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VOL: 2 ISSUE 51March 06, 2009
New Delhi, March 06
The SupremeCourt on Friday referredthe report of Justice B NSrikrishna on the clashbetween lawyers andpolice to the Madras HighCourt, which, it said, coulddecide on the issue ofholding a judicial inquiryinto the incident.The apex courtsaid the High Court wasalready seized of thematter relating to theclash and it will takefurther decision on thebasis of thereport.Abenchheaded byChiefJustice K GBalakrishnan said that itwill be for theHigh Courtto dwell onthe issue ofholding a judicialinquiryunder theCommissionof Inquiry Act.The preliminaryreport by retired apexcourt-judge JusticeSrikrishna indicted boththe lawyers and thepolice for the clashes onFebruary 19.The report saidthat the provocationcame from theadvocates, who were onstrike, and in retaliationthe police used "excessforce and exceeded itslimits" by entering into theHigh Court premises andchambers of theadvocates.In its report, thecommittee indicted thelawyer for the uglyincident saying “thelawyers had indeed actedlike hooligans”.Giving a cleanchit to the city police, itsaid that the men inuniforms cannot beblamed for the February19 incident which createda furore in the state andelsewhere in the country.However, the committeeadded that the police didcommit excesses to quellthe unruly lawyers.The reportrecommended that thereshould be someguidelines evolved inrelation to the behaviourof the advocates.It further saidthat the acting ChiefJustice of Madras HighCourt had adopted "softattitude" towards thelawyers who were onstrike and were holdingmeetings in the corridorsof the court complex.The committee,which was appointed bya Bench headed by ChiefJustice K GBalakrishnan, hadyesterday submitted thereport on the clashbetween the advocatesand police.Earlier, thelawyers' associationshad said that their stirwould continue till theapex court-appointedcommittee submits itsreport and actions aretaken against the policeofficers responsible for theFebruary 19 clash.Various lawyersassociations from the stateconveyed the stand of themembers of the Bar to theBench which had on Fridaylast asked them to return towork in the interest of thecitizens who are facinghardships due to theadvocates' strike sinceJanuary 29.
SC refers Srikrishna's reportto Madras High Court
Chennai, March 06:
 The Centralgovernment will soon sign aMemorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withprivate players to lease outthe maintenance of fiveWorld Heritage Centres inIndia, including the famousTaj Mahal in Agra.Talking toreporters on the sidelines ofa seminar on the ''Role ofCorporate Sector inTourism Promotion''organised by the TamilNadu TourismDevelopmentCorporation(TTDC) here,Union Tourism SecretarySujit Banerjee said the MoUwould be signed betweenthe Ministry of Tourism,Ministry of Culture and theIndian Association of TourOperator(IATO).After signing theMoU, IATO would take careof the maintenance of RedFort and Qutub Minar inNew Delhi and the TajMahal, Fatehpur Sikri andthe Agra Fort in Agra.''We will hand overonly the maintenance partof these World HeritageCentres to the IATO, whichhad hitherto beenmaintained by theArchaeological Survey ofIndia (ASI). Theownership rights,however, will continue tobe with the ASI'', headded.The fivemonuments would beleased out to the IATO fora period of either 33 yearsor 66 years, Mr Banerjeesaid.Responding to aquestion about touristsinflow, post 26/11 terrorattacks in Mumbai, MrBanerjee said from minus17.6 per cent in Januarythis year and minus 12.5per cent in December2008, it had come downto minus 10.6 per cent inFebruary.‘'This is a goodsign of improvement oftourists inflow into India'',he said, adding, about50,000 tourists hadarrived in February alone.''This showed signs oftourism picking up inIndia,'' he added.Earlier,delivering the presidentialaddress at the seminar,State Chief Secretary K SSripathi said investmentin Tourism has comedown due to globaldownturn and called uponcorporates to play aleading role in promotingtourism by developinginfrastructure andhospitality to attracttourists.He said both theCentre and the StateGovernment, could playthe role of a facilitator.Mr Sripathi alsourged the Centre toconsider reviving the'Festival of India', whichwas shelved a few yearsback due to variousreasons.The festivalwould provideopportunities to projectIndia as a touristdestination, as it attractslots of involvement fromforeign tourists.StateTourism Secretary V IraiAnbu and TTDCManaging Director andCommissioner of TourismM Rajaram, also spokeon the occasion.
