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VOL: 2 ISSUE 50March 05, 2009
Chennai, March 05;
Former TamilNadu chief minister andAIADMK GeneralSecretary J Jayalalithaatoday announced that shewill lead a state-wide faston March 10, demandingimmediate ceasefire in SriLanka and the party willraise funds to help theLankan Tamils.In a statementhere, Ms Jayalalithaa saidthe one-day fast was alsoto condemn the Congress-led UPA government at theCentre and DMKgovernment in the state forremaining mute spectatorsto the genocide against theTamils in the island nation.Stating that ''ourTamil brethren are beingmassacred and facinghardship without foodand medical facilities''following the brutalattack by the Lankanarmed forces, MsJayalalithaa said theLankan Tamils could besaved only if there wasan immediate ceasefire.To press thisdemand, the AIADMKwould launch a hungerstrike throughout thestate. She would lead thefast in the city on March10 from 0900 hrs to 1700hrs and the party's officebearers at the districtheadquarters.At the fastingvenues, a Hundi wouldbe kept to collect moneyfor the suffering Tamils.She would launch thecollection by making thefirst contribution, theAIADMK supremo saidand asked partymen tocontribute generously toalleviate the sufferings ofTamils.Ms Jayalalithaaalso exhorted partyvolunteers from all wingsand General public toparticipate in thehunger strike in largenumbers andexpress theirsolidarity with theLankan Tamils.This was thefirst agitation beinglaunched by theAIADMK eversincethe Sri Lankan Tamilsissue hogged thestate politics onOctober 2 last year,when the CommunistParty of India (CPI),launched a fast,demandingceasefire.The AIADMK,which had initially offeredsupport to the fast, failedto take part in it and sincethen the party had notbeen associating itselfwith the agitationsorganised by its allies likeCPI, Marumalarchi DMK(MDMK) and otherparties.Ms Jayalalithaawould be observing a fastfor a cause for the thirdtime. She had observeda fast on the Cauverywater issue in 1993 and2007. Ms Jayalalithaawas the Chief Minister,when she launched anindefinite fast in front ofthe Anna Memorial onMarina in 1993,demanding immediaterelease of Cauvery waterto the state.She ended thefast after the thenNarasimha Raogovernment at theCentre deputed WaterResources Minister V CShukla and assured herof immediate action.When she wasthe leader of theOpposition, sheobserved a one day fastin March 2007, in front ofValluvar Kottam,demanding notification ofthe Cauvery WaterDisputes Tribunal's finalaward in the CentralGazette.On the LankanTamils issue, theAIADMK supremo wasat the centre ofcontroversy recentlywhen she accused theLTTE of using innocentTamil civilians as humanshield. She haddemanded that the LTTEshould lay down arms,surrender and pave wayfor a safe passage to theTamils.Political partiesaccused her ofsupporting the armyaction and holding abrief for the LankanPresident MahindaRajapaksa, when shesaid civilians gettingkilled in the crossfirewas inevitable in anywar.She had evenridiculed Chief MinisterM Karunanidhi fordemanding ceasefire,stating that he was trying tohelp the the LTTE and giveit some breathing time.Now with theAIADMK supremo alsotaking the plunge, thestruggle to protect theLankan Tamils, gainsmomentum with almost allpolitical parties in the statelining up and raising theirvoice, demandingimmediate ceasefire.The fast alsoassumes significance as itis considered to be astrategic move by her tocounter the DMK-Congress combine andother political opponents inthe runup to the May 13Lok Sabha elections.The fast alsosignalls the importance,political parties haveattached to the LankanTamils issue ahead of theelections.
