 6 and October 9 and the counting will take place on October 12.
Elections are being held to 27,003 seats in Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts. Read more
As Chief Minister M K Stalin tabled the Bill in the state Assembly, almost all other parties, including the main opposition AIADMK and its ally PMK, supported the Bill. The BJP, however, staged a walkout, protesting against it. But what are the key provisions in the Permanent Exemption Bill for NEET? Read our explainer here
Tamil Nadu recorded 1,580 positive cases of Covid-19 on Monday, bringing the state tally to 26,35,419. Among these, Coimbatore accounted for 204 cases while Chennai saw 185 positive cases. The state recorded 22 deaths on Monday, putting the state toll at 35,190. A total of 1,509 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 25,83,707. As of Monday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 16,522.
After initially suspecting that the woman whose body was found on the road in a mangled condition in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore last week had been thrown off a vehicle, police in Coimbatore have now found that she was mowed down by an Innova before being dragged along the road under another car.
Cops have detained Faizal, the owner of the Innova. The deceased woman has been identified as a resident of Kariyampalayam village near Annur in Coimbatore. The 74-year-old had been working at a private college canteen.
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The Tamil Nadu Farmers Association has said it was against the proposal of the state government to shift the Tamil Nadu Organic Certification Department from here to Chennai.
In a memorandum submitted to Coimbatore District Collector on Monday, president of the association S Palanisamy said the organic farmers of the Kongu region, comprising eight western districts of the state, would face problems, including transportation if the department was shifted to the capital city. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu State Election Commission Monday said the rural local body election for the newly constituted nine districts including Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi will take place in two phases on October 6 and October 9. The polling will happen from 7 am till 6 pm. It was said that nominations for the polls will commence from September 15. Votes are set to be counted October 12.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said after careful consideration of the recommendation of the high-level committee, with a view to ensure social justice, the state government has decided that the admission to undergraduate courses in Medicine, Dentistry, Indian Medicine, and Homeopathy in the state would be based only on the marks obtained in the Class XII examination.
He added that the committee in its findings has reported that NEET clearly undermined the diverse societal representation in MBBS and higher medical studies, favouring mainly the affordable and affluent segment of the society while equally thwarting the dream of pursuing the medical examination by the underprivileged social groups. He said the most affected among those social groups were students of Tamil medium, having rural backgrounds of government schools, those having parental income of less than 2.5 lakh income per annum and the socially depressed and disadvantaged groups like MBC, SC and ST.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday adopted a bill to dispense with the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) and provide for admission to medical courses based on Class XII marks to ensure social justice, as the death by suicide of a medical aspirant fearing outcome of the test he was to take echoed in the House with the main opposition AIADMK targeting the government over the incident.
Chief Minister M K Stalin introduced the Bill and all parties, including the main opposition AIADMK and its ally PMK, besides others like Congress, supported the bill, which seeks to provide for admission to UG courses in medicine, dentistry, Indian medicine and homeopathy on the basis of marks obtained in the qualifying examination, (Class XII). The opposition BJP staged a walkout, protesting against the government move. (PTI)
An eight-year-old boy drowned in the Bhavani River while their parents were washing clothes there, police said on Monday.
The boy was the son of a painter. He, his wife, two daughters and the boy went to the river in Kallipatti to wash their clothes on Sunday. Both the husband and wife were washing the clothes and their daughters sitting on the river bank were watching their parents, the police said.
The boy was taking a bath in the waters. Later, he got pulled under by a current and got washed away. His parents raised an alarm. Soon, the Fire and Rescue Service personnel were informed and body of the boy was recovered after a two-hour-long search, the police said. (PTI)
The Pimpri-Chinchwad police have arrested a man from Tamil Nadu for allegedly cheating a Chinchwad woman to the tune of Rs 11 lakh and entering into a “false marriage” by signing fake documents.
The police have identified the accused as Premraj Thevraj, a resident of Chennai. An FIR was registered at the Nigdi police station on Sunday.
As per a press release issued on Monday, the woman met the man through a matrimony site last year. He said he would marry her and after phone conversations for about three months, he sought financial help from her. The police said the accused got Rs 11,04,500 from the complainant.
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A total of 45,85,433 people have been vaccinated in Chennai till date, with 1,91,350 people inoculated on Sunday alone, according to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
Among these, 34,30,374 people have been administered Covishield, with 23,96,864 people having taken the first dose and 10,33,510 people having taken the second dose.
A total of 11,55,059 people have been administered Covaxin, with 6,94,149 people having taken the first dose and 4,60,910 people having taken the second dose.