World heritage monumentson lease to attract tourists
 
Times Chennai E-PaperMarch 06, 2009Page 2
Chennai, March 06:
SRM Universityon Thursday signed aMemorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withthe Indira Gandhi Centrefor Atomic Research(IGCAR) for academic andresearch collaborationsand for establishingmeteorological tower in theUniversity Campus.Talking toreporters after the MoUfunction, IGCAR DirectorDr Baldev Raj and SRMUniversity Chancellor T RPachamuthu and Vice-Chancellor Prof PSathyanarayanan said aspart of the MoU, a microMeteorological Towerwould be set up to checkweather conditions andpollution levels.The 15 metre hightower would be built by theIGCAR in the SRMpremises at suburbanKattankualthur.This tower wouldbe the first of its kind inChennai and it was beingbuilt as part of IGCAR’satmospheric andenvironment monitoringprogramme.The MicroMeteorological Towerwould help in establishingsurface, air and waterpollution levels apart fromhelping urban planners onproper use of land space,Dr Baldev Raj said.''Setting up of thetower, which will becomefunctional in three monthswith an initial investment ofRs 20 lakh, will makeindustries and educationalinstitutions, includingschools, able to monitorpollution levels in theenvironment.' ''A prototypeof the tower (15 metre high)would first be built. Laterthe actual tower,measuring 50 metreheight, will be set up'', DrRaj said.The IGCAR wasalso planning tocollaborate with researchand educationalinstitutions on designinga kit that would make itpossible for even schoolchildren to test pollutionlevels. The kit would bemade available at a costof about Rs 10,000.Earlier,speaking at the functon,Dr. Baldev Raj saidatomic energy andmaterial science hadimmense potential intouching the lives ofpeople and for nationbuilding. It could help inimproving quality tests offruits, vegetables andflowers exported fromIndia, better diagnosis ofcancer and diseasescaused by inflammatorytissues and it was alsopossible to bring robusttechnologies at lowercost in the field of healthcare.Dr Baldev Rajsaid India was second tonone in establishingsodium-cooled fastreactors and that it wasthe first to master thistechnology ahead of theUS and France. This notonly speak volumesabout the Indian scientificcommunity's talent, butalso proved that Indianscould work as a team, hesaid, dismissing as myth,the criticisms that Indianscould not work as a team.''India has takena lead. Tomorrow wewant to be world leader inthis technology. For thissynergy is required andthe national facility likeIGCAR can be used asmuch as possiblethrough suchagreements'', he said.In this context,he referred to thesuccessful launch ofChandrayaan-I and saidit was a classic exampleof team work.Dr Baldev Rajalso warned the studentsthat science was not aneasy subject. He said''on the contrary, scienceis a very difficult subject.Being ascientist is not an easy job. You will have to workround the clock andthroughout the year toachieve something. Thenonly you can realise yourdream. Science is likeclimbing a mountain,which you love as you goup step by step'', he said.Observing thataddiction to Science wasnot bad, he said hewanted to make studentsget addicted to scienceand IGCAR was ready toenhance the studentsholistic education inscience, which wasrelevent in all spheres ofactivity.Vice ChancellorProf Sathyanarayanansaid SRM would soonintroduce subjects innuclear science andtechnology as electivesbefore offering a full-fledged course at thepost graduate-level.Chancellor T RPachamuthu, speakingon the occasion,emphasised theimportance of research,either by the faculty or thestudents, and said anyUniversity would beknown by the level ofresearch it was doingand SRM University istrekking the path ofresearch.Earlier ProVice Chancellor Dr. T PGanesan welcomed thegathering andhighlighted the SRMUniversity's strides to thegathering and Prof.Sethuraman Registrarproposed a vote ofthanks.