Jaya to fast demanding Lanka ceasefire
Chennai, Mar 05
 A group of fastinglawyers allegedly brutallybeat up a police constablein the middle of the roadopposite Madras HighCourt Complex today.Constable GowriVallabhan of theIntelligence Section wasstanding opposite the HighCourt when ten to 15lawyers pulled him into the'shamiana' and allegedlybeat him black and blueusing plastic chairs.They later liftedhim up and threw him onthe other side of the road.The constablesomehow managed to pullhimself up and ran tosafety.He went to the B2Esplanade Police Stationwhere police filed an FIRand rushed him to theGeneral Hospital fortreatment.Meanwhile, thefast by the advocatesseeking action againstthe DGP andCommissioner of Police(CoP) for their allegedinvolvement in theFebruary 19 clashbetween the lawyers andadvocates entered theninth day today. Theadvocates had put up a'shamiana' in the middleof the road and wereholding an agitationallegedly without policepermission.The February19 clash resulted afterpolice arrested someadvocates in connectionwith an attack on JanataParty PresidentSubramanian Swamyand some policemen.Protesting thearrest, lawyers foughtpitched battles with thepolicemen in which apolice station in the courtcomplex was set ablazeby the advocates.The lawyershave since been stayingaway from courtsdemanding actionagainst the top policeofficials.The SupremeCourt has appointedJustice B N Srikrishna,retired judge of the ApexCourt, to conduct a probeinto the incidents andsubmit a report.
Fasting lawyers beat up constable
 
Times Chennai E-PaperMarch 05, 2009Page 2
Chennai, Mar 05
The Federation ofChennai Minority CollegeTeachers andManagements todaywithdrew their decision toconduct a fast on Marchseven, following theapproval of clearing thepending salaries of 160staff members on the basisof 'pending judicial verdict'.Terming that thefederation's meeting withMadras University Vice-Chancellor SRamachandran andother top governmentofficials resulted in an"amicable solution", UGCmember Xavier Alphonseat a press conferencehere said "we would begiven the approval forteachers pending the judgement in court".He appealed tothe top officials of thevarious colleges towithdraw their decision oftaking out a fast on Marchseven.
- Agencies
Teachers federation withdrawsdecision to conduct fast
Chennai, March 05:
When twostudents with fake buspasses were caught byMTC inspectors recently,little did they know that thetrail would lead them to acomputer centre, wherefake bus passes werebeing issued to students.There are onlyeight government collegesin the city and students ofother institutions, includingaided colleges, have topurchase their pass everymonth for a fee.Free bus pass isscanned and photos of theperson imposed on it. Thissimple affair comes at aprice ranging from Rs300 to Rs 600.“A student of DG Vaishnav College andanother of KandaswamyNaidu College for Menwere caught on the sameday. Both carried passeswith PresidencyCollege’s name on it.On closer inspection, itwas found that thelogo on the card wastorn and pasted froman old bus pass thatcould not be scanned.It was not the crime, butthe intention which isdisturbing,’’ said an MTCofficer, who did not wishto reveal his name, asthey have been directednot to talk to the media.The logo is onearea that the fraudstershave not been able tocrack, as it is an imposingaffair and does not bringlarge profits, thoughofficers say that a personselling these fake passescould easily earn Rs 300per pass.Letters havebeen sent to principals ofall colleges and schoolsinforming them about theexistence of this racketand asking them tocaution students againstusing such fake passes.Checks in otherparts of the city which didnot have anygovernment colleges inthe area have revealedthat even those who hadpassed out of collegesand drop-outs wereusing fake bus passes.According to anestimate by a revenueofficer of MTC, the loss tothe already cashcrunched departmentruns into several lakhs.
-Agencies
MTC abuzz with fake bus passes
Chennai, March 05:
 Its lack ofinfrastructure in the selffinancing engineeringcolleges which hasprompted AnnaUniversity to act. PMREngineering was in thelime light for some timeafter repeatedassurances from themanagement theuniversity is watching thesituation. Now its theturn of J A EngineeringCollege: Around 40students of JA Institute ofEngineering andTechnology,Koyembedu, gathered atAnna University here onWednesday to enquireabout the status of theirresults, which had beenreportedly withheld, apartfrom registering acomplaint on the lack ofinfrastructure in thecollege and questioningthe grant of affiliation tothe institution.When theresults of I year studentsof the college werewithheld by theuniversity, they hadrepeatedly questionedthe college authoritiesonly to get the answerthat they had paid theregistration fee on time.But the studentsfound out that the collegehad not submitted itsletter for the AICTEapproval to the universityand the results werewithheld. This was alsoconfirmed by AnnaUniversity vice-chancellor Prof P MannarJawahar.Meanwhile, thestudents were informedby the Dean of StudentAffairs that the collegechairman could submitthe letter to the universityfor the release of theresults.The students alsotook the opportunity tocomplain about the poorinfrastructure. Thestudents also justified theirfear when they said thatthose who had assembledin the college in themorning were not allowedto leave and reach AnnaUniversity and thehostellers might have beenlocked up by the collegeauthorities.They also allegedthat the teachers hadthreatened to cancel theirregistration, if they saidanything about the collegeto the outside world. But,the university had askedthem formally complaint toact on it. However, thecollege authoritiesremained incommunicado.
