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VOL: 2 ISSUE 38Feb. 12, 2009
The Big Temple whichstood the test of time
New Delhi, Feb 12:
Havingmanaged to keeppassengers fares incheck for the last fiveyears, Railway MinisterLalu Prasad is expectedto announce more sopsfor train travellers whenhe presents the interimRailway Budget inParliament Friday.Prasad, whodesisted from carryingout any upward hike inthe passenger faresdespite increase inglobal prices of crude oilin the past five years ofUPA rule, may this timeannounce some pro-people schemes aheadof the Lok Sabha polls.Though it is avote-on-accountexercise, sources in theMinistry said Lalu is keento share the benefits ofthe reductionin oil priceswithpassengers.Speculation is rifethat Lalu mightslashpassengersfares in certainsector whileseekingbudgetarygrant for April-July period.Despite theglobal meltdown,railways have carried74.55 million tonnes (MT)of freight during Januarythis year which is 2.9 percent more than the sameperiod last year.Railways haverecorded an annualgrowth of 14 per cent inoverall traffic earningsduring the UPA regime.Besideshighlighting Ministry'sachievements in the lastfive years, the interimbudget is likely to haveproposals for introductionof more trains includingGarib Raths.Garib Rath,which provide AC comfortto passengers belongingto poor sections ofsociety, was introducedby Lalu in 2006-07.Currently, there are 20Garib Raths and a fewmore are likely to beannounced this time.As the Railwayshave already hiked thefreight rate of carryingfoodgrains, pulses, floursand fertilisers by 8.3 percent, it is likely that thefreight rate will remainunchanged.While thebudget is likely to registera cash surplus beforepaying dividend at aboutRs 25,000 crore, theoperating ratio is alsoexpected to be more thanlast year's 76 per cent.Theimplementation of the SixthPay Commission for therailway employees is thereason for the higheroperating ratio in thecurrent year than the lastfinancial year, said a seniorofficial of the Ministry.Since there aremany complaints againstthe quality of food beingserved in trains andplatforms, railways areplanning to revamp thewhole catering system.IRCTC hasproposed to change themenu from traditional 'thali'system to combo mealsystem in trains and for this150 kitchen cells would beset up across the country.The emphasis will be onhygiene and quality of thefood in the kitchen cellsystem, said a seniorIRCTC official.
Lalu may unfold pro-peopleRailway Budget tomorrow
 Interim Railway Budget 2009-10
Interim RailwayBudget 2009-10
 
Times Chennai E-PaperFeb. 12 2009Page 2
Chennai, Feb 12 :
 The Tamil Naduunit of Hindu Munnani onWednesdaydaythreatened to disruptValentine's Daycelebrations in the state onFebruray 14, while theNational Hindu Sena calledfor a ban on the Day.Hindu Munnanileader N Muruganandam,in a statement here, saidthe Munnani was notagainst love as love andvalour were the part of lifeof Tamils, but againstcelebrations and dance,combined with sex andobscenity in the name ofValentine's Day.He said theMunnani would be in theforefront in helping andunite genuine lovers, butfight against people, whobehave like animals, duringValentine's Daycelebrations.Valentine's Day,Parents Day, Friendshipday and Fashion showswere against Indian cultureand the people of thestate should boycottthem.National HinduSena leader SChokkalingapandiansaid Valentine's Daycelebrations, becomingpopular in the past coupleof years, were an afrontto the Indian culture.He exhortedpeople to oppose thecelebrations, when theTamils in Sri Lanka weregetting killed by Lankanarmed forces.Demanding thatthe DMK governmentban the Valentine's Daycelebrations in hotels,resorts and other publicplaces, he said the Senawould launch an agitationif its warning wentunheeded.