- Staff Reporter
SRM signs MoU with IGCAR
Chennai, March 06:
Students of JA Institute ofTechnology andEngineering submitted alist of complaints to AnnaUniversity here onThursday.The students intheir written complaintmentioned the allegedpunishment meted out tothe hostel students forcoming out into the openwith issues including nodinner or breakfast forthem.The studentstold the reporters thatProf Ganesan, Dean ofStudent Affairs, hadassured them that a teamfrom the university wouldvisit the college on Fridayfor an inspection. Theyalso said that they hadrequested for a transfer,but were told that it wasnot possible in the middleof a semester.The studentshave planned todemonstrate in front oftheir college on Friday andboycott classes until theteam arrives for inspection.Universityofficials said that thecomplaints would bereviewed.
- Bureau Report
Photo by S. Mohan 
JA College students lodgecomplaints with AU
Chennai, March 06:
Vidya Sagar, anNGO for cerebral palsyhas come up with a visioncentre --The VisionCentre of Vidya Sagar --for children with lowvision.With childrenwith visual and physicaldisabilities finding itdifficult to get along withinclusive education, theCentre is setting up theVision Centre to providethem holisticintervention, regularfollow-up, parentalguidance andcounseling.The Centre isbeing set up to cater tothe needs of childrenstudying in mainstreamschools and also theincreased number ofreferrals from hospitalsand doctors. “Whenthese children becomepart of inclusiveeducation issues likechildren not being able tosee, not being able tocopy down from theboard, not being able towrite correctly comes up.The schools as well as thechildren are finding itdifficult to cope with therequirements of eachother. Hence, Vidya Sagarhas come up with theVision Centre to givesupport to the children”said its Vimala,coordinator, The VisionCentre of Vidya Sagar.The programmeincludes orientation andmobility, communication,peer-interaction, play,braille activities andoccupational therapy.
- Bureau Report
Vision centre for kids
Chennai, March 06:
The Congresshigh command hasappointed a five-membercommittee foridentification ofconstituencies and seatsharing arrangementswith DMK for the May 13Lok Sabha elections inTamil Nadu.TNCCPresident K VThangabalu, UnionMinisters G K Vasan, PChidambaram, E V K SElangovan andCongress LegislatureParty Leader DSudharasanam would bethe members of thecommittee.This wasconveyed by AICC Generalsecretary Gulam NabiAzad, in-charge of TamilNadu to Mr Thangabalu, aparty release here said.
- Agencies
Congress appoints committeeto hold seat sharing talks with DMK
Chennai, March 06:
SouthernRailway will run thefollowing special trains toclear the rush duringApril, May and June.Tiruchi-Chennai Central WeeklySuperfast special (No.0634) will leave Tiruchi at10.40 p.m. on Saturdaysand arrive ChennaiCentral at 8 a.m. onSundays. ChennaiCentral-Tiruchi (No.0633) will leave ChennaiCentral at 10.20 onTuesdays and arrive atTiruchi at 7.15 a.m. onWednesdays. The firsttrain will leave Tiruchi onApril 4 and the last trainfrom Chennai Central onJune 23.ChennaiCentral-MangaloreWeekly Superfast special(No. 0619) will leaveChennai Central at 5 p.m.on Sundays and reachMangalore at 9.10 a.m. onMondays. Mangalore-Chennai Central (No.0620) will leave Mangaloreat 4 p.m. on Mondays andreach Chennai Central at 8a.m. on Tuesdays. The firsttrain will leave ChennaiCentral on April 5 and lasttrain from Mangalore onJune 22, says a Railwayrelease.
- Bureau Report
Special trains to clear rush
Chennai, March 06:
Manitha NeyamIAS and IPS FreeCoaching Centre hasdecided to offer specialcoaching classes fromSaturday to candidateswho are planning to takethe forthcoming UnionPublic ServiceCommission (UPSC)examinations.The UPSCexaminations will be heldin New Delhi. Experts willoffer special coaching,conduct mock interviewsand group discussions tohelp the candidates.In a release,founder-president of thecentre S. Duraisamy saidthat there had been anearly three-foldincrease in the number ofcandidates from thecoaching centre emergingsuccessful in thepreliminary and maininterviews. This year, 34students passed out asagainst 26 last year.Those desirous of joining the coachingclasses may contact thecourse director at24358373 or 99406 70110.
