VOL: 3 ISSUE 6Chennai, July 28, 2009

Chennai, July 28 :

Womenregistered with the citycorporation healthdepartment will soon getSMS alerts reminding themof their children'svaccination scheduleunder an e-governanceinitiative of the civic body."The alerts wouldbe sent under a newDisease Tracking Systemwhich will be tentativelylaunched on August 15,2009 as part of the e-governance initiatives,"Chennai CorporationMayor MSubramaniam toldPTI here onTuesday.The system "isthe first suchinitiative by acorporation in thecountry," he saidadding the systemwould be installedat dispensaries ofthe civic bodyacross the city.A hospitalmanagementsoftware had beendeveloped for thispurpose and thehardware,includingcomputer systems andprinters, have alreadybeen procured, he said.TheCorporation has enteredinto a tie-up with thepublic sector telecomgiant Bharat SancharNigam Limited (BSNL)for getting GPRSconnections, whichwould be used forproviding the service tothe public.CorporationCommissioner RajeshLakhoni said more than1.08 lakh individualsregistered with the civicbody's 160 dispensariesand health posts, to belinked online, wouldwould benefit under thenew facility.He said incases where women donot have a mobile phone,the messages would besent to the concernedarea health workers ofthe corporation, who inturn would contact themand inform about thevaccination schedule.Women givingbirth in corporationhospitals would beprovided a uniqueidentification number aspart of the new diseasetracking system, Lakhonisaid.Personaldetails of the patient,including phone numberand address, would becollected at the time ofregistration, he said.To start with,the system would beused for sending SMSalerts and expandedlater to cover moreactivities, includingdissemination ofinformation at times ofany epidemic."This systemcan be used forcontaining epidemicdiseases also. If there isany epidemic activity,people can beimmediately informedabout it through thissystem", he said.The responsetime of the Corporation toepidemics would bereduced considerably afterthe installation of thesystem.The SMS alertswould help in coverage ofmore children under theregular vaccinationprogrammes, he said.

Chennai Corporation to launchSMS alert facility for vaccination

Chennai, Jul 28:

AIADMK GeneralSecretary J Jayalalithaatoday opined that theElection Commissioncould avoid holding bypollsto five Assembly seats inTamil Nadu to save the taxpayers money and utilisethe funds for implementingvarious welfare schemesto the people.In a statementhere, she said with themain Opposition AIADMKdeciding to boycott thepolls as the ruling DMKwould unleash money andmuscle power and theElection Commissionwould not be taking stepsto prevent them, theoutcome of the August 18bypolls has become aforegone conclusion.Instead ofconducting the bypolls, theElection Commissioncould as well announcethat the DMK-Congresscombine, which would becontesting three and twoseats respectively, hadwon the polls, she stated.''In the event of ano contest following theAIADMK's decision toboycott the poll and itsallies the PMK and theMDMK too toeing thesame line, the ElectionCommission, which willbe spending lakhs ofrupees of public money,can avoid holding the byelections to save the taxpyaer's money'', shesaid.Instead, themoney could be used tomeet the basic needs ofthe people like drinkingwater, road and healthand sanitary facilities,she added.Stating that theAIADMK was not afraidof facing the polls, MsJayalalithaa said eversince the DMK came topower in 2006, thedemocracy was buriedas it had been using itsmuscle and moneypower in successiveelections to local bodies,Assembly bypolls and inthe recent Lok Sabhaelections.''The ElectionCommision too hadfailed to prevent suchacts'', she said, addingonly to express herparty's opposition to suchincidents, the AIADMKhad announced boycottof polls in Gandhian wayand the PMK and theMDMK too made similardecisions.''In this context,everyone knows that whowill win the polls'', shesaid, reiterating that theElection Commissioncould avoid holding bypolls to save the publicmoney.