-Agencies
After PMR its J A Engineering College
Chennai, March 05 :
 The Madras HighCourt on Wednesdayslapped a fine of Rs 10,000on a trade union affiliatedto All India Anna DMK(AIADMK) for filing amiscellaneous petitionseeking modification orclarification of the court'searlier order relating to thetrade union election forrecognition in Tamil NaduCivil Supplies Corporation.While dismissingthe petition, a divisionbench comprising MrJustices Elipe Dharmaraoand R Subbaiah said thepetitioner had filed amodification petitioininstead of an appealpetition.''The partyaffected by judgement in acase should prefer anappeal and should not file amodification petition'', thebench observed.The petitionerhad resorted to this onlywith a malicious motive ofstalling the ongoingelection process, thebench said and dismissedthe petition with a fine.The benchimposed a fine of Rs10,000 to be paid by thepetitioner for the ChiefJustice's Relief Fund andalso directed the CivilSupplies Corporation tocomplete the electionprocess within six weeks.Tamil Nadu CivilSupplies CorporationPirivu Anna ThozhirSangam, a workersunion, in itsmiscellaneous petitionsought to modify theorder of the High Court toeffect that in the unionelection for gettingrecognition, if one unionsecures 51 per cent of thevotes polled then that bedeclared a recognisedunion.But if a uniondoes not secure 51 percent of votes, the Unionor Unions which puttogether secure 51 percent of votes must bedeclared as recognised.This order will affect thestakes of the union whoget majority support ofthe workers, it submitted.The bench saidit passed the orderaccording to theSupreme Court's earlierorder and direction.
- Agencies
HC slaps Rs 10,000 fine for filingmiscellaneous petition
Chennai, March 05
The Tamil Nadu State Hajj Committee,Chennai, has invited applications from people residingin Tamil Nadu for the pilgrimage trip in 2009. An officialrelease from the Committee stated that applicationforms could be obtained from the AdministrativeOfficer, Tamil Nadu State Hajj Committee, Rosy Tower,Mahatma Gandhi Road, Nungambakkam, from March5. They could also be downloaded fromwww.hajcommittee.comAs per guidelines not more than five personshaving blood relations, comprising family members orclose relatives, could be included in one group/cover.No alien should be included in the cover. Pilgrims ofsame district should apply in one cover. The filled inapplications should be submitted to the Committee onor before March 31.
- Agencies
Applications invited for Haj pilgrimage
Chennai, March 05 :
ChennaiCorporation has said thatrenewal of trade licencesfor 2009-10 will be donetill March 31 at all its 10zonal offices.A press releasefrom the Corporationsaid that tradersinterested in renewingtheir licences shouldapply to the zonal officesconcerned between 10a.m. and 3 p.m.The addressesof the zonal offices andthe divisions coveredwere as follows:Corporation Zone Ioffice, 266, TondiarpetHigh Road, divisions - 1to 13; Zone II, 47, BasinBridge Road, divisions -14 to 31; Zone III, 71, Dr.Ambedkar CollegeRoad, Pulianthope,divisions - 32 to 49; ZoneIV, 5, Anderson Road,Aynavaram, divisions 50to 63; Zone V, 183,Periyar E.V.R. Road,Kilpauk, divisions - 64 to78; Zone VI, 2, Dr.Besant Road, Ice House,divisions - 79 to 96; ZoneVII, Lake Area FourthStreet, Nungambakkam,divisions - 97 to 113;Zone VIII, 64, NSK Road,Kodambakkam,divisions - 114 to 129;Zone IX, Richards Park,370, Anna Salai,Saidapet, divisions - 130to 141; and Zone X, 115,Dr. Muthulakshmi Road,Adyar, divisions - 142 to155.TheCorporation warned thetraders that they wouldhave to pay a penalty of50 per cent of theirlicence fee if they appliedfor renewal between April 1and 30. The penalty wouldbe 100 per cent for thetraders applying betweenMay 1, 2009 and March 31,2010. Licence would becancelled for the tradersfailing to renew by March31, 2010.The traders hadbeen asked to pay licencefee, conservancy chargeand P.F.A charge in a singledemand draft drawn infavour of the RevenueOfficer, Corporation ofChennai, along with licenceapplication form forrenewal of licence, besidesenclosing photocopy of lastyear’s licence and twopassport size photographsof the licensee.