- Bureau Report
Special coaching classesfor Civil services exams
 
Times Chennai E-PaperMarch 06, 2009Page 3
City
ity
Chennai, March 06 :
After over twodecades of work, India'sfirst nuclear reactor thatwould breed more fuel thanit consumes will be readyby the end of this year saidIGCAR director Baldev Rajsaid on Thursday speakingon the sidelines of functionto mark the signing of amemorandum ofunderstanding between theIGCAR and SRMUniversity inKattankulathur,Work on secondgeneration the 500-MWprototype fast breederreactor (PFBR) wasexpected oto be completedby the end of current year,he said adding that it wouldbe major achievement forthe country, as no othercountry in Asian cub-contingent has developed itso far.A breeder reactoris one that breeds morematerial for a nuclearfission26.002660062reactionthan it consumes, so thatthe reaction--that ultimatelyproduces electricity--cancontinue, he explained.If all goes well, theRs.3,500 crore/$700million project promoted byBharatiya Nabhikiya VidyutNigam Ltd (Bhavini) willbecome the crowning gloryfor experts at the IndiraGandhi Centre for AtomicResearch (IGCAR), headded.Manyconsignments of Sodiumhas been injected to thereactor andthat the testsconductedare positive.Though wehad lostsome timeduringTsunami weare almoston scheduleand thedates ofcommissio0ning wouldbeannouncedshortly.Atmospheric andenvironment monitoringprogrammeHe added that the MicroMeteorological Tower, tocheck weatherconditions and pollutionlevels, will be built byIndira Gandhi Centre forAtomic Research,Kalpakkam, on thepremises of SRMUniversity.First of its kindin Chennai, the facilitywas being built as part ofIGCAR’s atmosphericand environmentmonitoring programme.The MicroMeteorological Towerwould help inestablishing surface, airand water pollution levelsapart from helping urbanplanners in proper use ofland space, Dr. BaldevRaj said.he said it waspart of a largerprogramme to makeindustries andeducational institutions,including schools,monitor pollution levels inthe environment.A prototype ofthe tower about 15metres tall would first bebuilt, before the actualtower measuring 50metres in height wasinstalled. It would costabout Rs. 20 lakh andcompleted in about threemonths, Dr. Baldev Rajsaid. There were alsoplans to collaborate withresearch andeducational institutionsin designing a kit thatwould make it possiblefor even school childrento test pollution levels.The IGCAR wasplanning to make the kitavailable at a cost of Rs.10,000.AdvancedHeavy Water Reactor(AHWR)Progress wasmade on the AHWR fuelcluster designoptimisation studies interms of vibrationconsideration andthermal hydraulic point. .Advanced operatorinformation system forintegration of allavailable AHWR plantinformation system at asingle location was underdevelopment.The peerreview of the DetailedProject Report (DPR) ofAHWR was completedby the 15 Review Groupsof NPCIL. AHWR wasalso undergoing a reviewfor its compliance withthe internationalstandards throughparticipation in the IAEAinitiated InternationalProject on InnovativeNuclear Reactors andFuel Cycles (INPRO).The project isunder review at theRegulatory Board andconcurrence is expectedto be received by nextyear. Once theconcurrence is given itwould take atleast sevenyears to complete theproject he added.