CoP's diktat
City PoliceCommissioner KRadhakrishnan onWednesday warned ofstern action againstthose who try to take lawinto their hands anddisrupt Valentine's Daycelebrations on Februray14.TheCommissioner toldnewspersons here policewould step up vigil atMarina beach,amusement parks,hotels, resorts and otherplaces which younglovers would visit in largenumbers on Valentine'sDay.Police wouldtake strong actionagainst those who try tophysically assault loversand marry them offcompulsorily, he said.He said thosewho celebrate shouldalso ensure that they donot cross the limits andindulge in indescentbehaviour. Those whocelebrate should conductthemselves within limits,he added.
-Agencies
Hindu Munnani threatens to disruptValentine's Day celebration in TN
Chennai, Feb. 12 :
CampusUK, aUnited Kingdom-basedoverseas educationconsultancy, is hosting aseries of visits by faculty ofBritish Universities thisweek.Elinor Raw,International Officer, andAmit Das, faculty of theSchool of Engineering,Swansea University,Wales, are available forcounselling between 10a.m. and 1 p.m. onFebruary 13.Spot admissionswill be offered inElectronics Engineering,Civil Engineering,AdvancedTelecommunications,Chemistry, ComputerScience, AerospaceEngineering,Nanotechnology, Law,Management studiesand MBA.Josie Philcher,International Officer,Heriot Watt University,Scotland, is offering spotadmissions the sameday between 2 and 6p.m. The university offersa wide range of coursesin MBA, Accountancyand Finance, ActuarialScience, ActuarialMathematics,ArchitecturalEngineering and ProjectManagement.Susan O'Neil,International Officer,Glasgow CaledonianUniversity, Glasgow, isavailable for studentinterviews between 10a.m. and 1 p.m. onFebruary 14 for BuiltEnvironment,Construction ProjectManagement,Management Studies,MBA, InternationalFashion Marketing andWireless Networking.Kim Hadley andChris Huges,representatives of theUniversity of Portsmouth,England, will offercounselling the same daybetween 2 and 6 p.m.Nikkie Duke,International Officer,University of Dundee, willsupervise spotadmissions between 2and 6 p.m. on February17.For details,candidates can contactCampusUK on 044-42009334 and42059676, or visitwww.campusuk.com.
-Agencies
Spot admissions to UK varsities
Chennai: Feb. 12
Chennai citytraffic police has launcheda new website,www.chennaicitytrafficpolice.com providing up-to-date information abouttraffic regulations. It'sprevious websitewww.cctp.org, thoughannounced by thegovernment, had failed totake off.A team oftechnicians uploading datarelated to the TheElectronics Corporation ofTamil Nadu Limited serverand the the websitebecame functional fromThursday. "Directorgeneral of police (Lawand order) KP Jainlaunched the website.Police haveentered an agreementwith a privatecartographer, who willprovide the city mapalong with minute detailsof roads and streets. Thesite will also offer aglimpse into the history oftraffic police, with rarephotographs from thepre-Independence era.The home pageof the website will havethe city traffic police logowith a message from thecity police commissioner.The page opens with thesound of a drumbeat.Among thefeatures is an interactionforum for the public topost their suggestionsand ideas about trafficmanagement in the city.The site will provide allthe emergency phonenumbers, along with thenumbers of traffic policeofficers. It will also havelinks to other websites ofthe police and othergovernmentdepartments.
-Agencies
City Traffic police launches new website
Chennai, Feb 12
With a view tomaking India Post aprofit-makingdepartment on the linesof Indian Railways, theCentre had initiatedvarious measures suchas 'Project Arrow', UnionIT and CommunicationsMinister A Raja saidWednesday.Speaking at thededication ceremony of75 modernised postoffices in Tamil Naduunder the Project Arrowscheme here, Raja saidthe department wasincurring an annual lossof around Rs 500 crore.Schemes suchas Project Arrowenvisaged changing therevenue trends of thedepartment, he said."Project Arrowaims at giving a completetransformation of thedepartment and its officesin terms of looks andupgraded delivery servicesthrough moderntechnology," he said.The change inlooks of post offices, one ofthe basic steps in thisregard, would attract moreusers to the department,thus giving a fillip toearnings, he said."We want to givepost offices the look of acorporate company or aprivate bank," he said.With nearly 1.5lakh post offices in thecountry and "goodinfrastructure", thegovernment wants to makeit a profit-makingdepartment, Raja said.