- Agencies
Trade licences can be renewedwithout penalty till March 31
Chennai, Mar 5
Describing as''unfortunate'' the TamilNadu Chief Minister MKarunanidhi's chargethat he was biasedagainst the DMKgovernment, state ChiefElectoral Officer (CEO)Naresh Gupta has saidhe would send a report tothe Election Commissionin this regard.Whencontacted for hiscomments, Mr Guptasaid yesterday he wouldsend a detailed report tothe Election Commissionabout the charges madeagainst him.Making it clearthat he had no soft cornerfor the AIADMK as theChief Minister, Mr Guptasaid he had no politicalleanings. ''I haveabsolutely no interest hesaid.On the ChiefMinsiter's charge that hespoke to newspaperoffices and asked themnot to publish the stategovernment'sannouncement withregard to the constitutionof a welfare board forVanniayas publicproperties, Mr Gupta saidthis was totally wrong.''How do youexpect me to prevent thepublication of the report..Ido not even know aboutit..This is totallyincorrect,'' he said.The CEOdisputed Mr Karunanidhi'sremarks that he wasappointed by the stategovernment as CEO for aspecific period. He wasappointed under theRepresentation of People'sAct and drew 50 per cent ofsalary from the Centre andthe balance 50 per centfrom the state government.Mr Gupta said hedid not call on the ChiefMinister after the DMKcame to power in May 2006as per the ElectionCommission policy. ''I didnot even call on theprevious Chief Minister (MsJ Jayalalithaa),'' he said.
-Agencies
CEO terms Karunanidhi's charge unfortunate, to send report to EC
 
Times Chennai E-PaperMarch 05, 2009Page 3
National
New Delhi, March 05:
 The CentralVigilance Commission(CVC) has recommendedinitiation of major penaltyproceedings against 87government officials fortheir alleged involvement incorruption cases.A large number ofofficials, about 21, werefrom public sector banks,11 from HMT Limited, 10from the Department ofTelecommunications, ninefrom Northern Coalfields,six from Ministry ofRailways, and five from theMinistry of UrbanDevelopment and therest 25 were from othergovernment departmentsand insurancecompanies, a statementsaid.TheCommission hasdisposed of 379 casesreferred to it for adviseand has launchedprosecution against 27officers, of which 19 werefrom Central Board ofExcise and Customs(CBEC) and two fromIndian Overseas Bank,the statement said.The CVC hasalso advised impositionof heavy penalty against30 government officials --14 from public sectorbanks, four fromInsurance sector, threefrom DDA, two each fromMCD and I&B Ministryand one each from CBDT,ITDC, Madras Fertilizers,Home Ministry and UrbanDevelopment Ministry.It has alsosanctioned prosecutionof 50 MCD officials, out57 and 72 others forimposing heavy penalty.
-Agencies
CVC recommends proceedingsagainst 87 govt officials
New Delhi, March 05 :
Opening the doorfor students to gain skillsand start profitableventures after school,NCERT has decided tointroduce a textbook onheritage crafts from thecoming academic sessionin Class XI.The craft sectoroffers the second largestemployment opportunitiesin India second only toagriculture and is thehighest contributor toexport earnings."The textbook willbe introduced as anelective subject across allstreams, designed to helpstudents find economic andemployment opportunitiesafter leaving school,"NCERT spokesperson B CPatro told PTI.It is basically anew curricular area thatincorporates the cultural,social and creativeattributes of India's richcraft into the educationalsystem through both theoryand practice.The subject --also to be taught in classXII -- will open the doorfor students to pursue afield of their choice forfurther study andspecialisation, he said."Students maytake this subject and joinan export business orstart a venture of theirown or train in businessmanagement oreconomics," he said.Some mighteven specialise inmuseum studies, history,sociology or evenanthropology, he said.There arealtogether 10 chapters inthe book dedicated tocrafts heritage, clay,stone, metal, jewellery,natural fibre, paper,textile, painting andtheatre crafts.Each chapter iswell supported bycolourful photographsrelating to the content.The textbook onheritage crafts finds itsgenesis to the NationalCurriculum Framework of2005. One of the keyrecommendations of theframework was toincrease the number ofoptions available at thesenior secondary level,and India's heritagecrafts provides one sucharea, Patro said.It has beenprepared by practitionersin the field of education,art, history anddesigning.In its introduction,NCERT has expressedhope that many youngpeople belonging to artsand crafts communitieswill take this subject andwill be able to assist theirfamilies in their ancestralcraft tradition in meetingthe challenges ofentrepreneurship andmerchandising in this ageof globalisation.