EC can avoid holding bypolls tosave tax payers money: Jaya

Times Chennai E-PaperJuly 28, 2009Page 2

Tamil Nadu

Chennai, Jul 28 :

TheCrime Branch-CID policehave written to the TamilNadu government,recommending disciplinaryaction against 35 officials inconnection with illicit stonequarrying in the Nilgirisdistrict.AdditionalDirector-General of Police(CB-CID) ArchanaRamasundaram told thatthis included two RevenueDivisional Officers, threeRegional TransportOfficers and an AssistantDirector of Mines.''This is a case ofgross negligence on thepart of the officialsconcerned, which resultedin extensive damage to theenvironment in theecologically sensitiveNilgiris district. It is abiosphere reserve area.Though there were glaringlapses, the availableevidence was not adequateto initiate criminalproceedings. Hence, wehave recommendeddepartmental action,''she said.The casepertains to a writ petitionfiled by ElephantRajendran of theDefence of Environmentand Animals. The MadrasHigh Court had directedthe CB-CID to take overthe investigation.Ms Archanasaid the agency hadtaken over 16 cases andformed three specialteams for investigation.The focus was also onthe infrastructure,explosives andmachinery used to carryout illicit mining.As many as 22people were arrested and14 people were charged.Elevenvehicles, explosivesubstances and otherequipment used formining were seized.There were about 15major stone quarryingsites operating illegally.The dealers, whosupplied explosives,were also arrested, shesaid.Sources in theagency reveailed that nolicence had been issuedafter 2003 for mining inthe district. But, morethan 100 stone-quarryingsites were operating.The authoritiesconcerned imposedmeagre penalty on theaccused.The officialstook no tangible steps toprevent the quarrying, aninvestigator said.In a relateddevelopment, he said theState government hadissued orders authorisingDivisional Forest Officersand the police (not belowthe rank of an Inspector)to file complaints andtake action under theprovisions of the Minesand Minerals(Development andRegulation) Act, 1957.

Crime Branch-CID recommendsaction in illicit quarryig case

Madurai, Jul 28 :

In adusk to dawn raid, sleuthsof Directorate of Vigilanceand Anti-Corruption(DVAC) wing of Tamil NaduPolice have arrested theSuperintendent of MaduraiKamaraj University (MKU)and an office attender in abribery case.According toDVAC sources here today,a student, who recentlycompleted Master of Arts(MA)in LabourManagement throughdistance education in theVarsity, had applied foravailing ConsolidatedMarks Certificate from theDirectorate of DistanceEducation.The directoratehad forwarded hisapplication toSuperintendent(Examination Wing, P GCourse Section)Ramasamy (46) forscrutiny.When theapplicant, KUdhayakumar of Ernavurnear Chennai, contactedthe Superintendent, thelatter demanded a bribeof Rs 3,000 for issuingthe certificate. After ahard bargain, Ramasamyhad decreased the bribeamount to Rs 2,000.However,annoyed over the'attitude' of the MKUofficial, Udhayakumarcomplained the matter toDVAC officials.Udhayakumarhanded over thechemical-coatedcurrency notes of Rs2,000 to Ramasamyoutside the MKU campuslast evening.A DVAC team,led by DeputySuperintendent of Police(DSP) KulothungaPandiyan caught red-handed Ramasamy fordemanding andaccepting the bribe.Later, he wastaken to his office, wherethe DVAC teamconducted a raid andseized Rs 32,000 fromanother staff P Murugan.

University officials held in bribery case

Chennai, Jul 28 :

About600 people, who visited theVellore District Collectoratein Tamil Nadu to filepetitions, had a pleasantsurprise when they wereserved free noon meal bythe Collector.Mondays aregrievances day in TamilNadu and people, mostlypoor and downtrodden,visit the Collectorate officesin the state to file petitionsto get their grievancesredressed.When about 600people visited the Velloredistrict collectorate officeyesterday, no one had aclue that a pleasantsurprise was in store forthem.The petitionerswere taken aback whenDistrict Collector CRajendran came out ofhis chamber around noonto serve them food andwater packets much totheir delight.The Collector,realising that peoplecome from far off placesto file petitions and mostof them could not afford tohave lunch at hotels,decided to serve themfood, spending his ownmoney.''People whocome here had to spendthe whole day foregotheir lunch for want ofmoney. I thought I willserve them food,'' MrRajendran said whenasked about the uniquescheme, probably, a firstof its kind in the state.Taking the cue from him,many voluntary agenciesand philanthropists in thedistrict offered to providefree noon meal to thepetitioners.Most of thepeople who visit theCollectorates ongrievances day, comefrom remote villages.They are the poor and thedowntrodden.To reach theCollectorate, they had tosacrifice their time andone-day wages to handover petitions to officials.