-Agencies
Postal department launches‘Project Arrow' scheme
Chennai, Feb. 12
Antonyfurniture opened its newshowroom near AnnaNagar arch and wasblessed by Rev. Dr. A.M.Chinnappa Arch Bishopof Madras-Mylapore andinaugurated by JusticeS.R. Singharaveluinaugurated the showroom recently.AntonyProjects is a brand nameassociated with affluentyet affordable housing.Over the last ten yearsthey have completedmore than 5 lakh sq ft ofresidential space andmore than 10 lakh sq ft inthe pipeline.Serving thesociety in a better waywas always our mottoand driving force. It isthe feedback from ourvalued Customers andour commitment toenhance the livingstandards of the societythat we live in, made usextend our expertise intofurniture Our newventure - AntonyFurniture is a significantmilestone in our growthpath. It offers healthier,enjoyable and morecomfortable life stylesolutions said Antony,Managing Director of thegroup.At Antonyfurniture utmost care istaken in crafting eachpiece of furniture so that itmeets your high standardsof style and quality.Innovative marketingconcepts, quality productsand state-of-the-artmanufacturing methodshave always been thedriving force behind us.We also cater to the needsof customers individuallyaccording to their tasteBrowse throughthe beautiful furniturecollections; spend fewmoments to get to knowthe company built on solidvalues - values that arereflected in the productsand our services.
-Agencies
Antony Furniture adds onemore to the city
 
Page 3
 
Times Chennai E-PaperFeb. 12, 2009
Mettur Feb. 12
 Minister of Statefor Railways R. Velu onWednesday launched atrain service betweenMettur Dam and ChennaiEgmore.SouthernRailway has provided theconnectivity by attachingslip coaches to the MetturDam-Erode Passenger.The train willleave Mettur Dam at 7.05p.m. and reach Salem at8.10 p.m. Later, thecoaches will be attached tothe Salem - ChennaiEgmore Express thatleaves Salem Junction at9 p.m.In the returndirection, the coachesbound for Mettur will beattached to the Salem -Chennai EgmoreExpress that reachesSalem at 6.05 a.m. Theslip coaches will bedetached at Salem andattached to thepassenger train, whichwill leave Salem at 6.45a.m. and reach MetturDam at 8 a.m.The slipcoaches will include asleeper class coach(reserved), a generalsecond classcompartment(unreserved) and aluggage-cum-brake van.Flagging off thenew service, Mr. Velusaid that the train wouldstop at Mecheri Road,Tholasampati andOmalur. The Mettur Dam- Salem Chennai Egmoretrain would soon berenamed Mettur DamExpress, he said andasked officials to send aproposal to the Ministry.Mr. Veluassured that theRailways would open acomputerisedreservation centre atMettur.SalemDivisional RailwayManager S. Mohan saidthat the divisionregistered 20 per centgrowth in revenue in thelast 10 months of thecurrent fiscal.Dharmapuri MPR. Senthil and MLAs G.K.Mani, V. Kavery,Kannaian, Tamilarasuand Ramanathan spoke.
-Agencies
New train service launched betweenMettur Dam and Chennai Egmore.
Chennai, Feb. 12
 The Madras HighCourt on Wednesdaygranted time to the Stategovernment to file acounter to a public interestlitigation petitionchallenging the Tamil NewYear (Declaration) Act,which sought to declare thefirst day of the Tamil month'Thai' as Tamil New Yearday. While adjourning thematter to March 4, the FirstBench of Acting ChiefJustice S.J.Mukhopadhaya andJustice V.Dhanapalan saidthe petitioner would serve acopy of the petition onstanding counsel for theUnion government.The LawSecretaries of the TamilNadu and Centralgovernments have beencited as respondents inthe petition.In the petition,S. Mani of Mylapore and11 others saidgovernment offices andboards, corporations,industrialestablishments, publicsector undertakings andlocal bodies had to followthe Tamil New Year asspecified in thelegislation. Theenactment of the law wasbeyond the legislativecompetence of the State.“There is noreason disclosed for thisinnovative departurefrom tradition, and theneed or justification forthe misadventure.”It directlyoffended the time-cherished customs andtraditions inseparablyintertwined with religiouspractice, belief and faith.The enactment served nopurpose and could renderno gain for the State or tothe citizens, but it hurtreligious sentiments.The need forintroducing an“innovative New Year”was not clear or comprehensible.