-Agencies
NCERT introduces newtextbook on heritage crafts
Guwahati, March 05:
The pre-poll tieup
 
between theopposition Asom GanaParishad (AGP) and theBharatiya Janata Party(BJP) in Assam for nextmonth's parliamentarypolls has hit a majorroadblock with the twoparties failing to strike aformal deal.A scheduled joint press conferenceWednesday by the AGPand the BJP in NewDelhi, where anannouncement of theseat sharing dealbetween the two partieswas to be made, waspostponed indefinitely atthe last minute.The officialreason cited for thepostponement of theannouncement was dueto the death of the brotherof a BJP leader fromAssam."There are nodifferences and the seatsharing deal is on," AGPpresident ChandraMohan Patowary toldIANS on phone from NewDelhi.But thereseems more to it withparty sources hintingabout serious differencesbetween the two partiesover the prestigiousGuwahati parliamentaryseat."In principle wehave decided to leave theGuwahati seat to the BJP,but we want a candidateto be put up by the partyother than their nationalvice president BijoyaChakraborty," a seniorAGP leader said,requesting not to benamed."The BJP issticking to its demand tofield Bijoya as theirGuwahati candidate,while we want someoneelse to contest from theseat," he added.The AGP isaverse to the candidatureof Chakraborty as shehad on earlier occasions"belittled" somelegislators of the regionalparty, whose assemblyconstituencies fall withinthe Guwahati Lok Sabhaseat."Bijoya's imageis not very good as shewas shown on televisioninstigating a mob duringthe Oct 30 serial blasts inGuwahati and provokedthem to carry deadbodies of the blast inhandcarts to thesecretariat, an incident thatis still fresh in the people'smind," the AGP leader said."At a time whenpeople were busy helpingthe injured, Bijoya triedplaying politics by takingout a procession with thedead bodies."There is nowpressure from AGPsupporters and workers onthe leadership to even snapthe ties with the BJP andcontest the polls on theirown."The party (AGP)that cannot even make upits mind on seatadjustments, do you thinkthey would be able toimpact on the Congress,"Assam chief minister TarunGogoi told IANS.The AGP-BJPthat had a pre poll allianceduring the 2001 assemblyelections suffered ahumiliating defeat at thehands of the Congressparty with leaders of boththe parties accusing eachother of betrayal andsabotage.
-Agencies
AGP-BJP poll tie-up hits roadblock
New Delhi, March 05:
The MiG-23BNground attack aircraft,which never saw actionduring its 26 years with theIndian Air Force, will bidadieu to the service onFriday.The MiG-23BN,currently operated only bythe 221 Squadron of theIAF's 9 Wing, will bephased out at the Halwaraairbase in Punjab after aflying display andtouchdown, air forceofficials said today.Bought fromRussia in 1982 to counterPakistan's air superiority F-16 fighters, the fightersnever took part in anyoperation against theenemy.But they werepressed into serviceduring the 1999 Kargilwar and carried outpatrols during the 2001-02 stand-off withPakistan as part ofOperation Parakram.With a dubioussafety record and besetwith engine troubles, theaircraft's phase outcomes at a time whenthere were reports ofburgeoning maintenancecosts and problemsrelating to non-availability of spareparts.Of the foursquadrons the IAF had --over 70 aircraft -- half ofthem were lost in aircrashes and othermishaps."Maintainingthe aircraft fleet is veryexpensive for the IAF, sowe have to phase out theaircraft, which has servedus well over twodecades-and-a-half.The aircraftincur heavy financialcosts for repairs andspares," an official said.Its airsuperiority version, theMiG-23MF, used as aninterceptor in air defenceroles by the IAF, wasphased out in 2007.
-Agencies
MiG-23BN fighters to bidadieu to IAF service
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