Collector serves free meal to600 petitioners in Collectorate

Virudhunagar, July 28:

Three workers were killedand several others feareddead in a devastatinginferno that broke out at aprivate fire crackermanufacturing factory atKeezha Thiruthangalvillage near Sivakasi heretoday.Police sourcessaid the fire broke out at1000 hrs this morningand engulfed twogodowns of Anil FireWorks factory, where theCrackers and GroundChakkars were beingproduced.The deceasedwere identified as MSubbaiah (62), VRajapillai (64) and MKannan (44). The fire,followed by explosionrazed down twogodowns.Rescue teamswere searching for morenumber of bodies fromthe debris. As initialreports quoting eye-witnesses said severalworkers were engaged inthe crackers production,when the fire engulfed thetwo godowns.The tragedymight have occurredwhile the workers werefilling explosive powdersin the fancy crackervarieties, includingGround Chakkars.Tamil Nadu Fireand Rescue Servicepersonnel from Sivakasirushed to the spot andextinguished the fire afterone hour long battle.About 200 people wereworking at the time ofaccident in the unit.The firepersonnel prevented thefire being spread tonearby godowns,otherwise there couldhave been morecasualities, the sourcesadded.Senior revenueand police officialsrushed to the village toexpedite the rescueoperation.This was thethird major fire accident ina cracker unit in SouthTamil Nadu during thismonth. Earlier, 19workers were killed in aninferno in a private fireworks at Vadakkampattivillage in Usilampatti talukof Madurai district on Julyseven last.Eighteen peoplewere killed and severalothers seriously injured inanother major fire accidentat a private fire worksfactory atNamaskarithanpatti villagenear Sivakasi inVirudhunagar district onJuly 20 last.One person wasinjured in another fireaccident at a private fireworks factory at VChokalingapuram nearSivakasi, this morning.Police said thefire totally damaged theproduction unit of AravindaFire Works factory.However, no onewas inside the factorywhen the accidentoccurred.An employee,who attempted to dousethe fire, was hit by asplinter, the sourcesadded.

Three killed, several feared dead in explosion

Thanjavur, Jul 28 :

''The Tamil Netconference'' will be heldin Germany from October23 to 25, according toTamil University Vice-Chancellor M Rajendran.The conferencewas to discussachievements in TamilInformation Technology,future challenges in thesame field by Tamilcomputer experts andTamil scholars, accordingto a press release heretoday.TheInternational Forum forInformation Technologyin Tamil (INFITT) andInstitute of Indology andTamil Studies, Universityof Cologone, would jointlyconduct the conference.The INFITT hadorganised suchconferences in Chennai(1999, 2003), Singapore(1997, 2000, 2004)Malaysia (2001) andAmerica (2002), he added.He said theTamils in Europe usecomputers in Europeanlanguages.They would betrained to use computers inTamil, he added.

'The Tamil Net conference''to be held in Germany

Chennai, Jul 28 :

Madras High Court hassaid the Tamil Nadugovernment shouldseriously considerbanning the use of plasticbags and other plasticmaterials upto 60microns as an immediatestep.The court askedthe government tobestow its seriousattention to the draft TamilNadu Throwaway PlasticArticles (Prohibition ofSale, Storage,Distribution andTransport) Bill, pendingsince 2003, to make it anAct.Passing orderson a Public InterestLitigation petition by ANarayanan, Trustee,Sevaman Trust, adivision benchcomprising Justices DMurugesan and KVenkataraman, directedthe Tamil Nadu PollutionControl Board toimplement the rules inletter and spiritthroughout the state.Mr Narayanan sought adirection to theauthorities to banmanufacture, distributionand usage of all types ofplastic carry bags,irrespective of their sizeand thickness, single-useplastic items below 150microns and colouredpots and mugs meant forstoring water and foodmade of recycled andtoxic plastic.He submittedthat plastic productscontained petro-chemicals. In the courseof production, toxicchemicals were released.At the time of disposal,plastic waste pollutes theair. The State PollutionControl Board had filed acounter. In its order, thebench said it was anadmitted fact that in TamilNadu, except in someplaces such as Ooty, theCentral rules had notbeen implemented anddisregarded by thePollution Control Board.In view of the undisputeddevastation ofenvironment, there couldbe no excuse for the boardto not implement the rulesstrictly.The Judges saidthe question was whetherthe court could go beyondthe rules and direct theboard to take action, evenin case of use of plastics upto 150 microns. Such adirection would amount tolegislation, which wasimpermissible. The Bill, ifenacted, may, to someextent, curtail the use ofplastics and could avoidpollution.The court saidthat in its opinion relating tothe serious impact on theuse of plastics, thelegislation as found in thedraft Bill would beinsufficient.The legislatureshould give a seriousthought for bringing a morestringent legislationagainst the use of plasticsand plastic products, thecourt added.