-Agencies
PFBR almost on schedule
Chennai, March 06
 Poignant scenes werewitnessed at the ChennaiAirport at the early hours oftoday as the body of SimonParanthaman, abductedand killed by Talibanterrorists in Afghanistan,about three weeks ago,arrived.Heart rendingscenes were witnessed asSimon’s wife, two childrenand family members brokedown and wailed, as theyreceived the body at theInternational Cargo at0220 hrs from Kabul viaDelhi.Union Minister ofState for Law and Justice KVenkatapathy and StateGovernment officialswere present at theairport as PSubramanian, brother ofSimon received the body.The family members,accompanied by districtrevenue officials, took thebody to their nativevillage near Kallakuruchiin Villupuram District ofTamil Nadu to perform thelast rites. The Tamil NaduGovernment hadarranged an ambulancefor taking the body.Giving up hopeof getting back the bodyafter being informed thatthe abductors had killedhim on February eight,the family members,using a handful of soilfrom Afghanistan, hadperformed the last rites.They were later informedon February 24 that thebody had been found andrecovered in amountainous region,about 70 km away fromthe city of Herath inAfghanistan.SimonParanthaman, whoworked as a cook for anItalian firm in Afghanistan,when he was abducted bythe Taliban terrorists onOctober 13. As the Italianfirm and the Indian
Airport witnesses poignant scenes asSimon's body arrives
Chennai, March 06:
Threeinternational flights,scheduled to land at theChennai Airport at thewee hours of today,diverted to Bangalore asthick fog engulfed thecity, reducing thevisibility level.In less than aweek, fog threw a coverover this metropolis,forcing three flights fromSharjah, Dubai andQatar to land inBangalore and comeback to the city after0700 hrs, as the skiescleared.Air-Arabia flightC9 475 from Sharjah,scheduled to arrive at0300 hrs, Gulf AirlinesGF 468 from Dubai,scheduled to land at0325 hrs and QatarAirlines QR 276 fromQatar, scheduled to landat 0345 hrs, found theirway to Bangalore, as thePilots reported poorvisibility and declaredthat they would not land.Meanwhile,three flights, includingthe much sought afterLufthansa werecancelled due to poorbookings.Indian Airlinescancelled its IC 440 flightto Delhi at 0640 hrs, as ithad a booking of only 47passengers against itscapacity of 180passengers.Similarly,Lufthansa’s LH 758 andLH 759 and MalaysiaAirlines MH 180 and 181were cancelled due to poorbookings, much to thesurprise of passengers. LH758, scheduled to arrive at2345 hrs from Frankfurtwas cancelled. In view ofthis, LH 759, which was toleave for Frankfurt at 0145hrs had been cancelled. Ithad a booking of 135passengers, against thecapacity of 360.The MalaysianMH 180 also did not arriveat 2145 hrs last night and inview of that, the flight fromChennai to Malaysia at2300 hrs had beencancelled. It had a bookingof 95 passengers againstthe capacity of 240passengers, Airportsources said.
-Agencies
Three international flightsdiverted as fog engulfs city
Chennai, March 06:
A cancerpatient, being treated atthe GovernmentRoyapettah Hospitalhere, committed suicideby hanging himself froma tree at the hospitalpremises today.Police sourcessaid Ramakrishnan (50),hailing from Papnasam inthe Thanjavur District,had been undergoingtreatment at the hospital.Unable to bearthe ordeal, he committedsuicide by hanging himselffrom a tree, in the hospitalpremises.The body wasremoved for post-mortem.
Cancer patient commits suicide in city
Chennai, Mar 06
 Putting at restspeculation of his partyaligning with theCongress for the ensuingLok Sabha polls, DMDKPresident and Actor-politician Vijayakanthtoday described it asmedia speculationand said a finaldecision would betaken after consultinghis party cadres.Speaking tomediapersons afterattending the housewarming function ofhis brother-in-lawand DMDK YouthWing PresidentSudheesh, he said 'Iam here to attend aprivate function. I do notwant to comment onpolitical alliances with theLok Sabha polls round thecorner.' Stating that mediahas been speculating apossible tie-up between hisparty and the Congress,Vijayakanth said ''I cannottake any decision on myown. I will holdconsultations with the partycadres on the issue andtake a final decision''.Interestingly,TNCC President K VThangkabalu was alsopresent at the function. Butboth the leaders did nothave any private audience.
-Agencies
Vijaykanth scotches speculationon tie-up with Cong
Chennai March 06
The AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa hasadvanced her March 10 fast on the Sri Lankan Tamilissue by a day.Jayalalithaa had announced on Thursdaythat she would observe the fast on March 10demanding the Centre should work for bringing aboutan immediate ceasefire between Sri Lankan forcesand the LTTE.The former Chief Minister had said otherprominent party leaders would lead the fast in alldistrict headquarters to express solidarity with the SriLankan Tamils.
Jayalalithaa advances fast onSri Lankan Tamils issue
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