-Agencies
PIL on Tamil New year: State giventime to file counter to PIL petition
Tiruchirapalli, Feb 12 :
Notwithstanding the suspense overTamil film super-starRajnikant enteringpolitics, a section of hisfans have againlaunched a new politicaloutfit, 'JananayagaMakkalKazhagam'(JMK),hoping the actor wouldaccept their action.According tothe newly-electedPresident of the JMK RSakthivel, the fansdissolved 'AanmegaSemmal Rajni FansAssociation' which wasfunctioning at suburbanAriyamangalam fordecades and converted itinto a political outfit.Mr Sakthivelsaid the meeting alsoelected G M K Raju asSecretary, A Selvam asTreasurer, P Rajangamas Presedium Presidentand T K Murugesan asDeputy Secretary of theoutfit, besides otheroffice-bearers. Ifnecessary, additionaloffice-bearers will beappointed, after holdingthe party executive, headded.He said a redand blue coloured flag ofthe outfit was alsounveiled. Efforts were onto register JMK with theelection commission, headded.He claimed MrRajnikant was expectedto enter politics at anytime. He also recalled theTelugu film actor-politician and the newlyformed Praja RajyamParty(PRP) PresidentChiranjeevi's remark thatthe latter had spoken toMr Rajnikant about hisentry into politics by2010.He said JMKmade several attempts tomeet Mr Rajnikant, buttheir efforts went in vain.The actor was not awareof the outfit's launch. Buthe would come to knowabout it through media,he added.He said theirfans association hadbeen rendering service toneedy people for twodecades. ''We wouldcontinue to do so under thebanner of JMK'', he added.Mr Sakthivel saidMr Rajnikant wouldappreciate their efforts andwill not expel them from hisfans association.A section ofRajnikant fans inCoimbatore had alsolaunched a political partyand pasted posters on thewalls across the state,urging him to take theplunge into politics.Disapproving their action,the actor expelled themfrom his fans association.Mr Rajnikant,however, invited theexpelled fans to Chennaiand asked them to bepatient till he takesdecision on enteringpolitics.‘'If God invites Iwill enter into politics'', theactor had said during thatmeeting.
-Agencies
Rajnikant fans launchpoliticial outfit again
Rameswaram, Feb. 12
Yet another graveattack by the Sri LankanNavy on the Indianfishermen at the mid seaprovoked country-boatfishermen of the islandtown to embark on anindefinite strike onWednesday.About 2,000outboard engine-fittedcountry-boats did notventure into the sea forfishing from Rameswaram jetty, Pamban,Thangatchimadam,Dhanushkodi and othercoastal hamlets.According toofficial sources, a groupof country-boatfishermen, who set sailon Tuesday morningfrom Rameswaram, wereallegedly attacked by theLankan Navy in mid seaoff Katchatheevu island,late Tuesday night.The Lankannaval personnel boardedthe Indian boats andattacked the fishermenwith buts of their assaultrifles and iron rods,damaging their fishingnets and seized severalkg of fish, triggeringtension in the coastalhamlets. The injuredfishermen, who reachedthe shores today,narrated their tale of woeto other fisherfolk.Protesting againstfrequent attacks, thecountry-boat fishermendecided not to ventureinto the sea.They weredemanding immediateintervention of the Centreto address their plightand to pressurise the SriLankan Navy to stopattacks on innocentfishermen. The were alsodemanding actionagainst fishermen usingbanned nets for fishing.
-Agencies
Country-boat fishermen on indefinite strike
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