TN suggested to considerbanning of plastic bags

Times Chennai E-PaperJuly 28, 2009Page 3

Chennai, Jul 28:

Afterleading the DMK-CongressFront to an impressive winin the recent Lok Sabhapolls, Tamil Nadu DeputyChief Minister M K Stalinwould canvass for the Frontcandidates in the August 18byelections to fiveassembly seats.Stalin isscheduled to begin his 10-day campaign from August

Chennai, July 28

M:adrasHigh Court has said thathomemakers too should beconsidered earningmembers andcompensation should becomputed accordingly incase of their death due toaccidents.A division benchcomprising Justice PrabhaSridevan and T SSivagnanam yesterdayruled that ''the time hascome to scientificallyassess the value of the

Chennai, July 28:

In anattempt to make the citygreener, the ChennaiSocial Service – a groupof working professionalswho use their weekendsin social welfare activities – has launched the ‘SMSa sapling’ concept.Just their way ofmaking planting a tree inyour house as easy aspossible. It’s a simpleenough process – if youare interested in having atree planted in yourhouse, just s m s9894062532 o r9962673668. Thevolunteers at CSS willwork with you on whatkind of tree you need orwant and whatarrangements you needto make for the plantingand then within theweek, they’llcome over with thesapling.“At our end, we

Chennai, Jul 28

MadrasHigh Court has suggestedthat Parliament amend theMotor Vehicle (MV) Act toconstitute Medical Boardsfor assessing the disabilityof accident victims.The certificateissued by the Boardsshould be accepted asbinding on all the accidenttribunals in the country, adivision bench comprisingJustices Ms PrabhaSridevan and T SSivagnanam observed.The Bench waspassing orders on the civilmiscellaneous appealsfrom the NationalInsurance Company4, a party release said.The bypolls forBurgur, Cumbum,Ilayankudi,Thondamuthur andSrivaikuntamconstituencies havebeen necessitatedfollowing resignation anddeath of sitting members.Seen as apolitical heir apparent toKarunanidhi, Stalin mayunpaid homemaker, bothin accident claims and indivision of matrimonialproperty''.Applying theirobservations to a case onhand, the Judgesaccepted that the victim,who was a homemaker,assisted her husband inhis work despite the factthat there was nodocumentary evidence toprove the claim. Fixingthe notional income of thevictim at Rs 3,500, theyhave segregated the cityinto three zones,” says BSatish, executivesecretary of CSS. “Andwe are already in touchwith nurseries and ecoorganisations across thecity which have saplingsready for disposal. Mostof the places give us thesaplings for free,” headds.CSS only plantsshade-bearing andflower and fruit bearingtrees. “We do not plantshrubs etc,” says Satish.And all the trees areIndian species. “There’slots to choose from, saysSatish. For instance,there’s ‘Poongan’,propagated by theForestry Department andwhich is a pest andanimal repellent thanksto a bitter juice that itsleaves give out. There’s‘Pooarasan’, which is asub-species of thebanyan and whoseleaves make a whistlingsound in the wind. TheAshoka tree is supposedto be a favourite forapartments that are neararterial roads because itmanages to be a soundbarrier. Then there’sLimited, challenging theorders of the MotorAccidents ClaimsTribunal in Chennai,directing it to pay Rs 18lakh to an accident victimin one case and Rs 3.40lakh in another.Observing thatthe disability certificatesissued by the individualdoctors were not to berelied upon, the Benchreduced thecompensation payableby the insurancecompany to Rs 5.49 lakhin the first case and to Rs1.15 lakh in the second.The Bench alsocited a book titled ''Anot have to strain muchthis time as AIADMK isboycotting the polls,leaving the field open forDMK.Stalin had goneon a whirlwindcampaigning in the statefor the Lok Sabhaelections as Karunanidhiunderwent a major spinalcord surgery in the run upto the polls.awarded Rs 7.6 lakh toher daughter.The presentmatter relates to thedeath of a couple in aroad accident. Whilecomputing thecompensation payable tothe deceased couple'sdaughter, the trial courthad said since the motherwas a homemakerit couldnot be proved that shewas a partner in the firm.‘Badam’, which has brightgreen leaves that turnprogressively pinker as thetree gets old. “Thevolunteers will bring all theequipment required toplant the tree as well as aleaflet on how to care forthe sapling. But if thesapling being plantedrequires any specialmanure or soil, the houseowner will have to bear thatcost. Most of our saplingsthough can grow on anysoil in Chennai,” saysSatish.‘SMS a sapling’ ispart of a CSS environmentdrive, which includes adocumentary called ‘EnPer Maram’ (‘My name istree’), shot by RSathyamoorthy, whovolunteers with CSS.“When we plantthe sapling at a house, wename it after the owner ofthe house just to makethem care more for it,” saysSatish.Critique on MotorVehicles Laws,'' writtenby Justice K Kannan andadvocate NVijayaraghavan in 2008,which precisely referredto the predicamentprevailing on this aspect.In the book, theauthors stated that theexpert witnesses ordoctors, who appearedbefore the Tribunals werestock witnesses.They knew nostandards and did notconform to any uniformpractices.They did notfollow any criteria, theBench noted.

Stalin to hit campaign trailfor assembly bypolls

Chennai, July 28:

In aneffort to bolster thebeautification drive inChennai, a ban onsticking of posters on thewalls of the city’s bridgesand subways will comeinto effect from August 1,Mayor M Subramaniamannounced in astatement released to thepress today.Posters andgraffiti will be banned onall 23 bridges acrossBuckingham Canalmaintained by theCorporation of Chennai,including Manali Bridge,Adam’s Bridge, ChepaukBridge, Elliott’s RoadBridge, Greenways RoadBridge, Kamarajar RoadBridge, Lattice Bridge,the Mayor said.Similar bans onposters will be imposedon all the 11 bridgesconstructed acrossCooum River, 5 bridgesacross Adyar River, 18bridges across Otteri, 4bridges across CaptainCotton Canal, 14 bridgesacross MambalamCanal, 6 bridges acrossNungambakkam Canal,the Mayor informed.Posters will beforbidden on 11 bridgesacross KodungaiyurCanal, 23 bridges acrossVirugambakkam Canal, 11bridges across TrustpuramCanal, 26 bridges acrossother canals in the city,besides 8 bridges, 13subways, 6 pedestriansubways, 2 ground levelbridges, 30 acrossbridges,12 bridges at Railwaycrossings, MayorSubramaniam said andadded that the ban will alsohold good on the 4 bridgesat Railway crossings, 5bridges across Cooum, 2bridges each across AdyarRiver and BuckinghamCanal, Basin Bridge, AnnaFlyover, and 12 pedestriansubways maintained bythe Highways Department.In all 250 bridges at variousplaces in Chennai will bekept free of posters and theCorporation’s Zonalofficials will inform theagents and labourersinvolved in sticking postersabout the ban, he furthersaidThe work ofremoving the posters andgraffiti from the walls ofthese bridges andsubways will commence,by July 31 the Mayor saidand sought the co-operation of the public inthis regard.

Corporation bans Posters from Aug. 01

Homemakers should be consideredearning members: HC

HC suggests Parliament to amend MV Act

Want a tree planted? Just send an SMS

Chennai, July 28:

Showing exemplarycourage, a 30-year-oldnurse fought off a 19-year-old chain snatcher andretrieved her fivesovereign 'thali' chain evenwhile holding her eight-month-old child in her arm,in the city last night.Shanthi (30),working as a nurse withKasturba Hospital, wasreturning home afterbuying vegetables nearPallavaram station Roadaround 2100 hours lastnight, when a truck cleanersnatched her ''thali'' andtried to flee.However, thenurse, who was carryingthe child in one arm andher vegetable bag in theother, in quick reflex,dropped the bag and heldthe thief by his collar.The youth,identified as Karthik ofTrisulam, who was in aninebriated condition, triedhis best to free himselffrom her clutches andescape with the jewellery.But, Shanthi simply didnot let go of him eventhough she was holdingher child.Public apathywas particularly visiblewhen none of thepassengerby came to herrescue even as she felldown along with thechain snatcher in thetussle.At one point, theyouth managed to freehimself from her clutchesand tried to run, but thenurse, regaining hercomposure, chased andheld him again.This time, she raised analarm and shouted at thepublic for not coming toher rescue.The irony wasthe incident took placenear the PallavaramPolice Station. Onhearing the commotion,Sudhagar, a Grade IConstable, rushed out,much to the relief ofShanti.The nurse, whosuffered bruises on herarms and knees, heaved

Nurse show exemplary couragefends off chain snatcher

a sigh of relief as she gotback her ''thali'' chain andKarthik was sent to thePuzhal Central Prisonafter his arrest.